Celidonius is the traditional name ascribed to the man born blind whom Jesus healed in the

Gospel of John The Gospel of John () is the fourth of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "Book of Signs, signs" culminating in the raising of Lazarus (foreshadowing the ...

. This

tradition A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...

is attested in both

Eastern Christianity Eastern Christianity comprises Christianity, Christian traditions and Christian denomination, church families that originally developed during Classical antiquity, classical and late antiquity in the Eastern Mediterranean region or locations fu ...

and in

Catholicism 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 ...

. One tradition ascribes to St. Celidonius the founding of the Christian church at Nîmes in

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

(present-day France). For this reason, he is often confused with Sidonius of Aix. Saint Demetrius of Rostov, in his ''Great

Synaxarion Synaxarion or Synexarion (plurals Synaxaria, Synexaria; , from συνάγειν, ''synagein'', "to bring together"; cf. etymology of '' synaxis'' and ''synagogue''; Latin: ''Synaxarium'', ''Synexarium''; ; Ge'ez: ሲናክሳሪየም(ስንክ� ...

'', also mentions that the blind man's name was Celidonius. In the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

, the account of the healing of Celidonius is recounted on the "Sunday of the Blind Man", the Sixth Sunday of Pascha (Easter).Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
Sunday of the Blind Man
accessed 15 May 2016 Many hymns concerning the healing and its significance are found in the ''

Pentecostarion The Pentecostarion (, ; , , literally "Flowery Triodon"; ) is the liturgical book used by the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches that includes the texts for the Paschal Season, but varies in exact span between different tradition ...

'', a

liturgical book A liturgical book, or service book, is a book published by the authority of a church body that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official Church service, religious services. Christianity Roman Rite In the Roman Rite of ...

used during the Paschal season.

References

{{New Testament people People in the canonical gospels Eastern Christian liturgy Gospel of John Mythological blind people

See also

References