Saint Apollonia
Virgin & Martyr
Born	unknown
Died	249, Alexandria, Egypt
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church, Coptic Church
Feast	February 9
Attributes	tongs (sometimes with a tooth)
Patronage	dentists, tooth problems
Saints Portal

Saint Apollonia was one of a group of virgin martyrs who suffered in Alexandria during a local uprising against the Christians prior to the persecution of Decius. According to legend, her torture included having all of her teeth violently pulled out or shattered. For this reason, she is popularly regarded as the patroness of dentistry and those suffering from toothache or other dental problems. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1576x2780, 259 KB) Description: Title: de: Hl. ... Events Trajan Decius becomes Roman emperor. ... Antiquity and modernity stand cheek-by-jowl in Egypts chief Mediterranean seaport For other uses, see Alexandria (disambiguation). ... The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus Christ and led by the Twelve Apostles, in particular Saint Peter. ... Christ - Coptic Art Coptic Orthodox Christianity is the indigenous form of Christianity that, according to tradition, the apostle Mark established in Egypt in the middle of the 1st century AD (approximately AD 60). ... The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organising a liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with one or more saints, and referring to the day as that saints day. ... February 9 is the 40th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Saint symbology was important to people who couldnt read because they can figure out what symbols mean. ... Tongs used for cooking or serving food Tongs are gripping and lifting tools, of which there are many forms adapted to their specific use. ... Saint Quentin is the patron saint of locksmiths and is also invoked against coughs and sneezes. ... X-rays can reveal if a person has cavities Dentistry is the practical application of knowledge of dental science (the science of placement, arrangement, function of teeth) to human beings. ... The visible teeth of a smile. ... Image File history File links Gloriole. ... Antiquity and modernity stand cheek-by-jowl in Egypts chief Mediterranean seaport For other uses, see Alexandria (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Christianity. ... Bust of Traianus Decius. ... Types of teeth Molars are used for grinding up foods Carnassials are used for slicing food. ... A Dentist and Dental Assistant perform surgery on a patient. ... A toothache, also known as odontalgia or, less frequently, as odontalgy, is an aching pain in or around a tooth. ...

Christian historians have claimed that in the last years of Emperor Philip the Arab (reigned 244-249), during otherwise undocumented festivities to commemorate the millennium of the founding of Rome (traditionally in 753 BC, putting the date about AD 248), the fury of the Alexandrian mob rose to a great height, and when one of their poets prophesied a calamity, they committed bloody outrages on the Christians, whom the authorities made no effort to protect. An historian is someone who writes history, a written accounting of the past. ... Marcus Julius Philippus (c. ... February 11 - Emperor Gordian III is killed by his Praetorian Prefect Philip the Arab after Phillip replaces Timesitheus and then declares himself co-emperor. ... Events Trajan Decius becomes Roman emperor. ... Centuries: 9th century BC - 8th century BC - 7th century BC Decades: 800s BC 790s BC 780s BC 770s BC 760s BC - 750s BC - 740s BC 730s BC 720s BC 710s BC 700s BC Events and Trends 756 BC - Founding of Cyzicus. ... Events Cyprian becomes bishop of Carthage. ... The poor poet A poet is a person who writes poetry. ...

Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria (247-265), relates the sufferings of his people in a letter addressed to Fabius, Bishop of Antioch, of which long extracts have been preserved in Eusebius' Historia Ecclesiae (I:vi: 41). After describing how a Christian man and woman, Metras and Quinta, were seized and killed by the mob, and how the houses of several other Christians were pillaged, Dionysius continues: Christ - Coptic Art Coptic Orthodox Christianity is the indigenous form of Egypt in the middle of the 1st century AD (approximately AD 60). ... Events Births Deaths Categories: 247 ... Events Wei Yuandi abdicates, end of the China. ... The Patriarch of Antioch, is one of the original patriarchs of early Christianity, who were bishops with influence over other sees. ... Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius of Caesarea (c. ...

"At that time Apollonia, parthénos presbytis (virgo presbytera, by which he very probably means not a virgin advanced in years as is generally reported, but a deaconess) was held in high esteem. These men seized her also and by repeated blows broke all her teeth. They then erected outside the city gates a pile of fagots and threatened to burn her alive if she refused to repeat after them impious words (either a blasphemy against Christ, or an invocation of the heathen gods). Given, at her own request, a little freedom, she sprang quickly into the fire and was burned to death."

This brief tale was extended and moralized in Jacobus de Voragine's Golden Legend (c. 1260). Jacobus de Voragine (c. ... The Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine is a collection of fanciful hagiographies, lives of the saints, that became a late mediæval best seller. ... The magnificent Cathedral of Chartres was dedicated in 1260. ...

Apollonia and a whole group of early martyrs did not await the death they were threatened with, but either to preserve their chastity or because they were confronted with the alternative of renouncing their faith or suffering death, voluntarily embraced the death prepared for them, an action that runs perilously close to suicide, some thought. Augustine of Hippo touches on this question in the first book of The City of God, apropos suicide (I:26): It has been suggested that Suicide method be merged into this article or section. ... “Augustinus” redirects here. ... The City of God, opening text, created c. ...

"But, they say, during the time of persecution certain holy women plunged into the water with the intention of being swept away by the waves and drowned, and thus preserve their threatened chastity. Although they quitted life in this wise, nevertheless they receive high honour as martyrs in the Catholic Church and their feasts are observed with great ceremony. This is a matter on which I dare not pass judgment lightly. For I know not but that the Church was divinely authorized through trustworthy revelations to honour thus the memory of these Christians. It may be that such is the case. May it not be, too, that these acted in such a manner, not through human caprice but on the command of God, not erroneously but through obedience, as we must believe in the case of Samson? When, however, God gives a command and makes it clearly known, who would account obedience thereto a crime or condemn such pious devotion and ready service?"

The narrative of Dionysius does not suggest the slightest reproach as to this act of St. Apollonia; in his eyes she was as much a martyr as the others, and as such she was revered in the Alexandrian Church. In time, her feast was also popular in the West. A later legend mistakenly duplicated Apollonia, making her a Christian virgin of Rome in the reign of Julian the Apostate, suffering the same dental fate. Samson and Delilah, by Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641) This article is about Biblical figure. ... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... Flavius Claudius Iulianus (331–June 26, 363), was a Roman Emperor (361–363) of the Constantinian dynasty. ...

The Roman Catholic Church celebrates Apollonia on February 9, and she is popularly invoked against the toothache because of the torments she had to endure. She is represented in art with pincers in which a tooth is held. In a late 14th century illumination from a French manuscript, widely distributed as a poster that is considered suitable for dentists' offices in the U.S., the sacred tooth in her pincers glows from within, like a lightbulb. The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... February 9 is the 40th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This 14th-century statue from south India depicts the gods Shiva (on the left) and Uma (on the right). ...

Saint Apollonia is one of the two patron saints of Catania. In Germany, where the Fourteen Holy Helpers (vierzehn heiligen) or Nothelfer are singled out as the patron saints of daily life, Apollonia, protectress against toothache, is one of them. Saint Quentin is the patron saint of locksmiths and is also invoked against coughs and sneezes. ... Catania is the second-largest city of Sicily, southern Italy, and is the capital of the province which bears its name. ... Fourteen Holy Helpers The Fourteen Holy Helpers are a group of saints venerated together in Roman Catholicism because prayer to them was thought to be particularly effective, especially against various diseases. ...

Reliquary containing a tooth reputedly that of Saint Apollonia, in the Cathedral of Porto

William S. Walsh, Curiosities of Popular Customs And of Rites, Ceremonies, Observances, and Miscellaneous Antiquities 1897, noted that, though the major part of her relics were preserved in the former church of St. Apollonia at Rome, her head at the Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere, her arms at the Basilica di San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, parts of her jaw in St. Basil's, and other relics are in the Jesuit church at Antwerp, in St. Augustine's at Brussels, in the Jesuit church at Mechlin, in St. Cross at Liege, in the treasury of the cathedral of Porto, and in several churches at Cologne. These relics consist in some cases of a tooth only or a splinter of bone. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 382 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (609 × 956 pixel, file size: 181 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Reliquary containing a tooth, reputedly that of Saint Apollonia, in the treasury of the cathedral of Porto, Portugal File links The following pages on the English... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 382 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (609 × 956 pixel, file size: 181 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Reliquary containing a tooth, reputedly that of Saint Apollonia, in the treasury of the cathedral of Porto, Portugal File links The following pages on the English... For the band Reliquary, click here. ... Night lateral view of the Cathedral showing the romanesque façade of the transept and the baroque loggia and stairway The Oporto Cathedral (Portuguese: Sé do Porto), located in the historical centre of the city of Porto, Portugal, is one of the citys oldest monuments and one of the... Santa Maria in Trastevere is one of the oldest churches in Rome. ... The Basilica di San Lorenzo fuori le Mura is a shrine to the martyred Roman deacon, Saint Lawrence. ... For other uses, see Antwerp (disambiguation). ... Nickname: Map showing the location of Brussels in Belgium Coordinates: Country Belgium Region Brussels-Capital Region Founded 979 Founded (Region) June 18, 1989 Government  - Mayor (Municipality) Freddy Thielemans Area  - Region 162 km²  (62. ... Night lateral view of the Cathedral showing the romanesque façade of the transept and the baroque loggia and stairway The Oporto Cathedral (Portuguese: Sé do Porto), located in the historical centre of the city of Porto, Portugal, is one of the citys oldest monuments and one of the... For other uses, see Cologne (disambiguation). ...

There was a church dedicated to her in Rome, near the Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere, but it no longer exists. Only its little square, the Piazza Sant'Apollonia remains. One of the principal train stations of Lisbon is also named for this saint. Logo of the rione A typical narrow alley in Trastevere seen from the lower slopes of the Gianicolo hill Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere at night Trastevere is rione XIII of Rome, on the west bank of the Tiber, south of Vatican City. ... Location    - Country Portugal    - Region Lisboa  - Subregion Grande Lisboa  - District or A.R. Lisbon Mayor Carmona Rodrigues  - Party PSD Area 84. ...

Cult in England

In England, there are 52 known images of her in various churches which survived the ravages of the 16th century Commissioners. These are concentrated in Devon and East Anglia. Most of these images are on the panels of rood screens or in stained glass with only one being a stone capital (Stoke-in-Teignhead, Devon). Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... “Devonshire” redirects here. ... Norfolk and Suffolk, the core area of East Anglia. ... A rood is an old English ( Anglo-Saxon) unit equal to quarter an acre, i. ... Strictly speaking, stained glass is glass that has been painted with silver stain and then fired. ...

By county, some of the locations are:

• Cornwall: Poundstock
• Devon: Alphington (now gone), Ashton, Combe Martin, Exeter Cathedral (tapestry in St. Gabriel's chapel), Holne, Kenn, Kenton, Kingskerswell (now faded beyond recognition), Manaton, Payhembury, South Milton, Stoke-in-Teignhead, Torbryan, Ugborough, Whimple (now gone), Widecombe-in-the-moor, Wolborugh (Newton Abbot)
• Lincolnshire: Long Sutton
• Norfolk: Barton Turf, Docking, Horsham St Faith, Ludham, Norwich (St. Stephen's), Norwich-over-the-water (church disused), Sandringham
• Suffolk: Norton, Somerleyton, Westhall