Saint Maximus of Évreux (died ca. 384), called Saint Mauxe locally, is venerated as a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

. His legend states that he was the second

bishop of Évreux A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, and that he died a martyr at

Acquigny Acquigny () is a commune in the Eure department in Normandy in northern France. The 16th century Château d'Acquigny is located here. Population See also *Communes of the Eure department The following is a list of the 585 communes of the Eu ...

with his brother, who was his

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

. His brother is called Venerandus (Vénérand) or Victorinus.St. Maximus & Victorinus - Catholic Online
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Legend

Their legend states that they were natives of

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

. Maximus was a bishop and Victorinus was a deacon. They attempted to make converts to Christianity amongst the ranks of the barbarian armies, but failed. The brothers were sent by

Pope Damasus I Pope Damasus I (; c. 305 – 11 December 384) was the bishop of Rome from October 366 to his death. He presided over the Council of Rome of 382 that determined the canon or official list of sacred scripture. He spoke out against major heresies ( ...

to preach in

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

instead, to continue the work of

Saint Taurinus Taurinus of Évreux (died ca. 410), also known as Taurin, is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church. His legend states that he was the first bishop of Évreux. He evangelized the region and died a martyr. Legend His largely legendary life ...

(Taurin) in the region. Taurinus is considered the first bishop of Évreux. They traveled to Gaul with two priests, Mark and Etherius, passing through Auxerre,

Sens Sens () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yonne Departments of France, department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, 120 km from Paris. Sens is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture and the second city of the d ...

, and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

until they reached Évreux, where Maximus became bishop (the years of his episcopate are sometimes given as 411–440, which conflict with the traditional date of his martyrdom). At Acquigny they were captured by either

pagans Pagans may refer to: * Paganism, a group of pre-Christian religions practiced in the Roman Empire * Modern Paganism, a group of contemporary religious practices * Order of the Vine, a druidic faction in the ''Thief'' video game series * Pagan's ...

or Arians and were

beheaded Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

. Mark and Etherius escaped. They returned to bury the two brothers. Etherius later became bishop of Évreux.Saint of the Day, May 25
at ''SaintPatrickDC.org''. Retrieved 2012-03-04.

Veneration

Their

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

were re-discovered around 960 by a man named Amalbert. He attempted to carry the relics off, leaving behind only the heads of Maximus and Victorinus. However, as he was crossing the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

near

Fontenelle Abbey Fontenelle Abbey or the Abbey of St. Wandrille is a Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monastery in the commune of Rives-en-Seine. It was founded in 649 near Caudebec-en-Caux in Seine-Maritime, Normandy, France. First foundation It was foun ...

, he fell sick. He left the relics at the monastery, where

Richard I of Normandy Richard I (28 August 932 – 20 November 996), also known as Richard the Fearless (French: ''Richard Sans-Peur''; Old Norse: ''Jarl Rikard''), was the count of Rouen from 942 to 996.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln ...

built a chapel to house them. The relics were later burnt by the

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss politica ...

. The saints’ heads, however, remained at Acquigny. A

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

church was built over their tomb, but it fell into decay. The relics were translated to the parish church and deposited under the high altar. The saints were invoked against

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

in 1559, 1615 and 1726, when they were carried after the head of Saint Swithun. A sanctuary dedicated to him may have existed from the fifth century. In the forest of

Bizy Vernon (; nrf, Vernoun) is a commune in the French department of Eure, administrative region of Normandy, northern France. It lies on the banks of the river Seine, about midway between Paris and Rouen. Vernon–Giverny station has rail connecti ...

, at Vernon, one can see the supposed tomb of Maximus. It carries the inscription: "This monument of piety was restored by the Duchess of Orleans. 1816." On its southern face is a carved image of a saint carrying the

crozier A crosier or crozier (also known as a paterissa, pastoral staff, or bishop's staff) is a stylized staff that is a symbol of the governing office of a bishop or abbot and is carried by high-ranking prelates of Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholi ...

of a bishop. The monument is very degraded.

Notes

Image:Chapelle st mauxe.jpg, Chapel of Saint-Mauxe at Acquigny. Image:Tombeau saint mauxe2.jpg, Tomb of Saint Maximus in the forest of Vernon. {{DEFAULTSORT:Maximus Of Evreux 4th-century bishops in Gaul Bishops of Évreux 380s deaths 4th-century Christian martyrs Gallo-Roman saints Year of birth unknown