10/09/2026
“For I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.” Ps. 42:11
Denis (also known as “Denys,’ from the Latin “Dionysius”), was a bishop in Paris during the years of Roman persecution under the Emperor Decius. Emperor Decius sought to uproot the church in Paris and arrested and executed many Christians in the city. Denis and his companions Rusticus and Eleutherius were so effective in their preaching and evangelism that the church continued to grow amid the persecution. Denis, Rusticus, and Eleutherius were eventually arrested and beheaded at the highest point in Paris, known today as “Montmartre.” But Denis’ story was not over. The same God who would one day raise all from the dead still had a mission for Denis’ body. According to pious legend, after Denis was beheaded, his body stood up, picked up his severed head, and walked four miles north, preaching a sermon along the way. His body finally collapsed in the town known today as Saint-Denis. The sword of the enemy could not silence the Gospel and the Christian community in Paris continued to grow, despite the Roman Empire’s hostility.
O God, who sent Saint Denis and his companions to preach your glory to the nations and strengthened them for their mission with the virtue of constancy in suffering, grant, we pray, that we may imitate them in disdaining prosperity in this world and in being undaunted by any trial. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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Art & history by Ben Lansing
