Saint Sergius of Cappadocia
A Christian martyr was condemned to death for refusing to pay homage to a pagan god, and his relics were later transferred to Andalusia.
| Celebration | 24 of February Saints of the day |
|---|---|
| Name |
Sergio is a man's name.
|
| In the world | Sergius |
| Death | in Cadocia de Cesarea in current Turkey Saints dead in Turkey |
| Persecution | Martyrs of the Roman persecutions |
| Process | We have no record of his canonization process. |
Life of Saint Sergius of Cappadocia (Hagiography)
Saint Sergius, whose feast is celebrated today, was a martyr of Caesarea of Cappadocia, almost unknown to Greek and Byzantine hagiographic sources. He enjoyed a certain popularity, thanks to a Latin Passio that describes his martyrdom as follows: During the annual celebrations in honor of Jupiter, in the time of Emperor Diocletian, the governor of Armenia and Cappadocia, Sapricius, when he was in Caesarea, ordered that all Christians in the city be summoned before the pagan temple to pay homage to Jupiter. Among the crowd also appeared Sergius, an elderly magistrate, who for some time had abandoned the toga to live an eremitic life. His presence produced the surprising effect of extinguishing the fires prepared for the sacrifices. Immediately the cause of the strange phenomenon was attributed to the Christians who, by their rejection, had angered the god. Sergius came forward and explained that the reason for the powerlessness of the pagan gods was to be found much higher, in the omnipotence of the true and only God, whom the Christians worshipped. Sergius was arrested and brought before the governor, who, in a summary trial, immediately condemned him to beheading. The sentence was soon carried out: it was February 24th. The Christians collected the body of the martyr and buried it in the house of a pious woman. From there, the relics were later taken to Spain, to the city of Úbeda, in Andalusia.