Marsus (saint)

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The head reliquary of St. Marsus in the Essen Cathedral Treasury (15th century)

The holy Marsus was a Roman missionary who, according to tradition in the 3rd century by Pope Sixtus II. The priest was ordained and together with the holy Peregrinus as a bishop, a deacon Corcodemus, the subdeacon Jovianus and another lecturer named Jovian to Gaul sent was made to preach the gospel and to strengthen Christians in the faith. The group reached the area around Auxerre and converted a large number of residents to Christianity there. Peregrinus is said to have installed Marsus as bishop and to have moved on to a pagan island, where he was martyred. Marsus died on June 8th or October 4th after enduring much hardship and was buried in Auxerre. Marsus attained the status of a saint as "confessor".

Almost forgotten today, he was an important saint in the early Middle Ages. The center of admiration was the Saxon area , especially the Essen monastery . Altfrid , Bishop of Hildesheim and founder of the Essen Abbey, transferred 864 relics of the Saint of Auxerre to an unknown location in the Saxon settlement area . A sermon given by Altfrid on the arrival of the relics has been preserved. In the older literature it is stated that Altfrid transferred the relics to Essen, but this view fails to recognize that the preacher addresses his audience as confreres, which speaks against a religious community of women like the Essen monastery as the recipient. In addition, the sermon Marsus represents as a model for the mission, but religious women's communities were prohibited from the mission. The Abbey in Corvey may have been the recipient, as the Marsus relics were later kept in Essen together with relics of St. Liuttrud , which Essen monastery received from Corvey.

The Essen Abbey received the saint's head and chest from Lyons between 999 and 1002 at the latest. The translation of these relics took place with the help and mediation of Otto III. and the Bishop of Auxerre Hugh of Chalon , probably in fulfillment of a Memorial Foundation Otto and his mother Theophanu for his father Otto II. This purpose of translation is from the traditional inscription on the 1,794 lost Marsusschrein closed the Essen cathedral, which the Essen abbess Mathilde make let: Hoc opus eximium gemmis auroque decorum / Mechtildis vovit, quae Theophanum quoque solvit / Abbatissa bona Mechthildis chrisea dona / Regi dans regum, quae rex deposcit in aevum / Spiritus ottonis pascit caelestibus oris ("This sublime work, decorated with gold and Mathilde donated as she promised this Theophanu. The good abbess Mathilde gives this magnificent gift to the king of the king, so that the king, who is safe in eternity, Otto's soul, will rest on heavenly shores ”).

Marsus was especially venerated in Essen by the canons who carried out the parts of the liturgy that were closed to the canons . In the 15th century, the skull from the shrine was reburied in a bust reliquary that still exists in the Essen Cathedral Treasury . This follows the usual iconography in that it depicts the saint as a priest in contemporary priestly clothing. While the skull relic was lost in the course of the removal of the cathedral treasure during World War II, there is another relic of the saint in the Cosmas and Damian reliquary of Abbess Maria Clara von Spaur, Pflaum and Vallier from 1643.

The feast day of St. Marsus is October 4th, although Marsus is said to have died on June 8th.

Churches dedicated to Saint Marsus are rare. One of the few churches was built in Auxerre in the 1960s. For the consecration of this church, relics of the saint were transferred back from Essen to Auxerre.

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personal data
SURNAME Marsus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Roman missionary
DATE OF BIRTH 2nd century or 3rd century
DATE OF DEATH 3rd century or 4th century