MARCELLO e APULEIO, saints, martyrs. - The information concerning them is confused and intricate. M. is certainly a martyr of Capua, whereas A. is unknown to the ancient hagiographical sources. The former is commemorated in the Hieronymian Martyrology on 7 October, and his image was reproduced in the mosaics of the church of S. Prisco in Capua. On the same date both are remembered in the Gelasian Sacramentary and in a calendar of the 7th century. The notice in the Marty-
rology Roman derives from that of Ado, who confused the two Saints with their namesakes in the Passio Nerei et Achillei.
The Passio Marcelli et Apulei, of which three different recensions exist, has confused namesake martyrs of Rome, Tangier, and Càscara (Mesopotamia), creating enormous confusion. According to the oldest version, M. was a centurion who feared God and was devoted to good works. When the persecution of Tiberius broke out, he was sent together with his servant A. by the Emperor, whose tutor he had been, to Puglie. Having arrived at Capua, however, he was detained by the governor Draconzio. During the festivities for the Emperor, M. left the army and declared himself a Christian. The governor therefore sent him to the praetorian prefect Aureliano, who had him beheaded. A. too wished to follow his master’s example and met the same fate.