Saint Anastasius the Fuller.
Saint Anastasius the Fuller.
Patron Saint of Fulling
Anastasius (variously spelled Anastasios) was born of a wealthy Italian family in Aquileia, near Venice during the reign of Diocletian (AD 284-311). He was aware that Saint Paul had told the Thessalonians that the most worthy form of work was that using the hands and he chose to follow this advice by becoming a Fuller in the place now known as Split in Croatia. Fulling is the process of cleaning wool cloth to whiten it so that it could be successfully dyed. In those days, the cloth was immersed in a bath of soapy water and then either beaten with sticks or, squashed and stamped on to remove the dirt.
Anastasius was a very religious man and deeply affected by witnessing the martyrdom of some of his fellow Christians, determined to be a martyr himself, so great were his religious beliefs. He painted a cross on his workshop door to proclaim his faith and provoke the Emperor’s wrath.
In AD 304, he was beheaded and thrown into the sea but a rich resident – a woman by the name of Ascalopia – rescued his body and buried it in the church on her estate. His relics were removed from there to Split in the 7th century.
He is remembered on 26th August, although some calendars make him on 7th September.