Saint Acisclus (also Ascylus, Ocysellus; es, Acisclo; french: Aciscle) (died 304) was a martyr of Córdoba, in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula, i.e., modern Portugal and Spain). His life is mentioned by

Eulogius of Cordoba Eulogius can refer to: * Saint Eulogius of Alexandria (607 AD) * Saint Eulogius of Cordova, priest and martyr (859 AD) * Saint Eulogius, a deacon martyred with Saint Fructuosus * Eulogius, an early bishop of Amiens * Eulogius Schneider (1756–1794 ...

. He suffered martyrdom during the Diocletianic Persecution along with his sister Victoria. Their feast day is 17 November. There is doubt about the historical veracity of Victoria's existence, but both martyrs were honored in Mozarabic liturgical rites. After they were arrested, Acisclus and Victoria were tortured. According to tradition, Victoria was killed by

arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

s and Acisclus was beheaded. One tenth century ''passio'' relates that the Roman prefect of Córdoba, Dion, an "iniquitous persecutor of Christians," had Acisclus and Victoria cast into a fiery

furnace A furnace is a structure in which heat is produced with the help of combustion. Furnace may also refer to: Appliances Buildings * Furnace (central heating): a furnace , or a heater or boiler , used to generate heat for buildings * Boiler, used t ...

. However, when he heard Acisclus and Victoria sing songs of joy from within the furnace, Dion had them bound to stones and cast into the Guadalquivir. They were soon floating unharmed on the river's surface. He then suspended them over a fire. The fire, however, raged out of control and killed hundreds of pagans. The two saints then submitted to martyrdom, having proved their point and demonstrated their faith. Their home was turned into a church. During the ninth century, some of the Martyrs of Córdoba were associated with this church, including

Perfectus Saint Perfectus (Santo Perfecto) (died 18 April 850) was one of the Martyrs of Córdoba whose martyrdom was recorded by Saint Eulogius in the '' Memoriale sanctorum''. He was born in Córdoba when the area was under the control of the Moors (t ...

, a priest there.

Veneration

Acisclus, along with his sister Victoria, are patron saints of Córdoba, and their cult was venerated throughout Hispania and southern France, especially in Provence. There was a minor church dedicated to Saint Acisclus on the slopes of

Montserrat Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...

Iconography

Acisclus and Victoria are represented in art as a young man and woman crowned with roses.

References

Sources

Saint of the Day: Acisclus
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060304124353/http://www.cc.jyu.fi/mirator/pdf/Morris.pdf "Patronage and Piety: Montserrat and the Royal House of Medieval Catalonia-Aragon"Detailed history of the abbey (

PDF Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...

)
"Passio SS. Martyrum Aciscli & Victoriae"
(in Latin, in xps format), in Enrique Florez, ''España Sagrada'' (Madrid: Antonio Marin, 1753), X, 485–491.

External links

at th
Christian Iconography
website
CatholicSaints

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acisclus Saints from Hispania 304 deaths 4th-century Christian martyrs 4th-century Romans Year of birth unknown Christians martyred during the reign of Diocletian