Erasmus of Formia, also known as Saint Elmo (died c. 303), was a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

and

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

. He is venerated as the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of sailors and

abdominal pain Abdominal pain, also known as a stomach ache, is a symptom Signs and symptoms are the observed or detectable signs, and experienced symptoms of an illness, injury, or condition. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature than ...

. Erasmus or Elmo is also one of the

Fourteen Holy Helpers The Fourteen Holy Helpers (german: Vierzehn Nothelfer, la, Quattuordecim auxiliatores) are a group of saints venerated together by Roman Catholic Christians because their intercession is believed to be particularly effective, especially against ...

, saintly figures of Christian tradition who are venerated especially as intercessors.

Documentation of his life

The ''Acts of Saint Elmo'' were partly compiled from legends that confuse him with a Syrian bishop Erasmus of Antioch. Jacobus de Voragine in the '' Golden Legend'' credited him as a bishop at Formia over all the Italian

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

, as a hermit on

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon ( ar, جَبَل لُبْنَان, ''jabal lubnān'', ; syr, ܛܘܪ ܠܒ݂ܢܢ, ', , ''ṭūr lewnōn'' french: Mont Liban) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It averages above in elevation, with its peak at . Geography The Mount Le ...

, and a martyr in the

Diocletianic Persecution The Diocletianic or Great Persecution was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. In 303, the emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal rights ...

. There appears to be no historical basis for his ''passio''.Lanzi, Fernando and Lanzi, Gioia, "Erasmus of Gaeta", ''Saints and Their Symbols'', Liturgical Press, 2004

Account of life and martyrdom

Erasmus was Bishop of Formia, Italy. During the persecution against Christians under the emperors

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

(284-305) and Maximian Hercules (286-305), he left his diocese and went to Mount Libanus, where he hid for seven years. However, an

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

is said to have appeared to him, and counseled him to return to his city."Hieromartyr Erasmus the Bishop of Formia in Campania", Orthodox Church in America
/ref> On the way, he encountered some soldiers who questioned him. Erasmus admitted that he was a Christian and they brought him to trial at Antioch before the emperor Diocletian. After suffering terrible tortures, he was bound with chains and thrown into prison, but an angel appeared and helped him escape. He passed through

Lycia Lycia (Lycian language, Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean ...

, where he raised up the son of an illustrious citizen. This resulted in a number of baptisms, which drew the attention of the Western Roman Emperor Maximian who, according to Voragine, was "much worse than was Diocletian." Maximian ordered his arrest and Erasmus continued to confess his faith. They forced him to go to a temple of the idol, but along Erasmus's route all the idols fell and were destroyed, and from the temple there came fire which fell upon many of the pagans. These actions angered the emperor, who had Erasmus enclosed in a barrel full of protruding spikes and rolled down a hill. An angel healed him from these wounds. When he was recaptured, he was brought before the emperor and beaten and whipped, then coated with pitch and set alight (as Christians had been in

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

's games), and still he survived. Thrown into prison with the intention of letting him die of starvation, Erasmus managed to escape. He was recaptured and tortured in the Roman province of Illyricum, after boldly preaching and converting numerous pagans to Christianity. Finally, according to this version of his death, his abdomen was slit open and his intestines wound around a

windlass The windlass is an apparatus for moving heavy weights. Typically, a windlass consists of a horizontal cylinder (barrel), which is rotated by the turn of a crank or belt. A winch is affixed to one or both ends, and a cable or rope is wound arou ...

. This version may have developed from interpreting an icon that showed him with a windlass, signifying his patronage of sailors. Nicolas Poussin - Le Martyre de Saint Érasme

Nicolas Poussin - Le Martyre de Saint Érasme

Veneration and patronage

Erasmus may have become the patron of sailors because he is said to have continued preaching even after a thunderbolt struck the ground beside him. This prompted sailors, who were in danger from sudden storms and lightning, to claim his prayers. The electrical discharges at the mastheads of ships were read as a sign of his protection and came to be called "

Saint Elmo's Fire St. Elmo's fire — also called Witchfire or Witch's Fire — is a weather phenomenon in which luminous plasma is created by a corona discharge from a rod-like object such as a mast, spire, chimney, or animal hornHeidorn, K., Weather Elemen ...

". Pope Gregory the Great recorded in the 6th century that the relics of Erasmus were preserved in the cathedral of Formia. When the old '' Formiae'' was razed by the

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

s in 842, the cult of Erasmus was moved to

Gaeta Gaeta (; lat, Cāiēta; Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a city in the province of Latina, in Lazio, Southern Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples. The town has played a consp ...

. He is currently the patron of Gaeta,

Santeramo in Colle Santeramo in Colle ( Santermano: ) is a town in the Metropolitan City of Bari and region of Apulia, southern Italy. Its current name comes from St Erasmus, martyr of the Diocletian era and patron saint of the city who, according to legend, is resp ...

and Formia. There is an altar to Erasmus in the north transept of St. Peter's Basilica.Altar of St. Erasmus - St. Peter's Basilica
/ref> A copy of Nicolas Poussin's ''Martyrdom of St Erasmus'' serves as the altarpiece. Besides his patronage of mariners, Erasmus is invoked against

colic Colic or cholic () is a form of pain that starts and stops abruptly. It occurs due to muscular contractions of a hollow tube ( small and large intestine, gall bladder, ureter, etc.) in an attempt to relieve an obstruction by forcing content out ...

in children, abdominal pain, intestinal ailments and diseases, cramps and the pain of women in labour, as well as cattle pests.

Gallery

File:Mathis Gothart Grünewald 011.jpg, "Meeting of Saint Erasmus and Saint Maurice" by Matthias Grünewald (1517–23), Alte Pinakothek. Grünewald used Albert of Mainz, who commissioned the painting, as the model for St. Erasmus. Image:Gaeta07.jpg, The belfry of the Cathedral of St. Erasmus in

Image:Santelmo.jpg, The martyrdom of Saint Elmo, by an unknown painter from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, 1474 Image:Martyrdom of saint erasmus.jpg, Martyrdom of Saint Erasmus

References

External links

''The Golden Legend (Saint Erasmus)''
– e-text adapted from

Wynken de Worde Wynkyn de Worde (died 1534) was a printer and publisher in London known for his work with William Caxton, and is recognised as the first to popularise the products of the printing press in England. Name Wynkyn de Worde was a German immigra ...