Feast Day of St. Apronian the Executioner
Add comment February 2nd, 2020 Headsman
This gentleman is far from antiquity’s most distinguished Christian martyr, but a site such as Executed Today can scarcely omit the sacrifice of one Saint Apronian the Executioner, who we learn was
Executioner for imperial Rome. He was a witness at the trial of Saint Sisinnius who was charged with Christianity in the persecutions of Diocletian. Sisinnius’ statement of his faith converted Apronian. He was martyred soon after.
Many other translations make him not executioner but notary; the Roman Martyrology from which these versions derive marks him as Commentariensis — a prison-keeper.
So there’s a good chance that “executioner” here is a bit of dramatic exaggeration. That said, while ancient Rome had plenty of executions, they wouldn’t necessarily be conducted by a single executioner as we imagine the office from subsequent European history. Depending on the rank of the accused (notably citizen vs. not), the location of the proceedings (Rome vs. provinces), and the prevailing climate, capital punishments might be handled by various civic entities or bodies of armed men.
The office of carnifex, literally “flesh-render” or “butcher”, had the brief to torture and execute slaves and foreigners; evidently, there are hints that this dishonorable position might also be held by a prison warden. Perhaps this is the basis for linking Saint Apronian to the gig.
Despite the distinctive (albeit not unique) professional attribution, Apronian is not the patron saint of executioners. In fact, there is no such sacred patronage, although searches for same turn up this jam:
On this day..
- 1610: Pierre Canal, Geneva sodomite - 2019
- 1715: Ann Wright, branded - 2018
- 1637: Tabaniyassi Mehmed Pasha, former Grand Vizier - 2017
- 1940: Mikhail Koltsov, Soviet journalist - 2016
- 1905: Elisabeth Wiese, the angel-maker of St. Pauli - 2015
- 1989: Vladimir Lulek, the last Czech executed - 2014
- 1708: Indian Sam and his female accomplice - 2013
- 1951: The first four of the Martinsville seven - 2012
- 1945: Carl Goerdeler, as penance for the German people - 2011
- Daily Double: 1945, and the legacy of Valkyrie - 2011
- 1461: Owen Tudor, sire of sires - 2010
- 1940: Vsevolod Meyerhold - 2009
- 1512: Hatuey, defied Spanish colonization - 2008
Entry Filed under: Ancient,Capital Punishment,Death Penalty,Execution,Executioners,God,Italy,Martyrs,Religious Figures,Roman Empire,Uncertain Dates
Tags: ancona, february 2, st. apronian
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