Saints Alphius, Philadelphus and Cyrinus (), martyrs in the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

traditions of southern Italy, were three brothers from Vaste, in the diocese of Otranto, who died with their mother, Benedicta, during the

persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

Decius Gaius Messius Quintus Trajanus Decius ( 201June 251), known as Trajan Decius or simply Decius (), was Roman emperor from 249 to 251. A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was proclaimed emperor by his troops a ...

, ca 251 AD. The details concerning these martyrdoms are traditional, drawn up at a later date in the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

''Acta'' of Saint Alphius. According to the ''Acta'', Alphius, Philadelphus, Cyrinus, ranging in age from nineteen to twenty-two, and their mother Benedicta were arrested with other Christians during the persecutions under Decius. They were taken to

Pozzuoli Pozzuoli (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) of the Metropolitan City of Naples, in the Italian region of Campania. It is the main city of the Phlegrean Peninsula. History Antiquity Pozzuoli began as the Greek colony of ''Dicaearchia ...

, near Naples, where one of the Christians, Onesimus, was executed. The brothers were taken on to

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, where they were martyred at

Lentini Lentini (; ; ; ) is a town and in the Province of Syracuse, southeastern Sicily (Southern Italy), located 35 km (22 miles) north-west of Syracuse. History The city was founded by colonists from Naxos as Leontini in 729 BC, which in its beginning ...

; there they are among the patron saints. Alphius had his tongue torn from his mouth. Philadelphus was burned on a stake and Cyrinus was boiled alive in oil. No details of her execution are given for Benedicta. Their

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

is 10 May in Trecastagni, Sicily and Labor Day Weekend

Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen, Massachusetts, Methuen ...

, USA. The town of

San Fratello San Fratello ( Gallo-Italic: San Frareau, Sicilian: ''Santu Frateddu'', Greek and Latin: ''Apollonia'', Medieval Latin ''Castrum S. Philadelphi''), formerly San Filadelfo, is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina in th ...

, in Sicily, is named after them.

References

Sources

* F. Halkin, 1987. ''Six inédits d'hagiologie Byzantine''.
''Subsidia hagiographica''
)
Catholic on-line: Saint Alphius
*
Sant’Alfio
''santiebeati.it'' *
SS. Alfio - Filadelfo e Cirino: L'attesa è già festa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alphius 250s deaths 3rd-century Christian martyrs Saints trios Year of birth unknown Groups of Christian martyrs of the Roman era