ST SEVERIANUS, MARTYR - 9 SEPTEMBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN SEPTEMBER

Saints celebrated on the 9th of September

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

ST SEVERIANUS, MARTYR 

According to the legend handed down to us, this Saint was martyred at Sebaste in Lesser Armenia. He was born from a noble family and served as a soldier at Sebaste under the Emperor Licinius. 

HE FREQUENTLY VISITED HIS IMPRISONED FELLOW BELIEVERS, COMFORTING THEM

He was a zealous Christian who was frequently visiting his imprisoned fellow believers, comforting and encouraging them to perseverance in the faith. 

The 40 martyrs who were subjected to the cruel freezing deaths at Sebaste were also diligently visited by our saint in the dungeon and strengthened in their faith. 

AT LAST HE WAS REPORTED

At last he was reported to the Dux Lysias as a Christian, an enemy of the gods and a seducer of the soldiers. 

When St Severianus heard that the captors were being sent after him, he turned himself in. 

The warrior of Christ happily endured all the torments that the angry man used against him. 

NOTHING COULD MAKE THE SAINT WAVER IN HIS CONFESSION OF THE TRUE FAITH

Since all attempts to make the saint waver in his confession of the true Faith were in vain, Lysias ordered him to be tied to a wall with a strong rope around his body, and heavy stones to be fastened to his feet, so that his body would be torn in two by their heavy weight.

According to another version, he was scourged to death with a heavy stone on his feet. 

THEY BURIED THE HOLY REMAINS

Pious men, to whom the saint had announced his death beforehand, and whom he had asked for the burial of his dead body, collected the holy remains on the following day and buried them. In Metaphrastes his story of suffering is described in detail. 

The Roman Martyrology also remembers him on the above day. Portraits show him hung up, his feet weighted with weights. (Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, 1858 - 🎨 The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste whom St Severianus ministered to during their confinement in the dungeon)