Thread by @blackrepublican

The Black Saint — Saint Maurice

The Black Egyptian Christian soldier (born in Thebes, Egypt 🇪🇬) whose alleged martyrdom, with his comrades, inspired a cult still practiced today.

britannica.com/biography/Sain…

#blackcatholichistorymonth

“Did you know that the patron saint of southern Germany and parts of France, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland, is a man of African origin?”

ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-toda…

Maurice was born in AD 250 in Thebes, an ancient city in Egypt near the site of the Aswan Dam. He was brought up [specifically] in the region of Luxor—Egypt, and eventually would became a soldier in the Roman army.

Luxor is on the east bank of the Nile River in southern Egypt. It's on the site of ancient Thebes, the pharaohs’ capital at the height of their power, during the 16th–11th centuries B.C.

"Saint Maurice eventually became leader of the legendary Roman Theban Legion in the 3rd century, and is one of the favorite and most widely venerated saints of that group. He was the patron saint of several professions, locales, and kingdoms."

“According to Saint Eucherius, bishop of Lyon, the Legion was the garrison (troops) of the city of Thebes in Egypt. They were quartered in the East until the emperor Maximian ordered them to march to Gaul, to assist him against the rebels of Burgundy.”

“Maurice was the commander of the Theban legion, and 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.”

CC @AlsoACarpenter

The legion, entirely composed of Christians, had been called from Thebes in Egypt to Gaul to assist Emperor Maximian to defeat a revolt by the bagaudae.

(Peasants who were rebels in both Gaul and Spain were collectively known as “the Bagaudae”.

The Theban Legion was dispatched with orders to clear the Great St Bernard Pass across Mont Blanc. Before going into battle, they were instructed to offer sacrifices to the pagan gods and pay homage to the emperor.

Crisis of Conscious

Maurice pledged his men’s military allegiance to Rome. But stated his service to God superseded all else. To engage in wanton slaughter was inconceivable to Christian soldiers he said. He and his men refused to worship Roman deities.

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, Agaunum, is now Saint-Maurice, Switzerland ...

It is the site of the Abbey of St. Maurice.

Benedictine Monks of the Abbey of Saint-Maurice - Te Deum (Latin for "Thee, O God, we praise").

Note: It was written by either Bishop Ambrose or the African father of Western theology — St. Augustine).