Justin Appel

Dear Friends,

Today, the Episcopal Church remembers Saints Cecilia and Agnes, martyrs from the city of Rome in the 3rd and 4th centuries. St Cecilia’s feast day is also marked on November 22 in the Church of England and Roman Catholic calendars.

From the tradition surrounding Cecilia’s hagiography, we learn that she “sang in her heart to the Lord” during the wedding to her husband, Valarius. Taken together with her martyrdom, this detail has fired imaginations in the Church for centuries, and she is known today as the patron saint of singers, of musicians, poets, and even of organ builders!

Together with her husband and his brother, Tiburtius, Cecilia was martyred for her faith in Christ during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander. Her body was placed in the Catacombs of St Callixtus, where her body remained until the early 9th century, when her remains, and those of Pope Urban I, were moved to the church that bears her name across the Tiber River,Santa Cecilia in Trastevere.

I think it is beautiful to have stories of saints who were known in particular locales, who gave their lives for their Christian faith. Such stories may seem far away and formulaic—however, they give witness to a significant phenomenon in the Church’s history, and that phenomenon is obviously real.

In the Church, we are supposed to look at these characters as examples to follow. We should understand that the greatest possible honor in this life is bear witness (martyria) to the Lord and to our faith in him. This witness may be in daily attempts to die to self, or to the ultimate sacrifice of our lives. Saints like Cecilia teach us to treat such possibilities as a privilege, and the gateway to real life.

Yours in Christ,

—Justin