Similien, or Similianus, was a 4th-century, French Bishop and Saint.
St. Similien, lived in the early fourth century and was the third bishop of Nantes, who, according to St. Gregory of Tours, was given the title of grand confessor. He is recorded as converting to Christianity a certain Donatian, who in turn brought to the Christian faith his brother Rogatian." [1] [2]
During the persecution under Emperor Diocletian (284-305), the believers had begged him to leave the city with his clergy. In an old book on Breton saints, he is summarized as follows:
"This worthy prelate remained unyielding and steadfast during the cruel persecutions of Diocletian and Maximian, and wisely led the ship that was entrusted to him. To protect his flock, this good shepherd repeatedly withstood the rage of the wolves. They had bitten him and he suffered there. With God's help he could always escape them or even tame them. He personally buried the venerable remains of the two heroes of the faith: Donatianus and Rogatianus († 287; feast May 24). Eventually he was allowed to experience peace falling over the church. As the winner of the protracted storm, he was the first bishop in Nantes, so drenched in the blood of Christian martyrs, the light did break through better times. After having demonstrated his holiness in many ways, he died in the Lord. "
He has a church in the city of Nantes, situated on a hill on the Erdre. This site stems from very early times. According to an old tradition, the church stands on his grave. It would also have been the place where he retired during the persecutions, which may be true to the extent that the site was at least located outside the walls of the former city.
In the days of Clovis († 511; feast Nov. 27), the city was spared from a Saxon invasion. The siege lasted sixty days until one night, the besiegers saw a procession of white-clad figures from the church, each carrying a candle. They then saw a similar procession from the Church of Saint Donatian, and the Saxons were thrown into such panic that they abandoned their positions and fled.
When the Normans conquered the city in 843, they were said to have thrown the remains of Similian into a well. In the Middle Ages pilgrims came to drink from the well in the hope of healing.
Pope Marcellus I was the bishop of Rome from May or June 308 to his death. He succeeded Marcellinus after a considerable interval. Under Maxentius, he was banished from Rome in 309, on account of the tumult caused by the severity of the penances he had imposed on Christians who had lapsed under the recent persecution. He died the same year, being succeeded by Eusebius. His relics are under the altar of San Marcello al Corso in Rome. Since 1969 his feast day, traditionally kept on 16 January, is left to local calendars and is no longer inscribed in the General Roman Calendar.
Saint George, also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier in the Roman army. Saint George was a soldier of Cappadocian Greek origin and member of the Praetorian Guard for Roman emperor Diocletian, who was sentenced to death for refusing to recant his Christian faith. He became one of the most venerated saints and megalomartyrs in Christianity, and he has been especially venerated as a military saint since the Crusades. He is respected by Christians, Druze, as well as some Muslims as a martyr of monotheistic faith.
Pope Marcellinus was the bishop of Rome from 30 June 296 to his death in 304. A historical accusation was levelled at him by some sources to the effect that he might have renounced Christianity during Emperor Diocletian's persecution of Christians before repenting afterwards, which would explain why he is omitted from lists of martyrs. The accusation is rejected, among others, by Augustine of Hippo. He is today venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church and in the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Erasmus of Formia, also known as Saint Elmo, was a Christian saint and martyr. He is venerated as the patron saint of sailors and abdominal pain. Erasmus or Elmo is also one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, saintly figures of Christian tradition who are venerated especially as intercessors.
Vincent of Saragossa, the Protomartyr of Spain, was a deacon of the Church of Saragossa. He is the patron saint of Lisbon and Valencia. His feast day is 22 January in the Catholic Church and Anglican Communion and the Orthodox Church, with an additional commemoration on 11 November in the Orthodox Church. He was born at Huesca and martyred under the Emperor Diocletian around the year 304.
Saints Crispin and Crispinian are the Christian patron saints of cobblers, curriers, tanners, and leather workers. They were beheaded during the reign of Diocletian; the date of their execution is given as 25 October 285 or 286.
The Theban Legion figures in Christian hagiography as a Roman legion from Egypt—"six thousand six hundred and sixty-six men"—who converted en masse to Christianity and were martyred together in 286, according to the hagiographies of Saint Maurice, the chief among the Legion's saints. Their feast day is held on September 22.
The Diocletianic or Great Persecution was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. In 303, the emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal rights and demanding that they comply with traditional religious practices. Later edicts targeted the clergy and demanded universal sacrifice, ordering all inhabitants to sacrifice to the gods. The persecution varied in intensity across the empire—weakest in Gaul and Britain, where only the first edict was applied, and strongest in the Eastern provinces. Persecutory laws were nullified by different emperors at different times, but Constantine and Licinius' Edict of Milan in 313 has traditionally marked the end of the persecution.
Saint Pantaleon, counted in the West among the late-medieval Fourteen Holy Helpers and in the East as one of the Holy Unmercenary Healers, was a martyr of Nicomedia in Bithynia during the Diocletianic Persecution of 305 AD.
Euphemia, known as the All-praised in the Eastern Orthodox Church, was a virgin, who was martyred for her faith at Chalcedon in 303 AD.
In addition to Quadratus of Athens, there are several Christian saints with the name Quadratus :
Saints Cyprian and Justina are honored in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodoxy as Christians of Antioch, who in 304, during the Diocletianic Persecution, suffered martyrdom at Nicomedia on September 26. According to Roman Catholic sources, no Bishop of Antioch bore the name of Cyprian.
Rictius Varus was a Vicarius in Roman Gaul at the end of the 3rd century, around the time of the Diocletianic Persecution. The Roman Martyrology contains many references to the prefect Rixius Varus, who is said to have persecuted hundreds of Christians. In Christian hagiography he later repented and became a Christian martyr himself, and is regarded a Saint in the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches, with his feast day on July 6.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nantes is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Nantes, France. The diocese consists of the department of Loire-Atlantique. It has existed since the 4th century. It is now suffragan of the Archdiocese of Rennes, Dol, and Saint-Malo, having previously been suffragan to the Archdiocese of Tours. Its see is Nantes Cathedral in the city of Nantes.
Quirinus is venerated as an early bishop of Sescia, now Sisak in Croatia. He is mentioned by Eusebius of Caesarea.
Saint Sossius or Sosius was Deacon of Misenum, an important naval base of the Roman Empire in the Bay of Naples. He was martyred along with Saint Januarius at Pozzuoli during the Diocletian Persecutions. His feast day is September 23, the date, three days after his death, on which his corpse was translated to Misenum.
Donatian and Rogatian were two brothers, martyred in Nantes during the reign of Roman Emperor Maximian, around 288–290, for refusing to deny their faith. They are also known as les enfants nantais. Their feast day is 24 May.
December 9 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - December 11
Émilien of Nantes was a French religious leader who was canonized by the church as a martyr for dying in a fight against the Saracens in Burgundy in 725 AD. No written records earlier than the 16th century survive, and there are no records of a Bishop Émilien of Nantes. The legend probably has its roots in a real clash with the Saracens, who were present in the region at the time, but has been considerably embroidered.
The Church of St. Similien, Nantes is an ancient church, in the Hauts-Pavés district of Nantes, France.