The martyrdom of forty-three people for Christ in Lyon occurred in the year 177. In the same year, the churches of Lyon and Vienne composed a letter about the steadfast confession of faith by the Gallic Christians, which is the first documentary evidence of Christianity in the territory of modern France. The letter describes the persecutions of Christians in Gaul during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, when pagans did not allow Christians into their homes and markets, and the mob beat them in the streets.
Christians were interrogated and imprisoned. Among them were those ready for martyrdom and those who were frightened. The martyrs underwent terrible tortures, but their steadfastness left their torturers powerless. The Bishop of Lyon, Pothinus, despite his age, also appeared before the judge and was imprisoned, where he soon passed away.
The confessors were thrown into the amphitheater for the beasts, but many of them, including Maturus and Sanctus, endured cruel tortures. Saint Blandina, after many tortures, also passed away, suffering the most. The pagans mocked the dead bodies of the martyrs, throwing them to dogs and burning them to destroy the traces.
The Lyon martyrs, who endured numerous tortures, did not consider themselves martyrs, but only confessors, and prayed for their executioners, asking for the gift of faith and life in Christ for them.
