ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JANUARY
Saints celebrated on the 6th of January
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SAINT MELCHIOR, KING
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| The Three Kings by Marte Martinez |
Saint Melchior is commemorated on January 6, or alternatively, January 1. According to tradition, he is one of the Holy Three Kings who recognized the birth of Christ through the miraculous star and were led to Bethlehem. The earliest records are silent regarding his later career. It was not until the Middle Ages that legends emerged concerning him and his companions. Their authenticity cannot be proven. For instance, we are told that Saint Melchior was baptized and consecrated bishop by the Apostle Saint Thomas, and that he died in the year 70 at Sassara in Arabia, having celebrated the Holy Sacrifice shortly before. Others assume he suffered martyrdom. According to holy lore, he offered the Divine Child minted gold and a small golden apple - small enough to be grasped in one hand - which had formerly belonged to Alexander the Great ("Kirchenschmuck", 1864, Vol. XVI, p. 21). In depictions, he appears as a young man of about twenty.
The Bollandists* list Saint Melchior on January 1 in the Florarium. Melchior's relics are displayed and venerated in Cologne Cathedral (I. 323). As an appendix to this article, and for the sake of completeness, we provide an excerpt from the "Dreikönigenbuch" [Book of the Three Kings] by Floß (Cologne, 1864) - first regarding the names, gifts, and depictions of the Holy Magi, and then regarding their relics. A text attributed to the Venerable Bede (d. 735) - though likely of much later origin—not only lists their names (cf. H.-L. I. 562, note) but also presents the following description:
"The first is said to have been Melchior, an old man with white, flowing hair and a long beard, clad in a hyacinth-coloured robe and a Milesian cloak; his footwear was hyacinth-coloured interwoven with white, and his headgear a turban of intricately intertwined colours." He presented gold to the Lord.
The second, named Caspar - clad in Milesian robes, a red mantle, and hyacinth-coloured footwear - honoured God with frankincense, an offering worthy of God alone.
The third, swarthy and fully bearded - Balthasar - wore a red robe with white accents and Milesian footwear; through the offering of myrrh, he bore witness that the Son of Man would die. All their garments, however, were of Syrian fabric".
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| Adoration of the Three Kings (after Giovanni Romanelli) |
It is curious that in the thirteenth century, they were also referred to as Dionysius, Rusticus, and Eleutherius. No early record states where the holy bodies rested before being brought to Byzantium. "In the East, in Persia" - such is the usual, very general answer we receive to this question.
Parts of the legend, however, conflict with the extant relics, insofar as the latter point to youthful individuals - according to the account of Abbot Isimgrim of Ottenbeuern, who saw them in 1168 shortly after their arrival in Cologne, their ages (inferred from facial features and hair) appeared to be fifteen, thirty, and forty-eight - whereas the legend attributes great age to them. Saint Eustorgius is said to have transported them from Byzantium to Milan. He was the third predecessor of Saint Ambrose and is honorably mentioned by the latter as a "Confessor." Yet the latter seems unaware of the translation of the famous holy relics. He claims to have known nothing of the matter; and although a church dedicated to the Three Holy Kings is said to have been built in Milan shortly thereafter, he is unaware of that as well. His biographer Paulinus knows nothing of this either.
On the other hand, there is a tradition that Saint Ambrose himself detached three small fragments from the fingers of the Three Holy Kings and presented them to his sister, Saint Marcellina; these are still venerated today at Brogherio. This account, favourable to the authenticity of the relics, is nevertheless cast into doubt by the fact that historical records are silent regarding the earlier presence of the bodies of the Three Holy Kings in Constantinople, nor was any church there dedicated to them. Even in the eighth century - from which period verses have survived that glorify the towers, magnificent buildings, and churches of Milan, and enumerate the saints whose bodies adorn the city - one searches in vain for any mention of the Three Holy Kings.
The Church of Saint Eustorgius, which still stands, is indeed said to have been named after them in earlier times - or even built by that saint in their honour - yet the records remain silent. Nevertheless, some light is shed upon this historical obscurity by a gold coin of Emperor Zeno (reigned 474-491) - venerated in this church since time immemorial and known to the people as the "Ducat of the Three Wise Men." Legend held that the coin was made from the very gold the Wise Men had offered to the infant Jesus in Bethlehem, and that it had been contained within the chest used to transport their bodies to Milan. Indeed, it was customary at that time to place a coin of the reigning emperor alongside the bodies or relics during their transfer or formal verification. One of the two events, then, likely took place during the time of Bishop Senator. The stone sarcophagus in the Church of Sant'Eustorgio dates back (according to Bock's estimate) as far as the fifth Christian century. The church itself dates back to the earliest centuries of Christianity; the Altar of the Three Magi was located in the side aisle on the Epistle side, and a dedicated entrance led to it from the street. Every year on the Feast of the Epiphany, that gold coin was displayed to the people.
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| Three Kings' Altar (Dreikönigsaltar), Hans Wydyz, 1910 |
Regarding their transfer from Constantinople, the legend recurs that two cows pulled the wagon with ease; when one was attacked and devoured by a wolf, Saint Eustorgius is said to have made the wolf take the place of the cow. It is added that the locality of Vacca, near Milan, derived its name (meaning "cow") from this event. Despite all this, even in the twelfth century, there was still uncertainty regarding the authenticity of the relics. However, when Emperor Frederick Barbarossa advanced to besiege the city of Milan in 1158, the relics were retrieved, moved into the inner city, and secured within the fortress-like tower of San Giorgio. When a new siege ensued in early 1161 - ending in an unconditional surrender - it is said that Bishop Henry of Liège (who had for a time administered the revenues of the Diocese of Milan) was the first to obtain the bodies of the Three Holy Kings during the city's destruction. Yet Rainald - the Emperor’s chancellor and, since 1159, the Archbishop of Cologne; the driving force behind all imperial undertakings, or - as Pope Alexander III called him - "the instigator and leader of all ecclesiastical turmoil" - had already departed Milan for Germany with the relics on June 11, 1164. Whether he received them from the Emperor or secretly appropriated them remains an open question. In addition, he possessed the relics of Saints Nabor and Felix (July 12) and those of a holy confessor named Martin. The transfer of the relics of Saint Apollinaris to Remagen is also attributed to him.
The journey took the procession through Burgundy and the German territories on the left bank of the Rhine. Just outside the village of Estrabonne, about four miles from Besançon, there is a spring named after the Three Holy Kings. Legend has it that the water gushed forth when the procession bearing the holy relics reached the spot. People suffering from goiters or ulcers would often drink from the spring and wash themselves with its water. Many altars and chapels dedicated to the Three Holy Kings are to be found in Besançon and the surrounding region. From that time on, the former Cistercian abbey of Locuscrescens - located nine hours' journey from Besançon - was known as "The Three Kings." It received relics of the same. At Longueville in German Lorraine, a gate bore their name for a considerable time. Next, the trail leads to Mainz, from which city the journey continued along the Rhine to Cologne. On July 23, Rainald made his entry into Cologne and was accorded a magnificent and glorious reception, primarily on account of the relics he brought with him. They were interred amidst hymns and chants. When the bodies were lifted from their biers, such a sweet fragrance filled the air that all present were refreshed by its sweetness. It was observed that the fragrance of the holy bodies was not uniform but varied - though each was glorious. Since that time, the Church of Cologne has celebrated the Translation of the Three Holy Kings annually on July 23. In the city of Cologne, this day was a general festival, observed by the common people as well. Ever since, the people of Milan have endeavoured in vain to recover the venerable relics, or even a portion of them. Ludovico Sforza, known as "Il Moro," obtained a special papal bull to this end from Pope Alexander VI, but to no avail. Similarly, the Dominicans interceded with Pope Pius IV in 1564, and Saint Charles Borromeo with Gregory XIII and Philip II, yet without success. Cardinal and Archbishop Alfonso Litta made a renewed attempt in 1675 but was unable to secure even a finger or the smallest particle. Meanwhile, a popular belief arose in Milan regarding the bodies of the holy three Kings - that they would return there by the same route, and for this reason Rainald had the gate in Cologne through which they had entered walled up straight away.
Regarding more recent times, we may also mention that the holy relics were taken to Arnsberg for safety in 1794 upon the approach of the French armies and were brought back with great solemnity on January 6, 1804. Only very small relics of the Three Holy Kings are to be found in Italy: specifically in the Church of Saint Mark in Milan, in the church at Viggin near Arcisate, and in the church of Brogherio near Monza. Burgos and Valencia in Spain possess a portion of their gifts, while Milan holds the stone sarcophagus (arca) in which they were transported from Constantinople.
(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 4, Augsburg, 1875, p. 405-07)
*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 Saint Melchior 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
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