Saint Ctesiphon
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According to
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
tradition, the Seven Apostolic Men (''siete varones apostólicos'') were seven Christian clerics ordained in
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by Saints
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
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and sent to evangelize Spain. This group includes Torquatus, Caecilius,
Ctesiphon Ctesiphon ( ; , ''Tyspwn'' or ''Tysfwn''; ; , ; Thomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modified July 28, 2014, http://syriaca.org/place/58.) was an ancient city in modern Iraq, on the eastern ba ...
, Euphrasius, Indaletius, Hesychius, and Secundius (''Torcuato, Cecilio, Tesifonte, Eufrasio, Indalecio, Hesiquio y Segundo''). It is not clear whether the seven men were Romans,
Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
, or natives of
Hispania Hispania was the Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two Roman province, provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divide ...
. The legend probably dates from the 8th century."Ctesiphon von Vergium", ''Ökumenisches Heiligenlexikon''
/ref> The ''Martyrology of
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
'' (806 AD) incorporated text from a fifth-century source, and the seven saints are mentioned in the
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liturgy. According to manuscripts of the 10th century, which in turn recorded information from the 8th or 9th centuries, these seven clerics arrived at ''Acci'' (
Guadix Guadix (, ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in southern Spain, in the Granada (province), province of Granada. The city lies at an altitude of 913 metres, in the centre of the Hoya of Guadix, a high plain at the northern footh ...
) during the celebrations in honor of
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, Mercury, and Juno. The pagans chased them to the river, but the bridge collapsed miraculously and the seven men were saved. A noblewoman named Luparia, interested in their mission, hid them and converted to Christianity after building an altar in honor of
John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...
. The Dominican writer Rodrigo de Cerrato also wrote about the Seven Apostolic Men during the 13th century.


The seven cities

The seven missionaries decided to evangelize various parts of the region of
Baetica Hispania Baetica, often abbreviated Baetica, was one of three Roman provinces created in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula) in 27 BC. Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Tarraconensis. Baetica remained one of ...
: Torquatus remained in Acci (Guadix), Ctesiphon went to ''Vergium'' or ''Bergi'' ( Berja), Hesychius to ''Carcere'' ( Cazorla), Indalecius went to '' Urci'' (
Pechina Pechina is a municipality of the Province of Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It is on the site of the ancient town of Urci. Pechina, called ''Bajjāna'' in Arabic, was the centre of a Yemeni colony during the period of ...
), Secundius to ''Abula'' (identified as
Ávila Ávila ( , , ) is a Spanish city located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila. It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m a ...
or
Abla Abla is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality, former bishopric and Latin Catholic titular see in Almería (province), Almería province, in Andalusia, southeast Spain. History It is considered to be the Abula mentioned by Ptolemy in his '' ...
), Euphrasius to ''Iliturgis'' (a site near
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), and Caecilius to ''Iliberri'' or ''Iliberis'' (
Elvira Elvira is a female given name. It is believed to have first been recorded in medieval Spain, while other sources claim that it is likely of Germanic ( Gothic) origin. In the Balkans, Elvira is popular among Bosniaks, Croats, and Slovenes in the ...
/
Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...
). The identification of these places is imprecise: other sources state that ''Carcere'' or ''Carcesi'' is not Cazorla but Cieza, and that Urci is Torre de Villaricos, and Iliturgis is Cuevas de Lituergo. The only identification considered certain is that of Iliberis with
Elvira Elvira is a female given name. It is believed to have first been recorded in medieval Spain, while other sources claim that it is likely of Germanic ( Gothic) origin. In the Balkans, Elvira is popular among Bosniaks, Croats, and Slovenes in the ...
, seat of the
Synod of Elvira The Synod of Elvira (, ) was an ecclesiastical synod held at Elvira in the Roman province of Hispania Baetica, now Granada in southern Spain.. Its date has not been exactly determined but is believed to be in the first quarter of the fourth centu ...
, whose first bishop, according to the '' Glosas Emilianenses'', was Caecilius.


Associations with Saint James the Great (Santiago)

Traditions attributed to them actions other say were carried out James the Great. An author of the ninth century linked this tradition of the Seven Apostolic Men with that of
Saint James the Great James the Great ( Koinē Greek: Ἰάκωβος, romanized: ''Iákōbos''; Aramaic: ܝܥܩܘܒ, romanized: ''Yaʿqōḇ''; died AD 44) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was the second of the apostles t ...
in a text known as ''Translatio S. Iacobi in Hispaniam''. According to this text, seven disciples of James brought his body to the Roman province of
Hispania Hispania was the Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two Roman province, provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divide ...
after his martyrdom at
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
. The seven disciples, pursued by a pagan king in Spain, hid in a fountain protected by a crypt; when the pagan soldiers entered the crypt, it collapsed, killing them all. A woman, named Luparia, converted to Christianity and had James' body placed in a building previously dedicated to the Roman gods. This tradition also states that three of these disciples, Torquatus, Athanasius (a name that does not correspond to the usual list of names of these seven name), and Ctesiphon, were buried with James.


Veneration

There are statues of all seven saints, in addition one of Saint Peter, at the Cathedral of Guadix.
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
, during his first trip to Spain in 1982, remarked that Spain "was conquered for the faith by the missionary zeal of the Seven Apostolic Men." Saint Euphrasius' relics were taken to Santa María de Mao in the diocese of
Lugo Lugo (, ) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 100,060 in 2024, ...
.


Ctesiphon

Saint Ctesiphon () or Ctesiphon of Vergium is venerated as
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 ...
(besides Mary, Virgen de Gádor) of Berja,
Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...
, southern
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. Tradition makes him a
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
missionary of the 1st century, during the
Apostolic Age Christianity in the 1st century covers the formative history of Christianity from the start of the ministry of Jesus (–29 AD) to the death of the last of the Twelve Apostles () and is thus also known as the Apostolic Age. Early Christianity ...
. He evangelized the town of ''Bergi'', ''Vergi(s)'', or ''Vergium'', identified as Berja, and is said to have become its first bishop, but the Diocese of Vergi was probably only founded around 500. Ctesiphon's relics purportedly lie in the catacombs of Sacromonte Abbey in
Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...
, along with those of Hesychius of Cazorla and
Caecilius of Elvira Saint Caecilius (''Cecil, Cecilius, Cäcilius'', ) is venerated as the patron saint of Granada, Spain. Life Tradition makes him a Christian missionary of the 1st century, during the Apostolic Age. Caecilius first worked as an itinerant bishop ...
.


Torquatus' relics

Torquatus' relics were rediscovered in the eighth century during the Moorish invasion of Spain, in a church built in his honor, near the
Limia ''Limia'' is a genus of livebearing fishes belonging to the Cyprinodontiform family Poeciliidae. It comprises 22 described species found in fresh, brackish, saltwater, and hypersaline habitats of the Greater Antilles islands in the Caribbea ...
River. Torquatus' relics and those of Euphrasius were
translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
to Galicia. Torquatus' relics remained for a long time in the
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church of Santa Comba de Bande. In the 10th century, Torquatus' relics were translated to San Salvador de Celanova (in
Celanova Celanova is a municipality in the province of Ourense, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the comarca of Terra de Celanova. Situated near the border with Portugal, the municipality is bordered by Ramirás, Cartelle ...
,
Ourense Ourense (; ) is a city and the capital of the province of province of Ourense, Ourense, located in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, northwestern Spain. It is on the Camino Sanabrés path o ...
). In 1592, the sepulcher was opened and part of Torquatus' relics were distributed to Guadix, Compostela, and
Ourense Ourense (; ) is a city and the capital of the province of province of Ourense, Ourense, located in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, northwestern Spain. It is on the Camino Sanabrés path o ...
, and also to
El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial (), or (), is a historical residence of the king of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, up the valley ( road distance) from the town of El Escorial, Madrid, El ...
, and to the
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college at Guadix, and in 1627, to
Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...
. The relics that remained in San Salvador de Celanova were placed in the main chapel of the church of the monastery, together with those of Saint Rudesind, the monastery's founder. The Cathedral of Guadix conserves three relics associated with Saint Torquatus: his arm, his jawbone, and his
calcaneus In humans and many other primates, the calcaneus (; from the Latin ''calcaneus'' or ''calcaneum'', meaning heel; : calcanei or calcanea) or heel bone is a bone of the Tarsus (skeleton), tarsus of the foot which constitutes the heel. In some other ...
(this last relic is not on display).


References


Sources

*''Diccionario de Historia de España''. Madrid: Istmo, 2003.


External links


San Torquato Vescovo di Guadix

San Torcuato y los 7 Varones Apostólicos (año 47)

Οἱ Ἅγιοι Τορκουάτος, Κτησιφῶν, Σεκοῦνδος, Ἰνδαλέτιος, Καικίλιος, Ἡσύχιος καὶ Εὐφράσιος οἱ Μάρτυρες
ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seven Apostolic Men 1st-century Christian martyrs 1st-century Christian clergy Spanish Christian missionaries Saints from Hispania