Maximilian of Tebessa (Theveste), also known as Maximilian of Numidia, (; AD 274–295) was a Christian saint and martyr, whose feast day is observed on 12 March. Born in AD 274, the son of Fabius Victor, an official connected to the Roman army, Maximilian was obliged to enlist at the age of 21. He is noted as the earliest recorded conscientious objector, although it is believed that other Christians at the time also refused military service and were executed.Richard Alston, Soldier and Society in Roman Egypt, London and New York: Routledge, 1995, , p 149.
History The Acta Maximiliani was probably written sometime before 313.Brock, Peter. "Why Did St Maximilian Refuse to Serve in the Roman Army?", The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Volume 45, Issue 2, April 1994, pp. 195 - 209
Maximilianus, born about AD 274, was a native of Theveste (today Tébessa) in eastern Numidia (corresponding to the eastern part of modern Algeria) already annexed by Rome for four centuries. His father, a Christian named Fabius Victor, was a former soldier enlisted in the Roman army. On 12 March 295 at Theveste (now Tébessa, Algeria),Ott, Michael. "Maximilian." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 15 Mar. 2013 he was brought before the proconsul of Africa Proconsularis, Cassius Dio, to swear allegiance to the Emperor as a soldier. He refused, stating that, as a Christian, he could not serve in the military,Butler, Rev. Alban, "Saint Maximilian", Lives of the Saints, Vol. III, 1866 leading to his immediate beheading by sword.
Posterity Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I was named after him.
The Order of Maximilian, a group of American clergy opposed to the Vietnam War in the 1970s, took their name from him. Maximilian's name has been regularly read out, as a representative conscientious objector from the Roman Empire, at the annual ceremony marking International Conscientious Objectors' Day, 15 May, at the Conscientious Objectors Commemorative Stone, Tavistock Square, Bloomsbury, London.
References
External links The Origin of the Cult of St. Maximilian