Aurea of Ostia

Saint Aurea of Ostia

Santa Aurea church.
Martyr
Died mid-3rd century
Ostia, Roman Empire
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church
Major shrine Cathedral of Santa Aurea
Feast August 24;[1] May 20[2]
Attributes depicted as she is thrown into the sea with a millstone around her neck[1]
Patronage Ostia, Italy

Saint Aurea of Ostia (or Aura; in Greek, Chryse; both names mean “golden girl”) is venerated as the patron saint of Ostia.[3] According to one scholar, “[a]lthough the acta of Saint Aurea are pious fiction, she was a genuine martyr with a very early cultus at Ostia.”[1]

According to tradition, she was martyred sometime during the mid-third century, either during the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius Gothicus or Trebonianus Gallus.[3] Said to have been of royal or noble blood,[3] Aurea was exiled from Rome to Ostia because she was a Christian.[3] In Ostia, she lived on an estate outside of the city walls and maintained contact with local Christians, including the bishop of Ostia, Cyriacus (Quiriacus).[3]

Miracles associated with Aurea while she was in Ostia relate how a Christian prisoner named Censorinus had his chains miraculously loosened after he had been comforted by Aurea.[3] Seventeen soldiers[4] converted to Christianity as a result of this miracle, and were later beheaded near Ostia's Arch of Caracalla.[3] Another legend states that Aurea and her friends also brought back to life the dead son of a shoemaker.[3] Ulpius Romulus executed Aurea’s friends and tortured Aurea. When she refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods, she was thrown into the sea with a stone tied around her neck.[3]

Veneration

According to tradition, Aurea was buried on her estate in Ostia.[3] The church of Santa Aurea grew around her tomb. The church was rebuilt in the 15th century. A fragment of a Christian inscription that refers to Aurea was rediscovered near Santa Aurea in 1981 and later relocated to the castle of Ostia.[3] It reads: CHRYSE HIC DORM[IT] ("Chryse sleeps here"). "It may be her original funerary inscription," one scholar states, "but it may also have been added later to the tomb."[3] A marble column from perhaps the 5th century[3] was discovered in 1950 near the same church. It reads S.AVR.[3]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "St. Patrick Catholic Church Saint of the Day". St. Patrick Catholic Church. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Santa Aurea di Ostia". Santi e beati. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 "Church of Sant'Aurea". Ostia-Antica.org. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  4. ↑ Their names are given as Felix, Maximus, Taurinus, Herculanus, Nevinus, Historacinus, Menna, Commodius, Hermis, Maurus, Eusebius, Rusticus, Monaxius, Armandinus, Olympius, Eipros and Theodorus in the Acta

External links