Patron Saint of Travel Christopher Jesus Christ Silver Medallion Pendant i53753

Item: i53753

St. Christopher carrying Christ Travel Medallion Pendant
21x19mm (4.03 grams)
Late 20th Century
Sterling Silver by Mayward

Medallions
with St. Christopher’s name and image are commonly worn as
pendants
, 
especially by travelers, to show devotion and as a request for his blessing. 
Miniature statues are frequently displayed in
automobiles
. In French a widespread phrase for such medals is “Regarde St 
Christophe et va-t-en rassuré” (“Look at St Christopher and go on reassured”, 
sometimes translated as “Behold St Christopher and go your way in safety”); 
Saint Christopher medals and
holy cards
 
in Spanish have the phrase “Si en San Cristóbal confías, de accidente no morirás” 
(“If you trust St. Christopher, you won’t die in an accident”). In
Austria
an 
annual collection for providing vehicles for the use of missionaries is taken up 
on a Sunday close to the feast of Saint Christopher, asking people to contribute 
a very small sum of money for every kilometer that they have traveled safely 
during the year.

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Saint Christopher  
is venerated
by several
Christian
denominations as a
martyr
killed in the reign of the 3rd-century 
Roman Emperor Decius
(reigned 249–251) or alternatively under 
the Roman Emperor
Maximinus II Dacian
(reigned 308–313). There 
appears to be confusion due to the similarity in names “Decius” and “Dacian”. 
However his veneration only appears late in Christian tradition, and did not 
become widespread in the Western Church until the
Late Middle Ages
, although churches and 
monasteries were named after him by the 7th century.

That Christopher’s name, meaning “Christ-bearer”, foretells his adult life 
may give a clue that his story lacks a precise historical origin. He may be the 
same figure as
Saint  Menas
. His most famous legend, which is 
mainly known from the West and may draw from
Ancient Greek mythology
, tells that he carried 
a child, who was unknown to him, across a river before the child revealed 
himself as Christ. Therefore, he is the
patron saint
of travelers, and small images of 
him are often worn around the neck, on a bracelet, carried in a pocket, or 
placed in vehicles by Christians.

Legend

There are several legends associated with the life and death of Saint 
Christopher which first appeared in Greece and had spread to France by the 9th 
century.^{[citation 
needed]} The 11th-century bishop and poet,
Walter of Speyer
, gave one version, but the 
most popular variations originated from the 13th-century
Golden Legend
.

According to the legendary account of his life Christopher was initially 
called Reprobus. 
He was a Canaanite, 5 cubits (7.5 feet (2.3 m)) tall and with a fearsome face. 
While serving the king of Canaan, he took it into his head to go and serve “the 
greatest king there was”. He went to the king who was reputed to be the 
greatest, but one day he saw the king cross himself at the mention of the devil. 
On thus learning that the king feared the
devil
, he departed to look for the devil. He 
came across a band of marauders, one of whom declared himself to be the devil, 
so Christopher decided to serve him. But when he saw his new master avoid a 
wayside cross and found out that the devil feared Christ, he left him and 
enquired from people where to find Christ. He met a
hermit
who instructed him in the Christian 
faith. Christopher asked him how he could serve Christ. When the hermit 
suggested fasting and prayer, Christopher replied that he was unable to perform 
that service. The hermit then suggested that because of his size and strength 
Christopher could serve Christ by assisting people to cross a dangerous river, 
where they were perishing in the attempt. The hermit promised that this service 
would be pleasing to Christ.

After Christopher had performed this service for some time, a little child 
asked him to take him across the river. During the crossing, the river became 
swollen and the child seemed as heavy as lead, so much that Christopher could 
scarcely carry him and found himself in great difficulty. When he finally 
reached the other side, he said to the child: “You have put me in the greatest 
danger. I do not think the whole world could have been as heavy on my shoulders 
as you were.” The child replied: “You had on your shoulders not only the whole 
world but Him who made it. I am Christ your king, whom you are serving by this 
work.” The child then vanished.

Christopher later visited
Lycia
and there comforted the Christians who 
were being martyred. Brought before the local king, he refused to sacrifice to 
the pagan gods. The king tried to win him by riches and by sending two beautiful 
women to tempt him. Christopher converted the women to Christianity, as he had 
already converted thousands in the city. The king ordered him to be killed. 
Various attempts failed, but finally Christopher was beheaded.

Historical 
identification

 

Historical examination of the legends suggests Reprobus (Christopher) lived 
during the Christian persecutions of the Roman emperor
Decius
, and that he was captured and martyred 
by the governor of
Antioch
. 
Historian David Woods has proposed that St. Christopher’s remains were possibly 
taken to Alexandria
by
Peter of Attalia
where he may have become 
identified with the Egyptian martyr
Saint Menas
.

Saint Menas. The first is that the Greek and 
Latin legends of Saint Christopher identify him as belonging to the
Third Valerian Cohort of the Marmantae
(Latin:
Cohors tertia
Valeria
Marmantarum), a military unit of 
Northern Africa of
Marmarica
(between modern day
Libya
and
Egypt
), recruited by none other than the 
Emperor Diocletian
. 
The second is that Saint Christopher was martyred in Antioch.

The martyrdom of Saint Menas corresponds to the details of the legend of 
Saint Christopher. The theory that identifies the two saints as one and the same 
concludes that the name “Christopher” meaning “Christ-bearer” was a title given 
to the name of the valiant Menas who died in Antioch. Since he was not a native 
of that land, his name was not known and so he was simply revered by his generic 
title: “Christophoros” or “Christ-Bearer.”^[9] 
Saint Menas happens to be the patron of travelers in the Coptic tradition, 
which further supports an association with Saint Christopher who is the patron 
of travelers in the Greek and Latin traditions.

Part of Saint Christopher’s story closely parallels that of the
Argonaut

Jason
, who carried across a raging river an old 
woman that was likewise described as being far heavier than she should have been 
and was actually the goddess

Hera in disguise.

Veneration and 
patronage

 

Eastern Orthodox 
liturgy

The
Eastern Orthodox Church

Feast Day on May 9. The liturgical reading and 
hymns refer to his imprisonment by
Decius
who tempts Christopher with
harlots
before ordering his beheading.^[10] 
The Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
(hymn) reads:

Thou who wast terrifying both in strength and in countenance, for thy 
Creator’s sake thou didst surrender thyself willingly to them that sought 
thee; for thou didst persuade both them and the women that sought to arouse 
in thee the fire of lust, and they followed thee in the path of martyrdom. 
And in torments thou didst prove to be courageous. Wherefore, we have gained 
thee as our great protector, O great Christopher.

Roman Catholic liturgy

The
Roman Martyrology
remembers him on 25 July. 
The
Tridentine Calendar
commemorated him on the 
same day only in private
Masses
. By
1954
his commemoration had been extended to all 
Masses, but it was dropped in
1970
as part of the general reorganization of 
the calendar of the
Roman rite
as mandated by the
motu proprio
,
Mysterii Paschalis
. His commemoration was 
described to be not of Roman tradition, in view of the relatively late date 
(about 1550) and limited manner in which it was accepted into the Roman 
calendar, 
but his feast continues to be observed locally.

Relics

The Museum of Sacred Art at Saint Justine’s Church (Sveti Justina) in

Rab,  Croatia
claims a gold-plated
reliquary
holds the skull of St. Christopher. 
According to church tradition, a bishop showed the relics from the city wall in 
1358AD in order to end a siege of the city by an
Ottoman
army.

Medals

Medallions
with St. Christopher’s name and 
image are commonly worn as
pendants
, especially by travelers, to show 
devotion and as a request for his blessing. Miniature statues are frequently 
displayed in
automobiles
. In French a widespread phrase for 
such medals is “Regarde St Christophe et va-t-en rassuré” (“Look at St 
Christopher and go on reassured”, sometimes translated as “Behold St Christopher 
and go your way in safety”); Saint Christopher medals and
holy cards
in Spanish have the phrase “Si en 
San Cristóbal confías, de accidente no morirás” (“If you trust St. Christopher, 
you won’t die in an accident”). In
Austria
an annual collection for providing 
vehicles for the use of missionaries is taken up on a Sunday close to the feast 
of Saint Christopher, asking people to contribute a very small sum of money for 
every kilometer that they have traveled safely during the year.

General patronage

St. Christopher is a widely popular saint, especially revered by athletes,
mariners
,
ferrymen
, and travelers. 
He is revered as one of the
Fourteen Holy Helpers
. He holds patronage of 
things related to travel and travelers — against
lightning
and
pestilence
— and patronage for
archers
;
bachelors
; boatmen; soldiers;
bookbinders
;
epilepsy
; floods; fruit dealers;
fullers
;
gardeners
; a holy death; mariners; market 
carriers; motorists and drivers; sailors; storms; surfers;
toothache
; mountaineering; and transportation 
workers.

Patronage of places

Christopher is the patron saint of many places, including:
Baden, Germany
;
Barga, Italy
;
Brunswick, Germany
;
Mecklenburg, Germany
;

Rab, Croatia;
Roermond, The Netherlands
; Saint Christopher’s 
Island (Saint 
Kitts); Toses in Catalonia, Spain
;
Mondim de Basto, Portugal
;
Agrinion, Greece
;
Vilnius, Lithuania
;

Riga, Latvia;
Havana, Cuba
; and
Paete, Laguna, Philippines
.

 

Depictions in art

Because St. Christopher offered protection to travelers and against sudden 
death, many churches placed images or statues of him, usually opposite the south 
door, so he could be easily seen. 
He is usually depicted as a giant of a man, with a child on his shoulder and a 
staff in one hand. 
In England, there are more wall paintings of St. Christopher than of any other 
saint; 
in 1904, Mrs. Collier, writing for the
British Archaeological Association
, reported 
183 paintings, statues, and other representations of the saint, outnumbering all 
others except for the Virgin Mary.

In
Eastern Orthodox

icons, Saint Christopher is sometimes represented with the
head of a dog
. The background to the dog-headed 
Christopher is laid in the reign of the Emperor
Diocletian
, when a man named Reprebus,
Rebrebus or Reprobus (the “reprobate” or “scoundrel”) was captured 
in combat against tribes dwelling to the west of
Egypt
in
Cyrenaica
. To the unit of soldiers, according 
to the hagiographic narrative
, was assigned the name
numerus Marmaritarum or “Unit of the Marmaritae”, which suggests an 
otherwise-unidentified “Marmaritae” (perhaps the same as the Marmaricae
Berber
tribe of
Cyrenaica
). He was reported to be of enormous 
size, with the head of a dog instead of a man, apparently a characteristic of 
the Marmaritae. This Byzantine depiction of St. Christopher as dog-headed 
resulted from their misinterpretation of the Latin term Cananeus 
(Canaanite) to read canineus (canine).

The German bishop and poet
Walter of Speyer
portrayed St. Christopher as a 
giant of a cynocephalic species in the land of the Chananeans (the “canines” of
Canaan
in the New Testament) who ate human 
flesh and barked. Eventually, Christopher met the Christ child, regretted his 
former behavior, and received baptism. He, too, was rewarded with a human 
appearance, whereupon he devoted his life to Christian service and became an
athlete of God
, one of the
soldier-saints
.

References in 
popular culture

See
Saint Christopher in popular culture

See also

• Cynocephaly
• List of saints
• Patron saint
• Saint Menas