Saints Ferreolus and Ferrutio (or Fargeau and Ferrutius; french: Ferréol et Ferjeux; it, Ferreolo e Ferruccio) (died ca. AD 212) are venerated as

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 and

saints In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual res ...

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 ...

, especially in

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerl ...

where they are honored as its patron saints.

History

Their legendary acts state that they were brothers 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 ...

Saint Polycarp Polycarp (; el, Πολύκαρπος, ''Polýkarpos''; la, Polycarpus; AD 69 155) was a Christian bishop of Smyrna. According to the ''Martyrdom of Polycarp'', he died a martyr, bound and burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed ...

.Alban Butler; Paul Burns, ''Butler's Lives of the Saints'' (Continuum International, 2000), 117. They were ordained as

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

and

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 ...

, respectively, by Saint Irenaeus of Lyons. They were sent to the area around

as missionaries. They are called natives of

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

;

Alban Butler Alban Butler (13 October 171015 May 1773) was an English Roman Catholic priest and hagiographer. Biography Alban Butler was born in 1710, at Appletree, Aston le Walls, Northamptonshire, the second son of Simon Butler, Esq. His father died when ...

held it "more probable that they were natives of Gaul who had studied in Asia Minor and come under Christian influence." After working as missionaries amongst the

Sequani The Sequani were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the upper river basin of the Arar river (Saône), the valley of the Doubs and the Jura Mountains during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Sequanos'' by Caesar (mid-1s ...

for 30 years, in AD 212 during the persecution of

Alexander Severus Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – 21/22 March 235) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his slain cousin Elagabalus in 222. Alexander himself was ...

, they were arrested, tortured and

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 ...

. While aspects of their legend may not be entirely historical, it was likely based on someone named Ferreolus who assisted Irenaeus in spreading Christianity beyond Lyon.

Veneration

According to their legend, their

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 tangi ...

were discovered in a

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

near Besançon in AD 370 by a military

tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on the ...

whose dog was chasing a

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

. The relics were enshrined by Bishop Anianus of Besançon in the 4th century AD.

Saint Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...

writes that

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

s were attributed to their relics in his time; he says that his brother-in-law was cured of a dangerous distemper at the saints' intercession. The ''

Missale Gothicum The Gallican Rite is a historical version of Christian liturgy and other ritual practices in Western Christianity. It is not a single rite but a family of rites within the Latin Church, which comprised the majority use of most of Western Christia ...

'' (ca. AD 700) contains a full proper of the Mass in their honor. In the sixteenth century, they were invoked in Besançon against sickness, along with

Saint Sebastian Saint Sebastian (in Latin: ''Sebastianus''; Narbo, Gallia Narbonensis, Roman Empire c. AD 255 – Rome, Italia, Roman Empire c. AD 288) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Dioclet ...

and

Saint Roch Roch (lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79 (traditionally c. 1295 – 16 August 1327, also called Rock in English, is a Catholic saint, a confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August and 9 September in Italy; he is especially invoked a ...

. Ferreolus appears in a catalogue of the 17th century as a bishop of Besançon, but the

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

of Besançon has always remembered Ferreolus as a priest, and Ferrutio as a deacon. Ferreolus and Ferrutio, as patrons of Besançon, are considered to have appeared on the

city walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

in times of danger. The two saints have been represented in

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

, and

statues A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

in many churches and chapels in the two dioceses of the

Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; frp, Franche-Comtât; also german: Freigrafschaft; es, Franco Condado; all ) is a cultural and historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, ...

: Saint-Claude and

. The

Basilique Saint-Ferjeux The Basilica of St. Ferjeux is situated in Besançon, in the ''quartier'' of Saint-Ferjeux. It is dedicated to the patron saints of Besançon, Ferreolus and Ferrutio (''Ferréol et Ferjeux''). External links *Diocèse de Besançon Burials * Sa ...

is situated in the neighborhood of Saint-Ferjeux, Besançon. They are depicted on a French lantern slide dating from AD 1900.

Butler's account

The hagiographer

(1710–1773) wrote in his ''Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints'', under 16 June,

Gallery

Image:Reliquaire de Saint Fergeux.JPG, Reliquary of Saint Ferrutio. Crypt of the Basilica Saint Ferjeux de Besançon. Image:Église Saint-Ferjeux.jpg,

Notes

External links

*
Saint Ferréol et Saint Fargeau

Diocèse de Besançon

Santi Ferreolo e Ferruccio
from ''Santi Beati'' {{authority control Sibling duos 3rd-century Christian martyrs Gallo-Roman saints 212 deaths Year of birth unknown Christianity in Besançon