ST BASILIDES AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS - 12 JUNE

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JUNE

Saints celebrated on the 12th June

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SAINT BASILIDES AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS

These holy men, Saints Basilides, Cyrinus, Nabor, and Nazarius (June 12), martyrs under Diocletian, were Roman soldiers distinguished by both birth and valor. Because they proclaimed the Christian doctrine to Emperor Diocletian, they were seized by the City Prefect Aurelius and - refusing to sacrifice to the Roman gods - thrown into a dungeon, which was suddenly illuminated by a heavenly light in response to their prayers. Moved by this miraculous event, the jailer Marcellus, along with many others, converted to the Christian faith. Later, having steadfastly professed their faith before Emperor Maximian, they were scourged with scorpions (a type of scourge) and once again cast into prison. Finally, they were beheaded and their bodies thrown to wild beasts; the animals, however, did not touch them, and the Christians subsequently gave them an honourable burial. The names of these saints are listed on June 12 in the Roman Martyrology* and the Roman Breviary*, the latter containing a ninth lesson dedicated to them. In the year 704, Bishop Chrodegang of Metz received relics of several martyrs from Rome, including those of Saints Nazarius and Nabor. He gave the relics of Saint Nazarius to the Abbey of Lorch (Laurisheim) - formerly part of the Diocese of Worms but now an administrative district in the Kingdom of Württemberg - and those of Saint Nabor to the Church of St Hilary (Hilariacum) on the Moselle, within the Diocese of Metz. The Abbey of St Hilary subsequently took the name St-Nabor, a name that was eventually corrupted into St-Avold. Saint Nabor was venerated in Alsace from the beginning of the 8th century; indeed, the will of Saint Odilia, dating from 708, mentions an estate *ad S. Naborem* (at St Nabor's). This is the village of St Nabor, situated at the foot of Mount St Odile, which formerly belonged to the Cathedral Chapter of Strasbourg. The sacred remains of the others are in Milan, where they were exhumed by Saint Charles Borromeo in 1581 and transferred to a dedicated chapel in 1608.

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 1, Augsburg, 1858, p. 407)

*A hagiography source used by the authors 

Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Saints Basilides, Cyrinus, Nabor, and Nazarius 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.

Sources of these articles (in the original German): books.google.co.uk, de-academic.com, zeno.org, openlibrary.org