Francesco Solimena, Sante Tecla, Archeleao e Susanna condotte al martirio, 1680 ca, 51,6 x 62,5. Solimena's somewhat simplified fresco of the present composition with a number of variations to the poses of several figures, such as the angle of horse's head, for example, is in the Chiesa di San Giorgio, Salerno. A bozzetto of the composition was recorded in the Corradini Collection in Naples in 1958 (see: F. Bologna, Francesco Solimena, Naples, 1958, p. 274) and there are two further small oils on canvas of the subject by Solimena which are published in the catalogue of the exhibition, L'idea del Barocco a Napoli. "Macchie" e disegni di Luca Giordano, Francesco Solimena e seguaci (1670-1790), curated by Enrico De Nicola at the Galleria Civica d'Arte, Cava de' Tirreni, 6 December 2014 - 18 January 2015, Cava de' Tirreni 2014, pp. 20-33, 86-87. (https://www.bonhams.com/auction/23328/lot/6/francesco-solimena-canale-di-serino-1657-1747-barra-di-napoli-saints-tecla-archelaa-and-susanna-being-taken-to-their-martyrdom/)
Saintes Archélaé, Thècle
et Suzanne
Martyres à Salerne (+ v.
293)
Vierges chrétiennes de La
Romagna qui pour échapper à la mort se réfugièrent à Nola en Campanie. Accusées
d'être chrétiennes, elles furent condamnées, torturées et décapitées à Salerne
sous le règne de Dioclétien.
Francesco Solimena est un
peintre italien (Canale di Serino 1657 – Barra [Naples] 1747). Vers 1680,
il peint des fresques avec des scènes de la vie des saintes Thècle, Archelaa et
Suzanne dans l'église S. Giorgio à Salerne. (source: Larousse)
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/10653/Saintes-Archelae--Thecle-et-Suzanne.html
Profile
Young girl who
fled to Nola, Italy to
escape persecution. Arrested there
for her faith,
she was taken to Salerno, Italy, tortured and martyred with Saint Thecla and Saint Susanna.
Born
at Romagna, Italy
beheaded in 293 at Salerno, Italy
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
fonti
in italiano
MLA
Citation
“Saint Archelais the
Martyr“. CatholicSaints.Info. 23 September 2021. Web. 10 August 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-archelais-the-martyr/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-archelais-the-martyr/
Profile
Young girl who
fled to Nola, Italy,
to escape persecution. Arrested there
for her faith,
she was taken to Salerno, tortured and martyred with Saint Archelais and Saint Susanna.
Born
at Romagna, Italy
beheaded in 293 at Salerno, Italy
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
fonti
in italiano
MLA
Citation
“Saint Thecla the
Martyr“. CatholicSaints.Info. 23 September 2021. Web. 10 August 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-thecla-the-martyr/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-thecla-the-martyr/
Profile
Young girl who
fled to Nola, Italy to
escape persecution. Arrested there
for her faith, she was taken to Salerno, Italy, tortured and martyred with Saint Thecla and Saint Archelais.
Born
at Romagna, Italy
beheaded in 293 at Salerno, Italy
Name
Meaning
lily (Susanna)
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
fonti
in italiano
MLA
Citation
“Saint Susanna the
Martyr“. CatholicSaints.Info. 23 September 2021. Web. 10 August 2024. <https://catholicsaints.info/saint-susanna-the-martyr/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-susanna-the-martyr/
Book of Saints –
Archelaa and Others
Article
ARCHELAA and OTHERS
(Saints) Virgin Martyrs (January 18) (3rd century) Three Christian maidens put
to the torture and afterwards beheaded at Nola in the south of Italy (A.D.
285), at the very beginning of the reign of Diocletian, and, it would appear,
without his express sanction, but in virtue of the persecuting edicts of former
Emperors.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Archelaa and Others”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 26
July 2012.
Web. 10 August 2024. <http://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-archelaa-and-others/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-archelaa-and-others/
Saints
of the Day – Archelais, Thecla and Susanna, Martyrs
Article
Died 293. Three Christian
maidens of Romagna who fled to Nola in the Campagna to escape persecution.
Nevertheless, they were charged with their faith, tortured, and beheaded in
Salerno (Benedictines).
MLA
Citation
Katherine I
Rabenstein. Saints of the Day, 1998. CatholicSaints.Info.
23 September 2021. Web. 10 August 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-day-archelais-thecla-and-susanna-martyrs/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-day-archelais-thecla-and-susanna-martyrs/
St. Archelais and
Companions
Feastday: January 18
Death: 293
Martyr with Thecla and
Susanna. They were virgins of the Romagna region of Italy who
traveled to Nola, in Campania, because of the persecutions. In Nola, they were
arrested and taken to Salerno. All three were cruelly tortured and slain.
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=1521
Saint Archelais, Saint
Susanna, & Saint Thecla
By uCatholic
January 18, 2024
In the third century,
amidst the fervent persecutions of Diocletian, three devout Christian virgins,
Saint Archelais, Saint Thecla, and Saint Susanna, hailed from Italy’s Romagna
region. In defiance of the era’s brutal oppression, they adopted an audacious
disguise, donning men’s attire, cropping their hair short, and embarking on a
pilgrimage to Campagna, a province in Italy. There, secluded from the world’s
tumult, they devoted themselves to a life of rigorous asceticism, marked by
steadfast prayer and fasting. Their piety was rewarded with divine grace,
bestowing upon them the miraculous ability to heal. Through their compassionate
ministrations, they not only tended to the ailing locals but also illuminated
the path of faith for many pagans, guiding them towards the light of Christ.
Word of their
extraordinary healings eventually reached the district’s governor, prompting
him to summon these virtuous women to Salerno. Upon their arrival, St.
Archelais was presented with a dire ultimatum: renounce her faith and worship
lifeless idols or face the horrors of torture and death. Unshaken, St.
Archelais boldly rejected the governor’s demands, deriding the absurdity of
idolatry. Enraged, the governor decreed that she be devoured by ravenous lions.
However, the anticipated savagery never ensued; instead, the ferocious beasts,
subdued by a divine presence, humbly laid at her feet. Infuriated by this
defiance of his will, the governor ordered the lions slain and imprisoned the
holy maidens.
The following day, a more
gruesome torment awaited St. Archelais. Bound to a tree, she endured the
excruciating pain of her flesh being torn by iron implements and seared by
scalding tar. Amidst her agony, her prayers rose fervently, invoking a
celestial light that enveloped her and a divine voice that reassured, “Fear
not, for I am with you.”
Miraculously safeguarded
by divine intervention, St. Archelais remained unscathed when an immense stone,
intended to crush her, was divinely redirected, annihilating her tormentors
instead. Faced with this heavenly defiance, a judge commanded the execution of
the saintly trio. Yet, even the soldiers, awestruck by the palpable sanctity
that enveloped these women, hesitated to raise their swords. It was only after
the saints themselves admonished the soldiers, insisting on the fulfillment of
the decree to preserve their honor, that the soldiers, reluctantly and with
profound reverence, carried out the ultimate sacrifice. Thus, in 293, Saints
Archelais, Thekla, and Susanna embraced martyrdom, their legacy etched forever
in the annals of faith.
SOURCE : https://ucatholic.com/saints/archelais-susanna-thecla/
SAINTS ARCHELAIS, THECLA,
AND SUSANNA – VIRGINS AND MARTYRS +293
The Christian maidens
Archelais, Thecla, and Susanna, natives of Italy’s Romagna region, fled to the
Italian city of Nola in the hope of escaping the persecution under the Roman
Emperor Diocletian (284-305).
Having consecrated her
virginity to God, Archelais devoted herself to prayer night and day and
mortified herself with penances. Many are said to have been cured of their
infirmities by her prayers.
Ultimately the three
maidens were arrested by the pagans. When summoned before the proconsul
Leontius, Archelais debated with the magistrate, defending her faith and
refuting the idolatry of paganism. Leontius then ordered her to be exposed to
lions, but the animals refused to harm her.
Afterward, Archelais
invited the proconsul to embrace Christianity, telling him, “Believe what I say
to you; believe in God the Father almighty, and in Jesus Christ his Son, who
created you, and has illuminated the hidden places of darkness, and has
manifested himself to all the nations.” In the end, Archelais and her fellow
virgins Thecla and Susanna were beheaded in Salerno.
“Eternal light, shine in
my heart;
eternal hope, lift up my
eyes;
eternal pow’r, be my
support;
eternal wisdom, make me
wise.
Until by your most costly
grace,
invited by your holy
word,
at last I come before
your face
to know you, my eternal
God.”
SOURCE : http://prayers4reparation.wordpress.com/2012/03/28/about-saints-archelais-thecla-and-susanna/
Virgin Martyrs Archelais,
Thekla, and Susanna, at Salerno
Commemorated on June 6
The Holy Virgin Martyrs
Archelais, Thekla and Susanna sought salvation in a small monastery near Rome.
During the persecution by Diocletian (284-305), the holy virgins dressed
themselves in men’s clothing, cut their hair and went to the Italian province of
Campania. Settling in a remote area, they continued to pursue an ascetical life
of fasting and prayer. They received the gift of healing from God, and treated
the local inhabitants, converting many pagans to Christ.
When the governor of the
district heard about them, he had them brought to Salerno. He threatened Saint
Archelais with torture and death if she did not offer sacrifice to idols. With
firm hope in the Lord, the saint refused to submit to the command, and she
denounced the folly of worshipping soulless statues. Then the governor ordered
the saint to be torn apart by hungry lions, but the beasts meekly lay at her
feet. In a rage the governor ordered the lions to be killed, and locked the
holy virgins in prison.
In the morning, having
suspended Saint Archelais, the torturers began to rake her with iron utensils
and pour hot tar on the wounds. The saint prayed even more loudly, and suddenly
a light shone over her and a voice was heard, “Fear not, for I am with you.”
The saint was defended by
the power of God. When they wanted to crush her with an immense stone, an angel
pushed it to the other side, and it crushed the torturers instead. A judge
ordered soldiers to behead the holy virgins, but the soldiers did not dare to
put their hands upon the saints. Then Saints Archelais, Thekla and Susanna said
to the soldiers, “If you do not fulfill the command, you shall have no respect
from us.” The holy martyrs were beheaded in 293.
In the nineteenth
century, Saint Susanna appeared to a disciple of Elder Boniface saying, “We
must pray to God with the soul, the mind, and the heart.” She is described as a
maiden of untold beauty, with a soft, pleasant voice.
Sante Archelaide,
Tecla e Susanna Martiri di Salerno
Festa: 19 gennaio
III sec.
Secondo la loro passio,
mentre imperversava la persecuzione di Diocleziano, per sottrarsi al furore
degli empi, abbandonarono Roma o, secondo altri, la Romagna, dove conducevano
santa vita in un monastero e si rifugiarono presso Nola, in un luogo umile e povero,
dove continuarono la loro vita di preghiera. La loro fama di santità e di
virtù, accompagnata anche da miracoli di guarigione, si sparse velocemente in
ogni parte e questo fece sì che alcuni pagani le denunziassero a Leonzio,
proconsole della Campania, che decise di punirle con la morte. Condotte a
Salerno, sede di Leonzio, santa Archelaide o Archelaa, in particolare, subì
vari supplizi, ma rimase miracolosamente illesa. Alla fine, tutte e tre
le vergini furono uccise di spada ad un miglio da Nola nel 293 d.C.
Secondo la loro passio, peraltro leggendaria, mentre imperversava la persecuzione di Diocleziano, per sottrarsi al furore degli empi, abbandonarono Roma (altri dicono la Romagna), dove conducevano casta e santa vita in un monastero, e si rifugiarono presso Nola, in un luogo umile e povero, dove continuarono la loro vita di preghiera e le loro opere di bene. I miracoli che operavano, specialmente la guarigione degli infermi, che spesso portavano alla guarigione ben più importante delle anime, e la conseguente fama della loro virtù e santità che si sparse rapidamente da ogni parte, fecero sì che alcuni pagani le denunziassero a Leonzio, preside della Campania, che decise di punirle con la morte, qualora non avessero sacrificato agli dèi. Condotte a Salerno, sede di Leonzio, dopo una lunga discussione tra lui e Archelaide, e dopo che questa fu gettata in pasto ai leoni, che non la toccarono, la vergine fu flagellata e sottoposta ad altri supplizi, da cui uscì miracolosamente illesa; tutte furono uccise di spada a un miglio da Nola (293).
La passio di queste tre martiri fu composta probabilmente nella prima metà del sec. X, quando le loro reliquie, in seguito ad una rivelazione avuta da una religiosa benedettina del monastero di S. Giorgio di Salerno, furono prelevate da Nola (che allora apparteneva alla provincia ecclesiastica di Salerno) e portate in questa città, nel ricordato monastero. Alle religiose benedettine fu accordata la recita dell'Ufficio in onore delle tre sante nel 1697 e molto più tardi, il 24 sett. 1842, anche al clero della diocesi di Salerno. Se ne celebra la festa il 19 gennaio.
Il Lanzoni prospetta l'ipotesi che A. possa identificarsi con la matrona romana
dello stesso nome, che a Nola fu di aiuto a s. Felice.
PREGHIERA
O gloriose martiri Archelaide, Tecla e Susanna,
che per non tradire la fede giurata a Gesù,
generosamente sprezzaste tutte le offerte del proconsole Leonzio
e protestaste coraggiosamente di voler subire tutti i supplizi,
anziché rinnegare la vostra fede, fate che l'interesse
ed il rispetto umano non ci portino a violare i nostri santi propositi.
Otteneteci dal Signore la grazia di resistere sempre coraggiosamente
agli assalti del demonio e fate che ci gloriamo sempre d'esser seguaci del
Crocifisso,
disposti a soffrire anche la morte piuttosto che offenderlo minimamente.
Voi, che in terra otteneste da Gesù innumerevoli guarigioni,
guariteci dalla lebbra del peccato ed infondete nelle nostre anime
un'ardente carità che ci avvii al premio della vita eterna.
Così sia.
Autore: Antonio Balducci
