Four crowned martyrs

By Goran Ivanković

The legendary story of four stonemasons who sacrificed their lives for their principles and faith in God and thus became martyrs of Christianity begins at the time of the Roman emperor Diocletian[1] and the great persecution of Christians. Four stonemasons lived and worked in Sirmium, then the capital of one of the four tetrarchates in the southwest of the then-Roman province of Pannonia, between the Sava and the Danube, at the site of today's Sremska Mitrovica.

               Legend has it that one day, Diocletian came to see the construction work on the temple to the god Apollo and to visit the mines and quarries. He called all the workers together, 622 of them, and issued an order to make a statue of the sun god on a quadriga, seven meters high, from a single piece of stone. Everyone went in search of a suitable stone. The size was not a problem, but they could not find a stone with the right "veins" or structure that would allow the sculpture to be carved. They found the so-called "Thasos" stone unsuitable for carving a statue.

               Four stonemasons were secretly Christians among the workers: Claudius, Castorius, Simpronianus and Nicostratus. Praying to their Christian God, they found a suitable stone and made a statue just as Diocletian envisioned. A young stonecutter, Simplicius, was working near them. He couldn't do anything, and the tool broke in his hands. He admired them as they worked successfully and asked Claudius to help and teach him how to handle the tool without breaking it.

               “Strengthen, I beseech thee, my tools, that they may no longer break, [2]“ were his words to Claudius.

" in the name of Lord Jesus Christ, be these tools henceforth strong and faithful to their work,[3]" replied Claudius, taking Simplicius' tool in his hands. Not long after, Simplicius was pleasantly surprised by his tool and that everything was going well. He turned to Claudius again, asking him how it was possible that his tool had suddenly become unbreakable and his work perfect.

" God, who is our Creator, and the Lord of all things, has made his creature strong," replied Claudius, which Simplicius misinterpreted and, with the understanding of the old pagan faith, replied, "Was not this done by the God Zeus?“[4] "Repent, o my brother, of what thou hast said, for thou hast blasphemed God, our Creator, whom alone we worship; that which our own hands have made we do not recognize as a God,[5]" Claudius answered. Such and similar discussions of Simplicius with Claudius and the other three stone-cutting brothers led to Simplicius asking to be accepted into the Christian faith. Simplicius was baptized by Cyrillus, archbishop of Antioch, who died a martyr's death soon after.

Diocletian was delighted with the work of the four stone carvers and commissioned them to make all the other sculptures for him, including the statue of Aesculapius, the god of health. Working for several months, they did all the sculptures except Aesculapius. The supervisors were concerned and called the four stone cutters for an interview.

" Why do ye not hearken to the commands of our devout emperor, Diocletian, and obey his will?[6]" The supervisors addressed the four stone cutters, to which Claudius replied, " Because we cannot offend our Creator and commit a sin, whereof we should be found guilty in his sight.[7]"

" From this, it appears that you are Christians." said the supervisors. " Truly, we are Christians," confirmed Claudius. After that conversation, the supervisors found other stonemasons who were not Christians and gave them the task of making a statue of the god Aesculapius.

Soon, Diocletian came to see the works. All the sculptures made by the four stonemasons were exhibited in one field. Diocletian was satisfied, but he asked all the time to see Aesculapius. The supervisors explained to him that the four stonemasons refused to make the statue of Aesculapius because they were Christians and hired other stonemasons to do the work. They accused the four stonemasons of using magic as Christians to bend other people to their will. Since the four stonemasons were dear to him as great artists, Diocletian ordered the tribune Lampadius to investigate the case and give them a chance to redeem themselves. According to A. G. Mackey, he addressed Lampadius with the following words: "If they refuse to make a sacrifice to the Sun god Apollo, let them be scourged with scorpions[8], but if they accept to make a sacrifice, then treat them well." to talk.

First, he showed them the instruments of torture and explained what could happen to them if they persisted in their belief that they were Christians and refused to make a sacrifice to the Sun god Apollo. " Hearken to me and avoid the doom of martyrs, and be obedient to the mighty prince, and offer a sacrifice to the sun-god, for no longer can I speak to you in gentle words.[9]" were the words of the tribune Lampadius to which Claudius answered very boldly in his name and the name of the other three stonemasons: " This let the Emperor Diocletian know: that we truly are Christians, and never can depart from the worship of our God.[10]" Those words greatly angered the tribune Lampadius, and he ordered the four stone cutters to be stripped naked and scourged with scorpions. The proclamation was issued because the four stonecutters refused to carry out the emperor's order and were punished for it. At the same hour when the proclamation was issued, the tribune Lampadius was possessed by an evil spirit, and he died on his tribune's seat.

As soon as the family and wife of Lampadius found out about the death, they turned to Diocletian, asking the emperor to punish the four stone cutters for the death of Lampadius. After Diocletian saw what had happened, he ordered four lead coffins to be made and the four stonemasons to be placed in them alive and then thrown into the Sava River. Nicetius, the deputy of Lampadius, carried out the order, and thus, the four stone cutters suffered the fate of martyrs. It happened on the eighth of November, but the year is not specified; most likely, it happened around 310 or a couple of years before, but certainly not in 287, as stated by Mackey, citing his sources. A sure Nicodemus (Nicodemus) took the lead coffins out of the water after forty-two days and buried the martyrs in his yard. Due to the different copies of the original document of the legend, it is not clear whether Simplicius was also punished with them, so somewhere, they are counted as five martyrs and as four. After Galerius[11] issued a decree on tolerance towards Christians in 311 and after the agreement between Licinius[12] and Constantine[13] in Milan in 313, Christianity became a free religion, equal to the pagan religion, and four (five) stonemasons were declared holy martyrs and included in the list of Blessed Martyrs together with to the other martyrs of Sirmium. The legend of the Pannonian martyrs is known under the Latin name "Passio Sanctorum Quattuor Coronatorum" or, in Serbian, "Martyrdom of four saints crowned with a wreath of glory." It is preserved in manuscripts in the Latin language that are in the libraries of the Vatican, Milan, Verona, Paris, Bern and some other European cities. The legend does not end here; old scripts show us that eleven months after returning to Rome, Diocletian requested that a temple to the god Aesculapius, a statue of Aesculapius be built near Trajan's baths, and copper plates be placed on which were written all the diseases that Aesculapius cured... After the temple was finished, Diocletian ordered that all the soldiers in Rome make a sacrifice to the god Aesculapius. The four military overseers (cornicullarii) refused to do so. When Diocletian found out about it, he ordered that the soldiers be whipped with scorpions and then killed with plumbataes[14]. After the order was executed, the dead bodies were thrown into the street to be torn apart by dogs. The bodies lay there for five days until Blessed Sebastian and Pope Miltiades picked them up. They were buried on the Labikan road, three kilometres from the city, where other Christians were also buried. It happened on the eighth of November, on the same day when the Pannonian stonemasons were also killed, but two years later. According to the writings of Porphyry, the official of the cadastre, Pope Miltiades ordered that the four of them be celebrated under the names of saints Claudius, Castorius, Simpronianus and Nicostratus because their names were not known at the time.

The most famous legend of operative freemasons is the legend of the four Pannonian martyrs, four stonemasons and artists from the time of Diocletian who died a martyr's death by refusing to sacrifice to a pagan god and thus trampling on their Christian faith. What is interesting in all this is the different interpretations of the events. I will present the view of the events from several different sources and try to explain the differences. The Masonic vision has several versions that changed as the truth about the four crowned with glory came to light. From a Masonic perspective, the most beautiful presentation is the version of eminent Masonic writer and researcher Albert G. Mackie. Then, I will present a brief overview of the version of the Catholic Church published in the Catholic encyclopedia on the Internet. In the end, we should mention the most realistic and fact-based version of Jovan Maksimović and Marko Maksimović in their work "Early Christian Martyrs Victims of Disrespect for the Asclepius Cult in the Time of Diocletian." It is not Masonic, and its aim is not to refer to Masonic values. Its greatness lies in the scientific approach that gives the most realistic representation and is the closest to explaining the actual events of that time.

Arundel manuscript

The website of the English research Masonic lodge "Quatro Coronati" points us to three manuscripts containing the legend. The first is the Arundel manuscript from the twelfth century, the second is Harlea's manuscript, and the third is the "regius poem" or the so-called Hallival manuscript.

The greatness of the Arundel Manuscript is that the document is not Masonic but Christian-religious. It represents a copy of the original event record fifty years after the events. In the most beautiful possible way, he explains all the events of the legend, going into the details of the very dialogues between the master stonemason and the student, the master stonemason and the tribune Lampadius, showing in the most beautiful light the complete glory of martyrdom. It was initially written in Latin. Woodford did the English translation. Together with the original Latin translation, it was published in the first issue of the well-known Masonic yearbook "Ars Quatuor Coronaturum" in 1886.

The legend, and especially the Arundel manuscript, is a record of significant parts of Freemasonry. The first is that the Quattro Coronati represents four craftsmen, Claudius, Castorius, Simpronianus and Nicostratus, who were given the title "mirificos in arte quadrataria". Translated from Latin, we get carving artists, ie stone-carving artists. The four of them are shown as real masters of the trade, whom the fifth Simplicus later joins and, after that, by four members of the city militia, making them nine together. According to the narrator's story, Simplicus was converted to Christianity during the events which the four masters practiced secretly as a cult. Emperor Diocletian ordered a sculpture of the god Aesculapius to be made, which the four craftsmen and the fifth Simplicus refused to do. They were brought before the tribune Lampadius, who ordered them to be flogged with scorpions according to Dicletian's directive. Then, according to Diocletian's orders, they were placed in lead boxes and thrown into the river. According to the legend, a sure Nicodemus took the chests out of the water and took them to his home. Two years later, Diocletian ordered the army to pay tribute to the statue of Aesculapius, which the four commanders of the city's militia refused. They were ordered to be put to death in front of the image of Aesculapius by blows from the plumbatae. Their bodies were thrown into the street by carts, where they lay for five days.

  The most important thing about the Arundel manuscript is that the depiction of the legend does not contain any Masonic notes or messages. We must look for them between the lines and in the symbolism evoked in the legend. The four stonemasons were masters of their craft, recognized by Emperor Diocletian among 627 other masters. They gained fame by carving a sculpture of Apollo on a chariot from a single piece of stone, while other craftsmen could not. We can see two categories of masons or stone cutters through that part. Most were not privy to the secrets of the craft, and a small group accepted only the chosen ones into their ranks.

The legend points to the gradation into degrees in freemasonry as early as Roman times. The stonemasons accept students into their ranks, letting us know that even then, there were at least two degrees and probably three as of today.

Although Simplicus was a stonemason by profession, until he became a freemason, he had great problems with his tools and carving technique. His tool kept breaking. After he is initiated into the brotherhood, i.e. Christianity, the holy spirit inspires him, and his tool becomes unbreakable. This indicates the importance of the quality of mason's tools and the symbolism of operational masons' tools, but not only operative ones; that same tool, with its indomitable symbolism, builds special moral qualities of operative masons, influencing them speculatively, building in them giants of firm faith who do not stumble even in the face of mortal threats. They remain true to their moral principles. Of course, it is not impossible that Simplicus was initiated into certain secrets of the craft that raised his talent to a higher level and enabled him to break tools with his work no longer.

The legend represents the oldest example of speculation in freemasonry on the example of four soldiers who were not masons or masons by profession. Faithful to their moral principles and firm faith, they die a martyr's death, confirming the moral firmness and steadfastness in the faith of Freemasons.

Another script mentioned is the "Regius Poem" or Haliwal Manuscript, which contains an abridged version of the legend.

The legend in Albert G. Mackey's version

The legend shown in Albert G. Mackie's Encyclopedia of Freemasonry gives the most beautiful representation of the legend and points to the essential elements of Freemasonry. Mackey takes as his main references two books of the Catholic Church[15] in which the event is described in all the necessary details. In both books, he finds that the four stonemasons have the title "quadratarii," the same title that the stonemasons had in the biblical story of the building of King Solomon's Temple and thus explains that the four stonemasons were not only sculptors but also stonemasons, stonemasons and builders of temples, i.e. operative freemasons. He believes no evidence would indicate that in Pannonia as a Roman province at that time, there was no Roman College whose members were also four stonemasons, martyrs whom he sees as the forerunners of medieval freemasonry. From this consideration, he concludes that this is the main reason the medieval operational freemasons considered the four martyrs as their patrons, i.e. protectors, as today in modern freemasonry are St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist.

Explaining the legend, he first presents the political situation in the Roman Empire in the last period of Diocletian's reign and the great persecutions of Christians from that time. He then mentions Diocletian's visit to the province to speed up the work on constructing the temple to the Sun god Apollo in his presence. Among the six hundred twenty-six artisans and artists engaged in the works were four masons, stone cutters Claudius, Castorius, Simpronianus and Nicostratus, highly valued for their skill. They rejected the old pagan religion and were secretly Christians, dedicating all their work to the glory and name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The stonecutter Simplicus, who belonged to the pagan polytheistic religion, worked near them. Nothing came quickly to him, and his tools were constantly breaking. He complained about this to Claudius with the following words: "Please strengthen my tool so that it does not break again!" to which Claudius, taking him by the hand, replied: "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, let this tool be strong and faithful to him into his work!" From that moment on, Simplicus' work became easy; everything was easy for him, and his tools no longer broke.

Delighted by the change, Simplicus demanded that Claudius explain how his tool suddenly became so powerful and indomitable. Claudius finally explained to him: "God, who is our creator and the Lord of all things, made his creatures strong," to which Simplicus asked him: "Did not the god Zeus do that?!" "Repent, O my brother, of what you said because you blasphemed God, our Creator whom we worship. What is made by our hands, we do not recognize as God," was Claudius' answer to Simplicus's question. Through that and similar discussions, Simplicus soon adopted a Christian understanding, and he received baptism from the Antiochian bishop Cyril shortly before his martyrdom because he refused to sacrifice to a pagan god.

The story continues when Diocletian asks that a giant statue of the god Apollo sitting on a chariot made of red Thasos stone be made for him from a single piece of stone. There was a problem finding a quality stone from which such a sculpture could be made. All masters and philosophers participated in the discussion, 622 master’s and five philosophers, but they could not reach a satisfactory solution.

Here, Mackey becomes very unclear and fails to follow the sequence of events but constructs a story that does not follow the actual events. He states that the philosophers asked the four stonemasons why they refused to make a sculpture of Aesculapius, skipping over the fact that the four stonemasons had previously made a sculpture of Apollo on a chariot out of red granite and that they were, therefore, in favour of Diocletian.

After a discussion between the philosophers and the four stonemasons about their refusal to make a sculpture of the god Aesculapius, the philosophers concluded that they were Christians and informed Diocletian about this. Diocletian ordered the tribune Lampadius to check whether the four stonemasons were Christians. Along with the order came the instruction that if they were Christians, to punish them correctly and, if they were not, to treat them gently.

Lampadius summoned the four stonemasons and asked them to make a public sacrifice to the god Apollo. He explained the reason to them. If they do not, they will be recognized as Christians, and he will be forced to scourge them with scorpions and punish them as Christians are punished. Claudius answered him in his name and the name of the four stonemasons: "Let Emperor Diocletian know that we are true Christians and that we will never give up faith in our God." After such an answer, Lampadius had to fulfill the punishment he threatened them with. In the same hour, he was possessed by an evil spirit, and Lampadius died on his throne.

His wife and other family members immediately went to complain to the emperor. When Diocletian heard what had happened, he ordered that the four stonemasons be locked alive in lead coffins and thrown into the river. This was done, and the lead coffins with the four stonemasons were thrown into the Danube.

Mackey explains why the Masons did not want to make a statue of Aesculapius. He believes that they, as Christians, did not want to make any image of a god because it contradicts their religious beliefs, and probably because of this understanding, he considered that the old scripts are not precise and that they once mentioned Apollo and once Aesculapius. That his thesis is not correct can be found in the very quote that Mackey gives us when Claudius explains to Simplicus that they do not believe in gods that were created by human hands, that is, that they do not worship idols but the true God, the creator and maker of everything. According to the latest understandings, the four stonemasons did not want to build a statue of the god Aesculapius because he holds a staff with a snake wrapped around it in his hand, and according to some Christian interpretations, the snake symbolizes evil.

Mackey correctly places the action in the Roman province of Pannonia, and since he refers to the books of the Catholic Church, it is not surprising that he takes the name of the river as the Danube and not the Sava. The date of his death is a little strange since the year is 287, and the day and month of November 8 are taken from the Catholic calendar. From the Masonic point of view, Mackey presented everything necessary to understand the Masonic message of the legend.

Catholic Encyclopedia version

The version that is represented in the Catholic encyclopedia is about a hundred years old and, as such, places the action in the Austro-Hungarian Empire because Sirmium (Sirmium) or Sremska Mitrovica was at that time, an integral part of the Habsburg Monarchy. The complete story otherwise corresponds to facts and theses that are still current today. The four crowned martyrs are four or five stonemasons who, on the orders of the Roman emperor Diocletian, made all the statues and works of art out of stone for the needs of the pagan temple being built. The only thing they refused to do was to make a statue of the god Aesculapius, which is why they were sealed alive in lead coffins and thrown into the Sava. The time of the event is the year 305, and everything was written down by the Roman official Porfiryus fifty years later. The text is relatively short and informative.

My conclusion and view of the legend of the Martyrs of Sirmium

The time of Diocletian's reign was a tough time for Christians, and it was the time of their most tremendous persecution. Diocletian divided the administration of the empire into four administrative units, the tetrarchy, which two Caesars and two Augustus governed. Sirmium was one of the four capital cities of the empire, with a sizeable Christian community. As a capital city, it was most likely the seat of one of the Roman Collegium, as assumed by Mackey in his version of the legend.

Interestingly, the Roman Collegium as a secret society was banned occasionally in the Roman Empire. Over time, I concluded that the Roman Collegium was an ideal refuge for Christians because it taught tolerance towards other religions. If we think about it, we will remember that the early Christians hid in the catacombs in Rome. Knowledge of catacombs and secret passages was one of the secrets of those who built them. This again points to the close relationship between Christians and the Roman Collegium.

My point of view regarding the legend is interesting. It arose from an attempt to understand a form of fear that we find among the profane and which it harbours towards initiate societies. Treating that fear as fear of the unknown or not knowing whether there is any danger is highly debatable. I recognize that relationship more as a form of jealousy; some belong to something that the majority, as profane, cannot belong to. Jealousy is an escape from reality and allows visions that cannot appear under normal circumstances. The four stone cutters belonged to the Christian community and the Roman Collegia and enjoyed all the privileges of that membership. This is indicated by their jealousy towards them, expressed in the old manuscripts. The four stonemasons are the ones who possess the knowledge and skills that set them apart from the rest. They are the ones who manage to do everything that came to Emperor Diocletian's mind. They made a sculpture of the sun god on a quadruped from one piece of stone. The sculpture was twenty-five feet high even though the other 622 craftsmen and supervisors could not find a suitable stone. So, they stood out from the others with their knowledge and skills.

Their student Simplicius broke his tool, and nothing succeeded until the four masters "blessed" his tool and accepted him into the secret brotherhood where the light of knowledge and skill shone on him. Imagine how jealous the other twenty-six craftsmen must have been when the clumsiest became one of the best workers by joining the brotherhood with the four crowned ones. The tool no longer breaks for him, and everything goes well when he starts working.

Several facts from the legend show the power of the brotherhood at that time. After Emperor Diocletian requested that a statue of the Sun God be made for him on a quadrilateral from one piece of stone, all the workers and supervisors met and agreed that it was impossible to do. There wasn't a large enough piece of rock without a vein in the stone that allowed such a construction. Despite the supervisor's decision, the four crowned find a fine stone and make a statue. It was impossible to do such an undertaking secretly since it took time to find and process the stone.

In my opinion, the four crowned belonged to the brotherhood, that is, to the organization that made such a thing possible for them. They belonged to an organization that others shied away from and did not dare to oppose that organization openly. This is not only the case with the workers and supervisors; tribune Lampadia also shied away from that organization, as can be seen from his reluctance to punish the four crowned and his mild approach. Emperor Diocletian himself was sympathetic to them and inclined to forget about unpleasant events, but after Lampadia's death, Lampadi's relatives forced him to show his imperial power. They asked to punish the organization and to kill the four crowned. Lampadije spent five days convincing the four crowned men to obey the emperor's orders and sacrifice to the god Aesculapius. He showed them torture devices and explained what legal rights he had to torture them as Christians. After their persistent refusal to obey the emperor's orders, he handed them over to the executioners to be flogged.

An hour after that order, Lampadius dies on his tribune throne, possessed by an evil spirit that kills him. This is an incredible explanation for a violent death. It is well said that Lampadije was killed on his throne as a tribune, but no one dared to explain how and why he was killed. How influential was an organization that could kill a Roman tribune with impunity? In other words, how much power is that when, even fifty years later, the recorder did not dare to write down anything else but gave a banal explanation of a murder by an evil spirit? Come to think of it, Emperor Diocletian himself did not fare better. His wife and daughter were killed under the accusation that they were Christians, and he died a very mysterious death. Some think that he died as a result of a long-term illness. Some think that he was poisoned, and there is even an opinion that he died of starvation. Very mysterious. Just imagine how much irony there is in the fact that the wife and daughter of the greatest persecutor of Christians are killed under the accusation of being Christians.

Another fascinating coincidence is the addition of the legend of the stone-carving martyrs, the legend of four martyred Roman soldiers who were martyred because they refused to make a sacrifice to the god Aesculapius. The four martyrs (Roman soldiers) are celebrated on the same day as the stonemasons, the eighth of November. This indicates that the organization or brotherhood to which the stonemasons belonged not only expressly accepted craftsmen into its ranks but also accepted people from other professions. Soldiers were also welcome if they met certain conditions. Not only that, here we see an obvious example of speculation, where admission to membership requires internal qualities (moral strength, faith in God, etc.) and not external externalities such as belonging to a class or profession. When we analyze the complete story a little deeper, we wonder if Pope Miltiades was also a member of the organization we see today as Freemasonry. The coincidence that two groups of martyrs are celebrated on the same day as one group because they supposedly died a martyr's death on the same day but in different years leads to the thought that it was incorporated into one whole for a particular reason to expose the speculative component of a secret organization which probably also Pope Miltiades himself belonged to or someone from his close circle who could influence him to do something like that.

We have to ask ourselves what the church's interest was in embracing an organization that was not genuinely Christian at a time when it was itself full of internal struggle and its status was still not secure in the Roman Empire. Let's look at that secret organization as a secret association of operative masons. It doesn't make any sense, but if we understand that organization as an organization of scientists (architects, philosophers, etc.) and artists of the time, why the church wanted to have that organization under its control is understandable. That the church successfully reorganized and brought this organization under its control is indicated by the fact that in 774, the Western Church asked Byzantium and received an organized group of masons and artists to build churches and cathedrals in Germany and France. They lived near monasteries and were obliged to be Christians and confess once a year. Over time, Freemasonry Guilds and Grand Lodges were formed from them, and the four martyrs were their patron saints.

The importance and historical role of the four Sirmium martyrs crowned with glory

1. They represent a link connecting the Roman Collegium with the Lodges of operative Freemasons. To prove this, we need to understand the structure of the Roman Collegium, through which we will most easily recognize the membership of the four stonemasons in the Collegium. When the second Roman king, Numa Pompilius, came to the throne, he organized craftsmen and artisans into an organization later called the Roman Collegium.

Each Roman legion had a college of at least three craftsmen. Wherever the Roman army of at least one legion would go, the Roman collegium would be present. They were the ones who built roads for the needs of the army, bridges, viaducts, fountains, steam baths, fortifications and other things. They enslaved and conquered with culture. So, from the very beginning, there was a connection between the master builders and the army. Suppose the four stonemasons (with Simplicus five) and the four military supervisors belonged to the same organization. In that case, it is logical that they should be equated as martyrs and celebrated on the same date.

Accepting the martyrs of the stonemasons of Sirmium as patrons or protectors of operative Freemasonry strengthens this bond because the operative Freemasons themselves recognize and accept it. The constitution of the operative freemasons of Strasbourg from 1459 begins with the following words: "In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and our gracious Mother Mary, and her blessed servants, the four holy crowned martyrs..."

2. They point to a strictly Christian religious organization. At that time, Freemasonry was a Christian organization that manifested a monotheistic belief in the Grand Architect of the Universe through Christianity. From that time until the advent of industrialization, when the need for freemason guilds ceased, operative freemasons were Christians by religious conviction. The Christian tradition was so strong in some countries of Europe that even the Johannine (purely speculative) Freemasonry did not accept non-Christians as members. In some German Grand Lodges (Prussian Grand Lodges), non-Christians were not admitted until the end of the Second World War. It mostly referred to Jews. The Swedish ritual still insists on the Christian faith of the candidate.
3. If we are looking for the first official appearance of speculation in Freemasonry, the four masons crowned with glory are one of the best and earliest documented examples. Speculativeness is reflected in several different categories.

The moral and ethical qualities of the candidates and the masters are in the first place.

The ideology of freemasonry tools follows. With firm faith and proper use, the tools become unbreakable, especially the symbolism of the tools that build a person's personality unbreakable. When Simplicus asked for his tool to become unbreakable, he did not receive another unbreakable tool. He received speculative knowledge, with the application of which his work technique was perfected so that he no longer broke the tool. The very approach to work has changed; the light of Freemasonry has been brought into it.

The Masters were not looking for a candidate; the candidate was looking for them. Simplicus did not ask that they do something for him but teach him how to improve. This is where we recognize the core of making a good man a better man.

Whether Simplicus died a martyr's death together with the other four is not written. I don't think it matters at all. It is part of the legend that explains that membership is entered through initiation, that the organization has apprentices and must have them, and that the new member has the status of an apprentice for a specific time until he acquires the qualifications of a master, even though in the profane world he had the status of a master of his craft. Having fulfilled his role, his death is no longer interesting to the legend.

Four military supervisors were added because they died a martyr's death allegedly on the same date but two years later. I don't think they were added because of the exact execution date but because of other similarities. They refused to sacrifice to Aesculapius, the pagan god of health. But that's not the real reason either; they were put together because they belonged to the same organization. Diocletian ordered that their corpses be left in the street to be stretched by the dogs. They lay on the street for five days, and then Pope Miltiades picked them up and buried them. Probably, someone was watching over the corpses so that nothing would happen to them until it was time to pick them up and bury them. They were entered in the Book of Martyrs under the names of the martyrs of Sirmium. All this points to membership in the same organization. Soldiers and stonemasons had the same moral qualities and religious convictions. They were determined and consistent with their convictions; even death threats could not sway them. It was about the same speculative views that made them brothers.

4. In the hypothesis advocated by the famous Masonic writer Albert G. Mackey, the four stone cutters are titled "quadratarii". That title identifies them with freemasons from the time of the Jewish king Solomon and indicates Solomon's Temple's connection with the Roman Collegium. The legend about the second Roman king, Numa Pompilius, says that Numa was offered the royal crown. Still, he refused it because of his peaceful nature and dedication to faith in God. The alleged refusal lasted for about a year until a caravan from Jerusalem arrived in Rome. Merchants from Jerusalem conveyed messages and instructions to Numa that encouraged Numa to accept the crown. Based on these instructions, Numa formed the Roman Collegium.

"quadratarii" is not an ordinary title. It does not mean stone cutters and stonemasons. It has a much deeper meaning. That title is held only by primeval artists and sculptors who know all aspects of craft and art. It explains Diocletian's gentle and patient behaviour towards the four stone cutters. It indicated a rare talent and enormous knowledge of the craft. This is why the tribune Lampadius tried to persuade the stonemasons to make a statue of Aesculapius or sacrifice to the sun god later.

In his masonic encyclopedia, MacKey mentions a direct connection between the name "quadratarii" and the stone cutters, builders of King Solomon's Temple. He cites a quote from the First Book of Kings that says, "And the servants of Solomon and the servants of Hiram and Giblites[16] were hewing, and they were preparing wood and stones to build a house. 1 Kings 5: 18"[17]. The term Giblites[18] is used for stone cutters in the Serbian translation of the Bible. The English use the term Stonesquarer, which is nowhere near adequate to the Serbian term. Giblites is an essential term in speculative freemasonry, and the secret of this term is explained only to the Past Masters of the lodge (as far as I know, this rule applies to the Ancient, i.e. the American ritual and the Canadian ritual. I cannot guarantee for the other rituals).

The death penalty and moral fortitude

The reason for the dispute or conflict between the four masons as contractors and the Roman emperor as the project's client is not the clearest and has remained shrouded in secrecy. The legend and different manuscripts about that event interpret the reason for the dispute differently. The main reason arises because the four stonemasons did not want to carve the statue of the god Aesculapius. Another reason is that they did not want to sacrifice to the god Apollo. The third and probably decisive reason was the intolerance of the work supervisors towards the four stonemasons and the supervisors' jealousy of stonemason’s success in their work.

Why did the four stonemasons not want to carve the statue of Aesculapius if they had already carved the statue of Apollo and thus made themselves famous in the eyes of Diocletian? As Christians, Aesculapius was a problem for specific reasons. It seems the snake coiling around Aesculapius' staff was the biggest problem. According to their Christian beliefs, she represented primordial evil. Perhaps the embodiment of Satan. The serpent was the one who persuaded Eve to pick the fruit from the forbidden tree and thus caused her banishment from the Garden of Eden.

Perhaps the reason and purpose of avoiding making a statue is different. The statue of Aesculapius represents God, who heads the sick. People prayed to the gods for healing, and priest-doctors prepared potions and therapies for their healing. It was a system that worked very well in the Roman Empire. Perhaps the carving of Aesculapius was not only an artistic work for the stonemasons, but they felt as if they were actively participating in a complete healing system that they, as Christians, did not accept. Whatever it was, it wasn't written down, and we don't know the real reason.

The moral understanding of a sincere Christian is that there are no other gods but their Christian God. It is written in the Bible that you do not serve two masters[19]: not to be idolaters or to make idols for themselves[20]. In the discussion between Claudius and Simplicus, they even state that their God is not in the sculptures they carved and that they do not worship them for that reason. By sacrificing to a false god, they would be sinning against their Christian faith.

Diocletian received a message from the work superintendent accusing the stonemasons of practicing magic and manipulating people. The superintendent's intolerance of the stonemasons probably predated the event described in the legend. We can notice that the four masons, independently of the others, were looking for a suitable stone for the construction of the statue of Apollo and found it. This tells us about the mistrust of the four stonemasons towards the supervisors. There were probably conflicts in the past that the legend does not mention. Whether Christianity was the cause or belonging to another association is not the clearest. I don't think Christianity is the cause since the supervisors realized that the four stonemasons were Christians later after they refused to carve the statue of Aesculapius. Jealousy probably arose because the four stonemasons belonged to the Roman Collegium.

It is most likely that all three reasons led to the culmination and eventual martyrdom of stonemasons. We can say that the stonemasons were aware of the consequences of their perseverance and that their moral firmness is the main feature that makes them martyrs for their faith.

The attitude of the Church towards the Pannonian martyrs

The first written record was made fifty years after the event by the cadastral clerk Porphyrius. Other manuscripts in Latin were created based on his writings. According to Porphyry, after the bodies of the executed Roman soldiers were collected and buried, Pope Miltiades ordered that they be celebrated as martyrs on November 8, the day of their death. Since their names were unknown then, Pope Miltiades ordered that they be celebrated under the names of the Pannonian (stonemasons) martyrs, who were celebrated on the same date.

The early Church respected the Pannonian martyrs, and churches throughout Western Europe were dedicated to them. They were considered the patrons of stonemasons. The most famous is the basilica from Rome, which dates to the fourth or fifth century and was started by Pope Miltiades.

The Orthodox Church has nowhere near such a relationship with the stonemasons-martyrs of Pannonia as the Catholic Church. The reason is not apparent, and I can only give my layman's opinion.

Among the Serbian people, four crowned martyrs were never as popular as later saints from the Nemanjić dynasty. Sirmium at that time, there was a strong heretical community (Arian heresy), and several bishops of Sirmium confessed this heresy. Nowhere is it stated that the Pannonian martyrs belonged to heretical teaching but establishing that would not be unusual. The Serbian Orthodox Church recognizes them as martyrs, but I did not find them in the "Ohrid Prologue" of Saint Nikolaj Velimirović. One gets the impression that the Serbian Orthodox Church does not want to consider that period of Christianity, especially not because the sources of the legend come from Rome.

Symbolism of numbers and Quatro Coronati

The numbers in the legend are not random but have been carefully chosen. The most memorable are the numbers four, five and nine. There are four martyrs in the legend's name, and from the name, we cannot determine exactly who they refer to. The four are masters of crafts as well as Roman soldiers. We get five when the apprentice Simplicus joins the group of master stonemasons and thus closes the whole with the stonemasons. So, five is the whole craft. We get nine when we add Roman soldiers to the craft; that is when we add speculativeness.

Why are these numbers important to us? Pythagoras from ancient Greece explained the world and the Universe through the relationships between numbers. Everything has a numerical value, and everything is in a numerical relationship. I will give my view on the importance of the numbers in this legend.

Number four

As I mentioned, the number in the legend means four craftsmen and four Roman soldiers. For Freemasonry, the number four symbolizes the earthly ideal. A square is a geometric figure with four right angles and four equal sides. Each of the four stonemasons symbolizes a page identical to the other three. It indicates equality in brotherhood among the Masters. Each side concerns the other two at a right angle, symbolizing the strength and stability of the relationship between the brothers. The fourth must support the three sides to remain strong and stable. Of course, at right angles.

The square has the same symbolism as the cross with the addition of a space. Spatiality gives it an earthly character and allows fulfillment. Otherwise, like the cross, it contains the old esoteric symbolism "as above, so below," both in heaven and on earth. According to St. John the Evangelist, Christian says, "For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: spirit, water, and blood; and the three are together. 1 John 5: 7,8"

The number four symbolizes the four cardinal directions of the world: North, East, South and West. Each of them is directed to one side of the world, identically on all four sides, symbolizing the universality of Masonic teachings and ideology.

Four seasons symbolize the eternal cycle of birth and death. Nothing material is transitory and perishable, but the system or cycle is eternal. Just as everything on earth dies, so everything is born again. Therefore, operative or material is perishable and spiritual or speculative is eternal.

The four elements (fire, water, air and earth)

The significance of the four elements originates from the origin of Freemasonry. As an organization that accepts members only by initiation into its mysteries, Freemasonry explains the esoteric nature of the world using four basic elements. Today, we know that ancient philosophers practiced this teaching and that it reached the pinnacle of knowledge with Aristotle, who was the most famous proponent of this idea.

Official scientific thought does not agree with the theory that everything appears from these four elements. For esoteric symbolism, teaching is still acceptable. The four elements were considered critical energy forces that supported life. Everything in the physical world has been observed to have four main qualities: hot, cold, dry and wet. The combination of hot and dry produces fire, hot and moist air, cold and dry earth, and cold and moist water.

Fire is considered the first element that appeared when the Universe was created. It is credited with transforming and purifying powers. For Heraclitus the Dark, the original element from which everything was made was fire: "This world-order, the same of all, no god nor man did create, but it ever was and is and will be: ever-living fire, kindling in measures and being quenched in measures." The element symbolizes energy, activity, creativity, passion, freedom, power, love, vision, anger, strength, will, reliability, courage and dynamism.

Water has the power to cleanse. It symbolizes dreaming, healing, flow, fluidity, purification, regeneration, stability, strength, change, fertility, devotion, acceptance and unconditional love. Thales of Miletus is the first known ancient philosopher to find water as the first primordial element from which everything is made. In his work Metaphysics, Aristotle unequivocally stated Thales' hypothesis about the nature of all matter, that the original principle of nature is one material substance: water. In many ancient mysteries, accepting new candidates for membership begins with purifying the candidate's body and soul. For the Eleusinian Mysteries to qualify for initiation, participants would sacrifice a pig to Demeter and Persephone, then ritually cleanse themselves on the banks of the Ilissos River. "As the Aspirant in the Ancient Mysteries was not permitted to pass through any of the forms of initiation, or to enter the sacred vestibule of the Temple, until he had been symbolically cleansed, by water or fire, of the corruption of the world which he was to leave behind" Encyclopedia of Freemasonry A.G. Mackey.

Air is associated with the breath of life and is credited with cleansing power. It symbolizes communication, intelligence, perception, knowledge, learning, thinking, imagination, creativity, harmony and travel. The first ancient philosopher who found air to be the precursor of all natural things was Anaximenes of Miletus. He believed that the air was infinite and divine. Anaximenes was the first to use Pneuma ("breath of life") as a synonym for air.

Earth is passive, feminine, firm, slow, physical, stable and grounded. It is usually associated with firmness, fertility and constancy. It is often associated with the physical body. Earth is the center of our experience.

Number five

From a Masonic point of view, this is a very important number. It symbolizes, among other things, the five pillars of architecture, the pentagram as a flaming star and the five points of mastery. The last one is the most important in our case because it represents the transition from one life (profane) to another (master freemason). Just as Grand Master Hiram Abif does not falter in the face of death threats and does not reveal a secret, so the four martyrs do not give up their moral strength in the face of death threats.

Number nine

We have four stonemasons, and they apprentice as operative representatives of Masonic philosophy to whom were added four soldiers who died with martyrs' deaths as speculative representatives. Together, the Christian world celebrates them as Four Crowned Martyrs even though nine martyrs are behind that name. That makes exciting symbolism where we divide the number nine into three parts. Four plus one plus four. The first four represent operative Freemasonry, the second one points to the initiation to become a member, and the last four indicate speculative members, which have nothing to do with the profession of stonemasons.

The number nine is the first square of odd numbers. One of the oldest Masonic written greetings 3x3 tells us how important it is for Freemasonry. I will end this text with that greeting.”

[1] Diocletian, (born 245 CE, Salonae?, Dalmatia [now Solin, Croatia]—died 316, Salonae), Roman emperor (284–305 CE) who restored efficient government to the empire after the near anarchy of the 3rd century. His reorganization of the fiscal, administrative, and military machinery of the empire laid the foundation for the Byzantine Empire in the East and temporarily shored up the decaying empire in the West. The last major persecution of Christians occurred during his reign. (Brittanica)

[2] A.G. Mackey Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, page 320.

[3]  A.G. MacKey Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, page 320

[4] A.G. Mackey Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, page 320.

[5] A.G. Mackey Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, page 320.

[6] A.G. Mackey Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, page 320.

[7] A.G. Mackey Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, page 320.

[8] A special type of whip that was used to punish slaves. From the handle came a dozen long leather whips that had small lead balls at the ends with metal hooks sticking out of them.

[9] A.G. Mackey Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, page 321.

[10]A.G. Mackey Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, page 321.

[11] Galerius Valerius Maximianus Roman emperor from 305 to 311. During his reign he campaigned, aided by Diocletian, against the Sasanian Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 299. He also campaigned across the Danube against the Carpi, defeating them in 297 and 300. Although he was a staunch opponent of Christianity, Galerius ended the Diocletianic Persecution when he issued the Edict of Toleration in Serdica (Sofia) in 311.

[12] Licinius, (died 325), Roman emperor from 308 to 324.

Born of Illyrian peasant stock, Licinius advanced in the army and was suddenly elevated to the rank of Augustus (November 308) by his friend Galerius, who had become emperor. Galerius hoped to have him rule the West, but since Italy, Africa, and Spain were held by the usurper Maxentius, while Constantine reigned in Gaul and Britain, Licinius had to content himself with ruling Pannonia. When Galerius died in 311, Licinius took over Galerius’ European dominions. He married Constantine’s half-sister Constantia (313) and in the same year defeated the Eastern emperor Maximinus at Tzurulum, east of Adrianople, Thrace, pursuing him into Asia, where Maximinus died. Licinius thus added the entire eastern half of the empire to his dominion.

After a brief accord between the two Augusti, Constantine forced Licinius to surrender the provinces of Pannonia and Moesia. There followed 10 years of uneasy peace in which Licinius built up his army and accumulated a huge reserve of treasure. In 324 Constantine defeated him at Adrianople and again at Chrysopolis (now Üsküdar, Tur.). Licinius surrendered, was exiled to Thessalonica, and was executed the next year on a charge of attempted rebellion.

During the campaign against Maximinus, Licinius had made his army use a monotheistic form of prayer closely resembling that later imposed by Constantine. On June 5, 313, he had issued an edict granting toleration to the Christians and restoring church property. Hence his contemporaries, the Latin writer Lactantius and Bishop Eusebius, hailed him as a convert. But he eventually became alienated from the Christians and about 320 initiated a mild form of persecution.

[13] Constantine I, (born February 27, after 280 CE?, Naissus, Moesia [now Niš, Serbia]—died May 22, 337, Ancyrona, near Nicomedia, Bithynia [now İzmit, Turkey]), first Roman emperor to profess Christianity. He not only initiated the evolution of the empire into a Christian state but also provided the impulse for a distinctively Christian culture that prepared the way for the growth of Byzantine and Western medieval culture.

[14]Plumbatae or martiobarbuli were lead-weighted darts carried by infantrymen in Antiquity and the Middle Ages.

[15] Breviarium Romanum i Breviarium Spirense

[16] It is the plural of the noun Gibli, the g pronounced hard, and means, according to the idiom of the Hebrew, Giblites, or inhabitants of the city of Gebal.

[17] And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house. King James Version

[18] Easton's Bible Dictionary “Gebalites”

(1 Kings 5:18 R.V., in A.V. incorrectly rendered, after the Targum, "stone-squarers," but marg. "Giblites"), the inhabitants of Gebal (2).

[19] No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:24 King James Version

[20] You shall have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Exodus 20: 3,4 King James Version