Viktor of Xanten was a 4th century

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

and saint recognized by the

Roman 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 vi ...

. Since the 12th century, his presumed

bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, a ...

have been kept in a

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...

, which is embedded in the high altar of the

Xanten Cathedral Xanten Cathedral (german: Xantener Dom), sometimes called St. Victor's Cathedral (german: St.-Viktor-Dom), is a Roman Catholic church situated in Xanten, a historic town in the lower Rhine area, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is considered t ...

. His feast day is October 10.

Narrative

Tradition states that Viktor, as a Praefectus cohortis of a

Cohort Cohort or cohortes may refer to: * Cohort (educational group), a group of students working together through the same academic curriculum * Cohort (floating point), a set of different encodings of the same numerical value * Cohort (military unit ...

of the

Theban Legion The Theban Legion (also known as the Martyrs of Agaunum) figures in Christian hagiography as a Roman legion from Egypt—"six thousand six hundred and sixty-six men"—who converted en masse to Christianity and were martyred together in 286, a ...

, was not caught up in the decimation at Agaunum but then fell victim to the persecution under Emperor Maximian together with other companions in Xanten.Schäfer, Joachim. "Viktor von Xanten", Ökumenischen Heiligenlexikon, August 18, 2022
/ref> He was executed in the amphitheater of ''Castra Vetera'' (the site of present-day

Xanten Xanten (, Low Rhenish: ''Santen'') is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Wesel. Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park, one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the wo ...

) for refusing to sacrifice to the

Roman gods The Roman deities most widely known today are those the Romans identified with Greek counterparts (see ''interpretatio graeca''), integrating Greek myths, iconography, and sometimes religious practices into Roman culture, including Latin lite ...

. He was closely associated with

Ursus of Solothurn Ursus of Solothurn was a 3rd-century Roman Christian venerated as a saint. He was associated very early with the Theban Legion and is recorded in the Roman Martyrology, with Victor of Solothurn on 30 September. Legend The ''Life of Ursus'' was ...

, and is said to have been a relative of

Saint Verena Verena of Zurzach, mostly just called ''Saint Verena'' (c. 260 – c. 320) is an early Christian consecrated virgin and hermit. She is especially venerated in Switzerland, where her cult is attested in Bad Zurzach, the reported place of h ...

. Victor was first mentioned by Gregory of Tours in connection with the discovery of the bones of a Mallosus in the village of Birten, today a suburb of Xanten."Victor, martyr of Birten by Xanten", The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity.University of Oxford
/ref> The place name "Xanten" is also derived as "ze santen", which thus refers to a widely known and revered burial place. According to legend, Helena of Constantinople recovered the bones of Victor and his legion and erected a chapel in their honour. According to other traditions, he was a companion of

Gereon of Cologne Saint Gereon of Cologne (french: Géréon), who may have been a soldier, was martyred at Cologne by beheading, probably in the early 4th century. History According to the Roman Martyrology, "In Cologne in Germany, the Saints Gereon and his compa ...

. The tradition of Victor as a member of the Theban Legion is mixed with that of Victor of Agaunum and

Victor of Solothurn Saint Victor of Solothurn is a martyr and saint of the Catholic Church. He was a soldier of the Theban Legion led by Saint Maurice and died in Solothurn. Legend Victor was one of the soldiers of the famous Theban legion that, under the leadership ...

References

Sources

*
H.Victor van Xanten, martelaar
4th-century Christian martyrs 4th-century deaths Saints from Roman Egypt Saints of Germania Year of birth unknown People from Xanten {{Orthodoxy-stub