Saints Emeterius (or Hemeterius, Madir) and Celedonius (; ; died 300 AD) are venerated as

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

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

. Two

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

legionaries The ancient Rome, Roman legionary (in Latin ''legionarius''; : ''legionarii'') was a citizen soldier of the Roman army. These soldiers would conquer and defend the territories of ancient Rome during the Crisis of the Roman Republic, Republic and ...

(and possibly also brothers), they were

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 ...

ed for their faith around 300. They are

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

s of

Calahorra Calahorra (; ; ) is a municipality in the Spanish autonomous community and province of La Rioja. During Ancient Roman times, Calahorra was a municipium known as ''Calagurris Nassica Iulia''. Location The city is located on a hill at an altitude ...

(

La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community and provinces of Spain, province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other List of municipalities in La Rioja, cities and towns in the ...

), which is traditionally regarded as the place of their death.

Legend

They are said to have been serving in this city at the end of the third century or at the beginnings of the fourth. According to one legend, they were the sons of the martyr Marcellus the Centurion. It may have been during either the persecutions of

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

or of Valerian when they were imprisoned and forced to decide between renouncing the faith or leaving the army. Their legend states that they were

tortured Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions restrict torture to ac ...

and finally decapitated on the banks of the Cidacos River outside of Calahorra, which became the site of the actual

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

of the city and explains its strange location beyond the

city walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with to ...

. The heads of these saints are said to have floated to Santander aboard a

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size or capacity, its shape, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically used on inland waterways s ...

made of

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

. A community of monks who lived in that city became custodians of these holy

relics 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 ...

. According to

Prudentius Aurelius Prudentius Clemens () was a Roman Christian poet, born in the Roman province of Tarraconensis (now Northern Spain) in 348.H. J. Rose, ''A Handbook of Classical Literature'' (1967) p. 508 He probably died in the Iberian Peninsula some ...

, the brothers Emeterius and Celedonius, soldiers of the Legio VII Gemina, were martyred at

, but the exact date of their

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' 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 colloqui ...

is unknown.Hinojosa y Naveros, Eduardo de. "Diocese of Calahorra and La Calzada." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 30 September 2021

Veneration

In the fourth century pilgrims from distant lands came to pray at the tomb of these saints, whose

are still preserved in Calahorra Cathedral. The

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...

"Santander" actually takes its name not from

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Church stems from the Gospel of Jo ...

as some, misled by the sound of the name, believe, but from Saint Emeterius (''Santemter, Santenter, Santander''), one of the patrons of the city and ancient abbey, the other being Saint Celedonius.Amadó, Ramón Ruiz
"Santander"
''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 30 September 2021. At Santander,

Alfonso II of Aragon Alfonso II (1–25 March 1157Benito Vicente de Cuéllar (1995)«Los "condes-reyes" de Barcelona y la "adquisición" del reino de Aragón por la dinastía bellónida» p. 630-631; in ''Hidalguía''. XLIII (252) pp. 619–632."Alfonso II el Casto, h ...

founded the

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

of Saints Hemeterius and Celedonius, or Santander Abbey, where the heads of those holy martyrs were kept. The former abbey church is now Santander Cathedral. They are patron saints of Calahorra, Santander, and other towns of

Cantabria Cantabria (, ; ) is an autonomous community and Provinces of Spain, province in northern Spain with Santander, Cantabria, Santander as its capital city. It is called a , a Nationalities and regions of Spain, historic community, in its current ...

. Their feast day is August 30. Image:San Celedonio - Catedral de Santo Domingo de la Calzada.jpg, Statue of Celedonius, Cathedral of Santo Domingo de la Calzada,

. Image:Santander.Conjunto.Historico.jpg, Santander Cathedral, built between the 13th and 14th centuries over the ancient abbey of Saints Emeterius and Celedonius Image:Calahorra.png, Coat-of-arms of

, featuring the names of Saints Emeterius and Celedonius image:Coat_of_Arms_of_Cantabria.svg, Coat of arms of Cantabria, featuring the heads of Saints Emeterius and Celedonius

References

External links

* * Spanish Wikipedia article on Celedonius * Spanish Wikipedia article on Emeterius
San Emeterio
{{authority control Saints from Hispania Brother duos Culture of Cantabria 300 deaths 3rd-century Christian martyrs 3rd-century Romans Santander, Spain History of Cantabria Year of birth unknown Groups of Christian martyrs of the Roman era Legendary Romans