Marcellus and Apuleius, Saints, Martyrs

MARCELLUS AND APULEIUS, Saints, Martyrs. - The information concerning them is confused and intricate. M. is certainly a martyr of Capua; A., on the other hand, is unknown to the ancient hagiographic sources. The former is commemorated in the Martirologio geronimiano on 7 October, and his image was reproduced in the mosaics of the church of St. Priscus in Capua. On the same date both are remembered in the Sacramentarium Gelasianum and in a calendar of the 7th century. The notice of the Martirologio romano comes from that of Ado, who confused the two Saints with the homonyms of the Passio Nerei et Achillei*.

The Passio Marcelli et Apulei, of which three different recensions exist, has confused homonymous martyrs of Rome, Tangier and Cascara (Mesopotamia), creating enormous confusion. According to the oldest version, M. was a centurion who feared God and devoted himself to good works. When the persecution of Tiberius broke out, together with his servant A. he was sent by the Emperor, whose tutor he had been, to Apulia. Having reached Capua, however, he was stopped by the governor Dracontius. On the occasion of the festivities for the Emperor, M. abandoned the army and declared himself a Christian. The governor therefore sent him to the praetorian prefect Aurelian, who had him beheaded. A. too wished to follow his master's example and met the same fate.

Agostino Amore