Getulius

Getulius († between 124 and 138 in Gabii ) was a Christian martyr and saint .

Getulius - the name means: the man from Getulia in Africa - according to legend, was the husband of Saint Symphorosa , who in 120 with her seven children Crescens, Julianus, Nemesius, Primitivus, Justinus, Stracteus and Eugenius in Tivoli in Latium martyrdom should have suffered. Getulius lived not far from it in Gabii in the Sabinerland . He and his brother Amantius held a high position in the army, but then retired to their estate and founded a Christian community there. The imperial commissioner Cerealis was then sent to him to be questioned because of his belief. However, Cerealis had been converted by Getulius and Amantius. The Roman Bishop Sixtus I performed the baptism of the cerealis in a crypt. Meanwhile, the absence of Getulius in the administration of Emperor Hadrian did not go unnoticed and the tax officer Vincentius finally learned of the conversion of the cereal and reported it. A Licinius was then sent to Gabii to arrest the Christians. In addition to Getulius, Amantius and Cerealis, this also included Primitivus, a family friend of Getulius. After 27 days of imprisonment, Licinius handed the four over to the fire. Since the flames had not harmed the condemned, Getulius, and probably the other three, were killed.

Relics and worship

The Martyrology of Ado indicates Capriolis on Via Salaria as the place of martyrdom , a place that later bore the name of Corte di San Getulio and today belongs to the municipality of Montopoli di Sabina . The relics of Getulius are said to have been in the church there before they were transferred by Abbot Peter von Farfa to the Farfa monastery (in Fara in Sabina ) in 867 to save them from attacking Saracens. On the other hand, the Church of Sant'Angelo in Pescheria in Rome claims to be home to the bones of the saint. Pope Stephen II is said to have brought the remains of Saint Symphorosa and her seven children there in 752 . The local sarcophagus, which was found in 1610, bears the inscription Hic requiescunt corpora SS. Martyrum Simforosae, viri sui Zotici (Getulii) et Filiorum ejus a Stephano Papa translata . Pope Pius IV then had these relics placed in a glass urn. 1584 made Pope Gregory XIII. some of the remains as a gift to the Jesuits, which they brought to a chapel near the Villa d'Este. In 1572 further relics were brought to Jesuit colleges in India and Spain. In 1587, the Governor of Rome, Mariano Perbenedetti, prevented the remains from being dispersed further by enclosing the remaining relics in a marble sarcophagus. This sarcophagus contains other relics assigned to Saints Cyrus and John.

The Four Martyrs' Day is June 10th .

Web links

• Entry at www.zeno.org
• www.santiebeati.it (Italian)