"Almighty and everlasting God, you choose those whom the world deems powerless to put the powerful to shame: Grant us so to cherish the memory of thy youthful martyr Agnes, that we may share in her pure and steadfast faith in Thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."
St. Agnes' is one of the most recognized; most celebrated and most highly honored Christian martyrs of all time, and St. Agnes' Church in Cowan, Tennessee is one of thousands of churches around the world named in her honor!
Despite her fame, the life and death of Agnes: Martyr of Rome has always been one of the great mysteries of Christian tradition! Neither the fathers of the early Christian Church nor any of the early writers on Christian martyrdom had any direct knowledge of Agnes. Instead, they documented stories told and retold by eyewitnesses of her life and death, and verified the location of her grave and the inscriptions on her gravestone to prove her existence and her very tragic death.
Ambrose: Bishop of Milan devoted much of his ministry (374-397) to writings and is renowned for his mastery of the Latin language. Ambrose is fondly remembered for keeping his "open door policy" at the basilica where he was based so he could receive visits from people under his care. Ambrose authored a short narrative about Agnes of Rome most likely because he felt the need to document stories he was told by visitors to the basilica. His narrative is sketchy on details; however, Ambrose discloses that she was a young Christian and that she was killed by a sword.
Pope Damasus - was a native of Rome and was elected to the papacy in 366, thus he lived in the same general timeframe and in the same general vicinity of Agnes. Damascus was known for preserving and archiving important historical documents of the church (which explains his vital role in the canonization of the New Testament). Damasus composed several hymns and poems about the saints and martyrs of the early church, including one about Agnes. The hymn about Agnes says that she openly professed her Christianity just after the Imperial government of Rome declared it illegal to do so. The hymn goes on to say that she was "exposed to the gaze of the heathen multitude" but that her long, flowing hair covered her and protected her purity. Damasus concludes by writing that Agnes was tormented and ultimately killed by fire.
Prudentius: Bishop of Troyes (847-861) authored a famous text entitled Vita Sanctœ Maurœ Virginis (translation: "The Lives of Martyred Virgin Saints") in which he tells a story comparable to what was told by Damasus except that he adds an additional episode: that Agnes was brought to trial for her Christianity and was threatened to have her virginity taken away if she did not renounce Christ. Agnes refused and was sentenced to a brothel. The story goes on to say that a man tried to violate her but was struck blind in the process. (This follows the logic of what Ambrose and Damasus wrote that Agnes' "purity was threatened".)
The Acts of the Martyrdom of St. Agnes - was a collection of three texts written about the martyrdom of Agnes. One was a short version written in Greek, another was a longer version written in Greek, and the third is a short version written in Latin. The two shorter versions date back to a sermon written by Maximus, Bishop of Turin, sometime between the years 450 and 470. The Latin version tells that the incident in the brothel prompted the judge to have Agnes thrown into a fire. The flames would not touch her, so a Roman executor finally killed her with a sword.
It is commonly held that Agnes was killed in the Year 304; however, the inscriptions of Damasus lead some to believe that she was killed between the Years 249 and 251. In both timeframes, there were epic occurrences of Roman execution of Christians.
Agnes was laid to rest in a grave on Via Nomentana outside of Rome. Some years later, the slab that covered her remains was removed from the tomb and placed outside her grave with the inscription Agne sanctissima. This exact catacomb stands in a museum in Naples.
Constantine rose to power in Rome in the Year 306 and became a protector of the Christians in that society. (He officially converted to Christianity shortly before his death in the Year 325.) His daughter, Constanza, who was already a Christian, lobbied to protect the memory of Agnes and convinced her father to build a basilica over her grave on Via Nomentana. Such was done, and so the Basilica of St. Agnes' stands today as one of the oldest chapels in the entire world! Agnes' skull was removed from her catacomb and placed in repose inside the church.
Agnes was entered into the Roman calendar of the feasts of the martyrs (Depositio Martyrum) in the Year 354 (and interestingly, the calendar gives the location of her grave).
During the Middle Ages (between the fall of the Roman Empire in 375 and the fall of Constantinople in 1453) a tradition emerged surrounding Agnes that continues to this very day. Every January 21st, to lambs are blessed and their wool is made into stoles that the Pope gives to select archbishops as gifts.
The name Agnes means "lamb" in Latin (Agnus). This word is evidently derived from a Greek adjective that means "pure" (hagnê). Agnes is very commonly represented by a lamb, but she is also represented by a sword, flames, and/or a palm branch. All depictions of her show her with long hair, which legend says covered her nakedness and protected her purity.
There is yet another legendary figure related to St. Agnes who is even more mysterious than Agnes herself!
The early fathers of the church collected and archived a set of writings known as the Itineraries. The Itineraries were written by early Christians from pilgrimages they took to visit the graves of early Christian martyrs. One of these writings identifies a young girl by the name of Emerentiana who was Agnes of Rome's foster sister and who was a catechumen planning to be baptized. She was so bereaved over Agnes' tragic death that she went to her grave for days afterward to pray for her. One day at Agnes' grave a mob of pagans began to harass Emerentiana, but she refused to stop praying. Finally, she turned to them and ridiculed them for killing Agnes, at which point they stoned her to death.
The Itineraries say that a church was built over Emerentiana's grave similar to the church that was built over Agnes', but that was never the case. It was widely conjectured that Emerentiana was merely a legend until Armellini, a famous Italian archivist and researcher, discovered a burial chamber bearing her name. Indeed the grave was only a short distance from the Basilica of Agnes.
The feast of St. Emerentiana is January 23rd. The close proximity of her feast day to the Feast of Agnes represents the fact that she was killed only days after Agnes was killed.
Depictions of Emerentiana display her likeness with rocks at her feet and a palm or lily in her hand.
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