Pelagius of Constance (died ) was an early Christian deacon and martyr who was martyred during the reign of the Roman emperor

Numerian Numerian (; died November 284) was Roman emperor from 283 to 284 with his older brother Carinus. They were sons of Carus, a general raised to the office of praetorian prefect under Emperor Probus in 282.Leadbetter, "Carus." Early life and Ca ...

. He is considered as a saint 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 ...

and Roman Catholic church, with a feast day on 28 August.

Biography

Pelagius was born to his wealthy Christian parents from

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, on the west by Noricum and upper Roman Italy, Italy, and on the southward by Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia and upper Moesia. It ...

. He was a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

and was martyred as a young adult after enduring severe torture during the persecution of Christians under Emperor Numerian. Besides this, not much else, if anything, is known about his life.

Veneration

He is

venerated Veneration (; ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Veneration of saints is practiced, ...

as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic church. His feast day is commemorated on

28 August Events Pre-1600 * 475 – The Roman general Orestes forces western Roman Emperor Julius Nepos to flee his capital city, Ravenna. * 489 – Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, defeats Odoacer at the Battle of Isonzo, forcing his way i ...

. He was first venerated in Novigrad (Cittanova) in

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. Pelagius is the

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 ...

Konstanz Konstanz ( , , , ), traditionally known as Constance in English, is a college town, university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the Baden-Württemberg state of south Germany. The city ho ...

and the

Cathedral of Konstanz Konstanz Minster or Konstanz Cathedral () is a historical building in Konstanz, southern Germany, the proto-cathedral of the former Roman Catholic diocese of Konstanz (dissolved in 1821). History The first mention of a church in Konstanz dedi ...

, owing to the transfer of

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 ...

that were believed to be his to that city before or around 904 AD. He usually does not have a face in his depictions.

Gallery

File:Konstanz Muenster Mauritiusrotunde Wandmalerei.jpg, A 16th century wall painting of St. Pelagius File:Konstanz Muenster Pelagiusgrab.jpg, Tomb in the Cathedral of Constance where Pelagius' relics were kept at least until the Reformation

References

External links

* 270 births 283 deaths Hungarian saints Croatian saints Christian child saints 3rd-century Christian martyrs {{saint-stub