Saint Marciana of Toledo
 | It has been suggested that this article be merged into Marciana of Mauretania. (Discuss) Proposed since October 2024. |
Saint Marciana of Toledo (died c. 303) is a venerated martyr in Toledo, Spain whose feast day is celebrated by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church on July 12.[1]
Life
[edit]According to Butler, Marciana was a native of Rusuccur in Mauritania.[2][3]
She abhorred the worldly benefits of a high social status and she put aside her worldly riches. She traveled to Caesarea, Mauretania (modern-day Algeria) and took up residence in a cave in order to preserve her virginity (for she was said to be very beautiful) and consecrated herself to God through various exercises in fasts and other practices of self-deprivation that were used in lieu of martyrdom. Caesarea was by that time occupied by the Roman Empire under the Emperor Diocletian[4] (284-305 A.D.[5]). While walking in the public square, Marciana noticed a statue to the Roman goddess Diana and in her religious zeal, she struck the statue's head off.[4]
She was thrown to the wild animals in the amphitheater where she was mangled by a bull. Her relics were moved to Toledo "where she has been falsely claimed as a native."[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Phillips, Fr Andrew. "Latin Saints of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Rome". www.orthodoxengland.org.uk.
- ^ Butler, Alban. "St. Marciana, Virgin and Martyr", The Lives of the Saints. 1866
- ^ Morcelli, Stefano Antonio. Africa christiana, Volume I, Brescia 1816, p. 268
- ^ a b "St. Marciana of Spain - Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese". www.antiochian.org.
- ^ "Diocletian | Biography, Empire, Definition, Persecution, & Reign | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 6 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- ^ Watkins, Basil. The Book of Saints: A Comprehensive Biographical Dictionary, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015, p. 463 ISBN 9780567664150