De sanctis Johanne et Paulo
The Conversion of Gallicanus
Through the influence of the virgin Constantia and the holy officials Johannes and Paulus, the Roman commander Gallicanus converts to Christ and embraces a life of poverty.
Johannes and Paulus were the chief officials and overseers for Constantia, the daughter of Emperor Constantine. At that time, when the Scythian people were occupying Dacia and Thrace and Gallicanus, the commander of the Roman army, was to be sent against them, he requested that Constantia, Constantine’s daughter, be given to him in marriage as a reward for his service—a request that the Roman leaders also urgently pressed. The father was deeply troubled, knowing that his daughter, having been healed by the blessed Agnes, had committed herself to a life of virginity and would rather be killed than yield to such a union. The virgin, however, trusting in God, consulted her father and asked that he promise her to Gallicanus only upon his return as a victor. She further requested that Gallicanus allow her two daughters, whom he had from his late wife, to remain with her so that she might learn of the father’s character and intentions through them, and that he grant her his two officials, Johannes and Paulus, in the hope of greater stability, all the while praying to God that He might convert both him and the daughters. Once this was agreed upon by all, Gallicanus set out with Johannes and Paulus and a large army, but his forces were broken by the Scythians and he was besieged by the enemy in a city of Thrace. Then Johannes and Paulus approached him and said, "Make a vow to the God of heaven, and you will be a better victor than you have been." When he had done this, a youth carrying a cross on his shoulder immediately appeared to him and said, "Take up your sword and follow me." Taking it, he rushed through the middle of the camp, reached the king, and killed him; by fear alone, he subdued the entire army and made them tributaries to the Romans, while two armed soldiers appeared to him and strengthened him on every side. Having become a Christian, he returned to Rome and, after being received with great honor, asked the Emperor to excuse him from marrying his daughter, for he now intended to live in continence for Christ. When this pleased the Emperor greatly and Gallicanus’s two daughters had been converted to Christ by the virgin Constantia, Gallicanus himself resigned his command and, distributing all he had to the poor, served Christ in poverty alongside other servants of God.
The Rise of Julian and the Steadfastness of the Saints
As Julian the Apostate rises to power and attempts to coerce the saints into idolatry, Johannes and Paulus remain firm in their faith and charity.
He performed many miracles, to the point that by his mere gaze he would drive demons out of possessed bodies. The fame of this holy reputation grew so much throughout the whole world that people came from the East and the West to see a man who had been a patrician consul washing the feet of the poor, setting the table, pouring water over their hands, serving the sick with care, and performing other duties of holy service. After Constantine died, Constantius—the son of Constantine the Great—took the throne, corrupted by the Arian heresy; but since Constantius, the brother of Constantine, had left behind two sons, Gallus and Julian, the Emperor Constantius made the aforementioned Gallus a Caesar and sent him against the rebelling Judea, though he later had him killed. Julian, however, fearing he might be killed by Constantius just as his brother had been, entered a monastery. There, feigning great religious devotion, he was ordained a reader and consulted the future through a malevolent demon, receiving the answer that he would be raised to the empire. After some time, due to urgent business, Constantius made Julian a Caesar and sent him to Gaul, where he handled everything energetically; but when Constantius died, as has been mentioned, and Julian the Apostate was raised to the empire by Constantius, Julian ordered that Gallicanus must either sacrifice to the gods or leave, for he did not dare to put such a man to death. He then went to Alexandria and, pierced through the heart by the infidels, received the crown of martyrdom, while Julian, caught in sacrilegious greed, was disguising his avarice with the testimony of the Gospel. For as he took property away from Christians, he would say, 'Your Christ says in the Gospel: whoever does not renounce all that he possesses cannot be my disciple.' Hearing, therefore, that John and Paul were supporting poor Christians with the wealth that the virgin Constantia had left behind, he commanded them to be as loyal to him as they had been to Constantine. But they replied, "While the glorious emperors Constantine and his son Constantius boasted of being servants of Christ, we served them; but you, because you have abandoned a religion full of virtues, we have completely turned away from you and refuse to obey you." Julian sent word to them, "I held a clerical position in the Church, and if I had wanted to, I could have reached the highest rank in the Church; but considering it vanity to pursue idleness and leisure, I gave my mind to military service, and by sacrificing to the gods, I obtained the empire through their favor." Therefore, since you were raised in the royal court, you shouldn't be absent from my side, so that I may have you as the foremost in my palace." "But if I am despised by you, I must act so that I cannot be despised." They replied, "By preferring God to you, we in no way fear your threats; if you don't come to me of your own accord within ten days, you'll be forced to do later what you don't care to do willingly." The saints answered him, "Consider that ten days have already passed, and do today what you threaten to do then." Julian said to them, "Do you think that being Christians makes you martyrs? Unless you agree with me, I will punish you, not as martyrs, but as public enemies." Then John and Paul, persisting in almsgiving for ten full days, gave away all their possessions to the poor; but on the tenth day, Terentianus was sent to them, who said, "Our lord Julian has sent a small golden statue of Jupiter to you, so that you may burn incense to it; otherwise, you will both perish together."
Martyrdom and Heavenly Witness
Johannes and Paulus receive the crown of martyrdom, and their holy legacy is confirmed through miraculous appearances and the testimony of the Church.
The saints said to him, "If Julian is your lord, keep the peace with him; for us, there is no other lord but Jesus Christ." He then ordered them to be secretly beheaded and buried in a pit inside the house, spreading the rumor that they had been sent into exile. After this, Terentianus’s daughter was seized by a demon and began to cry out inside the house that she was being tormented by it; seeing this, Terentianus confessed his crime and became a Christian, the passion of the saints was written down by him, and his son was set free. They suffered, however, around the year of our Lord 364. Gregory relates in his homily on the Gospel, 'If anyone wants to come after me,' that a certain noblewoman, while frequently visiting the church of these martyrs, found two monks standing there in pilgrim’s clothing on her way home one day. Believing them to be pilgrims, she ordered alms to be given to them, but after her steward approached to make the gift, they stood closer to him and said, 'You are visiting us now, but we will look for you on the day of judgment, and we will provide for you whatever we can.' Once they said this, they vanished from her sight. Ambrose says this about these martyrs in his preface: 'The blessed martyrs John and Paul truly fulfilled what is said with the Davidic voice: "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell in unity," sharing the law of birth, joined in the society of faith, made similar by the equality of their passion, and glorious in one Lord forever.'
Read the original Latin
Johannes et Paulus primicerii et praepositi Constantiae, filiae Constantini Augusti fuerunt: eo autem tempore cum gens Scythica Daciam et Thraciam occuparet et Gallicanus dux Romani exercitus contra praedictam gentem mitti deberet, Constantiam filiam Constantini pro mercede laboris sibi in uxorem dari petebat, quod etiam Romani principes instantius fieri postulabant. Pater autem plurimum tristabatur sciens filiam snam, postquam a beata Agnete sanata fuerat, in virginitatis proposito positam facilius occidi posse quam ad consensum inclinari, virgo tamen de Deo confidens patri consuluit, et eam sibi spondeat, cum victor rediret, verumtamen duas filias suas, quas ex uxore defuncta susceperat, idem Gallicanus secum manere permitteret, ut per eas mores et votum patris scire posset, et ipsa duos praepositos suos Johannem et Paulum sibi concederet in spe quasi majoris firmitatis, rogans Deum, -ut ipsum et filias converteret. Quod ubi omnibus placuit, Gallicanus assumtis Johanne et Paulo et copioso exercitu proficiscitur, sed tamen a Scytharum gente ejus exercitus frangitur et in urbe Thraciarum ab hostibus obsidetur. Tunc accedentes Johannes et Paulus eidem dixerunt: fac votum Deo coeli et eris victor melior quam fuisti. -Quod cum fecisset, juvenis in humero ferens crucem statim sibi apparuit eique dixit: sume gladium tuum et sequere me. Quem ille accipiens per media castra ruit et ad regem usque deveniens illamque occidens solo timore universum exercitum subjugavit et Romanis tributarios fecit, duo quoque milites armati eidem apparentes eum hinc inde confirmabant. Factus igitur christianus Romam rediit et cum multo honore susceptus rogavit Augustum, ut sibi indulgeret, si filiam minime desponsaret, eo quod de caetero Christo continenter vivere proponeret. Quod cum Augusto plurimum placuisset et duae filiae Gallicani a Constantia virgine ad Christum conversae essent, ipse Gallicanus ducatu cessit et omnia pauperibus tribuens Christo cum aliis servis Dei in paupertate servivit.
"Multa antem miracula faciebat ita, ut solo visu daemones de obsessis corporibus effugaret. Hujus sacrae opinionis fama in toto orbe terrarum in tantum excrevit, ut ab oriente et occidente venientes viderent virum ex patricio consule lavantem pedes pauperum, ponentem mensam, aquam manibus effundentem, languentibus sollicite ministrantem et caetera sanctae servitutis officia exhibentem. Constantino igitur defuncto Constantius Constantini magni filius Ariana haeresi depravatus imperium tenuit, verum cum Constantius frater Constantini duos filios, scilicet Gallum et Julianum, reliquisset, Constantius imperator dictum Gallum Caesarem fecit et contra Judaeam rebellantem misit, quem tamen postmodum interfecit. Julianus vero timens, ne exemplo fratris a Constantio perimeretur, monasterium ingressus est, ubi magnam religionem simulans lector ordinatus est, qui per maleficum daemonem consuluit, responsum accipiens, quod ad imperinm sublimandus esset. Post aliquod tempus urgentibus aliquibus negotiis Constantius Julianum Caesarem fecit et ipsum in Galliam destinavit, qui omnia strenue agebat, mortuo autem, ut dictum est, Constantio et Juliano apostata in imperium a Constantio sublimato, jussit Julianus, ut Gallicanus aut Diis immolaret aut abscederet: tanto enim viro non audebat necem inferre. llle igitur Alexandriam perrexit et ab infidelibus per cor transfixus marlirii coronam percepit, at Julianus captus cupiditate sacrilega avaritiam suam evangelii testimonio colorabat. Nam facultates a christianis auferens dicebat: Christus vester dicit in evangelio, qui non renuntiaverit omnibns, quae possidet, non potest meus esse discipulus. Audiens igitur, quod Johannes et Paulus ex opibus, quas virgo Constantia reliquerat , christianos pauperes sustentabant, mandavit iisdem, quod, sicnt Constantino, ita quoque et sibi adhaerere deberent.
At illi dixerunt: dum gloriosi imperatores Constantinus et filius ejus Constantius se esse servos Christi gloriabantur, nos famulabamus eisdem, tu vero quia religionem plenam virtutibus reliquisti, a te omnino recessimus et tibi obedire contemnimus. Quibus Julianus mandavit: ego in ecclesia clericatum obtinui et, si voluissem, ad primum ecclesiae statum pervenissem, sed considerans vanum esse inertiam sectari et otium, "militiae animum dedi Diisque sacrificans eorum suffragiis imperium obtinui. Unde vos in aula regia nutriti non debetis lateri meo deesse, ut primos vos in palatio meo habeam. Quodsi a vobis contemtus fuero, agam necesse est, ut contemni non possim. Qui respondentes dixerunt: Deum tibi praeponentes minas tuas nequaquam 8i infra decem dies ultro ad me venire contemseritis, coacti postmodum facietis, quod sponte facere non curatis. Gui sancti responderunt: jam decem dies praeteriisse aestima et hodie facito, quod tune te facturum esse minaris. Quibus Julianus: putatis, quod martires vos faciant christiani: nisi mihi consenseritis, puniam vos, non ut martires, sed ut publicos hostes. Tunc Johannes et Paulus per totos decem dies elemosinis insistentes omnia sua pauperibus erogabant, decima autem die missus est ad cos Terentianus, qui dixit iis: dominus noster Julianus statiunculum aureum Jovis ad vos misit, ut eidem thura incendatis: alioquin ambo simul peribitis.
Cui sancti dixerunt: si tuus dominus est Julianus, habeto pacem cum illo, nobis alius dominus non est nisi Jesus Ghristus. Tunc jussit eos occulte decollari et in fovea intra domum sepeliri, famam faciens, quod in exsilium essent missi. Post hoc filias Terentiani a daemone arripitur et infra domum clamare coepit, quod a daemone vexaretur: quod videns Terentianus scelus confitetur i ct christianus efficitur, passio sanctorum ab eo conscribitur et ejus, filius liberatur. Passi sunt autem circa annum domini CCCLXIV. Refert Gregorius in homelia evangelii: si quis valt venire post me, quod quaedam matrona dum ecclesiam istorum martirum frequentius visitaret et die quadam inde rediret, duos stantes monachos sub peregrino habitu invenit, quos peregrinos credens elemosinam sibi dari praecepit, sed postquam dispeüsator iis ad largiendum appropinquasset, adstiterunt ei vicinius et dixerunt: tu nos modo visitas, nos te in die judicii requiremus, et quidquid poterimus, tibi praestabimus. Quo dicto ab oculis ejus alati sunt. Ambrosius de his martiribus in praefatione sic dicit: beati martires Johannes et Paulus veraciter impleverunt, quod Davidica voce dicitur: ecce-quam bonum et quam jucundum habitare fratres in unum, nascendi lege consortes, fidei societati conjuncti, passionis aequalitate consimiles, in uno semper domino gloriosi.
The Golden Legend (Legenda Aurea) companion
Continue through all 240 chapters, one saint a day
Chosen Portion serves the Golden Legend as a daily portion on iOS, free, alongside the full Sub Rosa archive
The Legenda Aurea was organized for day-by-day use across the liturgical year, and Chosen Portion restores that original one-feast-per-day reading rhythm
- A complete saint's life or feast reading most days in 5-10 minutes
- 240 chapters - enough daily readings to cover a full liturgical year and beyond
- Daily reminders so the plan survives busy weeks