The Legend of St Eustachius

In the Ordinal of Pope Innocent III (1198-1216), the prototype of the missal and breviary of St Pius V, today is noted as the feast of the martyr St Eustachius and his companions, namely, his wife Theopista, and his sons Agapitus and Theopistus. The rubric of this ordinal appoints the Matins lessons to be taken from a long Latin hagiography, translated from a Greek original which seems to date back to at least the 7th century. (Acta Sanctorum 46, 123-135; BHL 2760) Their feast is kept on the same day in the Byzantine Rite, the date indicated as that of their martyrdom in the ancient passio.

The Annunciation with Ss Eustachius and Anthony the Abbot, ca. 1400-20, by the Master of the Brozzi Annunciation. (Image from Wikimedia Commons by Sailko, CC BY 3.0)

These martyrs also have a basilica in the heart of Rome, first attested in the later 8th century, from which is named the surrounding administrative district, the “rione di Sant’ Eustachio”, one of the smallest, but most densely built up. This church was one of St Philip Neri’s favorites; from 1303-1660, it served as the chapel of the professors of the University of Rome. In the Middle Ages, it was nicknamed “in platano – where the plane tree is”, in reference to a legend that a nearby tree was part of the gardens of Eustachius’ house, the family met their martyrdom, and that Constantine originally built an oratory on the site, which in turn was later replaced by the basilica.

The early 18th century façade of the Roman basilica of St Eustachius; note the stag with cross between its horns at the very top, a reference to the legend mentioned below. At the upper left hand corner is a part of the church’s belltower, the only part of the medieval structure that survives. (Image from Wikimedia Commons by LPLT, CC BY-SA 4.0)

In the editions of the Roman missal and breviary printed in the later 15th and early 16th centuries, the feast is either missing altogether, or noted only as a commemoration on the vigil of St Matthew, and so it appears also in the liturgical books of St Pius V; it is attested almost nowhere else in the later Middle Ages. Nevertheless, in 1625, Pope Urban VIII restored it with the rank of semidouble, which was then raised to double by Clement X in 1671, and so it remained until 1960, when it was again reduced to a commemoration. These vicissitudes reflect an awareness, long predating the modern age of skepticism, that the martyrs’ legend cannot be accepted as historically true.

The hagiographical lessons which were add to the breviary by Pope Urban sum up the legend as follows. Eustachius, also known as Placidus (Eustathius and Placidas in Greek), was a Roman general who served under the emperor Trajan (98-117). He and his family were converted to Christianity after he saw an vision of a crucifix between the horns of a stag he was hunting. (This episode appears in the legends of some other Saints as well, most notable, that of a bishop of Maastricht-Liège in the Low Countries named Hubert (656 ca. – 727)). The Lord prophesies to them that they will suffer “incredible calamities”, as the breviary puts it, including the loss of all their property, and the separation of the family, each believing the others to be dead or lost forever.

An early 16th century icon of St Eustachius, by an unknown painter of the Cretan school. (Public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.)

In reference to this aspect of the legend, five different hymns of their Byzantine Office compare the father to the Biblical Job, of which this is especially beautiful. “O man with a soul of steel, how may we worthily praise thee? For thou overcamest nature, and being bereaved of thy goods, thy children and thy wife, cried out that blessed and praiseworthy speech of Job, ‘The Lord gaveth, the Lord tooketh away, as it pleased the Lord.’ So came it to pass, but the God whom thou didst love, and whom thou didst fervently desire, gave thy beloved ones back to thee, knowing beforehand that they would become thy fellows in martyrdom; and with them, through various torments, thou didst reach the blessed end, taking them along with thee. O Eustathius, might in soul, beseech God that our transgressions may be forgiven.”

Eustachius is then called back to military service by Trajan, and in the course of reporting for duty, is reunited against all hope with his wife and children. But when he is ordered to participate in the pagan rituals of thanksgiving for the ensuing victory, (it was Trajan who expanded the Roman empire to its greatest extent), he refuses. For this, the family are thrown to the lions, which (as so often happens) refuse to touch them, and then put inside a hollow bronze statue of a bull and roasted alive inside it. Their bodies are buried by the faithful, and later brought to their Roman church.

The Martyrdom of St Eustathius and Companions, 1635, by the French painter Simon Vouet (1590-1649), made for the high alter of the Saints’ church in Paris.

It hardly needs to be said that no general of the name Eustachius, Placidus, or any permutation thereof from the time of Trajan is known to history. Likewise, there is absolutely no trace of these Saints in the earliest documents of the Roman liturgy, nor any reference to them in the writings of the Church Fathers who were familiar with the traditions of Rome, such as Ss Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, Leo or Gregory.

In the ancient passion, before the martyrs are placed in the bronze bull, they pray as follows: “Grant, Lord, such grace to our relics, that everyone who shall be mindful of us may have a portion with us in the kingdom of heaven…”, to which God answers, “So shall it be for you, as ye have besought, and greater still than this.” This is a common feature of the legends of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, among whose company Eustachius is traditionally honored, as a patron of all those in grave difficulties, especially those involving families, as well as hunters (along with the aforementioned St Hubert) and foresters.

A statue of St Eustachius on the high altar of the basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers in Bad Staffelstein, Bavaria, and beneath it, a view of the whole altar. Both images from Wikimedia Commons by Holger Uwe Schmitt, CC BY-SA 4.0.