Mauritius of Apamea

Holy Martyr Mauritius of Apamea was a soldier in the time of the emperor Maximian (286 to 305), at Apamea in Bithynia, in Pontus, and died around the year 305. He suffered together with seventy other soldiers, his companions in the struggle.

When Maximian passed through the region, the soldiers were denounced as Christians; summoned before the emperor, they confessed that they were Christians, their military belts were taken from them and they were thrown into prison. After three days, questioned again, they stood firm and were hung up and had their sides torn. To make Mauritius' suffering more bitter, Maximian ordered his son Photinus beheaded before his eyes. Then he took them to a place of foul, stagnant water, where he bound them naked to stakes and smeared them with honey. The martyrs stayed bound so for ten days and in the end, from the bites of insects, gave up their souls to God.

Saint Mauritius is also commemorated on 1 July (new style), together with the seventy other martyrs.