CONCERNING SAINT MARCIANUS, BISHOP AND MARTYR, AT DERTONA IN LIGURIA,
ABOUT THE YEAR 120.
HISTORICAL COMMENTARY.
Marcianus, Martyr, Bishop of Dertona in Liguria (Saint)
[1] Dertona, an ancient city of Liguria, near the river Iria, an episcopal see under the archbishopric and present-day duchy of the Milanese metropolis, roughly equidistant from Milan and Genoa, venerates as its principal patron Saint Marcianus, its first bishop and martyr. The more ancient manuscript martyrologies assign him to the sixth day before the Kalends of April; namely, two different ones from the most sacred monastery of Monte Cassino, Sacred feast on March 27 written in Lombard script; likewise two Roman ones, the one Vatican, belonging to the church of Saint Peter, the other from the Duke of Altemps; to which may be added the Trier martyrology of the church of Saint Martin -- all in few words, and he is generally called by the designation "Birthday of Saint Marcianus, Bishop and Martyr." In the Utrecht manuscript of the church of the Blessed Mary, and in the fourth Capuan Calendar published by the monk Michael in the Sanctuarium of that city, he is written as Martinianus. There are also the printed martyrologies of Maurolycus and Canisius, as well as those of Hermann Greven and Molanus in the additions to Usuard. Ferrarius also in the General Catalogue and another work on the Saints of Italy, who asserts that his feast day is celebrated by the Church of Dertona on this day. The Acts of Saint Marcianus and of Saint Secundus, Martyr of Asti, which we shall discuss shortly, agree: in which it is repeatedly stated that the body of Saint Marcianus was buried by Saint Secundus on the sixth day before the Kalends of April.
[2] Meanwhile, others assign Saint Marcianus to the sixth day of March, following the lead of Petrus de Natalibus in the Catalogue, book 3, chapter 179, who asserts that he received the death sentence from Sapricius and that Secundus, seizing his body, buried it on the second day before the Nones of March. And on March 6 Maurolycus and Felicius followed with these words: "At Dertona, the passion of Blessed Marcianus, Bishop, under the Emperor Hadrian and the Prefect Sapricius." Hermann Greven, Canisius, and Witford copied somewhat more from Petrus de Natalibus. Galesin at March 27 had only this: "At Dertona, of Saint Marcianus, Bishop, concerning whom see the day before the Nones." And on that day he writes thus: "At Dertona, of Saint Marcianus, Bishop and Martyr, who was slain and crowned for the glory of Christ under the Emperor Caesar Trajan." He notes that Dertona had as its first bishop Saint Marcianus in the year of the Lord 120, under Pope Evaristus, the Emperor Trajan, and the consuls Clarus and Alexander. In that year Saint Evaristus was governing the Church of God; but since Trajan died on the fourth day before the Ides of August in the year 117, in Cilicia, Aelius Hadrian was ruling the Roman Empire, under whom the ancient Acts report that he was crowned with martyrdom. But the consuls cited are not found in the more correct Fasti. However, because the persecution stirred up by Trajan against the Christians was continued for some time by Hadrian, even Saints Faustinus and Jovita are said to have been "bound during the raging persecution of Trajan" in the Readings of the Ecclesiastical Office, although they were arrested and imprisoned under Hadrian, as is clear from their various Acts, which we treated on the fifteenth of February. In this way, therefore, Galesin can be interpreted, as also the tables of the present-day Roman Martyrology, Also in the Roman Martyrology. in which the following, drawn almost entirely from Galesin, is read: "At Dertona, of Saint Marcianus, Bishop and Martyr, who was slain and crowned for the glory of Christ under Trajan."
[3] During our Roman journey, as we were proceeding from Genoa to Milan, we stopped at Dertona, and from there traveled to Pavia. We conferred with the Most Illustrious Lord Carlo Settala, Bishop of Dertona, who was then residing there by apostolic delegation for the cause of the beatification of Bernardino of Feltre, and who, out of his kindness and devotion to the Patron Saints, afterward had the ancient records of Dertona examined by the distinguished Master Giovanni Battista Chapuis, Canon Theologian of the Cathedral of Dertona, and the principal documents forwarded to us. From these it is clear that the feast day of Saint Marcianus was formerly observed and celebrated on March 27; but that it is now celebrated on March 6, And from the present usage of the Church of Dertona: as stated in the Roman Martyrology. In the table of bishops of the sacred Church of Dertona, which is found at the end of the Synod of Dertona held in the year 1659, the following stands in the first place.
[4] "Saint Marcianus, first Bishop of the Church of Dertona, was renowned among all posterity for the praise of his holiness and the crown of martyrdom: that he was led to the light of the true faith by Saint Barnabas and confirmed in the same by Blessed Syrus, Summary of his Life from the Acts of the Synod of Dertona: the first Bishop of the people of Pavia, is no slight conjecture. Under the Emperor Hadrian and Sapricius, Prefect of the province of Milan, when he was spreading the Gospel of Christ at Dertona and drawing many disciples to himself, since he could be turned from the duty of an excellent Bishop neither by blandishments nor threats, he was tested with a red-hot plate upon his chest. But being in no way harmed by that fire, he began to rebuke the cruelty of the tyrant. At this Sapricius flew into a rage and ordered that Marcianus be beheaded. Therefore, as he was girding himself on his knees for the contest to win triumph over the tyrant, he heard this heavenly voice: 'Marcianus, come to the blessedness prepared for you.' Thus, in the one hundred and twentieth year, on the day before the Nones of March, he received the crown of martyrdom by a precious death. Secundus conducted the funeral and buried the body with the blood: and not long after, he earned the palm of martyrdom for his confession of Christ. He sat in the episcopate for about forty-four years. His body, which lay hidden for a long time, was found -- not without a miracle -- by Saint Innocentius, who succeeded him in the see of Dertona. Moreover, the blood was still fresh; and the body likewise was intact and uncorrupted. The church bearing the name of Saint Marcianus, entrusted to Benedictine monks, now stands as a temple in which the sons of Saint Dominic administer the sacred rites. Each year, on the recurrence of his death day, the Bishop with the entire clergy and solemn procession goes in supplication to that same church and carries the sacred relics, which are preserved with great reverence and devotion in the principal church." So much for that. Of the aforementioned saints, Barnabas is venerated on June 11, Syrus on December 9, Saint Secundus on March 30, and Innocentius on April 17. The latter is reckoned the eleventh Bishop of Dertona and lived more than two hundred years after the death of Saint Marcianus. Furthermore, proof of the life now briefly related is adduced from an ancient manuscript antiphonary of the cathedral choir, in which the following antiphons are recorded, which we append here.
[5] Others from the manuscript antiphonary: I. "When Secundus entered the city of Dertona with Sapricius, Blessed Marcianus met him and said: 'Enter, Secundus, the way of truth, and you shall receive the palm of faith.'" II. "Sapricius answered: 'Who is this man who says such things?' And seeing his faith and constancy, he placed him in custody, and there he was blessing the Lord." III. "On the following day, Blessed Marcianus was led before Sapricius, and he said to him: 'Who is this God whom you worship?' He answered and said: 'From my infancy I worship God, who is in heaven.'" IV. "Blessed Marcianus stood unharmed in the sight of the people, and looking up to heaven, he said: 'Lord, deliver my soul from wicked lips and from a deceitful tongue.'" V. "Marcianus the Bishop said to Sapricius: 'I sacrifice to my God a sacrifice of praise with all the saints who serve him.'" At the Gospel: "Blessed Marcianus was led outside the city, and with a cheerful countenance he entreated the Lord, saying: 'You, Lord, will preserve me and guard my soul from my enemies.' And a voice came from heaven, saying: 'Come, Marcianus, to the dwelling prepared for you.'" It was also indicated that similar things are contained in the Responsories.
[6] All the Acts of the passion of Saint Marcianus that now exist, whether found in Mombritius, Other Acts of the Passion and Discovery of the body. or in Petrus de Natalibus or others, are drawn
are drawn from the Acts of Saint Secundus, Martyr of Asti, which we give below this month; from which, the matters pertaining to Saint Marcianus have for the most part already been related. For this reason we also omit those things that had been submitted by Philippus Malabayla, Visitor General of the Congregation of Reformed Bernardines in Italy. We add only the history of the discovery of his body from an ancient manuscript codex of the monastery of Saint Marcianus, published by Ferdinando Ughelli in volume 4 of Italia Sacra under the Bishops of Dertona. The solemnity of the discovery is inscribed in Ferrarius's General Catalogue at October 20, the date on which it occurred.
[7] Tamaius Salazar launches a certain war against the people of Dertona, opening his Hispanic Martyrology at March 6 thus: "At Dertosa among the Ilercaones of Hither Spain, Saint Marcianus, Bishop, Saints Secundus and Marcianus wrongly ascribed to Spain. who, variously tortured in the persecution of Trajan, at last sent forth his unconquered spirit to heaven with the martyr's laurel." Tamaius draws his sole arrow from the recently contrived Chronicle under the name of Julian Perez, Archpriest of Toledo, in which, at number 64, the following is reported: "At Aste in Hispanic Baetica, Saint Secundus, Martyr of Christ. In the same year (156, indicated above), at Dertosa among the Ilercaones, Saint Marcianus, Bishop there and Martyr." When this work is reprinted, even Milan and Brescia ought to be placed in Spain -- at least with their names twisted -- where Saints Faustinus and Jovita, brothers (about whom more presently in the Acts), suffered martyrdom. We shall treat Saint Secundus in due course. But how is Saint Marcianus said to have been slain in the year of Christ 156 during the persecution of Trajan? At length Tamaius judges that the codex of Julian should be corrected thus: "On the same day, at Dertona in Liguria, Saint Marcianus, Bishop there (he had said above, in Spain) and Martyr, is venerated: because in the Breviaries of various Churches of Spain his veneration is found, with the reading drawn from Petrus de Natalibus." Concerning the martyrdom of Saint Marcianus, Bishop of Dertona, and certain of his deeds attributed to Saint Marcianus, Bishop of Ravenna, the matter was treated above among those Passed Over, and is to be treated more fully on May 12, when the latter is venerated.
HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY
From a manuscript of Dertona, published by Ughelli.
Marcianus, Martyr, Bishop of Dertona in Liguria (Saint)
BHL Number: 5263
[1] The day on which the body of the holy Confessor and Martyr Marcianus was found through angelic revelation is to be venerated and celebrated by us with the highest devotion. History relates that he suffered in the time of the Emperor Hadrian, and that his body was discovered under Constantine the Great Augustus by Blessed Innocentius the Confessor. But, as is found in the annals of many chronicles, from the time of Hadrian to the time of Constantine one hundred and seventy-two years are counted, that is, from the reign of the former to the beginning of the latter. The aforementioned Confessor Innocentius, fleeing the persecution of the pagans from the city of Dertona, Saint Innocentius, Bishop of Dertona, went to Rome and stayed first with Bishop Melchiades, then with Saint Sylvester, until the Emperor Constantine, abandoning the worship of idols, became a Christian. Thus, at the suggestion of Saint Sylvester, he received from the holy Emperor Constantine the governance of the Church of Dertona, and from that same Pope the episcopal blessing; and returning to Dertona, desires to find the tomb of Saint Marcianus: while reading the Acts and struggles of the holy Martyr Marcianus, he frequently implored the Lord in prayer that He would deign to reveal to him his burial place.
[2] But at a certain time, while Blessed James the Presbyter was keeping watch in his stead in the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, it was said to him in a vision by an angel: "Come, I shall show you the tomb of the Confessor and Martyr Marcianus." And the angel led him outside the gate of the city and showed him the place, saying: "Go and tell Bishop Innocentius: behold the place where the body of Bishop Marcianus is laid." The holy priest, aroused from sleep, a revelation having been made to the Presbyter, went immediately to Saint Innocentius to report everything he had seen in his dream. Then, after the morning Office had been completed, Blessed Innocentius announced to the priests, the entire clergy, and the people what had been reported by the venerable presbyter. Assembling together and singing psalms, they came to the place that the angel had shown to the priest. And over the tomb they found a very dense elder tree. Then Blessed Innocentius, having summoned the deacons Celsus and Gaudentius, they reached the bricks with which the tomb was covered, where the precious gem lay hidden in a refuse heap. Moreover, they found these words written on one of the bricks: he finds the body "Here rests the body of Marcianus, Bishop and Martyr." Then, having convened the priests, clergy, and people together, with psalms and hymns they came to the place and, opening the tomb, they found his body, together with a glass vessel full of his blood, and also the sponge with which Blessed Secundus, the renowned Martyr, had collected his blood and placed it beside the body. For Secundus himself, when Marcianus suffered, was present at his martyrdom, and buried his body; and on account of this, through the agony of martyrdom, on the third day he obtained the everlasting palm. With blood, flesh, and sinews incorrupt. The blood of the aforementioned Martyr was found still fresh, as if his head had been cut off at that very time. The flesh, all the bones, and the sinews holding the frame of limbs together -- all the bystanders saw them. Let no Christian think this incredible, if the Lord permitted the bodies of his saints to remain intact through the course of so many years, until they were found by the faithful. For we believe the Lord did this so that the hearts of men who did not yet believe in Christ, and those who had already been converted to the faith but were not yet firm in it, upon seeing this miracle would be more firmly converted, and once converted would persevere most steadfastly in the faith of the Holy Trinity. And so the Lord, when he preached harsh things to his disciples about the affliction of death, soon added the consolation of the joy of resurrection, when he added: "Not a hair of your head shall perish" Luke 21:18. For if in the saints even what is least cannot perish, it is no wonder that what is great can endure for a long time. And those whose life was free from the defilement of sins -- why should anyone doubt that their bodies could remain in the tomb enduring without the corruption of decay? When the tomb was opened, so great a fragrance poured through the nostrils of all exhaling a sweet odor: that it surpassed the sweetness of balsam and the fragrance of all spices.
[3] Then holy Innocentius took the glass vessel with the blood and the sponge with which it had been collected, and left the body of the holy Martyr in the same tomb in which it had first been placed. It is reinterred, renowned for miracles: Having closed the tomb, they inscribed on the stone the same words that had been on the brick. Whoever came who were blind, lame, possessed by a demon, or afflicted with any infirmity whatsoever, through the working of the Holy Spirit and through the merits of the holy Martyr, they immediately obtained full health. Then Saint Innocentius began to build a basilica over the tomb, and they spent the entire space of that year in the construction of the basilica. On the very day of the Discovery, which is the thirteenth before the Kalends of November, the holy Bishop dedicated the church, A church is built. in which place on that same day many of the sick were healed; and healings occur daily through the merit of his holiness. Therefore the Discovery and the dedication are celebrated on the same day. Wherefore, with sincere minds and pure devotion, let us unceasingly frequent the churches of the saints, rendering due praises to Almighty God, and let us humbly beseech with all our hearts that, just as He granted the saints and martyrs the crown of life for the toil of their struggles, so may He deign to bestow upon us the forgiveness of all our sins and graciously grant us the fellowship of the heavenly citizens, through Jesus Christ our Lord: to whom is honor, and glory, and power in the perfect Trinity, through the infinite ages of ages, Amen.