Saints celebrated on the 1st of May
SAINT PAUL, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE, MARTYR
Saint Paul (Paulus), Patriarch of Constantinople, suffered and died for the belief in the true divinity of Jesus Christ, as the Council of Nicaea had finally established in 325 (against the false teaching of the Arians). His birthplace was Thessalonica, where he was educated and trained as a cleric. At the death of Alexander in 336 (340), Paul, who was priest in Constantinople at the time, was elected patriarch.
Thereupon the Arians accused him of being dangerous to the state and caused his banishment to the Pontus. But they could not push through their own candidate Macedonius, though. Under Constantine II Paul returned to his church along with St Athanasius and other exiles.
When Emperor Constantius, an open opponent of the Council of Nicaea, came to power, however, Paul, the reigning Patriarch of Constantinople, was so badly denounced by the Arians as hostile to the empire that he had to go into exile once more. Instead of him, the Arian-minded Eusebius of Nicomedia ascended the patriarchal throne until the year 341.
St Paul, meanwhile, went westward, where Bishop Maximinus of Trier [Treves] offered him hospitality and became so fond of him that he seriously pursued his reinstatement. Pope Julius I, to whom he had appealed, took up his cause no less, confirming him (in 341) the rightful Patriarch of the Church of Constantinople by virtue of the preeminence which the Roman Church enjoys. But the Arians did not accept this decision.
The Arians then got hold of him and dragged him from Thessalonica to Singara in Mesopotamia, from there to Emesa in Syria and finally to Cucusa in the Taunus Mountains.
Here he was held in extremely harsh conditions and locked in a dark and stinking dungeon. They even deprived him of necessary food. However, since he did not die soon enough, they strangled him with his stole in prison on the sixth day.
He was soon venerated as a saint and buried as early as 381 at St Paul's Church in Constantinople. At present his remains rest at St Laurence's Church in Venice, where they were brought in 1236. On April 10, 1403 there was a translation of the saint's relics, all of which were still available at the time. The same seems to have been the case in 1601, when another exhumation and transfer took place. The Greeks venerate him on November 6.
Saint Paul, Patriarch and Martyr is also commemorated on April 10 and June 7.
(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 4, Augsburg, 1875)
Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations
PRAYER:
Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Saint Paul may increase our devotion and promote our salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment