Hyacinth (, ''Hyakinthos''; died 108) was a young
Christian living at the start of the second century, who is honored as a
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 ...
and a
saint by both the
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...
and the
Roman Catholic Church
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 ...
. 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).
According to tradition, he was a native of
Caesarea in
Cappadocia
Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde.
According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Re ...
, a member of a Christian family. As a boy, he was appointed to serve as an assistant to the
chamberlain
Chamberlain may refer to:
Profession
*Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure
People
*Chamberlain (surname)
**Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...
to the
Emperor Trajan
Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
. His failure to participate in the ceremonial
sacrifices to the official
Roman gods
The Roman deities most widely known today are those the Romans identified with Greek counterparts (see ''interpretatio graeca''), integrating Greek myths, iconography, and sometimes religious practices into Roman culture, including Latin lite ...
soon came to be noticed by other members of the Imperial household.
When he was denounced as a Christian, Hyacinth proclaimed his faith. As a result, he was imprisoned and underwent numerous
scourgings and tortures. He was deliberately served only food which had been blessed for sacrifice to the gods, the eating of which was banned by both
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...
and Christianity. Thus, he starved to death in 108 AD, dying at the age of twelve. Just before his death, legend says, his jailers saw him being comforted by
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 inclu ...
s, who bestowed a crown on him.
Hyacinth died in the city of
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 ...
. Later, the saint's relics were transferred to Caesarea.
A jewel-encrusted human skeleton in a gilded glass case labeled "S. HYACINTHUS M." (Saint Hyacinth, Martyr) is preserved and venerated in a secular building that was the Roman Catholic
abbey church
A church, church building or church house is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 and 256. From the 11th thro ...
of the former
Cistercian Abbey of Fürstenfeld (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 German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
,
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 the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
), of which the church is the only surviving structure. The skeleton arrived at Fürstenfeld Abbey at an unknown date. Writing of Europe’s skeletons of “
catacomb saints
Catacomb saints were the bodies of ancient Christians that were carefully exhumed from the catacombs of Rome and sent abroad to serve as relics of certain saints from the 16th century to the 19th century. They were typically lavishly decorated wit ...
”, art historian
Paul Koudounaris
Paul Koudounaris is an American author and photographer from Los Angeles. He has a PhD in Art History, and his publications in the field of charnel house and ossuary research have made him a well-known figure in the field of macabre art and art h ...
states that they “could have been anyone, but they were pulled out of the ground and raised to the heights of glory.”
Many places, people, and other entities are named after Hyacinth (or Jacinto, the Spanish form of "Hyacinth"). See the disambiguation pages in the "See also" section, below.
Hyacinth is not to be confused with the third-century martyr
Hyacinth (died c. 257) or the medieval
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
Dominican saint
Hyacinth of Poland
Hyacinth ( pl, Święty Jacek or ''Jacek Odrowąż''; ca. 1185 – 15 August 1257) was a Polish Dominican priest and missionary who worked to reform women's monasteries in his native Poland. He was a Doctor of Sacred Studies, educated in Pa ...
.
See also
*
St. Hyacinth (disambiguation)
*
San Jacinto (disambiguation) San Jacinto may refer to:
Military
* Battle of San Jacinto, an 1836 battle between Mexico and Texas
* Battle of San Jacinto (1856), between Nicaraguans under José Dolores Estrada and American filibusters
* Battle of San Jacinto (1899), between th ...
(the Spanish form of "Saint Hyacinth")
*
Hyacinth (disambiguation)
Hyacinth or Hyacinthus may refer to:
Nature Plants
* Hyacinth (plant), genus ''Hyacinthus''
** ''Hyacinthus orientalis'', common hyacinth
* Grape hyacinth, ''Muscari'', a genus of perennial bulbous plants native to Eurasia
* Hyacinth bean, '' Lab ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyacinth Of Caesarea
108 deaths
Saints from Roman Anatolia
Cappadocian Greeks
2nd-century Christian martyrs
Year of birth unknown
People from Cappadocia