Gordianus and Epimachus

Last updated
Gordianus and Epimachus depicted together in the Nuremberg Chronicle Nuremberg chronicles f 132v 4.jpg
Gordianus and Epimachus depicted together in the Nuremberg Chronicle

Saint Gordianus and Saint Epimachus of Alexandria were jointly venerated in the Catholic Church on 10 May until 1969. [1]

Epimachus died in 250 and Gordianus in 362. They allegedly came to be buried beside each other in the same crypt in Rome, giving their name to the cemetery of Gordianus and Epimachus. [2] Charlemagne's queen, Hildegard, presented Kempten Abbey with some relics of the saints. Along with the Virgin Mary, Gordianus and Epimachus are venerated as the abbey's patrons. [3] There are churches in Germany dedicated to the saints in: Aitrach, Legau, Merazhofen, Pleß, Stöttwang, and Unterroth, Germany; and also one in Blevio, Italy.

Related Research Articles

Year 362 (CCCLXII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Mamertinus and Nevitta. The denomination 362 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Vitus</span> Sicilian saint

Vitus, whose name is sometimes rendered Guy or Guido, was a Christian martyr from Sicily. His surviving hagiography is pure legend. The dates of his actual life are unknown. He has for long been tied to the Sicilian martyrs Modestus and Crescentia but in the earliest sources it is clear that these were originally different traditions that later became combined. The figures of Modestus and Crescentia are probably fictitious.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Relic</span> Object of religious significance from the past

In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Relics are an important aspect of some forms of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, shamanism, and many other religions. Relic derives from the Latin reliquiae, meaning "remains", and a form of the Latin verb relinquere, to "leave behind, or abandon". A reliquary is a shrine that houses one or more religious relics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fourteen Holy Helpers</span> Group of Christian saints

The Fourteen Holy Helpers are a group of saints venerated together by Catholics because their intercession is believed to be particularly effective, especially against various diseases. This group of Nothelfer originated in the 14th century at first in the Rhineland, largely as a result of the epidemic that became known as the Black Death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catherine of Vadstena</span> Swedish noblewoman (c.1332–1381)

Catherine of Sweden, Katarina av Vadstena, Catherine of Vadstena or Katarina Ulfsdotter was a Swedish noblewoman. She is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. Her father was Ulf Gudmarsson, Lord of Ulvåsa, and her mother was Saint Bridget of Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Odile of Alsace</span> Abbess and Roman Catholic saint

Odile of Alsace, also known as Odilia and Ottilia, born c. 662 - c. 720 at Mont Sainte-Odile), is a saint venerated in the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. She is a patroness saint of good eyesight and of the region of Alsace

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gotthard of Hildesheim</span>

Gotthard, also known as Gothard or Godehard the Bishop, was a German bishop venerated as a saint.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonard of Noblac</span> Frankish saint

Leonard of Noblac, is a Frankish saint closely associated with the town and abbey of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, in Haute-Vienne, in the Limousin region of France. He was converted to Christianity along with the king, at Christmas 496. Leonard became a hermit in the forest of Limousin, where he gathered a number of followers. Leonard or Lienard became one of the most venerated saints of the late Middle Ages. His intercession was credited with miracles for the release of prisoners, women in labour and the diseases of cattle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">May 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)</span>

May 8 – Eastern Orthodox Church calendar – May 10

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fulgentius of Ruspe</span> 5th and 6th-century Bishop of Ruspe and saint

Fabius Claudius Gordianus Fulgentius, also known as Fulgentius of Ruspe was a North African Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Ruspe, in modern-day Tunisia, during the 5th and 6th century. He has been venerated as a saint.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randoald of Grandval</span>

Saint Randoald was prior of the Benedictine Moutier-Grandval Abbey under Germanus of Granfelden. He is recognised as a saint in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hemma of Gurk</span>

Hemma of Gurk, also called Emma of Gurk, was a noblewoman and founder of several churches and monasteries in the Duchy of Carinthia. Buried at Gurk Cathedral since 1174, she was beatified on 21 November 1287 and canonised on 5 January 1938 by Pope Pius XI. Her feast day is 27 June. Hemma is venerated as a saint by both the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, and as patroness of the current Austrian state of Carinthia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Gordianus</span> Catholic saint (died 362)

Gordianus was a Roman martyr who was killed during the reign of Julian the Apostate, and is commemorated on 10 May.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epimachus of Alexandria</span>

Epimachus of Alexandria was a Roman martyr who died in 250 during the Decian persecution. He and his companions—Alexander, Ammonarion, Mercuria, Dionysia and other women—were beheaded at Alexandria. They are commemorated on 12 December.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnus of Füssen</span> Missionary saint in southern Germany

Magnus of Füssen, otherwise Magnoald or Mang, was a missionary saint in southern Germany, also known as the Apostle of the Allgäu. He is believed to have been a contemporary either of Gall or of Boniface and is venerated as the founder of St. Mang's Abbey, Füssen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Silvia</span> Italian Roman Catholic saint

Silvia, or Sylvia, was the mother of Gregory the Great. She is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church, which names her a patroness of pregnant women.

Epimachus of Pelusium was an Egyptian martyr.

Saint Altfrid was a leading figure in Germany in the ninth century. A Benedictine monk, he became Bishop of Hildesheim, and founded Essen Abbey. He was also a close royal adviser to the East Frankish King Louis the German.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princely Abbey of Kempten</span>

The Princely Abbey of Kempten was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire for centuries until it was annexed to the Electorate of Bavaria in the course of the German mediatization in 1803.

Saint Gordianus, who with several companions was martyred in Pontus or Galatia.

References

  1. Basil Watkins, The Book of Saints: A Comprehensive Biographical Dictionary, 8th ed. (Bloomsbury, 2016), p. 211.
  2. Murphy, John F.X. "Sts. Gordianus and Epimachus." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 26 November 2021 PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  3. Lives of Saints, Alban Butler