Confessor Maximin

Saint Maximin, also known as Maximinus of Trier, was a fourth-century bishop of Trier in Roman Gaul, venerated as a confessor for his defense of Nicene orthodoxy against Arianism. He was born at Silly, a locality near Poitiers in Poitou. No surviving source records the year of his birth, his parentage, or his education. He became the fifth bishop of Trier, succeeding Agritius, probably in the early 330s, when Trier was an imperial residence and one of the chief cities of the western empire.

As bishop he was a leading Western ally of the Nicene party. He received Saint Athanasius of Alexandria during the latter’s exile in Gaul (about 335–337) and likewise sheltered Paul of Constantinople after that bishop’s deposition. Maximin took part in the Council of Sardica in 343, which upheld Athanasius and issued canons on episcopal discipline. Athanasius and other near-contemporary writers mention him with respect as a firm opponent of Arian teaching at a time when imperial policy often favored the Arians.

He died while visiting his native Poitou, on a date traditionally given as 12 September in the mid-340s, most often 346. His remains were translated to Trier and buried in a cemetery church that later became the Abbey of Saint Maximin, a major early-medieval Benedictine house. His cult is early. The Roman Martyrology commemorates him on 29 May as a bishop who was a great defender of the orthodox faith against the Arians; in Trier he has also been remembered on the anniversary of his death. He is regarded as one of the patron saints of Trier.

Evidence for his life is limited to incidental notices in Athanasius, conciliar records, and the later liturgical and monastic traditions of Trier. No contemporary biography survives, and medieval lives mix recollection with legend. There is no indication that he was pope or patriarch, that he belonged to a later-style religious order, or that he was married. His historical importance lies in his protection of exiled Nicene bishops and his role in Western resistance to Arianizing pressure during the reigns of Constantine’s sons.