Saint Fructuosus of Tarragona (, ca, Sant Fructuós, died 259) was a

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

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

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 ...

. His is an important name in the early history of Christianity in

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hisp ...

. He was bishop of

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tarr ...

and was arrested during the persecutions of Christians under the Roman Emperor Valerian (reigned 253 – 260). Along with him were two deacons, St. Augurius and St. Eulogius. In 259, he was questioned by the ''

praeses ''Praeses'' (Latin ''praesides'') is a Latin word meaning "placed before" or "at the head". In antiquity, notably under the Roman Dominate, it was used to refer to Roman governors; it continues to see some use for various modern positions. ...

'' Aemilianus and burned at the stake in the local amphitheatre in

Tarraco Tarraco is the ancient name of the current city of Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain). It was the oldest Roman settlement on the Iberian Peninsula. It became the capital of the Roman province of Hispania Citerior during the period of the Roman Republi ...

. The ''

Acta Acta or ACTA may refer to: Institutions * Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, an intellectual property trade agreement * Administrative Council for Terminal Attachments, a standards organization for terminal equipment such as registered jacks * A ...

'' of the martyrdom of the bishop Fructuosus and his deacons Augurius and Eulogius document his legend; they are the earliest Hispanic ''Acta'', "marked by a realistic simplicity which contrasts very favourably with many of the Acta of Diocletian's persecution".Henry Wace, ''A Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature'': ''s.v.'' "Fructuosus"

''Acta''

The text documents the following details. St. Fructuosus, and his deacons were just going to bed when they were arrested. They were examined, at which point they affirmed their belief in the Christian God. They were then sentenced to be burnt. Officers were posted to prevent any sort of disturbance breaking out. They were not completely successful, though, and near the gate of the amphitheatre some of the Christians were able to get close to Fructuosus, and one of them asked him for his prayers. St. Fructuosus replied, in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, "I am bound to bear in mind the whole universal Church from east to west." He then added some words of consolation and encouragement to the assembled. As the flames rose and enveloped the martyrs, they stretched out their arms, praying to their God until they died. His ''Acta'' are referred to in a hymn by

Prudentius Aurelius Prudentius Clemens () was a Roman Christian poet, born in the Roman province of Tarraconensis (now Northern Spain) in 348.H. J. Rose, ''A Handbook of Classical Literature'' (1967) p. 508 He probably died in the Iberian Peninsula some ti ...

and praised and extensively quoted by Augustine of Hippo. The historical list of the bishops of Tarragona, therefore, begins with Fructuosus. St. Fructuosus' feast day is January 21. San Fruttuoso abbey on the

Italian Riviera The Italian Riviera or Ligurian Riviera ( it, Riviera ligure; lij, Rivêa lìgure) is the narrow coastal strip in Italy which lies between the Ligurian Sea and the mountain chain formed by the Maritime Alps and the Apennines. Longitudinall ...

is dedicated to St. Fructuosus.

References

*Attwater, Donald, and Catherine Rachel John. ''The Penguin Dictionary of Saints''. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. .

External links

Catholic Encyclopedia: ''St. Fructuosus''Saint of the Day, January 21
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20081106021000/http://www.deacons.net/Deacons_before_us/augurius.html "Sts. Fructuosus, Augurius and Eulogius – A Bishop and His Two Deacons, Martyrs" excerpts of Prudentius' hymn
''Butler's Lives of the Saints: St. Fructuosus, Bishop of Tarragona, Martyr, pg. 137''
* {{Authority control 259 deaths Catalan saints Saints from Hispania 3rd-century bishops in Hispania 3rd-century Christian martyrs Year of birth unknown