Cyriacus, or
Cyriac, is a
Christian martyrA Christian martyr is one who is killed for following Christianity, through stoning, crucifixion, burning at the stake or other forms of torture and capital punishment. The word "martyr" comes from the Greek word which means "witness."...
who was killed in the persecution of
DiocletianGaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus , born Diocles and commonly known as Diocletian , was Roman Emperor from 20 November 284 to 1 May 305. Born to a Dalmatian family of low status, he rose through the ranks of the military to become cavalry commander to the emperor Carus...
. He is one of twenty-seven saints, most of them martyrs, who bear this name, of whom only seven are honoured by a specific mention of their names in the
Roman MartyrologyThe Roman Martyrology is the official Martyrology of the Roman Rite of the Roman Catholic Church. It provides an extensive but not exhaustive list of the saints recognized by the Church.-History:...
.
Of the Saint Cyriacus who, together with
Saints Largus and Smaragdus and others (of whom Crescentianus, Memmia and Juliana are mentioned in the Roman Martyrology), is venerated on 8 August, all that is known with certainty, apart from their names and the fact of their martyrdom, is that they were buried at the seventh milestone of the
Via OstiensisThe Via Ostiensis was an important road in ancient Rome. It ran west 30 km from the city of Rome to its important sea port of Ostia Antica, from which it took its name. The road began near the Forum Boarium, ran between the Aventine and the Tiber River along its left bank, and left the city's...
on that date.
However, legend has it that Cyriacus was a
RomanThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
nobleman who converted to
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
as an adult and, renouncing his material wealth, gave it away to the poor.
Cyriacus, or
Cyriac, is a
Christian martyrA Christian martyr is one who is killed for following Christianity, through stoning, crucifixion, burning at the stake or other forms of torture and capital punishment. The word "martyr" comes from the Greek word which means "witness."...
who was killed in the persecution of
DiocletianGaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus , born Diocles and commonly known as Diocletian , was Roman Emperor from 20 November 284 to 1 May 305. Born to a Dalmatian family of low status, he rose through the ranks of the military to become cavalry commander to the emperor Carus...
. He is one of twenty-seven saints, most of them martyrs, who bear this name, of whom only seven are honoured by a specific mention of their names in the
Roman MartyrologyThe Roman Martyrology is the official Martyrology of the Roman Rite of the Roman Catholic Church. It provides an extensive but not exhaustive list of the saints recognized by the Church.-History:...
.
Life
Of the Saint Cyriacus who, together with
Saints Largus and Smaragdus and others (of whom Crescentianus, Memmia and Juliana are mentioned in the Roman Martyrology), is venerated on 8 August, all that is known with certainty, apart from their names and the fact of their martyrdom, is that they were buried at the seventh milestone of the
Via OstiensisThe Via Ostiensis was an important road in ancient Rome. It ran west 30 km from the city of Rome to its important sea port of Ostia Antica, from which it took its name. The road began near the Forum Boarium, ran between the Aventine and the Tiber River along its left bank, and left the city's...
on that date.
However, legend has it that Cyriacus was a
RomanThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
nobleman who converted to
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
as an adult and, renouncing his material wealth, gave it away to the poor. He spent the rest of his life ministering to the slaves who worked in the
Baths of DiocletianThe church of San Bernardo alle Terme recycled one of only two circular towers in the rectangular boundary of the baths, flanking its southwestern wall...
. Under the reign of Western Roman Emperor
MaximianMarcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Herculius , commonly referred to as Maximian, was Caesar from July 285 and Augustus from April 1, 286 to May 1, 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocletian, whose political brain complemented Maximian's military brawn...
, co-emperor with
DiocletianGaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus , born Diocles and commonly known as Diocletian , was Roman Emperor from 20 November 284 to 1 May 305. Born to a Dalmatian family of low status, he rose through the ranks of the military to become cavalry commander to the emperor Carus...
, Cyriacus was tortured and put to death,
beheadedDecapitation is the separation of the head of an animal from its body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by means of a guillotine...
in 303 on the
Via SalariaThe Via Salaria was an ancient Roman road in Italy.It eventually ran from Rome to Castrum Truentinum on the Adriatic coast - a distance of 242 km. The road also passed through Reate and Asculum...
, where he was subsequently buried. With him were martyred his companions Largus and Smaragdus, and twenty others, including Crescentianus, Sergius, Secundus, Alban, Victorianus, Faustinus, Felix, Sylvanus, and four women: Memmia, Juliana, Cyriacides, and Donata.
Saint Cyriacus is credited with
exorcizingExorcism is the practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...
demons from two girls. The first was Artemisia (or Artemia), the daughter of Emperor
DiocletianGaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus , born Diocles and commonly known as Diocletian , was Roman Emperor from 20 November 284 to 1 May 305. Born to a Dalmatian family of low status, he rose through the ranks of the military to become cavalry commander to the emperor Carus...
, which resulted in both Artemisia and her mother Saint Serena converting to Christianity. The second was Jobias, the daughter of
Shapur IShapur I was the second Sassanid King of the Second Persian Empire. The dates of his reign are commonly given as 241 - 272, but it is likely that he also reigned as co-regent prior to his father's death in 241.-Early years:...
of Persia (reigned 241-272), which led to the conversion of the King's entire household.
He was bishop of Acona, Italy
Veneration
The
Tridentine CalendarThe Tridentine Calendar is the calendar of saints to be honoured in the official liturgy of the Roman Rite during the course of the liturgical year. It was established in 1570 by Pope Pius V, when he implemented a decision of the Council of Trent by promulgating his Roman Missal...
included the feast day of Cyriacus, Largus and Smaragdus on 8 August as a Semidouble. In 1955 this rank was lowered to that of Simple. The 1960 Calendar, included in
Pope John XXIIIBlessed Pope John XXIII , born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli , known as Blessed John XXIII since his beatification, was elected as the 261st Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City on October 28, 1958.He called the Second Vatican Council but did not live to see it to completion,...
's
Roman MissalThe Roman Missal is the liturgical book that contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church.-History:...
and thus the calendar whose continued use privately and, under certain conditions, publicly is authorized by the motu proprio
Summorum PontificumSummorum Pontificum is an Apostolic Letter of Pope Benedict XVI, issued "motu proprio" . The document specified the rules, for the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, for celebrating Mass according to the "Missal promulgated by John XXIII in 1962" , and for administering most of the sacraments in...
, reduced their celebration to a
CommemorationIn the Tridentine Mass period of the Roman Rite, when a higher-ranked liturgical celebration impeded the celebration of a lesser that, either permanently or by coincidence, fell on the same day, the prayer of the lower-ranked celebration was usually added to that of the higher...
. Since 1969 they are not included in the General Roman Calendar, but, as saints whose names are in the
Roman MartyrologyThe Roman Martyrology is the official Martyrology of the Roman Rite of the Roman Catholic Church. It provides an extensive but not exhaustive list of the saints recognized by the Church.-History:...
, they are proposed for veneration in the whole of the Catholic Church.
Saint Cyriacus is venerated as one of the
Fourteen Holy HelpersThe Fourteen Holy Helpers are a group of saints venerated together in Roman Catholicism because their intercession was thought to be particularly effective, especially against various diseases...
.
It is claimed his
relicA relic is an object or a personal item of religious significance, carefully preserved with an air of veneration as a tangible memorial. Relics are an important aspect of some forms of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Shamanism, and many other religions....
s were moved to
Santa Maria in Via LataSanta Maria in Via Lata is a church on the Via del Corso , in Rome, Italy.-History:It is claimed that St. Paul spent two years here, in the crypt next to the church, whilst under house arrest waiting for his trial. This conflicts with the tradition of San Paolo alla Regola...
in
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
, and the abbey of St Cyriaque in
AltorfAltorf is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.The town has a long history. Its most interesting monument is the part-Romanesque, part-Baroque church of St. Cyriaque, which until the French revolution belonged to a Benedictine Abbey.-References:* -External links:*...
in
AlsaceAlsace is the fourth-smallest of the 26 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the sixth-most densely populated region in France , with 222 inhabitants per km²...
.
The Church of "Saint Cyriacus in the Baths of Diocletian" , was dedicated to this martyr, a former
titulusIn Christian archeology, a titulus is one of a set number of Early Christian churches built round the edges of the city of Rome, which were ascribed to patrons, whose names often identified them:...
church. The "tituli" were commonly named after their patron, often a lay patron in the early centuries:
"Cyriac" in Greek signifies simply
"patron." This
"titulus," to which a cardinal was assigned, whatever its claimed second or third century origins, existed certainly in the fifth century, when Marcianus was cardinal priest of the title of S. Ciriaco alle Terme di Diocleziano in 494, at the time of
Pope Gelasius IPope Saint Gelasius I was pope from 492 until his death in 496. He was the third and last pope of African origin in the Roman Catholic Church, Gelasius was a prolific writer whose style placed him on the cusp between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Gelasius had been closely employed by...
. The titulus was suppressed in 1477 by
Pope Sixtus IVPope Sixtus IV , born Francesco della Rovere, was Pope from 1471 to 1484. He founded the Sistine Chapel where the team of artists he brought together and introduced the Early Renaissance to Rome with the first masterpiece of the city's new artistic age.-Biography:Francesco was born to a modest...
in favor of Saints Ciro and Giulitta. In 1493,
Pope Alexander VIPope Alexander VI , born Roderic Llançol, later Roderic de Borja i Borja was Pope from 1492 to 1503. He is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, and his surname became a byword for the debased standards of the papacy of that era...
restored the name of S. Ciriaco. The title was definitively suppressed in 1587 by
Pope Sixtus VPope Sixtus V , born Felice Peretti di Montalto, was Pope from 1585 to 1590.-Biography:Felice Peretti was born at Grottammare, in the Papal States, son of Piergentile di Giacomo, nicknamed "Peretto", and Marianna da Frontillo. He took the surname "Peretti" in 1551 and was more generally known as...
, who assigned a titulus of Sts Quirico e Giulitta to
Cardinal Ferdinando de' MediciFerdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609, having succeeded his older brother Francesco I....
.
There were monasteries dedicated to St Cyriacus in the now destroyed
ArabArab people or Arabs are an ethnic group whose members identify along linguistic, cultural or genealogical grounds...
village of
Majdal YabaMajdal Yaba was a Palestinian Arab village located northeast of Ramla and east of Jaffa. A walled city stood at the same site as early as 3000 BCE, and Majdal Yaba is first mentioned by name in texts dating to the 19th century BCE. In the Bible's Old Testament, Majdal Yaba is described as a city...
in
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
and the existing village of
Al-Fasayilal-Fasayil or al-Fasa'il is a Palestinian village in the northeastern West Bank, a part of the Jericho Governorate, located 14 kilometers northwest of Jericho and about 40 kilometers southeast of Nablus. The closest Palestinian locality is Duma to the west. The village's total land area is 47,951...
near
JerichoJericho is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian Territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate, and has a population of over 20,000 Palestinians. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest...
. The residents of both these villages venerated him during the
ByzantineThe word Byzantine may refer to:Topics directly related to the Byzantine Empire* A citizen of The Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
era.
On St Cyriacus' feast day, 8 August 1899, a
category fourThe Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale is a classification used for most Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms. The scale divides hurricanes into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds...
hurricane made landfall on the island of
Puerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is a self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands...
and was named after him. It was known as the
Hurricane San Ciriaco1899 Hurricane San Ciriaco, also known as the 1899 Puerto Rico Hurricane, was the longest-lived Atlantic hurricane and the tenth deadliest tropical cyclone in the basin. It was an intense and long-lived Atlantic Cape Verde-type hurricane which crossed Puerto Rico over the two day period August 8 to...
.
External links