Soon, while praying at the saint’s tomb, her peer Emerentiana suffered at the hands of the pagans and was buried near Saint Agnes. Many years later, the daughter of Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine the Great, Constantine, was healed of a serious illness at the tomb of Saint Agnes and, in gratitude, built a church in her name in that place, and then a nunnery. The saint’s relics still rest in the same place, in the Church of St. Agnes “beyond the walls” (Sant’Agnese fuori le mura).
Literature
- “Memory of the Holy Martyr Agnes of Rome” in the book: [Lives of the Saints, Compiled on Holy Mount Athos.] Synaxarion. Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Auto-compiler: Hieromonk Macarius of Simonopetra. Adapted translation from French. In 6 vols. - M.: Sretensky Monastery Publishing House, 2011. - T. III, p. 327-328.
Used materials
- Portal calendar pages Pravoslavie.Ru:
Soon, while praying at the saint’s tomb, her peer Emerentiana suffered at the hands of the pagans and was buried near Saint Agnes. Many years later, the daughter of Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine the Great, Constantine, was healed of a serious illness at the tomb of Saint Agnes and, in gratitude, built a church in her name in that place, and then a nunnery. The saint’s relics still rest in the same place, in the Church of St. Agnes “beyond the walls” (Sant’Agnese fuori le mura).
Literature
- “Memory of the Holy Martyr Agnes of Rome” in the book: [Lives of the Saints, Compiled on Holy Mount Athos.] Synaxarion. Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Auto-compiler: Hieromonk Macarius of Simonopetra. Adapted translation from French. In 6 vols. - M.: Sretensky Monastery Publishing House, 2011. - T. III, p. 327-328.
Used materials
- Portal calendar pages Pravoslavie.Ru:
She grew up in a wealthy family that converted to Christianity. When the girl became an adult, the son of a noble prefect noticed her as his wife. But Agnia refused him because she had made a vow of celibacy to the Lord. In anger, Prefect Sempronius began to find out what was the reason for this refusal, and when it turned out that Agnia was a Christian, he ordered her to either make a sacrifice to pagan idols or she would be sent to a public institution. After the refusal, the guards proceeded to the girl and took her naked to a depraved house. But the saint’s hair quickly grew and unraveled so that it enveloped her body and the libertines were unable to mock her. While in captivity, an Angel of God appeared to Agnia and gave her a veil, with which she covered herself from lustful eyes.
The miracles that the Lord showed through his chosen one continued every day. Everyone who wanted to approach her with impure desires immediately changed their thoughts and left the brothel, with a deep sense of shame and disgust from their intentions. One day a young man came into her room, but he never managed to achieve what he wanted; at the same time he fell dead on the floor. Having learned about this news, his father came to Agnia in tears with a request to resurrect him. And through the prayers of the holy virgin, he returned to life. The father believed in the Lord and along with him hundreds of other people. Later, their heads were cut off for confessing Christ (including the resurrected guy).
Seeing that the maiden had resurrected a man, people began to consider Agnia a witch and decided to burn her at the stake, but it still could not catch fire, then one of the guards plunged his sword into the martyr’s throat. The wound turned out to be fatal. It is worth noting that according to the surviving data of various chronicles, Agnia was only 12 years old. The saint was buried in the catacombs, today they are named in her honor.
Painting from the Dresden Gallery Saint Inessa and the angel covering her with a veil(Spanish: La Santa Agnes en la prisión, 1641) by the Spanish artist José de Ribera I remember from childhood. She made such a strong impression, apparently, because the girl depicted in the picture was, like me then, 12-13 years old. The legend associated with Saint Inessa (in other words, Agnes, Anessa, Agnia) touched me to the depths of my soul.
In the center of the canvas there is a kneeling girlish figure in a dungeon. Long wavy hair hid her nakedness. Large shining eyes are directed to the sky. The almost childish face contains traces of sadness. It seems that the canvas itself emits light. Ribera's image of Inessa is the embodiment of pure, touching and bright youth. It is believed that this image, one of the most captivating in world art, was painted from the artist’s daughter.
The youngest Christian great martyr became a symbol of holiness, purity and purity. In her honor, the basilicas of Sant'Agnese in Agone and Sant'Agnese outside the Walls were erected in Rome. Her feat is glorified in poetry, in the visual arts, and canonized by the church. In iconography, Saint Agnes is often depicted holding a palm branch and in the presence of a lamb. The palm branch is a symbol of martyrdom, a recognition of perseverance and moral strength, the lamb is a symbol of purity and purity. What do we know about her?
1. The Life of Saint Agnes has come down to us in several editions. The Latin tradition in the story of St. Agnes is based on panegyric De Virginibus Saint Ambrose of Milan. The sermon he delivered on the feast of St. Agnes in January 375 or 376 is the oldest mention of the martyrdom of Agnes. The sermon contains the following words: “Everyone cried, only there were no tears in her eyes. People were surprised with what generosity she gave her life, which she had not yet had time to taste, as if she was already fed up with it. Everyone admired what she witnessed Deities, when her peers were not yet responsible for themselves. Her testimony was worthy of the testimony of a mature husband; but that which transcends nature points to the Creator of nature itself.”
Name Agnes(Greek agnox) means sacred, pure, innocent, chaste. It is known that she was born into a family of wealthy people. She suffered martyrdom on January 21, when she was between 12 and 13 years old. Her burial place is where the Church of Sant'Agnese outside the Walls is now located. The head of Saint Agnes rests in the crypt of the Basilica of Sant'Agnese in Piazza Navona. In the photo there is a small chapel with a golden ark, in front of which candles are always burning. And in the ark is the honest head of Saint Agnes (a skull is visible below, in the window). In the Orthodox tradition - Saint Agnes.
It can be assumed that Agnes was executed during the great persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian in 303 - 313. By this time there were at least 6 million in the Roman Empire. Christian. A little earlier (295), Diocletian's Edict of Damascus was adopted, prohibiting consanguineous marriages and requiring strict adherence to the sacred principles and traditions of Roman law. The implementation of these rules depended on the initiative of local mayors - prefects.
During the time of Emperor Diocletian, Rome was ruled by a certain Sempronius. The son of this prefect, Procopius, was in love with a young girl named Agnes. The mayor was informed that the girl, who did not want to reciprocate his son’s love, was a member of a Christian sect. The prefect ordered the girl to be brought and invited her to lead the procession to the Temple of Vesta, after which she would offer a sacrifice to the pagan goddess. This was tantamount to renouncing Christianity. The girl’s refusal infuriated him: he ordered to immediately undress her and throw her for the amusement of the public at the Domitian Stadium (now Piazza Navona). And then a miracle happened in front of the crowd: the girl’s hair instantly grew back and covered her nakedness.
According to the laws of that time, it was forbidden to execute virgins. Therefore, Agnes was taken to a brothel (it was located on the site where the Church of Sant'Agnese in Agone is now located) in order to violate her innocence. According to legend, the gloomy room in which the girl was suddenly lit up with a bright light - a guardian angel appeared behind Agnes. Men came with bad intentions and left believing. And no one raised their hand to offend the child. And the prefect's son, struck by an invisible blow, fell lifeless. In desperation, Sempronius began to beg Agnes to give back his son’s life. After the girl’s prayers, the young man came to life, jumped up and ran through the streets of the city, praising the Christian God.
However, the priests did not like this. They declared Agnes a witch and demanded that she be burned at the stake. As soon as the flames touched her feet, another miracle happened: the fire suddenly went out. In the end, she was sentenced to death by beheading.
Saint Ambrose wrote: “She stands erect, prays, bows her head. The judge trembles, as if he himself was condemned. The executioner’s hand trembles, his face turns pale; he was afraid for Agnes, but she was not afraid for herself. Here, before you is one victim and two martyrdoms: martyrdom for chastity and martyrdom for faith."
Agnes said to the executioner: “Strike with your sword, without timidity, and return me as quickly as possible to the One Whom I love, destroy this body, which, against my will, pleased mortal eyes.” After these words, the executioner executed her. Agnes's body was taken to her parents' house, not far from Via Nomentana (it was this villa that was probably found at the base of the monastery of St. Agnes outside the Walls.).
During the time of Diocletian, the early Christians of Rome were persecuted and tortured. Not surprisingly, demonstrating one's Christian affiliation required enormous fortitude and courage. However, the manifestation of such courage and dedication in a twelve-year-old child at that time seemed incredible. Therefore, the girl’s resilience made a strong impression on representatives of the Christian community. This is why the holy girl was especially revered in the 4th century, and her innocence over time became an important attribute in her veneration.
Already in 313, the emperors Constantine and Licinius drew up the Edict of Milan, which proclaimed religious tolerance on the territory of the Roman Empire. When the persecution of Christians stopped, many sick people rushed to the saint’s grave with prayers for healing. In 321, a basilica was erected on the relics of the saint. To this day, in the Basilica of St. Agnes outside the Walls, on January 21 of each year, the abbot of the monastery blesses two lambs, which are then given to the canons of the Lateran Basilica. From the wool of these lambs, the nuns spin wool from which they make palliums (an element of the liturgical vestment of the Pope and the Latin Rite metropolitans of the Catholic Church, which is a narrow ribbon of white sheep's wool with six black, red or purple crosses embroidered).
2. Hundreds of years later, in 1645, Pope Innocent X decided to improve Piazza Navona. He ordered the construction of a basilica here in honor of St. Agnes. The best architects of Rome worked on this project. The church of Sant Agnese in Agone was started by Girolamo Rainaldi and completed by Francesco Borromini in 1657.
Finding myself in Piazza Navona next to the Basilica of St. Agnes, I remembered my childhood impressions, so the first thing my husband and I do is go there.
3. The façade of the church is highly developed in width and combines straight and curved surfaces. The entire central part is concave, thanks to which not only the dome, but also the high drum, surrounded by paired pilasters, is clearly visible from the narrow area. On the sides of the facade there are two bell towers, apparently a tribute to the architectural traditions of Lombardy, the birthplace of Borromini.
4. Inside the church there is a magnificent baroque decoration with precious stones, gold and stucco (artificial marble, the highest grade of plaster). From the previous buildings in the crypt in the north-eastern part of the church, only the place of the saint’s martyrdom and a small part of the northern nave have survived.
5. The interior of the church is decorated with marble high reliefs of amazingly elegant work.
6. The dome of the church amazes with its magnificent painting.
7. The entire interior space is permeated with light.
8. All subjects are embodied in sculptural forms. The central nave depicts the childhood of Christ and John the Baptist.
9. Traditional services, masses and religious ceremonies are still held in the basilica. In addition, every Thursday and Friday at half past seven and at seven, respectively, concerts of early classical and chamber music are held there.
12. High reliefs on the left side.
14. Death of Saint Agnes (XVII century), sculpture (Ercole Ferrata) depicts the martyr in the flames of a fire.
15. High reliefs on the right side.
17. Sculpture of Saint Sebastian in the right nave.
18. After visiting the basilica, impressed by the beauty of its interior decoration, we go out to Piazza Navona. The modern baroque appearance of Piazza Navona is associated with the name of Pope Innocent X. It was he who came up with the idea of ennobling the neglected space in the city center.
19. And right opposite the church we see a fountain. Different times, different customs: large crowds of tourists and street vendors create the colorful atmosphere of Piazza Navona.
20. The famous fountain of the Four Rivers by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1648-1651) rises in the center of the square. It is decorated with allegorical figures of the Danube, Ganges, Nile and La Plata, symbolizing, respectively, Europe, Asia, Africa and America. In the center of the fountain there is an Egyptian obelisk covered with hieroglyphs. Its height is 16.53 meters.
25. Along the edges of the square there are two more fountains: in the photo - the Neptune Fountain. But we are not in the mood now to carefully examine the square, and we are leaving this celebration of life.
A few words about the artist: José or Jusepe de Ribera (1591-1652) was a Spanish Caravaggist of the Baroque era who lived and worked in Naples. In addition to paintings, he left a large amount of graphics. The most significant Spanish engraver who worked before Goya. Most of his works are kept in the Prado Museum and in Neapolitan churches.
