SERVAZIO, saint. - Bishop of Tongres in the fourth century, commemorated in the Hieronymian Martyrology on 13 May.
Praised by St Gregory of Tours as a man of piety wholly devoted to prayer and penance, in 346 he was already bishop of Tongres, since in that year he adhered to the decisions of the Council of Sardica in favour of St Athanasius. In 350 he was sent as legate to Costanzo by the emperor Magnenaio, and on that occasion met St Athanasius at Alexandria. Firmly attached to the Nicene faith, he took part in the Council of Rimini in 359, where, with a few others, he succeeded in standing up to the designs of the Arians supported by the prefect Tauro; deceived, however, by a subtle trick of Ursacio and Valente, he finally agreed to sign the Homoian formula of the Council. The date of his death is unknown, that of 384 having no foundation whatsoever. In the sixth century his body was venerated in a church built in his honour at Maastricht.