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Simple.
Red Vestments.
English: The Martyrdom of Cyprian and Justina.
Português: O martírio de Cipriano e Justina.
Date: Middle Ages.
Author: Unknown.
(Wikimedia Commons)
The outline of the legend, or allegory, which is found with diffuse descriptions and dialogues in the "Symeon Metaphrastes" and was made the subject of a poem by Empress Aelia Eudocia, goes thus:
Cyprian was a pagan magician of Antioch, who had dealing with demons. By their aid, he sought to bring Saint Justina, a Christian Virgin, to ruin; but she foiled the threefold attacks of the devils by the Sign of the Cross. Brought to despair, Cyprian made the Sign of the Cross, and in this way was freed from the toils of Satan. He was received into the Church, was made pre-eminent by miraculous gifts, and became, in succession, Deacon, Priest, and, finally, Bishop, while Justina became the Head of a Convent.
English: 12th-Century Church of Saint Cyprian, Zamora, Spain.
Español: Iglesia de San Cipriano, en Zamora. Iglesia románica del siglo XII.
Photo: 3 August 2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: Hector Blanco de Frutos.
(Wikimedia Commons)
During the Diocletian Persecution, both were seized and taken to Damascus, where they were shockingly tortured. As their Faith never wavered, they were brought before Diocletian, at Nicomedia, where, at his command, they were beheaded on the bank of the River Gallus. The same fate befell a Christian, Theoctistus, who had come to Cyprian and had embraced him.
After the bodies of the Saints had lain unburied for six days, they were taken by Christian sailors to Rome, where they were interred on the estate of a noble Lady, named Rufina, and, later, were entombed in Constantine's Basilica.
The story, however, must have arisen as early as the 4th-Century, as it is mentioned both by Saint Gregory Nazianzen and Prudentius; both, nevertheless, have confounded Cyprian with Saint Cyprian of Carthage, a mistake often repeated.
English: Church of Saint Justina of Padua,
located in the village of Feltre, Italy.
Italiano: Chiesa Santa Giustina.
Photo: 14 February 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Alaraf.
(Wikimedia Commons)
The attempt has been made to find, in Cyprian, a mystical prototype of the Faustian legend. The Spanish author, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, took the story as the basis of a drama, El mágico prodigioso. In 2005, American author, Tono Rondone, published a Novel, "The Martyrs", which is a continuation of this tradition (http://piscesbooks.com/themartyrs.html).
The legend is given in Greek and Latin in Acta SS. September, VII. Ancient Syriac and Ethiopic versions of it have been published.
There is even a book, "The Great Book of Saint Cyprian", full of Prayers and spells, which is widely sold in the Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking world. Similarly, Cyprianus is a popular name for a grimoire in Scandinavian folklore.
English: Church of Santa Giustina in Venice,
facade, architect Baldassare Longhena.
Français: Église Santa Giustina à Venise,
façade, architecte Baldassare Longhena.
Italiano: Chiesa di Santa Giustina Venezia,
facciata, architetto Baldassare Longhena.
Photo: 15 May 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: Didier Descouens.
(Wikimedia Commons)
The following Text is from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.
"At Nicomedia," says the Roman Martyrology, "the birth in Heaven of the Holy Martyrs, Cyprian and Justina. This Virgin (Justina), after having endured many tortures under the Emperor, Diocletian, and the Judge, Eutholmus, converted to Christ Cyprian the Magician, who had tried to seduce her by his incantations.
Both were Martyred in 304 A.D. Their bodies, after having been exposed to wild beasts, were taken away during the night by Christian mariners, who carried them to Rome. Later, they were buried in the Basilica of Constantine (Saint John Lateran), near the Baptistry."
Mass: Salus Autem.
The following Text is from The Liturgical Year,
by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.
"Whosoever ye be, that are seduced by the mysteries of the demons, none of you can equal the zeal I once had for these false gods, nor my researches into their secrets, nor the vain power they had communicated to me, to me, Cyprian, who, from my infancy, was given up to the service of the dragon in the citadel of Minerva.
"Learn from me the deceitfulness of their illusions. A Virgin has proved to me that their power is but smoke. The king of the demons was arrested at the door of a mere child, and could not cross the threshold. He who promises so much is a liar.
"A woman makes sport of the boaster who vaunted he could shake Heaven and Earth. The roaring lion becomes a startled gnat, before the Christian Virgin, Justina." [Confessio Cypriani Antiocheni, i, 2.]
He who sought to ruin thee is now, O Virgin, thy trophy of victory; and for thee, O Cyprian, the path of crime turned aside into the way of Salvation. May you together triumph over Satan in this age, when spirit-dealing is seducing so many faltering, faithless, Souls.
Teach Christians, after your example, to arm themselves, against this and every other danger, with the Sign of the Cross; then will the enemy be forced to say again: "I saw a terrible sign and I trembled; I beheld the Sign of the Crucified, and my strength melted like wax." [Acta Cypriani et Justinae.]
Saint Cyprian and the demon.
14th-Century manuscript of the Golden Legend.
Description: Cyprian and Justina. Saint Cyprien et le démon.
Sainte Justine et le démon. Cote : Français 245 , Fol. 109.
Jacobus de Voragine, Legenda aurea (traduction de Jean de Vignay),
France, Paris, XVe siècle, Jacques de Besançon.
(Wikimedia Commons)
by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.
"Whosoever ye be, that are seduced by the mysteries of the demons, none of you can equal the zeal I once had for these false gods, nor my researches into their secrets, nor the vain power they had communicated to me, to me, Cyprian, who, from my infancy, was given up to the service of the dragon in the citadel of Minerva.
"Learn from me the deceitfulness of their illusions. A Virgin has proved to me that their power is but smoke. The king of the demons was arrested at the door of a mere child, and could not cross the threshold. He who promises so much is a liar.
"A woman makes sport of the boaster who vaunted he could shake Heaven and Earth. The roaring lion becomes a startled gnat, before the Christian Virgin, Justina." [Confessio Cypriani Antiocheni, i, 2.]
He who sought to ruin thee is now, O Virgin, thy trophy of victory; and for thee, O Cyprian, the path of crime turned aside into the way of Salvation. May you together triumph over Satan in this age, when spirit-dealing is seducing so many faltering, faithless, Souls.
Teach Christians, after your example, to arm themselves, against this and every other danger, with the Sign of the Cross; then will the enemy be forced to say again: "I saw a terrible sign and I trembled; I beheld the Sign of the Crucified, and my strength melted like wax." [Acta Cypriani et Justinae.]
I am the author of the 2005 novel, The Martyrs, which is mentioned in the text above. Good job in reviewing their history! Thanks for the inclusion.
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