Marcellus the Centurion
Roman officer who threw down his arms at an imperial banquet in Tangier, one of the first Christian conscientious objectors.
- Antiquity
- North Africa
- Feast day October 30
- † 298
- Martyr
Listen to the life 0:38
On 21 July 298, during the festivities for Maximian's birthday, the centurion Marcellus stood up in the midst of the legion of Tingis, tore off his belt, threw down his vine staff and declared he would serve none but Christ the eternal king. His acts, transcribed from a judicial record, are among the surest documents of ancient hagiography. The governor Aurelius Agricolanus had him beheaded on 30 October. The clerk Cassian, who refused to record the sentence, was executed in turn and venerated with him.
