இன்றைய புனிதர்கள் பெப்ரவரி 14

 St. Valentine

† இன்றைய புனிதர் †

(ஃபெப்ரவரி 14)

✠ புனிதர் வேலண்டைன் ✠

(St. Valentine)

ஆயர் மற்றும் மறைசாட்சி:

(Bishop and Martyr)

பிறப்பு: கி.பி. 176

டேர்னி (Terni)

இறப்பு: ஃபெப்ரவரி 14, 273

ரோம் (Rome)

ஏற்கும் சமயம்:

கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை

(Catholic Church)

கிழக்கு மரபுவழி திருச்சபை

(Eastern Orthodox Church)

ஆங்கிலிக்கன் ஒன்றியம்

(Anglican Communion)

லூதரனியம்

(Lutheranism)

நினைவுத் திருவிழா: ஃபெப்ரவரி 14

சித்தரிக்கப்படும் வகை:

பறவைகள்; ரோஜா மலர்கள்; முடக்குவாதம் அல்லது வலிப்பு வந்த ஒரு குழந்தையோடு; ஆயரின் தலை வெட்டப்படுவது போல; வாள் ஏந்திய குருவாக; சூரியனோடு; குருடரை குணமாக்குவது போல

பாதுகாவல்:

திருமண உறுதி, மயக்கம், தேனீ வளர்ப்பு, திருமணம், காதல், கொள்ளைநோய், வலிப்பு நோய், முடக்குவாதம்.

புனிதர் வேலண்டைன் என்பவர், மூன்றாம் நூற்றாண்டின் பரவலாக அறியப்படும் ரோம புனிதர் ஆவார். உலகின் பல நாடுகளில் இவரின் விழா நாளான ஃபெப்ரவரி 14ம் நாள், "வேலண்டைன் தினம்" என இவரின் பெயரால் அழைக்கப்பட்டு, காதலர்கள் மற்றும் காதலுக்கான நாளாகக் கொண்டாடப்படும் வழக்கம் நடுக்காலம் முதலே உண்டு.

இவரின் பெயர், மற்றும் இவர் ரோம் நகரின் வடக்கு பகுதியில் உள்ள ஃபிலாமினியாவில் ஃபெப்ரவரி 14ம் நாளன்று கொல்லப்பட்டார் என்பதையும் தவிர இவரைப்பற்றிய வேறெந்த தகவல்களுக்கும் நம்பத்தகுந்த சான்றுகள் இல்லை.

புனிதர் வேலண்டைன் என்று ஒரு புனிதரா, அல்லது அதே பெயரில் இரு புனிதர்கள் உள்ளனரா என்பதும் உறுதியற்றதாக உள்ளது. இவரின் வரலாற்றை எழுதிய பலர் தரும் தகவல்கள் நம்ப முடியாததாகவும் பின்னர் சேர்க்கப்பட்டவைகளாகவும் இருக்கலாம்.

இந்த காரணங்களுக்காக இவரின் விழா நாள் 1969ல் திருத்தப்பட்ட உலகளாவிய கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபையின் பொது நாள்காட்டியில் இடம்பெறவில்லை. ஆனாலும் "ஃபெப்ரவரி 14 அன்று ஃபிலாமினியாவில் வழியாக மில்வியான் பாலத்திற்கு அருகில் கொல்லப்பட்ட மறைசாட்சி வாலெண்டினுஸ்" என்னும் பட்டத்தில் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபையினால் தனித்திருச்சபைகளின் வணக்கத்திற்காய் அதிகாரப்பூர்வமாக அங்கீகரிக்கப்பட்ட புனிதர்களில் பட்டியலில் இவரின் பெயர் உள்ளது.

Feastday: February 14

Patron: of Love, Young People, Happy Marriages

Death: 269

Saint Valentine, officially known as Saint Valentine of Rome, is a third-century Roman saint widely celebrated on February 14 and commonly associated with "courtly love."

Although not much of St. Valentine's life is reliably known, and whether or not the stories involve two different saints by the same name is also not officially decided, it is highly agreed that St. Valentine was martyred and then buried on the Via Flaminia to the north of Rome.

In 1969, the Roman Catholic Church removed St. Valentine from the General Roman Calendar, because so little is known about him. However, the church still recognizes him as a saint, listing him in the February 14 spot of Roman Martyrolgy.

The legends attributed to the mysterious saint are as inconsistent as the actual identification of the man.

One common story about St. Valentine is that in one point of his life, as the former Bishop of Terni, Narnia and Amelia, he was on house arrest with Judge Asterius. While discussing religion and faith with the Judge, Valentine pledged the validity of Jesus. The judge immediately put Valentine and his faith to the test.

St. Valentine was presented with the judge's blind daughter and told to restore her sight. If he succeeded, the judge vowed to do anything for Valentine. Placing his hands onto her eyes, Valentine restored the child's vision.

Judge Asterius was humbled and obeyed Valentine's requests. Asterius broke all the idols around his house, fasted for three days and became baptized, along with his family and entire 44 member household. The now faithful judge then freed all of his Christian inmates.

St. Valentine was later arrested again for continuing to try to convert people to Christianity. He was sent to Rome under the emperor Claudius Gothicus (Claudius II). According to the popular hagiographical identity, and what is believed to be the first representation of St. Valentine, the Nuremberg Chronicle, St. Valentine was a Roman priest martyred during Claudius' reign. The story tells that St. Valentine was imprisoned for marrying Christian couples and aiding Christians being persecuted by Claudius in Rome. Both acts were considered serious crimes. A relationship between the saint and emperor began to grow, until Valentine attempted to convince Claudius of Christianity. Claudius became raged and sentenced Valentine to death, commanding him to renounce his faith or be beaten with clubs and beheaded.

St. Valentine refused to renounce his faith and Christianity and was executed outside the Flaminian Gate on February 14, 269. However, other tales of St. Valentine's life claim he was executed either in the year 269, 270, 273 or 280. Other depictions of St. Valentine's arrests tell that he secretly married couples so husbands wouldn't have to go to war. Another variation of the legend of St. Valentine says he refused to sacrifice to pagan gods, was imprisoned and while imprisoned he healed the jailer's blind daughter. On the day of his execution, he left the girl a note signed, "Your Valentine."

Pope Julius I is said to have built a church near Ponte Mole in his memory, which for a long time gave name to the gate now called Porta del Popolo, formerly, Porta Valetini.

The romantic nature of Valentine's Day may have derived during the Middle Ages, when it was believed that birds paired couples in mid-February. According to English 18th-century antiquarians Alban Butler and Francis Douce, Valentine's Day was most likely created to overpower the pagan holiday, Lupercalia.

Although the exact origin of the holiday is not widely agreed upon, it is widely recognized as a day for love, devotion and romance.

Whoever he was, Valentine did really exist, because archaeologists have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to St. Valentine. In 496 AD Pope Gelasius marked February 14th as a celebration in honor of his martyrdom.

Relics of St. Valentine can be found all over the world. A flower-crowned skull of St. Valentine can be found in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome. In 1836, other relics were exhumed from the catacombs of Saint Hippolytus on the Via Tiburtina and were identified as Valentine's. These were transported for a special Mass dedicated to those young and in love.

Fr. John Spratt received a gift from Pope Gregory XVI in 1836 contianing a "small vessel tinged" with St. Valentine's blood. This gift now stands placed in Whitefriar Street Church in Dublin, Ireland.

Other alleged relics were found in Prague in the Church of St Peter and Paul at Vysehrad; in the parish church of St. Mary's Assumption in Chelmno Poland; at the reliquary of Roquemaure in France; in the Stephansdom in Vienna; in Balzan in Malta and also in Blessed John Duns Scotus' church in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, Scotland.

St. Valentine is the Patron Saint of affianced couples, bee keepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travellers, and young people. He is represented in pictures with birds and roses and his feast day is celebrated on February 14.

Not to be confused with Valentinus (Gnostic) or Valentine of Passau.

For the holiday, see Valentine's Day. For the Canadian city, see Saint-Valentin, Quebec.

For other uses of "San Valentino", see San Valentino (disambiguation).

Saint Valentine (Italian: San Valentino, Latin: Valentinus) known as Saint Valentine of Rome was a widely recognized 3rd-century Roman saint, commemorated in Christianity on February 14. From the High Middle Ages his Saints' Day has been associated with a tradition of courtly love. He is also a patron saint of epilepsy.[2]

Saint Valentine was a clergyman – either a priest or a bishop – in the Roman Empire who ministered to persecuted Christians.[3] He was martyred and his body buried at a Christian cemetery on the Via Flaminia close to the Ponte Milvio to the north of Rome, on February 14, which has been observed as the Feast of Saint Valentine (Saint Valentine's Day) since 496 AD.

Relics of him were kept in the Church and Catacombs of San Valentino in Rome, which "remained an important pilgrim site throughout the Middle Ages until the relics of St. Valentine were transferred to the church of Santa Prassede during the pontificate of Nicholas IV".[4] His skull, crowned with flowers, is exhibited in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome; other relics of him were taken to Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland, where they remain; this house of worship continues to be a popular place of pilgrimage, especially on Saint Valentine's Day, for those seeking love.[5][6] For Saint Valentine of Rome, along with Saint Valentine of Terni, "abstracts of the acts of the two saints were in nearly every church and monastery of Europe", according to Professor Jack B. Oruch of the University of Kansas.[7]

Saint Valentine is commemorated in the Anglican Communion[8] and the Lutheran Churches on February 14.[9] In the Eastern Orthodox Church, he is recognized on July 6; in addition, the Eastern Orthodox Church observes the feast of Hieromartyr Valentine, Bishop of Interamna, on July 30.[10][11] In 1969, the Roman Catholic Church removed his name from the General Roman Calendar, leaving his liturgical celebration to local calendars, though use of the pre-1970 liturgical calendar is also authorized under the conditions indicated in the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum of 2007.[12] The Roman Catholic Church continues to recognize him as a saint, listing him as such in the February 14 entry in the Roman Martyrology,[13] and authorizing liturgical veneration of him on February 14 in any place where that day is not devoted to some other obligatory celebration, in accordance with the rule that on such a day the Mass may be that of any saint listed in the Martyrology for that day.[14]

Identification

Saint Valentine doesn't occur in the earliest list of Roman martyrs, the Chronography of 354, although the patron of the Chronography's compilation was a wealthy Roman Christian named Valentinus.[15] However, it is found in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum,[16] which was compiled between 460 and 544 from earlier local sources. The feast of St. Valentine of February 14 was first established in 496 by Pope Gelasius I, who included Valentine among all those "... whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God."

The Catholic Encyclopedia[17] and other hagiographical sources[18] speak of three Saints Valentine that appear in connection with February 14. One was a Roman priest, another the bishop of Interamna (modern Terni, Italy) both buried along the Via Flaminia outside Rome, at different distances from the city. The third was said to be a saint who suffered on the same day with a number of companions in the Roman province of Africa, of whom nothing else is known.

Though the extant accounts of the martyrdoms of the first two listed saints are of a late date and contain legendary elements, a common nucleus of fact may underlie the two accounts and they may refer to a single person.[19] According to the official biography of the Diocese of Terni, Bishop Valentine was born and lived in Interamna and while on a temporary stay in Rome he was imprisoned, tortured, and martyred there on February 14, 269. His body was hastily buried at a nearby cemetery and a few nights later his disciples retrieved his body and returned him home.[20]

The Roman Martyrology, the Catholic Church's official list of recognized saints, for February 14 gives only one Saint Valentine: a martyr who died on the Via Flaminia.[21]

The name "Valentine" derived from valens (worthy, strong, powerful), was popular in Late Antiquity. About eleven other saints having the name Valentine are commemorated in the Roman Catholic Church.[22] Some Eastern Churches of the Western rite may provide still other different lists of Saint Valentines.[23] The Roman martyrology lists only seven who died on days other than February 14: a priest from Viterbo (November 3); Valentine of Passau, papal missionary bishop to Raetia, among first patrons of Passau, and later hermit in Zenoburg, near Mais, South Tyrol, Italy, where he died in 475 (January 7); a 5th-century priest and hermit (July 4); a Spanish hermit who died in about 715 (October 25); Valentine Berrio Ochoa, martyred in 1861 (November 24); and Valentine Jaunzarás Gómez, martyred in 1936 (September 18). It also lists a virgin, Saint Valentina, who was martyred in 308 (July 25) in Caesarea, Palestine.[24]

Hagiography and testimony

Saint Valentine of Terni oversees the construction of his basilica at Terni, from a 14th-century French manuscript (BN, Mss fr. 185)

The inconsistency in the identification of the saint is replicated in the various vitae that are ascribed to him.

A common hagiography describes Saint Valentine as a priest of Rome or as the former Bishop of Terni, an important town of Umbria, in central Italy. While under house arrest of Judge Asterius, and discussing his faith with him, Valentinus (the Latin version of his name) was discussing the validity of Jesus. The judge put Valentinus to the test and brought to him the judge's adopted blind daughter. If Valentinus succeeded in restoring the girl's sight, Asterius would do whatever he asked. Valentinus, praying to God, laid his hands on her eyes and the child's vision was restored.[25] Immediately humbled, the judge asked Valentinus what he should do. Valentinus replied that all of the idols around the judge's house should be broken, and that the judge should fast for three days and then undergo the Christian sacrament of baptism. The judge obeyed and, as a result of his fasting and prayer, freed all the Christian inmates under his authority. The judge, his family, and his forty-four member household of adult family members and servants were baptized.[26] Valentinus was later arrested again for continuing to evangelize and was sent to the prefect of Rome, to the emperor Claudius Gothicus (Claudius II) himself. Claudius took a liking to him until Valentinus tried to convince Claudius to embrace Christianity, whereupon Claudius refused and condemned Valentinus to death, commanding that Valentinus either renounce his faith or he would be beaten with clubs and beheaded. Valentinus refused and Claudius' command was executed outside the Flaminian Gate February 14, 269.[27]

Saint Valentine is said to have ministered to the faithful amidst the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire.[3]

An embellishment to this account states that before his execution, Saint Valentine wrote a note to Asterius's daughter signed "from your Valentine", which is said to have "inspired today's romantic missives".[28]

The Legenda Aurea of Jacobus de Voragine, compiled about 1260 and one of the most-read books of the High Middle Ages, gives sufficient details of the saints for each day of the liturgical year to inspire a homily on each occasion. The very brief vita of St Valentine states that he was executed for refusing to deny Christ by the order of the "Emperor Claudius"[29] in the year 269. Before his head was cut off, this Valentine restored sight and hearing to the daughter of his jailer. Jacobus makes a play with the etymology of "Valentine", "as containing valor".

A popularly ascribed hagiographical identity appears in the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493). Alongside a woodcut portrait of Valentine, the text states that he was a Roman priest martyred during the reign of Claudius Gothicus. He was arrested and imprisoned upon being caught marrying Christian couples and otherwise aiding Christians who were at the time being persecuted by Claudius in Rome. Helping Christians at this time was considered a crime. Claudius took a liking to this prisoner. However, when Valentinus tried to convert the Emperor, he was condemned to death. He was beaten with clubs and stones; when that failed to kill him, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate. Various dates are given for the martyrdom or martyrdoms: 269, 270, or 273.[30]

There are many other legends behind Saint Valentine. One is that in the 3rd century AD[citation needed] it is said that Valentine, who was a priest, defied the order of the emperor Claudius and secretly performed Christian weddings for couples, allowing the husbands involved to escape conscription into the pagan army. This legend claims that soldiers were sparse at this time so this was a big inconvenience to the emperor.[31] The account mentions that in order "to remind these men of their vows and God’s love, Saint Valentine is said to have cut hearts from parchment", giving them to these persecuted Christians, a possible origin of the widespread use of hearts on St. Valentine's Day.[32]

Another legend is that Valentine refused to sacrifice to pagan gods. Being imprisoned for this, Valentine gave his testimony in prison and through his prayers healed the jailer's daughter who was suffering from blindness. On the day of his execution, he left her a note that was signed, "Your Valentine".[28]

Churches named after Saint Valentine

St Valentine Kneeling in Supplication (David Teniers III, 1600s) – Valentine kneels to receive a rosary from the Virgin Mary

There are many churches dedicated to Saint Valentine in countries such as Italy. Saint Valentine was venerated no more than other Christian martyrs and saints.[33]

A 5th- or 6th-century work called Passio Marii et Marthae made up a legend about Saint Valentine's Basilica being dedicated to Saint Valentine in Rome. A later Passio repeated the legend and added the adornment that Pope Julius I (357–352) had built the ancient basilica S. Valentini extra Portam on top of his sepulchre, in the Via Flaminia.[34] This church was really named after a 4th-century tribune called Valentino, who donated the land on which it is built.[34] It hosted the martyr's relics until the 13th century, when they were transferred to Santa Prassede, and the ancient basilica decayed.[35]

Saint Valentine's Church in Rome, built in 1960 for the needs of the Olympic Village, continues as a modern, well-visited parish church.

Saint Valentine's Day

Main article: Saint Valentine's Day

Saint Valentine of Rome was martyred on February 14 in AD 269.[36] The Feast of Saint Valentine, also known as Saint Valentine's Day, was established by Pope Gelasius I in AD 496 to be celebrated on February 14 in honour of the Christian martyr.[37]

Shrine of Saint Valentine in Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland

February 14 is Saint Valentine's Day in the Lutheran calendar of saints.[9] The Church of England had him in its pre-Reformation calendars, and restored his mention as bishop and martyr in its 1661–62 Book of Common Prayer, and most provinces of the Anglican Communion celebrate his feast.[38][39] The Roman Catholic Church includes him in its official list of saints, the Roman Martyrology. He was also in the General Roman Calendar for celebration as a simple feast until 1955, when Pope Pius XII reduced all such feasts to just a commemoration within another celebration. The 1969 revision of the General Roman Calendar removed even this mention leaving it for inclusion only in local calendars such as that of Balzan, Malta. His commemoration was still in the 1962 Roman Missal and is thus observed also by those who, in the circumstances indicated in Pope Benedict XVI's 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, use that edition.

July 6 is the date on which the Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates the Roman presbyter Valentine; on July 30 it observes the feast of the hieromartyr Valentine, Bishop of Interamna.[10][11] Members of the Greek Orthodox Church named Valentinos (male) or Valentina (female) may observe their name day on the Western ecclesiastical calendar date of February 14.[40]

English 18th-century antiquarians Alban Butler and Francis Douce, noting the obscurity of Saint Valentine's identity, suggested that Saint Valentine's Day was created as an attempt to supersede the pagan holiday of Lupercalia (mid-February in Rome). This idea has lately been dismissed by academics and researchers, such as Professor Jack B. Oruch of the University of Kansas, Henry Ansgar Kelly of the University of California, Los Angeles[41] and Associate Professor Michael Matthew Kaylor of the Masaryk University.[42] Many of the current legends that characterize Saint Valentine were invented in the 14th century in England, notably by Geoffrey Chaucer and his circle, when the feast day of February 14 first became associated with romantic love.[43]

Oruch charges that the traditions associated with "Valentine's Day", documented in Geoffrey Chaucer's Parlement of Foules and set in the fictional context of an old tradition, did not exist before Chaucer.[44] He argues that the speculative explanation of sentimental customs, posing as historical fact, had their origins among 18th-century antiquaries, notably Alban Butler, the author of Butler's Lives of Saints, and have been perpetuated even by respectable modern scholars. In the French 14th-century manuscript illumination from a Vies des Saints (illustration above), Saint Valentine, bishop of Terni, oversees the construction of his basilica at Terni; there is no suggestion here that the bishop was a patron of lovers.[45]

During the Middle Ages, it was believed that birds paired in mid-February. This was then associated with the romance of Valentine. Although these legends differ, Valentine's Day is widely recognized as a day for romance and devotion.

Associated Christian relics

Relic of Saint Valentine in the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome

The flower-crowned alleged skull of St. Valentine is exhibited in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome.

St. Valentine's remains are deposited in St Anton's Church, Madrid, where they have lain since the late 1700s. They were a present from the Pope to King Carlos IV, who entrusted them to the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools (Piarists). The relics have been displayed publicly since 1984, in a foundation open to the public at all times in order to help people in need.

Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church, Dublin, also houses some relics of St Valentine. On 27 December 1835 the Very Reverend Father John Spratt, Master of Sacred Theology to the Carmelite order in Dublin, was sent the partial remains of St Valentine by Cardinal Carlo Odescalchi, under the auspices of Pope Gregory XVI. The relics and the accompanying letter from Cardinal Odescalchi have remained in the church ever since.[46] The remains, which include "a small vessel tinged with his blood", were sent as a token of esteem following an eloquent sermon Fr Spratt had delivered in Rome.[47] On Saint Valentine's Day in Ireland, many individuals who seek true love make a Christian pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. Valentine in Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, which is said to house relics of Saint Valentine of Rome; they pray at the shrine in hope of finding romance.[48] There lies a book in which foreigners and locals have written their prayer requests for love.[5]

Another relic was found in 2003 in Prague in Church of St Peter and Paul at Vyšehrad.[49]

A silver reliquary containing a fragment of St. Valentine's skull is found in the parish church of St. Mary's Assumption in Chełmno, Poland.[50][51]

Relics can also be found in Mytilene on the Greek island of Lesbos.[52]

Another set of relics can also be found in Savona, in the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta.[53]

Alleged relics of St. Valentine also lie at the reliquary of Roquemaure, Gard, France, in the St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna, in Balzan in Malta and also in Blessed John Duns Scotus' church in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, Scotland. There is also a gold reliquary bearing the words "Corpus St. Valentin, M" (Body of St. Valentine, Martyr) at Birmingham Oratory, UK, in one of the side altars in the main church

Sts. Cyril and Methodius

† இன்றைய புனிதர் †

(ஃபெப்ரவரி 14)

✠ புனிதர்கள் சிரில் மற்றும் மெதோடியஸ் ✠

(Saints Cyril and Methodius)

ஆயர்கள்/ ஒப்புரவாளர்கள்

(Bishops/ Confessors)

அப்போஸ்தலர்களுக்கு நிகரானவர்கள்

(Equals to the Apostles)

ஐரோப்பா மற்றும் அடிமைகளின் பாதுகாவலர்கள்

(Apostles to the Slaves and Europe)

பிறப்பு:

சிரில்: கி.பி. 826 அல்லது 827

மெதோடியஸ்: கி.பி. 815

தெசலோனிக்கா, பைஸான்தீனிய பேரரசு (தற்போதைய கிரேக்க நாடு)

(Thessalonica, Byzantine Empire (Present-day Greece)

இறப்பு:

சிரில்: ஃபெப்ரவரி 14, 869

ரோம் (Rome)

மெதோடியஸ்: ஏப்ரல் 6, 885

வெலெராட், மொராவியா

(Velehrad, Moravia)

ஏற்கும் சமயம்:

ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை

(Roman Catholic Church)

மரபுவழி திருச்சபை

(Orthodox Church)

ஆங்கிலிக்கன் சமூகம்

(Anglican Communion)

லூதரன் திருச்சபை

(Lutheran Church)

நினைவுத் திருநாள்: ஃபெப்ரவரி 14

பாதுகாவல்:

ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க மற்றும் மரபுவழி திருச்சபைகளுக்கிடையேயான ஒற்றுமை

(Unity between Orthodox and Roman Catholics),

ஐரோப்பா (Europe),

பல்கேரியா (Bulgaria),

“மசெடோனியா” குடியரசு (Republic of Macedonia),

"செக்" குடியரசு (Czech Republic),

"ஸ்லோவேகியா" (Slovakia),

"ல்ஜூப்ல்ஜனா" உயர்மறை மாவட்டம்

(Archdiocese of Ljubljana)

புனிதர்கள் சிரில் மற்றும் மெதோடியஸ் ஆகிய இரு சகோதரர்களும் "பைஸன்டைன்" (Byzantine) நாட்டின் கிறிஸ்தவ இறையியலாளர்களும், மறை பரப்பாளர்களுமாவர். அவர்களின் நற்பணிகள் மூலம், அனைத்து அடிமைகளின் கலாச்சார வளர்ச்சியிலும் மேம்பாடு பெற்றனர். இதன் காரணமாகவே, இவர்களிருவரும், "அடிமைகளின்அப்போஸ்தலர்" என்று போற்றப்பட்டனர்.

தற்போதைய கிரேக்க நாடான "பைஸன்டைன்" (Byzantine) நாட்டில் பிறந்த இவர்களிருவரினதும் தந்தை பெயர் "லியோ" (Leo) ஆகும். "மரியா" (Maria) இவர்களது தாயார் ஆவார். லியோ மற்றும் மரியாவுக்கு பிறந்த ஏழு குழந்தைகளில் சிரில் கடைக்குட்டி ஆவார். சிரிலின் இயற்பெயர் "காண்ஸ்டன்டைன்" (Constantine) ஆகும். இவர் தமது மரணத்தின் சிறிது காலத்தின் முன்னே ரோம் நகரில் துறவறம் பெற்றபோது, சிரில் என்னும் மதப் பெயரை ஏற்றுக்கொண்டார்.

"மைக்கேல்" (Michael) எனும் இயற்பெயர் கொண்ட மெதோடியஸ், துருக்கி நாட்டின் வடமேற்கு பிராந்தியத்திலுள்ள "மைசியன் ஒலிம்பஸ்" (Mysian Olympus) என்னுமிடத்தில் துறவறம் பெற்றபோது, தமது மதப் பெயராக "மெதோடியஸ்" எனும் பெயரை ஏற்றுக்கொண்டார்.

சிரிலுக்கு பதினான்கு வயது நடக்கையில் அவர்களது தந்தையார் மரணமடைந்தார். அந்நிலையில், பேரரசின் முதலமைச்சர்களுள் ஒருவராயிருந்த "தியோக்டிஸ்டோஸ்" (Theoktistos) என்பவர் அவர்களின் பாதுகாவலரானார். அவரே அவர்களது கல்விக்கும் உதவி புரிந்தார். இவர்கள் இருவரும் சிறப்பான முறையில் கல்வியைப் பூர்த்தி செய்தனர். சிரில், தமக்கு கிடைத்த ஆளுநர் பதவியை புறக்கணித்தார். ஆனால் அதே வேளையில் அவரது சகோதரரான மெதோடியஸ் "ஸ்லாவிக்" (Slavic) மொழி பேசும் மக்கள் வசிக்கும் பிராந்தியத்தில் அப்பதவியை ஏற்றுக்கொண்டார்.

சிரில், ஒரு துறவு மடத்தில் இணைந்தார். அவரது சகோதரர் மெதோடியஸ், சிறிது காலம் அரசு பதவியில் பணியாற்றிய பிறகு துறவு மடத்தில் இணைந்தார்.

"மொராவியா" (Duke of Moravia) பிராந்திய பிரபு, கிழக்குப் பிராந்திய பேரரசன் மைக்கேலிடம் (Eastern Emperor Michael) ஜெர்மன் ஆட்சியாளர்களிடமிருந்து அரசியல் சுதந்திரமும் திருச்சபை சுயாட்சியும் (Ecclesiastical Autonomy) கேட்டபொழுது, சிரில் மற்றும் மெதோடியஸ் ஆகிய இருவரின் வாழ்வில் திட்டவட்டமான மாற்றம் உண்டாகியது. அவர்கள் மறைப் பணியை ஏற்றுக்கொண்டனர்.

சிரிலுடைய முதல் பணி, கிழக்கு விதிமுறைகள் அமலிலிருந்த அப்பிராந்தியத்தில் ஒரு புதிய எழுத்துக்களை கண்டுபிடித்தலாயிருந்தது. பின்னர், அவருடைய சீடர்கள் சிரில்லிக் எழுத்துக்களை (Cyrillic alphabet) உருவாக்கினர். அவர்கள் சுவிசேஷங்கள், துதிப்பாடல், பவுல் எழுதிய கடிதங்கள் மற்றும் வழிபாட்டு புத்தகங்கள் ஆகியனவற்றை இணைந்து "ஸ்லாவோனிக்" (Slavonic) மொழியில் மொழிமாற்றம் செய்தனர். ஸ்லாவோனிக் வழிபாட்டு முறையையும் உருவாக்கினர். மிகவும் சரளமாக அவர்கள் பிரசங்கித்த முறையானது, ஜெர்மன் மதத்தவரிடையே எதிர்ப்பை உருவாக்கித் தந்தது. அப்போதைய ஜெர்மன் ஆயர், ஸ்லாவிக் ஆயர்களையும் குருக்களையும் (Slavic bishops and priests) அருட்பொழிவு செய்ய மறுத்தார்.

இதன் காரணமாக சிரில் ரோமுக்கு மேல்முறையீடு செய்தார். ரோம் நகருக்கு பயணித்த சிரிலும், மெதோடியஸும் 'திருத்தந்தை இரண்டாம் அட்ரியான்' (Pope Adrian II) தமது புதிய கண்டுபிடிப்பான "சிரில்லிக் எழுத்துக்களை" (Cyrillic alphabet) அங்கீகரித்தது கண்டு அகமகிழ்ந்தனர். ரோம் நகரில் துறவறம் பூண்ட சிரில், நீண்ட காலம் வாழ இயலாமல் ஐம்பதே நாட்களில் மரணமடைந்தார்.

மெதோடியஸ் தமது மறை பணிகளை மேலும் பதினாறு வருடங்களுக்கு தொடர்ந்தார். அவர் ஸ்லாவிக் மக்களுக்கு திருத்தந்தையின் பிரதிநிதியாக செயல்பட்டார். புதிய ஆயர் ஒருவரை அருட்பொழிவு செய்தார்.

"பவேரியன் ஆயர்கள்" (Bavarian bishops) பலரது முன்னாள் அதிகார வரம்பிலிருந்த பகுதிகள் நீக்கப்பட்டதால், அவர்கள் மெதோடியஸுக்கு எதிராக பல குற்றச்சாட்டுப் புயலைக் கிளப்பினர். இதன் பயனாக, ஜெர்மன் பேரரசன் லூயிஸ் (Emperor Louis the German) மெதோடியசை மூன்று ஆண்டுகளுக்கு நாடு கடத்தினான். திருத்தந்தை எட்டாம் ஜான் (Pope John VIII) அவரை விடுவித்தார்.

ஃபிராங்கிஷ் (Frankish) மொழி பேசும் குருக்களின் தொடர்ந்த தொந்தரவு, வெந்த புண்ணில் வேல் பாய்ச்சியது போன்று இருந்தது. அவர்கள் தொடர்ந்து மெதோடியஸின் மேலே மதங்களுக்கு எதிரான குற்றச்சாட்டுக்களை சுமத்தினர். தம்மைக் காத்துக்கொள்ளவும், தமது கண்டுபிடிப்பான ஸ்லாவோனிக் வழிபாட்டு முறையின் பயன்பாட்டினை நிலைநிறுத்தவும், மெதோடியஸ் ரோம் நகர் பயணித்தார். மீண்டும் தம்மை அவர் நிரூபித்தார்.

அதன்பின்னர், மெதோடியஸ் ஜுர வேகத்தில், எட்டே மாத காலத்தில் மொத்த திருவிவிலியத்தையும் "ஸ்லாவோனிக்" (Slavonic) மொழியில் மொழிபெயர்த்தார். கி.பி. 885ம் ஆண்டின் தவக்காலமான ஏப்ரல் மாதம், புனித செவ்வாய்க்கிழமையன்று (6ம் தேதி), தமது தேவாலயத்திலேயே மெதோடியஸ் மரணமடைந்தார். அவர் மரிக்கும்போது அவரது சீடர்கள் அவரைச் சுற்றியிருந்தனர்.

மெதோடியஸின் மரணத்தின் பின்னரும் அவரது எதிர்ப்பாளர்கள் தொடர்ந்து எதிர்த்தே வந்தனர். சிரில் மற்றும் மெதோடியஸ் சகோதரர்களின் பணி "மொராவியா" (Moravia) நாட்டில் முடிவுக்கு வந்தது. அவர்களது சீடர்கள் சிதறிப்போயினர். ஆனால் இந்த வெளியேற்றங்கள் சிரில் - மெதோடியஸ் சகோதரர்களின் ஆன்மீக, வழிப்பாட்டு, மற்றும் கலாச்சார பணிகளை "பல்கேரியா", "போஹெமியா" மற்றும் "தென் போலந்து" (Bulgaria, Bohemia and Southern Poland) ஆகிய நாடுகளில் பரப்புவதில் சாதகமான விளைவைத் தந்தன. "மொராவியா" (Moravia) நாட்டின் பாதுகாவலர்களான இவர்கள் விசேடமாக, "செக்" மற்றும் ஸ்லோவாக்" கத்தொலிக்கராலும் (Catholic Czechs, Slovaks), "குரோஷியர்களாலும்" (Croatians), "செர்பிய" மற்றும் "பல்கேரிய" (Orthodox Serbians and Bulgarians) மரபுவழி திருச்சபையினராலும் புனிதராக ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளப்பட்டனர். சிரில் - மெதோடியஸ் சகோதரர்கள் நீண்ட கால விருப்பமான "கிழக்கு மற்றும் மேற்கு" திருச்சபைகளின் ஒன்றிப்பிற்காக சிறப்பாக பணியாற்றியிருந்தனர்.

கி.பி. 1980ம் ஆண்டு, திருத்தந்தை இரண்டாம் ஜான் பால் (Pope John Paul II) இச்சகோதரர்களை ஐரோப்பிய நாடுகளின் (புனிதர் பெனடிக்டுடன்) இணை பாதுகாவலர்களாக நியமித்தார்.

Feastday: February 14

Cyril and Methodius must have often wondered, as we do today, how God could bring spiritual meaning out of worldly concerns. Every mission they went on, every struggle they fought was a result of political battles, not spiritual, and yet the political battles are forgotten and their work lives on in the Slavic peoples and their literature.

Tradition tells us that the brothers Methodius and Constantine (he did not take the name Cyril until just before his death) grew up in Thessalonica as sons of a prominent Christian family. Because many Slavic people settled in Thessalonica, it is assumed Constantine and Methodius were familiar with the Slavic language. Methodius, the older of the two brothers, became an important civil official who would have needed to know Slavonic. He grew tired of worldly affairs and retired to a monastery. Constantine became a scholar and a professor known as "the Philosopher" in Constantinople. In 860 Constantine and Methodius went as missionaries to what is today the Ukraine.

When the Byzantine emperor decided to honor a request for missionaries by the Moravian prince Rastislav, Methodius and Constantine were the natural choices; they knew the language, they were able administrators, and had already proven themselves successful missionaries.

But there was far more behind this request and the response than a desire for Christianity. Rastislav, like the rest of the Slav princes, was struggling for independence from German influence and invasion. Christian missionaries from the East, to replace missionaries from Germany, would help Rastislav consolidate power in his own country, especially if they spoke the Slavonic language.

Constantine and Methodius were dedicated to the ideal of expression in a people's native language. Throughout their lives they would battle against those who saw value only in Greek or Latin. Before they even left on their mission, tradition says, Constantine constructed a script for Slavonic -- a script that is known today as glagolithic. Glagolithic is considered by some as the precursor of cyrillic which named after him.

Arriving in 863 in Moravia, Constantine began translating the liturgy into Slavonic. In the East, it was a normal procedure to translate liturgy into the vernacular. As we know, in the West the custom was to use Greek and later Latin, until Vatican II. The German hierarchy, which had power over Moravia, used this difference to combat the brothers' influence. The German priests didn't like losing their control and knew that language has a great deal to do with independence.

So when Constantine and Methodius went to Rome to have the Slav priesthood candidates ordained (neither was a bishop at the time), they had to face the criticism the Germans had leveled against them. But if the Germans had motives that differed from spiritual concerns, so did the pope. He was concerned about the Eastern church gaining too much influence in the Slavic provinces. Helping Constantine and Methodius would give the Roman Catholic church more power in the area. So after speaking the brothers, the pope approved the use of Slavonic in services and ordained their pupils.

Constantine never returned to Moravia. He died in Rome after assuming the monastic robes and the name Cyril on February 14, 1869. Legend tells us that his older brother was so griefstricken, and perhaps upset by the political turmoil, that he intended to withdraw to a monastery in Constantinople. Cyril's dying wish, however, was that Methodius return to the missionary work they had begun.

He couldn't return to Moravia because of political problems there, but another Slavic prince, Kocel, asked for him, having admired the brothers' work in translating so much text into Slavonic. Methodius was allowed by the pope to continue saying Mass and administering baptism in the Slavonic tongue. Methodius was finally consecrated bishop, once again because of politics -- Kocel knew that having a Slavonic bishop would destroy the power of the Salzburg hierarchy over his land. Methodius became bishop of Sirmium, an ancient see near Belgrade and given power over Serbo-Croatian, Slovene, and Moravian territory.

The German bishops accused him of infringing on their power and imprisoned him in a monastery. This lasted until Germany suffered military defeats in Moravia. At that time the pope intervened and Methodius returned to his diocese in triumph at the same time the Germans were forced to recognize Moravian independence. There was a loss involved -- to appease the Germans a little, the pope told Methodius he could no longer celebrate liturgy in the vernacular.

In 879 Methodius was summoned to Rome to answer German charges he had not obeyed this restriction. This worked against the Germans because it gave Methodius a chance to explain how important it was to celebrate the liturgy in the tongue people understood. Instead of condemning him, the pope gave him permission to use Slavonic in the Mass, in Scripture reading, and in the office. He also made him head of the hierarchy in Moravia.

The criticism never went away, but it never stopped Methodius either. It is said that he translated almost all the Bible and the works of the Fathers of the Church into Slavonic before he died on April 6 in 884.

Within twenty years after his death, it would seem like all the work of Cyril and Methodius was destroyed. Magyar invasions devastated Moravia. And without the brothers to explain their position, use of the vernacular in liturgy was banned. But politics could never prevail over God's will. The disciples of Cyril and Methodius who were driven out of Moravia didn't hide in a locked room. The invasion and the ban gave them a chance to go to other Slavic countries. The brothers' work of spreading Christ's word and translating it into Slavonic continued and laid the foundation for Christianity in the region.

What began as a request guided by political concerns produced two of the greatest Christian missionaries, revered by both Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, and two of the fathers of Slavonic literary culture.

In Their Footsteps:

Cyril and Methodius believed in the importance of celebrating liturgy in our own language, a privilege we have only had in last twenty years. If this change took place before your time, ask older Catholics about the differences that have taken place in their worship because of this change. If you were worshipping during the change, reflect on how celebrating in the vernacular has helped your worship and your spiritual life.

Prayer:

Saints Cyril and Methodius, watch over all missionaries but especially those in Slavic countries. Help those that are in danger in the troubled areas. Watch over the people you dedicated your lives to. Amen

For other uses, see Saints Cyril and Methodius (disambiguation).

Cyril (born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (815–885) were two brothers and Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the "Apostles to the Slavs".[6]

They are credited with devising the Glagolitic alphabet, the first alphabet used to transcribe Old Church Slavonic.[7] After their deaths, their pupils continued their missionary work among other Slavs. Both brothers are venerated in the Orthodox Church as saints with the title of "equal-to-apostles". In 1880, Pope Leo XIII introduced their feast into the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1980, Pope John Paul II declared them co-patron saints of Europe, together with Benedict of Nursia.[8]

Early career

Early life

The two brothers were born in Thessalonica (located in present-day Greece) – Cyril in about 827–828 and Methodius about 815–820. Cyril was reputedly the youngest of seven brothers; he was born Constantine,[9] but was given the name Cyril upon becoming a monk in Rome shortly before his death,[10][11][12] according to the Vita Cyrilli ("The Life of Cyril"). Methodius was born Michael and was given the name Methodius upon becoming a monk at Mysian Olympus (present-day Uludağ), in northwest Turkey.[13] Their father was Leo, a droungarios of the Byzantine theme of Thessalonica, and their mother was Maria.

The exact ethnic origins of the brothers are unknown, there is controversy as to whether Cyril and Methodius were of Slavic[14] or Byzantine Greek[15] origin, or both.[16] The two brothers lost their father when Cyril was fourteen, and the powerful minister Theoktistos, who was logothetes tou dromou, one of the chief ministers of the Empire, became their protector. He was also responsible, along with the regent Bardas, for initiating a far-reaching educational program within the Empire which culminated in the establishment of the University of Magnaura, where Cyril was to teach. Cyril was ordained as priest some time after his education, while his brother Methodius remained a deacon until 867/868.[17]

Mission to the Khazars

About the year 860, Byzantine Emperor Michael III and the Patriarch of Constantinople Photius (a professor of Cyril's at the University and his guiding light in earlier years), sent Cyril on a missionary expedition to the Khazars who had requested a scholar be sent to them who could converse with both Jews and Saracens.[18] It has been claimed that Methodius accompanied Cyril on the mission to the Khazars, but this may be a later invention.[citation needed] The account of his life presented in the Latin "Legenda" claims that he learned the Khazar language while in Chersonesos, in Taurica (today Crimea).

After his return to Constantinople, Cyril assumed the role of professor of philosophy at the University while his brother had by this time become a significant figure in Byzantine political and administrative affairs, and an abbot of his monastery.[citation needed]

Mission to the Slavs

Great Moravia

Cyril and Methodius, painting by Jan Matejko, 1885

In 862, the brothers began the work which would give them their historical importance. That year Prince Rastislav of Great Moravia requested that Emperor Michael III and the Patriarch Photius send missionaries to evangelize his Slavic subjects. His motives in doing so were probably more political than religious. Rastislav had become king with the support of the Frankish ruler Louis the German, but subsequently sought to assert his independence from the Franks. It is a common misconception that Cyril and Methodius were the first to bring Christianity to Moravia, but the letter from Rastislav to Michael III states clearly that Rastislav's people "had already rejected paganism and adhere to the Christian law."[19] Rastislav is said to have expelled missionaries of the Roman Church and instead turned to Constantinople for ecclesiastical assistance and, presumably, a degree of political support.[20] The Emperor quickly chose to send Cyril, accompanied by his brother Methodius.[21] The request provided a convenient opportunity to expand Byzantine influence. Their first work seems to have been the training of assistants. In 863, they began the task of translating the Gospels and necessary liturgical books into the language now known as Old Church Slavonic[22] and traveled to Great Moravia to promote it.[23] They enjoyed considerable success in this endeavour. However, they came into conflict with German ecclesiastics who opposed their efforts to create a specifically Slavic liturgy.

For the purpose of this mission, they devised the Glagolitic alphabet, the first alphabet to be used for Slavonic manuscripts. The Glagolitic alphabet was suited to match the specific features of the Slavic language. Its descendant script, the Cyrillic, is still used by many languages today.[20]

The brothers wrote the first Slavic Civil Code, which was used in Great Moravia. The language derived from Old Church Slavonic, known as Church Slavonic, is still used in liturgy by several Orthodox Churches and also in some Eastern Catholic churches.

It is impossible to determine with certainty exactly what the brothers translated. The New Testament and the Psalms seem to have been the first, followed by other lessons from the Old Testament.[citation needed] The "Translatio" speaks only of a version of the Gospels by Cyril, and the "Vita Methodii" only of the "evangelium Slovenicum," though other liturgical selections may also have been translated.

Nor is it known for sure which liturgy, that of Rome or that of Constantinople, they took as a source. They may well have used the Roman alphabet, as suggested by liturgical fragments which adhere closely to the Latin type. This view is confirmed by the "Prague Fragments" and by certain Old Glagolitic liturgical fragments brought from Jerusalem to Kiev and discovered there by Izmail Sreznevsky—probably the oldest document for the Slavonic tongue; these adhere closely to the Latin type, as is shown by the words "Mass," "Preface," and the name of one Felicitas. In any case, the circumstances were such that the brothers could hope for no permanent success without obtaining the authorization of Rome.

Journey to Rome

Saints Cyril and Methodius in Rome. Fresco in San Clemente

The mission of Constantine and Methodius had great success among Slavs in part because they used the people's native language rather than Latin or Greek. In Great Moravia, Constantine and Methodius also encountered missionaries from East Francia, representing the western or Latin branch of the Church, and more particularly representing the Carolingian Empire as founded by Charlemagne, and committed to linguistic, and cultural uniformity. They insisted on the use of the Latin liturgy, and they regarded Moravia and the Slavic peoples as part of their rightful mission field.

When friction developed, the brothers, unwilling to be a cause of dissension among Christians, decided to travel to Rome to see the Pope, and seek a solution that would avoid quarreling between missionaries in the field. In 867, Pope Nicholas I (858-867) invited the brothers to Rome. Their evangelizing mission in Moravia had by this time become the focus of a dispute with Archbishop Adalwin of Salzburg (859–873) and Bishop Ermanrich of Passau (866-874), who claimed ecclesiastical control of the same territory and wished to see it use the Latin liturgy exclusively.

Travelling with the relics of Saint Clement and a retinue of disciples, and passing through Pannonia (the Balaton Principality), where they were well received by Prince Koceľ. This activity in Pannonia made a continuation of conflicts inevitable with the German episcopate, and especially with the bishop of Salzburg, to whose jurisdiction Pannonia had belonged for seventy-five years. As early as 865, Bishop Adalwin was found to exercise Episcopal rights there, and the administration under him was in the hands of the archpriest Riehbald. The latter was obliged to retire to Salzburg, but his superior was naturally disinclined to abandon his claims.

The brothers sought support from Rome, and arrived there in 868, where they were warmly received. This was partly due to their bringing with them the relics of Saint Clement; the rivalry with Constantinople as to the jurisdiction over the territory of the Slavs would incline Rome to value the brothers and their influence.[20]

New Pope Adrian II (867-872) gave Methodius the title of Archbishop of Sirmium (now Sremska Mitrovica in Serbia) and sent him back in 869, with jurisdiction over all of Moravia and Pannonia, and authorisation to use the Slavonic Liturgy.[24] The brothers were praised for their learning and cultivated for their influence in Constantinople. Anastasius Bibliothecarius would later call Cyril "a man of apostolic life" and "a man of great wisdom".[25] Their project in Moravia found support from Pope Adrian II, who formally authorized the use of the new Slavic liturgy. Subsequently, Methodius was ordained as priest by the pope himself, and five Slavic disciples were ordained as priests (Saint Gorazd, Saint Clement of Ohrid and Saint Naum) and as deacons (Saint Angelar and Saint Sava) by the prominent bishops Formosus and Gauderic.[26] Cyril and Methodius along with these five disciples are collectively venerated (mainly by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church) as "Seven Saints".[27] The newly made priests officiated in their own languages at the altars of some of the principal churches. Feeling his end approaching, Cyril became a Basilian monk, was given the new name Cyril,[28] and died in Rome fifty days later (14 February 869). There is some question as to assertion of the Translatio (ix.) that he was made a bishop.

The statement of the "Vita" that Methodius was made bishop in 870 and not raised to the dignity of an archbishop until 873 is contradicted by the brief of Pope John VIII, written in June 879, according to which Adrian consecrated him archbishop; John includes in his jurisdiction not only Great Moravia and Pannonia, but Serbia as well.

Methodius alone

Saint Cyril and Methodius by Stanislav Dospevski, Bulgarian painter

Methodius now continued the work among the Slavs alone; not at first in Great Moravia, but in Pannonia (in the Balaton Principality), owing to the political circumstances of the former country, where Rastislav had been taken captive by his nephew Svatopluk in 870, then delivered over to Carloman of Bavaria, and condemned in a diet held at Regensburg at the end of 870. A the same time, the East Frankish rulers and their bishops decided to remove Methodius. The archiepiscopal claims of Methodius were considered such an injury to the rights of Salzburg that he was captured and forced to answer to East Frankish bishops: Adalwin of Salzburg, Ermanrich of Passau, and Anno of Freising. After a heated discussion, they declared the deposition of the intruder, and ordered him to be sent to Germany, where he was kept prisoner in a monastery for two and a half years.[29]

In spite of the strong representations of the Conversio Bagoariorum et Carantanorum, written in 871 to influence the pope, though not avowing this purpose, Rome declared emphatically for Methodius, and sent a bishop, Paul of Ancona, to reinstate him and punish his enemies, after which both parties were commanded to appear in Rome with the legate. Thus in 873, new Pope John VIII (872-882) secured the release of Methodius, but instructed him to stop using the Slavonic Liturgy.[30]

Methodius' final years

The papal will prevailed, and Methodius secured his freedom and his archiepiscopal authority over both Great Moravia and Pannonia, though the use of Slavonic for the mass was still denied to him. His authority was restricted in Pannonia when after Koceľ's death the principality was administered by German nobles; but Svatopluk now ruled with practical independence in Great Moravia, and expelled the German clergy. This apparently secured an undisturbed field of operation for Methodius, and the Vita (x.) depicts the next few years (873–879) as a period of fruitful progress. Methodius seems to have disregarded, wholly or in part, the prohibition of the Slavonic liturgy; and when Frankish clerics again found their way into the country, and the archbishop's strictness had displeased the licentious Svatopluk, this was made a cause of complaint against him at Rome, coupled with charges regarding the Filioque.

In 878, Methodius was summoned to Rome on charges of heresy and using Slavonic. This time Pope John was convinced by the arguments that Methodius made in his defence and sent him back cleared of all charges, and with permission to use Slavonic. The Carolingian bishop who succeeded him, Witching, suppressed the Slavonic Liturgy and forced the followers of Methodius into exile. Many found refuge with Knyaz Boris of Bulgaria, under whom they reorganised a Slavic-speaking Church. Meanwhile, Pope John's successors adopted a Latin-only policy which lasted for centuries.

Methodius vindicated his orthodoxy at Rome, the more easily as the creed was still recited there without the Filioque, and promised to obey in regard to the liturgy. The other party was conciliated by giving him a Swabian, Wiching, as his coadjutor. When relations were strained between the two, John VIII steadfastly supported Methodius; but after his death (December 882) the archbishop's position became insecure, and his need of support induced Goetz to accept the statement of the Vita (xiii.) that he went to visit the Eastern emperor.

It was not until after Methodius' death, which is placed on 6 April 885,[31] that the animosity erupted into an open conflict. Gorazd, whom Methodius had designated as his successor, was not recognised by Pope Stephen V. The same Pope forbade the use of the Slavic liturgy[32] and placed the infamous Wiching as Methodius' successor. The latter exiled the disciples of the two brothers from Great Moravia in 885. They fled to the First Bulgarian Empire, where they were welcomed and commissioned to establish theological schools. There they and scholar Saint Clement of Ohrid[33] devised the Cyrillic script on the basis of the Glagolitic. Cyrillic gradually replaced Glagolitic as the alphabet of the Old Church Slavonic language, which became the official language of the Bulgarian Empire and later spread to the Eastern Slav lands of Kievan Rus'. Cyrillic eventually spread throughout most of the Slavic world to become the standard alphabet in the Eastern Orthodox Slavic countries. Hence, Cyril and Methodius' efforts also paved the way for the spread of Christianity throughout Eastern Europe.

Methodius' body was buried in the main cathedral church of Great Moravia. Until today it remains an open question which city was capital of Great Moravia and therefore the place of Methodius' eternal rest remains unknown.[34]

Invention of the Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabets

The Baška tablet is an early example of the Glagolitic from Croatia

A cartoon about Saints Cyril and Methodius from Bulgaria in 1938. The caption reads : Brother Cyril, go tell those who are inside to learn the alphabet so they know freedom (Bulgarian: свобода) and anarchy (Bulgarian: слободия) are not the same.

The Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabets are the oldest known Slavic alphabets, and were created by the two brothers and their students, to translate the Gospels and liturgical books[22] into the Slavic languages.[35] The early Glagolitic alphabet was used in Great Moravia between 863 (the arrival of Cyril and Methodius) and 885 (the expulsion of their students) for government and religious documents and books, and at the Great Moravian Academy (Veľkomoravské učilište) founded by Cyril, where followers of Cyril and Methodius were educated, by Methodius himself among others. The alphabet has been traditionally attributed to Cyril. That attribution has been confirmed explicitly by the papal letter Industriae tuae (880) approving the use of Old Church Slavonic, which says that the alphabet was "invented by Constantine the Philosopher". The term invention need not exclude the possibility of the brothers having made use of earlier letters, but implies only that before that time the Slavic languages had no distinct script of their own.

The early Cyrillic alphabet was developed in the First Bulgarian Empire[36] and later finalized and spread by disciples Kliment and Naum in the Ohrid and Preslav schools of Tsar Boris I of Bulgaria[37] as a simplification of the Glagolitic alphabet which more closely resembled the Greek alphabet. It was developed by the disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius at the Preslav Literary School at the end of the 9th century.

After the death of Cyril, Clement of Ohrid accompanied Methodius from Rome to Pannonia and Great Moravia. After the death of Methodius in 885, Clement headed the struggle against the German clergy in Great Moravia along with Gorazd. After spending some time in jail, he was expelled from Great Moravia, and in 885 or 886 reached the borders of the Bulgarian Empire together with Naum of Preslav, Angelarius, and possibly Gorazd (according to other sources, Gorazd was already dead by that time). The four of them were afterwards sent to the Bulgarian capital of Pliska, where they were commissioned by Tsar Boris I of Bulgaria to instruct the future clergy of the state in the Slavonic language.

After the adoption of Christianity in 865, religious ceremonies in Bulgaria were conducted in Greek by clergy sent from the Byzantine Empire. Fearing growing Byzantine influence and weakening of the state, Boris viewed the adoption of the Old Slavonic language as a way to preserve the political independence and stability of Bulgaria, so he established two literary schools (academies), in Pliska and Ohrid, where theology was to be taught in the Slavonic language. While Naum of Preslav stayed in Pliska working on the foundation of the Pliska Literary School, Clement was commissioned by Boris I to organise the teaching of theology to future clergymen in Old Church Slavonic at the Ohrid Literary School. For seven years (886-893) Clement taught some 3,500 students in the Slavonic language and the Glagolitic alphabet.

Commemoration

Saints Cyril and Methodius' Day

Saints Cyril and Methodius procession

The canonization process was much more relaxed in the decades following Cyril's death than today. Cyril was regarded by his disciples as a saint soon after his death. His following spread among the nations he evangelized and subsequently to the wider Christian Church, and he was famous as a holy man, along with his brother Methodius. There were calls for Cyril's canonization from the crowds lining the Roman streets during his funeral procession. The brothers' first appearance in a papal document is in Grande Munus of Leo XIII in 1880. They are known as the "Apostles of the Slavs", and are still highly regarded by both Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians. Their feast day is currently celebrated on 14 February in the Roman Catholic Church (to coincide with the date of St Cyril's death); on 11 May in the Eastern Orthodox Church (though for Eastern Orthodox Churches which use the Julian Calendar this is 24 May according to the Gregorian calendar); and on 7 July according to the old sanctoral calendar that existed before the revisions of the Second Vatican Council. The celebration also commemorates the introduction of literacy and the preaching of the gospels in the Slavonic language by the brothers. The brothers were declared "Patrons of Europe" in 1980.[38]

The first recorded secular celebration of Saints Cyril and Methodius' Day as the "Day of the Bulgarian script", as traditionally accepted by Bulgarian history, was held in the town of Plovdiv on 11 May 1851, when a local Bulgarian school was named "Saints Cyril and Methodius": both acts on the initiative of the prominent Bulgarian educator Nayden Gerov,[39] although an Armenian traveller mentioned his visit to the "celebration of the Bulgarian script" in the town of Shumen on 22 May 1803.[40]

The day is now celebrated as a public holiday in the following countries:

In Bulgaria it is celebrated on 24 May and is known as the "Bulgarian Education and Culture, and Slavonic Script Day" (Bulgarian: Ден на българската просвета и култура и на славянската писменост), a national holiday celebrating Bulgarian culture and literature as well as the alphabet. It is also known as "Alphabet, Culture, and Education Day" (Bulgarian: Ден на азбуката, културата и просвещението). Saints Cyril and Methodius are patrons of the National Library of Bulgaria. There is a monument to them in front of the library. Saints Cyril and Methodius are the most celebrated saints in the Bulgarian Orthodox church, and icons of the two brothers can be found in every church.

In North Macedonia, it is celebrated on 24 May and is known as the "Saints Cyril and Methodius, Slavonic Enlighteners' Day" (Macedonian: Св. Кирил и Методиј, Ден на словенските просветители), a national holiday. The Government of the Republic of Macedonia enacted a statute of the national holiday in October 2006 and the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia passed a corresponding law at the beginning of 2007.[41] Previously it had only been celebrated in the schools. It is also known as the day of the "Solun Brothers" (Macedonian: Солунските браќа).

In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the two brothers were originally commemorated on 9 March, but Pope Pius IX changed this date to 5 July for several reasons.[42] Today, Saints Cyril and Methodius are revered there as national saints and their name day (5 July), "Sts Cyril and Methodius Day" is a national holiday in Czech Republic and Slovakia. In the Czech Republic it is celebrated as "Slavic Missionaries Cyril and Methodius Day" (Czech: Den slovanských věrozvěstů Cyrila a Metoděje); in Slovakia it is celebrated as "St. Cyril and Metod Day" (Slovak: Sviatok svätého Cyrila a Metoda).[42]

In Russia, it is celebrated on 24 May and is known as the "Slavonic Literature and Culture Day" (Russian: День славянской письменности и культуры), celebrating Slavonic culture and literature as well as the alphabet. Its celebration is ecclesiastical (11 May in the Church's Julian calendar). It is not a public holiday in Russia.

The saints' feast day is celebrated by the Eastern Orthodox Church on 11 May and by the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion on 14 February as "Saints Cyril and Methodius Day". The Lutheran Churches of Western Christianity commemorate the two saints either on 14 February or 11 May. The Byzantine Rite Lutheran Churches celebrate Saints Cyril and Methodius Day on 24 May.[43]

Other commemoration

The national library of Bulgaria in Sofia, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje in the North Macedonia, and St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria and in Trnava, Slovakia, bear the name of the two saints. Faculty of Theology at Palacký University in Olomouc (Czech Republic), bears the name "Saints Cyril and Methodius Faculty of Theology". In the United States, SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake, Michigan, bears their name.

The Brotherhood of Saints Cyril and Methodius (1846), a pro-Ukrainian organization in the Russian Empire to preserve Ukrainian national identity.

Saints Cyril and Methodius are the main patron saints of the Archdiocese of Ljubljana. Ljubljana Cathedral stands at Cyril and Methodius Square (Slovene: Ciril–Metodov trg).[44] They are also patron saints of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Košice (Slovakia)[5] and the Slovak Greek Catholic Eparchy of Toronto.

St. Cyril Peak and St. Methodius Peak in the Tangra Mountains on Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands, in Antarctica are named for the brothers.

Saint Cyril's remains are interred in a shrine-chapel within the Basilica di San Clemente in Rome. The chapel holds a Madonna by Sassoferrato.

The Basilica of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Danville, Pennsylvania, (the only Roman Catholic basilica dedicated to SS. Cyril and Methodius in the world) is the motherhouse chapel of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, a Roman Catholic women's religious community of pontifical rite dedicated to apostolic works of ecumenism, education, evangelization, and elder care.

St. Maro

Feastday: February 14

Death: 410

St. Maro chose a solitary abode not far from the city of Cyrrhus in Syria, and there in a spirit of mortification, he lived mainly in the open air. He had indeed a little hut covered with goatskins to shelter him in case of need, but he very seldom made use of it. Finding the ruins of the heathen temple, he dedicated it to the true God, and made it his house of prayer. St. John Chrysostom, who had a great regard for him, wrote to him from Cucusus, the place of his banishment, and, recommending himself to his prayers, begged to hear from him as often as possible. Maro was a disciple of St. Zebinus. He drew great crowds by his spiritual wisdom. He trained many hermits and monks and founded three monasteries. It is believed the Maronites take their name from Bait-Marun monastery near the source of the Orantes river, where a church was erected over his tomb. His feast day is February 14th.

For other uses, see Maron (disambiguation).

Maron, also called Maroun or Maro, (Syriac: ܡܪܘܢ‎, Mārūn; Arabic: مارون‎; Latin: Maron; Greek: Μάρων) was a 4th-century Syriac Christian hermit monk in the Taurus Mountains whose followers, after his death, founded a religious Christian movement that became known as the Syriac Maronite Church, in full communion with the Holy See and the Catholic Church.[5] The religious community which grew from this movement are the modern Maronites.

Saint Maron is often portrayed in a black monastic habit with a hanging stole, accompanied by a long crosier staffed by a globe surmounted with a cross. His feast day in the Maronite Church is February 9.[3][4]

Life

Maron, born in what is now modern Syria, in the middle of the 4th century, was a priest who later became a hermit, retiring to the Taurus Mountains in the region of Cyrrhus, near Antioch. His holiness and miracles attracted many followers, and drew attention throughout the empire. John Chrysostom wrote to him around AD 405 expressing his great love and respect, and asking Maron to pray for him.[4] Maron and Chrysostom are believed to have studied together in the great Christian learning center at Antioch, which at the time was the third largest city in the Roman Empire.[3]

Maron embraced a life of quiet solitude in the mountains north-west of Aleppo.[6] He was known for his simplicity and his extraordinary desire to discover God’s presence in all things.[3]

Maron is considered the Father of the spiritual and monastic movement now called the Maronite Church.[4]

Monastic spirituality

Maron's way was deeply monastic with emphasis on the spiritual and ascetic aspects of living. For Maron, all was connected to God and God was connected to all. He did not separate the physical and spiritual world and actually used the physical world to deepen his faith and spiritual experience with God.[4] He was able to free himself from the physical world by his passion and fervour for prayer and enter into a mystical relationship of love with God.

He lived his life in the open air next to a temple he had transformed to a church. He spent his time in prayer and meditation exposed to the forces of nature such as sun, rain, hail and snow. Theodoret of Cyrrhus wrote that this was a new type of asceticism that soon enjoyed wide acceptance in Syria and Lebanon. His Religious History, written about 440, mentions fifteen men and three women who followed this practice, many of them trained or guided by Maron.[6]

Missionary

Saint Maron was a mystic who started this new ascetic-spiritual method that attracted many people in Syria and Lebanon to become his disciples. Accompanying his deeply spiritual and ascetic life, he was a zealous missionary with a passion to spread the message of Christ by preaching it to all he met. He sought not only to cure the physical ailments that people suffered, but had a great quest for nurturing and healing the "lost souls" of both non-Christians and Christians of his time.

This missionary work came to fruition when in the mountains of Syria, Saint Maron was able to convert a temple into a Christian church in Kafr Nabu.[3][7] This was to be the beginning of the conversion to Christianity in Syria which would then influence and spread to Lebanon. After his death in the year 410 in Kalota,[8] his spirit and teachings lived on through his disciples.

His burial place is a debated issue. Some Lebanese sources, such as Giuseppe Simone Assemani and Maronite bishop Yusef al-Dibs believe he was buried in Arethusa or modern-day al-Rastan along the Orontes River in Syria, while others, like Jesuit priest Henri Lammens, claim he is buried in Brad village to the north of Aleppo.[9]

The Maronite movement reached Lebanon when Saint Maron's first disciple, Abraham of Cyrrhus, who was called the Apostle of Lebanon, realized that there were many non-Christians in Lebanon and so he set out to convert them to Christianity by introducing them to the way of Saint Maron.[6] The followers of Saint Maron, both monks and laity, for emphasizing the mia-thelite union of Christ's will with God's, were accused by Byzantium of monothelitism. However, Maronite historians argue that they have always remained in full communion with Rome.[10] Saint Maron's feast day is celebrated on February 9.[11]

Veneration

Saint Maron was known for his gift for healing.[12][13]

Patronages

Maronites

The town of Volperino in Italy. After being brought to Sassovivo Abbey in Foligno, Saint Maron's relics were kept for a long time in the tiny village of Volperino, before being transferred to Saint Felicianus Cathedral church in Foligno.

The Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn

The Eparchy of Saint Maron of Canada - Montréal, Canada - Official Website

The Eparchy of Saint Maron of Australia.

Notable recognitions

On 23 February 2011, Pope Benedict XVI unveiled a statue of Saint Maron on the outer wall of Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican and imparted his Apostolic Blessing. The 15 feet tall statue was commissioned by the Maronite Church to the Spanish sculptor Marco Augusto Dueñas. The saint appears in the sculpture holding a miniature, Maronite style church; the sculpture also features an inscription in Syriac reading: The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon. The statue occupied the last available niche in the outer perimeter of Saint Peter's Basilica.[14]

In June 2012, an impressionist painting of Saint Maron, as well as several icons based on images from the 5th-century Syriac Rabboula manuscript including the Crucifixion, the Marian icon of the "Mother of Light" and the Evangelists, was donated, installed and was solemnly attended by Cardinal Donald Wuerl at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C.,[15] and was formally dedicated on September 23, 2012.

St. Dionysius

Feastday: February 14

Martyr of Egypt with Ammonius. They were beheaded in Alexandria

Saint Modestinus of Avellino

Also known as

• Modestinus of Mercogliano

• Modestin, Modestino

Additional Memorial

10 June (re-internment of relics)

Profile

Born to the nobility of Asia Minor. Bishop of Antioch, Turkey in 302, working with Saint Fiorentinus and Saint Flavianus. Imprisoned in the persecutions of Diocletian, he was miraculously freed and fled to Italy. There he was imprisoned for his faith in Locri, Italy by the local governor, but was released after he healed the governor‘s daughter through prayer; the governor and his family converted to Christianity. Evangelist in the area of Avellino, Italy, thought to have been led by Michael the Archangel to the places that most needed his preaching; reported to have convered 4,000 in one area. Imprisoned and martyred in persecutions of Maximian.

Born

c.245 in Antioch (modern Turkey)

Died

• burned to death by being wrapped in heated armor on 14 February 311 in Mercogliano, diocese of Avellino, Italy

• relics re-discovered 1166–1167 during a construction project led by Bishop William of Avellino

• relics re-interred in the crypt of the cathedral of Avellino on 10 June 1167

Canonized

• Pre-Congregation

• at the request of Bishop Francis of Avellino, in 1308 Pope Clement V granted an indulgence to those who made a pilgrimage to their shrine

Saint Juan García López-Rico

Also known as

• Giovanni Battista della Concezione

• Giovanni Garcia Xixon

• John Baptist de la Concepción Garcia

• Juan Bautista Rico

• Juan Bautista de la Concepción

• Juan García Gijón

• Juan García Xixón

• Juan Rico

Additional Memorial

15 February (diocese of Ciudad Real, Spain and diocese of Córdoba, Spain)

Profile

Fifth of eight children born to Xixón and Isabel García Marcos López-Rico; three of his siblings entered religious orders. As a child he was so drawn to follow the example of the saints that he nearly starved himself and endangered his health trying to live an ascetic life. At the age of 15 he met Saint Teresa of Avila which left him with a fascination with the Carmelites. He studied with the Carmelites in Almodóvar, Spain, and then at seminaries in Baeza and Toledo. Juan joined he Trinitarians on 28 June 1580, and made his profession on 29 June 1581. Ordained to the priesthood in 1585. On 20 August 1599 he received approval from Pope Clement VIII to begin a reformation of the Trinitarians; he based his efforts on the example of Saint Teresa of Avila and the original Rule of the Order which required six hours of prayer a day. In addition to reforming existing houses, he founded more monasteries that followed this new, invigorated form. Prolific writer on theology.

Born

10 July 1561 in Almodóvar del Campo, Ciudad Real, Spain

Died

14 February 1613 in Córdoba, Spain of nephritis

Canonized

25 May 1975 by Pope Paul VI

Saint Flavianus of Avellino

Also known as

• Flavianus of Mercogliano

• Flaviano

Additional Memorial

10 June (re-internment of relics)

Profile

Deacon in Antioch, Turkey, serving Saint Modestinus of Avellina. Imprisoned for his faith in the persecutions of Diocletian, he fled to Italy. There he was again imprisoned and martyred in persecutions of Maximian.

Died

• burned to death by being wrapped in heated armor on 15 February 311 in Mercogliano, diocese of Avellino, Italy

• relics re-discovered 1166–1167 during a construction project led by Bishop William of Avellino

• relics re-interred in the crypt of the cathedral of Avellino on 10 June 1167

Canonized

• Pre-Congregation

• at the request of Bishop Francis of Avellino, in 1308 Pope Clement V granted an indulgence to those who made a pilgrimage to their shrine

Patronage

• Avellino, Italy, city of (given in 1220 by Ruggiero of Avellino)

• Avellino, Italy, diocese of (given in 1220 by Ruggiero of Avellino)

• Mercogliano, Italy

Saint Nostrianus of Naples

Also known as

Nostrian, Nostrien, Nostriano

Additional Memorial

16 August (discovery of relics; date set in 1619)

Profile

Fifteenth bishop of Naples, Italy, in the mid-5th century, serving for 17 years. Fought against the spread of the Arian, Manichean and Pelagian heresies in his diocese. Helped hold his people together and adhering to the faith during a period of barbarian invasion of the aging Roman empire, and helped support the civic life of the city of Naples. Gave refuge to Christians, including Saint Gaudiosus of Abitina and Saint Quodvultdeus of Carthage, who fled Carthage after it fell to the Vandals.

Died

• between 452 and 465 (records vary) of natural causes

• buried in the catacombs of San Gaudioso in Naples, Italy

• relics enshrined in the church of San Gennaro all'Olmo in Naples in the 10th century in a marble urn under the high altar

• relics re-discovered and re-enshrined on 16 August 1612

• relics re-enshrined in the church of Saints Philip and James in Naples in 1865

Canonized

2 May 1878 by Pope Leo XIII (cultus confirmation)

Blessed Vicente Vilar David

Profile

Youngest of eight children. Educated by the Piarists, and studied engineering in Valencia, Spain. Married to Isabel Rodes Reig, the main witness to his life and martyrdom, and who died in 1993. Spread a Christian outlook and morality among his peers, and known for charity to the poor. He worked as an industrial engineer in the family ceramics firm, and held several important municipal posts in which he put the Church's social teaching into practice. Always involved in parish activities and Catholic youth groups. Against the anti-religious sentiment of 1930's Spain, he worked to save persecuted priests and religious. As he was taken away to his martyrdom for supporting his faith, his wife said, "See you tomorrow!", and he answered, "Until tomorrow or in heaven!". Those who've studied his case believe he had a cause for canonization based solely on his life, not just his martyrdom.

Born

28 June 1889 at Manises, Valencia, Spain

Died

shot on 14 February 1937 in Manises, Valencia, Spain

Beatified

1 October 1995 by Pope John Paul II

Saint Derien of Brittany

Also known as

Derhen, Derchen, Derc'hen, Derrien

Profile

Seventh century knight from the British Isles. Pilgrim to the Holy Lands. Several churches in Brittany, France are named in his honour as he is considered one of the British who brought Christianity to the region.

Legend says that on his return from the Holy Lands, travelling with Néventer of Brittany, the two knights rescued Riok, the two-year-old son of the Count Élorn, from a dragon; Derien defeated the monster by making the Sign of the Cross over it, then using his sash as a leash to drag the animal to the English Channel at Pontusval, France where he ordered it to drown itself. Élorn refused to convert to Christianity, but offered them lands as a reward; they asked for just enough land to build a church.

As dragon slaying usually refers to killing off pagan practices or demonic worship, this legend may refer to Derien healing the nobleman’s child – there is a tradition in the area of asking for his intercession for sick children, and of a well, formerly dedicated to a pagan god but now dedicated to Derien, whose waters could be used to heal children.

Born

British Isles

Saint Fiorentinus of Avellino

Also known as

• Fiorentinus of Mercogliano

• Fiorentino

Additional Memorial

10 June (re-internment of relics)

Profile

Priest in Antioch, Turkey, led by Saint Modestinus of Avellina. Imprisoned for his faith in the persecutions of Diocletian, he fled to Italy. There he was again imprisoned and martyred in persecutions of Maximian.

Died

• burned to death by being wrapped in heated armor on 15 February 311 in Mercogliano, diocese of Avellino, Italy

• relics re-discovered 1166–1167 during a construction project led by Bishop William of Avellino

• relics re-interred in the crypt of the cathedral of Avellino on 10 June 1167

Canonized

• Pre-Congregation

• at the request of Bishop Francis of Avellino, in 1308 Pope Clement V granted an indulgence to those who made a pilgrimage to their shrine

Patronage

• Avellino, Italy, city of (given in 1220 by Ruggiero of Avellino)

• Avellino, Italy, diocese of (given in 1220 by Ruggiero of Avellino)

• Mercogliano, Italy

Saint Valentine of Terni

Profile

Ordained by Saint Felician of Foligno. Consecrated bishop of Terni, Italy by Pope Victor I, c.197. Noted evangelist, miracle worker and healer, he was much loved by his flock. Imprisoned, tortured, and beheaded by order of the prefect Placid Furius during the persecution of Aurelius. He was murdered in secret and at night to avoid riots and revenge by the people of Terni. Some scholars believe that he and Saint Valentine of Rome are the same person.

Born

c.175 at Terni, Italy

Died

• on the Via Flaminia between Rome and Terni, Italy

• exhumed and re-interred outside the walls of Terni by his spiritual students

Patronage

• Terni, Italy

• Terni-Narni-Amelia, Italy, diocese of

Saint Fortunata of Baucina

Also known as

Fortunata of Rome

Additional Memorial

2nd Sunday of September (patronal feast for the town of Baucina, Italy)

Profile

Young woman who converted to Christianity in her teens. Imprisoned for her faith by Imperial Roman troops, she was tortured and eventually executed when she refused to renounce Christianity. Martyr.

Born

c.182 in Palestrina, Rome, Italy

Died

• October 200 in Rome, Italy

• buried in the Saint Ciriaca catacombs of Rome

• relics transferred to Baucina, Italy on 29 January 1750; they arrived on 14 February 1750, and were enshrined in the church of the Collegio di Maria

• relics re-enshrined in an urn in 1840

Patronage

Baucina, Italy (declared on 9 April 1870 due to the level of devotion by local Christians)

Saint Auxentius of Bithynia

Profile

Career soldier and equestrian guard of Emperor Theodosius the Younger, he was known to preach to his fellow guards. He eventually left the service to become a hermit on Mount Oxia near Constantinople. Accused and cleared of Eutychianistic heresy. Archimandrite in Bithynia. Active in the Council of Chalcedon. Hermit on Mount Sinope (Skopas) near Chalcedon. Many were attracted to his austerity, holiness, counsel, and teaching; a community of nuns formed at Trichinarion near his mountain.

Born

at Syria

Died

14 February 473 at Mount Skopas of natural causes

Saint Abraham of Harran

Also known as

Abraames of Harran

Profile

Syrian hermit. Hoping to bring the faith to a village at Mount Lebanon, he set up shop as a fruit seller; the people were willing to buy his fruit, but abused him when he started to preach. He converted them by borrowing money to pay their taxes, which kept them out of prison, finally convincing them of the goodness of Christians. He worked to pay the debt, taught them for three years, found a priest to minister to them, then returned to solitude. Chosen bishop of Harran in Mesopotamia. Greatly influenced Theodosius the Younger, who carried that influence to the throne when he became emperor.

Died

c.422 of apparent natural causes at Constantinople while visiting the emperor

Saint Antoninus of Sorrento

Also known as

• Antoninus of Campagna

• Antoninus Cacciottolo

• Antoninus the Abbot

• Antonino...

Profile

Benedictine monk. Forced by war to leave his monastery, he was first a hermit, then abbot at Saint Agrippinus and teacher of the people of Sorrento, Italy.

Born

Campagna, Italy

Died

830 of natural causes

Patronage

• Campagna, Italy

• Sorrento, Italy

Representation

Benedictine monk holding a standard on a city wall

Saint Alexandra of Egypt

Profile

To avoid the temptations of the world, around the age of 20 Alexandra walled herself up in a crypt in Alexandria, Egypt and spent 10 years as an anchoress, doing penance, praying, accepting meals through a slot in the wall, and giving spiritual advice to visitors.

Born

latter 4th century in Alexandria, Egypt

Died

late 4th century in Alexandria, Egypt of natural causes

Saint Eleuchadius

Also known as

Eleucadio

Profile

Convert, brought to the faith by Saint Apollinaris of Ravenna who then ordained him a deacon. Bishop of Ravenna, Italy in 100; legend says he was chosen when a dove rested over his head, which was taken as a sign of the Holy Spirit descending on him.

Born

Greece

Died

• 14 February 112 of natural causes

• relics later enshrined in Pavia, Italy

Saint Louans of Chinon

Also known as

Lupance, Lupantius

Profile

Seventh century monk at the Abbey of Saint Mesmin near Orleans, France. Feeling a need for solitude with God, he retired to live as a hermit on the banks of the river Vienne near Chinon, France. Reported to have the gift of healing by prayer. A 12th century abbey dedicated to him was built on the site of his hermitage.

Saint Felicula of Rome

Also known as

Felicola

Profile

A sanctified virgin who was imprisoned and martyred in the persecution of Domitian.

Died

• left for a fortnight in prison without food or drink, then thrown into a ditch to die, late 1st century in Rome, Italy

• her body was recovered for burial by Saint Nicomedes

Saint Zeno of Rome

Also known as

Zenone

Profile

Martyr.

Died

• Rome, Italy

• in the cemetery of Praetextatus on the Appian Way outside Rome

Saint Vitale of Spoleto

Profile

Martyr.

Died

Spoleto, Umbria, Italy

Saint Vitalis of Rome

Profile

Martyr.

Died

Rome, Italy

Saint Theodosius of Vaison

Profile

Bishop of Vaison, France.

Died

554

Saint Conran of Orkney

Profile

Bishop of the Orkney Islands, Scotland.

Twenty Mercedarians of Palermo

Profile

A group of twenty Mercedarians who, when an unspecified plague struck Palermo, Italy, volunteered to nurse the sick. They contracted the plague themselves, and died as martyrs of charity.

• Adriano Calabrò

• Andrea Schiafino

• Batilani Marsalio

• Bonaventura Palmerio

• Gaspare de Ortega

• Gaspare Fajolo

• Giovanni Battista de Sartis

• Giovanni Battista Mansa

• Giovanni Ruiz

• Giovanni Zorita

• Giuseppe Latona

• Michele de la Rosa

• Pietro Nolasco

• Pietro Salanitro

• Pietro Salino

• Stefano Marchesi

• Vincenzo Bonello

• Vincenzo Calderon

• Vincenzo Carrenzo

• Vincenzo Salanitro

Martyrs of Alexandria

Profile

A group of Christians murdered in various ways for their faith in Alexandria, Egypt. We know the names and a few details about 16 of them - Agatho, Agatone, Ammonio, Ammonius, Antonius, Bassiano, Bassianus, Cirione, Cyrio, Dionysius, Dionysius, Lucio, Moses, Moses, Proto, and Tonione.

Martyrs of Terni

Profile

Three Christians who gave proper burial to Saint Valentine of Terni. Martyred in the persecutions of Aurelius. We know little more that their names - Apollonius, Ephebus, and Proculus

Died

273 in Terni, Italy

இன்றைய புனிதர்கள் பெப்ரவரி 13

 St. Catherine de Ricci

Feastday: February 13

Birth: 1522

Death: 1589

St. Catherine was born in Florence in 1522. Her baptismal name was Alexandrina, but she took the name of Catherine upon entering religion. From her earliest infancy she manifested a great love of prayer, and in her sixth year, her father placed her in the convent of Monticelli in Florence, where her aunt, Louisa de Ricci, was a nun. After a brief return home, she entered the convent of the Dominican nuns at Prat in Tuscany, in her fourteenth year. While very young, she was chosen Mistress of Novices, then subprioress, and at twenty-five years of age she became perpetual prioress. The reputation of her sanctity drew to her side many illustrious personages, among whom three later sat in the chair of Peter, namely Cerveni, Alexander de Medicis, and Aldo Brandini, and afterward Marcellus II, Clement VIII, and Leo XI respectively. She corresponded with St. Philip Neri and, while still living, she appeared to him in Rome in a miraculous manner.She is famous for the "Ecstacy of the Passion" which she experienced every Thursday from noon until Friday at 4:00 p.m. for twelve years. After a long illness she passed away in 1589. Her feast day is February 13.

Saint Catherine de' Ricci, O.S.D. (Italian: Caterina de' Ricci) (23 April 1522 – 2 February 1590), was an Italian Dominican Tertiary sister. She is believed to have had miraculous visions and corporeal encounters with Jesus, both with the infant Jesus and with the adult Jesus.[1] She is said to have spontaneously bled with the wounds of the crucified Christ. She is venerated for her mystic visions and is honored as a saint by the Catholic Church.

Life

She was born Alessandra Lucrezia Romola de' Ricci in Florence to Pier Francesco de' Ricci, of a patrician family, and his wife, Caterina Bonza, who died soon after. At age 6 or 7, her father enrolled her in a school run by a monastery of Benedictine nuns in the Monticelli quarter of the city, near their home, where her aunt, Luisa de' Ricci, was the abbess. She was a very prayerful person from a very young age. There she developed a lifelong devotion to the Passion of Christ. After a short time outside the monastery she entered the Convent of St Vincent in Prato, Tuscany, a cloistered community of religious sisters of the Third Order of St. Dominic, disciples of the noted Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola, who followed the strict regimen of life she desired. In May 1535 she received the religious habit from her uncle, Friar Timoteo de' Ricci, O.P., who was confessor to the convent, and the religious name of Catherine, after the Dominican tertiary, Catherine of Siena.[2]

De' Ricci's period of novitiate was a time of trial. She would experience ecstasies during her routine, which caused her to seem asleep during community prayer services, dropping plates and food, so much so that the community began to question her competence, if not her sanity. Eventually the other Sisters became aware of the spiritual basis for her behavior. By the age of 30 she had risen to the post of prioress.

She is reported to have been a nun with visions, states Constance Classen, who miraculously held baby Jesus dressed in swaddling clothes, and was mystically married and united with adult Jesus.[1]

As the prioress, De' Ricci developed into an effective and greatly admired administrator. She was an advisor on various topics to princes, bishops and cardinals. She corresponded with three figures who were destined to become popes: Pope Marcellus II, Pope Clement VIII, and Pope Leo XI. An expert on religion, management and administration, her advice was widely sought. She gave counsel both in person and through exchanging letters. It is reported that she was extremely effective and efficient in her work, managing her priorities very well.

It is claimed that De' Ricci's meditation on the Passion of Christ was so deep that she spontaneously bled, as if scourged. She also bore the Stigmata. During times of deep prayer, like Catherine of Siena, her patron saint, a coral ring representing her marriage to Christ, appeared on her finger.

It is reported that De' Ricci wore an iron chain around her neck, engaged in extreme fasting and other forms of penance and sacrifice, especially for souls in Purgatory.

One of the miracles that was documented for her canonization was her appearance many hundreds of miles away from where she was physically located in a vision to St Philip Neri, a resident of Rome, with whom she had maintained a long-term correspondence. Neri, who was otherwise very reluctant to discuss miraculous events, confirmed the event.[2]

De' Ricci lived in the convent until her death in 1590 after a prolonged illness. Her remains are visible under the altar of the Minor Basilica of Santi Vicenzo e Caterina de' Ricci, Prato, which is next to the convent associated with her life.

Veneration

De' Ricci was beatified by Pope Clement XII in 1732, and canonized by Pope Benedict XIV in 1746. Her feast day falls on 2 February

St. Agabus

#புனித_அகபு (முதல் நூற்றாண்டு)

பிப்ரவரி 13

அகபு அல்லது அகபாஸ் (#StAgabus) என அழைக்கப்படும் இவர், எருசலேமைச் சார்ந்தவர். 

யூதரான இவர் இயேசு அனுப்பிய எழுபத்து இரண்டு சீடர்களில் ஒருவராவார் (லூக் 10: 1-24). மேலும் இவர் இயேசுவின் இறுதி இராவுணவின்போது, அவரது பன்னிரு திருத்தூதர்களோடு மேலறையில் இருந்தவர் என்று சொல்லப்படுகிறது.

இறைவாக்கினராக அறியப்படும் இவர் உரோமையின் ஆட்சிக்குட்பட்ட பகுதியில் பெரிய பஞ்சம் ஏற்படும் என முன்னறிவித்தார். இவர் சொன்னது போன்றே கிளாதியு மன்னன் காலத்தில் பெரிய பஞ்சம் ஏற்பட்டது (திப 11: 28).

திருத்தூதர் புனித பவுலிடம் இவர், எருசேமிற்குச் சென்றால் கைது செய்வீர் என்று எச்சரித்தார் (திப 21: 10-12). இவர் சொன்னது போன்றே புனித பவுல் எருசலேமில் கைது செய்யப்பட்டார். இவ்வாறு பின்னர் நடக்கவிருப்பதை முன்கூட்டியே அறிவித்து வந்த இவர் பல இடங்களுக்கும் சென்று, நற்செய்தி அறிவித்தார்.

இதையறிந்த யூதர்கள் இவரை அடித்துத் துன்புறுத்தி, கல்லால் எறிந்து, அந்தியோக்கு நகருக்கு வெளியே இழுத்துச் சென்று கொன்று போட்டார்கள்.

.

Feastday: February 13

Death: 1st Century

Martyr and one of the seventy-two disciples mentioned by St. Luke. He was a Jewish convert to the faith, noted as a prophet. Agabus predicted a famine in the Roman Empire and probably Paul's imprisonment. Agabus was unable to dissuade Paul from going to Jerusalem. The martyr died for the faith in the city of Antioch.

For the genus of beetles, see Agabus (beetle).

Agabus /ˈæɡəbəs/ (Greek: Ἄγαβος) was an early follower of Christianity mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as a prophet. He is traditionally remembered as one of the Seventy Disciples described in Luke 10:1–24.

Biblical and traditional accounts

According to extrabiblical tradition, Agabus appears to have been a resident of Jerusalem. He is said to have been one of the seventy disciples, mentioned in the Gospel of Luke, commissioned to preach the gospel.[1] It is said that Agabus was with the twelve apostles in the upper room on the day of Pentecost.[2]

According to Acts 11:27–28, he was one of a group of prophets who travelled from Jerusalem to Antioch. The author reports that Agabus had received the gift of prophecy and predicted a severe famine, which occurred during the reign of the emperor Claudius.[3]

Also, according to Acts 21:10–12, 'a certain prophet', (Greek: τις) named Agabus met Paul the Apostle at Caesarea Maritima in AD 58. He was, according to the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary, 'no doubt the same' Agabus as had been mentioned in Acts 11:27–28,[4] and Heinrich Meyer states that 'there is no reason against the assumed identity of this person with the one mentioned in Acts 11:28.[5] Agabus warned Paul of his coming capture; he bound his own hands and feet with Paul's belt to demonstrate what would happen if he continued his journey to Jerusalem, stating the message of the Holy Spirit:

So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.

Paul, however, would not be persuaded to stay away.[3]

Agabus' symbolic action has been compared [6] with the Jewish prophet Jeremiah:

Thus the LORD said to me, "Go and buy yourself a linen waistband and put it around your waist, but do not put it in water." So I bought the waistband in accordance with the word of the LORD and put it around my waist ... For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah to me,' declares the LORD, 'to be my people for my renown and praise and honor.[7]

Tradition says that Agabas went to many countries, teaching and converting many. This moved the Jews of Jerusalem to arrest him, and they tortured him by beating him severely, and putting a rope around his neck. He was dragged outside the city and stoned to death.[2] Jesuit theologian Anthony Maas says he was martyred at Antioch.[3]

Veneration

The Roman Catholic Church celebrates his feast day on February 13, while the Eastern Christianity celebrates it on March 8

Bl. Archangela Girlani

Feastday: February 13

Birth: 1460

Death: 1494

Carmelite mystic. She was born in Trino, in northern Italy, in 1460, baptized Eleanor. Though planning to become a Benedictine nun, she was thwarted in her desire by her horse - the animal refused to carry her to the convent. She then became a Carmelite in Parma, Italy, taking the name Archangela, being professed in 1478. Named prioress of the convent, Archangela founded a new Carmel in Mantua. She was gifted with ecstasies and levitation and was reported to have performed miracles. Archangela died on January 25,1494, and her cult was confirmed in 1864.

Archangela Girlani (1460 – 25 January 1494) - born as Eleanora Girlani - was an Italian Carmelite Order professed religious who was known for her visions. Pope Pius IX confirmed her cultus and beatified her on 1 October 1864.

Life

Eleanora Girlani was born in 1460 to a noble family of Trino, then in the Duchy of Savoy. Having been educated by the Benedictines, she had planned to become a Benedictine nun. However, on her way to the abbey, her horse refused to take her there. Interpreting this a sign, she instead became a Carmelite nun in Parma, and was given the religious name of Archangela.[1] She was professed in 1478.

Girlani was later elected the prioress of her monastery, and went on to found a new Carmelite monastery in Mantua. She is remembered as a mystic who had a special devotion to the Most Holy Trinity,[2] and was reported to have the gifts of ecstasies, and miracles, including levitation.[1]

Widespread devotion and reports of healing arose after her death in 1494. Her cultus was confirmed on 1 October 1864 by Pope Pius IX.[2] Her feast day is celebrated on 13 February.

Bl. John Lantrua of Triora

Feastday: February 13

Death: 1816

Franciscan martyr of China. He was born at Triora, in Liguria, Italy, in 1760, and became a Franciscan at the age of seventeen. John volunteered for the Chinese missions. After working in China with great success from 1798, he was arrested, imprisoned, and strangled on February 7. John was beatified in 1900.

This article is about the Catholic martyrs of the Boxer Rebellion. For the Protestant martyrs, see China Martyrs of 1900. For other martyrs, see Chinese Martyrs.

The Martyr Saints of China, or Augustine Zhao Rong and his 119 companions, are saints of the Catholic Church. The 87 Chinese Catholics and 33 Western missionaries[1] from the mid-17th century to 1930 were martyred because of their ministry and, in some cases, for their refusal to apostatize.

Many died in the Boxer Rebellion, in which anti-colonial peasant rebels slaughtered 30,000 Chinese converts to Christianity along with missionaries and other foreigners.

In the ordinary form of the Latin Rite, they are remembered with an optional memorial on July 9.

The 17th and 18th centuries

On January 15, 1648, during the Manchu Invasion to Ming China, Manchu Tatars, having invaded the region of Fujian and Francisco Fernández de Capillas, a Dominican priest aged 40.[2] After having imprisoned and tortured him, they beheaded him while he recited with others the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary. Father de Capillas has since been recognised by the Holy See as the protomartyr of China.

After the first wave of missionary activities in China during the late Ming to early Qing dynasties, the Qing government officially banned Catholicism (Protestantism was considered outlawed by the same decree, as it was linked to Catholicism) in 1724 and lumped it together with other 'perverse sects and sinister doctrines' in Chinese folk religion.[3]

While Catholicism continued to exist and increase many-fold in areas beyond the government's control (Sichuan notably), and many Chinese Christians fled the persecution to go to port cities in Guangdong or to Indonesia, where many translations of Christian works into Chinese occurred during this period, there were also many missionaries who broke the law and secretly entered the forbidden mainland territory.[3] They eluded Chinese patrol boats on the rivers and coasts; however, some of them were caught and put to death.

Towards the middle of the 18th century five Spanish missionaries, who had carried out their activity between 1715–1747, were put to death as a result of a new wave of persecution that started in 1729 and broke out again in 1746. This was in the epoch of the Yongzheng Emperor and of his successor, the Qianlong Emperor.

Peter Sanz, O.P., bishop, was martyred on May 26, 1747, in Fuzhou.

All four of the following were killed on October 28, 1748:

Francis Serrano, O.P., vicar apostolic and bishop-elect

Joachim Royo, O.P., priest

John Alcober, O.P., priest

Francis Diaz, O.P., priest.

Early 19th-century martyrdoms

A new period of persecution in regard to the Christian religion occurred in the 19th century.

While Catholicism had been authorised by some Chinese emperors in the preceding centuries, the Jiaqing Emperor published, instead, numerous and severe decrees against it. The first was issued in 1805. Two edicts of 1811 were directed against those among the Chinese who were studying to receive sacred orders, and against priests who were propagating the Christian religion. A decree of 1813 exonerated voluntary apostates from every chastisement – that is, Christians who spontaneously declared that they would abandon their faith – but all others were to be dealt with harshly.

In this period the following underwent martyrdom:

Peter Wu, a Chinese lay catechist. Born of a pagan family, he received baptism in 1796 and passed the rest of his life proclaiming the truth of the Christian religion. All attempts to make him apostatize were in vain. The sentence having been pronounced against him, he was strangled on November 7, 1814.

Joseph Zhang Dapeng, a lay catechist, and a merchant. Baptised in 1800, he had become the heart of the mission in the city of Guiyang. He was imprisoned, and then strangled to death on March 12, 1815.

Also in the same year, there came two other decrees, with which approval was given to the conduct of the Viceroy of Sichuan who had beheaded Monsignor Dufresse, of the Paris Foreign Missions Society, and some Chinese Christians. As a result, there was a worsening of the persecution.

The following martyrs belong to this period:

Gabriel-Taurin Dufresse, M.E.P., Bishop. He was arrested on May 18, 1815, taken to Chengdu, condemned and executed on September 14, 1815.

Augustine Zhao Rong, a Chinese diocesan priest. Having first been one of the soldiers who had escorted Monsignor Dufresse from Chengdu to Beijing, he was moved by his patience and had then asked to be numbered among the neophytes. Once baptised, he was sent to the seminary and then ordained a priest. Arrested, he was tortured and died in 1815.[4]

John da Triora, O.F.M., priest. Put in prison together with others in the summer of 1815, he was then condemned to death, and strangled on February 7, 1816.

Joseph Yuan, a Chinese diocesan priest. Having heard Monsignor Dufresse speak of the Christian faith, he was overcome by its beauty and then became an exemplary neophyte. Later, he was ordained a priest and, as such, was dedicated to evangelisation in various districts. He was arrested in August 1816, condemned to be strangled, and was killed in this way on June 24, 1817.

Paul Liu Hanzuo, a Chinese diocesan priest, killed in 1819.

Francis Regis Clet of the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians). After obtaining permission to go to the missions in China, he embarked for the Orient in 1791. Having reached there, for 30 years he spent a life of missionary sacrifice. Upheld by an untiring zeal, he evangelised three immense Chinese provinces: Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan. Betrayed by a Christian, he was arrested and thrown into prison where he underwent atrocious tortures. Following sentence by the Jiaqing Emperor he was killed by strangling on February 17, 1820.

Thaddeus Liu, a Chinese diocesan priest. He refused to apostatize, saying that he was a priest and wanted to be faithful to the religion that he had preached. Condemned to death, he was strangled on November 30, 1823.

Peter Liu, a Chinese lay catechist. He was arrested in 1814 and condemned to exile in Tartary, where he remained for almost twenty years. Returning to his homeland he was again arrested, and was strangled on May 17, 1834.

Joachim Ho, a Chinese lay catechist. He was baptised at the age of about twenty years. In the great persecution of 1814 he had been taken with many others of the faithful and subjected to cruel torture. Sent into exile in Tartary, he remained there for almost twenty years. Returning to his homeland he was arrested again and refused to apostatize. Following that, and the death sentence having been confirmed by the Emperor, he was strangled on July 9, 1839.

John Gabriel Perboyre, C.M., entered the Vincentians as a high school student. The death of his younger brother, also a Vincentian priest, moved his superiors to allow him to take his brother's place, arriving in China in 1835. Despite poor health, he served the poverty-stricken residents of Hubei. Arrested during a revival of anti-Christian persecution, upon imperial edict, he was strangled to death in 1840.

Augustus Chapdelaine, M.E.P., a priest of the Diocese of Coutances. He entered the Seminary of the Paris Foreign Missions Society, and embarked for China in 1852. He arrived in Guangxi at the end of 1854. Arrested in 1856, he was tortured, condemned to death in prison, and died in February 1856.

Lawrence Bai Xiaoman, a Chinese layman, and an unassuming worker. He joined Blessed Chapdelaine in the refuge that was given to the missionary and was arrested with him and brought before the tribunal. Nothing could make him renounce his religious beliefs. He was beheaded on February 25, 1856.

Agnes Cao Guiying, a widow, born into an old Christian family. Being dedicated to the instruction of young girls who had recently been converted by Blessed Chapdelaine, she was arrested and condemned to death in prison. She was executed on March 1, 1856.

Martyrs of Maokou and Guizhou

Saint Paul Chen

Three catechists, known as the Martyrs of Maokou (in the province of Guizhou) were killed on January 28, 1858, by order of the officials in Maokou[citation needed]:

Jerome Lu Tingmei

Laurence Wang Bing

Agatha Lin

All three had been called on to renounce the Christian religion and having refused to do so were condemned to be beheaded.

In Guizhou, two seminarians and two lay people, one of whom was a farmer, the other a widow who worked as a cook in the seminary, suffered martyrdom together on July 29, 1861. They are known as the Martyrs of Qingyanzhen (Guizhou):

Joseph Zhang Wenlan, seminarian

Paul Chen Changpin]], seminarian

John Baptist Luo Tingyin]], layman

Martha Wang Luo Mande]], laywoman

In the following year, on February 18 and 19, 1862, another five people gave their life for Christ. They are known as the Martyrs of Guizhou.

Jean-Pierre Néel, a priest of the Paris Foreign Missions Society,

Martin Wu Xuesheng, lay catechist,

John Zhang Tianshen, lay catechist,

John Chen Xianheng, lay catechist,

Lucy Yi Zhenmei, lay catechist.

19th-century social and political developments

In June 1840, Qing China was forced to open to open the borders and afforded multiple concessions to European Christian missions after the First Opium War, including allowing the Chinese to follow the Catholic religion and restoring the property confiscated in 1724.[3] The 1844 treaty also allowed for missionaries to come to China, provided if they come to the treaty ports opened to Europeans.

The subsequent Taiping Rebellion significantly worsened the image of Christianity in China. Hong Xiuquan, the rebel leader, claimed to be a Christian and brother of Jesus who received a special mission from God to fight evil and usher in a period of peace. Hong and his followers achieved considerable success in taking control of a large territory, and destroyed many Buddhist and Taoist shrines, temples to local divinities and opposed Chinese folk religion.[3] The rebellion was one of the bloodiest armed conflicts in human history, accounting for an estimated number of 20-30 million deaths. As missionary activities became increasingly associated with European imperialism, violence against missionaries arose.[3]

In 1856, the death of missionary Augustus Chapedelaine trigged a French military expedition during the Second Opium War, which China lost. The resulting Treaty of Tientsin, granted Christian missionaries the freedom of movement throughout China and the right to land ownership.[3]

As missionaries started to build churches or schools in offensive locations like old temples or near official buildings, tensions with the local Chinese population arose. The missionaries also abolished indigenous Chinese Catholic institutions that had survived the imperial ban.[3] In some regions, Catholic missionaries started "quarantining" new Chinese converts from the hostile social environment as they see the mission as "enclaves of Christianity in an alien world". The separation sparked conspiracy theories about the Christians and eventually accumulated in a the massacre of 60 people in a Catholic orphanage.[3] In comparison, Protestant missions were less secretive and treated more favorably by the authorities.[3]

Chinese literati and gentry produced a pamphlet attacking Christian beliefs as socially subversive and irrational. Incendiary handbills and fliers distributed to crowds were also produced, and were linked to outbreaks of violence against Christians. Sometimes, no such official incitement was needed in order to provoke the populace to attack Christians. For example, among the Hakka people in southeastern China, Christian missionaries frequently flouted village customs that were linked with local religions, including refusal to take part in communal prayers for rain (and because the missionaries benefitted from the rain, it was argued that they had to do their part in the prayers) and refusing to contribute funds to operas for Chinese gods (these same gods honoured in these village operas were the same spirits that the Boxers called to invoke in themselves, during the later rebellion).[3]

Catholic missions offered protection to those who came to them, including criminals, fugitives from the law, and rebels against the government; this also led to hostile attitudes developing against the missions by the government.[3]

Boxer Rebellion

And so passed an era of expansion in the Christian missions, with the exception of the period in which they were struck by the uprising by the "Society for Justice and Harmony" (commonly known as the "Boxers"). This occurred at the beginning of the 20th century and caused the shedding of the blood of many Christians.

It is known[citation needed] that mingled in this rebellion were all the secret societies and the accumulated and repressed hatred against foreigners in the last decades of the 19th century, because of the political and social changes following the Second Opium War and the imposition of the so-called unequal treaties on China by the Western Powers.

Very different, however, was the motive for the persecution of the missionaries, even though they were of European nationalities. Their slaughter was brought about solely on religious grounds. They were killed for the same reason as the Chinese faithful who had become Christians. Reliable historical documents provide evidence of the anti-Christian hatred which spurred the Boxers to massacre the missionaries and the Christians of the area who had adhered to their teaching. In this regard, an edict[citation needed] was issued on July 1, 1900, which, in substance, said that the time of good relations with European missionaries and their Christians was now past: that the former must be repatriated at once and the faithful forced to apostatize, on penalty of death.

Following the failure of the Boxer Rebellion, China was further subject to Western spheres of influence, which in turn led to a booming conversion period in the following decades. The Chinese developed respect for the moral level that Christians maintained in their hospital and schools.[3] The continuing association between Western imperialism in China and missionary efforts nevertheless continued to fuel hostilities against missions and Christianity in China. All missions were banned in China by the new communist regime after the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, and officially continue to be legally outlawed to the present.

St. Lezin

Feastday: February 13

Birth: 540

Death: 609

French bishop. A member of the Frankish aristocracy, he gave up worldly Concerns and entered the Church. Known for his sanctity, he later became bishop of Angers.

Licinius of Angers (also known as Saint Lezin, or Lésin) (c.540–c.610) was a Frankish nobleman and bishop of Angers, celebrated as Catholic saint on 13 February.[1]

Lucinius was born about 540 and sent to the court of King Chlothar I when about 20. Chlothar's son King Chilperic I made him governor of Angers. Upon the death of Bishop Audouin in about 600, he was also made bishop of Angers by King Chlothar II.[2]

He founded a monastery and a Church both dedicated to St John the Baptist, and was buried there. His age at death was said to be 64 and the date 618 by one source,[2] but others state earlier.

St. Polyeuctus

Feastday: February 13

Patron: of vows and treaty agreements

Death: 259

Roman martyr of Greek parentage. An official in the Roman provincial govern­ment in the East, he was put to death in Armenia during the persecution launched by Emperor Valerian. His Acts are extant, as recorded by Metaphrastes, and are well known for their beauty and poignancy. Polyeuctus' martyrdom was the subject of a play by Pierce Corneille in the seventeenth century.

For the patriarch, see Patriarch Polyeuctus of Constantinople.

Saint Polyeuctus (also Polyeuctes, Polyeuktos) of Melitene (died January 10, 259) is an ancient Roman saint. Christian tradition states that he was a wealthy Roman army officer who was the first martyr in Melitene, Armenia, under Valerian.[1]

Symeon Metaphrastes writes that, moved by the zeal of his friend Saint Nearchus, Polyeuctus had openly converted to Christianity. "Enflamed with zeal, St Polyeuctus went to the city square, and tore up the edict of Decius which required everyone to worship idols. A few moments later, he met a procession carrying twelve idols through the streets of the city. He dashed the idols to the ground and trampled them underfoot."[1]

He was tortured by the authorities and ignored the tears and protestations of his wife Paulina, his children, and his father-in-law. He was beheaded.[citation needed]

Veneration

Painting depicting the martyrdom of Polyeuctus, from the Menologion of Basil II (c. 1000 AD)

He was buried at Melitene, and a church was dedicated to him there. Christian tradition states that the parents of Euthymius the Great prayed for a son at the church of St. Polyeuctus in Melitene.[1]

A church was dedicated to him at Constantinople by Anicia Juliana in 524-527. The excavations undertaken in the 1960s revealed that, at the time of Justinian's ascension to the throne, the basilica was the largest in Constantinople and that it featured some remarkably ostentatious display of wealth, such as gilded reliefs of peacocks, as well as much oriental detail.[citation needed]

His feast day was January 7 in the ancient Armenian calendars. His feast day is now January 7 in the Catholic calendar. In the Eastern Orthodox liturgics, his feast falls on January 9. Polyektus is the patron saint of vows and treaty agreements.[1]

Cultural references

Pierre Corneille, inspired by the account of Polyeuctus' martyrdom, used elements from the saint's story in his tragedy Polyeucte (1642). In 1878 it was adapted into an opera by Charles Gounod, with the assistance of the librettist Jules Barbier.

Other works based on the play include a ballet by Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1679), and the opera Poliuto (1838) by Donizetti (adapted with Scribe as Les martyrs). Paul Dukas composed his Polyeucte overture, which premiered in January 1892.

Blessed Jordan of Saxony

சபைத்தலைவர் சாக்சன் நகர் ஜோர்டன் Jordan von Sachsen

பிறப்பு 

1200, 

போர்க்பெர்கே Borgberge, ஜெர்மனி

இறப்பு 

13 பிப்ரவரி 1237, 

சிரியா

இவர் தான் பிறந்த ஊரின் அருகிலிருந்த பாடர்போன் (Paderborn) என்ற நகரில் கல்வி பயின்றார். இவர் தன் கல்வி படிப்பை முடித்தப்பின், புனித தொமினிக்கன் துறவற சபையில் சேர்ந்து குருவானார். 1221 ஆம் ஆண்டு அச்சபைத்தலைவர் இறந்துவிடவே, அச்சபையின் இரண்டாவது சபைத்தலைவர் பொறுப்பை புனித ஜோர்டன் ஏற்றார். இவர் தன் சபையை உலகெங்கும் பரவ அயராது உழைத்து நற்செய்தியை போதித்தார். தன் சபை குருக்கள் பலரை பாரிஸ் நகரில் இருந்த கல்லூரிகளில் படிக்கவைத்தார். இவர் பல வித்தியாசமான முறைகளில் தன் சபையை வளர்த்தெடுத்தார். 

இவர் தன் உள்மனதிலிருந்து மற்றவர்களை அன்புச் செய்தார். அனைவரும் இவரை எளிதில் நெருக்கக்கூடிய அளவிற்கு சாதாரண மனிதராகத் திகழ்ந்தார். இவர் தனது அழகிய மறையுரையினால் பல இளைஞர்களின் வாழ்வில் மாற்றத்தை ஏற்படுத்தினார். இவரின் வாழ்வால் பலர் ஈர்க்கப்பட்டு இவரின் சபைக்கு வந்து சேர்ந்தனர். இவர் அச்சபையில் மிகச் சிறந்த பேராசிரியராக திகழ்ந்தார். இவர் ஏராளமான பயணங்களை மேற்கொண்டு தன் சபையைப் பரப்பினார். அவர் சிரியாவிற்கு பயணம் செய்யும்போதுதான் இறந்தார். இறந்தபிறகு இவரின் உடல் இஸ்ரயேல் நாட்டில் தொமினிக்கன் ஆலயம் ஒன்றில் அடக்கம் செய்யப்பட்டது

Also known as

• Jordan de Alamaia

• Giordana, Giordano, Giordanus, Gordanus, Jordana, Jordanka, Jordanus

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Born to the Saxon nobility, he received a pious upbringing and was noted for his charity to the poor from an early age. Educated in Germany, and received his masters degree in theology at the University of Paris. Joined the Order of Preachers in 1220 under Saint Dominic himself. Prior-provincial of the Order in Lombardy, Italy in 1221. Succeeded Dominic as master-general of the Order in 1222. Under his administration, the Order spread throughout Germany, and into Denmark.

A noted and powerful preacher; one of his sermons brought Saint Albert the Great into the Order. Wrote a biography of Saint Dominic. His writings on Dominic and the early days of the Order are still considered a primary sources. Spiritual director of Blessed Diana d'Andalo, and helped her found the monastery of Saint Agnes.

Born

• c.1190 at Padberg Castle, diocese of Paderborn, Westphalia, old Saxony (in modern Germany)

• rumoured to have been born in Palestine while his parents were on a pilgrimage, and named after the River Jordan, but this is apparently aprochryphal

Died

• drowned in 1237 in a shipwreck off the coast of Syria while on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land

• buried in Acre

Beatified

1826 (cultus confirmed) by Pope Leo XII

Patronage

• against drowning

• Dominicans

• University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Engineering

Blessed Eustochium of Padua

Also known as

• Lucrezia Bellini

• Cinderella of the Cloister

Profile

Daughter of a Paduan nun who had been seduced into ignoring her vow of chastity; Lucrezia grew up in the convent. She felt a call to the religious life, which many of the sisters of opposed due to the scandal of her birth. The bishop approved of her vocation, however, and she entered her novitiate as a Benedictine nun in 1461, taking the name Eustochium.

For four years she suffered from violent, hysterical fits. She was considered to be possessed, imprisoned, fed on bread and water, periodically starved and repeatedly exorcised. When her abbess fell ill, she was accused of poisoning the woman, and had to be saved from a mob of townspeople who wanted to burn her as a demon. Between these bouts, she was gentle, pious, patient and humble, apparently seeing it all as a form of penance. Her confessor and spiritual director insisted that she be allowed to continue with her vocation, and her sanctity won over many of the sisters who had opposed her.

She died very soon after her formal vows. The name of Jesus was found cauterized on her breast. She is venerated in Padua.

Born

1444 at San Prosdocimo convent, Padua, Italy as Lucrezia Bellini

Died

13 February 1469 at San Prosdocimo convent, Padua, Italy of natural causes

Patronage

• against insanity

• against mental illness

• against temptations

• children whose parents are not married

• illegitimacy

• mentally ill people

Saint Martinian the Hermit

Also known as

Martinian of Athens

Profile

Hermit from age 18. Miracle worker. There are a couple of stories attached to Martinian; in them the line between fact and a good story probably blurs a little.

Legend says that one day a miserable, bedraggled woman named Zoe showed at his door requesting a traveller's hospitality. He took her in, but her true colors soon showed as she cleaned up and showed herself to be a beautiful woman who tried to seduce Martinian. When he realized how tempted he was, he built a fire and put his feet in it; the pain, as you might imagine, was excruciating. Martinian said, "If I cannot stand this fire, how will I tolerate the fires of Hell?" He counseled her while she treated his wounds, converted her, and she became a nun in Bethlehem.

To save himself from his own weakness, the saint moved to a large rock surrounded on all sides by the sea. There he lived on bread and water brought to him by a Christian sailor who visited three times a year. After six years living exposed on the rock, he had a visitor - a young woman who washed up on the rock after her ship had gone down at sea. Before she could speak, he gave her all his provisions, promised to send his friend the sailor to rescue her when he returned, then threw himself into the sea. He washed up on shore, and two months later had the girl rescued. He then spent the rest of his days in Athens.

Born

c.350 at Caesarea, Palestine

Died

c.398 at Athens, Greece

Blessed Christina of Spoleto

Also known as

• Agostina Camozzi

• Christina Camozzi

• Christina Visconti (a mispelling that has been perpetuated in several accounts)

• Christine...

Profile

Daughter of a physician. Married to a stone cutter, but widowed very young. She became mistress to a soldier, and bore his son, but the child died as an infant. Married a second time, she was widowed when the man was killed in a fight with a jealous rival. Realizing that her life was completely out of control, she had a conversion, became an Augustinian tertiary, took the name Christina, gave herself over to Christ, and imposed severe austerities on herself as penance for her earlier ways. Lived in a number of Augustinian convents, became known as a miracle worker, and was on a pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre when she died.

Born

1435 at Lake Lugano, Italy as Agostina Camozzi

Died

• 13 February 1458 in Spoleto, Italy of natural causes

• buried at the Augustinian church of Saint Nicholas in Spoleto

• re-interred at the church of Saint Gregory the Great in Spoleto

Beatified

1834 by Pope Gregory XVI (cultus confirmed)

Blessed James Alfred Miller

Also known as

Leo William, Santiago

Profile

Member of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle Brothers). He taught Spanish, English and religion, and coached football at a high school in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Noted for his knowledge and skill at construction. Assigned by the Brothers to teach in Nicaragua, he taught classes, supervised the school, and supervised the construction of ten new schools; he returned to Minnesota in 1978 when it became dangerous in the region during the Sandinista Revolution. Missionary and teacher in Guatemala in 1981. Murdered by three masked men who may have been part of the Guatemalan military intelligence death squad, G-2, while standing on a ladder, repairing a wall of a school. Martyr.

Born

21 September 1944 in Stevens Point, Wisconsin

Died

13 February 1982 in Huehuetenango, Guatemala

Beatified

• 7 December 2019 by Pope Francis

• the beatification recognition was celebrated at the Sports Complex of Colegio La Salle, Huehuetenango, Guatemala with Cardinal José Luis Lacunza Maestrojuán the chief celebrant

Saint Paulus Liu Hanzuo

Also known as

Baolu

Additional Memorial

28 September as one of the Martyrs of China

Profile

Raised in a poor Christian family, Paulus worked as a shepherd in his youth, and had little education. Feeling a call to the priesthood, he entered seminary at age 24; because he had no Latin, he was allowed to study philosophy and theology in Chinese. Ordained in his early 30’s, Father Paulus served as a priest in the apostolic vicariate of Sichuan, China, and worked with the Foreign Mission Society of Paris. Because of the persecution of Christians at the time, he worked as a vegetable seller by day, ministered to covert Catholics by night. He was betrayed to the authorities by a local carpenter; he was in the middle of Mass when found, asked for permission to finish, and when it was done he turned himself over for arrest. He was imprisoned, flogged, and when he would neither pay a bribe nor renounce his faith, he was executed. Martyr.

Born

c.1778 in Lezhi, Sichuan, China

Died

strangled to death on 13 February 1818 in Chengdu, Sichuan, China

Canonized

1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II

Blessed Angelo Tancredi

Also known as

• Angelo of Rieti

• Angelus...

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Born to the nobility, Angelo became a knight. In 1223 he was in service to Cardinal Leone Brancaleone in Rome, Italy where he met Saint Francis of Assisi. He was so taken with the teachings of Francis that he gave up the military life, became one of the first spiritual students of Francis, and one of the first twelve Franciscan friars; he was the first knight to join the Order. One of the authors of the famous Legend of the Three Companions about Francis and the early days of the Franciscans, he nursed Saint Francis during his final illness, and was singing the Canticle to him when he died.

Born

• late 12th century in Rieti, Italy

• a monastery dedicated to Saint Clare of Assisi was built on the site of the house where he was born

Died

• 1258 of natural causes

• buried near the tomb of Saint Francis of Assisi in the crypt of the basilica in Assisi, Italy

Saint Castor of Karden

Also known as

Kastor von Karden

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Spiritual student of Saint Maximinus of Trier. Priest, ordained by Maximinus in the mid-4th-century. Hermit at Karden in the Moselle river region where he ministered to other hermits and small religious groups, including Saint Potentinus his sons Felicius and Simplicius.

Born

4th century, possibly in the Aquitaine region of modern France

Died

• c.400 in Karden, Moselle (in modern Germany) of natural causes

• relics enshrined in the church of Paulinus in Karden in 791

• relics transferred on 11 November 836 to the church that became the Basilica of Saint Castor in Koblenz (in modern Germany by the archbishop of Trier

Saint Fulcran of Lodève

Profile

Pious youth who early decided on a life in the Church. Priest. Bishop of Lodève, France for 57 years, consecrated on 4 February 949. Rebuilt many churches and convents. Founded the monastery of Saint Sauveur, and several hospitals for the poor. Untiring reformer and supporter of the spiritual life of his clergy, known for his personal asceticism.

Died

• 13 February 1006 of natural causes

• buried in the cathedral of Lodève, France

• body disinterred and burned by the Huguenots in 1572; only a few particles remain

Patronage

diocese of Lodève, France

Saint Ermenilda of Ely

Also known as

Ermengild, Ermenhild, Erminilda

Profile

Born a princess, the daughter of King Erconbert of Kent, and Saint Sexburga of Ely. Ermenilda was a pious youth with a strong prayer life. Married to the pagan Wulfhere, King of Mercia whom she converted by setting a good example. Queen. Mother of Saint Werburga of Chester and King Coenrad of Mercia, who abdicated to become a monk in Rome, Italy. Ermenilda used her royal influence to destroy the last of Anglo-Saxon paganism. When widowed, she became a Benedictine nun at Minster-in-Sheppy abbey, which had been founded by her mother. She served as abbess there and at the abbey at Ely, England.

Died

13 February 703 of natural causes

Saint Phaolô Lê Van Loc

Also known as

Paul Le-Van-Loc

Additional Memorial

24 November as one of the Martyrs of Vietnam

Profile

Priest in the apostolic vicariate of West Cochinchina (modern Vietnam). Martyred in the persecutions of emperor Tu Ðuc.

Born

c.1830 in An Nhon, Gia Ðinh, Vietnam

Died

beheaded on 13 February 1859 at the city gates of Gia Ðinh, Vietnam

Canonized

19 June 1988 by Pope John Paul II

Saints Aimo and Vermondo of Meda

Also known as

•Aimo and Vermondo Corio

• Aimonius, Antimond, Aimone

Profile

Two brothers who founded the convent of Saint Victor in Meda, Italy.

Died

c.790

Saint Fusca of Ravenna

Also known as

Fosca

Profile

Raised in a pagan family, at age 15 Fusca converted to Christianity and was baptized along with her nursemaid, Saint Maura. During the persecutions of Decius she was ordered by her family to renounce the faith; she refused. Arrested and tortured and ordered to sacrifice to idols, she refused. Martyr.

Died

stabbed to death with a sword c.250 in Ravenna, Italy

Saint Modomnoc

Also known as

Dominic, Dominick, Domnoc, Domnock, Modomnock

Profile

Member of the Irish royal O'Neill clan. Monk. Spiritual student of Saint David of Wales. Beekeeper while a novice. When he returned to Ireland, a swarm of his bees followed his ship. Hermit at Tibraghny, Kilkenny, Ireland. Bishop of Ossory, Ireland.

Born

6th century Ireland

Died

c.550 of natural causes

Patronage

bees

Saint Giuliana of Turin

Also known as

• Giuliana of Ivrea

• Juliana...

Profile

Lay woman who gave Christian burial to the Martyrs of Turin in 297.

Died

relics enshrined in the church of the Martyrs in Turin, Italy

Blessed Berengar of Assisi

Also known as

Berengario de Asís

Profile

Mercedarian preacher in the Spanish cities of Granada, Valencia and Murcia who was noted for his prison ministry. Ransomed 358 Christians who had been enslaved by Saracen invaders.

Died

Santa Maria Guardia Pratorum

Saint Gilbert of Meaux

Profile

Studied at Saint Quentin. Archdeacon and then bishop of Meaux, France in 995.

Born

Vermandois, France

Died

• 1009 at Meaux, France of natural causes

• relics enshrined in the cathedral of Meaux in 1491

• relics enshrined in the cathedral of Meaux in 1545

• relics destroyed by Huguenots in 1562

Saint Peter I of Vercelli

Also known as

Petrus

Profile

Bishop of Vercelli, Italy in 978. Murdered for political reasons by the future king of Italy, Arduin of Ivrea.

Died

• 997

• interred in the cathedral of Vercelli, Italy

• when it became a focal point for anti-Arduin sentiment, the king set the cathedral on fire

Saint Gosbert of Osnabrück

Also known as

Gaudbert, Gautbert, Gauzbert, Gotebert, Gozbert

Profile

Spiritual student of Saint Anskar. Worked as a missionary with Saint Nithard. Bishop of Osnabruck, Germany from where he supported more missionary work in Sweden.

Died

2 February 874 of natural causes

Saint Stephen of Rieti

Profile

Abbot at Rieti, Italy. Pope Saint Gregory the Great describes him as "rude of speech, but cultured of life". Stephen devoted himself almost wholly to prayer, and was known for his concern with the spiritual lives even of those who wronged him.

Died

c.590 of natural causes

Saint Marice

Profile

Martyr.

Died

relics transferred from Rome, Italy to Cannaiola di Trevi, Umbria, Italy by order of Pope Innocent X

Patronage

Cannaiola di Trevi, Umbria, Italy (declared on 13 April 1647)

Saint Guimérra of Carcassone

Also known as

Guimera

Profile

Tenth century bishop of Carcassone, Narbonne, Gaul (in modern France).

Died

c.931 in Carcassone, Narbonne, Gaul (in modern France)

Saint Huno

Also known as

Huna

Profile

Priest and Benedictine monk at Ely, England under Saint Etheldreda. After Etheldreda's death, Huno retired to a hermitage in The Fens region of England.

Died

c.690 near Chatteris, England

Saint Stephen of Lyon

Also known as

Stephanus of Lyon

Profile

Bishop of Lyon, France. Worked to convert the Arian Burgundians to orthodox Christianity.

Died

512 of natural causes

Saint Benignus of Todi

Profile

Priest in Todi, Italy. Martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian. One of the 140 saints memorialized on the colonnades in Saint Peter's Square.

Died

c.303

Saint Maura of Ravenna

Profile

Nurse to Saint Fusca of Ravenna. Martyred in the persecutions of Decius.

Died

c.250 in Ravenna, Italy

Saint Julian of Lyon

Profile

Martyr.

Died

Lyon, France, date unknown

Saint Dyfnog

Profile

Venerated in Clwyd, Wales.

Born

Wales

Died

7th century

† இன்றைய புனிதர் †

(ஃபெப்ரவரி 13)

✠ தூய சூசையப்பரின் புனிதர் இகிடியோ மரியா ✠

(St. Egidio Maria of Saint Joseph)

இத்தாலிய ஒப்புக்கொள்ளப்பட்ட அருட் பணியாளர்:

(Italian professed religious)

பிறப்பு: நவம்பர் 16, 1729

டரன்ட்டோ, அபுலியா, நேப்பிள்ஸ் அரசு

(Taranto, Apulia, Kingdom of Naples)

இறப்பு: ஃபெப்ரவரி 7, 1812 (வயது 82)

நேப்பிள்ஸ், இரண்டு சிசிலிக்களின் அரசு

(Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies)

ஏற்கும் சமயம்:

ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை

(Roman Catholic Church)

முக்திபேறு பட்டம்: ஃபெப்ரவரி 5, 1888

திருத்தந்தை பதின்மூன்றாம் லியோ

(Pope Leo XIII)

புனிதர் பட்டம்: ஜூன் 2, 1996

திருத்தந்தை இரண்டாம் ஜான் பால்

(Pope John Paul II)

நினைவுத் திருநாள்: ஃபெப்ரவரி 13

பாதுகாவல்:

டரன்ட்டோ

(Taranto)

பாதிக்கப்பட்ட மக்கள்

(Ill people)

சமுதாயத்தில் இருந்து ஒதுக்கப்பட்டவர்

(Outcast people)

சிறுவர்கள்

(Children)

வேலை தேடும் மக்கள்

(People looking for work)

"ஃபிரான்ஸிஸ்கோ போஸ்டில்லோ" (Francesco Postillo) எனும் இயற்பெயர் கொண்ட புனிதர் (சூசையப்பரின்) இகிடியோ மரியா, “ஃபிரான்சிஸ்கன் இளம் துறவியர்” (Order of Friars Minor/ Order of Franciscans) சபையைச் சேர்ந்த ஒரு இத்தாலிய ஒப்புக்கொள்ளப்பட்ட அருட் பணியாளர் (Italian professed religious) ஆவார்.

"போஸ்டில்லோ" முறையான கல்வி பெறாத காரணத்தால், அவரால் குருவாக குருத்துவ அருட்பொழிவு பெற இயலவில்லை. ஆயினும் இவர் ஃபிரான்ஸிஸ்கன் சபையின் சகோதரர் ஆவார். இத்தாலியின் தெற்கு பிராந்தியத்திலுள்ள நகரங்களான “டரன்ட்டோ” மற்றும் “நேப்பிள்ஸ்” (Taranto and Naples) ஆகிய இடங்களிலுள்ள ஏழைகள் மற்றும் நோயாளிகளை பாதுகாத்து, கவனித்து, சேவை செய்வதிலும், இவர் தம்மை அர்ப்பணித்துக்கொண்டதால் மக்களிடையே நன்கு அறியப்பட்டவராக இருந்தார். அதனாலேயே மக்கள் இவருக்கு "நேப்பிள்சின் ஆறுதலளிப்பவர்" (Consoler of Naples) என்ற புனைப்பெயர் இட்டு அழைத்தனர்.

வாழ்க்கை:

"ஃபிரான்ஸிஸ்கோ போஸ்டில்லோ" (Francesco Postillo) கி.பி. 1729ம் ஆண்டு, நவம்பர் மாதம், 16ம் நாளன்று, “டரன்ட்டோ” (Taranto) நகரில் பிறந்தார். இவரது தந்தையார் பெயர், "கட்டால்டோ போஸ்டில்லோ" (Cataldo Postillo) ஆகும். தாயாரின் பெயர், "கிரேஸியா" (Grazia Procaccio) ஆகும். இவரது பெற்றோருக்கு பிறந்த நான்கு குழந்தைகளில் இவர் மூத்தவர் ஆவார். இவரது திருமுழுக்குப் பெயர், "ஃபிரான்ஸிஸ்கோ டொமெனிக்கோ அன்டோனியோ பாஸ்குயேல் போஸ்டில்லோ" (Francesco Domenico Antonio Pasquale Postillo) ஆகும்.

கி.பி. 1747ம் ஆண்டும், போஸ்டில்லோவின் தந்தையார் மரித்ததால், தமது விதவைத் தாயாரையும், தமது இளைய சகோதரர்களையும் பராமரிப்பதற்காக பணியொன்றை தேட வேண்டிய நிர்ப்பந்தத்துக்கு உள்ளானார். வெகு காலம் வரை இவர் ஒரு கயிறு திரிக்கும் (Rope maker) பணி செய்தார். முறையான கல்வி இல்லாத காரணத்தால் குருத்துவம் பெற இயலாததால் “நேப்பிள்ஸ்” (Naples) நகரிலுள்ள “ஃபிரான்சிஸ்கன் இளம் துறவியர் சபையின்” "ஒப்புக்கொள்ளப்பட்ட அருட் பணியாளராக" (Professed Religious) பணியாற்றினார். சபையில் சேர்வதற்காக கி.பி. 1754ம் ஆண்டு, ஃபெப்ரவரி மாதம், 27ம் நாளன்று விண்ணப்பித்த இவர், சரியாக ஒரு வருடம் கழித்து, கி.பி. 1755ம் ஆண்டு, ஃபெப்ரவரி மாதம், 28ம் தேதியன்று, "கலடோன்" (Galatone) என்னுமிடத்திலுள்ள "புனித மரியாளின்" (Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie) பள்ளியில் பணியின் தூய்மையைக் காக்கும் பிரமாணத்தை எடுத்தார். இவர், "கடவுளின் அன்னையின் இகிடியோ" ("Egidio of the Mother of God") எனும் பெயரை தமது ஆன்மீக பெயராக ஏற்றுக்கொண்டார். ஆனால், பின்னர் அதனை "புனிதர் சூசையப்பரின் இகிடியோ மரியா" (Egidio Maria of Saint Joseph) என்று மாற்றிக்கொண்டார்.

தமது பள்ளியின் சுமை தூக்குபவராகவும், வாயில் காப்பவராகவும், பணியாற்றிய போஸ்டில்லோ, தொழு நோயாளிகளுக்காக சமையல் பணியும் செய்தார். அடிக்கடி தமது பள்ளி வளாகத்தை விட்டு வெளியே செல்லும் வழக்கமுள்ள இவர், ஒதுக்கப்பட்ட மற்றும் தனிமைப்படுத்தப்பட்ட மக்களுக்காக இரந்து தானமாக பொருள் பெற்று வந்தார்.

இடுப்பு கீல் வாயு, நீர்க்கோப்பு மற்றும் சுவாசகாசம் அல்லது ஆஸ்துமா நோய்களால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டிருந்த போஸ்டில்லோ கி.பி. 1812ம் ஆண்டு, நேப்பிள்ஸ் நகரில் மரணமடைந்தார்.

Saint of the Day : (13-02-2021) 

St. Giles Mary of St. Joseph

He was born on November 16, 1729 in Naples, Italy. His birth name was Francis Anthony Postillo. His parents left him and his siblings as orphans when he was 18 years of age. He could not study because he was forced to go to work to support the family. But however when he was 25 years old he went to join into a Franciscan Convent in Naples. He was admitted only as a lay brother due to his lack of education and was asked to do the work of a cook and porter and also for begging for alms to serve the poor. He could not become a priest. In his daily rounds, he took sincere efforts to solve the problems of every one he met and spread his own love for Christian values in their hearts. He was known as the Consoler of Naples because of his work of love among the people. Poor people flocked to the Convent to get help from him. There was a talk that the meager supplies available were miraculously augmented through the intercession of St. Joseph so that no poor person may leave empty handed from the Convent. He died on February 7, 1812. He was beatified by pope Leo-XIII in 1888 and canonized by Pope John Paul-II in 1996 as Egdio Maria (Giles Mary) of St. Joseph.

---JDH---Jesus the Divine Healer---