Saint Typasius (died January 11, 304) is venerated as a military saint

Military saint

The military saints or warrior saints of the Early Christian Church are prominent in the history of Christianity...

 by the Catholic Church. His feast day is January 11.

Legend

The Passio Typasii records that Typasius was a veteran of Tigava

Tigava

Tigava was an ancient Roman town in present-day northern Algeria. It is also the name of a Roman Catholic titular see....

(today El Kherba), in the Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 province of Mauretania Caesariensis

Mauretania Caesariensis

Mauretania Caesariensis was a Roman province located in northwestern Africa. It was the easternmost of the North African Roman provinces, mainly in present Algeria, with its capital at Caesarea , now Cherchell.-Historical background:In the first century AD, Roman...

. Called to service by Maximian

Maximian

Maximian was Roman Emperor from 286 to 305. He was Caesar from 285 to 286, then Augustus from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocletian, whose political brain complemented Maximian's military brawn. Maximian established his residence at Trier but spent...

 against the native Quinquegentiani

Quinquegentiani

The Quinquegentiani were a tribe in North Africa that revolted against Roman rule in the late 3rd Century and were put down by the forces of Maximianus Herculius.-References:...

, who were revolting against Roman rule, Typasius, who had become a Christian, refused to participate in this campaign. He had retired from military life. This brought him in direct confrontation with the authorities. As his legend records:

He was forced into active service again by his praepositus, and along with other vexillarii

went to battle. But the day before the battle the emperor Maximianus had wished to make a

donative to the soldiers. That night the angel Gabriel

Gabriel

In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an Archangel who typically serves as a messenger to humans from God.He first appears in the Book of Daniel, delivering explanations of Daniel's visions. In the Gospel of Luke Gabriel foretells the births of both John the Baptist and of Jesus...

 visited most blessed Typasius and

advised him one after the other of all the things that were going to happen. Morning came, and

when Maximianus Augustus was making the role-call on the parade-ground and the name of the

most blessed Typasius was read out loud, he declined to accept the gold from the hand of

Maximianus and declared that he was a soldier of Christ. When Maximianus became annoyed at

him, holy Typasius responded, "Do not be agitated, honoured emperor. If you release me to

serve Christ, you will both overcome those barbarians without a struggle, and within forty

days victory will be reported not only from the East and Gaul

Gaul

Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...

, but also from Britain and

Egypt. Maximian Augustus said, "You can have what you want, if you fulfil your promise."

Immediately he ordered him to be placed under guard, so that he might pay the penalty if what

he had predicted should not prove true. The praepositus of the cuneus grabbed him straight-:away and cast him in irons.http://www.ucc.ie/milmart/Typasius.html

It came to pass that Maximian was able to crush the rebels and thus fulfill Typasius' prophecy. Typasius received an honorable discharge with the whole army as witness. Typasius returned home and put away his weapons and military belt and built a monastery

Monastery

Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

 for himself on his land, where he remained for a long time.

However, after some years he was brought again to the authorities to enlist for active service and asked to sacrifice to the pagan gods. Typasius refused to do either. His belt and spears were then forcefully attached and handed to him; miraculously, his belt was immediately torn into pieces, and his spears were shattered.

Typasius was then taken into custody and soon cured the comes who had interrogated him, Claudius, from a seizure

Seizure

An epileptic seizure, occasionally referred to as a fit, is defined as a transient symptom of "abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain". The outward effect can be as dramatic as a wild thrashing movement or as mild as a brief loss of awareness...

. When Typasius was ordered to offer sacrifice once again to the gods, Claudius was unable to save him and reluctantly read the sentence. Typasius was beheaded

Decapitation

Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...

. The men who had instigated his death burned with fever and pain and lost control of their limbs and bowels. Their eyes fell out, and they died.

External links

• The Passion of St. Typasius Tipasio Abstract