Cyriacus (+309), later canonised, is a martyr of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. He was a deacon and also worked as a doctor (exorcist). More precise details about his life are not available, or only in the form of legends. He is said to have cured the daughter of the Roman Emperor Diocletian (245-316) of a possession. During the persecution of Christians by the next emperor, Maxentius (278-312), Cyriacus was captured with his companions and died a martyr's death. First they were doused with boiling oil and then beheaded. His bones were transferred from Rome to the collegiate church of St. Cyriacus in Neuhausen near Worms (Rhineland-Palatinate) in 847 and later distributed as relics to various churches. Saint Cyriacus was said to protect against
frost and bad weather in particular, which is why he very soon became a patron saint of winegrowers and was very common in many wine-growing regions, especially in the
Palatinate. Even today, the first grapes are offered to him in a chapel near Lindenberg, where he is said to have lived as a hermit, on the Sunday next to 8 August during the Cyriacus pilgrimage.
Once, on his way home from Deidesheim, where he often visited the sick in hospital, he was said to be tired and therefore took a "Wingertstiefel" (vine support pole) as a walking stick for the way home, according to another tradition as a support in case of black ice. Normally the little bell of the Lindenberg chapel greeted the returning man, but this time it was silent. Cyriacus recognised his wrongdoing, returned the pole to its place and on his return to Lindenberg the joyful bell sounded again. Cyriacus is venerated as one of the "Fourteen Helpers in Need" (saints with special tasks), and his feast is celebrated on 8 August. In Germany, two individual vineyards are named after him:
Cyriakusberg (Sulzfeld, Franconia) and
St. Cyriakusstift (Worms, Rheinhessen). See also under
country sayings and
wine saints.
