Martyr
Martyr Celsus of Milan
I в. (по преданию, при Нероне, 54–68)
Also known as: Кельсий Медиоланский, Цельсий, Мч. Кельсий Медиоланский
Disciple and companion of the Martyr Nazarius, beheaded with him in Milan, according to tradition under Emperor Nero. His relics were found by St Ambrose of Milan. Commemorated on 14 (27) October.
The Martyr Celsus of Milan is commemorated together with the Martyrs Nazarius, Gervasius and Protasius on 14 (27) October. According to his Life, he was the son of a Christian woman of Cemenelum in Gaul; Nazarius, a Roman preaching there, baptised and raised the boy, who became his disciple and companion. After surviving wild beasts and an attempt to drown them, the two returned to Milan, visited Gervasius and Protasius in prison and were beheaded on Nero's orders.
The historical witness to the martyrs is the finding of their relics by St Ambrose. His biographer Paulinus relates that in the last years of Ambrose's life, after the death of Theodosius I (395), he found in a garden outside Milan the body of Nazarius, beheaded and still bearing traces of blood, and moved it to the Basilica of the Apostles; the body of Celsus, found in the same garden, was moved there too. Scholars regard the details of their travels and the dating to Nero's reign as belonging to a later legend. In the Catholic Church their feast is kept on 28 July.