:''Another Saint Emeterius is associated with the legend of Saint Severus of Barcelona.'' Saints Emeterius (or Hemeterius, Madir) and Celedonius ( es, San Emeterio y San Celedonio; la, Emeterius et Caeledonius; died 300 AD) are venerated as saints by the

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 ...

. Two

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

legionaries The Roman legionary (in Latin ''legionarius'', plural ''legionarii'') was a professional heavy infantryman of the Roman army after the Marian reforms. These soldiers would conquer and defend the territories of ancient Rome during the late Republi ...

(and possibly also brothers), they were

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 ...

ed for their faith around 300. They are

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

s of

Calahorra Calahorra [] ( an, Calagorra, la, Calagurris) is a municipality in the comarca of Rioja Baja, near the border with Navarre on the right bank of the Ebro. During Ancient Rome, Ancient Roman times, Calahorra was a municipium known as ''Calagurris ...

(

La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous community and province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, an ...

), which is traditionally regarded as the place of their death.

Legend

They are said to have been serving in this city at the end of the third century or at the beginnings of the fourth. According to one legend, they were the sons of the martyr Marcellus the Centurion. It may have been during either the persecutions of Diocletian or of Valerian when they were imprisoned and forced to decide between renouncing the faith or leaving the army. Their legend states that they were

tortured Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts carr ...

and finally

decapitated 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 i ...

on the banks of the Cidacos River outside of Calahorra, which became the site of the actual

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

of the city and explains its strange location beyond the city walls. The heads of these saints are said to have floated to Santander aboard a

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

made of

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

. A community of

monks A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

who lived in that city became custodians of these holy

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 tang ...

. According to

Prudentius Aurelius Prudentius Clemens () was a Roman Christian poet, born in the Roman province of Tarraconensis (now Northern Spain) in 348.H. J. Rose, ''A Handbook of Classical Literature'' (1967) p. 508 He probably died in the Iberian Peninsula some ti ...

, the brothers Emeterius and Celedonius, soldiers of the

Legio VII Gemina __NOTOC__ Legio VII Gemina (Latin for "The Twins' Seventh Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was raised in AD 68 in Hispania by the general Galba to take part in his rebellion against the emperor Nero. "Gemina" means the legion ...

, were martyred at

, but the exact date of their

martyrdom 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 ...

is unknown.Hinojosa y Naveros, Eduardo de. "Diocese of Calahorra and La Calzada." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 30 September 2021

Veneration

In the fourth century pilgrims from distant lands came to pray at the tomb of these saints, whose

are still preserved in Calahorra Cathedral. The

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

"Santander" actually takes its name not from Saint Andrew as some, misled by the sound of the name, believe, but from Saint Emeterius (''Santemter, Santenter, Santander''), one of the patrons of the city and ancient abbey, the other being Saint Celedonius.Amadó, Ramón Ruiz. "Santander." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 30 September 2021 At Santander, Alfonso II of Aragon founded the

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The con ...

of Saints Hemeterius and Celedonius, or Santander Abbey, where the heads of those holy martyrs were kept. The former abbey church is now

Santander Cathedral Santander Cathedral ( es, Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Santander, links=no, or "Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary of Santander") is located in the Spanish city of Santander (Cantabria), Santander. Its struc ...

. They are patron saints of Calahorra, Santander, and other towns of

Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...

. Their feast day is August 30. Image:San Celedonio - Catedral de Santo Domingo de la Calzada.jpg, Statue of Celedonius, Cathedral of Santo Domingo de la Calzada,

. Image:Santander.Conjunto.Historico.jpg,

, built between the 13th and 14th centuries over the ancient abbey of Saints Emeterius and Celedonius Image:Calahorra.png, Coat-of-arms of

, featuring the names of Saints Emeterius and Celedonius image:Coat_of_Arms_of_Cantabria.svg,

Coat of arms of Cantabria The coat of arms of Cantabria has a rectangular shield, round in base (also called ''Spanish shield'' in heraldry) and the field is ''party en fess''. In field azure, a tower or crenellated and masoned, port and windows azure, to its right a shi ...

, featuring the heads of Saints Emeterius and Celedonius

References

External links

Cantabria: Santos Martires
* Spanish Wikipedia article on Celedonius * Spanish Wikipedia article on Emeterius
San Emeterio
{{authority control Saints from Hispania Sibling duos Cantabrian culture 300 deaths 3rd-century Christian martyrs 3rd-century Romans Santander, Spain History of Cantabria Year of birth unknown Groups of Christian martyrs of the Roman era Legendary Romans