![Juliana](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Juliana.JPG)
Saint Juliana of Nicomedia is said to have suffered Christian
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 ...
dom during the
Diocletianic persecution
The Diocletianic or Great Persecution was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. In 303, the emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal rights ...
in 304. She was popular in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, especially in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, as the patron saint of sickness.
Historical background
Both the
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 ...
and
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
Churches mention a holy martyr Juliana in their lists of saints. The oldest historical notice of her is found in the ''
Martyrologium Hieronymianum
The ''Martyrologium Hieronymianum'' (meaning "martyrology of Jerome") or ''Martyrologium sancti Hieronymi'' (meaning "martyrology of Saint Jerome") is an ancient martyrology or list of Christian martyrs in calendar order, one of the most used a ...
'' for 16 February, her place of birth being given as
Cumae
Cumae ( grc, Κύμη, (Kumē) or or ; it, Cuma) was the first ancient Greek colony on the mainland of Italy, founded by settlers from Euboea in the 8th century BC and soon becoming one of the strongest colonies. It later became a rich Ro ...
in
Campania
Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...
(''In Campania Cumbas, natale Julianae'').
[Johann Peter Kirsch (1910). " St. Juliana". In ''Catholic Encyclopedia''. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company.]
It is true that the reference is contained only in the single chief manuscript of the above-named martyrology (the ''Codex Epternacensis''). It is nevertheless clear that the notice is certainly authentic, from a letter of Saint
Gregory the Great
Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregori ...
, which testifies to the special veneration of Saint Juliana in the neighbourhood of
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
. A pious matron named Januaria built a church on one of her estates, for the consecration of which she desired
relic
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 ...
s (''sanctuaria'', that is to say, objects which had been brought into contact with the graves) of Saints
Severin and Juliana. Gregory wrote to
Fortunatus II, Bishop of Naples, telling him to accede to the wishes of Januaria.
Her life is listed in the
Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca (BHG) 963 and
Bibliotheca Hagiographica Latina (BHL) 4522–4527.
The legend
The details of her biography are unclear. The Acts of Saint Juliana used by
Bede
Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...
in his "Martyrologium" may be legendary.
According to this account, Saint Juliana, daughter of an illustrious pagan named Africanus, was born in
Nicomedia
Nicomedia (; el, Νικομήδεια, ''Nikomedeia''; modern İzmit) was an ancient Greek city located in what is now Turkey. In 286, Nicomedia became the eastern and most senior capital city of the Roman Empire (chosen by the emperor Diocletia ...
; and as a child was
betrothed
An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...
to the Senator Eleusius, one of the emperor's advisors. Her father was hostile to the
Christians
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 ...
. Juliana secretly accepted holy baptism. When the time of her wedding approached, Juliana refused to be married. Her father urged her not to break her engagement, but when she refused to obey him, he handed her over to the Governor, her former fiancé. Elusius again asked Juliana to marry him, but she again refused.
Juliana was beheaded after suffering torture in 304,
[ during the persecution of ]Maximian
Maximian ( la, Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus; c. 250 – c. July 310), nicknamed ''Herculius'', was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his ...
.It is said that part of her torture was being partially burned in flames, plunged into a boiling pot of oil, and finally beheaded. Another Christian named Saint Barbara
Saint Barbara ( grc, Ἁγία Βαρβάρα; cop, Ϯⲁⲅⲓⲁ Ⲃⲁⲣⲃⲁⲣⲁ; ; ), known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an Early Christianity, early Christian Lebanese and Greek saint and martyr. Acc ...
suffered the death of a martyr along with Juliana and was likewise sainted.
Soon after a noble lady named Sephonia came through Nicomedia and took the saint's body with her to Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, and had it buried in Campania. Evidently it was this alleged translation that caused the martyred Juliana, honoured in Nicomedia, to be identified with the Saint Juliana of Cumae evidenced above, although they are quite distinct persons.
Alternate account
Juliana's parents were pagans and they wanted to betroth her with Eleusius, a prominent officer from Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ ...
, but Juliana denied strongly. Her denial left her parents surprised because until then she had never opposed them and she was an obedient daughter. Eleusius' ego was sorely injured and he sought revenge. He made some queries and found out that Juliana had converted to Christianity, though her parents knew nothing about this. Eleusius impeached her before the Roman governor and as a result she was arrested and put in jail. While she was in prison, efforts to make her the wife of Eleusius continued, in order to save her from execution, but Juliana preferred to die rather than have a pagan as a husband. Then Eleusius after being ordered by the Roman governor and filled with hate flogged her in a ruthless way. After that, he burned her face with a heated iron and said at her, "Go now at the mirror to see your beauty". Juliana answered him with a light smile: "At the resurrection of the righteous, there won’t exist burnings and wounds but only the soul. So Eleusius, I prefer to have now the wounds of the body which are temporary, rather than the wounds of the soul which torture eternal." After a while, Juliana was beheaded. Eleusius was later eaten by a lion, when he was shipwrecked on an unknown island.
Later history
The veneration of Saint Juliana of Nicomedia became very widespread, especially in the Netherlands. She became known as the patron saint of sickness.
At the beginning of the 13th century her remains were transferred to Naples. The description of this translation by a contemporary writer is still extant. The feast of the saint is celebrated in the Latin Church on 16 February, in the Greek on 21 December.
Since her Acts describe the conflicts which she is said to have with the devil, she is represented in pictures with a winged devil whom she leads by a chain. She is also shown enduring various tortures or fighting a dragon.
St. Juliana is the subject of an Anglo-Saxon poem, believed to have been written by Cynewulf in the eighth century.[
]
See also
* Saint Juliana of Nicomedia, patron saint archive
References
Sources
* Mombritius, Sanctuarium, II, fol. 41 v.-43 v.;
*Acta SS., FEB., II, 808 sqq.;
*J. P. Migne
Jacques Paul Migne (; 25 October 1800 – 24 October 1875) was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias, and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a u ...
, P.G. CXIV, 1437–52;
*Bibliotheca Hagiographica Latina
The ''Bibliotheca Hagiographica Latina'' (') is a catalogue of Latin hagiographic materials, including ancient literary works on the saints' lives, the translations of their relics, and their miracles, arranged alphabetically by saint. The list ...
, I, 670 sq.; Bibl. hagiogr. graeca (2nd. ed.), 134;
*Nilles
Nikolaus Nilles (21 June 1828–31 January 1907) was a Roman Catholic writer and teacher.
Life
He was born into a wealthy peasant family of Rippweiler, Luxembourg. After completing his gymnasium studies brilliantly, he went to Rome where fr ...
, ''Kalendarium manuale'', I (2nd ed., Innsbruck, 1896), 359;
* Mazocchi, ''In vetus S. Neapolitanae ecclesiae Kalendarum commentarius'', I (Naples, 1744), 556–9;
*Oswald Cockayne, ''St. Juliana'' (London, 1872)
*Vita di S. Giuliana (Novara, 1889);
* Oskar Backhaus, ''Ueber die Quelle der mittelenglischen Legende der hl. Juliana und ihr Verhaltnis zu Cynewulfs Juliana'' (Halle, 1899).
External links
Life of St Juliana
in the Golden Legend
The ''Golden Legend'' (Latin: ''Legenda aurea'' or ''Legenda sanctorum'') is a collection of hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in late medieval Europe. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived.Hilary ...
Catholic Forum: St Juliana
with details of her iconography
Santa Giuliana di Nicomedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Juliana Of Nicomedia
304 deaths
4th-century Roman women
Italian saints
Saints from Roman Anatolia
Roman Bithynia
4th-century Christian martyrs
Year of birth unknown
Late Ancient Christian female saints
Legendary Romans
People from İzmit