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The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity


from its origins to circa AD 700, across the entire Christian world


Name

Iohannes and Paulus, brothers and eunuchs, martyrs of Rome under the emperor Julian

Saint ID

S00384

Number in BH

BHL 3236-3242

Reported Death Not Before

361

Reported Death Not After

363

Gender
Male
Type of Saint
Martyrs, Eunuchs, Groups and pairs of saints
Related Evidence Records
IDTitle
E00259The Notitia ecclesiarum urbis Romae, a guide to saints' graves around Rome, lists that of *Iohannes and Paulus (brothers and eunuchs, martyrs of Rome under the emperor Julian, S00384) in their basilica on the Caelian Hill. Written in Latin in Rome, 625/649.
E00367Gregory of Tours writes the Glory of the Martyrs (Liber in Gloria Martyrum), in Latin in Tours (north-west Gaul), 580/594. Overview entry.
E00626Gregory of Tours, in his Glory of the Martyrs (82), tells of a miracle through relics obtained in Rome by his deacon: the ship carrying the deacon to Marseille was saved from shipwreck when he lifted up the relics and invoked their saints by name; Gregory lists the relics as of unnamed *Apostles (S00084), *Paul (the Apostle, S00008), *Laurence (deacon and martyr of Rome, S00037), *Chrysanthus and Daria (chaste couple and martyrs of Rome, S00306), and *Iohannes and Paulus (brothers and eunuchs, martyrs of Rome under the emperor Julian, S00384). Written in Latin in Tours (north-west Gaul), 580/594.
E01345The Liber Pontificalis, written in Latin in Rome in the 530s, and re-edited before 546, in its account of *Symmachus (bishop and confessor of Rome, ob. 514, S00793), mentions the ordination of his rival, Laurentius, in the church of *Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033); the murder of priests of the churches of *Peter (the Apostle, S00036), called 'in chains', and of *Iohannes and Paulus (brothers and eunuchs, martyrs of Rome under the emperor Julian, S00384); and the burial of Symmachus at St Peter's basilica on 19 July [AD 514]; all in Rome. In the second edition, Symmachus is described as a 'confessor', one who suffered for his faith.
E01350The second edition of the Liber Pontificalis, written in Latin in Rome between the 530s and 546, in its account of *Symmachus (bishop and confessor of Rome, ob. 514, S00793), lists his building works at, and donations to, the churches of various saints in Rome and its region during his episcopate (498-514).
E01364The short Life of *Agapitus (bishop of Rome, ob. 536, S00811) in the Liber Pontificalis, written in Latin in Rome soon after his death, mentions Agapitus' father, a presbyter of the church in Rome of *Iohannes and Paulus (brothers and eunuchs, martyrs of Rome under the emperor Julian, S00384); it concludes with Agapitus' death in Constantinople, the transfer of his body back to Rome, and its burial at the church of *Peter (the Apostle, S00036), on 20 September [AD 536].
E02397Gregory of Tours, in his Histories (10.1), quotes in full the instructions of Pope Gregory the Great in 590 to the people of Rome, then suffering the plague, for a sevenfold litany (septiformis letania), with seven supplicatory processions through the city to the church of *Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033) [Santa Maria Maggiore], departing from different churches: of *Cosmas/Kosmas and Damianus (brothers, physician martyrs of Syria, S00385); *Gervasius and Protasius (brothers and martyrs of Milan, S00313); *Marcellinus and Petrus (priest and exorcist, martyrs of Rome, S00577); *Iohannes and Paulus (brothers and eunuchs, martyrs of Rome, S00384); *Stephen (the First Martyr, S00030); *Euphemia (martyr of Chalcedon, S00017); *Clemens/Clement, (bishop of Rome, martyr of the Crimea, S00111). Written in Latin in Tours (north-west Gaul), 590/594.
E02503The Latin Martyrdom of *Pigmenius, *Bibiana and Companions (martyrs of Rome under the emperor Julian, S00728 and S01445) narrates Pigmenius' teaching and ordination of *Donatus (bishop and martyr of Arezzo, S01527) and the future emperor Julian; the apostasy of Julian and the persecutions he carries out as emperor. Other martyrs of Rome under Julian are worked into the story: *Priscus, Priscillianus and Benedicta (S01516), *Iohannes and Paulus (brothers and eunuchs, S00384), *Iohannes (martyr buried on the via Salaria, S00514), and, above all, the young girl Bibiana - before the martyrdom and burial of Pigmenius himself. An appendix narrates Julian's death, skinned alive in Persia. Written presumably in Rome, at an uncertain date, probably in the 6th or 7th c.
E02520The Latin Martyrdom of *Gallicanus, Iohannes and Paulus (martyrs of Rome under Julian, S01244 and S00384) is divided into two parts, it first narrates the conversion of the general Gallicanus and his daughters Attica and Artemia, thanks respectively to the eunuchs Iohannes and Paulus and the emperor Constantine’s daughter, Constantia, who was healed from leprosy thanks to her devotion to *Agnes (virgin and martyr of Rome, S00097); Gallicanus’ devotion to *Peter (the Apostle, S00036), his donations to the poor and to the Church, and building of two churches, one dedicated to *Laurence (deacon and martyr of Rome, S00037) in Ostia, where he lives with *Hilarinus (martyr of Ostia, S01518); Gallicanus’ exile in Egypt under Julian and his martyrdom there; the martyrdom and burial of Hilarinus in Ostia. The second part narrates the martyrdom of the eunuch brothers *Iohannes and Paulus (S00384) and their burial in their own house, at the hands of Terentianus and his son, who later convert to Christianity and reveal the story of the saints’ martyrdom. An alternative version, written in the 6th c., adds the martyrdoms of *Crispus, Crispinianus and Benedicta (martyrs of Rome, S01526 and S01516), and of *Terentianus and his son (martyrs of Rome, S01517), all buried by the priests Iohannes and Pimenius in Iohannes and Paulus’ house; it ends with the building of a church in the saints’ house by the senator Vizantius and his son Pammachius. Written presumably in Rome, in the 5th or 6th c.
E04863The 6th/7th c. recension of the Latin Martyrologium Hieronymianum, as transmitted in 8th c. manuscripts, records the feasts of a number of saints on 26 June.
E05090Latin epitaph, partly composed in verse, for a cleric of the church of *Iohannes and Paulus (brothers and eunuchs, martyrs of Rome under Julian, 361/363, S00384), buried in the crypt of the church of *Sebastianus (martyr of Rome, S00400) at the cemetery ‘ad Catacumbas,’ via Appia, Rome. Dated 535.
E05100Latin epitaph for a reader of the titulus-church of *Iohannes and Paulus (brothers and eunuchs, martyrs of Rome under Julian, S00384). Found in the church of S. Sesbastiano/Basilica Apostolorum at the Cemetery 'ad Catacumbas', via Appia, Rome. Dated 567.
E05575Bede, in his Martyrology, records the feast on 26 June at Rome of *Iohannes and Paulus (martyrs of Rome under the emperor Julian, S00384). Written in Latin at Wearmouth-Jarrow (north-east Britain), 725/731.
E05856The Calendar of Willibrord, in its earliest version, records the feasts of various saints in June. Written in Latin at Echternach, Frisia (north-east Gaul), 703/710.
E06042Pope Vitalianus, in a letter to Oswiu, king of the Northumbrians (northern Britain), states that he is sending him and his wife relics of *Peter (the Apostle, S00036), *Paul (the Apostle, S00088), *Iohannes and Paulus (martyrs of Rome, S00384), *Gregory ('the Great,' bishop of Rome, ob. 604, S00838), and *Pancratius (martyr of Rome, S00307). Written in Latin at Rome, 666/8; recorded by Bede, writing at Wearmouth-Jarrow (north-east Britain), 731.
E06046Mosaics in the nave of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna (northern Italy) depicting twenty-two female saints, preceded by the three Magi, processing towards the Virgin and Child, and twenty-six male saints, probably originally preceded by *Stephen (the First Martyr, S00030), processing towards Christ; created under Bishop Agnellus, 557/570.
E06362The decrees of a synod held by Pope Gregory the Great in 595 in St Peter’s basilica, Rome, are subscribed by presbyters from many of the city's titular churches, all dedicated to saints (Register 5.57a). Written in Latin in Rome.
E06377Gregory the Great in a papal letter (Register 8.5) of 597, to Venantius, bishop of Luna, gives orders for the provisioning of a new female monastery within his city, dedicated to *Peter (the Apostle, S00036), *Iohannes and Paulus (brothers and eunuchs, martyrs of Rome, S00384), *Hermes (martyr of Rome, buried on the via Salaria vetus, S00404) and *Sebastianus (martyr of Rome, S05110); and for the consecration of the monastery's oratory in the countryside nearby; all at Luna (northern Italy). Written in Latin in Rome.
E06417A document of Pope Gregory the Great (Register 11.15), of AD 600, grants Probus, abbot of the monastery of *Andrew (the apostle, S00288) and *Lucia (virgin and martyr of Syracuse, S00846) in Rome, the right to make a will, in front of witnesses, many of them priests of the titular churches of Rome. Written in Latin in Rome.
E06449Gregory the Great in a document of 603 (Register, Appendix 9) issues instructions for a sevenfold litany (septiformis letania), with seven supplicatory processions through Rome to the church of *Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033) [Santa Maria Maggiore], seeking the end of an unspecified scourge from God; the processions are to leave from the following churches: of *John (the Baptist, S00020); *Marcellus (bishop and martyr of Rome, S00529); *Iohannes and Paulus (brothers and eunuchs, martyrs of Rome, S00384); *Cosmas/Kosmas and Damianus (brothers, physician martyrs of Syria, S00385); *Stephen (the First Martyr, S00030); *Vitalis (soldier and martyr of Ravenna, S02826); *Caecilia (virgin and martyr of Rome, S00146). Written in Latin in Rome.
E06586The Latin Gelasian Sacramentary (or Liber Sacramentorum Romanae Ecclesiae), probably compiled around 750 near Paris using earlier material from Rome, records prayers to saints on their feast days in June.
E06788Latin papyrus preserved in Monza (northern Italy) listing the 'oils of the holy martyrs who in body rest in Rome' brought from Rome for Theodelinda, queen of the Lombards, naming many Roman saints. Written at Monza or Rome, 590/604; preserved in its original copy.
E07897The Itinerarium Malmesburiense, a guide to saints' graves around and within Rome, lists those buried inside the city. Written in Latin in Rome, 642/683.
E08222The Gothic Missal compiles liturgical texts for the celebration of saints' feasts throughout the year. Written in Latin in Gaul, perhaps at Luxeuil for the Christian community of Autun, c. 680/710. Overview entry.
E08246The Gothic Missal includes prayers for the celebration of mass on the feast day of *Iohannes and Paulus (brothers and eunuchs, martyrs of Rome under the emperor Julian, S00384). Written in Latin in Gaul, perhaps at Luxeuil for the Christian community of Autun, c. 680/710.
E0831535 relic labels at Sens (northern Gaul), datable by their script to the 7th or 8th c., for relics of a great diversity of saints. Written in Latin, perhaps at Sens, or at an earlier stage in their transmission.
E08349Venantius Fortunatus writes the Life of *Martin (ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397, S00050). It is an adaptation in epic verse of the Life of Martin and of books 2 and 3 of the Dialogues of Sulpicius Severus; in a final envoi, the book travels from Poitiers to Fortunatus' home city of Ravenna, stopping at the shrines of many saints along the way. Written in Latin, in Poitiers (western Gaul), between 573 and 576. Overview entry.
E08483Venantius Fortunatus, in his verse Life of Martin (4.686-701), sends his book to a shrine of *Martin (ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397, S00050) in the church of *Iohannes and Paulus (brothers and eunuchs, martyrs in Rome under Julian 00384) in Ravenna (northern Italy), where there was an image of Martin and a lamp burning by it; many years earlier Fortunatus' eyes had been cured with oil from this lamp. Written in Latin in Poitiers (north-west Gaul), 573/576.