Caspar (magus)
Caspar | |
|---|---|
Detail of Caspar in Adoration of the Kings by Gerard David, c. 1515 | |
| Three Magi, Three Kings, Three Wise Men | |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church Anglican Communion Lutheran Church |
| Canonized | Pre-Congregation |
| Major shrine | Shrine of the Three Kings, Cologne Cathedral |
| Feast | 6 January (Epiphany) 11 January (Date of his death) |
| Attributes | King bearing gifts, king on a camel, three crowns |
| Patronage | Epilepsy, thunder, motorists, pilgrims, playing card manufacturers, sawmen, sawyers, travellers, travelling merchants, Cologne, Germany, Saxony |
Caspar (otherwise known as Casper, Gaspar, Kaspar, Jasper, Kasper, and other variations) was one of the 'Three Kings', along with Melchior and Balthazar, representing the wise men or Biblical Magi mentioned in Matthew 2:1-9. Although the Bible's Gospel books do not specify who or what the Magi were, they have been identified in the Catholic Churches as Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar ever since the seventh century. Caspar and the other two Magi are venerated as saints in the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Catholic Church, the Anglican Church and the Lutheran Church.