Russian icon Saint Pudens was an early Christian saint and martyr. He is mentioned as a layman of the Roman Church in

2 Timothy The Second Epistle to Timothy is one of the three pastoral epistles traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle.. Addressed to Timothy, a fellow missionary, it is traditionally considered to be the last epistle he wrote before his death. Alt ...

4:21. He is said to have been the son of

Quintus Cornelius Pudens Quintus Cornelius Pudens was a Roman senator and early Christian. According to legend, Quintus Cornelius and his wife Priscilla were among the first converted by St. Peter in Rome, and hosted the apostle in their house. Quintus was father to ...

, a Roman

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, and his wife Priscilla. According to legend, they were among the first converted by St. Peter in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Pudens was baptised by Peter, who was a guest in his parents' house in Rome. Pudens was martyred under

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

(reigned 54–68). He is commemorated on

April 14 Events Pre-1600 * 43 BC – Legions loyal to the Roman Senate, commanded by Gaius Pansa, defeat the forces of Mark Antony in the Battle of Forum Gallorum. * 69 – Vitellius, commanding Rhine-based armies, defeats Roman emperor Otho ...

in the

Eastern Orthodox Church calendar The Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar describes and dictates the rhythm of the life of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Passages of Holy Scripture, saints and events for commemoration are associated with each date, as are many times special rule ...

and May 19 according to the Dominican

Martyrology A martyrology is a catalogue or list of martyrs and other saints and beati arranged in the calendar order of their anniversaries or feasts. Local martyrologies record exclusively the custom of a particular Church. Local lists were enriched by na ...

. He is said to have had two sons,

Novatus Saint Novatus (died c. 151) is an early Christian saint. His feast day is 20 June. Novatus and his brother, the martyr Timotheus, were the sons of Saint Pudens, and the brothers of Saints Pudentiana and Praxedes. His paternal grandfather was ...

and Timotheus, and two daughters,

Praxedes Saint Praxedes is a traditional Christian saint of the 2nd century. Her name is sometimes rendered as Praxedis (Πραξηδίς) or Praxed. Biography Little is known about Praxedes, and not all accounts agree. According to Jacobus de Voragi ...

and

Pudentiana Pudentiana is a traditional Christian saint and martyress of the 2nd century who refused to worship the Roman Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Antoninus Pius as deities. She is sometimes locally known as Potentiana and is often coupled with her sis ...

, all saints, but if Pudens' life is documented, those of his daughters are derived only by the existence of two ancient churches,

Santa Prassede The Basilica of Saint Praxedes ( la, Basilica Sanctae Praxedis, it, Basilica di Santa Prassede all’Esquillino), commonly known in Italian as Santa Prassede, is an early medieval titular church and minor basilica located near the papal basilic ...

and

Santa Pudenziana Santa Pudenziana is a church of Rome, a basilica built in the 4th century and dedicated to Saint Pudentiana, sister of Praxedes and daughter of Pudens (mentioned by Paul the Apostle in ''2 Timothy'', 4: 21). It is one of the national churches i ...

. The acts of the synod of

Pope Symmachus Pope Symmachus (died 19 July 514) was the bishop of Rome from 22 November 498 to his death. His tenure was marked by a serious schism over who was elected pope by a majority of the Roman clergy. Early life He was born on the Mediterranean islan ...

(499) show the existence of a ''titulus Pudentis'', a church with the authority to administer sacraments, which was also known as ''ecclesia Pudentiana''.

Notes

References

Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of ''Epigrams'', published in Rome between AD 86 and ...

, ''Epigrams'', ed. & trans. D. R. Shackleton Bailey, Harvard University Press, 1993 * George Edmundson (1913), ''The Church in Rome in the First Century''
Note C: The Pudens Legend
* William Smith (1884)

External links

St. Pudens
a
Catholic Online
* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pudens Seventy disciples 1st-century Christian martyrs Saints from Roman Italy 1st-century deaths Year of birth unknown People in the Pauline epistles