Tuesday, August 25, 2026

It is the 25th of August 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

There’s something about duplicates and August 25th. If you follow Major League Baseball, you might know that there is not one Max Muncy, but two Max Muncy’s. They were both drafted by the A’s, they both play the infield, and they were both born on this, the 25th of August (one in 2002, one in 1990).

 

August 25th could also double, perhaps triple, quadruple… nay, quintuple for different Christian saints- all called Genesius.

 

So, what is going on? First, it reminds us that early church calendars were always filled with the names of the faithful departed. And as last names weren’t prevalent in the ancient and medieval world, it is very easy to get them confused. There are also names, like Genesius, which invite speculation.

 

The name shares a root with the Roman “Genius,” the “guardian spirit” assigned at birth. It shares a root with the word “Genesis” as in the first book of the Bible and with “Gnesio” meaning “authentic”. “GEN” words have long had “origin” and “production” connotations.

 

I’ve got a Genesius of Rome, Arles, two in Clermont, and one bishop of Lyon. The two most interesting are also the earliest, the most legendary, and share today as a common feast day. Those that came later may well have been named after these popular, but fabricated saints.

 

St. Genesius of Arles was said to have been a catechumen (studying to be baptized) around the year 300. He was a soldier who was also proficient at writing. He was called into the service of a certain magistrate who was obeying Imperial orders to persecute Christians who wouldn’t sacrifice to the Roman Gods. Genesius was said to have been present when that edict was pronounced and offended, through his tablets at the feet of the magistrate, and fled. He was captured and killed, thus, as the early martyrologies tell us, “baptized in blood”. It was a popular story of resistance, and from the 4th century we do have a church and altar dedicated to him in Arles. He is the patron saint of secretaries and notaries.

 

The other legendary Genesius is said to have been from Rome and put to death on this day, or around the same year as the other Genesius. In fact, if you have heard of Genesius, it’s likely this one- a very popular saint, as he is the patron saint of actors and comedians. The story goes that he was an actor who put on a play for that dastardly Diocletian, and it was a play specifically mocking Christians. In the play, he was baptized in a ceremony mocking the sacrament, but apparently it worked, and the actor mocking Christianity became a Christian. Diocletian was furious and had his head cut off.

 

It’s a popular and curious story because it follows the motif of God’s power being greater than the emperors, the futility of mocking what is truly holy, and making a saint for those involved in the theatre. It seems genuinely established in the early church that the theatre was no place for a Christian. There were various reasons for this. Some, including St. Augustine, thought that Christians shouldn’t have their emotions manipulated by falsehoods…. [and as much as I like the guy, Augustine would hate Professional Wrestling]. A more common understanding was the idea that theatre in and of itself might be ok, but the culture surrounding it was debauched and thus inappropriate for Christians. 


 

And so to have a saint that came out of the theatre could serve as a kind of “baptizing” of a vocation once banned. Today there is a fraternity of St. Genesius- a group of folks dedicated to praying for those in the theatrical and cinematic arts.

 

The bishops of Clermont and Lyon, as well as the Count, all called Genesius, all came later, are much more likely to have existed but don’t have the dramatic stories that often make up… well, the stuff of Legends. Today we remember all the Genesii- especially the earliest, whose fantastical stories engaged generations of later Christians.

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and the doxology from Romans 11:

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
 How unsearchable his judgments,
 and his paths beyond tracing out!

34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
 Or who has been his counselor?”

35 “Who has ever given to God,
 that God should repay them?”

36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.
 To him be the glory forever! Amen.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 25th of August 2026 brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who is undoubtedly a Gnesio-Lutheran- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who knows that, unlike the older Max Muncy, Genesius, being a Christian, would never play for those evil bad no good Dodgers… I’m an Angel fan, Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.