Saints Felinus and Gratian(us) (sometimes Gratinian(us)) (d. 250 AD) are venerated as

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 ...

s by the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

churches. They are

patron saints 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 person. I ...

of Arona, near

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, where their

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

were enshrined. The city of Arona celebrates two groups of martyrs on March 13: Felinus and Gratian, as well as Carpophorus and Fidelis. The festival of ''Tredicino'' is celebrated on the shores of

Lago Maggiore Lake Maggiore (, ; it, Lago Maggiore ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh Maggior; pms, Lagh Magior; literally 'Greater Lake') or Verbano (; la, Lacus Verbanus) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest la ...

Historicity

Baronius Cesare Baronio (as an author also known as Caesar Baronius; 30 August 1538 – 30 June 1607) was an Italian cardinal and historian of the Catholic Church. His best-known works are his ''Annales Ecclesiastici'' ("Ecclesiastical Annals"), whi ...

inserted the names of Felinus and Gratian names into the ''Roman Martyrology'', quoting as his authority the ''Acts'' preserved at

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...

Sabine Baring-Gould Sabine Baring-Gould ( ; 28 January 1834 – 2 January 1924) of Lew Trenchard in Devon, England, was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1,240 ...

writes, however, that "the so-called ''Acts of SS. Gratian and Felinus'', used as lections in the ''Arona Passionale'', are extracted from the Acts of SS. Florentinus and Companions, martyrs at Perugia commemorated the same day. But these Acts are in their turn not genuine; they are, in fact, the Acts of SS. Secundianus and Comp. (Aug. 9th)." The cult of Gratian and Felinus, therefore, rests on a shaky historical foundation. The garbling of lives and cults may have been purposeful, consisting of a mere alteration of the names of persons and places so as to make the ''Acts of Secundianus'' serve for Felinus and Gratian, and thus in the interests of Perugia.Sabine Baring-Gould, ''The Lives of the Saints: June''. (J. Hodges, 1874), 1. The oldest document concerning Felinus and Gratian dates from the tenth century.Pomi, Damiano. "Santi Graziano e Felino, Carpoforo e Fedele"
/ref> The manuscript is made up of 249 sheets in

parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum is a finer quality parchment made from the skins of ...

and is written in Gothic script and in

medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functioned ...

. According to the text, Felinus and Gratian were two soldiers of

, who were converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

by the bishop of the city. During the persecution of

Decius Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius ( 201 ADJune 251 AD), sometimes translated as Trajan Decius or Decius, was the emperor of the Roman Empire from 249 to 251. A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was procla ...

, they were martyred for their faith. Felinus and Gratian have been identified as being identical to two other martyrs: Gratilianus and Felicissima, with "Felinus and Gratian" being a simple misreading for the names of two actual saints"South transept spire", Duomo di Milano
/ref>

Carpophorus and Fidelis

Legend holds that the associated pair of martyrs, Carpophorus and Fidelis, were members of the

Theban Legion The Theban Legion (also known as the Martyrs of Agaunum) figures in Christian hagiography as a Roman legion from Egypt—"six thousand six hundred and sixty-six men"—who converted en masse to Christianity and were martyred together in 286, acc ...

, whose relics were transferred to Arona during a time of war between Milan and

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

. Both Como and Arona claim the relics of Fidelis. The martyrdom of Fidelis is considered to have occurred on the north side of

Lake Como Lake Como ( it, Lago di Como , ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh de Còmm , ''Cómm'' or ''Cùmm'' ), also known as Lario (; after the la, Larius Lacus), is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the thir ...

, near

Samolaco Samolaco is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about north of the regional capital Milan and about northwest of Sondrio. As of 31 December 2005, it had a population of 2,913 and an are ...

. His relics are considered to have been carried to Como in 964. In Arona, the presence of the relics of Fidelis and Carpophrous is attested in documents dating back to 1259 and 1321. Goffredo da Bussero (1220–1289 ca.), discussing a group of martyrs of the Theban Legion killed in Lombard territory, states: ''sed horum duo corpora ad monasterium de Arona dati sunt''. This group has been identified as

Carpophorus, Exanthus, Cassius, Severinus, Secundus, and Licinius Carpophorus, Exanthus, Cassius, Severinus, Secundus and Licinius (all died circa 295 AD) were Christians, Christian soldiers who, according to tradition, were martyred at Como during the reign of Maximian. Legends The cult of Fidelis of Como is ...

Veneration

In 979, the Count of Seprio, Amitto (Amizzone), captain of

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...

, transferred Felinus' and Gratian's

, with the permission of the bishop, to Arona, and built a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

dedicated to them. Amitto's foundation has been interpreted as a form of penance, since his soldiers had set fire to the

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

of the basilica of

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls The Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls ( it, Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura), commonly known as Saint Paul's Outside the Walls, is one of Rome's four major papal basilicas, along with the basilicas of Saint John in the ...

Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat a ...

had become abbot '' commendatario'' of San Felino e San Graziano abbey in Arona on 20 November 1547. In 1576, Borromeo transferred the relics of Carpophorus and Fidelisto to Milan. Even though their veneration in Arona had been minimal, Borromeo's proposed transfer angered the people of the city. On March 13, as a compromise, Borromeo brought the two left forearms of the saints back to Arona. The city council, which had been pressured by the populace to bring back the relics, decreed that an annual festival should occur on that day. The day has increased in importance in succeeding centuries. The purpose of the festival was extended to include the celebration for the martyrs Felinus and Gratian, thereby unifying their veneration to that of Carpophorus and Fidelis. Relics of all four saints are conserved in the church of Santi Martiri, also known as San Graziano, in Arona. There is a statue of Felinus on the South transept spire of the

Duomo di Milano Milan Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Milano ; lmo, Domm de Milan ), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary ( it, Basilica cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria Nascente, links=no), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombard ...

References

External links

Felinus and Gratian

Santi Graziano e Felino, Carpoforo e Fedele
{{DEFAULTSORT:Felinus And Gratian 250 deaths 3rd-century Christian martyrs Saints duos Groups of Christian martyrs of the Roman era Year of birth unknown