mercredi 29 avril 2015

Saint ADJUTOR de VERNON, moine bénédictin, pénitent et confesseur

La statue de Saint Adjutor dans la collégiale de Vernon


Saint Adjutor

Pénitent (+ 1131)

Saint Adjutor, Seigneur de Vernon dans l'Eure, fils du seigneur Jean, Comte de Vernon, et de Rosamonde de Blaru. Né à Vernon en 1069 ou 1070, donc contemporain de Guillaume le Conquérant. Il partit à la Croisade. Quand il en revint, il éleva une chapelle à sainte Marie-Madeleine pour la remercier de l'avoir ramené sain et sauf au pays. Il se fit bénédictin à l'abbaye de Tiron dans le Perche, mais bientôt préféra la solitude de sa petite chapelle où il passa les dernières années de sa vie en ermite, recevant les malades pour leur apporter quelque guérison et les âmes en peine pour les conduire à la joie de Dieu. Il devint un saint très populaire chez les Normands.

Décédé à Pressagny-l'Orgueilleux le 30 avril 1131.

Fils du seigneur de Vernon, jeune encore, Adjutor partit pour la Première Croisade. Il fut fait prisonnier près de Jérusalem, il resta fidèle à sa foi malgré les tortures.

De retour en France, il prit l'habit monastique à l'abbaye de Thiron (Thiron-Gardais, Eure et Loire). Ensuite il demanda à vivre la vie érémitique dans un petit ermitage près de Vernon.

Il est invoqué comme patron de la navigation fluviale. (Son ermitage se trouvait en bord de Seine à Pressagny-l'Orgueilleux).

Saints du diocèse d'Evreux

À Vernon en Normandie, vers 1131, saint Adjuteur. Fait prisonnier à la croisade sous les murs de Jérusalem, il subit des sévices à cause de sa foi; revenu dans son pays, il mena une vie pénitente, reclus dans une cellule.

Martyrologe romain

Église Saint-Quentin de Poses.


Vernon : Les miracles de Saint-Adjutor

English Version : 

Objet d'un culte qui ne dépasse pas les limites de la Haute-Normandie, Saint-Adjutor n'en est pas moins très célèbre dans la région de Vernon. Il y a de quoi, tant les détails que nous a transmis sa légende sont fabuleux.

Au départ, l'Histoire se mêle à la légende. Il semble établi qu'Adjutor est le fils du seigneur Jean, Comte de Vernon, et de Rosamonde de Blaru. Il naît vers 1070, ce qui en fait un contemporain de Guillaume le Conquérant. Son éducation est confiée à un abbé, Bernard, qu'il vénérera toute sa vie.

Un contre sept

En 1095 Adjutor part pour la croisade avec une compagnie de deux cents hommes. Les croisés arrivent en Terre Sainte. Mais un jour, près d'Antioche, Adjutor et sa troupe tombent dans une embuscade où les attendent quinze cents Infidèles. Ils sont coincés. Adjutor prie alors Sainte Madeleine et fait voeu de donner le relais de chasse qu'il a au bord de la Seine au monastère de Tyron-au-Perche. Un monastère qu'il connaît bien puisqu'il y a passé son enfance avec l'abbé Bernard. Il promet aussi qu'il fera bâtir une chapelle à sainte Madeleine près de cette maison. Aussitôt, une tempête affreuse mêlée de tonnerre et d'éclairs se déchaîne et sème l'épouvante dans les rangs des Sarrazins. Saint-Adjutor en profite pour lancer une contre-offensive qui écrase les Maures.

17 ans de Croisade

Pendant dix-sept ans il poursuit la croisade qui le mène jusque sur le tombeau du Christ. Mais un jour, raconte la légende, sans doute pour l'éprouver, Dieu le laisse tomber entre les mains des Infidèles aux environs de Jérusalem. "On l'enferra d'horribles chaînes d'une grosseur tout-à-fait extraordinaire. Mais bientôt, irrités par son calme et son courage, ses geôliers doublèrent ses fers déjà si pesants et le plongèrent dans une prison plus étroite et plus obscure."Vol supersonique

C'est encore la prière qui va le tirer de cette situation désespérée. Le récit de son biographe ne manque pas de saveur. "Une nuit, comme il reposait, arriva le secours d'en haut. Il vit Sainte Madeleine à sa droite et à sa gauche saint Bernard qui le prirent et l'enlevèrent, chargé de ses fers et manotes, sans toutefois en être lié comme il était auparavant, puis, d'un cours extrêmement vite, en une seule nuit, des quartiers de Jérusalem le transportèrent près de Vernon-sur-Seine, en sa maison de chasse." Ce miracle n'en fit pourtant pas le patron des pilotes de ligne...

Revenu au pays, Adjutor tient parole. Et se met à vivre en moine dans la chapelle qu'il fait édifier à Pressagny. C'est là qu'il réalise de nombreux miracles, aidant les pauvres et soignant les malades.

Patron des mariniers

Cependant le plus célèbre de ces miracles est celui qu'il accomplit en calmant un tourbillon de la Seine qui avait causé le naufrage de nombreux bateaux. Avec l'archevêque venu lui prêter main-forte, et après la messe du Saint-Esprit célébrée dans la chapelle de la Madeleine, notre saint s'embarque et met le cap sur le tourbillon. L'archevêque n'en mène pas large... mais Adjutor est confiant. Arrivés au bord du gouffre, l'archevêque y jette de l'eau bénite et fait le signe de croix. Saint-Adjutor, de son côté, y lance les chaînes qui le liaient pendant sa captivité. Miracle : le gouffre se remplit, les eaux se calment. Et l'archevêque respire. Depuis ce miracle, Saint-Adjutor est le patron des mariniers.

Les flammes lui obéissent

On prête encore beaucoup d'autres miracles à Saint Adjutor. De son vivant, il en aurait réalisé un des plus impressionnants : pendant le siège de Vernon, alors que la ville était encerclée par un feu provoqué par l'ennemi, saint Adjutor s'adressa aux flammes et leur demanda de retourner d'où elles venaient. Obéissantes, les flammes se jetèrent sur les assaillants et les obligèrent à lever le siège.

Une autre fois, saint Adjutor aurait délivré Vernon de la peste.

Miracles post-mortem

Après sa mort le 30 avril 1131 dans sa chapelle de Pressagny, où sa mère et lui sont enterrés, Saint Adjutor a continué à être vénéré et à faire de nombreux miracles. Sur son tombeau les aveugles recouvrent la vue, les malformés se redressent, les sourds entendent, les langues coupées repoussent, les paralytiques guérissent, les possédés sont délivrés, les femmes stériles deviennent fécondes... Une vraie panacée ! C'est pourquoi on peut encore aujourd'hui invoquer Saint Adjutor pour toutes sortes de maux. Sa fête est fixée le 30 avril.

SOURCE : https://giverny.org/vernon/stadj.htm

Statue de saint Adjuteur "Chevalier de Terre-Sainte souffre dans les fers pour Jésus-Christ", abbatiale de Thiron-Gardais, Eure-et-Loir, France.


Saint Adjutor of Vernon

Also known as

Adjoutr

Ajutre

Ayutre

Memorial

30 April

1 September on some calendars

Profile

Lord of Vernon-sur-Seine. Norman knight in the First Crusade in 1095 during which he was captured by Muslims who tried to force him to abandon his faith. He escaped, apparently swimming to freedom, returned to France, and became a Benedictine monk at Tiron, FranceHermit in his later years.

Born

Normandy (part of modern France)

Died

30 April 1131 at Tiron, France

Patronage

against drowning

drowning victims

sailors

swimmers

swimming

yachtsmen

VernonFrance

Representation

Crusader hermit with a chain nearby

Crusader hermit with a bird nearby

man throwing part of his chains over a precipice

Additional Information

Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate

Lives of the Saints, by Father Alban Butler

books

Dictionary of Saints, by John Delaney

Emblems of the Saints, by Father Frederick Charles Husenbeth and Augustus Jessopp

Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints

other sites in english

1001 Patron Saints and Their Feast Days, Australian Catholic Truth Society

Catholic Online

Catholic Online

Wikipedia

images

Wikimedia Commons

sitios en español

Martirologio Romano2001 edición

fonti in italiano

Santi e Beati

MLA Citation

“Saint Adjutor of Vernon“. CatholicSaints.Info. 31 August 2021. Web. 1 April 2023. <https://catholicsaints.info/saint-adjutor-of-vernon/>

SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-adjutor-of-vernon/

Bas-relief représentant le miracle de Saint Adjutor


St. Ajutre, or Adjutor,

Confessor

[Recluse, at Vernon in Normandy.]  HE was a Norman gentleman, who, upon motives of holy zeal and piety followed the Christian standards in the holy war in the east. Being taken by the Saracens, he suffered great hardships and torments, nothing being able to shake his constancy in the confession of his faith, and in the exercises of his religious duties. Having recovered his liberty, he returned home, where, having consecrated himself and his estate to God, he led an anchoretical life at Vernon upon the Seine, in the assiduous practices of penance and fervent prayer. He consummated his sacrifice by a happy death on the 30th of April, in 1131, and is commemorated on this day in the new accurate Martyrology of Eyreux, and in the calendars of many other churches in Normandy

Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73).  Volume IV: April. The Lives of the Saints.  1866

SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/4/304.html

Saint Ajutre

Feastday: April 30

Death: April 30, 1131

St. Ajutre or Adjoutr, confessor. April 30 A.D. 1131     He was a Norman gentleman, who, upon motives of holy zeal and piety, followed the Christian standards in the holy war in the East. Being taken by the Saracens he suffered great hardships and torments, but nothing shook his constancy in the confession of his faith, or in the exercises of his religious duties. Having recovered his liberty, he returned home, whereupon, having consecrated himself and his estate to God, he led an anchoretical life at Vernon upon the Seine, in the assiduous practices of penance and fervent prayer. He consummated his sacrifice by a happy death on the 30th of April, in 1131, and is commemorated on this day in the new accurate Martyrology of Evreux, and in the calendars of many other churches in Normandy.

SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=875

Vernon : Saint-Adjutor's Miracles

Version française : 

Worshipped all over the world as the patron saint of bargemen, yachtsmen and swimmers, Saint Adjutor is also the patron saint of Vernon. It is indeed where he accomplished most of his miracles.

In the beginning, History is mingled with the legend. It appears to be established that Adjutor was the son of Jean, Count of  Vernon, and of Rosamonde of Blaru, a village in the vicinity of Vernon. He was born around 1070, therefore lived at the time of William the Conqueror. His education was given to him by an Abbot called Bernard, whom he worshipped all his life.

One against Seven

In 1095 Adjutor goes off to the crusades with an army of 200 men. The crusaders arrive on Holy Land. One day, near to Antioch, Adjutor and his troops fall into an ambush where 1500 enemies are waiting for them. They are trapped.  Adjutor prays Sainte Madeleine and makes a vow to give his hunting relay which he owns along the river Seine to the monastery of Tyron-au-Perche ; a monastery which he knows well, for it is the place where he spent his childhood with Bernard the Abbot. He also promises to build a chapel to Saint Madeleine near to this house. Straight away, a terrible storm with thunder and lightning roared while frightening the Saracens. Saint-Adjutor took the opportunity to make a counter attack and wiped the Moors out.

17 years of Crusades

During seventeen years he persued the crusades which took him to the tomb of  Jesus Christ. One day, says the legend, probably to try him, God let him fall into the hands of the Infidels near to Jerusalem. "He was enchained to horrible chains of quite extraordinary size. But soon, irritated by his calm and his courage, his jailers doubled his chains already quite heavy and threw him into a smaller and darker jail."

Supersonic flight

It is once again prayers that will free him from this terrible situation. The narration of his biographer is quite exciting. "One night as he was resting, help came from above. He saw Saint Madeleine on his right and on the left Saint Bernard who took him and lifted, weighted by his chains and manacles, without however being tied up like before, in an extremely swift flight, from Jerusalem to Pressagny, near Vernon-sur-Seine to his hunting house in one night." This miracle nevertheless does not make him the patron saint of aircraft pilots...

Having come back to his home land Adjutor kept promise. He lived like a monk in the chapel he had built in Pressagny. It is from there he made many miracles, helping the poor and caring for the sickPatron saint for the bargemen

However one of his most famous miracles is a miracle he accomplished by calming a terrible whirlpool on the Seine which had caused the wrecking of many boats. With the Archbishop who came to give him a helping hand and after mass of the Holy Ghost celebrated in the chapel of La Madeleine, Saint Adjutor took place in a boat and headed for the whirlpool. The Archbishop was not very comfortable... but Adjutor was confident. As they neared the whirlpool the arArchbishop threw some holy water signing it with the sign of the cross and Adjutor threw in the chains he wore when in captivity. Miracle, the hole was filled, the water became calm, and the Archbishop tranquilized. Since this miracle Saint Adjutor is the patron saint for bargemen

The flames obey him

Many other miracles are said to be of Saint Adjutor. During his lifetime, he acomplished a most spectacular miracle during the siege of Vernon. Whereas the town was encircled by flames lit by the enemy, Saint Adjutor spoke to the flames asking them to return to where they came from. Obeying him they went back onto the enemy and made them flee from the town.  

Another time Adjutor delivered Vernon from the pest.

Post Mortem Miracles

After his death the 30th April 1131 in his chapel of Pressagny where he and his mother were buried, Saint Adjutor was still venerated and still accomplished many miracles. On his grave, the blind recovered sight, the crooked became straight, the deaf heared, the chopped tongues grew again and the paralyzed heeled, the possessed were delivered and the sterile women became fertile. A real panacea ! That is why today one can still invoke Saint Adjutor to cure all kinds of diseases. His Saints day is on the 30th April.

SOURCE : https://giverny.org/vernon/stadjgb.htm

Le miracle de Saint Adjutor


Sant' Adiutore di Vernon Monaco

30 aprile

XII secolo

Crociato normanno, poi eremita benedettino a Vernon-sur-Seine.

Etimologia: Adiutore = colui che aiuta, dal latino

Martirologio Romano: A Vernon-sur-Seine in Francia, sant’Adiutore, che, fatto prigioniero in guerra, fu torturato per la sua fede e, tornato in patria, si ritirò in una cella conducendo una vita di penitenza.

Nato a Vernon (Eure) nell'ultimo quarto del sec. XI e andato tra i cavalieri normanni alla prima crociata, fu fatto prigioniero dai Saraceni, dai quali solo dopo diciassette anni fu rimesso in libertà. Fu successivamente monaco dell'abbazia di Tiron (Eure). Fattosi poi eremita, costruì una cappella dedicata a santa Maria Maddalena, attualmente nella parrocchia di Pressagny l'Orgueilleux, vicino a Vernon. Morì il 30 aprile 1131, giorno in cui si celebra la sua festa.

La Vita di Adiutore fu redatta da Ugo III di Amiens, arcivescovo di Rouen. Il suo culto è diffuso nelle diocesi di Rouen, Èvreux e Chartre, come confessore e patrono della nobiltà di Normandia, e anche della città natale.

Autore: Charles Lefebvre

SOURCE : https://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/51390

Saint ERCONWALD (ERKONWALD) de LONDRES, évêque et confesseur


Saint Erkenwald enseignant ses moines, initiale historiée du Chertsey Breviary (c.1300)

Saint Erconwald

Évêque de Londres ( v. 693)

Issu d'une famille princière d'Angle de l'Est, il utilisa une grande partie de sa fortune pour fonder deux monastères, l’un pour les hommes, à Barking, qu’il gouverna lui-même, l’autre pour les femmes, à qui il donna pour abbesse sa sœur Éthelburge. A la mort de l'évêque de Londres en 675, il fut appelé à ce siège par saint Théodore, archevêque de Canterbury. Il est réputé pour la grande sainteté de sa vie.

À Barking en Angleterre, l’an 693, le trépas de saint Erconwald, évêque de Londres, qui fonda deux monastères, l’un pour les hommes, à Barking, qu’il gouverna lui-même, l’autre pour les femmes, à qui il donna pour abbesse sa sœur sainte Éthelburge.

Martyrologe romain

SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/10761/Saint-Erconwald.html



SAINT ERCONWALD (ERKENWALD), EVEQUE DE LONDRES, ABBE DE CHERTSEY 

30 avril - 13 mai

Né dans l'Est-Anglie; né au Ciel à Barking, le 30 avril, vers 686-693; deuxième jour de fête le 13 mai. Erconwald était de sang royal, fils d'Annas ou Offa. En 675, Saint Théodore de Canterbury nomma Erconwald Evêque des Saxons de l'Est avec Londres pour siège, et s'étendant jusqu'à l'Essex et Middlesex. Son épiscopat fut le plus important dans ce diocèse entre celui de Saint Mellitus et celui de Saint Dunstan. Son tombeau dans la Cathédrale Saint-Paul était un des nombreux lieux de pèlerinage visités durant le Moyen-Age, où des miracles ont été rapportés par les papistes jusqu’au XVI° siècle, bien qu'on ne sache plus que peu de sa vie, sinon qu'il fonda un monastère à Chertsey dans le Surrey, qu'il gouverna, et un couvent à Barking dans l'Essex où il installa sa soeur Ethelburge comme Abbesse.

Erconwald est en partie l'auteur de la réconciliation entre Saint Théodore et Saint Wilfrid. A l'époque de Saint Bède, ces miracles furent rapportés à la suite du toucher du lit qu'Erconwald utilisa dans ses dernières années. A sa naissance céleste, les reliques d'Erconwald furent réclamées par Barking, Chertsey, et Londres; il fut finalement enterré dans la Cathédrale Saint-Paul de Londres, qu'il avait agrandie. Les reliques échappèrent à l'incendie de 1087 et furent placées dans la crypte. Le 14 novembre 1148, il y eut une nouvelle translation faite par les papistes vers un nouveau tombeau derrière le maître-autel, vers où elles furent à nouveau déplacées le 1er février 1326.

Dans l'art, on dépeint Erconwald comme un Evêque dans un petit 'char' (l'équivalent saxon d'un fauteuil roulant) dans lequel il a voyagé à cause de sa goutte. Parfois il y a une femme le touchant ou il peut être montré avec Sainte Ethelburge de Barking.

ou

On pense qu'il fut un des premiers convertis de la mission menée par Saint Mellitus. Erconwald fonda deux maisons religieuses, une sur chaque rive de la Tamise, selon un modèle qui sera ultérieurement adopté par Saint Benoît Biscop, quand il construira les Monastères jumeaux de Saint-Pierre, Moine Wearmouth et Saint-Paul, Jarrow. Erconwald devint Abbé de l'abbaye qu'il construisit à Chertsey, mais l'autre, à Barking, il la donna à sa soeur Sainte Ethelburge, rappelant Sainte Hildelid de France pour qu'elle l'entraîne à la vie religieuse et la direction d'un monastère double, de Moines et de Moniales. Sa soeur resta très proche à lui et plus tard, quand il deviendra Evêque de Londres, l'accompagnera régulièrement dans ses périples. Sur le tard, il sera handicapé par une crise de goutte et devra être aidé par un siège à roulettes, ancêtre du fauteuil roulant, et dont les restes sont conservés dans l'ancien Saint-Paul et montrés comme Reliques.

Lorsque Saint Cedd trépassa de la peste en 664, Erconwald, qui descendait de la maison d'Uffa, une famille royale des Angles d'Est, fut recommandé par le Roi Sebbi, à l'Archevêque Théodore, pour devenir le nouvel Evêque de Londres. Son ministère durant les onze années suivantes fut celui de la réconciliation. Il y avait encore quelques Bretons dans son diocèse, qui étaient restés après que les terres aient été envahies par les Saxons, mais les envahisseurs étaient la population prédominante. Ils avaient reçu la Foi chrétienne tout d'abord par le clergé romain envoyé par Saint Grégoire [le Grand], mais elle avait été affermie par les Moines de Lindisfarne sous Saint Cedd, qui étaient de l'Eglise celte, ce qui fait que son siège avait une tradition mixte. De plus, il y avait une certaine résistance aux réformes introduites par Saint Théodore, et Erconwald mena une action de guérison des divisions de l'Eglise anglaise dans son ensemble, à un point tel que la querelle entre Wilfrid et Théodore fut finalement réglée dans la maison d'Erconwald immédiatement avant la naissance au Ciel de l'Archevêque.

La sainteté et le tempérament d'artisan de paix d'Erconwald lui ont valu une place de prédilection dans le coeur des Londoniens. On rapporte aussi nombre de miracles. Un curieux récit a été conservé sur comment, pendant la reconstruction de Saint-Paul, un cercueil fut découvert contenant le corps d'un homme portant une couronne et avec un sceptre dans sa main. Il n'y avait pas d'indication sur qui était cet homme en parfait état de conservation et, le lendemain, Saint Erconwald célébra la Divine Liturgie pour lui, puis demanda au cadavre qui il était. Le cadavre lui répondit aussitôt qu'il avait été juge de New Troy, un nom légendaire pour Londres, et parce qu'il était si renommé pour ses jugements exemplaires il avait reçut le nom de roi des Juges. L'Evêque lui demanda où il était maintenant, et le juge répondit que parce qu'il était mort sans le Baptême, il s'était vu refuser l'entrée dans la Ville Eternelle. Saint Erconwald en fut si affligé qu'il commença à pleurer, disant combien il aurait souhaité pouvoir le baptiser au Nom du Père, et du Fils et du Saint-Esprit. Une partie des larmes tombèrent sur la face du juge vertueux, et d'un grand cri de joie, il remercia le Saint de l'avoir libéré de son état terrestre par le lavement avec les larmes au Nom de la Trinité, et aussitôt son corps se désintégra en poussière.

Saint Erconwald s’endormit dans le Seigneur à l'Abbaye de sa soeur à Barking, et il y eut une dispute entre les Prêtres de Saint-Paul et les Moines de Barking concernant le lieu où il fallait l'ensevelir. Un grand orage éclata au dehors, la rivière déborda, mais le soleil perça à travers les nuages, indiquant un chemin doré vers la Cathédrale. Son corps fut enterré dans la crypte, mais quand l'église fut reconstruite en 1148, il y eut une translation par les papistes dans un tombeau derrière le Maître-Autel. C'était un des lieux de pèlerinage préférés par les papistes jusqu'au seizième siècle. On conserva son jour de fête au 30 avril, avec grand faste. Le 14 novembre, on fête la Translation de ses Saintes Reliques.



April 30

St. Erkonwald, Bishop of London, Confessor

HE was a prince of the royal blood, son of Annas, the holy king of the East-Angles, or, as some say, of a certain prince named Offa. The better to disengage himself from the ties and incumbrances of the world, he forsook his own country, and retired into the kingdom of the East-Saxons, where he employed his large estate in founding two great monasteries, one at Chertsey, in Surrey, near the Thames, 1 the other for nuns, at Barking in Essex; 2 of this latter he appointed his sister Edilburga abbess. The former he governed with great sanctity, till he was forced out of his dear solitude by King Sebba, in 675, and consecrated bishop of London by St. Theodorus. He much augmented the buildings and revenues of St. Paul’s, and obtained for that church great privileges from the king. Dugdale, in his history of that cathedral, proves that it had originally been a temple of Diana, from many heads of oxen dug up when the east part of it was rebuilt, and from the structure of the chambers of Diana, near that place. Bede bears witness that God honoured St. Erkonwald with a great gift of miracles, and that his horse-litter, or chips cut off from it, cured distempers to his own time: and his sanctity has been most renowned through all succeeding ages. He sat eleven years, according to his old epitaph, which Mr. Weever has preserved. 3 His tomb in the cathedral of St. Paul’s was famous for frequent miracles, as is mentioned by Bede, Malmesbury, &c. His body was removed from the middle of the church, by a solemn translation, on the 14th of November, in 1148, 4 and deposited above the high altar, on the east wall. Dugdale 5 describes the riches and numerous oblations which adorned his shrine, and laments 6 that they had lately seen the destruction of this magnificent church, which was the glory of our nation; the monuments of so many famous men torn to pieces, and their bones and dust pulled out of their graves. In which barbarous search the body of the holy King Sebba was found embalmed with perfumes, and clothed with rich robes: also several bishops in their proper habits. But, says that diligent author, I could never hear that they found more than a ring or two with rubies, and a chalice of no great value. He adds: Under part of the choir was the subterraneous parish church of St. Faith, called S. Fides in Cryptis. At the change of religion, the body of St. Erkonwald disappeared, in 1533, says Weever. 7 F. Jerom Porter, in his lives of the English saints, testifies, that it was then buried at the upper end of the choir, near the wall. No mention is made of it in any accounts since the new fabric was erected. See Wharton, Hist. Episcoporum Londin, p. 16; and Maitland, Hist. of London, b. 2, p. 486; also the notes of Papebroke upon the life of St. Erkonwald in Capgrave, Apr. t. 3, p. 780; and Leland, Collect. t. 1, p. 22 and 23.

Note 1. Chertsey (anciently Ceortesei) monastery was founded by St. Erkonwald, about the year 666. The abbot and ninety monks being killed, and the abbey burnt to the ground, during the Danish wars, it was refounded by King Edgar and Bishop Ethelwold, to the honour of St. Peter. At the dissolution, it was valued, according to Speed, at £744 13s. 4d. per ann. See Monast. Anglic, t. 1, p. 75, and Bishop Tanner, Notit. Monastica, p. 534. [back]

Note 2. Barking nunnery was founded by the same saint, in 675, or, according to the Chertsey-book, in 666; but was not the first nunnery in England, as Weever, Dugdale, (in Warwicks, p. 1077,) and Newcourt assert; for that of Folkestone in Kent was founded in 630 by Eadbald, king of Kent, and his daughter, St. Eanswithe, was made first abbess, as Bishop Tanner takes notice. Barking nunnery was valued at the dissolution at £1084 per annum, which would be now eight times as much. Those authors are mistaken, who call Barking the richest nunnery in England, those of Sion and Shaftsbury being much richer. [back]

Note 3. Funeral Monuments. [back]

Note 4. See Hearne, note on Robert of Gloucester’s Chronicle, t. 2, p. 467. [back]

Note 5. History of the cathedral of St. Paul’s, pp. 22, 23, 24. [back]

Note 6. Ib. p. 51. [back]

Note 7. P. 359. [back]

Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73).  Volume IV: April. The Lives of the Saints.  1866.

SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/4/304.html

St. Erconwald
Bishop of London, died about 690. He belonged to the princely family of the East Anglian Offa, and devoted a considerable portion of his patrimony to founding two monasteries, one for monks at Chertsey, and the other for nuns at Barking in Essex. Over the latter he placed hiss sister, St. Ethelburga, as abbess. He himself discharged the duties of superior at Chertsey. Erconwald continued his monastic life till the death of Bishop Wini in 675, when he was called to the See of London, at the instance of King Sebbi and Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury. As monk and bishop he was renowned for his holiness of life, and miracles were wrought in attestation of his sanctity. The sick were cured by contact with the litter on which he had been carried; this we have on the testimony of Venerable Bede. He was present in 686 at the reconciliation between Archbishop Theodore and Wilfrith. King Ini in the preface to his laws calls Erconwald "my bishop". During his episcopate he enlarged his church, augmented its revenues, and obtained for it special privileges from the king.

According to an ancient epitaph, Erconwald ruled the Diocese of London for eleven years. He is said to have eventually retired to the convent of his sister in Barking, where he died 30 April. He was buried in St. Paul's, and his tomb became renowned for miracles. The citizens of London had a special devotion to him, and they regarded with pride the magnificence of his shrine. During the burning of the cathedral in 1087 it is related that the shrine and its silken coverings remained intact. A solemn translation of St. Erconwald's body took place 14 Nov., 1148, when it was raised above the high altar. The shrine was robbed of its jewels and ornaments in the sixteenth century; and the bones of the saint are said to have been then buried at the east end of the choir. His feast is observed by English Catholics on 14 November. Prior to the Reformation, the anniversaries of St. Erconwald's death and translation of his relics were observed at St. Paul's as feasts of the first class, according to an ordinance of Bishop Braybroke in 1386.


Edmonds, Columba. "St. Erconwald." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 2 May 2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05517a.htm>.

Saint Erconwald of London
Also known as
  • Earconvaldo
  • Erkenwald
  • Erkenwold
  • Erkonwald
  • The Light of London
Memorial
Profile

May have been related to royalty. Benedictine monk. Founded Chertsey Abbey in Surrey, England, and served as its first abbot. Founded a convent at Barking, Essex, England; his sister, Saint Ethelburga of Barking, served as its abbess. Appointed bishop of the East Saxons by Saint Theodore of Canterbury in 675; his see was in London. Suffered from severe gout, but continually travelled through his diocese. His shrine was a pilgrimage site in the Middle Ages, and the sick were miraculously cured by touching the chair he used for travel.

Born
Died
Canonized
Patronage
Representation

Erconwald of London, OSB B
(also known as Erkenwald)

Born in East Anglia; died in London, c. 686; second feast day on April 30. In 675, Saint Theodore of Canterbury appointed Erconwald bishop of the East Saxons with his see in London. His shrine in Saint Paul's Cathedral was a much visited pilgrimage site during the Middle Ages, but little is known of his life except that he founded a monastery at Chertsey in Surrey and a convent at Barking in Essex. He appointed his sister, Ethelburga, abbess of the latter, while he governed the former. Erconwald took some part int he reconciliation of Saint Theodore with Saint Wilfrid (Attwater, Benedictines, Encyclopedia). Erconwald is portrayed in art as a bishop in a small 'chariot' (the Saxon equivalent of a bath chair) in which he travelled because of his gout. Sometimes there is a woman touching it or he may be shown with Saint Ethelburga of Barking (Roeder). Erconwald is invoked against gout (Roeder).


SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0513.shtml

 ERCONWALD of LONDON
The great Anglo-Saxon St. Erconwald was a kinsman of King Offa of Mercia and came into a considerable amount of wealth from the patrimony left to him by virtue of his royal connections, which he used to found a monastery and a convent in Essex. Over the convent he placed his sister, Ethelburga, who later became a saint as well. Erconwald himself led the solitary life of a monk until in 675 he was called by King Sebbi and the Archbishop of Canterbury to fill the vacant See of London.
Erconwald was known for his extraordinary sanctity, and Bede attests that many were healed who came in contact with the litter on which he was carried in his old age. During his episcopate he obtained many privileges for his See from the king and enlarged the flock in London considerably.

Erconwald died in 690 and was buried in the cathedral of St. Paul's in London, where many miracles happened at his tomb. In 1087 the cathedral was ravaged by a fire, but the linen cloths on his tomb miraculously remained intact. So esteemed was Erconwald in the late Anglo-Saxon and early Norman periods that in 1148 his relics were translated to the High Altar. A decree of 1386 ordered the feast of Erconwald's death and the translation of his relics to be celebrated as a feast of the first class in England. At the time of the English Reformation, all the jewels of his tomb were plundered and the relics themselves lost, though it is rumored that they now rest under the east altar, though it is far from certain.

Erconwald's Feast Day is 30 April, with translations being celebrated on 1 February and 13 May. He is the patron saint against gout.


St. Erconwald, ora pro nobis!

Bishop of London (693)

Our father among the saints Earconwald of London (also Ercenwald or Erkenwald) was bishop of London in the Anglo-Saxon Church of England during the latter decades of the seventh century. He came to be called “The Light of London”. His feast day is April 30. He is also commemorated for the translations of his relics on February 1 and May 13.

Earconwald was born about 630 of noble origin at Lindsey. Otherwise little is known of his early life. He founded two monasteries in 661, one for men in Chertsey in Surrey, of which he became the abbot, and a second for women in Barking, of which his sister St. Ethelburgh was the abbess. In 675, he was appointed Bishop of London by Archbishop Theodore of Canterbury.

King Ine of Wessex named Earconwald as an advisor and participant in the writing of the code of law promulgated by King Ine. Earconwald also had a significant role in the evolution and drafting of the Anglo-Saxon charters including the charter by King Caedwalla for a minster (church) in Farnham.

Earconwald is also credited with the conversion to Christianity of King Sebba of the East Saxons in 674.

Earconwald died in 693 and was buried at Old St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. During the Middle Ages his grave was a popular shrine for pilgrimages. However, it was destroyed with other tombs at the cathedral during the Reformation. (more)

Saint MARIEN, lecteur, saint JACQUES, diacre, de LAMBÈSE, et leurs compagnons martyrs


Lambese. Photographie : Dan Sloan

Saint Marien

et ses compagnons, martyrs à Lambèse, en Numidie ( 259)

et ses compagnons martyrs. 

Martyr en Afrique avec saint Jacques. Selon les Actes de leur martyre "la vie de la grâce était si intense chez ces témoins de Dieu qu'il leur semblait trop peu de verser leur sang précieux."

Il exerçait la fonction de lecteur dans la communauté chrétienne de Circé (actuellement Constantine en Algérie). Il fut arrêté sous Valérien avec beaucoup d'autres chrétiens de cette région. Ils furent réunis sur le flanc d'une colline, eurent les yeux bandés et furent mis en rang. Les bourreaux passèrent au milieu d'eux, les décapitant ou les égorgeant les uns après les autres.

À Lambèse en Numidie, l’an 259, les saints martyrs Marien, lecteur, et Jacques, diacre. Le premier avait déjà triomphé des rigueurs de la persécution de Dèce en confessant le Christ. Il fut pris une seconde fois avec son illustre collègue, et tous deux, après des supplices cruels, mais fortifiés par la grâce divine, périrent enfin par l’épée avec beaucoup d’autres.

Martyrologe romain



Lambese. Photographie : Dan Sloan



Saint Marien de Lambèse

Martyr en Numidie sous Valérien

Fête le 30 avril

† près de Cirta [auj. Constantine, Algérie] 6 mai 259

Groupe « Marien et Jacques de Lambèse »

Jacques et Marien, diacre et lecteur, furent martyrisés en Numidie, près de Cirta, sous le règne de l’empereur romain Valérien Ier (253-260).



Lambese. Photographie : Riad Hadjsadok


Saint Marien et Saint Jacques

martyrisés à Lambèse en 259

pnha, n°109, fevrier 2000.

La Passion de ces deux saints, martyrisés à Lambèse, est un récit authentique, d'une haute valeur historique, d'un témoin occulaire qui n'a pas laissé son nom.

-----Saint Augustin l'a recommandée dans ses sermons.

"Deux martyrs très illustres, lisons-nous dans les Actes, nous ont confié le soin de faire connaître leur gloire ; je veux parler de Marien, qui nous fut cher entre tous les frères, et de Jacques, auquel, vous le savez, outre les engagements communs du baptême et la profession d'un même culte, unissaient des liens de famille. Sur le point de soutenir leur glorieux combat contre les cruelles fureurs du siècle et les attaques des païens, ils m'ordonnèrent de mettre par écrit le récit de cette lutte où ils entraient sous la conduite de l'Esprit-Saint. Ce n'était pas assurément pour faire célébrer par une vaine jactance au milieu du monde la gloire de leur triomphe, mais bien pour laisser à la multitude des fidèles, au peuple de Dieu, un exemple capable de les instruire et de fortifier leur foi. Ce ne fut pas sans raison que leur affectueuse confiance me choisit pour publier ces récits ; qui pourrait douter en effet que j'ai connu et partagé le secret de leur vie ? Nous vivions ensemble dans les liens d'une étroite union quand la persécution nous surprit.

-----Nous voyagions en Numidie, comme nous l'avions fait ensemble bien des fois, et nous avions réuni les gens de notre suite ; la route que nous suivions nous menait à remplir le ministère imposé par la foi et la religion, tandis qu'elle conduisait au ciel nos compagnons. Nous arrivâmes en un lieu appelé Muguas, près des faubourgs de Cirta (Constantine), colonie romaine et ville importante où l'aveugle fureur des païens et les ordres des officiers militaires avaient déchaîné une cruelle persécution. Nos bienheureux martyrs, Marien et Jacques, virent là un signe certain de la miséricorde divine qui les menait au lieu et au moment où la persécution battait son plein, et où, sous la conduite du Christ, ils allaient cueillir leur couronne. En effet la fureur aveugle et brutale du préfet faisait rechercher par ses soldats les disciples bien-aimés du Christ, le diable lui inspirait d'appesantir sa main sur ceux qui, depuis longtemps condamnés à l'exil, avaient mérité sinon par l'effusion du sang, du moins par le désir, la couronne du martyr.

-----Les exemples et les instructions d'Agape et Secondin, quand ils nous quittèrent, avaient disposé Marien et Jacques à suivre la même voie, à marcher sur leurs traces glorieuses. Deux jours à peine après leur départ, la palme du martyre venait d'elle-même trouver nos très chers Marien et Jacques. Une troupe armée était accourue à la ville que nous habitions ; ces deux frères furent arrachés à nos embrassements pour aller au martyre. Quand ils furent interrogés, comme ils persévéraient à confesser hautement le nom du Christ, on les conduisit en prison. 

-----Alors un soldat stationnaire, le bourreau des hommes justes, les soumit à des tourments cruels et nombreux. Il prit, pour venir en aide à sa cruauté, le centurion et les magistrats de Cirta. Jacques qui avait toujours paru plus ferme dans sa foi, parce qu'il avait déjà triomphé de la persécution de Dèce, répétait avec fierté que non seulement, il était chrétien, mais que de plus il était diacre. Marien, de son côté, provoquait les supplices en confessant qu'il était lecteur ; c'est qu'il l'était en effet. Marien fut suspendu pour être déchiré, le supplice même était vraiment son exaltation. On eut la cruauté de lui attacher aux pieds des poids lourds ; ainsi tirée en sens contraire, la charpente entière de son corps se disloquait, les nerfs étaient brisés, les entrailles déchirées. Enfin, la fureur des bourreaux fut vaincue et il fallut reconduire en prison Marien tout joyeux de son triomphe ; avec Jacques et les autres frères, il célébra par de ferventes prières la victoire du Seigneur.

-----Après les tourments dont on avait déchiré son corps Marien s'endormit d'un sommeil profond et tranquille ; à son réveil, il nous raconta lui-même ce que la divine bonté lui avait fait voir pour soutenir et encourager ses espérances : "Mes frères, dit-il, j'ai vu se dresser devant moi à une grande hauteur un tribunal d'un éclat éblouissant ; là siégeait un personnage faisant office de juge. Il dominait sur une estrade où l'on montait par de nombreux degrés. En faisant approcher les confesseurs, un à un par ordre, devant le juge qui les condamnait à être décapités. Tout à coup, j'entendais une voix claire et puissante qui cria :"Qu'on amène Marien !"Et aussitôt je montai sur l'estrade. À ce moment, j'aperçus, à la droite du juge, Cyprien que je n'avais pas encore vu ; il me tendit la main, m'éleva jusque sur le plus haut degré de l'estrade et me dit en souriant : "Viens t'asseoir avec moi !" Je m'assis et l'interrogation des autres confesseurs continue. À la fin, le juge se leva et nous le conduisîmes jusqu'à son prétoire. Nous traversions d'agréables prairies ; de hauts cyprès et des pins dont la tête s'élevait jusqu'au ciel étendaient au loin leur ombrage ; on eût dit que la verdure des forêts environnait ces lieux comme d'une immense couronne. Au milieu, les eaux pures d'une source abondante remplissaient à plein bords un immense bassin. Mais tout à coup, le juge disparut ; alors Cyprien prit une coupe qui se trouvait au bord de la fontaine, il la remplit et but ; quand il l'eut vidée, il la remplit de nouveau, me la présenta et j'en bus moi-même avec bonheur. Je rendais grâces à Dieu, quand le son de ma voix m'éveille."

Ce récit rappela à Jacques que Dieu avait daigné aussi lui montrer la couronne qui lui était réservée. Quelques jours auparavant, Marien, Jacques et moi-même avec eux, nous voyagions ensemble sur le même char. Vers le milieu du jour, à un endroit où la route était rocailleuse, Jacques était tombé dans un profond sommeil ; nous l'appelâmes, et quand il fut éveillé, il nous dit : "Mes frères, je viens d'éprouver une grande émotion, mais c'est la joie qui transportait mon âme. Vous aussi, réjouissez-vous avec moi. J'ai vu un jeune homme d'une taille prodigieuse, il avait pour vêtement une robe d'une blancheur si éclatante que les yeux ne pouvaient la considérer, ses pieds ne touchaient pas la terre et son front se cachait dans les cieux. Comme il passait rapidement devant nous, il nous jeta deux ceintures de pourpre, une pour toi, Marien, et une pour moi. Et il me dit "Suivez-moi promptement!" Dans un tel sommeil quelle force contre l'ennemi ! Comment après cela décrire les transports de joie et les sentiments généreux de nos martyrs qui, sur le point de souffrir pour Dieu, avaient eu le bonheur d'entendre le Christ et de le voir s'offrir à leurs regards ? Par une grâce spéciale et toute nouvelle ce Dieu avait choisi, pour se montrer à son martyr, un temps où d'ordinaire il ne se révèle pas à ses saints. Au reste, les deux frères ne furent pas les seuls à jouir de cette faveur. (Suivent des détails concernant la vision d'Emilien puis le martyre d'Agape, Secondin, Tertulla, Antonio).Agape apparut à Jacques dans sa prison durant son sommeil. Sur le point de recevoir le coup de la mort, pendant qu'on attendait l'arrivée du bourreau, on entendit Jacques qui disait : "Que je suis heureux ! Je vais rejoindre Agape, je vais m'asseoir avec lui et tous les autres martyrs au banquet céleste. Cette nuit même, je l'ai vu notre bienheureux Agape ; au milieu de tous ceux qui avaient été enfermés avec nous dans la prison de Cirta, il paraissait le plus heureux ; un joyeux et solennel banquet les réunissait. Marien et moi, emportés par l'esprit de dilection et de charité, nous y courions comme à des agapes, lorsque tout à coup vint à notre rencontre un jeune enfant, que je reconnus pour un des deux frères jumeaux, qui trois jours auparavant avaient souffert avec leur mère... "Où courez-vous ? nous dit-il ; soyez dans l'allégresse, demain vous souperez avec nous." Cependant, le jour avait succédé à la nuit dans laquelle cette vision avait eu lieu, la sentence du préfet allait servir à l'accomplissement des promesses de Dieu. Ce fut une condamnation, mais elle affranchit des tribulations du siècle Marien et Jacques avec les autres clercs, pour les rendre participants de la gloire dans la société des patriarches. On les conduisit au lieu du triomphe : c'était une vallée profonde, traversée par un fleuve dont les rivages s'élevaient doucement comme pour former les degrés d'un amphithéâtre. Le sang des martyrs coulait jusqu'au lit du fleuve. le bourreau avait disposé avec art ses victimes sur de longues files ; ses coups sacrilèges semblaient courir d'une tête à l'autre, emportés par une aveugle fureur. Suivant la coutume avant de frapper les victimes on leur banda les yeux, mais les ténèbres ne purent obscurcir leurs âmes. Marien, déjà rempli de l'esprit de prophétie, annonçait avec assurance que le jour était proche où le sang des justes serait vengé ; ce qui était un puissant aiguillon pour fortifier le courage des frères.

-----Quand le sacrifice fut achevé, la mère de Marien, transportée d'une joie digne de la mère des Macchabées, et assurée du sort de son fils, se félicite de son bonheur et s'applaudit elle-même d'avoir donné le jour à un tel fils. Ineffable est vraiment la miséricorde de Dieu Tout Puissant et de Son Christ envers ceux qui ont mis leur confiance en Son nom. Qui pourrait mesurer la grandeur de ses bienfaits ? Sa paternel miséricorde opère sans cesse et répand sur nous les dons que la foi nous montre comme le prix du sang de notre Dieu.A lui soient la gloire et l'empire dans les siècles des siècles.Ainsi soit-il".

Abbé Vincent Serralda (+)

PIEDS-NOIRS D'HIER ET D'AUJOURD'HUI- N° 109 FÉVRIER 2000

SOURCE : http://alger-roi.fr/Alger/religion/pages_liees/st_marien_pnha109.htm

Saints Marian and James of Lambesa (Lambaesis, Numidia) 

30 April

(Sometimes Marion, and James) (and companions),

Saint Marian was a Lector and Saint James a Deacon in the same church.

They were savagly tortured with many other Christians in an attempt by the legatus of Numidia, probably C. Macrinius Decianus, to persuade them to apostatize during the persecutions of Valerian.
During their imprisionment with a multitude of other Christians at Cirta Iulia (later Constantina, Algeria), the chief city of Numidia, each separately had a vision of his own triumphant martyrdom, which visions strengthened them.

They were put to death at the military town of Lambaesis (Lambesa) in Numidia, with others victims so numerous that they were drawn up in rows and the executioner passed down the ranks striking off heads. (d. 6 May 259 A. D.)

Their martyrdom is known by the account of a man who was imprisoned with them, but later released.


April 30

SS. James, Marian, and Companions, Martyrs in Numidia

From their authentic acts, written by a bishop, their companion, and commended by St. Austin, Serm. 284, t. 5, p. 1140.

A.D. 259.

THE PERSECUTION of Valerian raged no where with so much cruelty as in Numidia, in 259. At Lambesa, the greatest city of the province, next to Cirtha, great numbers, both of the laity and clergy, suffered martyrdom. St. James was a deacon of that place, and remarkable for his singular chastity and austerity of life. St. Marian was only reader, but endued with a particular eminence of grace. He had an excellent mother, called Mary, as we learn from St. Austin. They were companions, and probably relations, and came from some remote province of Africa into Numidia. James received on the road a vision, that gave them previous notice of their martyrdom. They arrived at a place called Muguas, near Cirtha, the capital, where the persecution was very violent. Two bishops, named Agapius and Secundinus, who had been banished for their faith, were at the same time brought thither, from the place of their exile, to stand a second trial for their lives. This was a new and unprecedented injustice, practised only against Christians, for persons already condemned to banishment to be again tried and condemned to death. As they were detained here for some days, James and Marian enjoyed their conversation, which excited them to an eager desire of martyrdom: insomuch that, when the two bishops left Muguas to continue their journey, James and Marian were fully determined to follow them. Two days after their departure, pursuivants arrived
Muguas, which was looked upon as the retreat of Christians, and by an order from the governor, apprehended James and Marian, and conducted them to Cirtha, together with a bishop, the author of the acts of their martyrdom, and presented them to the city magistrates, who put them to the most cruel tortures. James confessed boldly that he was not only a Christian, but also a deacon; though the law of Valerian, in 258, condemned to death, without hopes of pardon, even though they should deny their faith, all deacons, priests, and bishops. They were both put to the torture; and Marian in particular was hung up, not by the hands, which was the usual method of torture, but by his thumbs, which was far more painful, weights being also hung to his feet. Amidst his torments, the more his body suffered the more was his soul strengthened by God. The martyrs having undergone the torture as long as the persecutors thought proper, were sent to prison, with several other Christians. Some were daily called out of this blessed company, and crowned with martyrdom; and, amongst others, the two holy bishops, Agapius and Secundinus, honoured on the 29th of April. The survivors passed some time in the darkness and horror of the dungeons of Cirtha, tormented also with hunger; but the word of God, say the acts, was a spiritual food that supported them. God was pleased moreover to comfort them in their prison, by a vision vouchsafed to Marian, to whom St. Cyprian appeared sitting at the right hand of a great judge, who was Christ, and presenting Marian to drink of a fountain of which that holy bishop had first drank himself; giving Marian thereby to understand, that he was also to suffer martyrdom. God gave an assurance of the same favour to this whole company of prisoners, by a second vision, with which he favoured another of these confessors, called Emilian, of the Equestrian Order, near fifty years old, who had lived till that age in strict continency. His occupation in prison was chiefly prayer. He fasted much, and often abstained from food by choice for two days successively. He acquainted this blessed company with what he had also seen in his vision; namely, that his heathen brother asked him how they liked the dark dungeons and hunger? He answered, that the word of God served both for light and nourishment to the soldiers of Jesus Christ. His brother said: “You know that as many of you as continue obstinate can expect nothing but death. But do you all hope for equal rewards?” Emilian 1 said: “Lift up your eyes to heaven: have all the stars you see there the same lustre? Don’t they differ in brightness, though they have all the same light? Those in like manner who shall have suffered most, and have had the greatest difficulties to struggle with, shall receive the most glorious crown.” All these visions contributed not a little to keep up the spirits of the Christian prisoners. The magistrates of Cirtha, seeing the confessors invincible, sent James, Marian, and a great part of the prisoners to Lambesa, to the governor of the province. They suffered much on the way, it being twenty-four miles distant from Cirtha, and the roads very rough. They were lodged in the dungeons of Lambesa, and every day some were called out to martyrdom; the laity first, whom the Pagans hoped more easily to vanquish. Amongst them a woman and her two little children, twins, were martyred on the 2nd or 3rd of May. Also Tertulla and Antonia, two holy virgins, whom St. Agapius had a singular regard for. He prayed long in prison that they might not be deprived of the glory of shedding their blood for Christ, and at length received from heaven this answer: “You need not ask by so many prayers what you have obtained by the first.” St. James and the other clergy were grieved to see their victory retarded; but it was not long before he saw in his sleep the bishop Agapius preparing a great feast, and expressing much joy, and cheerfully inviting him and Marian to it, as to one of the ancient Agapæ, or love-feasts. Here they met an infant, who was one of the twins that had suffered with their mother three days before. He had round his neck a crown of roses, and a very green palm in his right hand; and he bade them rejoice, for they should all sup together the day following, the same on which James, Marian, and several others of the clergy were condemned to die. They were accordingly brought to the place of execution, which was a valley, through which ran the river Pagydus, with hills on each side convenient for the spectators. The martyrs were placed in rows on the banks of the river, that the executioner might pass conveniently from one to the other in cutting off their heads. “While they had their eyes bound, they had most of them some token given them by God of their approaching felicity. Marian also foretold the wars, and other evils, which threatened the empire in revenge of the innocent blood of the just. This was verified—the persecuting Emperor Valerian being taken and most barbarously treated by the Persians, in 260; not to mention the thirty tyrants, a dreadful pestilence, and other calamities which afflicted the empire. Mary, the mother of this blessed martyr, like the mother of the Machabees, says St. Austin, followed her son to the place of execution to encourage him: on seeing him dead, she embraced his corpse, and oftentimes kissed his neck, and blessed God for having made her the mother of such a son. Their triumph happened in 259, or 260, probably on the 6th of May, on which the ancient calendar of Carthage, drawn up in the close of the fifth century, mentions them. The other Latins honour them on the 30th of April. SS. James and Marian are patrons of Eugubio, in the duchy of Urbino, the ancient Umbria, and their bodies are said to be kept in the cathedral there. The names of these martyrs are consecrated in the Roman Martyrology

Note 1. This St. Emilian occurs in the Martyrologies on the 29th of April. [back]
Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73).  Volume IV: April. The Lives of the Saints.  1866.

Santi Mariano e Giacomo Martiri di Lambesa

6 maggio

Martiri a Cirta e Lambesa (Numidia) nel 259

Scampati alla persecuzione di Decio, i due giovani chierici cristiani Mariano e Giacomo – il primo diacono e il secondo lettore – subiscono il martirio nel 259 a Lambèse, in Numidia, l’attuale Algeria, di cui erano originari. A tradirli, l’esortazione ai compagni a restare saldi nella fede.  

Martirologio Romano: A Lambèse in Numidia, nell’odierna Algeria, santi martiri Mariano, lettore, e Giacomo, diacono: il primo aveva già da tempo superato indenne le vessazioni della persecuzione di Decio per aver confessato la fede in Cristo; nuovamente arrestato insieme al dilettissimo compagno, entrambi, dopo crudeli supplizi, confortati dalla grazia divina, morirono insieme a molti altri trafitti con la spada.

SANTI MARTIRI DI LAMBESA

Agapio, Secondino, Giacomo, Mariano, Tertulla, Antonia, Emiliano e compagni

Martiri a Cirta e Lambesa (Numidia) nel 259

Si tratta di un gruppo di martiri africani, che l’ultima edizione del Martirologio Romano celebra in due distinti giorni; Agapio, Secondino, Tertulla, Antonia, Emiliano il 4 maggio e Giacomo e Mariano il 6 maggio.

In effetti pur avendo subito il martirio in giorni e luoghi diversi, essi furono accomunati nel racconto dell’antica ‘Passio’ e così si è andato avanti nei successivi testi storici, fra i quali gli ‘Atti dei Martiri’ e la ‘Bibliotheca Sanctorum’.

La ‘Passio’ dei santi martiri denominati “di Lambesa”, fu scritta da un altro cristiano arrestato insieme a loro e il cui nome è rimasto sconosciuto; per questa comunanza di sofferenza, il testo in XV capitoli, riflette la reale situazione prima del martirio, fornendo particolari della massima attendibilità, cosa abbastanza rara nelle ‘Passio’ degli antichi martiri, compilate in tempi successivi ed integrate per lo più da elementi leggendari.

Nella ‘Passio’ suddetta, il ruolo di protagonisti è coperto dal diacono Giacomo e dal lettore Mariano compagni del cronista; i tre cristiani mentre erano in viaggio attraverso la Numidia (provincia romana dal I secolo), sembra provenienti dall’Africa proconsolare, si fermarono a Mugnae, sobborgo di Cirta (odierna Costantina in Algeria) prendendo alloggio in una villa.

Nello stesso luogo sopraggiunsero due vescovi Agapio e Secondino, che il preside della provincia aveva richiamato dall’esilio, inflitto loro a seguito del primo editto di Valeriano (Valeriano Publio Licinio, imperatore romano dal 253 al 260, successore di Emilio, emanò due editti contro i cristiani, nel 257 e nel 258).

A causa del secondo editto che condannava a morte, subito e senza processo, vescovi, preti e diaconi, i due vescovi, che ebbero l’opportunità di esortare al martirio i due giovani chierici e gli altri cristiani lì radunati per essere interrogati, furono trasferiti a Cirta per essere giudicati dai magistrati civili.

Dopo la loro partenza, qualche giorno dopo la villa fu circondata e Mariano, Giacomo e lo sconosciuto scrittore, furono arrestati insieme ad altri; i due chierici in effetti si erano traditi per aver esortato gli altri alla fermezza nella fede.

Portati davanti ai magistrati di Cirta e sottoposti ad interrogatorio, Giacomo confessò il suo stato di diacono, mentre Mariano fu sottoposto a tortura perché non fu creduto che fosse un semplice lettore, qualificandosi così per salvarsi la vita.

I due giovani chierici cristiani avevano già sofferto per la persecuzione precedente, la settima, ordinata nel 249 dall’imperatore romano Decio (200-251); la loro grandezza d’animo e il loro desiderio di martirio, traspariva dall’atteggiamento nobile e sereno, in occasione dell’arresto e dei tormenti cui furono sottoposti in seguito, nel capitolo V è detto che furono sospesi per le dita delle mani con due pesi ai piedi; nel capitolo XIII l’autore sottolinea l’eroico comportamento della madre di Mariano, che pur angosciata, esultò quando vide il figlio avviarsi al martirio.

Durante il periodo del carcere, il diacono Giacomo vide in sogno Agapio, che già aveva subito il martirio, il quale si mostrava lieto fra i convitati di un’agape fraterna cui partecipavano ex compagni di carcere e di tormenti già martirizzati, mentre dal gruppo si staccava un bambino per annunciare a Mariano e Giacomo, il martirio che avrebbero subito il giorno dopo.

Durante la loro permanenza in carcere, molti altri cristiani, pur non essendo vescovi, preti o diaconi, subirono il martirio, infine il 6 maggio 259 anche i due chierici Giacomo e Mariano, furono decapitati sull’alto di una rupe a strapiombo sul torrente che attraversava Lambesa, capitale della Numidia e dove risiedeva il legato imperiale; i tronchi dei loro corpi furono precipitati nelle acque.

Ai due vescovi Agapio e Secondino, secondo la ‘Passio’ scritta dal cristiano che evidentemente scampò alla morte, sono associate due fanciulle Tertulla e Antonia, che Agapio aveva in custodia.

Il vescovo ormai prossimo a lasciarle sole, pregò ripetutamente il Signore che facesse loro il dono del martirio; ebbe una rivelazione particolare nella quale udì una voce che diceva: “Perché chiedi con tanta insistenza ciò che hai già ottenuto con una sola delle tue preghiere?” (cap. XI).

Nella medesima ‘Passio’ è ricordato anche il soldato Emiliano cavaliere cinquantenne, che per tutta la vita aveva conservato una pura continenza della carne; egli aveva un fratello rimasto pagano che era solito prenderlo in giro per la sua professione cristiana.

Mentre era in carcere, Emiliano sognò il fratello che con voce canzonatoria gli domandava come si trovassero lui e gli altri nelle tenebre del carcere; essendogli stato risposto che per il cristiano splende una chiara luce anche nelle tenebre, insistette chiedendo se per tutti i martiri vi sarebbe stata un’uguale corona in cielo o, altrimenti, a chi tra i presenti sarebbe spettato un premio maggiore.

Gli fu replicato che le stelle sono tutte luminose, anche se diverse fra loro, e che tra i martiri sarebbe stato destinato a splendere di più, chi più fortemente e lungamente avesse sofferto.

Il Martirologio Romano porta al 4 maggio, la commemorazione dei santi martiri Agapio e Secondino vescovi, Emiliano soldato e Tertulla e Antonia vergini, che subirono il martirio a Cirta in Numidia; la data del martirio è posta fra l’anno 258 e 259, il 4 maggio deve essere stato inserito per avvicinare precedendola, la data certa del 6 maggio 659, quando furono martirizzati Giacomo e Mariano; in realtà fra le due esecuzioni dovettero passare dei mesi.

Infine la ‘Passio’ al capitolo X, fa menzione di numerosi martiri laici, caduti prima e dopo i quattro ecclesiastici ricordati, riportando alcuni nomi e fra loro c’erano anche dei bambini: Floriano, Secondino, Gabro, Postumo, Gaiano, Mommino, Quintiano, Cassio, Fasilo, Fiorenzo, Demetrio, Gududo, due Crispino, Donato, e Zeone.

Il culto dei martiri di Lambase dovette essere molto diffuso, se s. Agostino tenne un celebre sermone in loro onore (Sermo, 380); le vicissitudini politiche che nei secoli investirono il Nord Africa, fecero sì che le reliquie di alcuni dei martiri di Lambesa, dalla Numidia, furono trasferite dai profughi verso l’Italia dove si diffuse il loro culto.

Le reliquie dei santi Giacomo e Mariano, approdarono - forse tra il V e il VI secolo - a Gubbio e deposte nella cattedrale a loro intitolata.

Il culto per i due santi, in parallelo con l’importanza assunta dalla città, ebbe larga diffusione e intensità in tutto il Medioevo, tanto che s. Pier Damiani (1007-1072) vescovo e cardinale, ne scisse, fra le tante sue opere, una narrazione approfondita di due episodi (due visioni) della loro ‘Passio’, in occasione della solennità annuale dei due martiri.

Ad ogni modo il gruppo dei martiri africani di Lambesa, fu sempre inserito in tutti i ‘Martirologi’ e negli ‘Acta Sanctorum’ editi lungo i secoli; le date della ricorrenza però furono varie e diverse da un testo all’altro; nel Martirologio Geronimiano i martiri sono commemorati in parte il 30 aprile e in parte il 6 maggio, mentre precedenti edizioni del Martirologio Romano li celebravano il 29 e 30 aprile; ma come già detto, i due gruppi subirono il martirio in giorni diversi e solo per Giacomo e Mariano, il Calendario Cartaginese indica con certezza il 6 maggio.

Autore: Antonio Borrelli

SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/92633