Church of God News

Portrait allegedly of Januarius
(Public domain via Wikipedia) 

COGwriter

Notice the following about one Roman Catholics call Saint Januarius or San Gennaro:

September 19, 2025

The miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius was announced in Naples on Sept. 19, with the centuries-old relic once again offering what Abbot Monsignor Vincenzo De Gregorio called an “invitation to stake everything” on trust in God.

“We are delighted to announce that the relic has been found completely liquid,” said De Gregorio, the abbot of the Treasury Chapel of the Naples Cathedral.

As is tradition, the announcement was accompanied by the waving of a white handkerchief by one of the members of the Treasury of St. Januarius Deputation.

Cardinal Domenico Battaglia, the archbishop of Naples, presided over the morning Mass, then displayed the vial containing the patron saint’s blood before all present during the celebration. …

The dried blood of St. Januarius, who died around A.D. 305, is preserved in two glass ampoules, one larger than the other, in the Chapel of the Treasury of the Naples Cathedral.

The saint’s blood traditionally liquefies three times a year: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/266669/blood-of-st-januarius-liquifies-offering-a-voice-that-still-preaches

September 19, 2023

Januarius is ever preaching the Gospel to every creature; for his miraculous blood perpetuates the testimony he bore to Christ. Let those who say they cannot believe unless they see, go to Naples; there they will behold the martyr’s blood, when placed near his head which was cut off seventeen hundred years ago, to liquefy and boil as at the moment it escaped from his sacred veins. …

During the persecution of the Christians under Diocletian and Maximian, Januarius, bishop of Beneventum, was brought before Timothy, president of Campania, at Nola … he ordered the holy bishop and his companions to be beheaded. https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/st-januarius-liquefying-blood-is-an-enduring-legacy-of-his-matryrdom-for-jesus/?utm_source=most_recent&utm_campaign=canada

It is because of claimed miracles like this, supposed Marian (and other) apparitions, eucharistic hosts turning black or into blood, crying statues, etc., that many are convinced that despite its doctrinal errors, acceptance of paganism, institutional corruption, its support of torture in the Inquisition, “incorruptibles” (dead people who do not decay like most of the dead), stigmatics (people who reportedly have the marks of Jesus while He was being killed), violations of scripture, its claims via tradition of having succession from the Apostle Peter, etc., that Roman Catholics are convinced that theirs is the one true Christian church. Allow me to add that the Eastern Orthodox Catholics also point to apparitions, as well as something call ‘holy fire’ which they claim is a miracle (see ‘Holy Fire’ is not holy, but is a tourist draw).

Yet, none of those are biblical reasons to accept the Greco-Roman Catholic religions.

Furthermore, despite claims, changes in blood are not proclamation of the gospel. That was not the type of sign that would accompany true Christian leaders. This not a miracle from God. Yet it is because of such, demonic signs and lying wonders, that many have accepted the authority of the Church of Rome to change many doctrines.

Some think the whole thing is a clever hoax as the following mentions:

Every year Neapolitans pack into the city’s cathedral to witness the “miracle”. In an atmosphere nearing hysteria, the archbishop holds up a glass phial that is said to contain the dried blood of San Gennaro, the city’s patron saint, and declares it has liquefied.

Liquefaction is held to guarantee good fortune. By contrast, its failure is thought to presage disasters ranging from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius to the defeat of Napoli FC.

But yesterday’s ceremony, which marked the 1,700th anniversary of the martyrdom of San Gennaro, was overshadowed by a claim made by an Italian scientist that the liquefaction was nothing but a fake. Margherita Hack, an astrophysicist, said: “There is nothing at all mystical about this. You can make the so-called blood in your kitchen.”

Professor Hack and fellow scientists at the Italian Association for the Study of the Paranormal said that the phial contained “an iron-based chemical compound dating from medieval times.”

The dark brown gel was solid until shaken, when it liquefied. Professor Hack said that the compound was hydrated iron oxide, or FeO, which had the characteristics of blood. 09/19/2005 https://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/neapolitan-miracle-a-bloody-fake/25967051.html

Now, supporters of the ‘miracle’ view claim that analysis of what is in the vials shows it contains blood.

In my opinion, what is happening with this liquefaction is one or all of the following:

1. It is likely that there is blood, perhaps from Januarius (if they had it) that is mixed with a larger amount of hydrated iron oxide or something else, hence the appearance of a miracle.
2. Heat from the environment, and/or the hands of a clergy man holding it, makes this happen.
3. It could be that demons cause this to happen at times.

There is nothing in the Bible to support that God would do these type of signs for one like Januarius (cf. Deuteronomy 13:1-4).

Here is some of what Wikipedia has about Januarius:

Januarius … According to various hagiographies, Januarius was born in Benevento to a rich patrician family that traced its descent to the Caudini tribe of the Samnites. At age 15, he became local priest of his parish in Benevento, which at the time had only a small Christian community. When Januarius was 20, he became Bishop of Naples …

The earliest historical reference to Januarius is in a letter by Uranius, bishop of Nola, dated 432, on the death of his mentor Paulinus of Nola.^[4][5] The letter says the ghosts of Januarius and Martin of Tours appeared to Paulinus three days before his death in 431. Of Januarius, the letter says only that he was “bishop as well as martyr, an illustrious member of the Neapolitan church” …

The Feast of San Gennaro is celebrated on 19 September in the General Roman Calendar of the Catholic Church.^{[6][n 3]} In the Eastern Church, it is celebrated on 21 April. …

Januarius’s relics were transferred by order of Severus, Bishop of Naples, to the Neapolitan catacombs “outside the walls” (extra moenia).^{[11][n 5]} In the early ninth century the body was moved to Beneventum by Sico, prince of Benevento, with the head remaining in Naples. Subsequently, during the turmoil at the time of Frederick Barbarossa, his body was moved again, to the Territorial Abbey of Montevergine, where it was rediscovered in 1480.

In 1497, at the instigation of Cardinal Oliviero Carafa, the body was transferred to Naples, where he is the city’s patron saint. …

Januarius is famous for the annual liquefaction of his blood, which, according to legend, was saved by a woman named Eusebia just after his death. A chronicle of Naples written in 1382 describes the cult of Saint Januarius in detail, but mentions neither the relic nor the miracle.^[14][15] The first certain date is 1389, when it was found to have melted.^[16][17] Over the next two and a half centuries official reports began to appear declaring that the blood spontaneously melted, at first once a year, then twice, and finally three times a year. While the report of the first incidence of liquefaction made no explicit reference to the saint’s skull, soon afterward assertions began to appear that this relic was activating the melting process, as if the blood, recognizing a part of the body to which it belonged, “were impatient while waiting for its resurrection”.^[18] This explanation was definitively abandoned only in the 18th century. …

The blood is stored in two hermetically sealed small ampoules, held since the 17th century in a silver reliquary between two round glass plates about 12 cm wide. …

While the Catholic Church has always supported the celebrations, it has never formulated an official statement on the phenomenon and maintains a neutral stance about scientific investigations.^[23] It does not permit the vials to be opened, for fear that doing so may cause irreparable damage. This makes close analysis impossible. Nevertheless, a spectroscopic analysis performed in 1902 by Gennaro Sperindeo claimed that the spectrum was consistent with hemoglobin.^[26] A later analysis, with similar conclusions, was carried out by a team in 1989,^{[27][unreliable source?]} but the reliability of these observations has been questioned.^[14] While clotted blood can be liquefied by mechanical stirring, the resulting suspension cannot solidify again. …

A recent hypothesis by Garlaschelli & al. is that the vial contains a thixotropic gel.^[14][31] In such a substance viscosity increases if left unstirred and decreases if stirred or moved. Researchers have proposed specifically a suspension of hydrated iron oxide, FeO(OH), which reproduces the color and behavior of the “blood” in the ampoule.^[32] The suspension can be prepared from simple chemicals that were easily available locally since antiquity.^{[33][unreliable source?][34]}

In 2010, Giuseppe Geraci, a professor in the Department of Molecular Biology at Naples’s Frederick II University, conducted an experiment on a vial containing old blood—a relic dating to the 18th century from the Eremo di Camaldoli near Arezzo in Tuscany—having the same characteristics of the blood of Januarius.^[35] Geraci showed that the Camaldoli relic also contains blood that can change its solid-liquid phase by shaking.^[36] He further reproduced the phenomenon with his own blood stored in the same conditions as the Camaldoli relic. He wrote, “There is no univocal scientific fact that explains why these changes take place. It is not enough to attribute to the movement the ability to dissolve the blood, the liquid contained in the Treasure case changes state for reasons still to be identified.”^[37] He concluded, “there’s blood, no miracle”.^[36]

A book by the historian of science Francesco Paolo de Ceglia traces the research of various scientists over the centuries to explain the phenomenon, which, according to him, has a thermal origin, since the (alleged) blood, in September, when the temperature is highest, is already extracted in liquid form from the tabernacle that stores it. In May it takes longer, and in December it takes much longer. (Januarius. Wikipedia, accessed 09/20/25)

Januarius becoming a priest at age 15 and bishop at 20 points to him not being a true Christian leader as novices were not to be ordained per 1 Timothy 3:6. Much about Januarius points to a fanciful legend, and that perhaps he did not really exist until someone made him up in the 5th century. And no, I do not believe that his “ghost” appeared to someone in 431.

At the beginning of this post is a c. 1610 painting supposedly of Januarius by Louis Finson. The painting has Januarius wearing a Dagan/Mithra-style hat (Cooper JD. Mithras: Mysteries and initiation rediscovered. Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1996) like modern Roman Catholic bishops do. However, they did not start to that until after Emperor Constantine. Januarius, himself, would not have worn such a hat.

Distinctive clothing for the ministry was not employed by early Christians—they dressed the same as their congregants. Original catholic clergy did not have special sacerdotal vestments. It was after influence of Emperor Constantine, the Greco-Roman clergy adopted versions of many of the clothing styles that sun-god priests and other members of his court had worn (including versions of the Phrygian cap). It is known that special clerical clothing came from pagans and was adopted because of Emperor Constantine (e.g. Newman, pp. 358-360; De Rosa, Peter. Vicars of Christ. Poolberg Press, Dublin, 2000, pp. 34,45).

As far as signs and lying wonders go, false ones appeared during the Book of Acts (8:9, 16:16-18). There are also reports that suggest that even after meeting the apostles, Simon Magus had various signs.

Let me add that some now considered to be early supporters of the Roman Catholic Church condemned Simon Magus and his followers for as using religious statues, revering a woman, the doctrine of the immortal soul, incantations, mysteries, mystic priests, claiming divine titles for leaders, accepting money for religious favors, preferring allegory and tradition over many aspects of scripture, having a leader who wanted to be thought of as God/Christ on earth, and divorcing themselves from Christian biblical practices considered to be Jewish (details are in the article: Simon Magus, What Did He Teach?). Yet, many today have been affected by his teachings.

And it was not just Simon Magus who was associated with signs and lying wonders that affected the beliefs of those I commonly refer to as Greco-Roman Catholics.

Another is the third century bishop known as Gregory Thaumaturgus, whom they also call saint Gregory of Neocaesarea or Gregory the Wonder Worker.

Gregory greatly influenced theological thought, and several widely-accepted false doctrines were originated and/or promoted by him. The fact that he reportedly caused the death of enemies by throwing his cloak upon them has not sufficiently diminished his influence–but should have.

The Continuing Church of God put out this sermonette on its ContinuingCOG channel related to him:

20:46

Gregory Thaumaturgus, Signs, and Lying Wonders

Very few people realize how a demonically- influenced leader man from Neocaesarea impacted doctrines in the Greco-Roman church. Gregory the Wonder Worker claimed to receive messages from an apparition he believed was Jesus’ mother Mary. He pushed the trinity, an antichrist creed, and the immortal soul teaching. Gregory also is celebrated as a saint by the Roman Catholics for pushing profane entertainment and festivals to attract pagans. He allegedly had the power to cause death by tossing his cloak on someone. The Apostle Paul warned of signs and lying wonders–and said that started in his day–which it did with Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8) also known as Simon Magus. Gregory Thaumaturgus had demonic signs and wonders and said he learned them from apparitions. The prophet Isaiah warned about the virgin daughter of Babylon who used sorceries–this is the same mystery Babylon of Revelation 17 that comes to her end in Revelation 18. In this video, Dr. Thiel gives some background about Gregory and warns about those who walk by sight and not faith.

Here is a link to the sermonette: Gregory Thaumaturgus, Signs, and Lying Wonders.

Most of the professing Christian world accepts one or more beliefs promoted by Gregory Thaumaturgus.

Here are some things I had published last decade, related to signs and lying wonders:

Satan  has  a  plan.  The  Beast  (Revelation  16:13-14), False prophet (Revelation 13:11-17; 16:13-14), and others (Matthew 24:24) are involved with signs and lying wonders (2 Thessalonians 2:7-12), while apparitions claiming to be a Lady (cf. Isaiah 47:5,9,12; Revelation 18:7,23) are likely to contribute to this in the end-times.

Some believe that “Mary” will have power during the time of the Great Monarch (and assist him), and this will lead to many conversions:

Gerald Culleton (20th century): During the reign of the Great Monarch and the Angelic Pastor the Catholic Church will spread throughout the world, conversions will be innumerable…The Blessed Virgin will be the chief one in gaining victory over all heresy…665

Blessed Hieronymus Agathaghelos (1279): The Angel, Mary and John, along with the great and first among martyrs…will intercede.666

Anna-Katrina Emmerick (July 12, 1820): When the Mass had ended, Mary came up to Henry (the Emperor), and she extended her right hand towards him, saying that it was in recognition of his purity. Then, she urged him not to falter…667

Catholic writer Yves Dupont (20th century): Henry is the Great Monarch…The Blessed Virgin urges him not to falter.668

Saint Louis de Montfort (18th century): These great souls…shall be singularly devouted to our Blessed Lady, illuminated by her nourishment, led by her spirit, supported by her arm, and sheltered under her protection, so that they shall fight in one hand and build with the other.  With the one hand they shall fight, overthrow and crush the heretics with their heresies, the schismatics with their schisms…669

The Ecstatic of Tours: …the French people will… implore the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary Immaculate…The French people will ask for the good King…this King…will ascend to the throne; he will free the church and reassert the Pope’s rights…670

Sister Marie Lataste (died 1847): Peace shall return to the world because of Blessed Virgin Mary will breathe over the storms and quell them.671

Pope Pius IX (died 1878): We expect that the Immaculate Virgin…will gain in influence from day to day among all nations and in all places, prosper and rule from ocean to ocean…to the ends of the earth…there will be one fold and one shepherd.672

Thus, there seems to be an end-time tie between the rise of the European Great Monarch, an ecumenical religion, and apparitions claiming to be Mary. …

The Bible clearly warns of a soon-coming time when massive deception will affect the entire world. Notice several such warnings in the New Testament:

24 for false Christs and false prophets will arise and provide great signs and portents, enough to deceive even the elect, if that were possible. (Matthew 24:24, NJB)

3 Let no man deceive you by any means, for unless there come a revolt first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition…9 Whose coming is according to the working of Satan, in all power, and signs and lying wonders 10 and every wicked deception aimed at those who are on the way to destruction because they would not accept the love of the truth and so be saved. 11 And therefore God sends on them a power that deludes people so that they believe what is false, (2 Thessalonians 2:3, 9, DRB, 10-11, NJB)

3 …the whole world had marveled and followed the beast.  4 They prostrated themselves in front of the dragon because he had given the beast his authority; and they prostrated themselves in front of the beast, saying, ‘Who can compare with the beast? Who can fight against it?’… 8 and all people of the world will worship it, that is, everybody whose name has not been written down since the foundation of the world in the sacrificial Lamb’s book of life.  (Revelation 13:3-4, 8 NJB)

4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”… 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him. (Revelation 13:4,8a NKJV)

Thus, Jesus and the Apostles warned that massive deception was coming (and the word that Saint Paul used for delusion was feminine in the Greek744). Deception that will result in the world worshiping what the Bible calls the beast power. It appears likely that apparitions which are claimed and/or presumed to be Mary will be a major factor in those deceptions (other signs and lying wonders are biblically-expected; also Byzantine prophecy teaches that signs as well as an “invisible herald from Heaven” will announce the Great Monarch from heaven.) 745    Almost everyone will be deceived and Fatima may be part of the reason!

Just because you may see apparitions and other apparently miraculous signs with your own eyes does not mean that they are from God (Revelation 13:13-15). Search the scriptures to see who/what is and is not true from God (cf. Acts 17:11). …

It has been reported that there are weeping and bleeding statues of the Lady of Fatima. Many people, including some of the Catholic clergy,780  have indicated that these types of occurrences are proof that the apparitions are Mary sent by God to the earth.

Now here is another shock–since I have no reason to doubt all the reports of weeping and/or bleeding Fatima statues, and since none of the statues that reportedly have wept look like the apparition that was originally described as appearing to the three children in Fatima in 1917, there is no way that the weeping and/or bleeding is proof that they are from God.  That would be confusion.  According to the Holy Bible, “God is not the author of confusion” (1 Corinthians 14:33, NKJV) or “God is a God not of disorder (NJB)”, but the devil “is a liar, and the father thereof” (John 8:44, DRB).

Therefore, weeping and/or bleeding statues are further proof that the apparition seen at Fatima was not Mary sent by the God of the Bible, but instead suggest a demonic origin:

“Let them be all confounded that adore graven things” (Psalm 96:7, DRB; Psalm 97:7 is where the equivalent reference is in NJB/NKJV).

This includes statues and images that are supposed to be of Mary.

Also notice the following related to the two-horned beast in Revelation 13 as well as the “lying wonders”:

Priest E. Sylvester Berry (published 1920): The beast rising out of the earth in the false prophet…The two horns denote a twofold authority – spiritual and temporal. As indicated by the resemblance to a lamb, the prophet will probably set himself up in Rome as a sort of anti-pope…Antichrist will establish himself in Jerusalem…with his ‘lying wonders’… (Berry ES.  The Apocalypse of St. John, 1920.  Quoted in Culleton RG. The Reign of Antichrist.  Reprint 1974, TAN Books, Rockford (IL), pp. 199-200)

The idea that there will be lying wonders involving an antipope is clearly in the Greco-Roman Catholic literature. And as that is consistent with sacred scripture, it appears that it is highly possible that an ecumenical, compromising antipope who performs great signs (Revelation 13:11-14) and is involved with lying wonders (2 Thessalonians 2:9) will be the clinching factor for the coming ecumenical unity that the Bible, Church of God writers, and other theological writers have long warned about.

Notice that the Bible clearly points to persuasive signs and lying wonders in the future:

9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)

Nearly everyone alive at the time will be deceived.

Sadly, signs and lying wonders have worked throughout the church age to deceive and get people to accept doctrinal changes.

And, as we can see from scripture, more will happen in the future.

The Continuing Church of God is pleased to announce the following sermon from its ContinuingCOG channel:

Here is a link to the sermon: Lying Wonders and Original Beliefs.

People have been deceived throughout the ages by signs and lying wonders.

Such “miracles” have been a factor in people departing from the true faith.

Bible prophecy says that more will be.

So, no, Lifesite News, liquefying blood is NOT “preaching the Gospel.”

More of the true gospel can be found in our free  online booklet: The Gospel of the Kingdom of God. Which is available in hundreds of languages at www.ccog.org

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession? Did the original “catholic church” have doctrines held by the Continuing Church of God? Did Church of God leaders uses the term “catholic church” to ever describe the church they were part of? Here are links to related sermons: Original Catholic Church of God?, Original Catholic Doctrine: Creed, Liturgy, Baptism, Passover, What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?, Tradition, Holy Days, Salvation, Dress, & Celibacy, Early Heresies and Heretics, Doctrines: 3 Days, Abortion, Ecumenism, Meats, Tithes, Crosses, Destiny, and more, Saturday or Sunday?, The Godhead, Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession, Church in the Wilderness Apostolic Succession List, Holy Mother Church and Heresies, and Lying Wonders and Original Beliefs. Here is a link to that book in the Spanish language: Creencias de la iglesia Católica original.
Simon Magus, What Did He Teach? Sometimes called “the father early heretics” or the “father of heresies”, do you know what early writers claimed that Simon Magus taught? Sadly, most who profess Christ still hold to versions of his teachings. Here is a link to a related sermon: Simon Magus and ‘Christianity’?
Gregory the Wonder Worker Also known as Gregory Thaumaturgus, this third century Eastern Orthodox leader was one of the most dangerous heretics and his views have been adopted by many who profess Christ. Here is a link to ta related video: Gregory Thaumaturgus, Signs, and Lying Wonders.
Mary, the Mother of Jesus and the Apparitions Do you know much about Mary? Are the apparitions real? What happened at Fatima? What might they mean for the rise of the ecumenical religion of Antichrist? Are Protestants moving towards Mary? How do the Eastern/Greek Orthodox view Mary? How might Mary view her adorers? Here is a link to a YouTube video Marian Apparitions May Fulfill Prophecy. Here is a link to a sermon video: Why Learn About Fatima?
Satan’s Plan Does Satan have a plan? What is it? Has it already been successful? Will it be successful in the future? Here are links to a two-part sermon series: What are Some of the Parts of Satan’s Plan? and Satan’s Plan is More Dramatic than Many Realize.
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God This free online pdf booklet has answers many questions people have about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and explains why it is the solution to the issues the world is facing. It is available in hundreds of languages at ccog.org. Here are links to four kingdom-related sermons:  The Fantastic Gospel of the Kingdom of God!, The World’s False Gospel, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments, and The Kingdom of God is the Solution.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, September 20th, 2025 at 8:00 am and is filed under Religious News.

• Pope Francis allegedly performs a ‘half miracle’
• No, the blood of Januarius is NOT preaching the Gospel — lying wonders have long deceived many
• Cardinal claims ‘blood miracle’ just took place–any relationship to Isaiah 47?
• Sermonette: Gregory Thaumaturgus, Signs, and Lying Wonders
• Pope Francis to visit ‘Virgin of the Rosary’ shrine in Pompeii
• Fatima’s ‘Lady’ will not solve the problems in 2012
• Fatima Shock! Video
• 95th Anniversary of ‘The miracle of the sun’?
• Jacinta and Francisco Marto Day
• Gregory Thaumaturgus’ signs and lying wonders affected beliefs–other signs and lying wonders will deceive even more