 "Saint Denis" |
Posted on 10/09/2002 4:15:14 PM PDT by Lady In Blue
SAINT DENIS
| "Saint Denis" |
"Saint Denis" On the island in the Seine Denis built a church and provided for a regular solemnization of the Divine service. His fearless and indefatigable preaching of the Gospel led to countless conversions. This aroused the envy, anger and hatred of the heathen priests. They incited the populace against the strangers and importuned the governor Fescenninus Sisinnius to put a stop by force to the new teaching. Denis with his two companions were seized and as they persevered in their faith were beheaded (about 275) after many tortures. Later accounts give a detailed description of the confessors' sufferings. They were scourged, imprisoned, racked, thrown to wild beasts, burnt at the stake, and finally beheaded. Gregory of Tours simply states: "Beatus Dionysius Parisiorum episcopus diversis pro Christi nomine adfectus poenis praesentem vitam gladio immente finivit" (Hist. Franc. I, 30). Their bodies were rescued from the River Seine, the bodies of the three holy martyrs received an honourable burial through the efforts of a pious matron named Catulla and a small shrine was erected over their graves. Later a chapel built over their tomb later became the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Denis. This was later on replaced by a beautiful basilica (egregium templum) which Venantius celebrated in verse (Carm. I, ii). 
"Saint Denis"The Legend of Saint-Denis and an Early History of the Basilica (by AL)
The legend of Saint-Denis, first bishop of Lutetia (Roman Paris), is a complex and controversial tale of a decapitated martyr. A man so imbued with Christian faith and devotion that immediately after his execution he was able to carry his severed head and recite psalms as he made a two-mile journey from Montmartre to his now famous resting place. The primary myth describes him as Denis or Dionysius the Areopagite who converted to Christianity in Athens under the Apostle Paul. Following Paul's death, Pope Clement I sent from Rome a contingent of bishops, including Dionysius and two companions Rusticus and Eleutherius, on a mission to Gaul to convert the pagans. Once in France, the Emperor Domitian persecuted all Christians and Dionysius and his friends were the first to be arrested, tortured and then decapitated on the slopes of Montmartre. Soldiers were ordered to throw the bodies of Rusticus and Eleutherius into the Seine but a noble woman named Catulla easily inebriated the Roman soldiers, stole the bodies and reunited all three men for a proper burial where she erected a small monument in their honor. The monks of Montmartre, in the 7th century, believed their residence to be the true site of his execution but evidence from early texts say it took place in Catulliacum or present day Saint-Denis. There is archeological evidence of a large Roman building and pagan and Christian cemeteries. The strategic location of Saint-Denis on the north road close to Paris and close to the Seine, would have presumably been a good location for a Roman castrum (Crosby7) or guardpost and camp. 'Normally, an execution such as Denis' decapitation would in Roman times take place outside of a city in an armed camp' (Crosby 7).
Saint-Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris, is named as the one who inspired the building of the church in her devotion to the first Parisian martyr. But, it is Dagobert I who is considered the founder of the Saint-Denis
Basilica. He is also responsible for seeding its reputation as the royal abbey. His patronage and generosity to the church in the 7th century allowed for its first major enlargement. Its incarnation as the first Gothic cathedral would come in the 12th century with the influence of Abbot Suger. Before Dagobert's interest, the Merovingian dynasty favored Saint-Germain-des-Pres. A few royal burials took place before his alterations, but after his death the basilica became known as the burial place of kings. 'By the end of the tenth century there were more royal tombs at Saint-Denis than in any other locality' (Crosby 9).
Dagobert also economically invigorated Saint-Denis by establishing the 'Foire de la Saint-Denis' (Crosby 10) in 635 or 636. This fair was very important as it drew foreign merchants to the area and was a precursor for later events like the Saint-Mathias and Lendit fairs. Thus, not only was pilgrimage to Saint-Denis owed to the miraculous legend of its namesake martyr but it was an important commercial center as well.
BTTT on 10-09-04, Feast of St. Denis and his companions
![[statue of Saint Denis]](std03005.jpg "21kb jpg photograph of a statue of Saint Denis by Johann Michael Feichtmayr (1709-1772), Basilika Vierzehnheiligen in Germany, photographer unknown; please do not write to ask about the image")
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This martyr and patron of France is traditionally held to have been the first bishop of Paris. His popularity is due to a series of legends, especially those connecting him with the great abbey church of St. Denis in Paris. He was for a time confused with the writer now called Pseudo-Dionysius.
The best hypothesis contends that Denis was sent to Gaul from Rome in the third century and beheaded in the persecution under Valerius in 258.
According to one of the legends, after he was martyred on Montmartre (literally, "mountain of martyrs") in Paris, he carried his head to a village northeast of the city. St. Genevieve built a basilica over his tomb at the beginning of the sixth century.
Comment:
Quote:Again we have the case of a saint about whom almost nothing is known, yet one whose cult has been a vigorous part of the Church's history for centuries. We can only conclude that the deep impression the saint made on the people of his day must have resulted from a life of unusual holiness. In all such cases, there are two fundamental facts: A great man gave his life for Christ, and the Church has never forgotten him—a human symbol of God's eternal mindfulness.
"Martyrdom is part of the Church's nature since it manifests Christian death in its pure form, as the death of unrestrained faith, which is otherwise hidden in the ambivalence of all human events. Through martyrdom the Church's holiness, instead of remaining purely subjective, achieves by God's grace the visible expression it needs. As early as the second century one who accepted death for the sake of Christian faith or Christian morals was looked on and revered as a 'martus' (witness). The term is scriptural in that Jesus Christ is the 'faithful witness' absolutely (Revelations 1:5; 3:14)" (Karl Rahner, Theological Dictionary).
BTTT of the Optional Memorial of St. Denis and his companions, October 9, 2006!
This martyr and patron of France is traditionally held to have been the first bishop of Paris. His The best hypothesis contends that Denis was sent to Gaul from Rome in the third century and beheaded in the persecution under Valerius in 258.
St. Denis and Companions
Feast Day: October 9, 2007
(d. 258?)
popularity is due to a series of legends, especially those connecting him with the great abbey church of St. Denis in Paris. He was for a time confused with the writer now called Pseudo-Dionysius.
According to one of the legends, after he was martyred on Montmartre (literally, "mountain of martyrs") in Paris, he carried his head to a village northeast of the city. St. Genevieve built a basilica over his tomb at the beginning of the sixth century.
Comment:
Again we have the case of a saint about whom almost nothing is known, yet one whose cult has been a vigorous part of the Church's history for centuries. We can only conclude that the deep impression the saint made on the people of his day must have resulted from a life of unusual holiness. In all such cases, there are two fundamental facts: A great man gave his life for Christ, and the Church has never forgotten him—a human symbol of God's eternal mindfulness.
Quote:
"Martyrdom is part of the Church's nature since it manifests Christian death in its pure form, as the death of unrestrained faith, which is otherwise hidden in the ambivalence of all human events. Through martyrdom the Church's holiness, instead of remaining purely subjective, achieves by God's grace the visible expression it needs. As early as the second century one who accepted death for the sake of Christian faith or Christian morals was looked on and revered as a 'martus' (witness). The term is scriptural in that Jesus Christ is the 'faithful witness' absolutely (Revelations 1:5; 3:14)" (Karl Rahner, Theological Dictionary).
St. Denis was born in Italy. In 250 he was sent to France with six other missionary bishops by Pope Fabian. Denis became the first bishop of Paris. He was beheaded in 258 with the priest Rusticus and the deacon Eleutherius at Catulliacum, now Saint-Denis. One of the many legends about his torture and death was that his body carried his severed head some distance from his execution site. St. Denis is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers who were invoked particularly in the Middle Ages against the Black Plague. See August 8 for more information. Patron: against frenzy; against strife; headaches; against diabolical possession; France; Paris, France.
Symbols: beheaded bishop carrying his head — sometimes a vine growing over his neck; mitered head in his hand or on book; white chasuble; tree or stake; sword; Our Lord with chalice and host.
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