Saints Protus and Hyacinth were

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 ...

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 during the persecution of

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Valerian (257–259 AD). Protus' name is sometimes spelled Protatius, Proteus, Prothus, Prote, and Proto. His name was corrupted in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

as Saint Pratt. Hyacinth is sometimes called by his

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

name Hyacinthus (in french: Hyacinthe; es, Jacinto; and it, Giacinto). The day of their annual commemoration is mentioned in the ''"

Depositio Martyrum {{Short description, 4th-century list of Christian popes The ''Liberian Catalogue'' ( la, Catalogus Liberianus) is a List of popes, list of the bishops of Rome from Saint Peter, Peter to Pope Liberius, Liberius (died 366). For each bishop, the list ...

"'' on September 11, in the chronographia for the year 354. The chronographia also mentions their

grave A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grave ...

s, in the

Coemeterium Coemeterium (Latin for "cemetery", from the Ancient Greek, κοιμητήριον, ''koimeterion'' = "bedroom, resting place") was originally a free-standing, multi-roomed Early Christian gravesite. Bodies were buried in wall niches and under the ...

of Basilla on the

Via Salaria The Via Salaria was an ancient Roman road in Italy. It eventually ran from Rome (from Porta Salaria of the Aurelian Walls) to ''Castrum Truentinum'' (Porto d'Ascoli) on the Adriatic coast, a distance of 242 km. The road also passed throug ...

, later the

Catacomb Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etymology and history The first place to be referred ...

of St. Hermes. The ''"

Itineraries A travel itinerary is a schedule of events relating to planned travel, generally including destinations to be visited at specified times and means of transportation to move between those destinations. For example, both the plan of a business trip ...

"'' and other early authorities likewise give this as their place of burial.

Tradition

Tradition holds that Protus and Hyacinth were

brother A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

s. They served as chamberlains to

Saint Eugenia Eugenia of Rome (died c AD 258) was an early Christian Roman martyr whose feast day is celebrated on December 25 in the Roman Catholic Church, on December 24 (January 6, New Style) in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and on January 23 in the Armenian ...

, and were

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

along with her by Helenus,

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 ca ...

of Heliopolis. Devoting themselves zealously to the study of

sacred scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...

, they lived with the

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

s of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and later accompanied Eugenia to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. There, they were arrested for their

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 Emperor Gallienus (260–268). Refusing to deny their faith, they were first

scourge A scourge is a whip or lash, especially a multi-thong type, used to inflict severe corporal punishment or self-mortification. It is usually made of leather. Etymology The word is most commonly considered to be derived from Old French ''escorgi ...

d and then

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 ...

on September 11.

The Graves of Sts. Protus and Hyacinth

In 1845, Father Marchi discovered the still undisturbed grave of St. Hyacinth in a

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

of the above-mentioned catacomb. It was a small square

niche Niche may refer to: Science *Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development *Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species *Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...

in which lay the ashes and pieces of burned

bone A bone is a Stiffness, rigid Organ (biology), organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red blood cell, red and white blood cells, store minerals, provid ...

wrapped in the remains of costly stuffs. Evidently the saint had been burnt; most martyrs had suffered

death by fire ''Death by Fire'' is the third album by Swedish heavy metal band Enforcer. It was released on February 1, 2013, through Nuclear Blast.

. The niche was closed by a marble slab similar to that used to close a

loculus Loculus may refer to: *Loculus (satchel) *Loculus (architecture), a burial niche *An alternative name for a locule, or compartment in an organism. *Loculus of Archimedes or Ostomachion ''Ostomachion'', also known as ''loculus Archimedius'' ...

, and bearing the original

inscription that confirmed the date in the old ''

Roman Martyrology The ''Roman Martyrology'' ( la, Martyrologium Romanum) is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved ...

'': ''D P III IDUS SEPTEBR'' ''YACINTHUS'' ''MARTYR '' (Buried on 11 September Hyacinthus Martyr). In the same chamber were found fragments of an

architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can ...

belonging to some later decoration, with the words: ''. . . S E P U L C R U M P R O T I M(artyris) . . .'' (Grave of the Martyr Protus) Thus, both martyrs were buried in the same crypt.

Pope Damasus I Pope Damasus I (; c. 305 – 11 December 384) was the bishop of Rome from October 366 to his death. He presided over the Council of Rome of 382 that determined the canon or official list of sacred scripture. He spoke out against major heresies ( ...

wrote an

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

in honor of the two martyrs, part of which still exists.Ihm, "Damasi epigrammata," 52, 49 In the epitaph, Pope Damasus calls Protus and Hyacinth "brothers." When

Pope Leo IV Pope Leo IV (790 – 17 July 855) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 10 April 847 to his death. He is remembered for repairing Roman churches that had been damaged during the Arab raid against Rome, and for building the Leon ...

(847–855) transferred the bones of many Roman martyrs to the churches of

, the

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 ...

of these two saints were to be translated also; but, probably on account of the devastation of the burial chamber, only the grave of St. Protus was found. His bones were transferred to San Salvatore on the

Palatine Hill The Palatine Hill (; la, Collis Palatium or Mons Palatinus; it, Palatino ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city and has been called "the first nucleus of the Roman Empire." ...

. The remains of St Hyacinth were placed (June 1933) in the chapel of the

Propaganda College Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

. Later, the tombs of the two saints and a stairway built at the end of the fourth century were discovered and restored.

Cult in England

St Protus and St Hyacinth's Church, Blisland in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

was dedicated to Saint Protus. It is known locally as ''St Pratts''.

Notes

References

External links

"SS. Protus and Hyacinthus, Martyrs"
''Butler's Lives of the Saints''
Catholic Culture: ''Sts. Protus and Hyacinth''
(refers to a church dedicated to these two saints)
''Santi Proto e Giacinto di Roma''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Protus And Hyacinth 3rd-century births 250s deaths 3rd-century Christian martyrs Saints from Roman Egypt Sibling duos