Saints Gordianus and

Epimachus ''Epimachus'' is a genus of birds-of-paradise (Paradisaeidae) that includes two species, found in the highland forests of New Guinea. They are the largest members of the family. The common name "sicklebill" refers to their long, decurved, sickl ...

(also Gordian) were

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

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, who are commemorated on 10 May. According to his funeral inscription, Gordianus was a boy, whose youth is contrasted with his mature faith."Gordian and Epimachus", ''The Oxford Dictionary of Saints''
5th ed. (David Farmer, ed.) OUP, 2011 He was tortured and finally

beheaded Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the au ...

. His body was laid in a crypt on the

Via Latina The Via Latina (Latin for "Latin Road") was a Roman road of Italy, running southeast from Rome for about 200 kilometers. Route It led from the Porta Latina in the Aurelian walls of Rome to the pass of Mount Algidus; it was important in the ear ...

beside the body of

Saint Epimachus Saint Epimachus was a Roman martyr, and is commemorated on 10 May. After his martyrdom his body was laid in a crypt on the Via Latina and later the body of Saint Gordianus who was martyred during the time of Julian the Apostate was laid beside ...

, and the two saints gave their name to the cemetery of Gordianus and Epimachus. They are jointly venerated by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

.Murphy, John F.X. "Sts. Gordianus and Epimachus." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 22 October 2021

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...

's Queen Hildegard of the Vinzgau presented

Kempten Abbey The Princely Abbey of Kempten (german: Fürststift Kempten or Fürstabtei Kempten) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire for centuries until it was annexed to the Electorate of Bavaria in the course of the German mediatizati ...

with the relics of the saints. Along with the Virgin Mary, Gordianus and Epimachus are venerated as the abbey's patrons.Lives of Saints
Alban Butler There are churches in Germany dedicated to the saints in:

Aitrach Aitrach is a municipality in the district of Ravensburg in Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of German ...

Legau Legau is a municipality in the district of Unterallgäu in Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest G ...

, Merazhofen,

Pleß Pleß is a municipality in the district of Unterallgäu in Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest ...

, Stöttwang, and

Unterroth Unterroth is a municipality in the district of Neu-Ulm in Bavaria in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and th ...

, Germany; and also one in

Blevio Blevio (Comasco: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan and about northeast of Como. It overlooks the eastern shore of Lake Como from hilly slopes starting at more t ...

, Italy. According to David Farmer, later ''Acts'' which make Gordianus a Roman judge who converted to Christianity are "worthless". Another Gordianus suffered martyrdom (place uncertain) with two companions, and is commemorated 17 September (Acta SS., XLV, 483); and a third, commemorated on 13 September, who with several companions was martyred in Pontus or Galatia (Acta SS XLIV, 55).

References

Saints duos 362 deaths Year of birth unknown {{saint-stub