Simplicius, Constantius and Victorinus (''Victorian(us)'') ( it, Simplicio, Costanzo e Vittoriano) are venerated as

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 of the 2nd century.Benedictine Monks, ''Book of the Saints'' (Kessinger Publishing, 2003), 246. Simplicius, was, according to tradition, a Christian of the

Abruzzi Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...

region who was executed along with his two sons, Constantius and Victorian, during the reign of

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

. Their ''Passio'' contains all of the tropes of the genre. It is believed that the martyrdoms are genuine but that the three martyrs were not necessarily related to one another, but were executed together at

Marsica Marsica is a geographical and historical region in the Abruzzo, central Italy, including 37 ''comuni'' in the province of L'Aquila. It is located between the plain of the former Fucine Lake, the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise, the pla ...

. The earliest source on their lives dates from a ''Passio'' of 1406. The ''Passio'' states that Simplicius and his entire family, natives of Bourgogne, were baptized by Saint Januarius (not, according to Antonio Borrelli, the famous saint of Naples) during the reign of

Antoninus Pius Antoninus Pius (Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatoria ...

(138-161). Gaudentia, the wife of Simplicius, became a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

and withdrew to a monastery. At the same time, Simplicius and his two sons Constantius and Victorinus preached on behalf of their new religion. Pontius, the prefect in

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

, was ordered to arrest all Christians; Simplicius and his two sons were arrested and led in front of the court, where they preached the

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

and the

Absolution Absolution is a traditional theological term for the forgiveness imparted by ordained Christian priests and experienced by Christian penitents. It is a universal feature of the historic churches of Christendom, although the theology and the pra ...

. They were flogged and sent 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 ...

to be condemned to death. According to the legend, during the journey, the saints cured a child of blindness. At Rome, they wished to visit the tombs of Saints

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

and

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

, but the guards prohibited this. However,

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

liberated them from their chains, allowing them to make the

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

to the tombs with a group of Christians. The pilgrimage resulted in a fight erupting between the Christians and pagans; the pagans suffered many losses. The three saints were once again arrested and brought to Antoninus Pius at

. In the emperor's presence, the three saints refused to abjure their faith. They were tossed into a chamber filled with snakes and scorpions, but they emerged unharmed due to the intercession of an

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 include ...

. They were then condemned to be torn apart by four maddened

heifer Heifer may refer to: * Heifer (cow), a young cow before she has had her first calf * Frank Heifer (1854–1893), American outfielder and first baseman * '' The Heifer'' (''La vaquilla''), 1985 Spanish comedy film * Heifer International Heifer ...

s, but these beasts refused to move. Finally, on 26 August 159, they were

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 ...

at Celano, at a spot called ''Aureum fontem'' ("Golden Springs"), identified by the writer of the ''Passio'' as the future site of the church of San Giovanni Vecchio in Celano, with the spring eventually becoming known as ''S. Ioannis in capite acquae''. After the death of the three saints, an

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

shook the town, and one of the executioners was converted to

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 ...

, with the

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

named Florentius, a witness to the event, writing down and passing down the news of their deaths.

Veneration

Evidence of their cult in the

region can be found as early as the 11th century, when Bishop Pandolphus (Pandolfo) received a letter from

Pope Stephen IX Pope Stephen IX ( la, Stephanus, christened Frederick; c. 1020 – 29 March 1058) was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 3 August 1057 to his death in 29 March 1058. He was a member of the Ardenne-Verdun family, ...

in 1057, which recognized the authenticity of the relics of the three martyrs, which were found underneath the principal altar of San Giovanni Vecchio, anciently the Collegiata di Celano. Frederick II destroyed the city in 1222, exiling all of its male inhabitants to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. When the city was rebuilt on the Hill of San Vittorino, the relics were

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

to the chapel of the new church there, on June 10, 1406, which occasioned the writing of the aforementioned ''Passio''. Their names were inserted into the ''Roman Martyrology'', in 1630, under 26 August.

References

External links

Santi Simplicio, Costanzo e Victoriano
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simplicius, Constantius And Victorinus Saints trios 159 deaths Abruzzo 2nd-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown