Cyricus and Julitta
Cyricus[a] and his mother Julitta[b] are venerated as early Christian martyrs. According to traditional stories, they were put to death at Tarsus in AD 304.
"Saint Quiricus" redirects here. For other uses, see Quiricus.
Cyricus and Julitta
Relics at Nevers, and in the monastery of Saint-Amand, Tournai.
- 16 June (Catholic Church)
- 15 July (Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches)
From the story involving Charlemagne, Cyricus is depicted as a naked child riding on a wild boar.
Prayed to for family happiness, and the restoring to health of sick children.
Cyricus[edit]
Some evidence exists for an otherwise unknown child-martyr named Cyricus at Antioch.[1] It is believed that the legends about Cyricus and Julitta refer to him. There are places named after Cyricus in Europe and the Middle East, but without the name Julitta attached. Cyricus is the Saint-Cyr found in many French toponyms, as well as in several named San Quirico in Italy. The cult of these saints was strong in France after Amator, Bishop of Auxerre, brought relics back from Antioch in the 4th century. It is said that Constantine I discovered their relics originally and built a monastery near Constantinople, and a church not far off from Jerusalem. In the 6th century the Acts of Cyricus and Julitta were rejected in a list of apocryphal documents by the Decretum Gelasianum, called as such since the list was erroneously attributed to Pope Gelasius I.
Cyricus and Charlemagne[edit]
A story from Nevers states that one night Charlemagne dreamed he was saved from being killed by a wild boar during a hunt. He was saved by the appearance of a nude child, who had promised to save the Emperor from death if he would give him clothes to cover his nakedness.
The bishop of Nevers interpreted this dream to mean that he wanted the Emperor to repair the roof of the Cathédrale Saint-Cyr-et-Sainte-Julitte de Nevers.
Veneration[edit]
Croatia[edit]
In Croatia, in the Town of Visnjan, there is a 17th-century loggia and the church of Saint Cyricus (Kirik) and Julitta (Julita).
Georgia[edit]
Cyricus (Kvirike) and Julitta (Ivlita) are venerated as patron saints of the Kala community in the highland province of Svaneti. While the saints were relatively unknown in the rest of Georgia, the Svan mountaineers held them in high esteem. The 11th-century Lagurka church, located at 2200 metres above sea and known for its wall paintings, is the scene of an all-Svan festival and pilgrimage, kvirikoba ("the day of Cyricus"), held annually on July 28.[6] In the words of the historian Ekvtime Taqaishvili, for the Svans Lagurka is what for the ancient Greeks was Delphi—the symbol of their unity.[7]
Ethiopic texts on Saint Qirqos include:[17]
Ethiopian manuscripts containing the Passio of St. Qirqos that were digitized by the Ethio-SPaRe project include:[17]