Marcellus of Tangier | |
|---|---|
 Icon of Saint Marcellus located in theRussian Orthodox Church of the Resurrection,Rabat | |
| Martyr | |
| Born | c. mid 3rd centuryAD |
| Died | 298AD Tingis,Mauretania Tingitana (modern-dayTangiers,Morocco) |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church,Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Canonized | Pre-Congregation |
| Majorshrine | Church of San Marcelo,León[1] |
| Feast | October 30 |
| Patronage | the city ofLeón and theProvince of León, Spain |
Saint Marcellus of Tangier orSaint Marcellus the Centurion (Spanish:San Marcelo) (c. mid 3rd century – 298AD) was aRoman centurion who is today venerated as amartyr-saint in both theEastern Orthodox and theCatholic Church. Hisfeast day is celebrated on October 30.
Marcellus is said to have been a Romancenturion, stationed atTingis (modern-dayTangiers), who refused to participate in the general birthday celebrations of the EmperorMaximian, which would have entailed sacrifice to theRoman gods. Throwing off his military belt, weapons, andvine staff (the symbol of his rank),[2] Marcellus was soon brought before a judge namedFortunatus. The judge remanded the saint to lay his case before Maximian and Constantius; the latter was friendly to Christians. However, Marcellus was taken to the deputy Praetorian prefectAurelius Agricolanus instead. Marcellus pled guilty to repudiating his allegiance to an earthly leader.
Marcellus wasmartyred with asword by the deputyPraetorian prefect.
Afterwards, it is said that the officialshorthand writer, a man namedSaint Cassian, was so angry at the sentence that he refused to record the court proceedings and was martyred as well.[3]
St. Marcellus'srelics were later brought to and enshrined at what now isLeón, Spain, and he became apatron saint of the city. The Plaza de San Marcelo in this city is named for him. The church of San Marcelo dates from the 10th century.
An alternative version of his legend states that he was a centurion of theLegio VII Gemina Pia Felix, and was born in what is nowLeón, Spain, in the middle of the third century.[4][5] This version, however, has been shown to be largely apocryphal.[a] The story relates that Marcellus lived close to thecity walls. During the birthday celebrations for the EmperorMaximian, in July 298, Marcellus publicly demonstrated his Christian faith by throwing down the insignia of his rank, and proclaimed that he venerated only one God. He was then sent to Tangiers to be judged by the vice-prefect (vicar), Agricolanus. He was condemned to death anddecapitated on October 29, 298, together with his wife Nona and his twelve sons (Claudius, Lupercus, Victorius,Facundus, Primitivus, Servandus, Germanus, Faustus, Januarius, and Martial). Included in this group of sons are the martyrsEmeterius and Celedonius, though their connection to Marcellus is probablyapocryphal.Servandus and Germanus (or Cermanus) were venerated separately atCadiz, and their association with Marcellus is also apocryphal.[6][7]
Saints Claudius, Lupercus orLupercio, andVictorius orVictoricus (d. c. 300) are said to have been the sons of St Marcellus. They were said to have been martyred atLeón, Spain, during the reign of the EmperorDiocletian. Their relationship to Marcellus is probablyapocryphal, though it was accepted in subsequentbreviaries andhagiographies as well as theRoman Martyrology, which placed all four saints under October 30.[8] However, it is quite possible that Claudius, Lupercus, and Victorius were soldiers of Spanish origin who were killed at León, as tradition states. Many churches in Spain were dedicated to them, including the ancientBenedictine abbey of San Claudio, inGalicia.[9]The town ofSan Claudio, nearOviedo, takes its name from this group of martyrs.
Theirrelics weretranslated several times in succeeding centuries. KingFerdinand I of Castile transported some of their relics to the church of San Isidoro in León. In 1173, the relics were translated to a new church dedicated to the three martyrs. This church was destroyed in 1834 and the relics were moved to the church of San Marcelo, dedicated to their presumed father. Their feast day is celebrated in Spain and Portugal on October 30.
Victorius or Victoricus should not be confused with theFrench saint of the same name.Another Lupercus or Luperculus was abishop of Eauze who was venerated as a martyr, and sometimes identified as an uncle of the Spanish saintSaint Engratia.[10]
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