Anastasia | |
|---|---|
 ModernOrthodox Christian icon of Saint Anastasia the Holy Great-Martyr | |
| Virgin andmartyr | |
| Born | 281 AD Rome |
| Died | 25 December 304 AD Pannonia Secunda (modernSerbia) orPalmaria |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church Oriental Orthodox Churches Eastern Catholic Churches Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Canonized | Pre-Congregation |
| Majorshrine | Cathedral of St. Anastasia, Zadar |
| Feast | 25 December (Catholic) 22 December (Greek Orthodox) 28 September (Syriac Orthodox)[1] |
| Patronage | Pharmacists,Doctors,apothecaries,healers |
Saint Anastasia (died 25 December 304 AD) is a Christiansaint andmartyr who died atSirmium in the Roman province ofPannonia Secunda (modernSerbia).[2] In theEastern Orthodox Church, she is venerated asSt. Anastasia the Pharmakolytria, i.e. "Deliverer from Potions" (Ἁγία Ἀναστασία ἡ Φαρμακολύτρια).[3] This epithet is also translated as "One who Cures (Wounds)" inLampe'sA Patristic Greek Lexicon.[4]
Concerning Anastasia, little is reliably known, save that she died in thepersecutions of Diocletian;[5] most stories about her date from several centuries after her death and make her variously aRoman or Sirmian native and aRoman citizen ofpatrician rank. One legend makes her the daughter of a certain Praetextatus and the pupil ofSaint Chrysogonus.Catholic tradition states that her mother wasSt. Fausta of Sirmium.
Anastasia has long been venerated as a healer andexorcist.
She is one of seven virgins and martyrs who, along withBlessed Virgin Mary, are commemorated by name in the RomanCanon of the Mass.[6]
Before the liturgical reforms of the twentieth century, this martyr enjoyed the distinction, unique in the Roman liturgy, of having a special commemoration in the secondMass onChristmas Day. This daytime Mass was originally celebrated not in honour of Christ's birth but rather in commemorating this martyr, and towards the end of the 5th century, her name was also inserted in theRoman Canon.
A "Passio" not earlier than the 6th century, gives a legendary account that makes Anastasia a Roman without claiming that she suffered martyrdom in Rome. The same legend connects her name with that ofSt. Chrysogonus, put to death inAquileia, though theSan Crisogono church in Rome is dedicated to him.
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The legend makes Anastasia the daughter of Praetextatus, a Romanvir illustris, and affirms that she had Chrysogonus as a teacher. Early in the persecution ofDiocletian, the Emperor summoned Chrysogonus to Aquileia where he suffered martyrdom. Anastasia, having gone from Aquileia to Sirmium to visit the faithful of that place, wasbeheaded on the island ofPalmaria, 25 December. Her body was interred in the house of Apollonia, which had been converted into abasilica.
The whole account is purely legendary and rests on no historical foundations. All that is certain is that a martyr named Anastasia gave her life for the faith in Sirmium and that her memory was kept in that city. In Rome, a church in ancient times bore the name of a certain Anastasia and is listed under the nameTitulus Anastasia in the acts of the 499 Roman synods. At some point in history, this church came to be seen as dedicated to this martyr of the same name. It has the rank of abasilica and is one of thetitularchurches of Rome assigned to acardinal-priest.
Thebasilica ofSant'Anastasia al Palatino inRome was built in the late 3rd century – early 4th century, possibly by a Roman woman named Anastasia. Later the church was entitled to the martyr with the same name, Anastasia of Sirmium.
TheMartyrologium Hieronymianum[7] records her name on 25 December, not for Sirmium alone, but also forConstantinople, a circumstance based on a separate story. According toTheodorus Lector,[8] during the patriarchate ofGennadius (458-471) the body of the martyr was transferred to Constantinople and interred in a church which had hitherto been known as "Anastasis" (Gr.Anastasis, Resurrection); thenceforth the church took the name of Anastasia.
Similarly, veneration of St. Anastasia was introduced into Rome from Sirmium by means of an already existing church. As this church was already quite famous, it brought thefeast day of the saint into especial prominence. There existed in Rome from the 4th century, at the foot of thePalatine Hill and above theCircus Maximus, a church which had been adorned byPope Damasus (366-384) with a large mosaic. It was known as "titulus Anastasiae", and is mentioned as such in the Acts of the Roman Council of 499. There is some uncertainty as to the origin of this name; either the church owes its foundation to and was named after a Roman matron Anastasia, as in the case of several other titular churches of Rome (Duchesne), or it was originally an "Anastasis" church (dedicated to theResurrection of Christ), such as existed already at Ravenna and Constantinople; from the word "Anastasis" came eventually the name "titulus Anastasiae" (Grisar). Whatever way this happened, the church was an especially prominent one from the 4th to the 6th century, being the only titular church in the centre of ancient Rome and surrounded by the monuments of the city's pagan past.[citation needed]
Within its jurisdiction was the Palatine where the imperial court was located. Since the veneration of the Sirmian martyr, Anastasia, received a new impetus in Constantinople during the second half of the 5th century, it can be inferred that the intimate contemporary relations between Old and New Rome brought about an increase in devotion to St. Anastasia at the foot of the Palatine.[citation needed]
At all events, the insertion of her name into the RomanCanon of the Mass towards the end of the 5th century show that she then occupied a unique position among the saints publicly venerated at Rome. Thenceforth, thechurch on the Palatine is known as "titulus sanctae Anastasiae" and the martyr of Sirmium became the titular saint of the old 4th-century basilica. Evidently because of its position as titular church of the district (including the imperial dwellings on the Palatine), this church long maintained an eminent rank among the churches of Rome; only two churches preceded it in honour:St. John Lateran, themother church of Rome and seat of the Pope, andSanta Maria Maggiore. This ancient sanctuary stands today quite isolated amid the ruins of Rome.[citation needed]
Commemoration of St. Anastasia occurs liturgically in the second Mass onChristmas Day, and is the last remnant of the former prominence enjoyed by this saint and her church in the life of Christian Rome.[citation needed]
According to tradition,St. Donatus of Zadar brought Anastasia's relics toZadar,Croatia fromConstantinople, when he was there with the Venetian duke Beato. They had been ordered byCharlemagne tonegotiate the border between theByzantine Empire and theCroatian territories that were under the dominion of Charlemagne'sFrankish Empire. Herrelics lie in theCathedral of St. Anastasia in Zadar. In 1976, part of her relics were translated from Zadar to theCathedral Basilica of St. Demetrius, inSremska Mitrovica (Sirmium),Serbia and are kept in a reliquary in front of the main altar.[9] Relics of the saint are also enshrined atBenediktbeuern Abbey inBenediktbeuern,Bavaria,Germany.[10]
The Orthodox Church venerates St. Anastasia as aGreat Martyr, usually referring to her as "Anastasia the Deliverer from Potions", "Anastasia the Healer" or "Anastasia of Sirmium". She is often given theepithets "Deliverer from Bonds" and "Deliverer from Potions" because herintercessions are credited with the protection of the faithful from poison and other harmful substances.[11] Herfeast day is celebrated on 22 December on theEastern Orthodox (and Byzantine Catholic) Church calendar. According to theSynaxarion, she was the daughter of Praepextatus (a pagan) and Fausta (a Christian).
In the 5th century, the relics of St Anastasia were transferred toConstantinople, where a church was built and dedicated to her. Later, the relics, including her skull, were transferred to theMonastery of St. Anastasia the Pharmokolitria, Chalkidiki of Greece, nearMount Athos. In 2012, the relics were stolen and have not been recovered.[12]
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