St. Nazarius and Companions

In the Roman Martyrology and that of Bede for 12 June mention is made of four Roman martyrs, Basilides, Cyrinus, Nabor, and Nazarius, who suffered death under Diocletian. Their names were taken from the “Martyrologium Hieronyanum”, in the Berne manuscript of which (ed. De Rossi-Duschesne, Acta SS., Nov. II [77]) we read: Romæ, via Aurelia miliario V, Basiledis, Tribuli, Nagesi, Magdaletis, Zabini, Aureli, Cirini, Nabori, Nazari, Donatellæ, Secundæ. The second name in the list, Tribulus, is derived from a place-name, Tripoli, as is evident from the Echternach manuscript, and those following it have also an African origin. In an ancient itinerary to the graves of the Roman martyrs (De Rossi, “Roma Sotterranea”, I, 183) mention is made of a mortuary chapel of a martyr Basilides on the Via Aurelia; he is another Roman saint whose feast is on 10 June. The group of three Roman saints, Cyrinus, Nabor, Nazarius, to which was added later Basilides, has in the “Sacramentarium Gelasianum” (ed. Wilson, Oxford, 1894, 174-5) its special form of invocation in the Canon of the Mass. The date and the circumstances of the deaths of these Roman martyrs are unknown. The bones of Saint Nazarius and Nabor were transferred by Bishop Chrodegang of Metz to his diocese (Mon. Germ. Hist., Script., II 268).