Constantius of the Theban Legion

Constantius is venerated as a soldier of the legendary Theban Legion, who received a martyr's death around 286. His commemoration is on 18 September. He is a locally venerated saint in Piedmont, in Italy, and his cult, like that of other saints west of the Alps, was linked with the Theban Legion to lend antiquity to a local saint about whom nothing was really known. Our sources give no Orthodox act of canonization, so we present him as a saint of legend in the West.

His cult, like that of Chiaffredo at Crissolo, Bessus at Val Soana, Tegulus at Ivrea, Magnus at Castelmagno and Dalmatius at Borgo San Dalmazzo, is said to have been linked with the Theban Legion, to give antiquity to a local saint. According to tradition, Constantius survived the decimation of his Legion and fled, with some other survivors, to the Val Maira, today in the province of Cuneo. Among them were Constantine, Dalmatius, Desiderius, Isidore, Magnus, Olympius, Pontius, Theodore and Victor. They dedicated themselves to preaching the Christian faith, but all of them, except Constantius, were soon killed by the Roman authorities. Constantius buried his companions.

With his legend is linked the geological formation known as Ciciu del Villar, columns formed by natural erosion; the stones are said to be the Roman soldiers sent to kill him, miraculously petrified before they could harm the saint. According to tradition, Constantius was at last beheaded on Monte San Bernardo, where a sanctuary in his honour was built, San Costanzo al Monte. The sanctuary probably dates from Lombard times; some eighth-⁠century sculptures remain. It was rebuilt and altered in the following centuries, and the stone church was completed in 1190. A Baroque facade was added later. The Benedictine abbatial church of Santi Vittore e Costanzo, also at Villar, preserves some important archaeological remains, among them a marble slab bearing vermilion symbols, worn down by the hands of the faithful.

Constantius's cult became popular, and every year a pilgrimage of the faithful to Villar takes place. Bishop Tornabuoni of Saluzzo declared Chiaffredo patron of his diocese at a synod of 1516, with Constantius as co-⁠patron. Statues of Chiaffredo and Constantius are found in the altar of the cathedral of Saluzzo. Because of his connection with the Theban Legion, Constantius is considered to have been of Egyptian birth, which has led to his veneration in the Coptic Church.