Editing Longinus (section)

==Origins==
No name for this soldier is given in the canonical Gospels; the name ''Longinus'' is instead found in the [[apocryphal]] ''[[Gospel of Nicodemus]]''. Longinus was not originally a saint in [[Christian tradition]]. An early tradition, found in a sixth- or seventh-century pseudepigraphal "[[Letter of Herod to Pilate]]", claims that Longinus suffered for having pierced Jesus, and that he was condemned to a cave where every night a lion came and mauled him until dawn, after which his body healed back to normal, in a pattern that would repeat until the end of time.<ref>Ehrman, Bart D, and Zlatko Pleše. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=QzxpAgAAQBAJ The Apocryphal Gospels: Texts and Translations]''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011, p. 523</ref> Later traditions turned him into a Christian convert, but as [[Sabine Baring-Gould]] observed: "The name of Longinus was not known to the Greeks previous to the [[Germanus I of Constantinople|patriarch Germanus]], in 715. It was introduced among the Westerns from the Apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus. There is no reliable authority for the Acts and martyrdom of this saint."<ref name="Baring-Gould">Baring-Gould, ''The Lives of the Saints'', vol. III (Edinburgh) 1914, ''sub'' "March 15: S[aint] Longinus M[artyr]"; Baring-Gould adds, "The Greek Acts pretend to be by S. [[Hesychius of Jerusalem|Hesychius]] (March 28th), but are an impudent forgery of late date." ([https://web.archive.org/web/20000129143328/http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/9587/bglong.html on-line text]).</ref>

The name is probably Latinized into a common cognomen of the [[Cassia gens]], from the Greek {{lang|grc-Latn|lónchē}} ({{lang|grc|λόγχη}}), the word used for the spear mentioned in [[Gospel of John|John]] {{bibleverse-nb|John|19:34|KJV}}.<ref>See at [[Kontos (weapon)|Kontos]]; "The name cannot be ascribed to any tradition; its obvious derivation from logchē (λόγχη), spear or lance, shows that it was, like that of [[Saint Veronica]], fashioned to suit the event," noted Elizabeth Jameson, ''The History of Our Lord as Exemplified in Works of Art'' 1872:160.</ref> It first appears lettered on an [[Illuminated manuscript|illumination]] of the Crucifixion beside the figure of the soldier holding a spear, written, perhaps contemporaneously, in horizontal Greek letters, <small>''LOGINOS'' (ΛΟΓΙΝΟϹ)</small>, in the Syriac [[Rabula Gospels|gospel manuscript illuminated by a certain Rabulas]] in the year 586, in the [[Laurentian Library]], Florence. The spear used is known as the [[Holy Lance]], and more recently, especially in occult circles, as the "Spear of Destiny", which was revered at [[Jerusalem]] by the sixth century, although neither the centurion nor the name "Longinus" were invoked in any surviving report. As the "Lance of Longinus", the spear figures in the legends of the [[Holy Grail]].{{citation needed|date=September 2014}}

Blindness or other eye problems are not mentioned until after the tenth century.<ref name="Sticca">{{cite book|last1=Sticca|first1=Sandro|title=The Latin Passion Play: Its Origins and Development|date=1970|publisher=State University of New York|isbn=978-0873950459|page=[https://archive.org/details/latinpassionplay00sand/page/159 159]|url=https://archive.org/details/latinpassionplay00sand|url-access=registration|quote=Longinus Jesus Christ blind.|access-date=27 March 2018}}</ref> [[Petrus Comestor]] was one of the first to add an eyesight problem to the legend and his text can be translated as "blind", "dim-sighted" or "weak-sighted". The ''[[Golden Legend]]'' says that he saw celestial signs before conversion and that his eye problems might have been caused by illness or age.<ref name="Webber">{{cite book|author1=Ruth House Webber|editor1-last=Caspi|editor1-first=Michael|title=Oral Tradition and Hispanic Literature: Essays in Honor of Samuel G. Armistead|date=1995|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0815320623|page=633|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yej1AwmvO6gC&q=Petrus+Comestor++longinus+blindness&pg=PA633|access-date=27 March 2018|chapter=Jimena's Prayer in the Cantor de Mio Cid and the French Epic Prayer}}</ref> The touch of [[Blood of Christ|Jesus's blood]] cures his eye problem:

{{blockquote|Christian legend has it that Longinus was a blind Roman centurion who thrust the spear into Christ's side at the crucifixion. Some of Jesus's blood fell upon his eyes and he was healed. Upon this miracle Longinus believed in Jesus.<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Godwin | first1 = Malcolm | title = The Holy Grail: Its Origins, Secrets & Meaning Revealed | publisher = Viking Penguin | year = 1994 | page = [https://archive.org/details/holygrailitsorig00godw/page/51 51] | isbn = 0-670-85128-0 | url = https://archive.org/details/holygrailitsorig00godw/page/51 }}</ref>}}

The body of Longinus is said to have been lost twice, but discovered at [[Mantua]], together with the Holy Sponge stained with Christ's blood, wherewith it was told—extending Longinus's role—that Longinus had assisted in cleansing Christ's body when it was taken down from the cross. The relic enjoyed a revived cult in the late 13th century under the patronage of the [[Bonacolsi]].<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.diocesidimantova.it/approfondisci/pagine/dettaglio/preziosissimo-sangue-e-sacri-vasi/ | title = Most Precious Blood and Sacred Vessels | language = it | website = Roman Catholic Diocese of Mantua | access-date = Dec 23, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181223202723/https://www.diocesidimantova.it/approfondisci/pagine/dettaglio/preziosissimo-sangue-e-sacri-vasi/ | archive-date = December 23, 2018 | url-status = live}}</ref>

The relics are said to have been divided and then distributed to [[Prague]] (St. Peter and Paul Basilica, Vyšehrad)<ref>{{cite journal|lang=cs|last=Nechvátal|first=Bořivoj|title=Dva raně středověké sarkofágy z Vyšehradu|journal=Archaeologia Historica|year=2001|volume=26|issue=1|page=345-358|issn=0231-5823|url=https://hld.handle.net/11222.digilib/140428|publisher=Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University}}</ref> and elsewhere. Greek sources assert that he suffered martyrdom in [[Cappadocia]]. The [[Cathedral of St. John the Baptist (Washington, D.C.)|Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St. John the Baptist]], Washington, DC, purports to have a holy relic, a fragment of bone, of Saint Longinus.<ref>[https://stjohndc.org/en/list-of-relics/longinus-cappadociathe-centurion-martyr "Longinus of Cappadociathe, centurion, martyr", Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St.John the Baptist, Washington DC.]</ref>