page_title: Saint Denis of Paris
section_title: Veneration
hierarchical_section_title: Saint Denis of Paris / Veneration
context_page_description: Saint Denis of Paris was a 3rd-century Christian martyr and saint. According to his hagiographies, he was bishop of Paris in the third century and, together with his companions Rusticus and Eleutherius, was martyred for his faith by decapitation. Some accounts placed this during Domitian's persecution and identified St Denis of Paris with the Areopagite who was converted by Paul the Apostle and who served as the first bishop of Athens. Assuming Denis's historicity, it is now considered more likely that he suffered under the persecution of the emperor Decius shortly after AD 250.
  Denis is the most famous cephalophore in Christian legend, with a popular story claiming that the decapitated bishop picked up his head and walked several miles while preaching a sermon on repentance. He is venerated in the Catholic Church as the patron saint of France and Paris and is accounted one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. A chapel was raised at the site of his burial by a local Christian woman; it was later expanded into an abbey and basilica, around which grew up the French city of Saint-Denis, now a suburb of Paris.
context_section_description: Veneration of Saint Denis began soon after his death. The bodies of Denis, Eleutherius, and Rusticus were buried on the spot of their martyrdom, where the construction of the eponymous basilica was begun by Genevieve, assisted by the people of Paris. Her Vita Sanctae Genovefae attests the presence of a shrine near the present basilica by the close of the fifth century.
  Dagobert I, great-grandson of Chlothar I had the first Royal Basilica built. The Merovingian tradition was originally to bury kings as Clovis and Chlothildis in Paris, Abbey St-Genevieve/Genovefa as Clovis had ordered its construction in 502 AD. Yet Chilperic I had his own mother Dowager Queen Aregunda buried at Saint Denis. His grandson was clearly following a family tradition. Aregunda's (death about 580 AD) tomb was discovered in 1959 and her burial items can be seen at Saint-Germain-en-Laye museum. A successor church was erected by Fulrad, who became abbot in 749/50 and was closely linked with the accession of the Carolingians to the Merovingian throne.
  In time, St Denis came to be regarded as the patron saint of the French people, with St Louis the patron of the monarchy and royal dynasties. Saint Denis or Montjoie! Saint Denis! became the typical war-cry of the French armies. The oriflamme, which became the standard of France, was the banner consecrated upon his tomb. His veneration spread beyond France when, in 754, Pope Stephen II brought veneration of Saint Denis to Rome. Soon his cultus was prevalent throughout Europe. Abbot Suger removed the relics of Denis, and those associated with Rustique and Eleuthére, from the crypt to reside under the high altar of the Saint-Denis he rebuilt, 1140-44.
  In traditional Catholic practice, Saint Denis is honoured as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. Specifically, Denis is invoked against diabolical possession and headaches and with Sainte Geneviève is one of the patron saints of Paris.
caption: Late Gothic statue of Saint Denis, limestone, formerly polychromed (Musée de Cluny)
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