Faustinus and Jovita

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Faustinus and Jovita

Faustinus and Jovita were brothers who, according to legend, were executed in Brescia in the 2nd century for their Christian faith and who are venerated as martyrs and saints by the Catholic Church .

Legend

Faustinus and Jovita - actually a woman's name, which is also handed down in the manuscripts in the form of the name Jovinus - came from the patriciate of the northern Italian city of Brescia ( Brixia in Latin ) according to their legend written at the end of the 8th or beginning of the 9th century . The city's bishop, Apollonius, had appointed Faustinus as priest and Jovita as deacon because of her Christian zeal. Because of her fearless public sermons of the gospel, a comes called Italicus had her arrested and sued the emperor Hadrian, who was just present . After the argument and miracle of the two saints as well as the refusal to sacrifice to the gods, the emperor condemned them to the wild animals, which they survived unscathed. Thousands of spectators in the amphitheater , the place of execution, were converted to Christianity through this, including Afra, the wife of Italicus, and a soldier of the emperor named Calocerus. When Faustinus and Jovita also refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods the next day, they were supposed to die by fire, but they survived it unscathed. They were then taken to Milan together with Calocerus, who has also been arrested . After the renewed refusal to sacrifice to the gods, liquid lead was poured into them through tubes, which had no effect. Now they were brought first to Rome , then to Naples , where they endured further torture and performed miracles. Finally, the angry Hadrian took her to Brescia and had her beheaded there.

The legends of other saints and martyrs are directly connected to the legend of the two martyrs, especially Saint Calocerus of Brescia , who, like Faustinus and Jovita, was a soldier. About this the legends of St. Secundus of Asti and St. Martianus of Tortona entered the subject area around Faustinus and Jovita. After all, the legend of St. Afra of Brescia has only come down to us in the context of the stories about Faustinus and Jovita.

The Bollandists dated the martyrdom to the year 120; Paul Allard, however, assumed the year 118, while Fedele Savio dated the events before the year 122. Today the tradition is no longer given any historical value.

Adoration

An altar is said to have been erected in honor of the two of them in 225, and an oratory followed in 246 . According to local tradition, St. Faustinus of Brescia , bishop of the city in the 4th century and alleged descendant of the martyr Faustinus, compiled the martyrs' acts of the brothers. The cult of relics began in the 8th century; In 806 the bones were transferred to the newly built church of St. Faustinus major. In 1152, the saints had their own church dedicated, in which their relics were buried in 1223. Relics of the two saints are also venerated in Bologna , Verona and Rome.

The saint's feast day is February 15 . You are the city patron of Brescia.

identity

The Jesuit and Bollandist Fedele Savio expressed doubts about the truth of the martyrs' story of Faustinus and Jovita, who doubted all the details, except for the pure existence of the people and the fact of martyrdom, that have been handed down in the Acta . The name contradictions also contributed to this: While the Passio from the 9th century describes Faustina and Jovita as brothers, the simultaneous martyrology of Usuard sees Jovita as a virgin. Andreas Merkt and other church historians see an identity of the two with Faustinianus and Juventia , who are venerated as saints in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum on February 16. In 1969, the Catholic Church removed the two of them from its official calendar of saints, as their martyrs' acts were completely fictitious and treated Jovita as a deacon even though she was a woman.

literature

Web links

Commons : Faustinus and Jovita  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ^ Paul Allard: Histoire des persécutions pendant les deux premiers siècles d'après les archéologiques documents. Victor Lecoffre, Paris 1885, p. 203 ( digitized version ).
  2. ^ Fidèle Savio: La légende des SS. Faustin et Jovite. In: Analecta Bollandiana. Volume 15, 1896, p. 45.
  3. ↑ See for example Andreas Merkt : Faustinus u. Jovita . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 3 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1995, Sp. 1199 . .
  4. ↑ Acta Sanctorum quotquot toto orbe coluntur. Volume: Februararius, Volume 2. 3rd edition. Victor Palmé, Paris 1864, p. 809 ( digitized ).
  5. ↑ Acta Sanctorum quotquot toto orbe coluntur. Volume: Februararius, Volume 2. 3rd edition. Victor Palmé, Paris 1864, p. 887 ( digitized version ).
  6. ↑ J.-B. Sollerius: Martyrologium Usuardi Monachi. Antwerp 1714 (reprint: Acta Sanctorum quotquot toto orbe coluntur. Volume: Iunius, part volume 6. 3rd edition. Victor Palmé, Paris 1867, p. 94 digitized ).
  7. ↑ Andreas Merkt: Faustinus u. Jovita . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 3 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1995, Sp. 1199 .