Natalitia i.e., natal days of the saints. Tertullian and other ancient writers use the words natalitia and natales in speaking of martyrs, not meaning their natural birth, but their nativity to a glorious crown in the kingdom of heaven. SEE NATAL DAYS. In this sense, Tertullian says St. Paul was born again by a new nativity at Rome, because he suffered martyrdom there. He explains it on the ground that the death of a martyr is not properly a death, but an endless life; for the sake of which all things are to be endured, and death itself to be despised. See Tertullian, De Cor. Mil. cap. 3; Oblationes pro defunctis, pro natalitiis, annua diefacimus; Conc. Laod. can. 51,
Μαρτύρων γενέθλια; Ambrose, Hom. 70; Bingham, Antiquities of the Christian Church, 2:1161; Walcott, Sacred A rchceology, s.v.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More