martyrum Scyllitanorum) while the references relating to the martyrs, the name of passio is applied, in all of its diverse form ( gesta, martyrium, legenda). Such a distinction is also justified by the different purpose and nature of both type of documents; the records are destitute of all hagiographic character, while the Passions are characterized by their purpose and edifying religious sense. Nonetheless, it is necessary to add that in the group of records is included some texts containing narrative parts alien to the verbal process, but of equal historical and documentary value (Acta-Passio SS. Perpetuae et Felicitatis, for example). In any case, the preserve records are small, of about a dozen fragments, so that most of the narrative texts about the martyrs are the Passions. The shortage of official records and direct documenting has been controversial. The old christian communities had a great interest in maintaining the memory of their martyrs, as it is proven by the news referenced in the story of martyrdom of Polycarp (m. 156), whose memory were venerated annually in Izmir. Cyprian use to recommend his clerics to take detailed note of the death of the martyrs; These valuable testimonies were also the oldest news about the cult of the martyrs. According to what is known to date, there is no precise idea of up to what degree christians use to transcribe the records of the processes; it is, undoubtedly, very likely that some of those who witnessed the development of stenography in their text, in the same manner as the notarius of the court, and they gave it to the community for preservation in the archives of the church. This hypothesis seems to be confirmed by the details and notes of the judge or the martyr and seem to interrupt the rigid protocol form. In the other hand, it did not prove easy for christian to obtain copies of the verbal processes that were saved in the proconsular archive, for which in occasion, large sums had to be paid.. No precedents have been preserved that allow us to know if the Church of Rome, which had organized a section of notaries, took the initiative of collecting the records of its martyrs, nor is the news that Julius Africanus did a similar task as far as Rome is concerned, trustworthy. The information about the other communities is still less certain. Anyhow, the shortage of this