Saints Abdon and Sennen | |
|---|---|
 Saints Abdon and Sennen from a panel painted by Jaume Huguet | |
| Martyrs | |
| Born | 3rd century Persia (modern-dayIran) |
| Died | c. 250 Rome |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church |
| Canonized | Pre-Congregation |
| Feast | 30 July |
| Attributes | Fur tunics;sword; Phrygian caps; two crowns; in a den of lions and bears[1] |
| Patronage | children;[1] invoked for good harvest;[1] burying the dead,coopers,Pescia;Sahagún, León;Calasparra |
Abdon and Sennen, variously written in early calendars andmartyrologiesAbdo, Abdus, andSennes, Sennis, Zennen, are recognized by theCatholic Church andEastern Orthodox Church asChristian martyrs, with a feast day on 30 July.[2] In some places they have been honoured on 20 March, and the first Sunday of May.[3]
Nothing is known historically about Abdon and Sennen, and whether they can be verified. The Roman Martyrology indicates that they were martyred for their faith, and suggests they were buried on 30 July in the Cemetery of Pontianus on theVia Portuensis, outside Rome.[2] Their names were subsequently removed in the twentieth century from the list in theGeneral Roman Calendar, which is commemorated liturgically worldwide,[4] but they may still be celebrated everywhere on their feast day unless in some locality an obligatory celebration is assigned to that day.[5] The rank of their celebration was given as "Simple" in theTridentine calendar and remained such until the classification was changed to that of "Commemoration" in theGeneral Roman Calendar of 1960.
TheirActs, written for the most part prior to the 9th century, describe them asPersian nobles, captured and taken to Rome during a military campaign in the third century. There they became slaves, converted to Christianity and helped bury the Christian dead. They came to the attention of EmperorDecius who had them taken in chains before the Roman Senate, where they refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods, and so were dismembered by gladiators in theColosseum[1][6] approximately in the year 250. TheActs certainly contain several fictitious statements about the cause, the circumstances of their coming to Rome and the nature of their torments. They relate that their bodies were buried by a subdeacon, "Quirinus", and later transferred in the reign ofConstantine the Great (reigned 306–337) to the Cemetery of Pontianus on the road to Porto, near the gates of Rome.
Afresco found on a sixth centurysarcophagus supposed to contain their remains represents them receiving crowns from Christ. Several cities, notablyFlorence andSoissons, claim possession of their bodies, but theActa Sanctorum insist that they rest in the Basilica ofSan Marco Evangelista al Campidoglio, Rome, having been brought there in 1474. They may have even had their own church in Rome, which has now been lost. The BenedictineAbbey of Sainte-Marie inArles-sur-Tech, France also claims theirtomb.
Abdon and Sennen are patron saints ofCalasparra, inMurcia, Spain. The feasts days celebrated in their honor in this Spanish town date back to the 16th century.[7]
St. Sennen's Church inSennen, Cornwall is in fact dedicated toSaint Sinninus (also known as Saint Senan), a sixth-century Irish bishop.[10]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Sts. Abdon and Sennen".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.