Saint Chrysogonus ( it, San Crisogono) is a saint and

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...

venerated by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

and the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

Life

Chrysogonus was martyred at

Aquileia Aquileia / / / / ;Bilingual name of ''Aquileja – Oglej'' in: vec, Aquiłeja / ; Slovenian: ''Oglej''), group=pron is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river ...

, probably during the

Diocletianic Persecution 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 rig ...

(303–311 CE), was buried there, and publicly venerated by the faithful of that region. He is the patron saint of

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ser ...

. His name is found in the ''

Martyrologium Hieronymianum The ''Martyrologium Hieronymianum'' (meaning "martyrology of Jerome") or ''Martyrologium sancti Hieronymi'' (meaning "martyrology of Saint Jerome") is an ancient martyrology or list of Christian martyrs in calendar order, one of the most used a ...

'' on two different days, 31 May and 24 November, with the topographical note "in Aquileia". The name derives from the Ancient Greek “Chrysógonos (Χρυσόγονος)”, composed of the elements: the “khrūsós (χρῡσός)” (golden, gold, something dear or precious) plus “génnēsis (γέννησις)” (birth). Thus the meaning of Chrysogonus is a dear or precious birth. Very early indeed the veneration of this martyr of Aquileia was transferred to Rome, where in

Trastevere Trastevere () is the 13th '' rione'' of Rome: it is identified by the initials R. XIII and it is located within Municipio I. Its name comes from Latin ''trans Tiberim'', literally 'beyond the Tiber'. Its coat of arms depicts a golden head of a li ...

a titular church bears his name. This church ("Titulus Chrysogoni") is first mentioned in the signatures of the Roman Synod of 499, but it probably dates from the 4th century. It is possible that the founder of the church was a certain Chrysogonus, and that, on account of the similarity of name, the church was soon devoted to the veneration of the martyr of Aquileia, In a similar way the veneration of Saint

Anastasia of Sirmium Saint Anastasia (died December 25 A.D. 304) is a Christian saint and martyr who died at Sirmium in the Roman province of Pannonia Secunda (modern Serbia). In the Eastern Orthodox Church, she is venerated as St. Anastasia the ''Pharmakolytria'', ...

was transplanted to Rome. It is also possible, however, that from the beginning, for some unknown reason, it was consecrated to Saint Chrysogonus and does take its name from him. About the 6th century arose a legend of the martyr that made him a Roman and brought him into relation with Saint Anastasia, evidently to explain the veneration of Chrysogonus in the Roman church that bears his name. According to this legend, Chrysogonus, at first a functionary of the ''vicarius'' Urbis, was the Christian teacher of Anastasia, the daughter of the noble Roman Praetextatus. Being thrown into prison during the persecution of Diocletian, he comforted by his letters the severely afflicted Anastasia. By order of Diocletian, Chrysogonus was brought before the emperor at Aquileia, condemned to death, and beheaded. His corpse, thrown into the sea, was washed ashore and buried by the aged priest

Zoilus Zoilus ( el, Ζωΐλος ''Zoilos''; c. 400320 BC) was a Greek grammarian, Cynic philosopher, and literary critic from Amphipolis in Eastern Macedonia, then known as Thrace. He took the name Homeromastix (Ὁμηρομάστιξ "Homer whippe ...

who is also the patron saint of Zadar. In the legend the death of the saint is placed on 23 November. The

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

celebrates him on 24 November, the anniversary of the dedication of the church that bears his name.''Martyrologium Romanum'', Libreria Editrice Vaticana (2001) The

celebrates his

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context do ...

22 December Events Pre-1600 *AD 69 – Vespasian is proclaimed Emperor of Rome; his predecessor, Vitellius, attempts to abdicate but is captured and killed at the Gemonian stairs. * 401 – Pope Innocent I is elected, the only pope to succeed his ...

together with his spiritual daughter Saint

. St Chrysogonus is one of the saints mentioned during the Commemoration of the Living in the

Roman Canon The Canon of the Mass ( la, Canon Missæ), also known as the Canon of the Roman Mass and in the Mass of Paul VI as the Roman Canon or Eucharistic Prayer I, is the oldest anaphora used in the Roman Rite of Mass. The name ''Canon Missæ'' was used ...

References

External links

Saint of the Day, November 24: Saint Chrysogonus
at ''SaintPatrickDC.org''
San Crisogono di AquileiaMartyr Chrysogonus the Teacher of the Greatmartyr Anastasia
Orthodox

Synaxarion Synaxarion or Synexarion (plurals Synaxaria, Synexaria; el, Συναξάριον, from συνάγειν, ''synagein'', "to bring together"; cf. etymology of ''synaxis'' and '' synagogue''; Latin: ''Synaxarium'', ''Synexarium''; cop, ⲥⲩⲛ ...

(life of the saint)
Saint Chrysogonus
at th
Christian Iconography
web site

from the Caxton translation of the ''Golden Legend'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Chrysogonus Saints from Roman Italy 4th-century Christian saints Christians martyred during the reign of Diocletian