Marcellinus and Peter

Peter, also surnamed Peter Martyr, and Marcellinus († 299 or 304 in Rome) were early Christian martyrs who suffered martyrdom in the persecution of Christians under the emperor Diocletian. In the Roman Catholic Church they are venerated as saints.

The surviving Biography

Peter and Marcellinus was thrown around the year 299 or 304 during the persecution under the Emperor Diocletian in the dungeon because they would not renounce their faith. According to tradition, the exorcist Peter and the priest Marcellinus repented inmates to the Christian faith and baptized them in secret. When the guards found out that in prison, Peter and Marcellinus were tortured and beheaded at Rome after the Black Forest ( Sylva nigra).

According to tradition, two pious women, Lucillia and Firmina were instructed in a dream trying to recover the bodies of those executed. The funeral was held on June 2.

History of relic

The funeral of the two saints is mentioned in the Martyrology Hieronymianum; from this source comes the information that Marcellinus was a priest. The third milestone on the Via Labicana there is presented as a burial place. From the discovered in the catacomb local graffiti and a large fresco, one can conclude that the tomb of the saint was an important pilgrimage destination in the 4th and 5th centuries. Pope Damasus I dedicated them a grave inscription. Emperor Constantine built a great basilica over the Catacombs; grown in the mausoleum his mother, Saint Helen was buried.

The relics of Saints Marcellinus and Peter were stolen by Einhard 827 in Rome, first by Michel city, brought to the Hessian upper Mülheim later. This then was named Blessed city.

A later translation of relics is occupied for the year 1253, when Pope Alexander IV relics moved into a Roman church at the present Via Merulana, dedicated to the two martyrs. Peter and Marcellinus are usually represented with the attributes martyr's palm, sword, cross, or book.

Anniversaries

June 2 is in the Catholic Church (not offered ) commemoration of Sts. Peter and Marcellinus. In Mainz, the transfer of the remains of both saint is commemorated on 20 October. Peter Martyr is patron of the Jesuits, the inquisitors, Dominicans and have recently given birth.