Serapion of Algiers

St. Serapion (c. 1175/9, † 1240) was a monk of the Order Mercedarians in Spain and its first martyr. His birth name is unknown; probably Serapion (Greek: ' the Inflamed ') his Order name. His life coincided with the religious and military conflicts with Islam in the Iberian peninsula ( the Reconquista ).

Life

Serapion family came from Scotland or Ireland - in medieval sources he is referred to as Serapio Scotus; he himself, however, was probably born about 1175 /9 in London. First, he served in the army of Richard the Lionheart, then in the army of the Duke of Austria, Leopold VI. , With whom he moved to Spain. Leopold brought the Christian army of the king of Castile, Alfonso VIII, strengthening to fight against the Muslims ( Moors ). In Spain, arrived to Serapion decided in the king of the Castilian services to contact in order to devote himself to the defense of the Christian faith can.

Shortly thereafter, he met Peter Nolascus and know its fraternity of Mercedarians, which also campaigning for spreading the Christian faith among the Muslims, but it dropped the sword. The brothers freed Christians from Muslim captivity or slavery, in which they offered a ransom - but their fourth rule of the order was accordingly prepared to even itself hostage - to go to Islamic captivity - in exchange for Christian prisoners.

1222 Serapion received the religious habit of the white Mercedarians. He succeeded in the then occupied by the Moors southern Spain and redeem captives and slaves in North Africa.

Martyrdom

On one of his trips with his brother Berenguer de Bañeres he remained in Algiers back as a hostage and could thus trigger a group of prisoners who were in danger to renounce their Christian faith and convert to Islam. Berenguer returned alone to Barcelona, the headquarters of the Order, back to raise the ransom. Now the brothers lost valuable time: the religious superior Nolascus Peter, who was at that time in Montpellier, had to be notified and then wrote only to his deputy Guillermo de Bas an order to collect alms in all the monasteries. While the collection could be brought together, but did not reach the agreed time Algiers. The infuriated Sultan of Algiers, Selin Benimarin, Serapion was therefore in 1240 cruel and merciless to an X - cross ( St Andrew's Cross ) nail and then chop the body limb by limb into pieces. Thus, the Mercedarian Order had its first martyr.

Importance

For the Holy Raymond Nonnatus, but also for many other friars of Mercedarians Serapion was a great role model. His Catholic feast day is November 14.

Others

An expressive paintings Francisco de Zurbarán from 1628 shows St. Serapion in the white habit of the Mercedarians as tortured, bound at the wrists prisoners before his actual martyrdom.