MARTYRED POPES AND BISHOPS OF THE THIRD CENTURY
The third century opened very gloomily for the Christians, who had now become numerous throughout Europe and Asia, for there was scarcely a town or a remote village where some martyr had not fallen a victim to the fury of the heathen. The very fact that the Roman Empire was breaking up led the authorities […]
ST. STEPHEN AND OTHER FIRST-CENTURY MARTYRS
St. Stephen, whose name signifies crowned, is generally supposed to have been of Greek origin, though some claim for him that he was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, of the stock of Abraham. The facts related of him in the Acts of the Apostles are few, but full of pregnant significance. He was the first […]
A GROUP OF FIRST-CENTURY CONVERTS
The eager desire amongst the early Christians to venerate all who were brought into contact with the Master or His immediate followers has led to a multiplication of Saints, all of whom are distinguished by special symbols, giving them a right to a place in any work on Christian art, but about whom very little […]
ST. JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA
An important member of the Jewish Sanhedrim, St. Joseph of Arimathea seems to have been won over to belief in Christ some time before the trial of the great Teacher, for, although he did not openly acknowledge Him, he did his utmost to prevent his colleagues from passing their unjust Judgment. The great tragedy at […]
ST. MATTHEW AND ST. MARK
St. Matthew, whose Greek name means the Gift of Jehovah, and who was called Levi by St. Mark and St. Luke, the new title signifying * associated with,’ was of Hebrew birth, and by profession a publican or tax-gatherer. He is spoken of by St. Mark as the son of Alphaeus, from which some, with […]
THE FOUR EVANGELISTS
Earliest interpreters of a new religion, the four Evangelists, St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, and St. John, occupy of necessity an exceptional position in the history of the Church, and, as a natural consequence, in that of Christian art. The symbols associated with them, some, such as the book, the ink-horn, the pen, or […]
ST. JOSEPH OF NAZARETH
Secular history says but little on the subject of St. Joseph, the reputed father of the Lord, and even the Evangelists, St. Matthew having proved the all-important fact that the husband of the Virgin was a lineal descendant of the royal house of Judah, content themselves with the barest references to him. Meagre as are […]
THE PARENTS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN
Little is really known of the life of the Parents of the Blessed Virgin, though many quaint and touching legends have grown up around their names. Both are accounted as saints alike in the Greek and Roman Churches, the former celebrating St. Anne no less than three times — on the 9th of September, the […]
THE FAMILY AT BETHANY
The gratuitous and unfounded identification of Mary, the sister of Martha, with Mary Magdalene, has led to much injustice, and the beautiful character of the woman who loved to sit at the feet of the Master has been forgotten, in the not altogether wholesome interest in the more sensational characteristics of the penitent sinner. In […]
ST. VERONICA
About the name of St. Veronica, of whose very existence there is no absolute proof, have gathered some of the most beautiful of the many legends connected with the last days of our Lord upon earth. Briefly told, the tradition accepted by the early Church is as follows: as the fainting Savior toiled along the […]