THE PRIESTLY

August 5

From the Prologue

Fabian was a Roman by birth. At first, he was a village priest and, after that, during the election of a pope, when a white dove descended upon him, he was chosen pope. Fabian was meek and kind. With great diligence, he gathered the bodies of the holy martyrs and buried them with honor and built churches over their graves. In the same manner, he built shrines and chapels in the caves where the martyrs hid during the time of bitter persecution. He baptized Emperor Philip and his son Philip, the heir to the throne and, with the help of the baptized senator Pontius, destroyed many idols and idolatrous temples. When the wicked Decius was crowned emperor, a terrible persecution of Christians began during which St. Fabian suffered and was beheaded in the year 250 A.D. This holy Fabian established the custom of consecrating Holy Myron [Chrism] on Holy and Great Thursday.