Tuesday, September 22, 2026

It is the 22^nd of September 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org. I'm your guest host, Sam Leanza Ortiz.

 

Yesterday’s show had us in the early, early church, and today we take a small step forward into the third century, where we will remember Maurice and the Theban Legion, martyrs of the faith, on their feast day.

As with most historical figures from this period, most of what we can say about them comes to us in hagiographies and legends. The earliest account of the Theban legion’s story dates to over a century after it purportedly occurred, in the “Passion of the Martyrs of Aguanum” by the French bishop, St. Eucherius.

Their story begins in southern Egypt, in Thebes, and right off the bat, the story’s already a bit sticky, as scholars debate whether these soldiers were Theban or if there was even a whole legion of them. Excavations in the 1940s reinvigorated interest in the legend, and one scholar, analyzing Eucherius’s text, points to a slightly different legend of one St. Maurice from the east who was killed along with 70 other soldiers. Nevertheless, Maurice was their leader, and he and those under his command were said to be Christians serving the Roman emperor. Well, one of the Roman emperors, we might say at this point.

By the last quarter of the third century, Rome’s administration had been split in two, with Diocletian managing the eastern half and Maximian, the west.

Diocletian is often seen as the big, bad villain of Christian persecutions, but Maximian was no friend to the church either. As we shall see, his eventual demise would be a falling domino in the cascade of events that would allow Christians to enjoy an easier existence in the Roman Empire.

For now, though, Maximian had a job to do – establishing order on the frontiers of his half of the empire. In the year 286, to the north of the Alps, the Gauls were in rebellion, and Maximian charged this Theban legion, stationed to the east, to suppress it.

These rebels were Christian peasants, and the legion refused to fight against their brothers in Christ. In protest, they withdrew from Octodurum to Aguanum.

In September 286, at the town of Aguanum, in modern-day Switzerland, Maximian issued an initial punishment of decimation, killing one-tenth of the soldiers. If this was indeed a whole legion of men, they would have numbered over 6000 men, meaning about 600 of them would be killed. Thinking this might spur these men into action, Maximian gave the legion another chance, but they stood their ground. Maximian issued one more decimation, but in the end, the whole group would be killed.

Maurice, as commander, would be the most well-known of these martyrs, but his aides, Vitalis, Candidus, and Exuperius, would also be sainted and named in accounts, like the Golden Legend and Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.

The first recorded commemoration of the event dates to the fourth century, when Theodore, the Bishop of Octodurum, discovered their mass grave and built a basilica to honor their witness.

For Maximian, it was a messy end; he was asked to abdicate in 305, and he made a few comebacks as an augustus, supported by his son Maxentius in an attempt to regain the throne. Both were ultimately bested by Constantine I, the first emperor to decriminalize Christianity.

As for the martyrs, their stories aren’t just in the pages of hagiographic legends, but in our institutions and even on our maps.

Maurice, as a Christian military man, would be a popular saint throughout the Middle Ages. He would become the patron saint of soldiers, swordsmiths, and armies. As the Holy Roman Empire developed, he would become its patron saint, and the swords and spurs purportedly belonging to him would be used in imperial coronations until the twentieth century.

Interestingly, Maurice would also become the patron saint of the Swiss Guard, who protect the pontificate. I suppose that during the Sack of Rome in 1527, Maurice was receiving conflicting appeals as the armies of the Holy Roman Emperor got out of control and sacked the papal seat, prompting the recently formed Swiss Guard to whisk the pope to safety.

Today, multiple cities in the Swiss and Italian Alps bear the names of these martyrs, most famously, the ski resort town of Saint Moritz.

 

These stories, from so long ago, shape our world, and today, we can pause to remember St. Maurice and his Theban legion, on their feast day, on this, the 22^nd of September.

The last word for today comes from the daily lectionary, from the Epistle to the Romans:

¹⁷I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the minds of naive people. 19 Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.

²⁰The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 22^nd of September 2026, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

This show has been produced by Christopher Gillespie.

This episode has been written and read by Sam Leanza Ortiz, filling in for Dan van Voorhis, who is planning to go as a Swiss guard for Halloween; he digs the stripes.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.