Remains (wall on the sides and tower in the middle) of old roman castrum of Singidunum
Saints Montan et
Maxime, martyrs à Sirmium
Saint Montan, prêtre et
sainte Maxime, son épouse, furent martyrisés à Sirmium, en Pannonie, précipités
en mer par des païens pour avoir témoigné de leur foi en Jésus-Christ, en
304.
Saints Montan et Maxime
Martyrs à
Sirmium (4ème s.)
Saint Montan et sainte
Maxime, deux époux martyrisés en Pannonie (correspond à la Hongrie actuelle);
ils furent précipités dans le Danube par des païens pour avoir témoigné de leur
foi en Jésus-Christ.
À Sirmium en Pannonie, au
IVe siècle, les saints martyrs Montan, prêtre, et Maxime, son épouse, qui pour
la foi du Christ furent saisis et noyés dans le fleuve.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/870/Saints-Montan-et-Maxime.html
Also
known as
Montano
Profile
Priest. Married to
and martyred with Saint Maxima
the Martyr.
Additional
Information
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
Martirologio Romano, 2005 edition
MLA
Citation
“Saint Montanus the
Martyr“. CatholicSaints.Info. 1 April 2023. Web. 26 November 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-montanus-the-martyr/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-montanus-the-martyr/
Also
known as
Massima
Profile
Married to
and martyred with Saint Montanus
the Martyr in the persecutions of Diocletian.
Additional
Information
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
video
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
Martirologio Romano, 2005 edition
MLA
Citation
“Saint Maxima the
Martyr“. CatholicSaints.Info. 1 April 2023. Web. 26 November 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-maxima-the-martyr/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-maxima-the-martyr/
Saints of the Day – Montanus and Maxima, Martyrs
Article
Died 304. Montanus, a priest, and Maxima, said to have been his wife, were drowned as Christians in the Save River at Sirmium, Dalmatia, or Singidunum, Pannonia (Benedictines).
MLA Citation
Katherine I Rabenstein. Saints of the Day, 1998. CatholicSaints.Info. 1 April 2023. Web. 26 November 2024. <https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-day-montanus-and-maxima-martyrs/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-day-montanus-and-maxima-martyrs/
St. Montanus & Maxima
Feastday: March 26
Death: 304
Martyred husband and
wife. Montanus was a priest and
was arrested for being a Christian. Maxima shared his sufferings. They were
drowned in the Save River, in Sirmium, Dalmatia, or at Singidunum, Pannonia.
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=5165
St. Maxima of Singidunum,
and her priest-husband, St. Montanus
Commemorated on March 26
St. Maxima and her
priest-husband, St. Montanus, lived in Singidunum (present-day Belgrade in Serbia)
in the fourth century during the time of Emperor Diocletian’s persecution of
Christians. The Emperor’s deputy, Galerius, issued an edict requiring
Christians to offer sacrifices to the idols. The pious couple refused, and
continued to conduct their lives according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They
traveled to Sirmium (west of Belgrade) in order to distance themselves from the
seat of power. However, in the year 304, they were seized by Roman soldiers and
brought to stand trial before Governor Probus.
As they stood before the
governor on a bridge overlooking the Sava River, the captives were given the
choice of sacrifice to the idols or death. St. Montanus showed great heroism
and explained that if he were to sacrifice to the idols, it would be tantamount
to rejecting Jesus Christ as God and Lord of heaven and earth, and he refused
to comply.
Frustrated and intending
to take advantage of her “weaker” sex, Probus tried to persuade St. Maxima to
deny Christ. Much to the surprise of the crowd, her fidelity and apostolic
courage proved to be as great, if not greater, than her husband’s. St. Maxima
defended her faith so convincingly and with such eloquent zeal that Probus cut
the trial short, fearing mass conversions to Christianity.
Sts. Maxima and Montanus
were beheaded by the sword, and their remains were thrown into the Sava River.
The faithful, and those converted by the zeal of the holy couple, willingly
endangered their lives in order to rescue the bodies and heads of the martyrs
from the river. The relics were transported to Rome and interred in the
Catacombs of St. Priscilla on the Salarian Way where they remained for 1,500
years.
In 1804, certain tombs in
the Catacombs of St. Priscilla were opened. The many relics that were
discovered were presented to various Roman Catholic churches and to notable
families in Rome. St. Maxima’s relics were found to be in a remarkable state of
preservation. They were ultimately presented to the influential Sinibaldi
family, and for over a hundred years, her relics were venerated at the altar of
their private chapel in Rome.
In 1927, the Sinibaldi
family presented St. Maxima’s relics to the Poor Clares of San Lorenzo
Monastery in Rome who, in turn, presented them to the Poor Clares Monastery in
Chicago, Illinois, where they remained for forty years. For the next few
decades, St. Maxima’s relics were transported from one monastery or priest to
another, including Father Joseph Louro, a Roman Catholic missionary in South
America. After Father Louro’s death, St. Maxima’s relics found a permanent home
with the Byzantine Poor Clares in North Royalton, Ohio.
Wherever her relics
journeyed, veneration of St. Maxima grew because of the boundless miracles that
occurred through her intercessions. It was, however, the impact of her life
that most impressed the faithful. The visible presence of a priest’s wife who,
in a time of confusion and darkness, confronted evil with selfless courage and
willingly gave her life confessing Christ has inspired countless people to live
their Christian faith without counting the cost.
May the Orthodox Church
rekindle its knowledge of and love for this saintly and zealous priest’s wife.
Rooted in the traditionally Orthodox area of Serbia, St. Maxima’s prayers await
our cries and supplications for peace and justice in the world, particularly in
Kosovo, and intercessions for the protection of Orthodox families, especially
for priests’ wives whose well-being and example are so vital to the faith.
By permission of Sts.
Mary & Martha Orthodox Monastery, Wagener, South Carolina
SOURCE : http://www.antiochian.org/node/17549
Saints Montanus the
priest and his wife Maxima from Singidunum, on Danube, are martyr saints of the
harsh persecution times during Diocletian. They are celebrated as saints in the
Western Church among the monastic order odf the Poor Clares nuns, but also in
the East, especially in the Romanian and Serbian Churches.
On 24 February 303, the
Roman co-emperors Diocletian (284-505), Galerius, his son-in-law (293-311),
Maximian Hercules (286-305) and Constantius Chlorus (293-306), the father of
Emperor St. Constantine the Great signed an edict against the Christians. Another
two edicts were signed in the same year (april and 27 september) and the fourth
in January-February 304. These imperial decisions implied the destruction of
the Christian places of worship, the burning of the Christian books and
archives, loss of the properties, privileges and state functions for the
Christians, the punishment of the Christians who do not abjure their faith even
by death and forbade the Christian assemblies. As it is to see, these decisions
suggest already the specific of the Christian faith. Differently of the first
centuries, they were already organized, have had worship places and privileges
in some regions.
The Roman Empire was
already led by the assembly of the two Augusti and two Caesars – the so-called
“tetrarchy”. Of course, the laws, edicts and common decisions were respected
differently in the regions led by one or another of the emperors. In any case,
the eastern regions, led by Diocletian (who had his capital city in Nicomedia,
in Asia Minor) and by Galerius (who leaded the Illyricum from Sirmium), the
edicts were strictly applied, so that this period, the ending of the 3rd
century, and the beginning of the 4th , gave the most of the Christian martyrs
in the whole 2000-years history of our faith.
The martyrs celebrated
today, Montanus and Maxima lived in Singidunum (the today Belgrade), in the
province called Pannonia Inferior, under the leading of Galerius. St. Montanus
was the priest of the Christian community here. The Romanian historians try to
demonstrate the Dacian-roman ancestry of the martyrs, based on the fact that
the Pannonia Inferior was strongly populated at the time by romanized Dacians.
The hypothesis has in fact no real basis. The possibility that the two have
been Dacians or Romans is the same as for another nationality. Their names are
coming surely from the Roman tradition. In any case, they were citizens of
God’s city.
Immediately after
the proclamation of the edicts, its decisions were applied by the Roman leader
of Singidunum. In this conditions, Montanus fled in Sirmium, the capital of the
province (today Mitrovica, about 60 kilometers west of Belgrade), after
Christ’s urge “But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another”
(Mt. 10,23). There he was caught by the persecutors, who brought him to Probus,
the Roman governor of the province. The interrogatory started immediately and
St. Montanus confessed his faith in Christ and that he is a priest. After the
classical process, Probus asked him to sacrifice to the Roman gods and Montanus
refused. During the tortures, Probus ordained the calling of the priest’s wife,
Maxima. He believed that she, as weaker being a woman, will see the harsh pains
of her husband and will beg him to sacrifice. Maxima didn’t do as the governor
believed; moreover she asked to be tortured too with her husband, in order to
become a martyr for Christ as well. Finally, Probus ordained the both to be
thrown in the river Sava. The Serbian versions speak about the beheading of the
two martyrs who were later thrown in the river. After the Romanian versions,
the soldiers have bound stones on their necks and so the two saints, Montanus
and Maxima, were drowned. It was the day of 26 March 304.
The Veneration of the
Saints
The hieronymian
martyrology mentions them on 26 March and 26 April. Also the martyrical act of
Montanus and Maxima are mentioned in the life of St. Pollion, the lector of the
church from Cibalae (died on 28 april 304). Their original martyrical acts were
not kept. But in the modern times, a Romanian priest and professor of Church
History, Nicolae M. Popescu tried to reconstitute the story, following the
similar act of martyrdom of St. Irenaios of Syrmium who died a few days later
(on 6 April 304) in the same conditions. This text is today read with piety in the
Romanian churches during their days of celebration, 26 March.
In 25 may 1802 the
Catacomb of St. Priscilla was opened and the relics of some saints, such as
Philomena (+10 August 304) were found. Later, in 1804 it were found the relics
of a saint named Maxima or Maximina. The coincidence of names made some to
believe that there is the wife of St. Montanus, which it would be hard to
believe, because of the lack of information and of the big distance between
Rome and Singidunum. In any case, the relics of saint Maximina, who probably
died during the same persecution of Diocletian, were kept in Rome, by the nuns
of the St. Claire’s Order, in the monastery of San Lorenzo. Later they were
moved, so that today there are also in a nun’s monastery of Claire’s Order, in
North Royalton, Ohio. There is told that several miraculous cures happened due
her intercession. Infos about these relics can be found here and here,
in the bottom of the page.
In the modern Serbia St.
Maxima has a special devotion. Her intercession was asked especially for the
peace in Kosovo, and the protection of Orthodox families and especially for
priests’ wives. In Romania the monastery of Halmyris (the place of discovery of
Saints Epictetus and Astion (+8 July 290) has as its second protectors, the
saints Montanus and Maxima. A Romanian community in Serbia, in the village of
Isacova, Tchupria community on the Valley of Morava has as its protectors the
saints Montanus and Maxima.
Troparion (Hymn) of the
Saints
“Thy Martyrs Montanus the
priest and Maxima, O Lord, in their struggles received, crowns of incorruptibility
from Thee our God: for with Thy strength they wiped out tyrants, and overcame
demons, rendering them powerless. By their intercessions, O Christ our God,
save our souls!”
SOURCE : http://theodialogia.blogspot.ca/2013/03/saints-montanus-priest-and-his-wife.html
Martyr Montanus the
Presbyter of Singidunum, and his wife Maxima
Commemorated on March
26
Saint Maxima and her
priest-husband, Saint Montanus, lived in Singidunum (present-day Belgrade) in
the fourth century during the time of Emperor Diocletian’s persecution of
Christians. The Emperor’s deputy, Galerius, issued an edict requiring
Christians to offer sacrifices to the idols. The pious couple refused, and
continued to conduct their lives according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They
traveled to the west, to Sirmium, in order to distance themselves from the seat
of power. However, in the year 304, they were seized by Roman soldiers and
brought to stand trial before Governor Probus.
As they stood before the
governor on a bridge overlooking the Sava River, the captives were given the
choice of sacrifice to the idols or death. Saint Montanus showed great heroism
and explained that if he were to sacrifice to the idols, it would be tantamount
to rejecting Jesus Christ as God and Lord of heaven and earth, and he refused
to comply.
Frustrated, Probus tried
to persuade Saint Maxima to deny Christ. Much to the surprise of the crowd, her
fidelity and apostolic courage proved to be as great, if not greater, than her
husband’s. Saint Maxima defended her faith so convincingly and with such
eloquent zeal that Probus cut the trial short, fearing mass conversions to
Christianity.
Saints Maxima and
Montanus were beheaded by the sword, and their remains were thrown into the
Sava River. The faithful, and those converted by the zeal of the holy couple,
willingly endangered their lives in order to rescue the bodies and heads of the
martyrs from the river. The relics were transported to Rome and interred in the
Catacombs of Saint Priscilla on the Salarian Way where they remained for 1,500
years.
Santi Montano e Massima Sposi,
martiri
Sirmio (Pannonia), † 304
ca.
Martirologio
Romano: A Srijem in Pannonia, nell’odierna Croazia, santi martiri Montano,
sacerdote, e Massima, coniugi, che, per aver professato la propria fede in
Cristo Signore, furono precipitati in mare da alcuni infedeli.
Il Martirologio Romano
celebra al 26 marzo i santi coniugi Montano e Massima, martiri di Sirmio in
Pannonia (regione storica compresa fra l’Illiria, la Germania, la Dacia, che
dal 9 d.C. divenne Provincia romana).
Le notizie riportate nei vari Martirologi (Siriano, di Floro, di Adone, Romano)
non sono concordi sulla loro fine, ad ogni modo Montano era un sacerdote, che
allora erano anche sposati, e Massima sua moglie, ed entrambi nel corso della
persecuzione, indetta in tutto l’impero romano dall’imperatore Diocleziano
(243-313), furono gettati nelle acque di un fiume a Sirmio (odierna Mitrovica)
e fatti annegare.
Qualche Martirologio dice solo Montano, altri dicono insiemealla moglie, alcuni
dicono che le acque nelle quali affogarono erano del mare. L’anno del martirio
era il 304 ca.
Non si sa altro di questi coniugi, che si affiancano nella storia dei primi
secoli della Chiesa, ad altre celebri coppie, come s. Aquila e Priscilla, s.
Severiano e Aquila, s. Mario e Marta, ecc. delle quali molte martiri.
Montano deriva dal latino ‘Montanus’ e significa ‘montanaro’, con questo nome
sono commemorati tre santi martiri al 24 febbraio, 26 marzo e 17 giugno.
Massima, forma femminile del latino ‘Maximus’, significa ‘grande’, con questo
nome sono celebrate sette sante martiri al 16 maggio, 26 marzo, 8 aprile, 30
luglio, 2 settembre, 1° ottobre, 16 ottobre.
Autore: Antonio
Borrelli
