Basilissa and Anastasia (died 68 AD) are early Christian

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, 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 external party. In ...

s of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, put to death during the reign of

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

. They were among the first converts to Christianity in the 1st century after Christ. Basilissa and Anastasia were described as "Roman matrons of high rank and great wealth". They were disciples of and might have been baptized by the apostles

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

and

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

, and might have given them "honorable burials" after Peter and Paul's martyrdom in Rome on the same day in 67 AD. The location of the two tombs eventually became

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

and the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. The burials might have exposed Basilissa and Anastasia to more persecution, and they were arrested for collecting the relics of and burying the bodies of other martyred Christians. They refused to recant their Christian faith and were beheaded with swords by order of Nero in 68 AD, after being tortured, including having their tongues torn out, their skins scraped with hooks, being burned with fire, and their breasts and feet cut off. Their

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

s are at Santa Maria della Pace Church in Rome. Their feast is April 15, are venerated by both the

Orthodox Church Orthodox Church may refer to: * Eastern Orthodox Church, the second-largest Christian church in the world * Oriental Orthodox Churches, a branch of Eastern Christianity * Orthodox Presbyterian Church, a confessional Presbyterian denomination loc ...

and

Roman 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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, and are honored as the patron saints of tailors. A statue of Basilissa is among the statues that line the

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

overlooking St. Peter's Square in Rome.

References

External links

St. Basilissa's statue
at St. Peter's Square {{DEFAULTSORT:Basilissa And Anastasia 68 deaths Italian saints Saints from Roman Italy 1st-century Christian martyrs Groups of Christian martyrs of the Roman era Year of birth unknown Christian martyrs executed by decapitation