Today, September 22, is the memorial of Saint Maurice & Companion-Martyrs of the Theban Legion.
In the year 287, there was a group of around 6,500 Roman soldiers called the Theban Legion. All of them were Christians. Their leader was a general, Saint Maurice. These soldiers were recruited in the Thebes region in Upper Egypt. In those times, they were under Emperor Maximian Herculeus.
They received a command that involved passing through the Alps to Agaunum in what is now Switzerland. The Theban Legion was among those ordered to stop a revolt by the Bagandres in Gaul, the present-day France.
Among the duties of the army going to war was to offer public sacrifice to the Roman gods. The Christian Theban Legion refused to offer sacrifice to these pagan gods. Ultimately, their refusal cost them their lives. Maurice wrote a letter, “Emperor, we are your soldiers; we are ready to combat the enemies of the empire, but we are also Christians, and we owe fidelity to the true God. We are not rebels, but we prefer to die, innocent, rather than to live, guilty.” Emperor Maximian Herculeus angrily commanded that the entire Theban Legion, including General Maurice, be massacred.
All of the soldiers gave up their weapons and silently submitted themselves to beheading.