Saint of the Day – 23 July – St Apollinaris Bishop Martyr, Disciple of St Peter

Saint of the Day – 23 July – St Apollinaris (1st Century) – Bishop Martyr, Disciple of St Peter (born in Antioch, Turkey and was Martyred by being stabbed with a sword c 79 at Ravenna, Italy).   His relics are at the Benedictine abbey of Classe, Ravenna and in Saint Lambert’s Church, Düsseldorf, Germany.  Patronages – epilepsy; gout, archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia, Italy and 6 cities.

St Apollinaris was a native of Antioch in Roman Province of Syria.   As the first Bishop of Ravenna, he faced nearly constant persecution.   He and his flock were exiled from Ravenna during the persecutions of Emperor Vespasian (or Nero, depending on the source).
He was made Bishop of Ravenna, Italy, by Saint Peter himself.   The miracles he wrought there soon attracted official attention, for they and his preaching won many converts to the Faith, while at the same time bringing upon him the fury of the idolaters, who beat him cruelly and drove him from the city.   He was found half-dead on the seashore and kept in concealment by the Christians but was captured again and compelled to walk on burning coals and a second time expelled.   But he remained in the vicinity and continued his work of evangelisation.   We find him then journeying in the Roman province of Aemilia [in Italy].   A third time he returned to Ravenna.   Again he was captured, hacked with knives, had scalding water poured over his wounds, was beaten in the mouth with stones because he persisted in preaching and was flung into a horrible dungeon, loaded with chains, to starve to death;  but after four days he was put on board a ship and sent to Greece.   There the same course of preachings, miracles and sufferings continued and when his very presence caused the oracles to be silent, he was, after a cruel beating, sent back to Italy.

All this continued for three years and a fourth time he returned to Ravenna.   By this time Vespasian was Emperor, and he, in answer to the complaints of the pagans, issued a decree of banishment against the Christians.   Apollinaris was kept concealed for some time but as he was passing out of the gates of the city, was set upon and savagely beaten and stabbed but he lived for seven days, foretelling meantime that the persecutions would increase but that the Church would ultimately triumph.