Chrysanthus and Daria
Chrysanthus and Daria ( Greek Χρύσανθος Chrysanthos from χρυσός gold and ἄνθος blossom, flower , also Germanized Chrysanth and Greek Δαρεία ) are early Christian martyrs , allegedly died in 283/284 under the rule of the Roman emperor Numerian . Both are saints of the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches .
Legend
Chrysanthus is said to have been the son of a Polemius or Polimius from Alexandria in Egypt . After coming to Rome with his father , he was baptized . He met the Vestal Virgin Daria, converted her and married her. By order of the city prefect, both are said to have been arrested for their beliefs, but they also converted the judge, his family and other people. Chrysanthus was now imprisoned and tortured; Daria is said to have been forced into a brothel, but was protected by a lion. Both are said to have been buried alive in a pit on Via Salaria . According to tradition, Chrysanthus and Daria died on October 25th and were buried in a common grave in the necropolis of Thrason on Via Salaria Nuova .
Adoration
Pope Damasus I (366–384) had the grave inscribed. In the 7th century there was a church dedicated to the two saints. The oldest known depiction of the saints is on the mosaics of the martyrs' procession from around 560 in the church of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna .
In 844 the third abbot of Prüm , Markward von Prüm , had the relics of the two martyrs given to the abbot by Pope Sergius II on a trip to Rome transferred to Prüm on behalf of Emperor Lothar , and in 848 to his daughter monastery in Bad Münstereifel . The collegiate church of St. Chrysanthus and Daria from 1100 was dedicated to the saints. Relics of the two martyrs can also be found in other churches, for example in St. Chrysanthus and Daria in Haan and a relic of St. Chrysanthus in Mönchengladbach .
As a memorial of the martyrs is the Roman Catholic Church of 25. October celebrated in the Orthodox churches of the 19th March .
Iconography and Literature
St. Chrysanthus is usually depicted in iconography as a young martyr or knight, both saints with the attributes of their martyrdom, the palm branch, lion, torches and an ax. St. Chrysanthus is mainly used in rural areas to prevent livestock diseases. Chrysanthus and Daria are also patron saints of the judges.
In the early 17th century, the Spanish poet Pedro Calderón de la Barca wrote a spiritual drama about the martyr couple with the title Los dos amantes del cielo ("The two lovers of heaven").
literature
- Bruno W. Häuptli: Chrysanthus and Daria. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 25, Bautz, Nordhausen 2005, ISBN 3-88309-332-7 , Sp. 237-241.
- Johann Peter Kirsch : Sts. Chrysanthus and Daria . In: Catholic Encyclopedia , Volume 3, Robert Appleton Company, New York 1908, p. 742.
- Michael Lapidge: The Roman Martyrs. Introduction, Translations, and Commentary. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2018, pp. 250–269 (English translation and commentary of the Passio SS. Chrysanthus and Daria).
