Julius of Aegina

Mission and Church-Building

After his ordination, Julius and the deacon Julian devoted themselves to preaching the Gospel and baptizing among those who had not yet received the faith. The Western tradition centers his later mission on the Lake Orta region in the Novarese highlands of northern Italy.

By tradition, Julius and Julian were ordered by the Emperor Theodosius I to demolish pagan altars and sacred groves and to raise Christian churches in their place. They are said to have built one hundred churches in all: Julian's ninety-ninth at Gozzano, dedicated to Saint Lawrence, where he was later buried, and Julius's hundredth on his island in Lake Orta, dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. Because the earliest account of these deeds dates only from the eighth century and mixes legendary with historical material, the church-building tradition is best regarded as pious tradition rather than verified history.

Recent archaeological discoveries in the former parish church of Saint Lawrence (S. Lorenzo) at Gozzano confirm that Julius and Julian existed as distinct historical individuals, even where the details of their vita remain legendary.

Relics & Shrines

Julius's presumed remains are preserved in a crypt, called the scurolo, beneath the Basilica di San Giulio on Isola San Giulio in Lake Orta. The island has borne his name since at least the eighth century.

A small chapel, or oratory, was raised on the island, probably to commemorate Julius, who had died there. Churches stood on the site from the fifth and sixth centuries; the present Romanesque Basilica di San Giulio was constructed in the twelfth century. By the eleventh century the island was described as an 'inexpugnabile municipium' — an impregnable town — reflecting its strategic and religious importance. His veneration spread beyond Lake Orta: the Church of San Giulio in Castellanza was named after the island.

Veneration

Julius is venerated in both the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. His principal feast falls on January 31; in the Greek tradition he is also commemorated on May 19.

He is numbered among the patron saints of the Sacred Metropolis of Hydra, Spetses and Aegina, listed together with his companion as 'Saints Julius and Julianus, the Missionaries of Aegina.' He appears alongside thirteen other recognized saints of the Aegina region in a Synaxis honoring the protectors and patron saints of that ecclesiastical territory.