இன்றைய புனிதர்கள் ஜூலை 4

 Bl. Anthony Fantosat

Feastday: July 4

Death: 1900

Martyr of China, a victim of the Boxer Rebellion. The vicar apostolic for southern Hunan, in China, he was martyred at Hangchow on July 7.

St. Peter of Luxembourg

Feastday: July 4

Birth: 1369

Death: 1387

Cardinal and bishop. Peter was the son of Guy of Luxembourg, count of Ligny, in Lorraine, but was orphaned at the age of four. Taken to Paris, he became a canon at Notre Dame, Chartres, and Cambrai and was appointed arch.. deacon of Dreux. For a time he was held by the English as a hostage at Calais for his brother, and then, in 1384, he was named bishop of Metz at the age of fourteen. Two years later, he became a cardinal by decree of the antipope Clement VII. Owing to the political strife which attended the schism, Peter needed armed troops to take possession of his see against the followers of Pope Urban VI. Despite the reforms he introduced to the diocese, he was driven from Metz and joined Clement at Avignon. He died at the age of eighteen at the Carthusian monastery at Villeneuve, France. Peter was well known for his austerity and holiness.

Pierre de Luxembourg (20 July 1369 – 2 July 1387) was a French Roman Catholic prelate who served the Bishop of Metz and pseudocardinal from 1384 until his death.[1] Pierre was descended from nobles who secured his entrance into the priesthood when he started to serve in several places as a canon before he was named as the Bishop of Metz and a pseudocardinal under an antipope.[2] He was noted for his austerities and successes in diocesan reform as well as for his dedication to the faithful but he tried to end the Western Schism that pitted pope against antipope and rulers against rulers.[1][3] His efforts were in vain and he was soon driven from Metz but moved to southern France where he died from anorexia as a result of his harsh self-imposed penances.[3][2]

But both sides in the conflict recognized his deep holiness and his dedication to the people in Metz and elsewhere.[1] There were continual lobbies for him to be beatified and this later materialized when Pope Clement VII beatified him on 9 April 1527 in Rome.[3]

Life

Sforza places Avignon under the protection of Pierre during the plague outbreak.

Pierre de Luxembourg was born in mid-1369 in Meuse as the second of six children to Guido de Luxembourg (1340-1371) and Mahaut de Châtillon (1335-1378); the couple married circa 1354. His parents died in his childhood (father when he was two and mother when he was four) which prompted his aunt Jeanne - the countess of Orgières - to raise him in Paris.[1][2] His siblings were:

Valeran (1355-12 April 1415)

Jean (c. 1370-1397)

André (1374-1396; later Bishop of Cambrai)

Marie (d. 1391)

Jeanne

Pierre was the uncle to Louis de Luxembourg and the quasi-cardinal Thibault de Luxembourg; he was the great-grand-uncle of Philippe de Luxembourg.[3]

In 1381 he travelled to London to offer himself as a hostage to the English to secure his brother's release back to France. The English were so perplexed but enthralled with this offer that his brother was released back to France. This even reached the ears of Richard II who invited him to remain at his court though he decided to go back to Paris to follow Jesus Christ in his vocation to the priesthood.[1][3]

In 1377 he was sent for his education to the Parisian college where an instructor was the theologian and astrologer Pierre d'Ailly.[2] In 1379 he was selected to be the canon for the cathedral chapter of Notre Dame de Paris. In 1381 he became a canon for the cathedral chapter of Notre Dame de Chartres and was elevated to the position of Archdeacon of Dreux in the Chartres diocese. In 1382 he was selected to be the Archdeacon for Cambrai.[3]

In 1384 the episcopal see of Metz became vacant. The selection of a new bishop was complicated due to the Western Schism in which the Kingdom of France supported Antipope Clement VII while the Emperor supported Pope Urban VI. The antipope named Pierre as the new Bishop of Metz in 1384 and he was enthroned in his new see that September entering barefoot on a mule. He began his diocesan reforms in which he divided revenue into three: the first two were for the Church and the poor while the third would be for his household.[1][2] He was able to take Metz with armed troops for a brief period of time but was later forced to withdraw sometime in 1385. This was about the same time that Pope Urban VI selected Tilman Vuss de Bettenburg as the legitimate Bishop of Metz.

Pierre was later made a pseudocardinal after King Charles VI and Duke John requested that the antipope elevate him as such. This occurred on 15 April 1384 and he received the diaconal title of San Giorgio in Velabro. During his time as a pseudocardinal he made attempts to end the Western Schism which were all unsuccessful.[3] The antipope invited Pierre on 23 September 1386 to join him at his court in Avignon where he would remain until his death.[2]

Pierre died in mid-1387 from anorexia and fever due to the austerities he had imposed upon himself; he had fallen ill in March. He died at a Carthusian convent in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon in Avignon.[1][2] His wish was to be buried in a common grave like that of the paupers. Miracles were soon reported to emerge at his tomb prompting his brother Jean to order (on 16 March 1395) the construction of a church dedicated to the sainted Pope Celestine V to which his remains were transferred to.[3]

Beatification

The subject for his canonization was raised at the Council of Basel but without a solid conclusion. In 1432 he was named as the patron saint for Avignon. The vice-legate Sforza placed the town under his protection during a 1640 plague outbreak. His cult following included Metz and Paris in addition to Verdun and Luxembourg. In 1597 his relics were taken to Paris but were damaged during the French Revolution; some relics remain in Saint Didier in Avignon. Pope Urban VIII (in 1629) allowed the Carthusians to celebrate a Mass and the Divine Office in his name.

His beatification had been requested on numerous occasions and Queen Maria of Naples made one such request on 1 February 1388 as did several other nobles and princes. The process had opened on numerous occasions but faced frequent interruptions (1389 and 1390 and later 1433 and 1435) causing its frequent suspension. Pope Clement VII beatified Pierre on 9 April 1527 (some sources suggest 24 March)

St. Jucundian

Feastday: July 4

Death: unknown

Martyr of Africa, thrown into the sea. No details of his martyrdom are extant. 

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

✠ அருளாளர் பியர் ஜியோர்ஜியோ ஃப்ரசட்டி ✠ ✠

(Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati)

சமூக ஆர்வலர் / பொதுநிலையினர்:

(Social Activist and Layman)

பிறப்பு: ஏப்ரல் 6, 1901

டுரின்,  இத்தாலி அரசு

(Turin, Kingdom of Italy)

இறப்பு: ஜூலை 4, 1925 (வயது 24)

டுரின்,  இத்தாலி அரசு

(Turin, Kingdom of Italy)

ஏற்கும் சமயம்:

ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை

(Roman Catholic Church)

அருளாளர் பட்டம்:  மே 20, 1990

திருத்தந்தை இரண்டாம் ஜான் பவுல்

(Pope John Paul II)

நினைவுத் திருவிழா:  ஜூலை  4

பாதுகாவல்:

மாணவர்கள் (Students)

இளம் கத்தோலிக்கர்கள் (Young Catholics)

மலை ஏறுபவர்கள் (Mountaineers)

இளைஞர் குழுக்கள் (Youth groups)

கத்தோலிக்க நடவடிக்கை (Catholic Action)

டொமினிகன் மூன்றாம் நிலை (Dominican tertiaries)

உலக இளைஞர் தினம் (World Youth Day)

அருளாளர் பியர் ஜியோர்ஜியோ ஃப்ரசட்டி, ஒரு இத்தாலிய ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க சமூக ஆர்வலரும் (Italian Roman Catholic Social Activist), டோமினிகன் மூன்றாம் சபையின் (Third Order of Saint Dominic) உறுப்பினரும், ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபையின் அருளாளருமாவார்.

இவர், 1901ம் ஆண்டு, ஏப்ரல் மாதம், 6ம் தேதி, “புனித சனிக்கிழமையன்று” (Holy Saturday), டுரின் (Turin) நகரில், ஒரு செல்வந்த குடும்பத்தில் பிறந்தார். “லா ஸ்டம்பா” (La Stampa) என்னும் செய்தித்தாளினைத் துவங்கி நடத்திவந்த இவரின் தந்தையின் பெயர், “அல்ஃபிரடோ ஃப்ரசட்டி” (Alfredo Frassati) ஆகும். இவரது தாயாரான “அடேலைட் அமெட்டிஸ்” (Adelaide Ametis), ஒரு பிரபல ஓவியர் ஆவார். இவரது ஒரே சகோதரியான “லூசியானா (Luciana Gawronska), 2007ம் ஆண்டு, தமது 105 வயதில் மரித்தார். இவர், கல்வியில் சுமாராயிருப்பினும், தன் நண்பர்கள் மத்தியில் பக்திக்கும் விசுவாசத்திற்கும் பேர்போனவர் ஆவார்.

இவர் ஈகை, செபம் மற்றும் சமூகப் பணிக்கு தன் வாழ்வை அர்ப்பணித்தார். இவர் கத்தோலிக்க இளையோர் மற்றும் மாணாக்கர் சங்க உறுப்பினர் ஆவார். மேலும் டோமினிக்கன் மூன்றாம் (Third Order of Saint Dominic) சபையில் சேர்ந்திருந்தார். இவர் அடிக்கடி "ஈகை மட்டும் போதாது, சமூகப் மறுமலர்ச்சியும் தேவை" என்பார். திருத்தந்தை பதின்மூன்றாம் லியோவின் (Pope Leo XIII) சுற்றுமடலான (Rerum novarum) இன்படி ஒரு செய்தித்தாளை துவங்க உதவினார். 1918ம் ஆண்டு, புனித வின்சண்ட் தே பவுல் சபையில் (Saint Vincent de Paul group) சேர்ந்து தன் நேரத்தை ஏழைகளுக்கு உதவுவதில் செலவிட்டார். தன் பெற்றோரிடமிருந்து பெறும் பயணச்செலவை குறைக்க, மூன்றாம் தர தொடர்வண்டியில் பயணம் செய்தார். இதனால் சேமித்த தொகையை ஏழைகளுக்கு கொடுத்தார்.

இவர் பங்குபெற்ற பக்த சபைகளில் வெளிப்போக்காக இல்லாமல், முழுமையாக ஈடுபட்டார். பாசிச கொள்கைகளுக் எதிராக வெளிப்படையாகவே செயல்பட்டார்.

ஒரு முறை ரோம் நகரில், கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபையினால் ஆதரிக்கப்பட்ட ஆர்ப்பாட்டத்தில் கலந்து கொண்டு வேறோருவர் கையிலிருந்து காவலர்கள் தட்டிவிட்ட விளம்பர பதாகையை இவர் இன்னும் உயத்திப்பிடித்தபடி சென்றார். இதனால் இவர் சிறை செல்ல நேர்ந்தது. அங்கே தன் தந்தையின் செல்வாக்கை பயன்படுத்தவில்லை. ஒருமுறை இவர் வீட்டினுள் பாசிசர்கள் புகுந்து இவரையும் இவரின் தந்தையையும் தாக்கினர். இவர் தனியொரு ஆளாய் அவர்களைத் தாக்கி தெருவில் ஓட ஓட விரட்டினார்.

1925ம் ஆண்டு, தனது 24ம் வயதில், இளம்பிள்ளை வாதத்தால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டு, இவர் மரித்தார். இவரின் குடும்பத்தினர் வியப்புக்குள்ளாகும் வகையில் இவரது இறுதி ஊர்வலத்தில் பெரும் திரளான ஏழை மக்கள் கலந்துக்கொண்டனர். இம்மக்களின் வேண்டுதலுக்கு இணங்கி டுரின் நகர பேராயர் புனிதர் பட்டத்திற்கான முயற்சிகளை 1932ம் ஆண்டு, துவங்கினார். மே 1990ம் ஆண்டு, மே மாதம், 20ம் நாளன்று, முக்திபேறு பட்டம் அளிக்கையில், திருத்தந்தை இரண்டாம் ஜான் பவுல் (Pope John Paul II), இவரை மலைப்பொழிவின் மனிதர் எனப் புகழ்ந்தார். இவரின் நினைவுத் திருவிழா நாள் ஜூலை மாதம், 4ம் நாளாகும்.

Also known as

• Man of the Eight Beatitudes

• Girolamo

Profile

Born to a wealthy and politically influential family; his mother was the painter Adelaide Ametis; his father was an agnostic, the founder and editor of the liberal newspaper La Stampa, and became the Italian ambassador to Germany. A pious youth, average student, outstanding athlete and mountain climber, he was extremely popular with his peers, known by the nickname "Terror" due to his practical jokes. He was tutored at home for years with his younger sister Luciana. He studied minerology in an engineering program after graduating high school. He worked often with Catholic groups like Apostleship of Prayer and the Company of the Most Blessed Sacrament that ministered to the poor and promoted Eucharistic adoration, Marian devotion, and personal chastity. He became involved in political groups like the Young Catholic Workers Congress, the Popular Party, the Catholic Student Federation, Catholic Action and Milites Mariae that supported the poor, opposed Fascism and worked for the Church's social teachings. Enrolled as a Dominican tertiary on 28 May 1922, taking the name Girolamo (Jerome). Especially devoted to the teachings of Saint Catherine of Siena and Saint Thomas Aquinas. He spent his fortune on the needy and visited the sick; during this ministry he contracted the disease that killed him.

Born

6 April 1901 in Turin, Italy

Died

• 4 July 1925 in Turin, Italy of poliomylelitis

• buried in the family cemetery of Pollone, Italy

• body found incorrupt when moved to the Cathedral of Turin in 1981

Beatified

20 May 1990 by Pope John Paul II

Saint Elizabeth of Portugal

இன்றைய புனிதர் :

(04-07-2021) 

போர்த்துக்கல் தூய எலிசபெத்

பிறப்பிடம் : ஸ்பெயின் நாட்டின் ஸரகோசா

நினைவு நாள் : ஜூலை 4

அமைதியை ஆதரிப்பவர்

போர்த்துக்கல் புனிதை, அமைதியின் புனிதை, கூடா ஒழுக்கம் உடையோரின் புனிதை

அரகான் நாட்டு அரசரின் அழகிய மகள் எலிசபெத் 1271 ஆம் ஆண்டு பிறந்தார். குழந்தைப் பருவ முதல், அவள் பக்தியும் செபமும் கலந்த ஒரு தனித்துவம் மிக்க வாழ்க்கை வாழ்ந்து வந்தார். அவரது பெற்றோர் நலமெனக் கருதியதால் அவர் தமது 12 ஆவது வயதில் போர்த்துக்கல் அரசர் டினிஸ் என்பவரை மணந்து இரண்டு குழந்தைகளைப் பெற்றெடுத்தார்.

திறமைமிக்க தலைவராகிய டினிஸ் அவரது மக்களால் பெரிதும் நேசிக்கப்பட்டார். ஆனால் அவர் ஒழுக்கம் மற்றும் பிரமாணிக்கம் இல்Vத கணவராயிருந்தார். இருந்தபோதிலும், எலிசபெத் கணவரை மதிப்புடன் நடத்தி வந்தார். மேலும் தவறான முறையில் பிறந்த அவர் குழந்தைகளையும் படிக்க வைக்க உதவினார். ஆனால் தனது தந்தை, மாற்றாந்தாய் குழந்தைகள் மீது பிரியமாய் இருப்பதைக் கண்டு மகன் அல்போன்ஸா பொறாமை கொண்டு கொதித்தெழுந்தான். எலிசபெத் இவர்களிடையே சமாதானம் செய்ய முயன்றாலும், இருவருக்கும் இடையே வேற்றுமை வளர்ந்து, போர்க்களத்தில் போர் மூண்டது. அமைதியை ஏற்படுத்தும் இறுதி முயற்சியாக, எலிசபெத் இரண்டு படைகளுக்குமிடையே பயணித்து சமாதானம் செய்து வைத்தார்.

சேவையில் ஈடுபட்ட அரசி :

ஞானமும், கரிசனமும் உள்ள பெண்ணாகிய எலிசபெத் அனாதைகள் இல்லம் நிறுவினார். வீடில்லாதவர்க்கு தங்குவதற்கு இருப்பிடம் அமைத்து தந்தார். ஒரு கன்னியர் மடமும் ஏற்படுத்தினார். அவர் கணவர் உடல்நிலை மோசமானபோது அவரை விட்டு நீங்காமல் எலிசபெத் மட்டுமே உடனிருந்து கவனித்து வந்தார்.

கணவரது பிரிவினால் துயருற்று, தூய பிரான்சிஸ் சபையின் மூன்றாம் நிலையில் இணைந்து, ஏழைகளுக்கும் நோயுற்றோருக்கும் உதவுவதில் தன்னையே அர்ப்பணித்தார். 12 ஆண்டுகளுக்குப் பிறகு, தற்போது அரசராகியிருந்த அல்போன்ஸோ ஒரு தனிப்பட்ட தகறாரின் காரணமாக காஸ்டைல் நாட்டு அரசருக்கு எதிராகப் போர் தொடுத்தார். மறுபடியும் வயதான எலிசபெத் குதிரை மீதேறி படையைத் தொடர்ந்து சென்றார். அமைதி ஏற்பட அவரது முயற்சி வெற்றியளித்தது என்றாலும் இந்த முறை இந்த முயற்சி அவருக்கு வினையாய் இருந்தது. அவர் நோய்வாய்ப்பட்டு விரைவில் உயிர் நீத்தார்.

.

Also known as

• Elisabet of Portugal

• Elizabeth of Aragon

• Isabel of Portugal

• Isabella of Portugal

• The Peacemaker

Profile

Princess. Daughter of King Pedro III of Aragon and Constantia; great-granddaughter of Emperor Frederick II. Great-niece of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, for whom she was named. She had a pious upbringing with daily liturgy and praying of the hours, regular religious instruction and education. Married at age twelve to King Diniz of Portugal, and thus Queen of Portugal before she was a teenager.

The king was known for his hard work, his poetic nature, and his lack of morals. Elizabeth suffered through years of abuse and adultery, praying all the while for his conversion, and working with the poor and sick. Mother of two, Princess Constantia and Prince Affonso. She sometimes convinced the ladies of the court to help with her charity work, but most of the time she just incurred their jealousy and ill will. The king appears to have reformed late in life, though whether from Elizabeth's faith or his imminent death is unknown.

Prince Affonso rebelled against the favours that King Diniz bestowed on his illegitimate sons, and in 1323 forces of the king and prince clashed in open civil war. Though she had been unjustly accused of siding with her son against the crown, Elizabeth rode onto the battlefield between them, and was able to reconcile father and son, and prevent bloodshed. This led to her patronage as a peacemaker, and as one invoked in time of war and conflict.

After the death of the king in 1325, she distributed her property to the poor, became a Franciscan tertiary, and retired to a monastery of Poor Clares she had founded at Coimbra.

In 1336 her son, now King Affonso IV, marched against his son-in-law, the King of Castile to punish him for being a negligent and abusive husband. Despite her age and ill health, Elizabeth hurried to the battlefield at Estremoz, Portugal, and again managed to make peace in her family, and thus maintain peace in her land.

Born

1271 at Aragon, Spain

Died

• 4 July 1336 at Estremoz, Portugal of fever

• buried at Coimbra, Portugal

• miracles reported at her tomb

Canonized

25 May 1625 by Pope Urban VIII

Patronage

• against jealousy

• brides

• charitable societies and their workers

• Coimbra, Portugal

• difficult marriages

• falsely accused people

• invoked in time of war

• for peace

• queens

• tertiaries

• victims of adultery

• victims of jealousy

• victims of unfaithfulness

• widows

Saint Ulric of Augsburg

ஆகஸ்பர்க்கின் தூய உல்ரிச்

St. Ulrich Of Augsburg 

(890-973) 

பிறப்பிடம் : ஆகஸ்பர்க், ஜெர்மனி

நினைவு நாள் : ஜூலை 4 

ஆகஸ்பர்க்கின் ஆயர் மற்றும் பாதுகாவலர்

உல்ரிச் 890 ஆம் ஆண்டு ஜெர்மனியில் உயர்குடிமகனாகப் பிறந்தார். தூய கால் ஊரிலுள்ள பெனதிக்தன் துறவி மடத்திற்கு அனுப்பப்பட்டார். அங்கு ஒரு மேன்மையான மாணவராக விளங்கினார். ஒரு குருவானவராகவோ அல்லது துறவியாகவோ ஆகவேண்டும் என்ற தெளிவில்லாமல் தனது மாமா, ஆக்ஸ்பர்க்கின் ஆயர் அடல்பெரோ அவர்களின் கீழ் மேற்கொண்டு பயிற்சி பெற்று வந்தார். அடல்பெரோ உல்ரிச்சை ஒரு மறைவட்டத் தலைவராக்கினார். சில ஆண்டுகளுக்குப் பின் அவரைத் தொடர்ந்து உல்ரிச் ஆயராக பொறுப்பேற்றார். 

உல்ரிச் ஒரு கண்டிப்பான ஆனால் கண்ணியமான ஆயராகவும் தனது சபை குருக்களின் ஒழுக்க நெறிகளை மேம்படுத்தவும் பாடுபட்டார். மக்களுக்கு மதம் எளிதாகப் பின்பற்றக்கூடியதாக இருப்பதற்காக அவர் அதிகமான தேவலாயங்களைக் கட்டி எழுப்பினார். மேலும் அவரது மறைமாவட்டத்தை ஒழுங்காக பார்வையிட்டு வந்தார். முதலாம் ஓட்டோ அரசருக்கு ஒரு வெற்றிகரமான ஆலோசகராகவும் இருந்த உல்ரிச் அரசவைக் கூட்டங்களில் கலந்து கொண்டும், அரசருக்கும் அவரது மகனுக்கும் ஏற்படும் பூசல்கள் பெரிதாகுமுன் அவற்றைத் தீர்த்து வைக்கவும் உதவினார். 

ஒரு வீரமுள்ள மனிதர் :

ஜெர்மனி மீது மேக்யார் மலைவாழ் மக்கள் போர் தொடுத்தபோது, உல்ரிச் ஒரு முக்கியமான ஊக்கமூட்டுபவராக செயல்பட்டார். காட்டு மிராண்டித்தனமான குதிரை வீரர்கள் ஆக்ஸ்பர்க்கை சூறையாட நுழைந்தபோது, உல்ரிச், மக்களை உசுப்பி விட்டு அவர்களை எதிர்க்கச் செய்தார். எல்லோரும் சேர்ந்து நகரைச் சுற்றி பாதுகாப்பு அரணாகச் செயல்பட்டு, அரசர் வந்து அவர்களோடு போரிட வந்து அவர்களைத் துரத்தியடிக்கும் வரைக்கும் அவர்களை எதிர்த்து வெற்றிகரமாக சமாளித்தனர். அந்த நகரை திரும்பவும் கட்டியயழுப்ப உல்ரிச் உதவினார். மாவட்ட தலைமைக் கோவிலையும் புதுப்பித்தார். போரினால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டவர்களுக்கு உதவிகளை தாராளமாக வழங்கினார். 

அவரது இறுதிக்காலத்தில், உல்ரிச் நோய்வாய்ப்பட்டார். ஒரு மடத்துறவியாக செயிண்ட்காலுக்கு திரும்புவதற்கு உறுதிகொண்டு, 972 இல் தனது மறைமாவட்ட ஆயர் பொறுப்பை விட்டு விலகினார். பின்பு நோயுற்று, சிலுவை வடிவில் சாம்பல் பரப்பப்பட்ட தரையின் மீது படுத்து சில நாட்களில் உயிர் துறந்தார். 20 ஆண்டுகளுக்குப் பின்னர் திருத்தந்தை 15 ஆம் யோவான் அவரை ஒரு புனிதராகத் திருநிலைப்படுத்தினார். இதுவே திருத்தந்தை புனிதர் பட்டம் அளித்ததின் முதல் எழுத்து வடிவிலான நிகழ்வாகும்.

Also known as

Udalric, Udalrich, Uldaricus, Ulderic, Ulrich

Profile

Son of Count Hucpald and Thetbirga; related to the dukes of Alamannia and the imperial family of the Ottos. He was a sickly child. Educated at the monastic school of Saint Gall where he proved to be an excellent student. Chamberlain to his uncle Blessed Adalbero, bishop of Augsburg. Priest. Bishop of Augsburg on 28 December 923.

Built churches, worked with the sick in hospital, endlessly visited his parishes, set a good example for his priests, brought relics from Rome - and his good work paid off in the form of improved moral and social conditions for both the clergy and laity.

When the Magyars plundered Germany, they besieged Augsburg. Due to Ulric's courage, his leadership, and his ability to organize the resistance, Augsburg held until Emperor Otto arrived. On 10 August 955, a battle was fought in the Lechfeld, and the invaders finally defeated. Some legends say that Ulrich fought in the battle, but that was impossible.

After 48 years as bishop, an ill and exhausted Ulric resigned his seat, and handed the diocese to his nephew, a move which had the blessing of the emperor, but which the Synod of Ingelheim ruled un-canonical. They charged and tried the aging bishop for nepotism; Ulrich apologized, did penance, and was forgiven, the message of which reached him on his death bed.

A letter circulated for a while that indicated Ulric did not support priestly celibacy, seeing it as an unnecessary burden. However, this was later proven a forgery, and certainly Ulric had enforced the discipline on himself and his clergy.

Ulric was the first Saint canonized by a Pope, which led to the formal process which continues today. Legend has it that pregnant women who drank from his chalice had easy deliveries, and thus his patronage of them, and for easy births. The touch of his pastoral cross was used to heal people bitten by rabid dogs.

Born

890 at Kyburg, Zurich, Switzerland

Died

• 4 July 973 at Augsburg, Germany of natural causes

• buried in the Church of Saint Afra

• earth from his grave is reported to repel rodents, and over the centuries, much has been carried away for that purpose

Canonized

3 February 993 by Pope John XV

Blessed Petrus Kasui Kibe

Also known as

the Japanese Marco Polo

Profile

Raised in a Christian family, Kibe early felt called to the priesthood, and began studying at seminary at age 13. He began studying Jesuit spirituality in 1606. When the Japanese government ordered the deportation of Christians in 1614, Kibe was exiled to the Portuguese colony in Macau; he spent his time there studying Latin and theology. He travelled to Rome, Italy, to continue his studies for the priesthood, a trip that took three years, covering thousands of miles on land and sea, on the way becoming the first Japanese Christian to visit Jerusalem. The Jesuits in Rome had received a letter from Macau recommending that they not even talk to Kasui, but they did and found him sufficiently educated and well suited for the priesthood. Ordained a priest at the Basilica of Saint John Latern on 15 November 1620. He continued his studies with the Jesuits in Rome, and took his vows as a Jesuit in Lisbon, Portugal in 1622. In 1623 he and 20 brother Jesuits sailed for India, arriving in Goa in 1624. Father Kibe wanted to return to Japan, but priests were forbidden to enter the country, and he had trouble finding anyone who would take him there. He finally found a ship that would take him from Manila, Phillippines to Kagoshima, Japan in 1630. For the next nine years he travelled northeast Japan, hiding from authorities and ministering to covert Christians. He was finally captured in 1639, imprisoned, sent to Edo (modern Tokyo) where he met Cristóvão Ferreira who had renounce Christianity; Ferreira tried to get Kibe to renouce his faith while Father Kibe tried to get Ferreira to return to the Church. Kibe was repeatedly tortured but instead of renouncing Christianity he encouraged his fellow prisoners to not lose faith. Martyr.

Born

c.1587 in Kibe, Oita, Japan

Died

run through with a spear on 4 July 1639 in Tokyo, Japan

Beatified

• 24 November 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI

• beatification recognition celebrated at the Nagasaki Prefectural Baseball Park, Nagasaki, Japan, presided by Cardinal José Saraiva Martins

Blessed Maria Crocifissa Curcio

Also known as

Rosa Curcio

Profile

Seventh of ten children born to Salvatore Curcio and Concetta Franzò. During much of her life she was diabetic, and suffered from health problems related to it. A clever and out-going girl, she had only six years of school, but educated herself by reading widely in her family library. She was deeply affected by reading the Life of Saint Teresa of Jesus, which she found at a time when she was feeling drawn to religious life. In 1890, at age thirteen and against some family objection, she joined the Carmelite tertiaries in Ispica, Italy. She and several other tertiaries moved in together to see if they were ready for community life. Rosa transferred to Modica, Italy and managed the Carmela Polara which helped poor and orphaned girls. She travelled to Rome, Italy on 17 May 1925 for the canonization of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus. Soon after she moved to Santa Marinella, diocese of Porto Santa Rufina, Italy on 3 July 1925 to work with the many poor of the area. There she founded the Congregation of the Carmelite Missionary Sisters of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus which received official recognition in 1930; its goal was "to bring souls to God" by feeding the poor, educating children and supporting families. The Sisters spread out across Italy, and in 1947 she sent them to Brazil; the Congregation continues its good work today. Her whole adult life Rosa felt a call to the missions, but due to her health problems she was forced to stay put, be a loving mother to her sisters, and send them into the world.

Born

30 January 1877 in Ispica, diocese of Noto, Sicily

Died

4 July 1957 in Santa Marinella, diocese of Porto Santa Rufina, Italy of natural causes

Beatified

• 13 November 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI

• recognition celebrated by Cardinal Saraiva Martins at Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome, Italy

Blessed Jozef Kowalski

Also known as

• Joseph Kowalski

• prisoner 17350

Additional Memorial

12 June as one of the 108 Polish Martyrs of World War II

Profile

Educated at the local state elementary school, and the Salesian school in Auschwitz, Poland. Member of the Holy Brigade, an unofficial group dedicated to the spiritual life of the school. Joseph joined the Salesians in 1927. Ordained in 1938. Personal secretary of the Salesian provincial. Noted for his youth ministry, conducting conferences, teaching, hearing confessions, and forming a youth choir. Arrested with eleven other Salesians at the church of Mary Help of Christians in Krakow, Poland by the Nazis on 23 May 1941 for providing such non-approved youth programs.

In June 1942 he was scheduled for shipment to Dachau concentration camp, but a Nazi officer who didn't like his attitude beat him and ordered him to stomp on his rosary; Joseph refused and was assigned to a hard labour gang. In his remaining months he spent non-work time ministering to other prisoners. Beaten, tortured, and drowned by camp guards for no particular reason. Martyr.

Born

13 March 1911 at Siedliska, Podkarpackie, Poland

Died

drowned in a cesspool on 3 July 1942 at the Auschwitz concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland

Beatified

13 June 1999 by Pope John Paul II at Warsaw, Poland

Blessed Maria Ripamonti

Also known as

• Sister Lucia of the Immaculata

• Lucia dell'Immacolata

• Lucia of Lecco

• Lucia Ripamonte

Profile

Youngest of four children in her family; her father's name was Ferdinando, and Maria was baptized when she was 4 days old. As a girl, she began working in a local spinning mill to help support her family. She was active in her parish, tended to children, worked with Catholic Action, and was a close spiritual student of the parish priest, Father Luigi Piatti, as she felt a call to religious life. She became a sister in the Ancelle della carità (Handmaids of Charity) in Brescia, Italy in 1932, taking the name Lucia dell'Immacolata, and making her final profession in 1938. Sister Lucia developed a devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes and Saint Maria Crocifissa di Rosa, and assisted visiting priest conducting retreats and the Spiritual Exercises.

Born

26 May 1909 in Acquate, Lecco, Italy

Died

4 July 1954 in hospital in Ronco, Brescia, Italy of natural causes

Beatified

• 9 May 2020 by Pope Francis

• beatification celebrated in the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, Brescia, Italy, presided by Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu

• the beatification miracle involved Irene Zanfino who, on 26 April 1967 at the age of six, was involved in a traffic accident in Bolzano, Italy, was declared dead, and healed through the intercession of Sister Lucia; Irene is alive today, is a nurse and mother of three

Blessed John Cornelius

Also known as

John Mohun

Additional Memorials

• 29 October as one of the Martyrs of Douai

• 1 December as one of the Martyrs of Oxford University

Profile

Born to Irish immigrant parents. Educated at Oxford, and a fellow of Exeter College, Oxford. Studied theology at Rheims, France, and at the English College in Rome, Italy beginning on 1 April 1580. Ordained in Rome in 1583. Returned to England as a missionary in Lanherne, often torn between his zeal to work with the faithful, and his love of the meditative life. Chaplain to Lady Arundell. Arrested at Chideock Castle on 24 April 1594 by the Sheriff of Dorsetshire with Blessed John Carey, Blessed Thomas Bosgrave, and Blessed Patrick Salmon who showed their support of the priest. Joined the Jesuits in 1594 while in prison. Tortured in London to obtain the names of people who had helped or sheltered him, but he told his tormenters nothing. Condemned for the high treason of being a Catholic priest on 2 July 1594. Martyr.

Born

1557 at Bodmin, Lanherne, Cornwall, England on the estate of Sir John Arundell

Died

• hanged and hacked to pieces on 4 July 1594 at Dorchester, Oxfordshire, England

• body later stolen and properly buried by local Catholics

Beatified

15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI

Saint Andrew of Crete

St. Andrew of Crete)

வணக்கத்துக்குரிய தந்தை, ஆயர், இறையியலாளர், மறையுரையாளர், கீர்த்தனை அல்லது ஆன்மீகப் பாடலாசிரியர்:

(Venerable Father, Bishop, Theologian, Homilist and Hymnographer)

பிறப்பு: கி.பி. 650

டமாஸ்கஸ்

(Damascus)

இறப்பு: ஜூலை 4, 712 அல்லது 726 அல்லது 740

மைட்டிலேன்

(Mytilene)

ஏற்கும் சமயம்:

ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை

(Roman Catholic Church)

கிழக்கு மரபுவழி திருச்சபை

(Eastern Orthodox Church)

நினைவுத் திருநாள்: ஜூலை 4

“கிரேட் நகர ஆண்ட்ரூ” (Andrew of Crete) என்றும், “ஜெருசலேம் நகர ஆண்ட்ரூ” (Andrew of Jerusalem) என்றும் அழைக்கப்படும் இப்புனிதர், 7-8ம் நூற்றாண்டுகளில் வாழ்ந்திருந்த வணக்கத்துக்குரிய தந்தையும், ஆயரும், இறையியலாளரும், மறையுரையாளரும், கீர்த்தனை அல்லது ஆன்மீகப் பாடலாசிரியருமாவார். ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை (Roman Catholic Churches) மற்றும் கிழக்கு மரபுவழி திருச்சபைகள் (Eastern Orthodox Churches) இவரை புனிதராக ஏற்கின்றன.

சிரிய அரபு குடியரசின் (Syrian Arab Republic) தலைநகரான “டமாஸ்கஸ்” (Damascus) நகரில் பிறந்த ஆண்ட்ரூ, பிறந்ததுமுதல் ஏழு வயது வரை பேச இயலாத ஊமையாக இருந்தார். புதுநன்மை (Holy Communion) அருட்சாதனம் வாங்கியதுமே இவர் அதிசயித்தக்க விதமாக பேச ஆரம்பித்தார் என்று இவரது சரிதத்தை எழுதிய வரலாற்று ஆசிரியர்கள் (Hagiographers) கூறுகின்றனர்.

இவர் தமது இறையியல் வாழ்க்கையை (Ecclesiastical Career) ஜெருசலேம் (Jerusalem) அருகிலுள்ள “லாவ்ரா” (Lavra) எனும் “புனிதர் சப்பாஸ்” (St. Sabbas the Sanctified) என்பவரின் துறவு மடத்தில் தமது பதினான்கு வயதில், தொடங்கினார். அங்கே அவர் விரைவில் தனது மேலுள்ள துறவியரின் கவனத்தை ஈர்த்தார். ஜெருசலேம் நகரின் தலைமை ஆயரான (Patriarchate of Jerusalem) “தியோடோர்” (Theodore) என்பவர், இவரை அர்ச்.திருத்தொண்டராக (Archdeacon) அருட்பொழிவு செய்வித்து, ரோமப் பேரரசின் தலைநகரான “கான்ஸ்டண்டிநோபில்” (Constantinople) நகரில் 680–681 ஆண்டுகளில் நடந்த “கான்ஸ்டான்டிநோபிள் மூன்றாம் கவுன்சிலில்” (Sixth Ecumenical Council) தமது பிரதிநிதியாகப் பங்குபெற அனுப்பினார். இந்த கவுன்சிலானது, மதங்களுக்கு எதிரான “மோனோடேலிடிஸம்" (Heresy of Monothelitism) கொள்கைகளுக்கெதிரானது என்று, பேரரசன் “நான்காம் கான்ஸ்டன்டைன்” (Emperor Constantine Pogonatus) என்று அழைத்தார்.

“கான்ஸ்டான்டிநோபிள் மூன்றாம் கவுன்சில்” (Sixth Ecumenical Council) முடிவுற்ற சிறிது காலத்திலேயே ஜெருசலேமிலிருந்து கான்ஸ்டான்டிநோபிள் நகருக்கு திரும்ப வரவழைக்கப்பட்ட இவர், முன்னாள் கிரேக்க மரபுவழி திருச்சபைகளின் (Great Church of Hagia Sophia) பேராலயத்தின் அர்ச்.திருத்தொண்டராக அருட்பொழிவு செய்விக்கப்பட்டார். இறுதியில் ஆண்ட்ரூ, கிரேக்க தீவுகளில் மிகப்பெரிய மற்றும் அதிக மக்கள்தொகை கொண்ட “கிரேட்” (Crete) தீவின் தலைநகரான “கோர்டினா” (Gortyna) நகரின் ஆயரவையில் (Metropolitan see) நியமிக்கப்பட்டார்.

இவர், மதங்களுக்கு எதிரான “மோனோடேலிடிஸம்" (Heresy of Monothelitism) கொள்கைகளுக்கெதிரானவராயினும், கி.பி. 712ம் ஆண்டு நடந்த ஆலோசனை சபையில் (Conciliabulum) கலந்துகொண்டார். இந்த ஆலோசனை சபையில் “எகுமென்சியல்” சபையின் (Ecumenical Council) தீர்மானங்கள் அகற்றப்பட்டன. ஆனால் அடுத்த வருடத்தில் அவர் மனந்திரும்பி மரபுவழி திருச்சபைக்கு திரும்பினார். அதன்பின்னர், அவர் பிரசங்கங்கள் நிகழ்த்துவதிலும், பாடல்கள் இயற்றுவதிலும் தம்மை ஈடுபடுத்திக்கொண்டார். ஒரு பிரசங்கியாக, அவருடைய சொற்பொழிவுகள் அவற்றின் கண்ணியமான மற்றும் ஒத்திசைவான சொற்றொடருக்காக அறியப்படுகிறது, இதற்காக அவர் பைசண்டைன் சகாப்தத்தின் (Byzantine epoch) முன்னணி திருச்சபை எழுத்தாளர்களில் ஒருவராக கருதப்படுகிறார்.

திருச்சபை சரித்திர ஆசிரியர்களிடையே அவருடைய மரணத்தின் தேதிக்கு சமமான கருத்து இல்லை. “கான்ஸ்டண்டிநோபில்” (Constantinople) நகரிலிருந்து திருச்சபை பணிகளுக்காய் “கிரேட்” (Crete) தீவு திரும்பும் வழியில், “மைடெலின்” (Mytilene) தீவில் இவர் மரித்தார்

Also known as

• Andrew of Jerusalem • Andreas of...

Profile

Young monk at Mar Sabas. Monk at the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem at the age of 15. Sent to Constantinople by Patriarch Theodore of Jerusalem in 685 to accept the decrees of the Council of Constantinople. He stayed there as head of an orphanage and a men's home for aged. Deacon at the church of Santa Sophia in Constantinople. Archbishop of Gortyna, Crete c.700.

Noted and eloquent preacher, he wrote Greek liturgical poetry and many idiomela (short hymns). May have introduced the Byzantine litugical hymn form known as kanon; his Great Kanon, a penitential Lenten hymn, is still sung in the Byzantine liturgy.

In 712 he attended a synod convened by Phillipicus Bardanes, a Monthelite imperial usurper who denounced the orthodox decisions of the Council of Constantinople. When Bardanes was overthrown, Pope Constantine accepted that Andrew attended the heretical synod under duress, and welcomed him back.

Born

c.660 at Damascus, Syria

Died

c.740 in Crete of natural causes

Saint Bertha of Blangy

Profile

Daughter of Count Rigobertus and Ursanna, daughter of the king of Kent, England. Married a noble named Siegfried, a cousin of the king, at age 20. Mother of five daughters. Widowed in 672. Built a convent at Blangy, Artois, France in 682. Legend says that two partially built houses collapsed, but Bertha had a vision in which an angel pointed out a better location. Retired to the convent at Blangy, and was soon joined by two of her daughters, Deotila and Gertrude, both of whom she outlived. Abbess. When she felt the house was on firm footing, she placed it in the hands of one of her daughters, retired to a cell in the convent, and spent her remaining years as an anchoress in prayer.

Born

7th century France

Died

• c.725 of natural causes at Blangy, Artois, France

• relics at Blangy

Saint Anthony Daniel

Also known as

Antoine Daniel

Additional Memorial

19 October as one of the Martyrs of North America

Profile

Joined the Jesuits in Rome, Italy on 1 October 1621. Ordained in 1629. Missionary to Canada in 1632, stationed at Cape Breton and Bias-d'or Lakes. Missionary to the Huron at Ihonatiria from July 1634 until his death. Founded the first boy's college in North America at Quebec in 1635. Murdered just outside the chapel in which he had just celebrated Mass. Martyr.

Born

27 May 1601 at Dieppe, Normandy, France

Died

• shot with arrows on 4 July 1648 by Iroquois at Teanaostae, near Hillsdale, Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada

• body burned in the chapel in which he had been celebrating Mass

Canonized

29 June 1930 by Pope Pius XI

Blessed Giovanni da Vespignano

Also known as

John of Vespignano

Profile

Born to the wealthy nobility. From his youth he felt drawn to religious vocation, gave up his claim to wealth and moved to the area of Florence, Italy where he was known for his simple life, his charity and his work to care for war refugees. Legend says that when he paused in the fields to read the Bible, his oxen would continue to plow without him.

Born

1235 in Aia Santa, Vespignano (in modern Vicchio), Italy

Died

• 1331 of natural causes

• buried in the church of the monastery of San Pier Maggiore, Florence, Italy

• relics later enshrined in a glass case behind the great altar of San Pier Maggiore

Beatified

by Pope Pius VII (cultus confirmed)

Saint Laurian of Seville

Also known as

Laureano, Laurianus

Profile

Deacon in Milan, Italy. Ordained by Saint Eustogius II. Fled to Seville, Spain to escape Arian persecution; he was chosen archbishop of Seville in 522 and served for 17 years. Martyred by Totila, king of the Arian Ostrogoths.

Born

in Hungary

Died

• beheaded on 4 July 546 at Bourges, France

• Totila sent the severed head of Laurian to Seville, Spain as a message about the power of the Arians; locals credited the arrival of the relic with ending a plague they were suffering

• surviving relics enshrined at Seville

Patronage

Bornos, Spain

Blessed Damiano Grassi of Rivoli

Also known as

Damian, Damien

Profile

Spurred by the martyrdom of Blessed Antonius Neyrot in 1460, Damiano joined the Dominicans, ready to accept martyrdom in his own turn. Graduated from the University of Paris in 1500. Appointed to the Dominican general chapter in Pavia, Italy, a position with extensive adminsitrative duties; he never let it interfere with his ministry to preach. Provincial of the province of Saint Peter Martyr in 1513. Confessor to Charles III of Savoy.

Born

mid-15th century Turin, Italy

Died

4 July 1515 in Piombino, Italy of natural causes while travelling from the Dominican General Chapter in Naples, Italy

Blessed William of Hirsau

Profile

Benedictine monk. Abbot at Saint Emmeram monastery, Ratisbon (Regensburg), Germany. Abbot of Hirsau abbey, Würtemberg, Germany. He restored the house's scriptorium, introduced the Cluniac observance, and saw to the education and improvement of the farmers living on abbey lands. Founded a monastery school and seven abbeys. Supported Pope Gregory VII against Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV in the dispute over lay investiture. Wrote a number of scholarly treatises.

Died

1091 of natural causes

Blessed Natalia of Toulouse

Profile

Moved to Toulouse, France at age 16 to obtain an education. Joined the Mercedarians in Toulouse, received into the Order by Blessed Bernardo of Poncelli. While she could not make the trips into Muslim occupied territory to ransom Christians held as slaves, she became known for her zealous prayer life for the slaves to keep their faith, to be released, and for the work of the Mercedarians who journeyed to free the slaves. Received a vision of Christ encouraging her in this ministry.

Born

1312 in Gaillac, France

Died

4 July 1355 in Toulouse, France of natural causes

Blessed William Andleby

Additional Memorial

29 October as one of the Martyrs of Douai

Profile

Raised Protestant. Studied at Saint Johns College, Cambridge, England. Soldier. Convert to Catholicism. Studied in Douai, France. Ordained in 1577. Returning to England, he spent 20 years ministering to covert Catholics in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Arrested for the crime of priesthood. Martyr.

Born

Etton, East Riding of Yorkshire, England

Died

hanged, drawn, and quartered on 4 July 1594 at Dorchester, Dorset, England

Beatified

15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI

Saint Odo the Good

Also known as

• Odo of Canterbury

• Odo the Severe

• Oda...

Profile

Odo's parents were pagan Danish nobility who had come to East Anglia as part of a colonizing/invading force. Uncle of Saint Oswald of Worcester. Benedictine monk. Bishop of Rambury, Wessex, England. Present at the battle of Brunanburk. Archbishop of Canterbury in 942. Advisor to King Edmund and King Edgar, and helped set their legislative agendas. Paved the way for the later monastic restoration in England.

Born

c.870 at East Anglia, England

Died

2 June 959 of natural causes

Blessed Agatha Yun Jeom-Hye

Additional Memorial

20 September as one of the Martyrs of Korea

Profile

Lay woman martyr in the apostolic vicariate of Korea.

Born

Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

Died

4 July 1801 in Yanggeun, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

Beatified

15 August 2014 by Pope Francis

Blessed Henry Abbot

Profile

Layman. Convert. He was approached by a Protestant minister who claimed to be searching for a priest so he could reconcile with the Church; Henry arranged a meeting with a priest who was in hiding due to state persecution of Catholics, the minister betrayed them to the authorities, and Henry was imprisoned for the crime of hiding a priest. Martyr.

Born

at Howden, East Riding, Yorkshire, England

Died

hanged, drawn, and quartered on 4 July 1597 at York, North Yorkshire, England

Beatified

15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI

Blessed John Carey

Also known as

Terence Carey

Profile

Layman. Servant of Blessed Thomas Bosgrave. Arrested during the persecutions of Queen Elizabeth I for the treason of assisting a priest, Blessed John Cornelius. Offered his freedom if he would denouce Catholicism; he declined. Martyr.

Born

in Dublin, Ireland

Died

• hanged, drawn and quartered on 4 July 1594 at Dorchester, Oxfordshire, England

• on the scaffold he kissed the noose and called it a "precious collar"

Beatified

15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI

Blessed Catherine Jarrige

Profile

Dominican tertiary. She helped priests minister to covert Catholics during the persecutions of the French Revolution. Following the Revolution, she spent the rest of her days caring for the poor.

Born

4 October 1754 in Doumis, Cantal, France

Died

4 July 1836 in Mauriac, Cantal, France of natural causes

Beatified

24 November 1996 by Pope John Paul II

Saint Cesidio Giacomantonio

Profile

Priest. Member of the Franciscan Friars Minor (Reformed). Stoned and murdered in the Boxer Rebellion while trying to protect the Blessed Sacrament. Martyr.

Born

30 August 1873 in Fossa, L'Aquila, Italy

Died

wrapped in a sheet soaked in oil and then burned to death on 4 July 1900 in Hengzhou, Hunan, China

Canonized

1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II

Blessed Ulric of Ratzeburg

Also known as

Ulrich, Ulrik

Profile

Born to the nobility. Premonstratensian canon at the monastery of Ratzeburg, Germany. Priest. Bishop of Ratzeburg in 1257; he served for 27 years. Known for his zeal for the faith, his dedication to the Norbertine Rule, his piety, charity, and his care for the poor of his diocese.

Born

c.1214 in Blucher-Ludwigslust (in modern Germany)

Died

15 January 1284 of natural causes

Blessed Odolric of Lyon

Also known as

Oudryc, Odalric, Odobric

Profile

Canon and archdeacon of Langres, France. Archbishop of Lyon, France in 1041 at the request of Emperor Henry III of Germany. Though he brought several years of stability and return to regular ecclesastical matters to the diocese, he was murdered by a group who, for political reasons, sought to have their own man as archbishop.

Died

poisoned in 1046 in Lyon, France

Blessed Hatto of Ottobeuren

Profile

Born to the Swabian nobility, when Hatto came of age he gave all his property to the Benedictine abbey at Ottobeuren, and became a monk there. He left the abbey to live as a hermit on his old lands; his abbot saw that being a hermit was merely an excuse to live on his old property, and promptly summoned back to community life.

Born

Swabia, Germany

Died

985 of natural causes

Saint Carileffo of Anille

Profile

Hermit in the area of Anille (modern St-Calais), France. The monastery erected in Anille in 576 was named in his honour. While his piety was so well known that a monastery was named for him, no reliable details about him have survived.

Died

• prior to 576

• relics taken to Blois, France to protect them from invading Normans

• relics returned to St-Calais, France in 1663

Blessed Thomas Bosgrave

Profile

Bosgrave committed the crime of showing support for a priest, Blessed John Cornelius, and helping him by giving him a hat. Arrested for his faith at the home of his uncle, Chidicock Castle, Dorset, England. Martyr.

Born

England

Died

hanged, drawn, and quartered on 4 July 1594 at Dorchester, Dorset, England

Beatified

15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI

Blessed Thomas Warcop

Profile

Landed gentleman in Yorkshire, England. Arrested and executed for the crime of giving shelter to Blessed William Andleby, a priest. Martyr.

Born

England

Died

hanged, drawn, and quartered on 4 July 1594 at Dorchester, Dorset, England

Beatified

15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI

Saint Theodore of Cyrene

சிரேன் நகர்ப் புனித தியோடர்

(மூன்றாம் நூற்றாண்டு)

இவர் ஆப்பிரிக்கக் கண்டத்தில் இருக்கும் லிபியா என்ற நாட்டில்  உள்ள சிரேன் என்ற ஊரைச் சார்ந்தவர்.

மிகச்சிறந்த எழுத்தாளரான இவர்,சிரேன் நகரின் ஆயரானார். இவர் தன்னுடைய கடின உழைப்பால் அச்சகங்கள் இல்லாத அந்தக் காலத்தில் திருவிவிலியத்தையும், திருஅவையின் ஒரு சில முக்கியமான நூல்களையும் பிரதி எடுத்தார். மட்டுமல்லாமல், தான் பிரதி எடுத்த நூல்களைப் பலருக்கும் வாசிக்கக் கொடுத்து அவர்களைக் கிறிஸ்துவின்மீது நம்பிக்கை கொள்ளச் செய்தார்.

இவருடைய காலத்தில்தான் திருஅவைக்கு மிகப்பெரிய அச்சுறுத்தலாக இருந்த தியோகிளசியன் என்பவன் உரோமையை ஆண்டு வந்தான். அவன் தன்னுடைய ஆளுகைக்கு உட்பட்ட பகுதிகளில், யாரெல்லாம் உரோமைக் கடவுளை வழிபடாமல் கிறிஸ்துவை வழிபட்டு வந்தார்களோ, அவர்களைப் பிடித்துச் சித்திரவதை செய்து வந்தான்.

இந்நிலையில் ஆயர் தியோடர் தன்னுடைய எழுத்துப் பணியால் பலரையும் கிறிஸ்துவுக்குள் கொண்டு வருவதை அறிந்து, சிரேனில் ஆளுநராக இருந்த டிக்னியானுஸ் என்பவன் மூலம் ஆயரைக் கைது செய்து,  உரோமைக் கடவுளுக்குப் பலி செலுத்தச் சொன்னான்.

ஆயர் தியோடரோ கிறிஸ்துவைத் தவிர வேறு யாரையும் வழிபடுவதில்லை என்று தன்னுடைய நம்பிக்கையில் உறுதியாக இருந்தார்.  இதனால் ஆளுநர் இவரையும் இவரால் மனமாற்றம் அடைந்த சிப்ரில்லா, லூசியா, ஆரோ ஆகியோரையும் தலை வெட்டி கொன்று போட்டான்.

Profile

Scribe and manuscript copyist. Bishop of Cyrene, Libya. Arrested in the persecutions of Diocletian. Theodore was ordered to surrender his copies of the Scriptures; when he refused he was scourged, his tongue was cut out, and he was executed. Martyr.

Died

c.310 at Cyrene, Libya

Blessed Patrick Salmon

Profile

Servant of Blessed Thomas Bosgrave. With Thomas, he was arrested and martyred for the crime of sheltering priests.

Born

Ireland

Died

hanged, drawn, and quartered on 4 July 1594 at Dorchester, Dorset, England

Beatified

15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI

Saint Valentine of Paris

Profile

Grew up in the court of King Childebert of Paris. Against the wishes of his family and friends, Valentine declined an arranged marriage and gave up the worldly life, saying he wished to devote himself to God.

Born

519

Died

547 of natural causes

Blessed Pedro Romero Espejo

Profile

Redemptorist priest in the diocese of Cuenca, Spain. Martyred in the Spanish Civil War.

Born

28 April 1871 in Pancorbo, Burgos, Spain

Died

4 July 1938 in Cuenca, Spain

Beatified

27 October 2013 by Pope Francis

Saint Elias of Jerusalem

Profile

Patriarch of Jerusalem. Exiled by the Emperor Anastasius supporting the decrees of the Council of Chalcedon which affirmed the existence of the Two Natures in Jesus Christ, both God and man.

Died

513 Aila on the shores of the Red Sea

Saint Albert Quadrelli

Profile

Parish priest at Rivolta d'Adda, Italy for 25 years. Chosen bishop of Lodi, Italy in 1168.

Born

Rivolta d'Adda, diocese of Cremona, Italy

Died

1179 at Lodi, Italy of natural causes

Patronage

Rivolta d'Adda, Italy

Saint Flavian of Antioch

Profile

Patriarch of Antioch. Exiled by the Emperor Anastasius supporting the decrees of the Council of Chalcedon which affirmed the existence of the Two Natures in Jesus Christ, both God and man.

Died

512 at Petra, Arabia

Blessed Henry of Albano

Also known as

Henricus Gallus

Profile

Cistercian Benedictine monk. Bishop of Albano, Italy in 1179. Cardinal.

Born

French

Died

1188 at Arras, France of natural causes

Blessed Edward Fulthrop

Profile

Martyr.

Born

Yorkshire, England

Died

hanged, drawn and quartered on 4 July 1594 at York, North Yorkshire, England

Beatified

15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI

Saint Namphanion the Archmartyr

Profile

Martyred with several companions whose names have not come down to us.

Born

Carthaginian

Died

c.180 at Madaura, Numidia (in North Africa)

Saint Sebastia of Sirmium

Also known as

Sabbatia

Profile

Martyred with 31 companions, most of whose names have not come down to us.

Died

at Sirmium (modern Mitrovica, Kosovo)

Saint Innocent of Sirmium

Profile

Martyred with 31 companions, most of whose names have not come down to us.

Died

at Sirmium (modern Mitrovica, Kosovo)

Saint Finbar of Wexford

Profile

Founded a monastery on the Innis Doimhle (Isle of Crimlen), Wexford, Ireland in the sixth century, and served as its first abbot.

Saint Fiorenzo of Cahors

Profile

Bishop of Cahors, France. Saint Paulinus of Nola describes him as humble of heart, strong in grace, gentle in speech.

Saint Aurelian of Lyons

Profile

Benedictine monk of Ainay, France. Abbot of Ainay. Archbishop of Lyons, France.

Died

895 of natural causes

Saint Jucundian

Also known as

Jucundianus

Profile

Martyr.

Born

African

Died

thrown overboard at sea to drown

Saint Valentine of Langres

Profile

Fifth century priest and hermit at Langres, Aquitaine (in modern France).

Saint Theodotus of Libya

Profile

Listed on ancient menologies, but no details about him have survived.

Saint Lauriano of Vistin

Profile

Martyr.

Died

Vistin, Berry, France

Saint Giocondiano

Profile

Martyr.

Died

Africa, date and exact location unknown

Saint Donatus of Libya

Profile

Bishop in Libya.

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இன்றைய புனிதர்கள் ஜூலை 3

St. Thomas

திருத்தூதரான தூய தோமா

புனித தோமா 

( St. Thomas )

திருத்தூதர்

பிறப்பு : கி. பி 1 (முற்பகுதி)

கலிலேயா

இறப்பு : டிசம்பர் 21, 72 கி. பி

சென்னை, இந்தியா (நம்பப்படுகிறது)

ஏற்கும் சபை/ சமயம் : எல்லா கிறிஸ்தவப் பிரிவுகளும்

முக்கிய திருத்தலங்கள் : 

சாந்தோம் தேவாலயம், சென்னை

நினைவுத் திருவிழா : 

ஜூலை 3 - கத்தோலிக்கம்

அக்டோபர் 6 அல்லது ஜூன் 30 - கிழக்கு மரபு

உயிர்ப்பு விழாவை தொடர்ந்து வரும் ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை - பொது

சித்தரிக்கப்படும் வகை : இயேசுவின் விலாவில் கையை இடுபவராக, வேல்

பாதுகாவல் : கட்டட கலைஞர், இந்தியா, மற்றும் பல

திருத்தூதர் புனித தோமா (அல்லது) புனித தோமையார், 1ம் நூற்றாண்டில் வாழ்ந்தவர். கிறிஸ்தவ புனிதராவார். இவர் இயேசுவால் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப்பட்ட பன்னிரு திருத்தூதர்களுள் (அப்போஸ்தலர்களுள்) ஒருவர்.

"நீரே என் ஆண்டவர்! நீரே என் கடவுள்!!" (யோவான் 20:28) என்று உயிர்த்த இயேசுவை நோக்கி இவர் கூறிய வார்த்தைகள் மிகவும் புகழ்பெற்றவை.

திருத்தூதரின் கல்லறைப் பீடத்தில் இந்த வார்த்தைகளே பொறிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன.

இயேசு உயிர்த்துவிட்டார் என மற்ற திருத்தூதர்கள் சொன்னதை முதலில் நம்ப மறுத்ததால் இவர் 'சந்தேக தோமா' (Doubting Thomas) என்ற பெயராலும் அழைக்கப்படுகிறார்.

இந்தியாவில் இயேசுவின் நற்செய்தியை முதன்முதலில் அறிவித்தவர் இவரே என்று பழங்கால கிறிஸ்தவ மரபும், ஏடுகளும் சான்று பகர்கின்றன. கேரளாவில் வாழும் தோமையார் கிறிஸ்தவர்களும் இதற்கு சான்றாக உள்ளனர்.

பெயரும் அடையாளமும் :

பெயர் மரபு :

இயேசுவின் திருத்தூதர்களுள் ஒருவரான இவரை நற்செய்தி நூல்கள் தோமா என்ற பெயருடனேயே அடையாளப்படுத்துகின்றன. 'தோமா' என்னும் அரமேய மொழிச் சொல்லுக்கு இரட்டையர் என்பது பொருள். இதற்கு இணையான திதைமுஸ் (Didymus, தமிழ் ஒலிப்பெயர்ப்பு: திதிம்) என்ற கிரேக்க மொழிச் சொல் யோவான் நற்செய்தியில் குறிப்பிடப்பட்டிருக்கின்றது.

இந்த பெயரின் அடிப்படையில் இவருடன் இரட்டையராகப் பிறந்த ஒரு சகோதரரோ, சகோதரியோ இருந்திருக்கலாம் என்று நம்பப்படுகிறது. பழங்கால சிரிய மரபின்படி, திருத்தூதரின் முழுப்பெயர் யூதா தோமா என்று அறியப்படுகிறது.

இந்தியாவில் கிறிஸ்தவப் பணி :

இந்தியாவில் தோமையார் முதன் முதலில் பண்டைய சேர துறைமுகமான முசிறியில் (தற்போது கேரளாவிலுள்ள) கி.பி. 52-ல் பாதம் பதித்தார். தென் இந்தியாவின் கடற்கறை ஓரமாக நற்செய்தி பணியாற்றிய இவர், ஏழரை ஆலயங்களை நிறுவினார். அவை கொடுங்கல்லூர், பழவூர், கொட்டகாவு, கொக்கமங்கலம், நிரனம், நிலக்கல், கொல்லம் மற்றும் திருவிதாங்கோடு (கன்னியாகுமரி மாவட்டம்) ஆகிய இடங்களில் அமைந்துள்ளன.

இறப்பு :

தோமையார் கி.பி 72-ல் சென்னை மயிலாப்பூரில் மரித்தார் என நம்பப்படுகிறது. 13-ம் நூற்றாண்டில் இந்தியாவில் சுற்றுப்பயணம் செய்த மார்கோ-போலோ குறிப்புப்படி சென்னை அருகே அம்புகளால் குத்தப்பட்டு இறந்தார். அவரது மீப்பொருட்கள் சென்னை சாந்தோம் தேவாலயத்தில் உள்ளன.

விழா நாட்கள் :

9ம் நூற்றாண்டில் தயாரிக்கப்பட்ட ரோமன் நாள்காட்டியில், புனித தோமாவின் விழா நாளாக டிசம்பர் 21ம் தேதி குறிக்கப்பட்டிருந்தது.

1969ம் ஆண்டு ரோமன் நாள்காட்டி திருத்தி அமைக்கப்பட்டபோது, புனித ஜெரோமின் மறைசாட்சிகள் நினைவுநாள் குறிப்பின் அடிப்படையில் திருத்தூதர் தோமாவின் விழா ஜூலை 3ம் தேதிக்கு மாற்றப்பட்டது. இருப்பினும், பெரும்பாலான ஆங்கிலிக்கத் திருச்சபைகள் டிசம்பர் 21ம் தேதியே புனிதரின் விழாவை சிறப்பிக்கின்றன. கிழக்கு மரபு வழி திருச்சபையைச் சேர்ந்தவர்கள் புனித தோமாவின் விழாவை அக்டோபர் 19ம் தேதி (ஜூலியன் நாட்காட்டியில் அக்டோபர் 6ம் தேதி) கொண்டாடுகின்றனர்.

தோமா ஆண்டவரிடம் ஒரு தனிப்பற்றுதல் கொண்டிருந்தார். நாமும் ஆண்டவருடன் சென்று அவரோடு சாக வேண்டியிருந்தாலும் தயாராய் இருப்போம் என்று கூறியவர். தோமா ஆண்டவரின் விண்ணேற்பிற்கு பிறகு சென்று போதியுங்கள் என்ற அவரின் கட்டளையை நிறைவேற்ற புறப்படுகிறார். யுசிபியுஸ் என்ற புகழ்பெற்ற வரலாற்று ஆசிரியர் கூறுகிறார். "அப்போஸ்தலர் யூதா ததேயுவை எடெஸ்ஸாவிலிருந்த அப்கர் என்ற அரசனுக்கு திருமுழுக்கு கொடுக்க அனுப்பியபின் தமக்கென பார்த்தியா மீட்ஸ், பெர்ஷியா இன்னும் பல அண்டை நாடுகளை தெரிந்துகொண்டு மறைபரப்பு பணியாற்றினார். தோமா. அப்போதுதான் இந்தியா வந்தார். "தோமாவின் பணிகள்" என்ற ஒரு நூல் கி.பி. 3ஆம் நூற்றாண்டின் முதல் கால் பகுதியிலேயே மக்களிடம் இருந்ததாக ஆதாரம் இருக்கிறது.

கொண்டோபெர்னஸ்(Condoberns) அல்லது குடுப்பாரா(Cudupara) என்ற மன்னரது ஆட்சி 46 ல் பெஷாவர் வரை பரவிக்கிடந்தது. பஞ்சாபிலிருந்து கொச்சின், திருவிதாங்கூர் சிற்றரசு வரைக்கும் பரவியிருந்தது. அதிலிருந்து " புனித தோமாவின் கிறிஸ்தவர்கள்" என்றே இப்பகுதியினர் அழைக்கப்பட்டு வந்தனர். தங்களுடைய திருவழிபாட்டுக்கு "சீரியக்" என்ற மொழியையே அன்று முதல் இன்றுவரை பயன்படுத்தியதோடல்லாமல் இன்று வரை "சீரியன் கிறிஸ்தவர்கள்" என்றும் அழைக்கப்படுகிறார்கள். சீரியக் மொழி உறுதியாக பெர்ஷியா, மெசப்பொத்தேமியா பகுதிகளிலுருந்து இறக்குமதியானது. தோமா முதன் முதலில் கிராங்கனூர் கடற்கரையை வந்தடைந்தார் எனவும், மலபாரில் மட்டும் 7 ஆலயங்கள் எழுப்பினார் எனவும், பின்னர் குமரி கடற்கரை வழியாக சென்னை வந்தடைந்தார் எனவும், அங்கே பலரையும் மனந்திருப்பிய பின் "சிறிய மலை" என்ற பெயர் கொண்ட இடத்தில் குத்திக் கொல்லப்பட்டார் எனவும் வரலாறு கூறுகின்றது. அவர் மைலாப்பூரில் அடக்கம் பண்ணப்பட்டதற்கு கல்லறை ஆதாரங்களும் உள்ளது.

1522 ஆம் ஆண்டு போர்த்துகீசியர் சென்னை வந்தபோது, அவரது கல்லறையை கண்டுபிடித்திருக்கிறார்கள். அவர்கள் கண்டுபிடித்த பொருட்கள் மைலாப்பூரில் சாந்தோம் பேராலயத்திலேயே வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. இவரின் திருப்பண்டங்கள் பலவும் 4 ஆம் நூற்றாண்டில் எடெஸ்ஸாவுக்கு(Edesta) கொண்டு செல்லப்பட்டதாக "தோமாவின் பணிகள்" என்ற நூலில் தெளிவாக கூறப்பட்டுள்ளது. இந்தியாவிலிருந்து மெசப்பொட்டேமியாவுக்கு எடுத்து செல்லப்பட்டதாகவும் அதில் கூறப்பட்டுள்ளது. பின்னர் எடெஸ்ஸாவிலிருந்து பின்னர் அப்ரூஸ்ஸியில் உள்ள ஓர்டோனாவிற்கு(Ordon) எடுத்து செல்லப்பட்டு இன்றுவரை புனிதமாக காப்பாற்றப்பட்டு வணக்கம் செலுத்தப்பட்டு வருவதாக கூறப்படுகிறது.

இயேசுவின் உயிர்ப்புக்குப் பிறகு தோமாவிற்கு இந்தியாவிற்குப் போகுமாறு சீட்டு விழுந்தது. எனவே அவர் இந்தியாவிற்கு வந்தார். அப்போது குண்டபோரஸ் என்னும் மன்னன் அழகு மிளிர்ந்த ஒரு மாளிகை கட்ட நினைத்தான். இந்தப் பொறுப்பை அவன் தன்னுடைய ஆலோசகராகிய ஹப்பான்ஸ் என்பவரிடம் ஒப்படைத்தான். ஹப்பான்ஸ் யாரிடம் இந்த வேலையைக் கொடுப்பது என நினைத்துக்கொண்டிருக்கும்போது, அவருக்குக் கனவில், தோமா என்னும் ஒருவர் இருக்கிறார், அவர் கட்டடக் கலையில் வல்லுநர் என்ற செய்தி வெளிப்படுத்தப்பட்டது. எனவே அவர் தோமாவை அணுகிச் சென்று, மாளிகை கட்டும் பொறுப்பை அவரிடம் ஒப்படைத்தார். மன்னர் தோமாவிடம் மாளிகை கட்டுவதற்கான போதிய பணத்தைக் கொடுத்துவிட்டு, இரண்டு ஆண்டுகள் வெளிநாட்டுப் பயணம் சென்றார்.

 

தோமாவோ, மன்னன் மாளிகை கட்டக் கொடுத்த பணத்தை அதற்காகப் பயன்படுத்தாமல், ஏழை எளியவர்களுக்குப் பகிர்ந்து கொடுத்தார். இரண்டு ஆண்டுகள் கழித்து, மன்னர் தோமாவை அழைத்து, “மாளிகை எங்கே?” என்று கேட்டார். அதற்கு அவர், “மாளிகை இங்கே இல்லை. விண்ணகத்திலே கட்டப்பட்டிருக்கிறது” என்றார். இதைக் கேட்டு சினமடைந்த மன்னன், தோமாவை சிறையில் அடைத்தான். இதற்கிடையில் மன்னனின் சகோதரன் காத் என்பவன் இறந்துபோனான். ஒருநாள் அவன் மன்னருக்குக் கனவில் தோன்றி, “சகோதரனே! விண்ணகத்தில் உனக்காக ஓர் அழகு மிளிர்ந்த மாளிகை கட்டப்பட்டிருக்கிறது, மேலும் நீ சிறையில் அடைத்து  வைத்திருக்கும் மனிதர் சாதாரண மனிதர் அல்ல, அவர் கடவுளின் தூதர்” என்று உரைத்தான். இதை அறிந்த மன்னன் சிறையில் இருந்த தோமாவை விடுதலைசெய்து அனுப்பினான். அதோடு மட்டுமல்லாமல் அவரிடமிருந்து திருமுழுக்குப் பெற்று உண்மைக் கிறிஸ்தவனாக வாழத் தொடங்கினார்

திதிம் என அழைக்கப்படும் தோமா கலிலேயாவைச் சார்ந்தவர். இவரும் தூய பேதுரு, அந்திரேயா, யோவான் யாக்கோபு போன்று மீன்பிடித் தொழிலைச் செய்து வந்தார். ஆண்டவர் இயேசு அழைத்த உடன், இவர் எல்லாவற்றையும் விட்டுவிட்டு அவரைப் பின்தொடர்ந்தார். விவிலியத்தில் யோவான் நற்செய்தியைத் தவிர மற்ற நற்செய்தி நூல்களில் இவரைக் குறித்த செய்திகள் காணக் கிடைக்கவில்லை. 

இயேசுவின் நெருங்கிய நண்பரான இலாசர் இறந்தபோது, இயேசு பெத்தானியாவிற்கு செல்லவேண்டும் என்று முடிவெடித்தார். அப்போது சீடர்கள் எல்லாம் இயேசுவிடம், “ரபி, இப்போதுதானே யூதர்கள் உம்மேல் கல்லெறிய முயன்றார்கள்; மீண்டும் அங்குப் போகிறீரா?” என்று சொல்லி அவரைத் தடுத்தார்கள் (யோவா 11:8). ஆனால் தோமாவோ, “நாமும் செல்வோம், அவரோடு இறப்போம்” என்று சொல்லி தான் இயேசுவுக்காக எதையும் செய்யத்  துணிந்தவர் என்பதை வெளிப்படுத்துகிறார்.

 

இன்னொரு சமயம் இயேசு சீடர்களிடம், “நான் போய் உங்களுக்கு இடம் ஏற்பாடு செய்தபின் திரும்பி வந்து, உங்களை என்னிடம் அழைத்துக்கொள்வேன்” என்று சொல்லும்போது தோமா, “ஆண்டவரே, நீர் எங்கே போகிறீர் என்றே எங்களுக்குத் தெரியாது. அப்படியிருக்க நீர் போகுமிடத்திற்கான வழியை நாங்கள் எப்படித் தெரிந்துகொள்ள இயலும்?” என்பார். அதற்கு இயேசு, “வழியும் உண்மையும் வாழ்வும் நானே. என் வழியாய் அன்றி எவரும் தந்தையிடம் வருவதில்லை” என்பார். (யோவா 14: 1-6). இப்பகுதியில் இயேசு சொன்னது மற்ற சீடர்களுக்கும் புரியாதிருக்கும். ஆனால் அவர்கள் இயேசுவிடம் கேள்வி கேட்கத் துணியவில்லை. தோமாதான் மிகவும் துணிச்சலாக கேள்வியைக் கேட்டு, விளக்கத்தைத் தெரிந்துகொள்கிறார். 

இயேசு தன்னுடைய உயிர்ப்புக்குப் பிறகு, சீடர்களுக்குத் தோன்றினார். அவர் தோன்றிய நேரம் தோமா அங்கு இல்லை. எனவே சீடர்கள் அனைவரும், இயேசு தோன்றிய செய்தியை தோமாவிடம் எடுத்துச் சொன்னபோது, “அவர் நான் அவருடைய கைகளில் ஆணிகளால் ஏற்பட்ட காயங்களில் என் விரலையும், அவருடைய விலாவில் ஏற்பட்ட காயத்தில் என்னுடைய கையை விட்டால் ஒழிய  நம்ப மாட்டேன் “என்கிறார். எட்டு நாட்களுக்குப் பிறகு சீடர்கள் அனைவரும் (தோமாவும் அதில் இருந்தார்) ஒன்றாகக் கூடி வந்தபோது, இயேசு அவர்கள் நடுவே தோன்றி அவர்களை வாழ்த்தினார். பின்னர் தோமாவிடம், “தோமா உம்முடைய விரலை என்னுடைய கையிலும், கையை என்னுடைய விலாவிலும் விட்டுப் பார்” என்று சொல்லிவிட்டு, “ஐயம் தவிர்த்து நம்பிக்கை கொள்” என்பார். அப்போது தோமா, “நீரே என் ஆண்டவர்! நீரே என் கடவுள்!” என்பார் (யோவா 20: 28). இப்பகுதியைக் வைத்து, நிறையப் பேர் ‘தோமா ஒரு சந்தேகப் பேர்வழி’ என்பர். ஆனால் உண்மையில் அவர் முழு உண்மையை அறிந்துகொள்வதற்காக இப்படிச் செயல்பட்டார் என்பதை இங்கே நாம் புரிந்துகொள்ளவேண்டும். “நீரே என் ஆண்டவர்! நீரே என் கடவுள்” என்று தோமா அறிக்கையிட்ட நம்பிக்கை அறிக்கையைப் போன்று வேறு யாரும் இப்படி வெளிப்படுத்தவில்லை என்பதை நாம் புரிந்துகொள்ளவேண்டும்.

 

இயேசுவின் விண்ணேற்றத்திற்குப் பிறகு, தோமா தற்போதைய ஈரான், பெர்சியா போன்ற பகுதிகளுக்குச் சென்று நற்செய்தி அறிவித்ததாகவும், இறுதியில் இந்தியாவின் தென்பகுதியில் வந்து நற்செய்தி அறிவித்ததாகவும் சொல்லப்படுகின்றது. ஆனால் கிபி. 52 ஆம் ஆண்டு தோமா கேரளாவில் உள்ள கிராங்கநூர் பகுதியில் தரை இறங்கினார் என்றும் அங்கே ஏழு ஆலயங்களைக் கட்டி எழுப்பினார் என்றும் உறுதியாக நம்பப்படுகின்றது. அதற்கு கேரளாவில் உள்ள தோமையார் கிறிஸ்தவர்களே சான்றாக இருக்கின்றார்கள்.

 

தோமா கிராங்கநூரையும் அதைச் சுற்றியுள்ள பகுதிகளிலும் சில ஆண்டுகள் பணியாற்றிவிட்டு அதன்பிறகு, சென்னையிலுள்ள மயிலாப்பூர் பகுதியில் நற்செய்தி அறிவித்தார். அவருடைய போதனையைக் கேட்டு நிறைய மக்கள் கிறிஸ்தவ மதத்தைப் பின்பற்றினார்கள். இதனால் அவருக்கு இந்து பூசாரிகளிடமிருந்து கடுமையான எதிர்ப்பு வந்தது. ஆனால் தோமா தனக்கு  வந்த எதிர்ப்புகளை எல்லாம் முறியடித்துவிட்டு, தொடர்ந்து நற்செய்தியை அறிவித்து வந்தார். ஒருசமயம் அவர் சின்ன மலையில் ஜெபித்துக்கொண்டிருந்தபோது பகைவர்கள் வந்து, அவர்மீது ஈட்டியைப் பாய்ச்சி அவரைக் கொலை செய்தார்கள். 

இவ்வாறு தோமா, முன்பு சொன்ன,  “வாருங்கள் நாமும் போவோம், அவரோடு இறப்போம்” என்ற வார்த்தையை உண்மையாக்கிக் காட்டினார்.

 

232 ஆம் ஆண்டு தோமாவின் புனித பொருட்கள் எடேசாவிற்கு கொண்டு செல்லப்பட்டன. 15 ஆம் நூற்றாண்டில் இந்தியாவிற்கு வந்த போர்த்துகீசியர்கள் தோமாவின் கல்லறை இருந்த இடத்தில் ஆலயம் கட்டினார்கள். 1972 ஆம் ஆண்டு அப்போது திருத்தந்தையாக இருந்த, திருத்தந்தை ஆறாம் பவுல் தோமாவை இந்திய நாட்டின் திருத்தூதராக அறிவித்தார்.

Feastday: July 3

St. Thomas was born a Jew and was called to be one of the twelve Apostles. His birth and death dates are unknown, but his feast day is celebrated July 3. He lived before the formal establishment of the Catholic Church but is recognized as the patron saint of architects.

He was a dedicated but impetuous follower of Christ. When Jesus said He was returning to Judea to visit His sick friend Lazarus, Thomas immediately exhorted the other Apostles to accompany Him on the trip which involved certain danger and possible death because of the mounting hostility of the authorities.

At the Last Supper, when Christ told His disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them to which they also might come because they knew both the place and the way, Thomas pleaded that they did not understand and received the beautiful assurance that Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

St. Thomas is best known for his role in verifying the Resurrection of his Master. Thomas' unwillingness to believe that the other Apostles had seen their risen Lord on the first Easter Sunday earned him the title of "doubting Thomas."

Eight days later, on Christ's second apparition, Thomas was gently rebuked for his skepticism and furnished with the evidence he had demanded - seeing in Christ's hands the point of the nails. Thomas even put his fingers in the nail holes and his hand into Christ's side. After verifying the wounds were true, St. Thomas became convinced of the reality of the Resurrection and exclaimed, "My Lord and My God," thus making a public Profession of Faith in the Divinity of Jesus.

St. Thomas is also mentioned as being present at another Resurrection appearance of Jesus - at Lake Tiberias, when a miraculous catch of fish occurred.

This is all that we know about St. Thomas from the New Testament. Tradition says that at the dispersal of the Apostles after Pentecost this saint was sent to evangelize to the Parthians, Medes, and Persians. He ultimately reached India, carrying the Faith to the Malabar coast, which still boasts a large native population calling themselves "Christians of St. Thomas."

According to tradition, Thomas was killed in an accident when a fowler shot at a peacock and struck Thomas instead. Following his death, some of his relics were taken to Edessa while the rest were kept in what is now known as India. They can still be found within the San Thome Basilica in Chennai, Mylapore, India.

The relics taken to Edessa were moved in 1258 to Italy, where they can be found in the Cathedral of St. Thomas the Apostle in Ortona, Italy. However, it is believed that Saint Thomas' skull rests in the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian on the Greek Island Patmos.

In art, Saint Thomas is commonly depicted as a young man holding a scroll, or as a young adult touching the resurrected Christ's wounds.

Saint Thomas was mentioned in several texts, including one document called The Passing of Mary, which claims then-apostle Thomas was the only one to witness the Assumption of Mary into heaven, while the other apostles were transported to Jerusalem to witness her death.

While the other apostles were with Mary, Thomas was left in India until after her first burial, when he was transported to her tomb and he saw her bodily assumption into heaven, when her girdle was left behind.

In versions of the story, the other apostles doubted Thomas' words until Mary's tomb was discovered to be empty with the exception of her girdle. Thomas and the girdle were often depicted in medieval and early Renaissance art.

Thomas the Apostle (Biblical Hebrew: תוֹמָאס הקדוש‎; Ancient Greek: Θωμᾶς; Coptic: ⲑⲱⲙⲁⲥ; Classical Syriac: ܬܐܘܡܐ ܫܠܝܚܐ‎ Tʾōmā šliḥā; Malayalam: മാര്‍ തോമാ ശ്ലീഹ mar thoma sliha), also called Didymus ("twin") was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Thomas is commonly known as "Doubting Thomas" because he doubted Jesus' resurrection when first told of it (as related in the Gospel of John alone); later, he confessed his faith ("My Lord and my God") on seeing Jesus' crucifixion wounds.

According to traditional accounts of the Saint Thomas Christians of modern-day Kerala in India, Thomas is believed to have travelled outside the Roman Empire to preach the Gospel, travelling as far as the Malabar Coast which is in modern-day Kerala State, India.[1][5][6][7] According to their tradition, Thomas reached Muziris (modern-day North Paravur and Kodungalloor in Kerala State, India) in AD 52.[8][9][1] In 1258, some of the relics were brought to Ortona, in Abruzzo, Italy, where they have been held in the Church of Saint Thomas the Apostle.[10] He is often regarded as the patron saint of India among its Christian adherents,[11][12] and the name Thomas remains quite popular among the Saint Thomas Christians of India.

Gospel of John

Thomas first speaks in the Gospel of John. In John 11:16, when Lazarus has recently died, and the apostles do not wish to go back to Judea, Thomas says: "Let us also go, that we may die with him."[a]

Thomas speaks again in John 14:5. There, Jesus had just explained that he was going away to prepare a heavenly home for his followers, and that one day they would join him there. Thomas reacted by saying, "Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?"

John 20:24–29 tells how doubting Thomas was skeptical at first when he heard that Jesus had risen from the dead and appeared to the other apostles, saying, "Except I shall see on his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe."[20:25] But when Jesus appeared later and invited Thomas to touch his wounds and behold him, Thomas showed his belief by saying, "My Lord and my God".[20:28] Jesus then said, "Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed [are] they that have not seen, and [yet] have believed."[20:29]

Names and etymologies

The name Thomas (Koine Greek: Θωμᾶς) given for the apostle in the New Testament is derived from the Aramaic תְּאוֹמָא or Classical Syriac: ܬܐܘܿܡܵܐ‎ Tāʾwma/Tʾōmā, equivalently from Hebrew תְּאוֹם tʾóm, meaning "twin". The equivalent term for twin in Greek, which is also used in the New Testament, is Δίδυμος Didymos.

Other names

The Nag Hammadi copy of the Gospel of Thomas begins: "These are the secret sayings that the living Jesus spoke and Didymos, Judas Thomas, recorded." Early Syrian traditions also relate the apostle's full name as Judas Thomas.[b] Some have seen in the Acts of Thomas (written in east Syria in the early 3rd century, or perhaps as early as the first half of the 2nd century) an identification of Thomas with the apostle Judas, Son of James, better known in English as Jude. However, the first sentence of the Acts follows the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles in distinguishing the apostle Thomas and the apostle Judas son of James. Others, such as James Tabor, identify him as Judah, the brother of Jesus mentioned by Mark. In the Book of Thomas the Contender, part of the Nag Hammadi library, he is alleged to be a twin to Jesus: "Now, since it has been said that you are my twin and true companion, examine yourself…"[13]

A "Doubting Thomas" is a skeptic who refuses to believe without direct personal experience—a reference to the Apostle Thomas, due to his refusal to believe the resurrected Jesus had appeared to the ten other apostles, until he could see and feel the wounds received by Jesus on the cross.

Feast days

When the feast of Saint Thomas was inserted in the Roman calendar in the 9th century, it was assigned to 21 December. The Martyrology of St. Jerome mentioned the apostle on 3 July, the date to which the Roman celebration was transferred in 1969, so that it would no longer interfere with the major ferial days of Advent.[14] Traditionalist Roman Catholics (who follow the General Roman Calendar of 1960 or earlier) and many Anglicans (including members of the Episcopal Church as well as members of the Church of England and the Lutheran Church, who worship according to the 1662 edition of the Book of Common Prayer),[15] still celebrate his feast day on 21 December. However, most modern liturgical calendars (including the Common Worship calendar of the Church of England) prefer 3 July, Thomas is remembered in the Church of England with a Festival.[16]

The Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches celebrate his feast day on 6 October[17] (for those churches which follow the traditional Julian calendar, 6 October currently falls on 19 October of the modern Gregorian calendar). In addition, the next Sunday of the Easter (Pascha) is celebrated as the Sunday of Thomas, in commemoration of Thomas' question to Jesus, which led him to proclaim, according to Orthodox teaching, two natures of Jesus, both human and divine. Thomas is commemorated in common with all of the other apostles on 30 June (13 July), in a feast called the Synaxis of the Holy Apostles.[17] He is also associated with the "Arabian" (or "Arapet") icon of the Theotokos (Mother of God), which is commemorated on 6 September (19 September).[18] The Malankara Orthodox church celebrates his feast on three days, 3 July[19] (in memory of the relic translation to Edessa), 18 December (the Day he was lanced),[19] and 21 December (when he died).[19]

Later history and traditions

The Passing of Mary, adjudged heretical by Pope Gelasius I in 494, was attributed to Joseph of Arimathea.[20][21] The document states that Thomas was the only witness of the Assumption of Mary into heaven. The other apostles were miraculously transported to Jerusalem to witness her death. Thomas was left in India, but after her first burial, he was transported to her tomb, where he witnessed her bodily assumption into heaven, from which she dropped her girdle. In an inversion of the story of Thomas' doubts, the other apostles are skeptical of Thomas' story until they see the empty tomb and the girdle.[22] Thomas' receipt of the girdle is commonly depicted in medieval and pre-Council of Trent Renaissance art,[23][24] the apostle's doubting reduced to a metaphorical knot in the Bavarian baroque Mary Untier of Knots.[citation needed]

During his visit to India in 2006, Pope Benedict XVI said that Thomas had landed in western India, somewhere in modern-day Pakistan and Christianity had spread from there to south India.[25] This is contrary to the popular legend of Thomas' direct visit to Kerala and had kicked off a debate among Christians in Kerala. Some believe that Thomas was indeed Thomas of Cana who arrived in Kerala from the Middle East to India sometime between the 4th and the 9th century.

Mission in India

The Postal Department of India brought out a stamp commemorating his mission to the country.

Main articles: Saint Thomas Christians, Christianity in India, and Christianity in Kerala

Map of ancient Silk Road and Spice Route

According to traditional accounts of the Saint Thomas Christians of India, the Apostle Thomas landed in Muziris (Cranganore) on the Kerala coast in AD 52 and was martyred in Mylapore, near Madras in AD 72.[8][9][1][5] The port was destroyed in 1341 by a massive flood that realigned the coasts. He is believed by the Saint Thomas Christian tradition to have established seven churches (communities) in Kerala. These churches are at Kodungallur, Palayoor, Kottakkavu (Paravur), Kokkamangalam, Niranam, Nilackal (Chayal), Kollam, and Thiruvithamcode.[26] Thomas baptized several families, namely Pakalomattom, Sankarapuri, Palackal, Thayyil, Payyappilly, Kalli, Kaliyankal, and Pattamukku.[27] Other families claim to have origins almost as far back as these, and the religious historian Robert Eric Frykenberg notes that: "Whatever dubious historicity may be attached to such local traditions, there can be little doubt as to their great antiquity or to their great appeal in the popular imagination."[28]

It was to a land of dark people he was sent, to clothe them by Baptism in white robes. His grateful dawn dispelled India's painful darkness. It was his mission to espouse India to the One-Begotten. The merchant is blessed for having so great a treasure. Edessa thus became the blessed city by possessing the greatest pearl India could yield. Thomas works miracles in India, and at Edessa Thomas is destined to baptize peoples perverse and steeped in darkness, and that in the land of India.

— Hymns of Saint Ephrem, edited by Lamy (Ephr. Hymni et Sermones, IV).

... Into what land shall I fly from the just?

I stirred up Death the Apostles to slay, that by their death I might escape their blows.

But harder still am I now stricken: the Apostle I slew in India has overtaken me in Edessa; here and there he is all himself.

There went I, and there was he: here and there to my grief I find him.

— quoted in Medlycott 1905, Ch II

Ephrem the Syrian, a doctor of Syriac Christianity, writes in the forty-second of his "Carmina Nisibina" that the Apostle was put to death in India, and that his remains were subsequently buried in Edessa, brought there by an unnamed merchant.[2]

The tomb of Saint Thomas the Apostle in Mylapore, India

According to Eusebius' record, Thomas and Bartholomew were assigned to Parthia and India.[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][9] The Didascalia (dating from the end of the 3rd century) states, "India and all countries condering it, even to the farthest seas... received the apostolic ordinances from Judas Thomas, who was a guide and ruler in the church which he built."

Thomas is believed to have left northwest India when an attack threatened and traveled by vessel to the Malabar Coast, possibly visiting southeast Arabia and Socotra en route, and landing at the former flourishing port of Muziris (modern-day North Paravur and Kodungalloor)[26] (c. AD 50) in the company of a Jewish merchant Abbanes/Habban (Schonfield, 1984,125). From there he is said to have preached the gospel throughout the Malabar coast. The various churches he founded were located mainly on the Periyar River and its tributaries and along the coast, where there were Jewish colonies. In accordance with apostolic custom, Thomas ordained teachers and leaders or elders, who were reported to be the earliest ministry of the Malankara Church.

Death

Martyrdom of St. Thomas by Peter Paul Rubens, 1636–1638

According to Syrian Christian tradition, Thomas was allegedly martyred at St. Thomas Mount in Chennai on 3 July in AD 72, and his body was interred in Mylapore.[36] Ephrem the Syrian states that the Apostle was killed in India, and that his relics were taken then to Edessa. This is the earliest known record of his death.[37]

The records of Barbosa from early 16th century witness that the tomb was then maintained by a Muslim who kept a lamp burning there.[38] The San Thome Basilica Mylapore, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India presently located at the tomb was first built in the 16th century by the Portuguese and rebuilt in the 19th century.[39] St. Thomas Mount has been a revered site by Muslims, and Christians since at least the 16th century.[40]

Possible visit to China

The alleged visit to China of Thomas is mentioned in the books and church traditions of Saint Thomas Christians in India (Mar Thoma Syrian Church and the Syro-Malabar rites)[41] who, for a part, claim descent from the early Christians evangelized by Thomas the Apostle in AD 52. For example, it is found in the Malayalam ballad Thomas Ramban Pattu (The Song of the Lord Thomas) with the earliest manuscript being from the 17th century. The sources clearly have Thomas coming to India, then to China, and back to India, where he died.[41]

In other attested sources, the tradition of making Thomas the apostle of China is found in the "Law of Christianity" (Fiqh al-naṣrāniyya),[42] a compilation of juridical literature by Ibn al-Ṭayyib (Nestorian theologian and physician who died in 1043 in Baghdad). Later, in the Nomocanon of Abdisho bar Berika (metropolitan of Nisibis and Armenia, died in 1318) and the breviary of the Chaldean Church[43] it is written:

1. Through St. Thomas the error of idolatry vanished from India.

2. Through St. Thomas the Chinese and Ethiopians were converted to the truth.

3. Through St. Thomas they accepted the sacrament of baptism and the adoption of sons.

4. Through St. Thomas they believed in and confessed the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit.

5. Through St. Thomas they preserved the accepted faith of the one God.

6. Through St. Thomas the life-giving splendors rose in all India.

7. Through St. Thomas the Kingdom of Heaven took wing and ascended to China.

— Translated by Athanasius Kircher in China Illustrata (1667), Office of St. Thomas for the Second Nocturn, Gaza of the Church of St. Thomas of Malabar, Chaldean Breviary

In its nascent form, this tradition is found at the earliest in the Zuqnin Chronicle (775 CE) and may have originated in the late Sasanian period.[44][45] Perhaps it originated as a 3rd-century pseudepigraphon where Thomas would have converted the Magi (in the Gospel of Matthew) to Christianity as they dwelled in the land of Shir (land of Seres, Tarim Basin, near what was the world's easternmost sea for many people in antiquity).[46] Additionally, the testimony of Arnobius of Sicca, active shortly after 300 CE, maintains that the Christian message had arrived in India and among the Persians, Medians, and Parthians (along with the Seres).[47]

Possible travel into Indonesia

According to Kurt E. Koch, Thomas the Apostle possibly traveled into Indonesia via India with Indian traders.[48]

Paraguayan legend

Ancient oral tradition retained by the Guaraní tribes of Paraguay claims that the Apostle Thomas was in Paraguay and preached to them.

in the estate of our college, called Paraguay, and twenty leagues distant from Asumpcion. This place stretches out on one side into a pleasant plain, affording pasture to a vast quantity of cattle; on the other, where it looks towards the south, it is surrounded by hills and rocks; in one of which a cross piled up of three large stones is visited, and held in great veneration by the natives for the sake of St. Thomas; for they believe, and firmly maintain, that the Apostle, seated on these stones as on a chair, formerly preached to the assembled Indians.

— Dobrizhoffer 1822, p. 385

Almost 150 years prior to Dobrizhoffer's arrival in Paraguay, another Jesuit Missionary, F.J. Antonio Ruiz de Montoya recollected the same oral traditions from the Paraguayan tribes. He wrote:

...The paraguayan tribes they have this very curious tradition. They claim that a very holy man (Thomas the Apostle himself), whom they call "Paí Thome", lived amongst them and preached to them the Holy Truth, wandering and carrying a wooden cross on his back.

— Ruiz de Montoya 1639, Ch XVIII

The sole recorded research done about the subject was during José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia's reign after the Independence of Paraguay. This is mentioned by Franz Wisner von Morgenstern, an Austro-Hungarian engineer who served in the Paraguayan armies prior and during the Paraguayan War. According to Von Morgenstern, some Paraguayan miners while working nearby some hills at the Caaguazú Department found some stones with ancient letters carved in them. Dictator Francia sent his finest experts to inspect those stones, and they concluded that the letters carved in those stones were Hebrew-like symbols, but they couldn't translate them nor figure out the exact date when those letters were carved.[49] No further recorded investigations exists, and according to Wisner, people believed that the letters were made by Thomas the Apostle, following the tradition.

Relics

Shrine of Saint Thomas in Mylapore, 18th-century print

Holy relics of Saint Thomas in Mar Mattai Monastery

Relics of Thomas in the Cathedral of Ortona

Mylapore

Traditional accounts say that the Apostle Thomas preached not only in Kerala but also in other parts of Southern India – and a few relics are still kept at San Thome Basilica in Mylapore neighborhood in the central part of the city of Chennai in India.[50] Marco Polo, the Venetian traveller and author of Description of the World, popularly known as Il Milione, is reputed to have visited Southern India in 1288 and 1292. The first date has been rejected as he was in China at the time, but the second date is generally accepted.[50]

Edessa

According to tradition, in AD 232, the greater portion of relics of the Apostle Thomas are said to have been sent by an Indian king and brought from Mylapore to the city of Edessa, Mesopotamia, on which occasion his Syriac Acts were written.

The Indian king is named as "Mazdai" in Syriac sources, "Misdeos" and "Misdeus" in Greek and Latin sources respectively, which has been connected to the "Bazdeo" on the Kushan coinage of Vasudeva I, the transition between "M" and "B" being a current one in Classical sources for Indian names.[51] The martyrologist Rabban Sliba dedicated a special day to both the Indian king, his family, and St Thomas:

Coronatio Thomae apostoli et Misdeus rex Indiae, Johannes eus filius huisque mater Tertia (Coronation of Thomas the Apostle, and Misdeus king of India, together with his son Johannes (thought to be a latinization of Vizan) and his mother Tertia) Rabban Sliba

— Bussagli 1965, p. 255

In the 4th century, the martyrium erected over his burial place brought pilgrims to Edessa. In the 380s, Egeria described her visit in a letter she sent to her community of nuns at home (Itineraria Egeriae):[52]

We arrived at Edessa in the Name of Christ our God, and, on our arrival, we straightway repaired to the church and memorial of saint Thomas. There, according to custom, prayers were made and the other things that were customary in the holy places were done; we read also some things concerning saint Thomas himself. The church there is very great, very beautiful and of new construction, well worthy to be the house of God, and as there was much that I desired to see, it was necessary for me to make a three days' stay there.

According to Theodoret of Cyrrhus, the bones of Saint Thomas were transferred by Cyrus I, Bishop of Edessa, from the martyrium outside of Edessa to a church in the south-west corner of the city on 22 August 394.[53]

In 441, the Magister militum per Orientem Anatolius donated a silver coffin to hold the relics.[54]

In AD 522, Cosmas Indicopleustes (called the Alexandrian) visited the Malabar Coast. He is the first traveller who mentions Syrian Christians in Malabar, in his book Christian Topography. He mentions that in the town of "Kalliana" (Quilon or Kollam) there was a bishop who had been consecrated in Persia.[55]

In 1144, the city was conquered by the Zengids and the shrine destroyed.[54]

Chios and Ortona

Ortona's Basilica of Saint Thomas

The reputed relics of Saint Thomas remained at Edessa until they were translated to Chios in 1258.[56] Some portion of the relics were later transported to the West, and now rest in the Cathedral of St. Thomas the Apostle in Ortona, Italy. However, the skull of Thomas is said to be at Monastery of Saint John the Theologian on the Greek island of Patmos.[57]

Ortona's three galleys reached the island of Chios in 1258, led by General Leone Acciaiuoli. Chios was considered the island where Thomas, after his death in India, had been buried. A portion fought around the Peloponnese and the Aegean islands, the other in the sea lapping at the then Syrian coast. The three galleys of Ortona moved on the second front of the war and reached the island of Chios.

The tale is provided by Giambattista De Lectis, physician and writer of the 16th century of Ortona. After the looting, the navarca Ortona Leone went to pray in the main church of the island of Chios and was drawn to a chapel adorned and resplendent with lights. An elderly priest, through an interpreter informed him that in that oratory was venerated the Body of Saint Thomas the Apostle. Leone, filled with an unusual sweetness, gathered in deep prayer. At that moment a light hand twice invited him to come closer. The navarca Leone reached out and took a bone from the largest hole of the tombstone, on which were carved the Greek letters and a halo depicted a bishop from the waist up. He was the confirmation of what he had said the old priest and that you are indeed in the presence of the Apostle's body. He went back on the galley and planned the theft for the next night, along with fellow Ruggiero Grogno. They lifted the heavy gravestone and watched the underlying relics. The wrapped in snow-white cloths them laid in a wooden box (stored at Ortona to the looting of 1566) and brought them aboard the galley. Leone, then, along with other comrades, he returned again in the church, took the tombstone and took her away. Just the Chinardo admiral was aware of the precious cargo moved all the sailors of the Muslim faith on other ships and ordered him to take the route to Ortona.

Portal of Ortona, St Thomas' Basilica

He landed at the port of Ortona 6 September 1258. According to the story of De Lectis, he was informed the abbot Jacopo responsible for Ortona Church, which predispose full provision for hospitality felt and shared by all the people. Since then the body of the apostle and the gravestone are preserved in the crypt of the Basilica. In 1259 a parchment written in Bari by the court under John Peacock contracts, the presence of five witnesses, preserved in Ortona at the Diocesan Library, confirming the veracity of that event, reported, as mentioned, by Giambattista De Lectis, physician and writer Ortona of the 16th century.

The relics resisted both the Saracen looting of 1566, and the destruction of the Nazis in the battle of Ortona fought in late December 1943. The basilica was blown up because the belfry was considered a lookout point by the allies, coming by sea from San Vito Chietino. The relics, together with the treasure of Saint Thomas, were intended by the Germans to be sold, but the monks entombed them inside the bell tower, the only surviving part of the semi-ruined church.

Original Chios' tombstone of Thomas, brought in the crypt of Ortona's Basilica

The tombstone of Thomas, brought to Ortona from Chios along with the relics of the Apostle, is currently preserved in the crypt of St Thomas Basilica, behind the altar. The urn containing the bones instead is placed under the altar. It is the cover of a fake coffin, fairly widespread burial form in the early Christian world, as the top of a tomb of less expensive material. The plaque has an inscription and a bas-relief that refer, in many respects, to the Syro-Mesopotamian. Tombstone Thomas the Apostle on inclusion can be read, in Greek characters uncial, the expression 'osios thomas, that Saint Thomas. It can be dated from the point of view palaeographic and lexical to the 3rd–5th century, a time when the term osios is still used as a synonym of aghios in that holy is he that is in the grace of God and is inserted in the church: the two vocabulary, therefore, indicate the Christians. In the particular case of Saint Thomas' plaque, then, the word osios can easily be the translation of the word Syriac mar (Lord), attributed in the ancient world, but also to the present day, is a saint to be a bishop.

Iraq

The finger bones of Saint Thomas were discovered during restoration work at the Church of Saint Thomas in Mosul, Iraq in 1964,[58] and were housed there until the Fall of Mosul, after which the relics were transferred to the Monastery of Saint Matthew on 17 June 2014.[59][60]

Historical references

By the command of an Indian King he was thrust through with Lances

A number of early Christian writings written during the centuries immediately following the first Ecumenical Council of 325 mention Thomas' mission.

The Transitus Mariae describes each of the apostles purportedly being temporarily transported to heaven during the Assumption of Mary.

Acts of Thomas

The main source is the apocryphal Acts of Thomas, sometimes called by its full name The Acts of Judas Thomas, written circa 180–230 AD/CE,[61][62] These are generally regarded by various Christian religions as apocryphal, or even heretical. The two centuries that lapsed between the life of the apostle and the recording of this work cast doubt on their authenticity.

The king, Misdeus (or Mizdeos), was infuriated when Thomas converted the queen Tertia, the king's son Juzanes, sister-in-law princess Mygdonia and her friend Markia. Misdeus led Thomas outside the city and ordered four soldiers to take him to the nearby hill, where the soldiers speared Thomas and killed him. After Thomas' death, Syphorus was elected the first presbyter of Mazdai by the surviving converts, while Juzanes was the first deacon. (The names Misdeus, Tertia, Juzanes, Syphorus, Markia and Mygdonia (c.f. Mygdonia, a province of Mesopotamia) may suggest Greek descent or cultural influences.[62] Greek traders had long visited Muziris. Greek kingdoms in northern India and Bactria, founded by Alexander the Great, were vassals[dubious – discuss] of the Indo-Parthians.[63]

Doctrine of the Apostles

The Doctrine of the Apostles as reflected in Cureton 1864, pp. 32–34 attests that Thomas had written Christian doctrine from India.

India and all its own countries, and those bordering on it, even to the farther sea, received the Apostle's hand of Priesthood from Judas Thomas, who was Guide and Ruler in the Church which he built and ministered there". In what follows "the whole Persia of the Assyrians and Medes, and of the countries round about Babylon… even to the borders of the Indians and even to the country of Gog and Magog" are said to have received the Apostles' Hand of Priesthood from Aggaeus the disciple of Addaeus

— Cureton 1864, p. 33

Origen

Christian philosopher Origen taught with great acclaim in Alexandria and then in Caesarea.[64] He is the first known writer to record the casting of lots by the Apostles. Origen's original work has been lost, but his statement about Parthia falling to Thomas has been preserved by Eusebius. "Origen, in the third chapter of his Commentary on Genesis, says that, according to tradition, Thomas's allotted field of labour was Parthia".[65][66][67]

Eusebius

Quoting Origen, Eusebius of Caesarea says: "When the holy Apostles and disciples of our Saviour were scattered over all the world, Thomas, so the tradition has it, obtained as his portion Parthia…"[68] "Judas, who is also called Thomas" has a role in the legend of king Abgar of Edessa (Urfa), for having sent Thaddaeus to preach in Edessa after the Ascension[69][32] Ephrem the Syrian also recounts this legend.)[70]

Ephrem the Syrian

Many devotional hymns composed by Ephrem the Syrian bear witness to the Edessan Church's strong conviction concerning Thomas's Indian Apostolate. There the devil speaks of Thomas as "the Apostle I slew in India". Also, "The merchant brought the bones" to Edessa.[71]

Another hymn eulogizing Saint Thomas reads "The bones the merchant hath brought". "In his several journeyings to India/ And thence on his return/ All riches/ which there he found/ Dirt in his eyes he did repute when to thy sacred bones compared". In yet another hymn Ephrem speaks of the mission of Thomas: "The earth darkened with sacrifices' fumes to illuminate", "a land of people dark fell to thy lot", "a tainted land Thomas has purified"; "India's dark night" was "flooded with light" by Thomas.

— Medlycott 1905, pp. 21–32[dubious – discuss][better source needed]

Gregory of Nazianzus

Gregory of Nazianzus was born AD 330, consecrated a bishop by his friend Basil of Caesarea; in 372, his father, the Bishop of Nazianzus, induced him to share his charge. In 379, the people of Constantinople called him to be their bishop. By the Orthodox Church, he is emphatically called "the Theologian".[72] "What? were not the Apostles strangers amidst the many nations and countries over which they spread themselves? … Peter indeed may have belonged to Judea, but what had Paul in common with the gentiles, Luke with Achaia, Andrew with Epirus, John with Ephesus, Thomas with India, Mark with Italy?"[73][better source needed]

Ambrose of Milan

Ambrose of Milan was thoroughly acquainted with the Greek and Latin Classics and had a good deal of information on India and Indians. He speaks of the Gymnosophists of India, the Indian Ocean, the river Ganges etc., a number of times.[74] "This admitted of the Apostles being sent without delay according to the saying of our Lord Jesus… Even those Kingdoms which were shut out by rugged mountains became accessible to them, as India to Thomas, Persia to Matthew..."[75][better source needed]

Gregory of Tours

The testimony of Gregory of Tours (died 594): "Thomas the Apostle, according to the narrative of his martyrdom is stated to have suffered in India. His holy remains (corpus), after a long interval of time, were removed to the city of Edessa in Syria and there interred. In that part of India where they first rested, stand a monastery and a church of striking dimensions, elaborately adorned and designed. This Theodore, who had been to the place, narrated to us."[76]

Writings

Let none read the gospel according to Thomas, for it is the work, not of one of the twelve apostles, but of one of Mani's three wicked disciples.

— Cyril of Jerusalem, Cathechesis V (4th century)

In the first two centuries of the Christian era, a number of writings were circulated. It is unclear now why Thomas was seen as an authority for doctrine, although this belief is documented in Gnostic groups as early as the Pistis Sophia. In that Gnostic work, Mary Magdalene (one of the disciples) says:

Now at this time, my Lord, hear, so that I speak openly, for thou hast said to us "He who has ears to hear, let him hear:" Concerning the word which thou didst say to Philip: "Thou and Thomas and Matthew are the three to whom it has been given… to write every word of the Kingdom of the Light, and to bear witness to them"; hear now that I give the interpretation of these words. It is this which thy light-power once prophesied through Moses: "Through two and three witnesses everything will be established. The three witnesses are Philip and Thomas and Matthew"

— Pistis Sophia 1:43

An early, non-Gnostic tradition may lie behind this statement, which also emphasizes the primacy of the Gospel of Matthew in its Aramaic form, over the other canonical three.

Besides the Acts of Thomas there was a widely circulated Infancy Gospel of Thomas probably written in the later 2nd century, and probably also in Syria, which relates the miraculous events and prodigies of Jesus' boyhood. This is the document which tells for the first time the familiar legend of the twelve sparrows which Jesus, at the age of five, fashioned from clay on the Sabbath day, which took wing and flew away. The earliest manuscript of this work is a 6th-century one in Syriac. This gospel was first referred to by Irenaeus; Ron Cameron notes: "In his citation, Irenaeus first quotes a non-canonical story that circulated about the childhood of Jesus and then goes directly on to quote a passage from the infancy narrative of the Gospel of Luke.[Luke 2:49] Since the Infancy Gospel of Thomas records both of these stories, in relative close proximity to one another, it is possible that the apocryphal writing cited by Irenaeus is, in fact, what is now known as the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. Because of the complexities of the manuscript tradition, however, there is no certainty as to when the stories of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas began to be written down."

The best known in modern times of these documents is the "sayings" document that is being called the Gospel of Thomas, a noncanonical work whose date is disputed. The opening line claims it is the work of "Didymos Judas Thomas" – whose identity is unknown. This work was discovered in a Coptic translation in 1945 at the Egyptian village of Nag Hammadi, near the site of the monastery of Chenoboskion. Once the Coptic text was published, scholars recognized that an earlier Greek translation had been published from fragments of papyrus found at Oxyrhynchus in the 1890s.

Saint Thomas Cross

Saint Thomas Christian cross

In the 16th-century work Jornada, Antonio Gouvea writes of ornate crosses known as Saint Thomas Crosses. It is also known as Nasrani Menorah,[77] Persian Cross, or Mar Thoma Sleeva.[78] These crosses are believed to date from the 6th century as per the tradition and are found in a number of churches in Kerala, Mylapore and Goa. Jornada is the oldest known written document to refer to this type of cross as a Saint Thomas Cross. Gouvea also writes about the veneration of the Cross at Cranganore, referring to the cross as "Cross of Christians".

There are several interpretations of the Nasrani symbol. The interpretation based on Christian Jewish tradition assumes that its design was based on Jewish menorah, an ancient symbol of the Hebrews, which consists of seven branched lamp stand (candelabra).[77] The interpretation based on local culture states that the Cross without the figure of Jesus and with flowery arms symbolizing "joyfulness" points to the resurrection theology of Paul the Apostle; the Holy Spirit on the top represents the role of Holy Spirit in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The lotus symbolizing Buddhism and the Cross over it shows that Christianity was established in the land of Buddha. The three steps indicate Calvary and the rivulets, channels of Grace flowing from the Cross.[79]

In Islam

The Qur’anic account of the disciples of Jesus does not include their names, numbers, or any detailed accounts of their lives. Muslim exegesis, however, more or less agrees with the New Testament list and says that the disciples included Peter, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, Andrew, James, Jude, John, and Simon the Zealot

 

St. Tryphon & Companions

Feastday: July 3

A group of thirteen martyrs slain in Alexandria, Egypt, in an uncertain year.

St. Eulogius and Companions

Feastday: July 3

Death: ~364

Martyrs of Constantinople, executed by Emperor Valens for opposing Arianism.

St. Joseph Peter Uyen

Feastday: July 3

Death: 1838

Canonized: Pope John Paul II

Dominican tertiary, martyr of Vietnam. A native catechist, he died of abuse in prison for refusing to give up the faith and was canonized in 1988 by Pope John Paul II.

St. Phocas the Gardener

Feastday: July 3

Death: 303

Martyred Christian gardener who lived at Sinope, in Paphiagonia, on the Black Sea and was put to death during the persecutions launched by Emperor Diocletian. Phocas is sometimes confused with Phocas of Antioch, although there is no doubt about the historical act of his martyrdom. According to tradition, he gave welcome to the Roman soldiers sent to find and execute him and, as they did not know who he was, he agreed to take them to the Phocas whom they sought. After fixing them food and allowing them to sleep in his house, he went out and dug his grave, using the rest of the night to prepare his soul. In the morning he led them to his prepared grave and informed them of his identity. When they were aghast and hesitated to slay him, he encouraged them to complete their task and behead him. He is especially venerated in the East and was long considered a patron saint for sailors.

ST. PHOCUS dwelt near the gate of Sinope, a city of Pontus, and lived by cultivating a garden, which yielded him a handsome subsistence, and wherewith plentifully to relieve the indigent. In his humble profession he imitated the virtue of the most holy anchorets, and seemed in part restored to the happy condition of our first parents in Eden. To prune the garden without labour and toil was their sweet employment and pleasure. Since their sin, the earth yields not its fruit but by the sweat of our brow. But still, no labour is more useful or necessary, or more natural to man, and better adapted to maintain in him vigour of mind or health of body than that of tillage; nor does any other part of the universe rival the innocent charms which a garden presents to all our senses, by the fragrancy of its flowers, by the riches of its produce, and the sweetness and variety of its fruits; by the melodious concert of its musicians, by the worlds of wonders which every stem, leaf, and fibre exhibit to the contemplation of the inquisitive philosopher, and by that beauty and variegated lustre of colours which clothe the numberless tribes of its smallest inhabitants, and adorn its shining landscapes, vying with the brightest splendour of the heavens, and in a single lily surpassing the dazzling lustre with which Solomon was surrounded on his throne in the midst of all his glory. And what a field for contemplation does a garden offer to our view in every part, raising our souls to God in raptures of love and praise, stimulating us to fervour, by the fruitfulness with which it repays our labour, and multiplies the seed it receives; and exciting us to tears of compunction for our insensibility to God by the barrenness with which it is changed into a frightful desert, unless subdued by assiduous toil! Our saint joining prayer with his labour, found in his garden itself an instructive book, and an inexhausted fund of holy meditation. His house was open to all strangers and travellers who had no lodging in the place; and after having for many years most liberally bestowed the fruit of his labour on the poor, he was found worthy also to give his life for Christ. Though his profession was obscure, he was well known over the whole country by the reputation of his charity and virtue.

When a cruel persecution, probably that of Dioclesian in 303, was suddenly raised in the church, Phocas was immediately impeached as a Christian, and such was the notoriety of his pretended crime, that the formality of a trial was superceded by the persecutors, and executioners were despatched with an order to kill him on the spot wherever they should find him. Arriving near Sinope, they would not enter the town, but stopping at his house without knowing it, at his kind invitation they took up their lodging with him. Being charmed with his courteous entertainment, they at supper disclosed to him the errand upon which they were sent, and desired him to inform them where this Phocas could be most easily met with? The servant of God, without the least surprise, told them he was well acquainted with the man, and would give them certain intelligence of him next morning. After they were retired to bed he dug a grave, prepared everything for his burial, and spent the night in disposing his soul for his last hour. When it was day he went to his guests, and told them Phocas was found, and in their power whenever they pleased to apprehend him. Glad at this news, they inquired where he was. "He is here present," said the martyr, "I myself am the man." Struck at his undaunted resolution, and at the composure of his mind, they stood a considerable time as if they had been motionless, nor could they at first think of imbruing their hands in the blood of a person in whom they discovered so heroic a virtue, and by whom they had been so courteously entertained. He indirectly encouraged them, saying, that as for himself, he looked upon such a death as the greatest of favours, and his highest advantage. At length recovering themselves from their surprise, they struck off his head. The Christians of that city, after peace was restored to the church, built a stately church which bore his name, and was famous over all the East. In it were deposited the sacred relics, though some portions of them were dispersed in other churches.

St. Asterius, bishop of Amasea about the year 400, pronounced the panegyric of this martyr, on his festival, in a church, probably near Amasea, which possessed a small part of his remains. In this discourse 1 he says, "that Phocas from the time of his death was become a pillar and support of the churches on earth: he draws all men to his house; the highways are filled with persons resorting from every country to this place of prayer. The magnificent church which (at Sinope) is possessed of his body, is the comfort and ease of the afflicted, the health of the sick, the magazine plentifully supplying the wants of the poor. If in any other place, as in this, some small portion of his relics be found, it also becomes admirable, and most desired by all Christians." He adds, that the head of St. Phocas was kept in his beautiful church in Rome, and says, "The Romans honour him by the concourse of the whole people in the same manner they do Peter and Paul." He bears testimony that the sailors in the Euxine, Ćgean, and Adriatic seas, and in the ocean, sing hymns in his honour, and that the martyr has often succoured and preserved them; and that the portion of gain which they in every voyage set apart for the poor is called Phocas's part. He mentions that a certain king of barbarians had sent his royal diadem set with jewels, and his rich helmet a present to the church of St. Phocas, praying the martyr to offer it to the Lord in thanksgiving for the kingdom which his Divine Majesty had bestowed upon him. St. Chrysostom received a portion of the relics of St. Phocas, not at Antioch, as Baronius thought, and as Fronto le Duc and Baillet doubt, but at Constantinople as Montfaucon demonstrates. 2 On that solemn occasion the city kept a great festival two days, and St. Chrysostom preached two sermons, only one of which is extant. 3 In this he says, that the emperors left their palaces to reverence these relics, and strove to share with the rest in the blessings which they procure men. The emperor Phocas built afterwards another great church at Constantinople in honour of this martyr, and caused a considerable part of his relics to be translated thither. The Greeks often style St. Phocas hiero-martyr or sacred martyr, which epithet they sometimes give to eminent martyrs who were not bishops, as Ruinart demonstrates against Baronius.

Saint Phocas, sometimes called Phocas the Gardener (Greek:Φωκᾶς), is venerated as a martyr by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. His life and legend may have been a fusion of three men with the same name: a Phocas of Antioch, a Phocas the Gardener and Phocas, Bishop of Sinope.[2]

History

Christian tradition states that he was a gardener who lived at Sinope, on the Black Sea, who used his crops to feed the poor and aided persecuted Christians.[3] During the persecutions of Diocletian, he provided hospitality to the soldiers who were sent to execute him. The soldiers, not knowing that their host was their intended victim, agreed to his hospitality. Phocas also offered to help them find the person they were seeking.[4]

As the soldiers slept, Phocas dug his own grave and prayed. He made arrangements for all his possessions to be distributed to the poor after his death.[3] In the morning, when the soldiers awoke, Phocas revealed his identity.

The soldiers hesitated and offered to report to their commander that their search had been fruitless. Phocas refused this offer and bared his neck. He was then decapitated and buried in the grave that he had dug for himself.[3]

Veneration

He is mentioned by Saint Asterius of Amasia (ca. 400). The name Phocas seems to derive from the Greek word for "seal" (phoke/φώκη), which may explain his patronage of sailors and mariners. A sailors' custom was to serve Phocas a portion of every meal; this was called "the portion of St. Phocas." This portion was bought by one of the voyagers and the price was deposited in the hands of the captain. When the ship came into port, the money was distributed among the poor, in thanksgiving to their benefactor for their successful voyage. He is mentioned in the work by Laurentius Surius. This tradition may be connected to a similar practice among sailors in the Baltic Sea of giving food offerings to an invisible sprite known as the Klabautermann.

Saint Anatolius of Alexandria

† இன்றைய புனிதர் †

(ஜூலை 3)

✠ அலெக்சாண்ட்ரியாவின் புனிதர் அனடோலியஸ் ✠

(St. Anatolius of Alexandria)

ஆயர், ஒப்புரவாளர்:

(Bishop and Confessor)

பிறப்பு: கி.பி. மூன்றாம் நூற்றாண்டின் தொடக்க காலம்

அலெக்சாண்ட்ரியா, டோலேமெய்க் அரசு, எகிப்து

(Alexandria, Ptolemaic Egypt)

இறப்பு: ஜூலை 3, 283

லாவோடிசியா, ரோம சிரியா (தற்போதைய சிரியாவிலுள்ள லடகியா)

(Laodicea, Roman Syria (Now Latakia, Syria)

ஏற்கும் சமயம்:

ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை

(Roman Catholic Church)

கிழக்கு மரபுவழி திருச்சபை

(Eastern Orthodox Church)

நினைவுத் திருநாள்: ஜூலை 3

“லாவோடிசியா’வின் அனடோலியஸ்” (Anatolius of Laodicea) என்றும், “அலெக்சாண்ட்ரியா’வின் அனடோலியஸ்” (Anatolius of Alexandria) என்றும் அழைக்கப்படும் இப்புனிதர், ரோம சிரியாவின் (Roman Syria) மத்தியதரைக் கடலோரமுள்ள (Mediterranean) துறைமுக நகரான “லாவோடிசியா” (Laodicea) நகரின் ஆயர் ஆவார். அத்துடன், இயல்பியல் (Physical sciences) மற்றும் “அரிஸ்டோடிலியன் தத்துவத்தில்” (Aristotelean philosophy) அக்காலத்தைய முன்னோடி அறிஞர்களில் ஒருவராகவும் இருந்தார். ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை (Roman Catholic Churches) மற்றும் கிழக்கு மரபுவழி திருச்சபைகள் (Eastern Orthodox) இவரை புனிதராக ஏற்கின்றன.

புனிதர் அனடோலியஸ், கி.பி. மூன்றாம் நூற்றாண்டின் தொடக்க காலத்தில், எகிப்து (Egypt) நாட்டின் இரண்டாம் பெரிய நகரான அலெக்சாண்ட்ரியாவில் (Alexandria) பிறந்து வளர்ந்தவர் ஆவார். திருச்சபையின் பெரும் விளக்குகளில் ஒன்றாக மாறுவதற்கு முன்பு, அனடோலியஸ் அலெக்ஸாண்ட்ரியாவில் கணிசமான கௌரவமுள்ள பெரிய மனிதராக வாழ்ந்தார். கணிதம், வடிவவியல் (Geometry), இயற்பியல் (Physics), சொல்லாட்சிக் கலை (Rhetoric), “வாதமுறை ஆராய்ச்சி” (Dialectic) மற்றும் வானியல் (Astronomy) ஆகியவற்றைப் பற்றிய ஒரு பெரும் அறிவைப் பெற்றிருந்தார். கிறிஸ்தவ சரித்திர ஆசிரியரான “யூசேபியஸ்” (Eusebius of Caesarea) என்பவரின்படி, அலெக்ஸாண்டிரியாவிலுள்ள அரிஸ்டாட்டிலின் அடுத்தடுத்த பள்ளியைத் தக்கவைத்துக்கொள்ள அனடோலியஸ் தகுதியுடையவராக கருதப்பட்டார். புறமத பாகன் தத்துவவாதியான “இம்பம்லிகஸ்” (Pagan Philosopher) என்பவர், சிறிது காலம் இவரது சீடர்களிடையே கல்வி கற்றார்.

அவரால் எழுதப்பட்ட பத்து கணிதப் புத்தகங்களின் துண்டுகளும், இயேசுநாதர் உயிர்த்தெழுந்த கொண்டாட்ட நாள் பற்றிய (Paschal celebration) கட்டுரைகளும் இன்றளவும் உள்ளன.

அக்காலத்தில், அலெக்ஸாண்டிரியாவின் ஒரு பகுதியாயிருந்த “புருச்சியம்” (Bruchium) பிராந்தியத்தில் நடந்த கலகத்தை அனடோலியாஸ் எவ்வாறு உடைத்தெறிந்தார் என்பதையும் யூசெபிசியஸ் எழுதியுள்ளார். ஜெனோபியாவின் (Zenobia) படைகளால் நடத்தப்பட்ட அந்த கலகம், ரோமர்களால் கடுமையாக பாதிக்கப்பட்டு பட்டினியாய் இருந்தது. அந்த நேரத்தில் புரூச்சியத்தில் (Bruchium) வாழ்ந்த துறவி, எல்லா பெண்களையும் குழந்தைகளையும், வயதான மற்றும் நோயாளிகளையும் அங்கிருந்து தப்பிப்பதற்கு ஏற்பாடு செய்தார். அது பாதுகாப்பு மற்றும் கிளர்ச்சியாளர்களை சரணடைய வைத்தது. இது, பாதிக்கப்பட்ட பல மக்களை காப்பாற்றியது, இத்துறவியின் நாட்டுப் பற்றுள்ள நடவடிக்கையாக அமைந்தது.

“லாவோடிசியா” (Laodicea) புறப்பட்ட அவரை, மக்கள் பிடித்து ஆயராக்கினார்கள். அவரது நண்பர் யூசேபியஸ் இறந்துவிட்டாரா அல்லது அவர்கள் இருவரும் சேர்ந்தே சேவை செய்தார்களா என்பது விவாதத்திற்குரிய விஷயமாகவே இருந்தது.

Also known as

Anatolius of Laodicea

Profile

Noted scientist, philosopher, scholar, teacher, and writer. He wrote ten books on mathematics alone, and Saint Jerome praised his scholarship and writing. Head of the Aristotlean school in Alexandria, Egypt. However, he was known not just as a scholar but as a humble and deeply religious man. Ignorance horrified him, and part of his work with the poor was to educate them. Held a number of government posts in Alexandria.

During a rebellion against the Roman authorities in 263, the area of Alexandria was under seige, resulting in the starvation of both rebels and citizens who had nothing to do with the uprising. Anatolius met with the Romans and negotiated the release of non-combatant children, women, the sick, and the elderly, saving many, and earning him a reputation as a peacemaker. The rebels, freed of caring for the non-combatants, were able to fight even longer. However, when they lost, Anatolius found himself with enemies on each side of the conflict, and he decided to leave Alexandria.

Anatolius emigrated to Caesaria, Palestine. His reputation as a scholar and Christian had preceeded him, and he became assistant and advisor to the bishop. In 268, while en route to the Council of Antioch, he passed through Laodicea, Syria. Their bishop, Saint Eusebius of Laodicea, had just died, they saw Anatolius' arrival as a gift from God, and insisted that he assume the bishopric. He accepted, and spent his remaining fifteen years there.

Born

Alexandria, Egypt

Died

283 at Laodicea, Syria of natural causes

Saint Eusebius of Laodicea

Also known as

• Eusebius of Alexandria

• Eusebio of...

Profile

Deacon in Alexandria, Egypt, serving under Saint Dionysius the Great. Exiled to Kefro, Libya in the persecutions of emperor Valerian c.255 for refusing to sacrifice to idols, Eusebius went into hiding to avoid the sentence, ministered to other covert Christians for several years, and cared for the sick during a plague outbreak in 260. Negotiated the surrender of women, children and elderly men to Roman troops during a siege of the Brucchium section of Alexandria. Represented his bishop at the Synod of Antioch which dealt with the heresey of Paul of Samosata and the false doctrines of Adoptionism and Monarchianism. Bishop of Laodicea, Syria (modern Latakia, Syria). A shory biography of him was included by Saint Eusebius of Caesarea in his Church History.

Born

3rd century Egypt

Died

269 in Laodicea, Syria (modern Latakia, Syria) of natural causes

Saint Anatolius of Constantinople

Profile

Patriarch of Constantinople from 449 to 458. Known for his simple, austere life, his charity to the poor, his zeal for the faith, and his opposition to heresy. He opposed the heretic Dioscurus at the Council of Chalcedon, and supported the doctrinal authority of Pope Saint Leo the Great, which put him in the midst of both theological and political turmoil. He fought against the Nestorian heresy at the Council of Ephesus. Miraculously healed from a serious illness by Saint Daniel the Stylite. May have been murdered by local heretics for his support of the Pope. Some of his writings, correspondence and hymns have survived the centuries.

Died

458 of unknown circumstances

Saint Gunthiern

Profile

Prince who became a hermit in Brittany. The local lord, Grallon, gave Gunthiern land on the Isle of Groie, near River Blavet to found a monastery. It survives today as the Benedictine house of Kemperle.

Legend says that insects once threatened to destroy the region's crops. Count Guerech I of Vannes, France, requested the saint's help. Gunthiern blessed some water and had it sprinkled over the fields. The insects fled, and the crops were saved.

Born

Welsh

Died

• c.500 in Brittany (in modern France) of natural causes

• his body was hidden during the Norman invasions, and was lost for a while

• remains re-discovered in the 11th century

• relics were translated to the Kemperle monastery

Saint Giuse Nguyen Ðình Uyen

Also known as

• Giuseppe Nguyen Dinh Uyen

• Joseph Peter Uyen

Additional Memorial

24 November as one of the Martyrs of Vietnam

Profile

Layman Dominican tertiary and catechist. Died after being imprisoned for his faith during the persecutions of Emperor Minh Mang. Martyr.

Born

c.1775 in Ninh Cuong, Nam Ðinh, East Tonkin (in modern Vietnam)

Died

4 July 1838 in prison in Hung Yên, East Tonkin (modern Viet Nam from the ill treatment he received there

Canonized

19 June 1988 by Pope John Paul II

Saint Raymond of Toulouse

Also known as

• Raymond Gayrard

• Raimund, Raimundus

Profile

Married layman. Widower. Cantor, archdeacon and canon of Saint Sernin church in Toulouse, France. Helped rebuild the church. Known for his austere lifestyle, charity and generosity to the poor, and his good relations with the local Jewish community.

Born

at Toulouse, France as Raymond Gayrard

Died

• 3 July 1118 of natural causes

• many miracles reported at his tomb, and the church became a popular pilgrimage site

Beatified

1652 by Pope Innocent X (cultus confirmation)

Pope Saint Leo II

Profile

Pope. Eloquent preacher. Interested in music. Noted for his charity to the poor. Confirmed the Sixth Council of Constantinople in 681 which condemned Monthelitism and censured Pope Honorius I for not doing the same. Secured revocation of the edict of Constans II which proclaimed the bishops of Ravenna, Italy free from the direct jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome.

Born

Sicilian

Papal Ascension

• elected 10 January 681

• consecrated on 17 August 682

Died

28 June 683 in Rome, Italy of natural causes

Saint Ioannes Baptista Zhao Mingxi

Also known as

• Zhao Mingxi Ioannes Baptista

• Ruohan

• Giovan Battista Zhao Mingxi

Profile

Layman Christian in the apostolic vicariate of Southeastern Zhili, China. Martyred in the Boxer Rebellion while trying to rescue some women and children from the rebels.

Born

c.1844 in Beiwangtou, Shenzhou, Hebei, China

Died

3 July 1900 in Beiwangtou, Shenzhou, Hebei, China

Canonized

1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II

Saint Heliodorus of Altinum

Also known as

• Heliodorus of Altino

• Eliodoro...

Profile

A soldier in his youth. Close friend and financial supporter of Saint Jerome, and helped with the logistics of the translation of the Vulgate Bible. Followed Jerome to the east, but declined the life of a desert hermit. Bishop of Altinum, a small town near Venice, Italy which has since disappeared. Fierce opponent of Arianism.

Born

332 at Dalmatia

Died

390 at Altino, Italy of natural causes

Saint Philiphê Phan Van Minh

Also known as

• Filippo Phan Van Minh

• Philip Minh

Profile

Priest in the the apostolic vicariate of West Cochinchina (in modern Vietnam). Member of the Paris Society for Foreign Missions. Martyred in the persecutions of Emperor Tu-Duc.

Born

c.1815 at Cái Mon, Vinh Long, West Cochin-China (Vietnam)

Died

beheaded on 3 July 1853 at Ðinh Khao (Vietnam)

Canonized

19 June 1988 by Pope John Paul II

Saint Petrus Zhao Mingzhen

Also known as

• Baiduo

• Zhao Mingzhen Petrus

• Pietro Zhao Mingzhen

Profile

Layman Christian in the apostolic vicariate of Southeastern Zhili, China. Martyred in the Boxer Rebellion while trying to rescue some women and children from the rebels.

Born

c.1839 in Beiwangtou, Shenzhou, Hebei, China

Died

3 July 1900 in Beiwangtou, Shenzhou, Hebei, China

Canonized

1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II

Blessed Barbara Jeong Sun-Mae

Additional Memorial

20 September as one of the Martyrs of Korea

Profile

Lay woman martyr in the apostolic vicariate of Korea. Convert to Catholicism. Moving to Seoul, she founded a group of other Christian lay women who wanted to live in community. Martyr.

Born

1777 in Yeoju, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

Died

3 - 4 July 1801 in Yeoju, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

Beatified

15 August 2014 by Pope Francis

Blessed Andreas Ebersbach

Profile

Premonstratensian monk. Canon of the monastery in Teplá, Bohemia (in the modern Czech Republic). Abbot of Teplá in 1599; he served in that office for 30 years. Known for his strict adhereance to the Rule of his Order, and commended by diocesan authorities for his work as a Christian catechist and apologist.

Born

c.1554 in the modern Czech Republic

Died

3 July 1629 of natural causes

Saint Irenaeus of Chiusi

Also known as

Ireneo

Profile

Deacon. Tortured and martyred with Saint Mustiola for ministering to Christian prisoners, and giving proper burial to martyrs.

Died

273 at Chiusi, Tuscany, Italy

Patronage

Chiusi, Italy

Saint Germanus of Man

Also known as

Germain, German, Jarman

Profile

Nephew of Saint Patrick. Missionary monk in Ireland, Wales and Brittany. Bishop on the Isle of Man where several locations are still named for him.

Died

c.474 of natural causes

Saint Dathus of Ravenna

Also known as

Datus, Dathius

Profile

Bishop of Ravenna, Italy during the reign of the Roman emperor Commodus. Elected to the see when a dove miraculously appeared over his head during the deliberations.

Died

190 of natural causes

Saint Hyacinth of Caesarea

Profile

Chamberlain to the emperor Trajan at Caesarea, Cappadocia. Imprisoned for his faith, his only food was meat that had been offered to idols; he starved rather than touch it. Martyr.

Died

starved to death c.120 in Caesarea, Cappadocia (in modern Turkey)

Saint Mennone the Centurian

Also known as

Memnon

Profile

Centurian in the imperial army in the reign of Diocletian and Maximian. Convert, brought to the faith by Saint Severus. Tortured and murdered for his new faith. Martyr.

Died

Byzie, Thrace (modern Vize, turkey)

Saint Firminus of Apsaros

Profile

One of seven Christian brothers who were soldiers in the imperial Roman army. Kicked out of the military, exiled and eventually martyred in the persecutions of Maximian.

Died

c.311 at Apsaros (in modern Georgia)

Saint Firmus of Apsaros

Profile

One of seven Christian brothers who were soldiers in the imperial Roman army. Kicked out of the military, exiled and eventually martyred in the persecutions of Maximian.

Died

c.311 at Apsaros (in modern Georgia)

Saint Guthagon

Profile

May have been Irish royalty. Hermit at Oostkerk, Flanders, Belgium.

Born

Eighth century Ireland

Died

• in Belgium of natural causes

• many miracles reported at this tomb

• relics translated on 3 July 1059

Saint Maelmuire O'Gorman

Also known as

Marianus O'Gorman

Profile

Abbot of Knock, Louth, Ireland. Noted as a poet.

Born

Irish

Died

some time after 1167 of natural causes

Saint Mucian of Mesia

Also known as

Mocian

Profile

Martyr of the early Church for refusing to sacrifice to idols.

Died

beheaded in Mesia (in modern Spain)

Saint Byblig

Also known as

Biblig, Peblig, Peglig, Piblig, Publicius

Profile

A holy man with some connection to Carnarvon, Wales.

Born

Welsh

Died

5th century

Blessed Gelduin

Profile

Monk. Abbot of a monastery near Douai, France. Friend of and extensive correspondent with Saint Anselm of Canterbury.

Died

1123 of natural causes

Saint Cillene

Also known as

Killen

Profile

Monk. Elected abbot in Iona Abbey in Scotland in 726.

Born

Irish

Died

752 of natural causes

Saint Paul of Mesia

Profile

Martyr of the early Church, executed for encouraging other martyrs not to lose their faith.

Died

put to the sword

Saint Mark of Mesia

Profile

Martyr of the early Church for refusing to sacrifice to idols.

Died

beheaded in Mesia (in modern Spain)

Saint Bladus

Also known as

Blade

Profile

Early bishop on the Isle of Man.

Martyrs of Alexandria

Profile

Thirteen Christian companions marytred together. No details about them have survived but the names - Apricus, Cyrion (2 of), Eulogius, Hemerion, Julian, Julius, Justus, Menelaus, Orestes, Porfyrios and Tryphon (2 of).

Died

Alexandria, Egypt, date unknown

Martyrs of Constantinople

Profile

A group of 24 Christians martyred in the persecutions of Arian emperor Valens. We know little more than their names – Acacios, Amedinos, Ammonius, Ammus, Cerealis, Cionia, Cionius, Cyrianus, Demetrius, Eulogius (2), Euphemia, Heliodoros, Heraclios, Horestes, Jocundus, Julian, Martyrios, Menelaeus, Sestratus, Strategos, Thomas, Timotheos and Tryphon.

Died

c.367 in Constantintinople

Theodotus and Companions

Profile

Six Christians who were imprisoned, tortured and martyred together in the persecutions of Trajan. Saint Hyacinth ministered to them in prison. We know nothing else about them but their names - Asclepiodotus, Diomedes, Eulampius, Golinduchus, Theodota and Theodotus.

Died

beheaded c.110, location unknown