Saint January and his companions did not allow themselves to be intimidated from their faith by any threats or torments, and they continued in the service of God and in a holy life until their martyrdom.
The life of St. January was first extensively described by John the deacon in Naples, around 920; from his writings we learn that the holy bishop was born in the Italian city of Naples in the middle of the third century. From his youth, he was distinguished by morality, Christian faith and zeal in preaching the word of God. That is also why he was promoted to bishop in the city of Benevente. The pious bishop was respected not only by believers, but also by pagans, perhaps also because he constantly strove to make his neighbors happy. He fearlessly preached the teachings of Christ among the pagans and encouraged believers to persevere in saving faith and purity of morals.
At the beginning of the 4th century raged pagan rulers during the time of Emperor Diocletian against Christians throughout the Roman land. However, Saint Bishop Január was not afraid, he visited his subordinate priests and encouraged them to fulfill their duties and persevere in professing the holy faith despite the bloody times.
Not far from Naples in Misena, there was a zealous learned and pious deacon Sosius, whom Saint January loved very much. The young deacon was filled with such grace of the Holy Spirit that all the people praised him. The holy bishop often visited him to inflame and strengthen himself in the fear of God and to enjoy the deacon’s presence. In Misena was the tomb of the Canaanite Sibyl, which the pagans visited, and Saint January had the opportunity to proclaim the true God to these blind people.
One day Saint January came to Misena and found the deacon Sosius in the church where he was explaining the gospel to the faithful. The bishop stood among the faithful and listened to the deacon’s fiery sermon, which deeply moved him. After the sermon, the astonished bishop saw flaming flaming above the deacon’s head. After the end of the service, St. January approached the deacon, kissed him and told the congregation about his vision. He prophesied to Sosius that he would become a martyr. This prediction soon came true.
The governor of Campania, Drakoncius, heard of the zealous activity of the pious deacon Sosius, had him captured and brought before the court. Then the heathen invited him to sacrifice them to the gods. But bold Sosius replied: “God, save me from committing such an impious abomination and dishonoring my holy religion, to which I have professed since my tender youth.”
The enraged governor threatened the deacon with torture, but he resolutely replied: “Nothing shall separate me from the love of my Saviour, neither sorrow nor fear, nor nakedness nor danger, not even the sword.” to the dungeon in Pozzuola (Puteoli) and then starve and torture him there.
The deacon Proculus and two Christian townsmen, Eutyches and Akucius, learned of this cruelty, bribed the jailer and went to Saint Sosius to comfort, encourage and refresh him. The town then publicly condemned the harsh treatment of the innocent deacon. The governor heard of this, and ordered these three bold followers to be seized, and then to be flogged and imprisoned, and thrown into the same dungeon.
As soon as Saint January heard what was happening to his deacons and believers, he hastened to Pozzuolo, forced himself into the dungeon, where he then comforted the prisoners, served them food, and despite the fact that the city of Beneventum was quite far from Pozzuolo, he often visited he repeated.
In time, the emperor Diocletian dismissed Dracontius and appointed the even more ferocious pagan Timotheus as governor. He came to the city of Noly and asked the ruler to show him all the files made during the interrogation of the accused Christians, so that he could pass judgment on the guilty. Having read them carefully, he inquired what had become of the deacon Sosius and his fellow-prisoners, for there was no mention of them in the documents. The city ruler told Timotheus that they are still imprisoned in the dungeon and Bishop Január of Benevento, together with his priests, often visits them and encourages them to persevere in religion. Immediately after this answer, Timotheus sent soldiers to Benevento to capture Januarius and bring him to Nola.
Saint January was brought before the place of the holder, who told him to curse the Savior and offer them to the gods. The zealous bishop replied that he was a Christian and the chief spiritual shepherd, and as such he would not dishonor the true God and sacrifice to idols. He added that he is willing to undergo all tortures, even the cruelest death.
The cruel pagan ordered the executioners to burn in the furnace for three days and then throw St. January into it. They fulfilled his order. After three days, the executioners took the holy bishop out of the dungeon and threw him into a hot furnace. But Almighty God saved His faithful servant from every injury. St. January stood in the middle of the burning fire in the furnace and sang praises to God. When he then came out of the fiery furnace unharmed, the blinded heathen was furious and called the miracle witchcraft. Again he had the saint tortured and flogged inhumanly. Januar was then thrown into the dungeon again, bloodied.
But God punished the furious heathen. Timotheus went blind. In this misfortune, the torturer called the holy bishop to him to heal him. Saint January prayed to God to glorify his name with a miracle and to make the pagan see again. Then the bishop said to him: “You sinner, do you already recognize the great power of the true God whom I worship? Oh, that he would also bring you to the knowledge of the truth and repentance and forgive your many grievous sins!’
But despite the fact that God restored the heathen’s sight at the request of St. January, he still remained hardened and had his benefactor whipped again and locked up again in the dungeon as a sorcerer. He was later to be put to death. When the priests and faithful of Benevento heard this, they were grieved and sent the deacon Festus and the lector Desiderio to Nola to go to this spiritual shepherd and console him. As soon as Timotheus heard about this, he also had them arrested, and when they professed their faith and did not want to sacrifice to the gods, he also had them imprisoned.
A few days later, the governor left Nola for Pozzuolo, where he wanted to organize a theater and games for the amusement of the pagan people, in which the convicts were supposed to wrestle with wild animals, in order to thank him and take revenge on the hated Christians. On his departure he ordered the soldiers to bring Januar, Festus, and Desiderius to him in chains.
In the dungeon in Pozzuola, the holy bishop thus met with the deacon Sosiuos, and also with Proculus, Eutyches and Akucius. They all rejoiced to become martyrs for their Savior and sang praises to God all night long.
The next morning, the plays began in the theater. The theater was completely crowded with pagans, wanting to feast their eyes on the spilled Christian blood. The bloodthirsty Timotheus also came with other rulers and judges. He ordered the soldiers to bring the imprisoned Christians. The holy martyrs entered the theater led by Saint January. They all marked themselves with the sign of the holy cross, and the governor gave instructions to admit lions and tigers into the arena. The wild beasts rushed into the arena with a terrible roar and great leaps and immediately ran towards the holy martyrs. The Gentiles rejoiced. The beasts suddenly stopped and fell to the ground as if stunned. Then, meek as lambs, they approached the praying Christians. The pagans were stunned – they wanted to see a spectacle of blood, and instead in the arena they saw the victors over the hungry wild beasts, now quite tame. When the pagans saw this, many were immediately converted, and later even more received holy baptism.
Timotheus, who wished to ingratiate himself with the heathen, now seeing that all was in vain, shook with rage, and then in his fury ordered the executioners to take St. Januarius and his companions out of the theater, and lead them out of the city, and there to fast. He would prefer to have him killed right in the arena, but he was afraid that a miracle would happen again and they would be freed, and then the angry people would turn on him alone.
The soldiers led the holy martyrs out of the city until they reached the sulfur springs. St. January knelt and prayed aloud: “Lord, our God, into your hands we entrust our souls!” He took a scarf, blindfolded himself and bowed his head. The executioner hit himself with the sword with such force that he cut off one of his fingers along with his head. After him, they beheaded the other martyrs as well. It happened on September 19, 305.
Christians then buried the bodies of the holy martyrs near the town of Pozzola. Around the year 400, the remains of St. Januar and his companions were exhumed. They deposited the remains of Saints Proculus, Acutius and Eutyehus in the Pozzuola Temple, Saints Festus and Desiderius in Benevento and Sosius in Misena.
When a temple was built in Naples to honor Saint January, his remains were transferred to it and placed in the chapel under the main archbishop’s altar. In the same temple, the head and blood of St. January are kept in two glass ampoules. Many pilgrims come here especially on May 1st, September 19th or December 16th to perform their devotion here and to see the miracle that is still happening there.
They started building this chapel in 1529 out of gratitude that the plague stopped raging in Naples that year thanks to the intercession of St. January. The nearby volcano Vesuvius also tormented the inhabitants, especially in the 5th and 7th centuries, when it raged so much that the entire sky up to Constantinople was darkened with smoke and ash. Believing Christians called on Saint January for intercession in this danger, and they were heard. This happened in the years 685, 1631, 1698 and 1707. And it was in this last year that the remains of Saint January were carried in a magnificent coffin in a solemn procession to the chapel at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. In the evening, the gloomy sky was sprinkled with luminous stars.
