Not much is known for certain about St. Sebastian, an early Christian martyr, but his life story has been shared and admired for millennia.
He was referred to as a saint long before the official canonization process was established. St. Sebastian’s story of deep faith in the face of persecution has been inspiring Christians ever since his martyrdom at the order of the Roman emperor Diocletian.
This patron saint of athletes and soldiers is the subject of the latest installment of legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese’s “The Saints,” streaming now on Fox Nation.
“The stories of the early saints were spread from person to person, and they gradually became legend – that is, the realm where historical truth gives way to a spiritual truth,” Scorsese narrates.
Since his martyrdom, St. Sebastian has “lived on as a kind of prototype, a supreme example, of absolute and undying faith,” he also says.
The episode takes viewers back to the streets of third century Rome, at a time when Christians were about to be under intense persecution by the Roman emperor – Diocletian.
Diocletian “wanted to bring back the glory days of the Pax Romana, to make Rome great again,” said Scorsese.
Among the steps taken by Diocletian was a return to Rome’s pagan religion, with a pantheon of gods.
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Previously, noted Scorsese, Christian beliefs had been tolerated, “but Diocletian reverted to the old ways. He ruled by divine right of the Roman gods, making anyone who refused to worship them a threat to his power.”
Sebastian, who at the time was a commander of the Praetorian Guard, an elite cohort of soldiers who were charged with protecting the emperor, is keeping a secret: He is a Christian.
Meanwhile, twin brothers and deacons, Marcellus and Marcellianus, had been captured and were imprisoned.
In their cell, they were told if they made a sacrifice to the Roman gods, they would be released without further punishment.
Their parents, Tranquillinus and Martia, are not Christians. The parents were not previously aware of their sons’ faiths — and they tell their sons to make the sacrifice.
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Sebastian tells the guard, Nicostratus, that he wishes to speak to Marcellus and Marcellianus alone. He reveals to the brothers that he, too, is a Christian and encourages them to remain steadfast in their faith.
“Brother, don’t you believe?” asks Sebastian. “Then you must know, we only answer to the one true God. Not to our ancestors, not to our elders, not to our father, not to our mother – to God.”
Following God, as Sebastian reminds the brothers, is the “only way of salvation” — and while they may be tortured or killed, their persecutors “can’t touch your soul.”
Overhearing Sebastian’s message to Marcellus and Marcellianus, Nicostratus confronts them, before dropping his sword and falling to his knees, overcome with emotion.
“It was impossible, unthinkable,” said Scorsese. “Nicostratus, the terror of all Roman Christians, had converted to Christianity. He freed all of his prisoners, and he had his entre household baptized.”
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This was the start of “dramatic, mass conversions” that were happening throughout Rome, said Scorsese. “And Sebastian was at the secret heart of it all.”
All would not stay well, however. Nicostratus, Marcellus and Marcellianus would all soon be martyred, and Sebastian’s Christianity would be discovered.
Sebastian, too, would see the same fate as his fellow Christians – but he would not go down quietly.
“The Saints” follows the lives and legacies of saints such as Sebastian, who serve as examples of tenacity, courage and righteousness in the face of adversity.
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The eight episodes explore the lives of Joan of Arc, John the Baptist, Sebastian, Maximilian Kolbe, Francis of Assisi, Thomas Becket, Mary Magdalene and Moses the Black, with Scorsese and his team journeying over 2,000 years of history to focus on these extraordinary figures and their extreme acts of kindness, selflessness and sacrifice.
To watch weekly installments of “The Saints,” sign up for Fox Nation and begin streaming the series today. Fox Nation is offering a 3-month free trial with the promo code “SAINTS.”
