Saint Maurice And His Companions. Martyrs. Feast Day 22 September.

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless stated otherwise.

Saint Maurice And His Companions.
   Martyrs.
   Feast Day 22 September.

Simple.

Red Vestments.

Meeting of Saint Erasmus and Saint Maurice.

Artist: Mathias Grünewald.

Date: Circa 1520.

Current location: Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany.

Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project (2002)

10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei (DVD-ROM),

distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.

ISBN: 3936122202.

(Wikimedia Commons)

 

“The Martyrdom of Saint Maurice”.

Artist: Romulo Cincinato (1502–1593).

Cincinnato placed emphasis on the execution scene,

which has been brought into the foreground.

Date: 1583.

Current location: El Escorial, Madrid, Spain.

Source/Photographer: Web Gallery of Art

(Wikimedia Commons)

When Emperor Maximian led his Army into Gaul, The Theban Legion, composed of 660 Soldiers under the command of Saint Maurice, refused to take part in the ceremonies in honour of the gods.

The Soldiers were massacred out of hatred for the name of Christ, about 286 A.D., at Agaunum, now called Saint Maurice (Valais, Switzerland).

Mass: Intret.

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.

Saint Maurice (also Moritz, Morris, or Mauritius; Coptic: Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ⲙⲱⲣⲓⲥ) was the leader of the legendary Roman Theban Legion in the 3rd-Century A.D., and one of the favourite and most-widely Venerated Saints of that group.

He is the Patron Saint of several professions, locales, and Kingdoms. He is also a highly-revered Saint in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and other Churches of Oriental Orthodoxy.

According to hagiographical material, Maurice was an Egyptian, born in 250 A.D. in Thebes, an ancient City in Upper Egypt that was the Capital of the New Kingdom of Egypt (1575-1069 B.C.).

Maurice became a Soldier in the Roman Army. He was gradually promoted until he became the Commander of the Theban Legion, thus commanding, approximately, a thousand men. He was an acknowledged Christian at a time when Early Christianity was considered to be a threat to The Roman Empire. Yet, he moved easily within the pagan society of his day.

The Legion, entirely composed of Christians, had been called from Thebes, in Egypt, to Gaul, to assist Emperor Maximian in defeating a revolt by the Bagaudae. The Theban Legion was dispatched with orders to clear The Great Saint Bernard Pass across The Alps.

Before going into battle, they were instructed to offer sacrifices to the pagan gods and pay homage to the Emperor. Saint Maurice pledged his men’s military allegiance to Rome. He stated that service to God superseded all else. He said that to engage in wanton slaughter was inconceivable to Christian Soldiers . He and his men refused to worship Roman deities.

However, when Emperor Maximian ordered them to harass some local Christians, they refused. Ordering the Legion to be punished, Maximian had every tenth Soldier killed, a Military punishment known as Decimation. More orders followed; the men refused, as encouraged by Maurice, and a second Decimation was ordered.

In response to the Theban Christians’ refusal to attack fellow Christians, Maximian ordered all the remaining members of his Legion to be executed. The place in Switzerland where this occurred, known as Agaunum, is now Saint-Maurice, Switzerland, site of The Abbey of Saint Maurice.