Saint Marcellus of Tangier

Saint Marcellus of Tangier or Saint Marcellus the Centurion (Spanish: San Marcelo) (c. mid 3rd century – 298 AD) was a Roman centurion who is today venerated as a martyr-saint in both the Eastern Orthodox and the Catholic Church. His feast day is celebrated on October 30. Marcellus is said to have been a Roman centurion, stationed at Tingis (modern-day Tangiers), who refused to participate in the general birthday celebrations of the Emperor Maximian, which would have entailed sacrifice to the Roman gods. Throwing off his military belt, weapons, and vine staff (the symbol of his rank), Marcellus was soon brought before a judge named Fortunatus. 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 prefect Aurelius Agricolanus instead. Marcellus pled guilty to repudiating his allegiance to an earthly leader. Marcellus was martyred with a sword by the deputy Praetorian prefect. Afterwards, it is said that the official shorthand writer, a man named Saint Cassian, was so angry at the sentence that he refused to record the court proceedings and was martyred as well. St. Marcellus's relics were later brought to and enshrined at what now is León, Spain, and he became a patron 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 the Legio VII Gemina Pia Felix, and was born in what is now León, Spain, in the middle of the third century. This version, however, has been shown to be largely apocryphal. The story relates that Marcellus lived close to the city walls. During the birthday celebrations for the Emperor Maximian, 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.