Basilissa and Anastasia

Saints Basilissa and Anastasia (died 68 AD) are early Christian martyrs of Rome, put to death during the reign of Nero.[1] They were among the first converts to Christianity in the 1st century after Christ.[2] Hagiographer Basil Watkins calls their existence "unlikely".[3]

Saints Basilissa and Anastasia
Martyrs
Born1st century AD
Rome
Died68 AD
Rome, Roman Empire
Venerated inRoman Catholic Church
Eastern Orthodox Churches
CanonizedPre-Congregation
FeastApril 15
PatronageTailors

Basilissa and Anastasia were described as "Roman matrons of high rank and great wealth".[4] They were disciples of and might have been baptized by Saints Peter and Paul,[1] and might have given them "honorable burials"[2] after Peter and Paul's martyrdom in Rome on the same day in 67 AD. The location of the two tombs eventually became St. Peter's Basilica and the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.[1] The burials might have exposed Basilissa and Anastasia to more persecution, and they were arrested for collecting the relics of and burying the bodies of other martyred Christians. They refused to recant their Christian faith and were beheaded with swords by order of Nero in 68 AD, after being tortured, including having their tongues torn out, their skins scraped with hooks, being burned with fire, and their breasts and feet cut off.[1][2][4][5] Their relics are at Santa Maria della Pace Church in Rome.[1]

Their feast is April 15, are venerated by both the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church, and are honored as the patron saints of tailors. A statue of Basilissa is among the statues that line the colonnade overlooking St. Peter's Square in Rome.[1][6]

References
  1. "Saints Basilissa and Anastasia". Monza, Italy: Daily Compass. 15 April 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  2. Holweck, Frederick George (1924). A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints. 1. London: B. Herder Book Company. p. 138.
  3. Watkins, Basil (2015). The Book of Saints: A Comprehensive Biographical Dictionary (8th ed.). London: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-567-66415-0.
  4. Dunbar, Agnes B.C. (1901). A Dictionary of Saintly Women. Volume 1. London: George Bell & Sons.
  5. "Ss. Basilissa and Anastasia of Rome". Englewood, New Jersey: Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  6. "Sts Anastasia and Basilissa of Rome". Aleteia. Retrieved 19 July 2020.


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