Abundius and Irenaeus | |
---|---|
Died | 258 Rome |
Feast | 26 August |
Abundius and Irenaeus (died 258) were Roman martyrs during the reign of Roman Emperor Valerian (253-260). [1] Their feast in the Roman Martyrology is celebrated on August 26. Abundius also has separate commemorations in Augsburg and Orvieto.
Abundius was a devout Christian of Rome, and Irenaeus was a sewer-keeper. Together, they buried the body of Saint Concordia. Saint Concordia was the nurse of Hippolytus. On stating to Valerian the urban prefect that she was a Christian, she was beaten to death, and her body was thrown into the sewer. Irenaeus found the body of St. Concordia and with the help of his colleague Abundius, was able to retrieve it and deliver it to Justinus, who reverently buried her on 25 August in the cemetery of Hippolytus on the Ager Veranus. Her death, however, is commemorated on 22 February in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum, with a clear indication that she was buried in the cemetery of St. Laurence on the Via Tiburtina. [2]
As a result of this activity, Irenaeus and Abundius after being reported to the prefect, were thrown into the sewer and suffocated by the orders of Valerian, on 26 August. Their bodies were recovered and buried by Justinus. [3]
Their story is a part of the cycle of stories of Lawrence and Hippolytus, and is generally considered untrustworthy.
A basilica was erected in their honor near San Lorenzo fuori le Mura. Their bodies are buried in the cemetery of Saint Cyriaca. They are commemorated on 26 August in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum. [2]
Pope Callixtus I, also called Callistus I, was the bishop of Rome from c. 218 to his death c. 222 or 223. He lived during the reigns of the Roman emperors Elagabalus and Alexander Severus. Eusebius and the Liberian catalogue list his episcopate as having lasted five years (217–222). In 217, when Callixtus followed Zephyrinus as Bishop of Rome, he started to admit into the Church converts from sects or schisms. He was martyred for his Christian faith and is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church.
Hippolytus of Rome was one of the most important second-third century Christian theologians, whose provenance, identity and corpus remain elusive to scholars and historians. Suggested communities include Rome, Palestine, Egypt, Anatolia and other regions of the Middle East. The best historians of literature in the ancient church, including Eusebius of Caesarea and Jerome, openly confess they cannot name where Hippolytus the biblical commentator and theologian served in leadership. They had read his works but did not possess evidence of his community. Photios I of Constantinople describes him in his Bibliotheca as a disciple of Irenaeus, who was said to be a disciple of Polycarp, and from the context of this passage it is supposed that he suggested that Hippolytus so styled himself. This assertion is doubtful. One older theory asserts he came into conflict with the popes of his time and seems to have headed a schismatic group as a rival to the bishop of Rome, thus becoming an antipope. In this view, he opposed the Roman Popes who softened the penitential system to accommodate the large number of new pagan converts. However, he was reconciled to the Church before he died as a martyr.
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August 12 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - August 14
The Martyrologium Hieronymianum or Martyrologium sancti Hieronymi is an ancient martyrology or list of Christian martyrs in calendar order, one of the most used and influential of the Middle Ages. It is the oldest surviving general or "universal" martyrology, and the precursor of all later Western martyrologies.
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August 25 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - August 27
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