Nazarius

About Nazarius

The surviving early evidence for Nazarius is brief. Paulinus of Milan, who served as Bishop Ambrose's notary, wrote a life of Ambrose around 422. In its account of the Milanese bishop's later years, Paulinus says that Ambrose found the body of the martyr Nazarius in a garden outside the city and translated it to the Basilica of the Apostles. The episode belongs to the history of Milanese Christian worship in the late fourth century. It does not give a verifiable account of Nazarius' birth, ministry, trial, or death.Paulinus says that he was present at the tomb and saw blood that seemed as fresh as if it had been shed that day. This is an important part of Paulinus' testimony about the relic discovery, but it remains an attributed late antique report, not an independently testable observation today. The account supports the conclusion that Ambrose and his community honored the remains as those of a martyr named Nazarius. It cannot by itself establish the remains' identity or the circumstances of the martyr's death.The Roman Martyrology preserves two related observances. Its May 10 entry commemorates the discovery and translation of the bodies of Nazarius and Celsus at Milan. Its July 28 entry remembers the pair as martyrs. These are calendar traditions and should not be mistaken for a securely dated historical death. Later accounts add a detailed story of Nazarius' family, journeys, preaching, and execution during Nero's persecution. Such details are not supplied by Paulinus' account and are not used here as established biography.