Saints Ferreolus and Ferrutio
(or Fargeau and Ferrutius;
French
:
Ferreol et Ferjeux
;
Italian
:
Ferreolo e Ferruccio
) (died ca. AD 212) are venerated as
martyrs
and
saints
by the
Catholic Church
, especially in
Besancon
where they are honored as its patron saints.
History
[
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]
Their legendary acts state that they were brothers converted to
Christianity
by
Saint Polycarp
.
[1]
They were ordained as
priest
and
deacon
, respectively, by
Saint Irenaeus of Lyons
. They were sent to the area around
Besancon
as missionaries. They are called natives of
Asia Minor
;
[2]
Alban Butler
held it "more probable that they were natives of Gaul who had studied in Asia Minor and come under Christian influence."
[1]
After working as missionaries amongst the
Sequani
for 30 years, in AD 212 during the persecution of
Alexander Severus
, they were arrested, tortured and
beheaded
.
[3]
While aspects of their legend may not be entirely historical, it was likely based on someone named Ferreolus who assisted Irenaeus in spreading Christianity beyond Lyon.
[4]
Veneration
[
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]
According to their legend, their
relics
were discovered in a
cave
near Besancon in AD 370 by a military
tribune
whose dog was chasing a
fox
. The relics were enshrined by Bishop Anianus of Besancon in the 4th century AD.
[1]
Saint Gregory of Tours
writes that
miracles
were attributed to their relics in his time; he says that his brother-in-law was cured of a dangerous
distemper
at the saints' intercession.
[2]
The
Missale Gothicum
(ca. AD 700) contains a full proper of the Mass in their honor.
[1]
In the sixteenth century, they were invoked in Besancon against sickness, along with
Saint Sebastian
and
Saint Roch
.
[5]
Ferreolus appears in a catalogue of the 17th century as a bishop of Besancon, but the
liturgy
of Besancon has always remembered Ferreolus as a priest, and Ferrutio as a deacon.
[6]
Ferreolus and Ferrutio, as patrons of Besancon, are considered to have appeared on the
city walls
in times of danger.
[6]
The two saints have been represented in
stained glass
,
paintings
, and
statues
in many churches and chapels in the two dioceses of the
Franche-Comte
:
Saint-Claude
and
Besancon
.
[6]
The
Basilique Saint-Ferjeux
is situated in the neighborhood of Saint-Ferjeux, Besancon.
They are depicted on a French lantern slide dating from AD 1900.
Butler's account
[
edit
]
The hagiographer
Alban Butler
(1710?1773) wrote in his
Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints
, under 16 June,
SS. Ferreolus, or Fargeau, a Priest, and Ferrutius, a Deacon, MM.
They were ordained by Saint Irenæus, and sent by him to preach the gospel at Besancon, where, after suffering many torments, they were beheaded for the faith in the persecution of Severus in 211 or 212. Saint Gregory of Tours says, that their relics were glorified by miracles in his time, and that his brother-in-law was cured by them of a dangerous distemper. They are at this day esteemed the great treasure of the cathedral of Besancon.
Gallery
[
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]
-
Reliquaire de Saint Ferrutio. Crypte de la basilique Saint Ferjeux de Besancon.
-
-
Saint Ferreol (Lavernay)
-
Saint Ferjeux (Lavernay)
-
Saint Ferjeux (Passavant-la-Rochere)
-
Saint Ferreol (Passavant-la-Rochere)
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
Alban Butler; Paul Burns,
Butler's Lives of the Saints
(Continuum International, 2000), 117.
- ^
a
b
Rabenstein, Katherine (June 1998).
"Ferreolus and Ferrutio MM (RM)"
.
Saints O' the Day for June 16
. Archived from
the original
on 2007-11-05
. Retrieved
2007-12-10
.
- ^
"Latin Saints of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Rome", Orthodox Europe
- ^
Holmes, T. Scott.
The Origin and Development of the Christian Church in Gaul During the First Six Centuries of the Christian Era
, Mac Millan, 1911, p. 54
- ^
"L'origine des maladies"
(in French)
. Retrieved
2007-12-10
.
- ^
a
b
c
Borrelli, Antonio (2003-02-06).
"Santi Ferreolo e Ferruccio"
.
Santi Beati
(in Italian)
. Retrieved
2007-12-10
.
External links
[
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]