Aurea of Córdoba

Aurea of Córdoba (810–856)[1] was a saint, nun, and martyr, part of the Martyrs of Córdoba, a group of 48 Christian martyrs who were executed under the rule of Muslim conquerors in what is now southern Spain.

saint

Aurea of Córdoba

nun, martyr
Born810
Córdoba, Spain
Died856
Córdoba
FeastJuly 19

Aurea was a widow who was born into an Arab noble family; her father was a Muslim from Seville, and three members of her family were qadis, or Arab judges.[2][3][4] After her brothers John and Adulphus were executed for their faith In 825, she went to live with her mother Artemia, who was also a nun, at the convent at Cuteclara for 30 years.[1][2] She had also witnessed the deaths of three Christians who had been connected with her convent in the early 850s.[3]

According to historian Kenneth B. Wolf, Aurea remained at Cuteclara without the knowledge of her relatives,[3] but historians Jessica Coope and Reginald Haines stated that Aurea's relatives ignored her Christian faith, even though it was well known, for most of her adult life.[2][5] Wolfe also stated that Aurea's Muslim relatives from Seville came to her convent, recognized her, and brought her before a judge to force her to recount her Christian faith.[3] She was frightened into submission and released, but after "repenting of her compliance, and avowing herself truly a Christian",[5] was arrested again and was executed in 856.[2][3] Hagiographer Agnes Dunbar compared Aurea's regret and public confession during her second trial to St. Peter's denial of Christ in the Bible.[6] Dunbar also stated that Aurea "was slain by a sword and hung on a giblet with her head down",[6] although other sources state that she was beheaded.[7] Her body was thrown into the Guadalquivir River and was never recovered.[1]

Aurea's feast day is July 19.[4]

References
  1. Walsh, Michael J. (2007). A New Dictionary of Saints: East and West. Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-8146-3186-7. OCLC 124159625.
  2. Coope, Jessica A. (1995). The Martyrs of Córdoba: Community and Family Conflict in an Age of Mass Conversion. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. p. 16. ISBN 0-8032-1471-5. OCLC 30894350.CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  3. Wolf, Kenneth Baxter (1988). Christian martyrs in Muslim Spain. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 32. ISBN 0-521-34416-6. OCLC 15588758.
  4. "Orthodox Europe: Spain". Colchester, Essex: St John's Orthodox Church. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  5. Haines, Charles Reginald (1889). Christianity and Islam in Spain (756-1031). London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Company.
  6. Dunbar, Agnes B.C. (1901). A Dictionary of Saintly Women. Volume 1. London: George Bell & Sons. p. 93.
  7. Holweck, Frederick George (1924). A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints. St. Louis, Missouri: B. Herder Book Company. p. 121.
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