Dionysius of Paris

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St. Dionysius, around 1460
St. Dionysius, around 1535
St. Dionysius, around 1770

Dionysius of Paris ( French Denis, Denys , Portuguese Dinis ) was a missionary in Gaul , first bishop of Paris and a martyr . He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic and Anglican Churches and is one of the fourteen helpers in need . In addition, he belongs to the group of cephalophores ("head carriers").

Vita

Dionysius was sent as a missionary to Gaul from Rome in the 3rd century - probably around the year 250 by Pope Fabianus - with six other bishops . According to Gregory of Tours , Dionysius was bishop of Paris around 250. The Roman governor ordered the arrest and beheading of Dionysius and his companions Rustikus and Eleutherius. Legend has it that Dionysius picked up his severed head at the place of execution on Montmartre , washed it in a nearby spring and walked six kilometers north with his head in his hands to the place where he wanted to be buried. In 626 , the Frankish King Dagobert I built the Saint-Denis abbey and basilica dedicated to the saint on this site, which served as a burial place for the French kings .

The oldest descriptions of his life come from Gregory of Tours. The Dionysius Vita of Abbot Hilduin of Saint-Denis , who also carried out the equation with Dionysius Areopagita and Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita , which was valid for the entire Middle Ages , became popular.

martyrdom

Dionysius martyrium in the Legenda aurea (around 1264):

“Then he is thrown into an oven, but the fire goes out and he is unharmed. He is pinned to a cross and tortured there for a long time. Removed from there, he is locked in a dungeon with his companions and many other believers. When he was celebrating mass there and giving communion to the people, the Lord Jesus appeared to him in a shining light, took the bread and said to him: Receive this, my dear fellow, for with me your exceedingly great reward is. Then brought before the judge, they are tormented again with new punishments, and in the case of the idol of Mercury the heads of the three are chopped off with ax blows to confess the Trinity. And immediately the body of St. Dionysius straightened up and carried his head in his arms, led by an angel and guided by heavenly light, two miles from the place called Martyrs Mountain to the place where he now of his own choosing and God's providence rests. "

Adoration

St. Dionysius is considered the national saint of France and patron saint of the French kings as well as several places and cities (including Paris and Krefeld , where his depiction is also in the coat of arms ). His feast day is October 9th; the commemoration day of the transfer of the relics to Paris is celebrated regionally on December 4th.

According to the saint, the city of Saint-Denis b. Paris and about 50 other places in France, Belgium and Canada. The capital Saint-Denis on the island of Réunion also bears his name. The Clos Saint-Denis is a Grand Cru wine in the municipality of Morey-Saint-Denis in Burgundy .

Even before the 15th century, St. Dionysius invoked against headaches , but also against rabies , unrest of conscience and mental suffering . Since 1450 he has been one of the fourteen helpers in need.

presentation

The saint is represented in numerous statues, stained glass and pictures as a bishop , but - according to legend - headless and with his severed head in hand. The oldest representations are still medieval (e.g. on the portal wall of the Portail de la Vierge of the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral ), but his representations become more and more common afterwards.

Pawn rule

"Raining on St. Dionys, it will certainly rain all winter"

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Dionysius of Paris  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dionysius - head carrier
  2. ↑ Original Latin text
personal data
SURNAME Dionysius of Paris
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bishop of Paris, martyr, saint
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd century
DATE OF DEATH 3rd century or 4th century