{{Short description|Christian saint (died 303)}} {{About|the Christian Saint|the 6th century Byzantine historian|Agathias}} {{Infobox saint | honorific_prefix = [[Saint]] | name = Acacius | birth_date = late-3rd century | death_date = {{circa|303}} | feast_day = 7 May (formerly 8 May); 16 January (translation of relics) | venerated_in = [[Roman Catholic Church]]<br>[[Eastern Orthodox Church]]<ref>{{in lang|el}} ''[http://www.synaxarion.gr/gr/sid/3053/sxsaintinfo.aspx Ὁ Ἅγιος Ἀκάκιος ὁ Μάρτυρας ὁ κεντυρίων].'' 7 Μαΐου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.</ref> | image = Agathius-Acacius-Acacio-martyrdom.jpg | caption = ''The Martyrdom of Saint Agathius''. 16th century work by an anonymous artist from [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]]. | birth_place = [[Cappadocia]] | death_place = [[Byzantium]] | titles = [[Holy Helper]], [[Christian martyr|Martyr]] | canonized_date = | canonized_place = | canonized_by = | attributes = palm of martyrdom, centurion with a bunch of thorns, in armour with standard and shield, depicted with [[Theodore of Amasea]] | patronage = soldiers, [[Squillace]], [[Guardavalle]], invoked against headache | major_shrine = Cathedral of [[Squillace]], [[Italy]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14239a.htm|title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Squillace|website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref> }}
'''Saint Acacius''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: Ἅγιος Ἀκάκιος; died 303), also known as '''Agathius of Byzantium''', '''Achatius''', or '''Agathonas''' to Christian tradition, was a [[Cappadocian]] Greek centurion of the imperial army, martyred around 304. A church existed in [[Constantinople]] associated with Acacius and possibly named after him: the [[Church of St Acacius]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Woods|first=David|date=2001|title=The Church of "St." Acacius at Constantinople|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/1584527|journal=Vigiliae Christianae|volume=55|issue=2|pages=201–207|doi=10.2307/1584527|jstor=1584527 |issn=0042-6032|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
==History== Agathius was arrested on charges for being a Christian by Tribune Firmus in [[Perinthus]], [[Thrace]], tortured and then brought to [[Byzantium]] where he was [[scourge]]d and [[decapitation|beheaded]], being made a martyr because he would not renounce his Christian faith.
The date of his martyrdom is traditionally 8 May, when his feast was observed. It was later moved to 7 May.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Martyr Acacius the Centurion at Byzantium |url=https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2024/05/07/101313-martyr-acacius-the-centurion-at-byzantium |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=www.oca.org}}</ref>
==Veneration== His relics were relocated ''ca.'' 630 to a spring at [[Squillace]], close by the Vivarium, the monastery founded in the previous century by [[Cassiodorus]] in the heel of [[Italy]].<ref name="geo">{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110708132053/http://centreleonardboyle.com/otherlinks.html Barnish, Samuel J., "Select Abstracts"<!-- Bot generated title -->]}}</ref> He was known in [[Squillace]] as ''San Agario''. A relic of his arm was brought to [[Guardavalle]] in 1584 by the [[bishop of Squillace]], Marcello Sirleto, hence Agathius' patronage of this city. Relics from Squillace were also brought to [[Cuenca, Spain|Cuenca]] and [[Ávila, Spain|Ávila]] in [[Spain]], where he is known as ''San Acato''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90216|title=Sant' Agazio (Acacio) su santiebeati.it|website=Santiebeati.it}}</ref>
St. Agathius is also venerated in [[Slovenia]], where numerous churches and chapels are dedicated to him; this popular veneration goes back to the 16th century, when he was considered the patron saint of the fighters against the [[Ottoman Turks]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.druzina.si/ICD/spletnastran.nsf/all/DEB5E348F09DBB68C1257022003AE455|title=Koledar svetnikov - Ahacij in tovariši|website=www.druzina.si}}</ref> For the same reason he became popular among the [[Maniots]], inhabitants of the [[Mani Peninsula]] in [[Greece]], who took up his confrontation of the Pagan Roman authorities as a symbol of their own long lasting resistance of the [[Ottoman Empire]]'s rule.
St. Achatius is one of the [[Fourteen Holy Helpers]] or Auxiliary Saints in Roman Catholic tradition.
==References== <references/>
==External links== * [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90216 Santiebeati:Agathius]
{{commons category}} {{Fourteen Holy Helpers}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agathius}} [[Category:303 deaths]] [[Category:4th-century Christian martyrs]] [[Category:Saints from Roman Anatolia]] [[Category:Fourteen Holy Helpers|Acacius]] [[Category:Year of birth unknown]]