ON ST. SERONIUS OR SERRONIUS, MARTYR,
AT SAINTES IN GAUL.
Perhaps in the third century.
Sylloge on his Cultus and Age.
Seronius or Serronius, martyr, at Saintes in Gaul (St.)
G. C.
André du Saussay announces the memory of this holy Martyr, whom Castellan in the vernacular calls Siroine, The ancient cultus of this Martyr is gathered and the most recent editors of Gallia Christiana call Saloine, in his Gallican Martyrology at the XX day of August, in these words: At the city of Saintes, the birthday of holy Seronius the martyr, there slain for the glory of Christ under the storms of the heathen Cæsars; at whose heap of testimony, when the peace of the Church had at length been granted by a gift from above, a church with a monastery was built by the faithful, to which Charlemagne, when he had at some time turned aside, read through his deeds, and found and venerated him as crowned with martyrdom for the faith of Christ, and as shining with miracles in life and in death. Would that those deeds, which Charlemagne is said to have read through, had come down to our age or to our knowledge! Since therefore the Acts of St. Seronius are wanting to us, we shall try to confirm his immemorial cultus.
[2] Claude Castellan, who in admitting Saints of unknown or doubtful veneration is generally wont to be cautious, from a church dedicated to him, in his Universal Martyrology today commemorates the same holy Martyr. To him is added the Parisian Martyrology published in the year 1727, which on the same XX day of August has thus: At Saintes, holy Seronius the martyr. To these announcements the collectors of Gallia Christiana add no small weight, who in the most recent edition of that Work, volume 2, column [ ], write the following concerning the ancient cultus of this holy Martyr: Formerly, not far from this monastery (namely that of St. Peter, of which they had treated above) there was a church and an adjoining monastery dedicated to holy Seronius (S. Saloine), a martyr of Saintes, in the times of Charlemagne, who, we read, came thither for the sake of prayer while he stayed at Saintes. I could wish that the editors of Gallia Christiana had assigned those monuments in which they had read these things, and that we too could have consulted them. Nevertheless, on account of the testimony of such men, we readily believe that this indication of ancient veneration is found in ancient monuments, and therefore we by no means doubt of the lawful cultus of St. Seronius.
[3] and his age from conjecture. But we are altogether ignorant why in the Parisian Martyrology just praised the age or martyrdom of this Saint is fixed in the third century: for since in the Gallican Martyrology of du Saussay it is only said that he was slain under the storms of the heathen Cæsars, or persecutions, St. Seronius could equally have obtained the laurel of martyrdom in the second century, or at the beginning of the fourth, as in the third. Since nevertheless we judge that that time was not altogether rashly indicated, at the beginning of this sylloge we referred his martyrdom doubtfully, by the adverb perhaps, to the third century. Meanwhile we shall gladly await more certain documents of this matter, and for want of further knowledge we shall now put an end to this compendious commentary.