Solemnities, Feasts, Obligatory and Optional Memorials, and Traditional Dates of Commemoration
- Euphrasia, virgin
- Mochoemoc, abbot
- Gerald of Mayo, abbot
- Nicephorus of Constantinople, bishop
- Ansovinus, bishop
- Heldrad, abbot
- Roderic and Solomon, martyrs
- Leander of Seville, bishop [1]
Today, March 13, the Catholic Church commemorates 3 abbots, 3 bishops, 2 martyrs and 1 virgin. St. Nicephorus of Constantinople, bishop, is also commemorated today by the Churches using the Byzantine Calendar.
Featured in today's commemoration is St. Leander of Seville (ca. 550-600 A.D.). He was consecrated bishop of Seville in about 584 A.D. Leander devoted himself to combating the Arian heresy in Spain. It was his success in this battle that Gregory the Great advanced him to the episcopate, rewarding him with the archbishop's pallium.
St. Leander of Seville did a lot for the faith of the Church:
- he wrote treatises against Arianism
- converted many of the Arian bishops
- converted most of the Visigoths and the Spanish Suevi to the Catholic faith
- presided at the third council of Toledo in 589 A.D.
- he held a synod in Seville in 590 A.D.
- he was responsible for the reform of the Spanish liturgy
- he wrote a rule for nuns
- he is considered a doctor of the Church in the local church of Spain [2][3]
To prevent confusion as regards his feast days, Wikipedia.org says in its website that, the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches recognise the feast days for St. Leander of Seville on both 27 February and 13 March. These observances are according to particular circumstances. In the Spanish national liturgical calendar, the feast day of Leander of Seville is also commemorated every 13th of November [4].
Saints in the Byzantine Calendar [March 13]
- Translation of Relics of our father, Nicephor, Patriarch of Constantinople
In the year 846 A.D., the tomb of St. Nikephoros (also Nicephor or Nicephorus) was opened, and the relics were found incorrupt and fragrant. They were transferred to the Church of the Holy Apostles. Since St. Nicephor was against iconoclasm, he left behind three written works against that heresy. He also wrote two historial works, Breviarum and Chronographia [3][5]
References: Books, Websites & AI Search Results
- [1] Pocket Catholic Dictionary, John A. Hardon
- [2] Lives of the Saints, Richard P. McBrien
- [3] Dictionary of Saints, John J. Delaney
- [4] Leander of Seville, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leander_of_Seville, Wikipedia.org
- [5] Translation of the Relics of Saint Nikephoros Patriarch of Constantinople, Oca.org
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