Saint Christopher

Saint Christopher (; ), also called Christopher of Lycia (Lycea), is a legendary figure venerated by several Christian denominations as a martyr and saint. The various legends regarding the saint do not agree on the time and place of his activity. His legendary birthplace is variously placed in Marmarica (west of Egypt), the Middle East or Barbaria. The legendary accounts may situate the saint's legendary martyrdom during the reign of the 3rd-century Roman emperors Decius (), Diocletian () or Maximinus Daza (). A martyrium of a Saint Christopher consecrated near Chalcedon (near present-day Istanbul) in 452 is the earliest evidence of a cult of a Saint Christopher. The saint's veneration spread in both the Eastern and Western churches.

Both traditions hold that Christopher was not the initial name of the saint but that this name was only adopted by, or given to, the saint following his conversion to Christianity. The name Christopher used in the English-speaking world is the English version of the Greek name ( or ). It is formed from the word elements (, 'Christ'), and (, 'to bear'), together signifying, "Christ bearer". As the saint's legend spread to many regions, native forms of the Greek name developed both to refer to the saint and as a personal name.

It has been speculated that the medieval artistic representations showing Saint Christopher physically carrying the infant Jesus led to the development of the best-known legend about the saint today. This legend makes its debut only in the 13th-century compendium of hagiographies known as the Legenda aurea (Golden Legend). The Golden Legend recounts that after converting to Christianity, St. Christopher devotes his life to carrying travelers across a river. One day he is asked to carry a young boy across a river. During the crossing the boy becomes increasingly heavy to the point that even the able-bodied Christopher is struggling to continue the journey, even more so since the water level of the river has also started to rise. After reaching the river shore, the boy reveals himself to be Jesus.

As some legendary stories recount that the saint devoted himself to helping travelers, various Christian denominations made him the patron saint of travelers. Small images of him are often worn around the neck, on a bracelet, carried in a pocket or placed in a vehicle in the belief they offer protection from adversity when traveling. In the iconography of Western Christianity, the saint is often depicted as a giant with a staff crossing a river with the infant Jesus on his shoulder. In Byzantine art, the saint is depicted in various guises including as a young man, a martyr in a red himation with a cross in his hand, a warrior on horseback or a man with the head of a dog in line with the early legendary tradition. Some modern scholarship has investigated the contempary understanding and the role and purpose in the legendary accounts of the 'otherness' and dual nature of the saint who is described as a giant with frightening features (in some accounts with a dog's head) but is at the same time human.

Legend

Earliest evidence of a cult of St. Christopher

There is no evidence for the historicity of the saint. It also mentions the names of the state ministers of the Byzantine Empire and those church ministers who were involved in the church's construction and the consecration but provides no information on the person to whom the martyrium was dedicated other than the honorific and name blessed Christopher. The inscription attests to the veneration of a Saint Christopher in Asia Minor in the mid-5th century. The Acts recount the miraculous missionary activities of Saint Bartholomew who is accompanied by Saint Andrew and two other disciples (referred to together as the apostles). According to the Acts, the apostles are sent by Jesus to convert the Parthians. In Parthia they meet Gallinos, the governor. To prove the power of their God, the apostles perform miracles showing that their God has absolute power over the city's idols. In response, the devils dwelling in the city idols demand that the apostles be burned with fire. The apostles are held and tortured in many imaginative ways. They die, their bodies are cut up and burnt. The ashes are thrown in the sea where they are swallowed by a whale. Nevertheless, the apostles are resurrected. Gallinos then offers the apostles money to leave the city. When they refuse, the city's people drive them out. The apostles then travel in the direction of the city of the cannibals. A dog-headed individual of four cubits tall (i.e. between to depending on which cubit standard is used) leaves the city of the cannibals to look for a human to eat but does not find food all day. An angel appears to him who baptizes him. As a result he loses his animal nature and acquires the ability to speak as a human. He is tasked by the angel to assist Saints Bartholomew and Andrew in converting the city of the cannibals. When he meets the saints and their two disciples they are initially afraid of him but he assuages their fears by telling them that their God has sent him to assist them in their mission. He tells them his name is 'Bewitched' (or the 'Damned', in the Arabic and Ethiopian versions he tells them his name is 'Bewitched' or 'Abominable'). The apostles say that from now on he will be called Christian (Christianus or Christomaios). They all set course to Parthia. Warned by satan, Gallinos closes the city gates when he hears of their approach. After Andrew has called on the Christian God to break down the gates, they enter the city. While under attack by the citizens and wild animals, Christomaios pleads with Andrew to obtain divine intervention so that he can reclaim his animal nature. Once he has become animal-like again he tears apart and eats the animals while many of the citizens die in the chaos. Andrew calms Christomaios and calls on their God to send a fire to encircle the city. The governor and the leaders of the city plead for deliverance and make a declaration of faith in Jesus. The fire is extinguished and the apostels subsequently succeed in converting the city's people. At Christomaios' request, the dead people are resurrected. and Latin (one of which is known as BHL 1764, 8th century).

thumb|220px|Manuscript of the Vita Sancti Christophori versibus et prosa oratione composita by [[Walter of Speyer, c. 986]]

The Western development of the legend begins with the German writer and later bishop Walter of Speyer who wrote two versions of the legend in Latin, one in verse and the other in prose which were first completed in 986 under the title Vita Sancti Christophori versibus et prosa oratione composita ('Life of the holy Christopher in verse and prose').

The legendary account that was to become the most influential in Europe is recounted in the 13th-century Latin Legenda aurea (Golden Legend). Many vernacular versions of the Christopher legends were written during the Middle Ages. The various legends regarding the saint and the translations and elaborations differ and contradict each other in many ways.

Greek Martyrdom of Christophoros

One of the oldest preserved written versions in Greek of the Christopher legend is the Martyrdom of Christophoros (referred to as BHG 309-310c). It starts with the issuing, in the fourth year of emperor Decius, of a decree requiring everyone to participate in pagan sacrificial rituals. A certain Reprebos is captured by the Romans in battle and then forced to join the Roman , i.e. a military unit made up by Marmaritae people. Reprebos is a physically repulsive Cynocephalus (i.e. a man with a dog's head) from a tribe of cannibals who is incapable of speaking "our language". After praying to his God he is granted the gift of language. He goes to a city to confront those who persecute the Christians and is struck by one of the persecutors. Reprebus does not retaliate. The person who struck him sends a report on the fearfully looking Reprebos to the emperor. The emperor sends 200 soldiers to capture or kill Reprebos. While sitting down to pray in front of a church, a miracle occurs as the staff of Reprebos blossoms with new growth. This strengthens his resolve. Found by the soldiers, Reprebos refuses their offer to falsely report they did not find him and thus delay his arrest. On the way to the city, the soldiers complain about their poor rations. Reprebos miraculously produces five loaves of bread with the help of the angel Raphael. The soldiers at once want to become Christians and are baptised together with Reprebos by the bishop Babylas in Antioch in Syria. Reprebos takes his new name Christophoros.

thumb|210px|The martyrdom of Saint Christopher by the Master of St. Christopher with the devil, c. 1515

They travel on to Perga where Christophoros gets an audience with emperor Decius who is intimidated by his appearance. He refuses to yield to the emperor's pleas that he sacrifice to the pagan Gods. He is then severely tortured. The emperor attempts to lure him into making sacrifices to the pagan idols by sending him two sex workers called Aquilina and Kallinike who have been attractively made up. Christophoros prays to God for strength and manages to convert the women. When the women are summoned to the emperor they choose cruel martyrdom over renunciation of their newly adopted faith. Aquilina is murdered by being hung by her hair with two stones tied to her feet. Kallinike first pretends that she agrees to sacrifice to the Greek Gods but then turns around and insults the effigies of these Gods and casts them down. She is executed by being impaled horizontally on a spit with stones hung from her hands and feet. The following day, the emperor again attempts to win over Christophoros, who remains steadfast in his faith. The 200 soldiers who had earlier converted declare to the emperor that they have become Christians and followers of Christophoros. After unsuccessfully trying to cajole them back to their pagan beliefs, Decius orders that they be executed immediately and their bodies be burned. Christophoros is then again tortured and burned alive on a pyre, yet he remains unharmed. One thousand people immediately convert to Christianity. They save him from the flames and taunt the emperor who flees.

The emperor gets a visit from the devil disguised as a human who incites him against Christophoros. The next day the emperor orders everyone to sacrifice to the pagan Gods. When Christopher and his band of converts resist the order, the crowd is subsequently massacred. Christopher is thrown down a well with a heavy stone around his neck but the stone is crushed and the saint lifted out of the well by angels. The emperor orders a bronze cape to be heated up and put on him, but the saint remains unharmed again. The emperor finally orders his beheading. While being led to the place of execution, Christophoros asks the soldier taking him there for a moment to pray. The aspiring martyr asks Jesus to cause the evil emperor to die in demonic torment eating his own flesh. He also prays for his bodily relics to be given the power to drive away demons and prevent agricultural scourges such as hail, acts of god, bad grape harvests and droughts. A voice from the heavens replies, granting the requests. Christophoros then convinces the soldier to behead him. The soldier agrees reluctantly and immediately commits suicide after the execution. The bishop of Attaleia pays a hefty sum to retrieve Christophoros's body, which becomes a source of miracles. Emperor Decius becomes afflicted by a terrible disease which dissolves his body. In summary, the brief ministry of the martyr has resulted not only in his own death but also the demise of 201 soldiers, two sex workers and at least 1,000 converted citizens as well as the serious illness of the emperor. He is initially called . The German bishop and poet Walter of Speyer portrayed St. Christopher in his Vita et passio sancti Christopher martyris as a giant of a cynocephalic species in the land of the Chananeans who ate human flesh and barked. Eventually, Christopher meets the infant Jesus, regrets his former behavior and receives baptism. He is further rewarded with a human appearance, whereupon he devotes his life to Christian service as an athlete of God and one of the soldier saints.

Some Eastern Orthodox commmunities, particularly in south-eastern Europe, saw the development of legends in which St. Christopher was initially a handsome man rather than the ugly dog-headed saint of the traditional stories. An unpublished copy of the life of St. Christopher dated to the 13th century in the library of the Great Lavra monastery on Mount Athos recounts that this goodlooking St. Christopher came from a ridge of rocky hills resembling dog heads named Cynoscephale located near the ancient city of Scotussa in Thessaly, Greece. This new detail in the story proposes an alternative explanation for why the earlier traditions mistakenly described the saint as having the head of a dog. According to a folk tradition in Cyprus, the martyr led a solitary life and was God-fearing and handsome, which attracted local women. Wanting to avoid temptation, St. Christopher prayed to God to disfigure him upon which he was given his dog head. The Kontakion in the Fourth Tone (hymn) reads: The Tridentine calendar commemorates him on the same day only in private Masses. His commemoration was of relatively late date (around 1550). By 1954 his commemoration was extended to all Masses, but it was dropped in 1970 from the general calendar and restricted to particular calendars of the Roman rite.

The Cathedral of St. James in Šibenik holds a relic which is claimed to be the incorrupt leg of the saint. It was brought over in 1484 from Constantinople through Corfu and originally intended to be transferred to Korčula. The feast day of Saint Christopher is celebrated on 27 July in Šibenik.

Greek Orthodox churches in Grevena, Filothei, and Siatista claim to hold relics of the saint.

thumb|289px| A bronze St. Christopher medallion

Medals and holy cards

Devotional medals with St. Christopher's name and image are commonly worn as pendants, especially by travelers, to show devotion and as a request for his blessing. Miniature statues are frequently displayed in automobiles. In French a widespread phrase for such medals is ("Look at Saint Christopher and go on reassured", sometimes translated as "Behold Saint Christopher and go your way in safety"). Saint Christopher medals and holy cards in Spanish carry the phrase ("If you trust St. Christopher, you won't die in an accident").

General patronage

St. Christopher was a widely popular saint, especially revered in the Roman Catholic Church by people, athletes, mariners, ferrymen, and travelers. The Roman Catholic Church regards the saint as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, a small group of saints believed to be particularly effective, especially against various diseases. He holds patronage of things related to travel and travelers—against lightning and pestilence—and patronage for archers; bachelors; boatmen; soldiers; bookbinders; epilepsy; floods; fruit dealers; fullers; gardeners; a holy death; mariners; market carriers; motorists and drivers; sailors; storms; surfers; toothache; mountaineering; and transportation workers.

Because certain traditions believed that gazing on the saint offered protection against sudden death, images of the saint were placed on the gates of cities, bridges and at the entrance of churches (typically on the northern wall opposite the porch). A series of frescoes in the Ovetari Chapel of Cappella Palatina by Andrea Mantegna in Padua feature the saint as a giant.

thumb|Terracotta Icon of Saints Christopher and George found in Vinica

In Eastern Orthodox Church art, the saint is variously depicted as a young man, a martyr in a red himation with a cross in his hand or a warrior on horseback. In addition, there are also depictions of the saint as a man with the head of an animal, most often a dog, but also a lamb or horse. From the 13th century, Byzantine art developed a tradition of depicting the martyr alongside holy doctors. This type of depiction was also adopted in the Eastern Orthodox churches.

Depictions in art

Gallery

File:Westminster Psalter St Christopher.jpg|St. Christopher, from the Westminster Psalter, c. 1250

File:Saint Christopher with the Christ Child (St Botolph, Slapton) (cropped).jpg|St. Christopher, St Botolph's Church, Northamptonshire, England, 14th century

File:Saint Christopher 001.jpg|St. Christopher, earliest dated woodcut in Europe, 1423, Buxheim

File:Jan and Hubert van Eyck.jpg - St Christopher and the pilgrims.jpg|St Christopher and the pilgrims, right panel of the Ghent Altarpiece, c. 1432, Jan and Hubert van Eyck

File:Kölner Dom - Christophorus (2008) (cropped).jpg|Saint Christopher by Master Tilman, c. 1480

Hans Memling - Triptych of the Family Moreel (central panel) - WGA14930.jpg|St. Christopher with Saints Maurus and Giles by Hans Memling, 1484

Anonymous Antwerp master (follower of Hieronymus Bosch) - Saint Christopher in a landscape with devilry.jpg|Saint Christopher in a landscape with devilry, Anonymous Antwerp master, 1500-1550

File:Cima da conegliano, san cristoforo col bambino e san pietro.jpg|Saint Christopher with the Infant Jesus and St Peter by Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, c. 1505

Albrecht Dürer - St Christopher.jpg|Saint Christopher by Albrecht Dürer, 1511

Master of the Legend of Mary Magdalene - Central panel of the Saint Christopher Triptych.jpg|St. Christopher carrying the Infant Jesus by the Master of the Legend of the Magdalen, 1510s

File:Bellini, Sts Christopher, Jerome and Louis of Toulouse.jpg|Saints Christopher, Jerome and Louis of Toulouse by Giovanni Bellini, 1513

Cranach christophorus1516.jpg|St. Christopher Carrying the Infant Jesus by Lucas Cranach the Elder, c. 1519

File:San Cristoforo - Borgianni (Prado).jpg|St. Christopher by Orazio Borgianni, c. 1600

File:Jacob Jordaens - St Christopher Carrying the Christ Child.jpg|St. Christopher Carrying the Infant Jesus by Jacob Jordaens, c. 1625–1630

File:Jan van der Venne - Saint Christopher carrying the Christ Child.jpg|Saint Christopher carrying the Infant Jesus by Jan van de Venne, c. 1631–1651

File:Saint Christopher - Icon.jpg|Saint Christopher, Russian icon, 18th century

</gallery>