Saint Edistus ( it, Sant'Edisto) (also known as Aristus, Orestes, Horestes) is venerated as a
martyr and
saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
by the
Roman Catholic and
Eastern Orthodox churches. His legend states that he was martyred on the
Via Laurentina and his ''passio'' places his martyrdom during the reign of
Nero, on October 12, 60 AD.
His companions are named as Thermantia (Termanzia), Christina, his servant Victoria, and the priest Priscus.
Veneration
During the
papacy
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
of
Gregory the Great, there existed at
San Paolo fuori le Mura a monastery dedicated to Edistus. In the seventh century, his
relics, as well as those belonging to Christina and Victoria, were still venerated there. The
sepulcher of Edistus was located at the sixteenth milestone of the
Via Ardeatina. A church in honor of him existed there, which was restored during the papacy of
Adrian I (772-795). There also existed a papal estate (''
domusculta
A domusculta (plural - ''domuscultae'') was a papal estate in Italy in the Middle Ages, or the large villa complex at the centre of such an estate. An example is the ''Domusculta Capracorum'' of Pope Hadrian I. They were similar to the papal ''p ...
'') there called ''Sancti Edisti''.
He is patron of an old church on the
Monte Soratte, near which a town,
Sant'Oreste, is named after him. The first mention of Sant'Oreste is made by
Benedict of Soracte in his ''Chronicon'' in 747 AD, in which he mentions ''Curtis Sancii Heristi''.
One source states that the
toponym derives from the family of the Aristi or Edisti. A member of this family was martyred for his faith around 68 AD. Linguistic corruptions transformed the name from ''Sanctus Edistus'' to ''Sanctus Heristus, Santo Resto, San Tresto, Sant'Oreste''.
According to the legendary account of his martyrdom, he was a soldier who had been christened by
Saint Peter. At a site called ''Laurento'', a
sandpit (''arenario''), Edistus participated in a
mass at which Priscus was officiating. Thermantia, Christina, and the servant Victoria were present. When they were discovered by the authorities, they were
buried alive in the same sandpit, with the exception of Victoria, who managed to escape, but who was later killed in a nearby forest.
A church and village grew on the site of sandpit. This was the ''curtis Sancti Heristi''. The village later moved to the slopes of Mount Soratte for better defense against raiders. This became the ''Castrum Sancti Heristi'', later Sant'Oreste. The
Romanesque church of Sant'Edisto still exists.
Notes
External links
*
SAN EDISTOSant'Edisto*{{in lang, it}
60 deaths
Deaths by live burial
1st-century Romans
1st-century Christian martyrs
Year of birth unknown
Military saints