Saints Rufus
Encyclopedia
There are several saints named Rufus, of which the Roman Martyrology
records ten; historical mention is made of the following ones, which have liturgical feasts:
Besides these, there is:
Roman Martyrology
The Roman Martyrology is the official martyrology of the Roman Rite of the Roman Catholic Church. It provides an extensive but not exhaustive list of the saints recognized by the Church.-History:...
records ten; historical mention is made of the following ones, which have liturgical feasts:
- On 19 April, a group of martyrs in Melitene in Armenia, one of whom bears the name of Rufus. These martyrs are mentioned already in the Martyrologium HieronymianumMartyrologium HieronymianumThe Martyrologium Hieronymianum was a medieval list of martyrs, one of the most used and influential of the Middle Ages...
(ed. G. B. de Rossi-L. Duchesne, 46). - On 1 August, Rufus, with several companions who, according to the most reliable manuscripts of the "Martyrologium Hieronymianum" died at Tomi, the place being afterwards by mistake changed to Philadelphia (cf. Quentin, "Les martyrologes historiques", 337).
- On 27 August, two martyrs named Rufus at Capua (see Rufus and CarpophorusRufus and CarpophorusSaints Rufus and Carpophorus were Christians who were martyred at Capua during the reign of Diocletian. Their Acta state that Rufus was a deacon....
) -- one, whose name also appears as Rufinus in the "Martyrologium Hieronymianum" (ed. cit., 111). The other is said to have suffered with a companion, Carponius, in Diocletian'sDiocletianDiocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
persecution circa 304 AD (cf. "Bibliotheca hagiographica latina", II, 1070; Acta SS., VI August, 18-19). - On 25 September, several martyrs at DamascusDamascusDamascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, among them one named Rufus. - On 7 November, a Rufus of MetzRufus of MetzRufus of Metz was, according to some sources, bishop of Metz for 29 years. He has been made a Catholic saint with his feast day on November 7.In the ninth century his relics were transferred to Gau-Odernheim in Rhenish Hesse, Diocese of Mainz....
, who is said to have been Bishop of Metz; his history, however, is legendary. His name was inserted at a later date in an old manuscript of the "Martyrologium Hieronymianum"(ed. cit., 140). In the ninth century his relics were transferred to Gau-OdernheimGau-OdernheimGau-Odernheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
in HesseHesseHesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
, Diocese of Mainz. - On 12 November, Rufus, legend, without any historical proof, the supposed first Bishop of Avignon, who is perhaps identical with Rufus, the disciple of Paul (21 November). [cf. Louis DuchesneLouis DuchesneLouis Marie Olivier Duchesne was a French priest, philologist, teacher and a critical historian of Christianity and Roman Catholic liturgy and institutions....
, "Fastes épiscopaux de l'ancienne Gaule", I, 258; DupratDupratDuprat is a surname, and may refer to:* Chevalier Alfredo Duprat* Antoine Duprat, French chancellor and Cardinal* François Duprat* Hubert Duprat* Patrick Duprat, Mayotte politician* Pierre Louis Alfred Duprat, French colonial governor* Rogério Duprat...
in "Mémoires de l'Académie de Vaucluse" (1889), 373 sqq.; (1890), 1 sqq., 105 sqq.]. - On 21 November, Rufus the disciple of the Apostles, who lived at Rome and to whom Saint PaulPaul of TarsusPaul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
sent a greeting, as well as he did also to the mother of Rufus (Romans 16:13). St. Mark says in his Gospel (xv, 21) that Simon of CyreneSimon of CyreneSimon of Cyrene was the man compelled by the Romans to carry the cross of Jesus as Jesus was taken to his crucifixion, according to all three Synoptic Gospels...
was the father of Rufus, and as Mark wrote his Gospel for the Roman Christians, this Rufus is probably the same as the one to whom Paul sent a salutation [cf. Cornely, "Commentar. in Epist. ad Romanos" (Paris, 1896), 778 sq.]. - On 28 November, a Roman martyr Rufus, probably identical with the Rufinianus who was buried in the Catacomb of Generosa on the Via Portuensis, and who is introduced in the legendary Acts of the martyrdom of St. Chrysogonus (cf. Paul AllardPaul AllardPaul Allard was a French archaeologist, historian and jurist.He was admitted to the bar and practised law for a short time in his native city, where he became a judge of the civil court...
, "Histoire des persécutions", IV, 371 sq.). - On 18 December, the holy martyrs Rufus and Zosimus, who were taken to Rome with St. Ignatius of Antioch and were put to death there for their unwavering confession of Christianity during the persecution of TrajanTrajanTrajan , was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, in Spain Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in Spain, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against...
. St. Polycarp speaks of them in his letter to the PhilippiansPolycarp's letter to the PhilippiansThe Letter to the Philippians is an epistle composed around 110 to 140 ADby one of the Apostolic Fathers, Polycarp of Smyrna from Antioch, to the early Christian church in Philippi...
(c. ix).
Besides these, there is:
- Máel RubaMáel RubaMáel Ruba , Máelrubai , Maol Rubha , or Malruibhe , sometimes Latinised as Rufus, is a saint of the Celtic Church...
, an Irishman in Scotland