(also known as Macartan,
MacCartan, Maccarthen) feast day formerly
March 24. Saint Macartin (in Irish is Aedh mac Carthin) was an early
disciple and companion of Saint
Patrick during the latter's missions into pagan territory. He is
said to have been consecrated bishop of Clogher in Tyrone by Patrick in
454. It is said the Saint Brigid,
Macartin's niece, was present at the founding of the see.
Macartin is also one of the earliest Irish saints to be known as a miracle-worker. His holiness is revealed not so much by any vita, which are non-existent, but by the high veneration in which he is held. Saint Bede records that the earth was taken from his grave as holy relics. His Office is the only one to survive from an Irish source.
A reliquary, called the Great Shrine of Saint Mac Cairthinn, which was designed to contain relics of the True Cross as well as his bones, has been altered over the centuries but still survives as the "Domnach Airgid" in the National Museum. It's inner yew box was given to Macartin by Patrick together with the latter's episcopal staff and Bible.
The Cloch-Oir (Golden Stone), from which this ancient diocese takes its name, was a sacred ceremonial stone to the druids, It was given to Macartin by an old pagan noble, who had harassed Macartin in every possible way until the saint's patient love won the local ruler to the faith. The stone is still preserved and the noble's son, Tighernach of Clones, succeed Macartin as bishop (Benedictines, D'Arcy, Farmer, Healy, Kenney, Montague, Muirhead, Needham).
Macartin is also one of the earliest Irish saints to be known as a miracle-worker. His holiness is revealed not so much by any vita, which are non-existent, but by the high veneration in which he is held. Saint Bede records that the earth was taken from his grave as holy relics. His Office is the only one to survive from an Irish source.
A reliquary, called the Great Shrine of Saint Mac Cairthinn, which was designed to contain relics of the True Cross as well as his bones, has been altered over the centuries but still survives as the "Domnach Airgid" in the National Museum. It's inner yew box was given to Macartin by Patrick together with the latter's episcopal staff and Bible.
The Cloch-Oir (Golden Stone), from which this ancient diocese takes its name, was a sacred ceremonial stone to the druids, It was given to Macartin by an old pagan noble, who had harassed Macartin in every possible way until the saint's patient love won the local ruler to the faith. The stone is still preserved and the noble's son, Tighernach of Clones, succeed Macartin as bishop (Benedictines, D'Arcy, Farmer, Healy, Kenney, Montague, Muirhead, Needham).
Severinus was born in Burgundy. He joined the monastery of Agaunum as a youth.
He cured King Clovis of a disease that his doctors had been unable to cure in 504, and is reported to have performed miracles of healing before his death at Chateau-Landon. St. Severin church in Paris is named after him.
Severinus of Agaunum, Abbot (RM)
Died at Château-Landon, c. 507. Severinus is said to have been a Burgundian abbot of Saint Maurice in Agaunum, Switzerland, who caused the fever of Clovis to go down and worked many other miraculous cures. The details of his life given to us are unreliable. Saint-Séverin in Paris is dedicated to his honor (Attwater2, Benedictines, Encyclopedia). Saint Severinus is represented in art as a bishop curing King Clovis (Roeder).
510 St. Nectan one of
the
most celebrated saints in the West of England; tended
to the needs of the poor throughout Devon, Cornwall and even Brittany,
where churches dedicated to him may be found miracles after death
St Nectan was born in Wales and lived in the sixth century, but we know few details about his life. He was the oldest of the twenty-four children of St Brychan of Brecknock (April 6). While he was still living in Wales, God inspired him to imitate the example of St Anthony (January 17) and other ascetics, and to embrace the monastic life.
6th V. St Nectan
The tomb of St Nectan at Hartland in Devonshire was the centre of a cultus which seems to have been fostered in the middle ages by the Augustinian canons, who were the custodians of his tomb. He was also venerated in Cornwall, especially at Launceston, where a fair is still held on his feast-day, June 17. In the neighbourhood of Lostwithiel and Newlyn chapels were dedicated in his honour under the name of St Nighton, and perhaps also at Tintagel, not far from which famous resort “St Nighton’s Kieve” (i.e. vat) is still shown. William of Worcester and some later writers, such as Nicholas Roscarrock, describe the saint as having been the eldest of the twenty-four children of the Welsh king, Brychan, who gave his name to Brecknock. The saint may possibly have been an Irish missionary who came to England and founded churches in Devon and Cornwall. Actually nothing is known of his true history. All that Worcester is able to tell us about him is this: “And the venerable man Nectan, while he was making his way through certain woody districts in order to explore the country, was found by robbers in the place which to this day is called New Town (i.e. New Stoke), and there a church is built to his honour. On the fifteenth day before the kalends of July he was beheaded, and he took up his head in his own hands and carried it about a distance of half a stadium, as far as the fountain where he lived, and there laid it down, besmeared with his blood and sweat, on a certain stone, and blood-stained traces of this murder and miracle still remain on that same stone.” This is a quotation from the saint’s Life.
Once, St Nectan found a stray pig and returned it to its owner. In gratitude, the swineherd gave St Nectan two cows. The saint accepted the gift, but the cows were soon stolen by two robbers. St Nectan found the thieves who took the animals, and tried to preach to them about Christ. They became angry and cut off his head. Then the saint picked up his head and carried it for half a mile, laying it down near the spring by his cell. Seeing this, the man who killed St Nectan went out of his mind, but the other thief buried him. From that time, miracles began to take place at St Nectan's tomb.
In 937 St Nectan appeared on the eve of the Battle of Brunanburgh to a young man from Hartland who was in a tent near King Athelstan's pavilion. Suddenly, he felt himself afflicted with the plague which was then destroying the English army. The young man wept and called upon God and St Nectan to help him. His cries were so loud that he woke the king and others around him. St Nectan came to the young man just after midnight and touched the afflicted area of his body, healing him. In the morning, he was brought before the king and admitted that it was he who had disturbed Athelstan's sleep. The king asked gently why he had been crying out during the night. The young man explained that he felt himself stricken with the plague, and was afraid that he would die. Therefore, he entreated God and St Nectan to help him, and his prayer was answered. Athelstan asked for more information about the life and martyrdom of St Nectan, which the young man provided. He also urged the king to turn to St Nectan with faith, promising that he would be victorious in battle if he did so. The king promised to honor God and St Nectan, and so his faith was rewarded. Not only did he win the battle, but the plague disappeared and his soldiers recovered. The first time that King Athelstan visited Hartland in Devonshire, he donated property to the saint's church. For the rest of his life, the king placed great confidence in the intercession of St Nectan.
St Nectan was born in Wales and lived in the sixth century, but we know few details about his life. He was the oldest of the twenty-four children of St Brychan of Brecknock (April 6). While he was still living in Wales, God inspired him to imitate the example of St Anthony (January 17) and other ascetics, and to embrace the monastic life.
6th V. St Nectan
The tomb of St Nectan at Hartland in Devonshire was the centre of a cultus which seems to have been fostered in the middle ages by the Augustinian canons, who were the custodians of his tomb. He was also venerated in Cornwall, especially at Launceston, where a fair is still held on his feast-day, June 17. In the neighbourhood of Lostwithiel and Newlyn chapels were dedicated in his honour under the name of St Nighton, and perhaps also at Tintagel, not far from which famous resort “St Nighton’s Kieve” (i.e. vat) is still shown. William of Worcester and some later writers, such as Nicholas Roscarrock, describe the saint as having been the eldest of the twenty-four children of the Welsh king, Brychan, who gave his name to Brecknock. The saint may possibly have been an Irish missionary who came to England and founded churches in Devon and Cornwall. Actually nothing is known of his true history. All that Worcester is able to tell us about him is this: “And the venerable man Nectan, while he was making his way through certain woody districts in order to explore the country, was found by robbers in the place which to this day is called New Town (i.e. New Stoke), and there a church is built to his honour. On the fifteenth day before the kalends of July he was beheaded, and he took up his head in his own hands and carried it about a distance of half a stadium, as far as the fountain where he lived, and there laid it down, besmeared with his blood and sweat, on a certain stone, and blood-stained traces of this murder and miracle still remain on that same stone.” This is a quotation from the saint’s Life.
The twelfth-century
life of St Nectan, which came to light in the Gotha MS. I. 81 in 1937
and was
translated by Canon Doble (see note below), adds little of interest
about the
saint, though it gives interesting particulars about his shrine and
sidelights
on life at Hartland in the middle ages.
By far
the best attempt in English to cope with the
incoherencies of the materials is that of Canon Doble in no. 25 of his
“Cornish
Saints” series, St Nectan and the
Children of Brychan (1930); his translation of the vita
appeared in A Book of
Hartland (1940), ed. by Miss I. D.
Thornley, and was reprinted separately in the same year. See also DCB.,
vol.
iv, pp. 10—11, and LBS., vol. iv, pp. 1—2. But consult especially Analecta Bollandiana, vol. lxxi (1953).
Seeking greater solitude, St Nectan and his companions left
Wales, intending to settle wherever their boat happened to land. Divine
providence brought them to the northern coast of Devonshire at
Hartland, where they lived for several years in a dense forest. The
saint's family would visit him there on the last day of the year.
Later, he relocated to a remote valley with a spring. Once, St Nectan found a stray pig and returned it to its owner. In gratitude, the swineherd gave St Nectan two cows. The saint accepted the gift, but the cows were soon stolen by two robbers. St Nectan found the thieves who took the animals, and tried to preach to them about Christ. They became angry and cut off his head. Then the saint picked up his head and carried it for half a mile, laying it down near the spring by his cell. Seeing this, the man who killed St Nectan went out of his mind, but the other thief buried him. From that time, miracles began to take place at St Nectan's tomb.
In 937 St Nectan appeared on the eve of the Battle of Brunanburgh to a young man from Hartland who was in a tent near King Athelstan's pavilion. Suddenly, he felt himself afflicted with the plague which was then destroying the English army. The young man wept and called upon God and St Nectan to help him. His cries were so loud that he woke the king and others around him. St Nectan came to the young man just after midnight and touched the afflicted area of his body, healing him. In the morning, he was brought before the king and admitted that it was he who had disturbed Athelstan's sleep. The king asked gently why he had been crying out during the night. The young man explained that he felt himself stricken with the plague, and was afraid that he would die. Therefore, he entreated God and St Nectan to help him, and his prayer was answered. Athelstan asked for more information about the life and martyrdom of St Nectan, which the young man provided. He also urged the king to turn to St Nectan with faith, promising that he would be victorious in battle if he did so. The king promised to honor God and St Nectan, and so his faith was rewarded. Not only did he win the battle, but the plague disappeared and his soldiers recovered. The first time that King Athelstan visited Hartland in Devonshire, he donated property to the saint's church. For the rest of his life, the king placed great confidence in the intercession of St Nectan.
St Nectan is the patron of
Hartland, Devonshire. The fullest surviving
Life dates from the twelfth century (See Vol. 5 of THE SAINTS OF
CORNWALL by G. H. Doble for an English translation).
There is an Orthodox house
chapel (Russian diocese of Sourozh)
dedicated to St Simeon and St Anna at Combe Martin, N. Devon where St
Nectan is venerated.(c.AD 468-510)
(Welsh-Nudd, Latin-Natanus, English-Nathan),
although details from his life-story are rather sparse. He is chief
amongst the Cornish list of children of King Brychan Brycheiniog,
usually said to have been the eldest. Nectan sailed south from Wales
and landed on the Corno-Devon border at
Hartland Point. He found a beautiful valley there, at Stoke St. Nectan
near Hartland, with a never-failing spring. He built a little church
and a hermitage, forty paces away and lived there many years. He tended
to the needs of the poor throughout Devon, Cornwall and even Brittany,
where churches dedicated to him may be found. He once helped a
swineherd find his lost pigs and, in return, was given two cows who
provided his daily comestible needs. Most of Nectan's siblings followed
him from Wales and were instrumental in evangelising the south-west.
They saw Nectan as their leader and gathered every New Year's Eve at
Hartland to talk with him.
Eventually, Nectan's two cows were stolen by bandits. He tracked them to New Stoke, took them back and tried to convert his persecutors to Christianity. For all his hard work, they struck off his head! Legend says Nectan picked up the severed object and returned, with it, to his chapel at Stoke. This occurred on 17th June AD 510. His body was translated to a more fitting shrine in the 1030s and later looked after by the Austin Canons who built an Abbey nearby.
Little historical credit is given to the Cornish lists of the children of Brychan and many scholars believe they only indicate that the named persons originated in South Wales. Nechtan's name is Pictish and some think he has been confused with Noethon ap Gildas who is known to have come from the North. Prof. Charles Thomas, meanwhile, believes that Nectan is, in fact, a corruption of the name Brychan itself: father and son being one and the same. He identifies Lundy Island as Brychan's mysterious burial place, Ynys Brychan, from where his body was removed to Stoke in the 7th century.
Eventually, Nectan's two cows were stolen by bandits. He tracked them to New Stoke, took them back and tried to convert his persecutors to Christianity. For all his hard work, they struck off his head! Legend says Nectan picked up the severed object and returned, with it, to his chapel at Stoke. This occurred on 17th June AD 510. His body was translated to a more fitting shrine in the 1030s and later looked after by the Austin Canons who built an Abbey nearby.
Little historical credit is given to the Cornish lists of the children of Brychan and many scholars believe they only indicate that the named persons originated in South Wales. Nechtan's name is Pictish and some think he has been confused with Noethon ap Gildas who is known to have come from the North. Prof. Charles Thomas, meanwhile, believes that Nectan is, in fact, a corruption of the name Brychan itself: father and son being one and the same. He identifies Lundy Island as Brychan's mysterious burial place, Ynys Brychan, from where his body was removed to Stoke in the 7th century.
6th v. St.
Benedicta
Mystic nun St. Peter appeared in vision warn
her of death
Romæ sanctæ Benedíctæ Vírginis. At Rome, the virgin St. Benedícta.
Benedicta lived in a convent founded by St. Galla in Rome. Pope St. Gregory the Great states that St. Peter appeared in a vision to warn her of her approaching death.
Benedicta of Rome V (RM). Benedicta a nun of the convent founded in Rome by Saint Galla(A Roman widow of the sixth century; feast, 5 October. According to St. Gregory the Great (Dial. IV, ch. xiii) she was the daughter of the younger Symmachus, a learned and virtuous patrician of Rome, whom Theodoric had unjustly condemned to death (525). Becoming a widow before the end of the first year of her married life, she, still very young, founded a convent and hospital near St. Peter's, there spent the remainder of her days in austerities and works of mercy, and ended her life with an edifying death. The letter of St. Fulgentius of Ruspe, "De statu viduarum", is supposed to have been addressed to her. Her church in Rome, near the Piazza Montanara, once held a picture of Our Lady, which according to tradition represents a vision vouchsafed to St. Galla. It is considered miraculous and was carried in recession in times of pestilence. It is now over the high altar of Santa Maria in Campitelli. ), of whom Saint Gregory the Great narrates that her death was foretold to her by Saint Peter in a vision (Benedictines).
Romæ sanctæ Benedíctæ Vírginis. At Rome, the virgin St. Benedícta.
Benedicta lived in a convent founded by St. Galla in Rome. Pope St. Gregory the Great states that St. Peter appeared in a vision to warn her of her approaching death.
Benedicta of Rome V (RM). Benedicta a nun of the convent founded in Rome by Saint Galla(A Roman widow of the sixth century; feast, 5 October. According to St. Gregory the Great (Dial. IV, ch. xiii) she was the daughter of the younger Symmachus, a learned and virtuous patrician of Rome, whom Theodoric had unjustly condemned to death (525). Becoming a widow before the end of the first year of her married life, she, still very young, founded a convent and hospital near St. Peter's, there spent the remainder of her days in austerities and works of mercy, and ended her life with an edifying death. The letter of St. Fulgentius of Ruspe, "De statu viduarum", is supposed to have been addressed to her. Her church in Rome, near the Piazza Montanara, once held a picture of Our Lady, which according to tradition represents a vision vouchsafed to St. Galla. It is considered miraculous and was carried in recession in times of pestilence. It is now over the high altar of Santa Maria in Campitelli. ), of whom Saint Gregory the Great narrates that her death was foretold to her by Saint Peter in a vision (Benedictines).
Apud Núrsiam sanctórum Eutychii et Floréntii Monachórum, quorum méminit beátus Gregórius Papa.
At Norcia, Saints Eutychius and Florentius, monks, mentioned by the blessed Pope Gregory.
Two monks who successively governed a monastery in Valcastoria near Norcia (Nursia?), Italy. Saint Gregory the Great praised their virtues and miracles (Benedictines).
6th v St.
Almedha Welsh
virgin and martyr
also called Ellyw
She is honored in Lianelly and Llanelieu. Virgin and martyr, also called Aled or Filuned. The Welsh tradition reports that Almedha was the daughter of King Brychan. Having taken a vow of virginity and dedicated to Christ, Almedha fled from her father's royal residence to escape marriage to the prince of a neighboring kingdom. She went to three Welsh villages - Llandrew, Llanfillo, and Llechfaen - but the people turned her away, despite her promise warning that dreadful thing calamaties would befall anyone who denied her sanctuary. Almedha reached Brecon, where she took up residence in a small hut, but the king arrived and demanded her return. When she refused him, he beheaded her. Tradition states that a spring of water appeared on the site of her murder. The three villages that refused her were visited by disasters.
She is honored in Lianelly and Llanelieu. Virgin and martyr, also called Aled or Filuned. The Welsh tradition reports that Almedha was the daughter of King Brychan. Having taken a vow of virginity and dedicated to Christ, Almedha fled from her father's royal residence to escape marriage to the prince of a neighboring kingdom. She went to three Welsh villages - Llandrew, Llanfillo, and Llechfaen - but the people turned her away, despite her promise warning that dreadful thing calamaties would befall anyone who denied her sanctuary. Almedha reached Brecon, where she took up residence in a small hut, but the king arrived and demanded her return. When she refused him, he beheaded her. Tradition states that a spring of water appeared on the site of her murder. The three villages that refused her were visited by disasters.
ST ALED, ELLUNED OR ALMEDHA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR
"NOT far from Brecon is the church called St Almedha's, after the holy maiden who, refusing an earthly husband, was wedded to the Eternal King, and there triumphed in a happy martyrdom. A solemn feast is held in her honour every year at the beginning of August, and it is attended by many people from distant parts; those who suffer from various diseases receive wished-for health through the merits of the blessed maiden. Certain things which happen at this anniversary seem remarkable to me. In the church or in the churchyard, during the dance which is led round the churchyard with a song, you may see men and girls suddenly fall to the ground as in a trance; then, as if frenzied, they jump up and represent to the people with their hands and feet whatever work they have unlawfully done on great feasts. You may see one man put his hand to the plow, and another as it were goad on the oxen, lightening their labour with the usual uncouth song; one imitates the trade of a cobbler, another that of a tanner. You may see a girl with a distaff, drawing out the thread and winding it again on the spindle; another as she walks arranges the threads for the web; another throws the shuttle and seems to weave. Then, on coming into the church and being led to the altar with their offerings, you will be astonished to see them suddenly come to their senses again. Thus, by the divine mercy which rejoices not at the death of sinners but at their conversion, many, convicted by their own actions, are corrected and amended on these feast days."
This interesting passage comes from the Itinerary through Wales of Giraldus Cambrensis, who was archdeacon of Brecon from 1175 for over twenty years and lived at Llanddew only a couple of miles away; he was therefore well placed for verifying the details of the phenomena which he describes. The passage is well known, and has often raised questions about the identity and story of St Almedha, or Aled as she was more usually called locally-the name is found in a score of forms. Gerald himself states that she was one of the children of Brychan, that prolific father of saints, but the name figures in only some lists of these children; and it is odd that, while she appears in at least one Latin calendar, she is unknown to the Welsh ones.
The legend of St
Med as it was current in the
seventeenth
century has a suspicious resemblance to the story of St Winifred
(November 3). While still young she dedicated herself completely
to God, and when a young prince, supported by her family, urged her to
marry him, she fled away in disguise to Llanddew. Here she was so
badly treated that she withdrew to Llanfillo, and then again to
Llechfaen, where she had to sleep in the street as nobody would give
her a bed. So she took refuge in the wood on Slwch Tump, by
Brecon itself, where the lord of the place helped her to build a cell,
and she settled down there, prophesying that a chastisement would rest
on the village of Llanddew for the injuries done to her; that the
village of LlanfIllo should be plagued with thieves (as they are to
this day above all others) ; and the village of Llechfaen with envy, as
indeed they are almost continually in contention and law with one
another" (Hugh Thomas, c. 1698).
It is not recorded that Med also foretold her own misfortunes, but soon after her princely suitor sought her out in her retreat. Directly she saw him she ran away down the hill; he followed, caught her up, and in baffled rage smote off her head with his sword. Where Aled's head fell, a spring of water miraculously welled up from the rock; and thereafter the maiden was venerated as a saint and martyr.
It is not recorded that Med also foretold her own misfortunes, but soon after her princely suitor sought her out in her retreat. Directly she saw him she ran away down the hill; he followed, caught her up, and in baffled rage smote off her head with his sword. Where Aled's head fell, a spring of water miraculously welled up from the rock; and thereafter the maiden was venerated as a saint and martyr.
The legend of St Aled is set
out in a late
seventeenth-century manuscript of Hugh Thomas, the Breconshire herald (Harleian MS.
4181) see Archacologia Cambrensis
for 1883, pp. 46-47, 168, and for 1903, pp. 214-223. Gerald the Welshrnan's Itinerary through Wales,
bk i, cap. a Jones's History
of Brecknock, vol.1, pp. 4344 (edition of 1909); Cressy's Church History of Brittany (i.e.
Britain), published at Rouen in 1668. William of Worcester says
that "St Elevetha" was buried at Usk, but other writers agree that it
was in her cell, which became the first St Med's chapel on Slwch
hill. This in turn became a small church of some importance in
the middle ages by 1698 it was roofless and disused, and today
its site can with difficulty be identified.
ST ATTRACTA, OR ARAGHT, VIRGIN
As with so many Irish saints, there is much uncertainty about the chronology of St Attracta; her alleged association with St Patrick would put her in the flfth century, but others mentioned as her contemporaries lived in the sixth. According to her legend she was the daughter of a noble house, and when her father refused to allow her to dedicate herself to God, she fled to Coolavin, where she is said to have received the nun's veil from St Patrick. She then established herself on Lough Gara, and founded a hospice for travellers in a place where seven roads meet, now called after her Killaraght. This hospice continued its good work until 1539. Later, she went into Roscommon, where she wished to have a cell close to St Conall (said to have been her half-brother) at Drum, near Boyle. This was forbidden by him and St Dachonna, and St Attracta expressed her indignation with a freedom which strikes us as Irish rather than holy : she hoped that the time would come when their respective churches would be reduced to insignificance, and their offerings to nothing, by the rising of another church near by , "and many otherthings that were disagreeable", some of which are" not set down in her acta It is fanciful to see a fulfilment of this in the foundation centuries later of the Cistercian abbey of Boyle, but the churches of Drumconnell and Eas Dachonna (Assylin) were soon after overshadowed by the rise of the episcopal churches of Achonry and Elphin.
When a raiding-party of the men of Luighne (Lugna) were fleeing from the king of Connacht, St Attracta enabled them to escape by dividing the waters of Lough Gara; two natural weirs oft the lake are still connected with her name. Another miracle attributed to her is the harnessing of forest deer with her own hair, to drag timber for the construction of a fort by the king of Connacht, when he had unjustly summoned her to take part in the work: doubtless he remembered the affair of the men of Lugna.
This saint's feast is now
celebrated throughout Ireland on August 11 she is patron of the
diocese of Achonry.
There is a Latin life,
unfortunately mutilated,
printed by
Colgan, as well as in the Acta
Sanctorum under February 9, and in the form "Tarahata ".
Although St Attracta is mentioned as in personal relation with St
Patrick both in Tirechan`s Collections and in the Tripartite Life,
there seems to be no reference to her in the Félire of Oengus.
Also called Araght or Taraghta. She is traditionally listed as a daughter of a noble Irish family. Her father opposed her religious vocation but Attracta went to St. Patrick at Coolavin, Ireland, and made her vows to him. Attracta founded a hospice on Lough Gara called Killaraght. She also performed miracles, while living at Drum, near Boyle .
512
St.
Genevieve
Paris averted Attila scourge by fasting and prayer
Lutétiæ Parisiórum sanctæ Genovéfæ Vírginis, quæ, a beáto Germáno, Antisiodorénsi Epíscopo, Christo dicáta, admirándis virtútibus et miráculis cláruit. At Paris, St. Genevieve, virgin, who was consecrated to Christ by St. Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, and who became famous for her admirable virtues and miracles.
500 ST GENEVIEVE, or GENOVEFA, VIRGIN
GENEVIEVE’S father’s name
was Severus, and her mother’s Gerontia; she
was born about the year 422 at Nanterre, a small village four miles
from Paris, near Mont Valérien. When St Germanus, Bishop of
Auxerre, went with St Lupus into Britain to oppose the Pelagian heresy,
he spent a night at Nanterre on his way. The inhabitants flocked about
them to receive their blessing, and St Germanus gave an address, during
which he took particular notice of Genevieve, though she was only
seven. After his sermon he inquired for her parents, and foretold their
daughter’s future sanctity. He then asked Genevieve whether it was not
her desire to serve God only and to be naught else but a spouse of
Jesus Christ. She answered that this was what she desired, and begged
that by his blessing she might be from that moment consecrated to God.
The holy prelate went to the church, followed by the people, and during
the long singing of psalms and prayers, says Constantius—that is during
the recital of None and Vespers, as one text of the Life of St
Genevieve expresses it—he laid his hand upon the maiden’s head. After
he had supped he dismissed her, telling her parents to bring her again
to him the next morning. The father obeyed, and St Germanus asked the
child whether she remembered the promise she had made to God. She said
she did, and declared that she hoped to keep her word. The bishop gave
her a medal or coin, on which a cross was engraved, to wear about her
neck, in memory of the consecration she had received the day before;
and he charged her never to wear bracelets or jewels or other trinkets.
The author of her life tells us that the child, begging one day that
she might go to church, her mother struck her on the face, but in
punishment lost her sight; she only recovered it two months after, by
washing her eyes with water which her daughter fetched from the well
and over which she had made the sign of the cross. Hence the people
look upon the well at Nanterre as having been blessed by the saint.
When she was about
fifteen, Genevieve was presented to the bishop of Paris to receive the
religious veil, together with two other girls. Though she was the
youngest of the three, the bishop gave her the first place, saying that
Heaven had already sanctified her, by which he seems to have alluded to
her promise of consecrating herself to God. From that time she
frequently ate only twice in the week, on Sundays and Thursdays, and
her food was barley bread with a few beans. After the death of her
parents she left Nanterre; and settled with her godmother in Paris, but
sometimes undertook journeys for motives of charity. The cities of
Meaux, Laon, Tours, Orleans and all other places she visited bore
witness to her miracles and remarkable predictions. God permitted her
to meet with some a severe trials ; for
at a certain time everybody seemed to be against her, and
persecuted her under
the opprobrious names of visionary, hypocrite and the like.
The arrival of St Germanus at Paris,
probably on his second journey to Britain, for some time silenced her
calumniators; but it was not long before the storm broke out anew. Her
enemies
were fully determined to discredit and even to drown her, when the
archdeacon
of Auxerre arrived with eulogiae, blessed
bread, sent her by St Germanus as a testimony of his particular esteem
and a
token of communion. This seems to have happened whilst Germanus was
absent in
Italy in 448. The tribute thus paid her converted the prejudices of her
calumniators into veneration for the remainder of her life.
The
Franks had at
this time gained possession of the better part of Gaul, and Childeric,
their
king, took Paris. During the long blockade of that city, the citizens
being
reduced to extremities by famine, St Genevieve, as the author of her
life
relates, went out at the head of a company who were sent to procure
provisions,
and brought back from Arcis-sur-Aube and Troyes several boats laden
with corn.
Childeric, when he had made himself master of Paris, though always a
pagan,
respected St Genevieve, and upon her intercession spared the lives of
many
prisoners and did other generous acts. She also awakened the zeal of
many
persons to build a church in honour of St Dionysius of Paris, which
King
Dagobert I afterwards rebuilt with a monastery in 629. St Genevieve
likewise
undertook many pilgrimages, in company with other maidens, to the
shrine of St
Martin at Tours, and the reputation of her holiness is said to have
been so
great that her fame even reached St Simeon Stylites in Syria.
King Clovis, who embraced the faith in
496,
often listened with deference to St Genevieve, and more than once
granted
liberty to captives at her request. Upon the report of the march of
Attila with
his army of Huns the Parisians were preparing to abandon their city,
but St
Genevieve, like a Christian Judith or Esther, encouraged them to avert
the
scourge by fasting and prayer. Many of her own sex passed whole days
with her
in prayer in the baptistery; from whence the particular devotion
to St
Genevieve, formerly practised at S.-Jean-le-Rond, the ancient public
baptistery
of the church of Paris, seems to have taken rise. She assured the
people of the
protection of Heaven, and though she was treated by many as an
impostor, the
event verified the prediction, for the barbarous invader suddenly
changed the
course of his march.
Our author attributes to St Genevieve
the
first suggestion of the church, which Clovis began to build in honour
of SS.
Peter and Paul, in deference to the wishes of his wife, St Clotilda, in
which
church the body of St Genevieve herself was enshrined after her death
about the
year 500.
The
miracles which
were performed there from the time of her burial rendered this church
famous
over all France, so that at length it began to be known by her name.
The
fabric, however, fell into decay, and a new church was begun in 1764.
This has
long been secularized and, under the name of the Pantheon, is now used
as a
national mausoleum.
The city of Paris has frequently received sensible proofs of the divine protection, through St Genevieve’s intercession. The most famous instance is that called the miracle des Ardents, or of the burning fever. In 1129 a disease, apparently poisoning by ergot, swept off in a short time many thous and persons, nor could the art of physicians afford any relief. Stephen, Bishop of Paris, with the clergy and people, implored the divine mercy by fasting and supplications. Yet the epidemic did not abate till the shrine of St Genevieve was carried in a solemn procession to the cathedral. Many sick persons were cured by touching the shrine, and of all who then were suffering from the disease in the whole town only three died, and no others fell ill. Pope Innocent II, coming to Paris the year following, after due investigation ordered an annual festival in commemoration of the miracle on November 26, which is still kept in Paris. It was formerly the custom, in extraordinary public calamities, to carry the shrine of St Genevieve in procession to the cathedral. The greater part of the relics of the saint were destroyed or pillaged at the French Revolution.
The
ancient life of
St Geneviève
from which most of the above account is derived, and
which purports to have been written by a contemporary eighteen years
after the
saint’s death, has been the subject of
keen controversy. There are three
principal recensions of it, known respectively as the A, B and C texts.
Text A
has been edited by B. Krusch in MGH., Scriptores
Merov., vol. iii (1896). Text B is
printed in the very valuable essay of C. Kohler, Ètude
critique sur le texte de la vie latine de Sainte Geneviève (1881),
and Text C may be found in the Teubner edition of the Vita
Sanctae Genovefae, edited by C. Künstle in 1910.
Although
Text C has in its favour the authority of the oldest manuscripts
(eighth
century), the priority of that recension is by no means generally
admitted. But
the more important controversy is that regarding the authenticity of
the life
itself. Bruno Krusch declares it to be a forgery, and that the author,
instead
of being a contemporary as he pretends, did not compile the life until
more
than 250 years later, towards the close of the eighth century. It is
impossible
here to do more than mention the acrimonious discussion to which
Krusch’s
pronouncement has given rise. It must be sufficient to say that his
views have
by no means carried with them the support of the majority of competent
critics.
Such scholars as Mgr Duchesne, Prof. G. Kurth, C. Künstle and A.
Poncelet
strenuously maintain that the life was really written by a
contemporary, and
that, so far as regards the substance of its contents, it is
trustworthy.
Readers will find an excellent summary of all that is really known
about St
Genevieve in H. Lesêtre, Ste Geneviève (in
the series “Les Saints”), and in the essay of E. Vacandard, Études
de critique, vol. iv, pp. 67—124,
and 255—266. For a charming popular account of the saint, see M. Reynès-Monlaur, Ste Geneviève (1924).
A story in the life tells how the devil, when
St Geneviève went to pray in the
church at night, blew out her candle to frighten her. She is,
therefore,
often represented in art with a candle. Sometimes the devil and a pair
of
bellows are also depicted beside her.
When Attila was reported
to be marching on Paris, the inhabitants of
the city prepared to evacuate, but St. Genevieve persuaded them to
avert the scourge by fasting and prayer, assuring them of the
protection of Heaven. The event verified the prediction, for the
barbarian suddenly changed the course of his march.
The life of St. Genevieve was one of great austerity,
constant prayer,
and works of charity. She died in the year 512. Her feast day is
January 3rd.She dressed in a long flowing gown with a mantle covering her shoulders, similar to the type of garments the Blessed Mother wore. One of the symbols of this saint is a loaf of bread because she was so generous to those in need.
Saint Genevieve was born of wealthy parents in Gaul (modern France) in the village of Nanterre, near Paris, around 422. Her father's name was Severus, and her mother was called Gerontia. According to the custom of the time, she often tended her father's flocks on Mt. Valerien.
When she was about seven years old, St Germanus of Auxerre (July 31) noticed her as he was passing through Nanterre. The bishop kissed her on the head and told her parents that she would become great in the sight of God, and would lead many to salvation. After Genevieve told him that she wished to dedicate herself to Christ, he gave her a brass medal with the image of the Cross upon it. She promised to wear it around her neck, and to avoid wearing any other ornaments around her neck or on her fingers.
When it was reported that Attila the Hun was approaching Paris, Genevieve and the other nuns prayed and fasted, entreating God to spare the city. Suddenly, the barbarians turned away from Paris and went off in another direction.
Years later, when she was fifteen, Genevieve was taken to Paris to enter the monastic life. Through fasting, vigil and prayer, she progressed in monasticism, and received from God the gifts of clairvoyance and of working miracles. Gradually, the people of Paris and the surrounding area regarded Genevieve as a holy vessel (2 Tim. 2:21).
St Genevieve considered the Saturday night Vigil service to be very important, since it symbolizes how our whole life should be. "We must keep vigil in prayer and fasting so that the Lord will find us ready when He comes," she said. She was on her way to church with her nuns one stormy Saturday night when the wind blew out her lantern. The nuns could not find their way without a light, since it was dark and stormy, and the road was rough and muddy. St Genevieve made the Sign of the Cross over the lantern, and the candle within was lit with a bright flame. In this manner they were able to make their way to the church for the service.
There is a tradition that the church which St Genevieve suggested that King Clovis build in honor of Sts Peter and Paul became her own resting place when she fell asleep in the Lord around 512 at the age of eighty-nine. Her holy relics were later transferred to the church of St Etienne du Mont in Paris. Most of her relics, and those of other saints, were destroyed during the French Revolution.
In the Middle Ages, St Genevieve was regarded as the patron saint of wine makers.
Apud Núrsiam sancti Spei Abbátis, miræ patiéntiæ viri, cujus ánima (ut refert sanctus Gregórius Papa), cum ex hac vita migráret, in colúmbæ spécie a cunctis frátribus visa est in cælum ascéndere.
At Norcia, Abbot St. Spes, a man of extraordinary patience, whose soul at its departure from this life (as Pope St. Gregory relates) was seen by all his brethren to ascend to heaven in the shape of a dove. (RM)
Though totally blind for forty years, Saint Spes, abbot of Campi in central Italy, regained his eyesight 15 days before his death (Attwater2, Benedictines).
6th
v. Saint Severus the Presbyter served in a church of the Most Holy
Theotokos in the village of Interocleum in Central Italy; noted for his
virtuous and God-pleasing life the dead man came alive and related to
everyone that the demons wanted
to seize his soul, but one of the angels said, "Give him back, since
the priest Severus weeps over him, and on account of his tears the Lord
has granted him this man."
One time, when the saint was working in his garden, cutting grapes in the vineyard, they summoned him to administer the Holy Mysteries for the dying. St Severus said: "Go back, and I'll catch up with you soon."
There remained only but a few more grapes to cut off, and St Severus dallied for awhile in the garden to finish the work. When he arrived at the sick person's home, they told him that the person was already dead. St Severus, regarding himself as guilty in the death of a man without absolution, started to tremble and loudly he began to weep. He went into the house where the deceased lay.
With loud groans and calling himself a murderer, in tears he fell down before the dead person. Suddenly the dead man came alive and related to everyone that the demons wanted to seize his soul, but one of the angels said, "Give him back, since the priest Severus weeps over him, and on account of his tears the Lord has granted him this man." St Severus, giving thanks to the Lord, confessed and communed the resurrected man with the Holy Mysteries. That man survived for another seven days, then joyfully went to the Lord.
One time, when the saint was working in his garden, cutting grapes in the vineyard, they summoned him to administer the Holy Mysteries for the dying. St Severus said: "Go back, and I'll catch up with you soon."
There remained only but a few more grapes to cut off, and St Severus dallied for awhile in the garden to finish the work. When he arrived at the sick person's home, they told him that the person was already dead. St Severus, regarding himself as guilty in the death of a man without absolution, started to tremble and loudly he began to weep. He went into the house where the deceased lay.
With loud groans and calling himself a murderer, in tears he fell down before the dead person. Suddenly the dead man came alive and related to everyone that the demons wanted to seize his soul, but one of the angels said, "Give him back, since the priest Severus weeps over him, and on account of his tears the Lord has granted him this man." St Severus, giving thanks to the Lord, confessed and communed the resurrected man with the Holy Mysteries. That man survived for another seven days, then joyfully went to the Lord.
At that time the region around Alaverdi was deserted and barren. One day the Lord sent a nobleman to hunt in the valley where the pious hermit dwelt among the wild animals. Seeing the saint, the nobleman guessed immediately that before him stood a holy man. He bowed before him, kissed him, and humbly asked what had brought him to this deserted place.
With the help of God, St. Joseph aroused in the nobleman a divine love and an unquenchable desire for the Truth. The nobleman vowed to erect a church in the Alaverdi Wilderness, and he laid the foundations of Alaverdi Monastery in fulfillment of this vow. Venerable Joseph was overjoyed at the accomplishment of this God-pleasing work.
Soon the people began to hear stories about the holy elder who was laboring in Alaverdi. Crowds of the faithful flocked there to see him with their own eyes and hear the blessed Joseph’s preaching. As a result of his unceasing efforts, unbelief was uprooted, and the divine services of the Church were firmly established in that region. Many of the faithful were so drawn to Abba Joseph’s holy life, boundless love, and miracles that they left the world to join in his labors.
Gradually the number of hermits increased, and a large community was formed. Fr. Joseph was the first abbot of this brotherhood. Utterly exhausted from a life of God-pleasing ascesis and labors, St. Joseph sensed the approach of death and prepared to stand before the Lord God. He gathered his disciples, blessed them, instructed them for the last time, appointed a new abbot, and peacefully departed to the Lord.
With great honor Fr. Joseph’s disciples buried him at the Alaverdi Church. Many miracles have since occurred over the grave of the venerable elder.
Ireland, which became the diocese of Connor. Tradition states that St. Patrick baptized Macanisius as an infant and then consecrated him later as a bishop. He is also listed as Aengus McNisse in some documents, and many spectacular miracles are attributed to him.
St Macanisius, Bisilop
The records of St Macanisius (Aengus MacNisse) consist chiefly of miracles, many of them fantastic, and conflicting references. He is said to have been baptized by St Patrick, who in due course consecrated him bishop. It is related that he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and on the way back made a stay at Rome. He returned to Ireland, where he established a church and monastery which developed into the diocese of Connor, of which see he is venerated as the first bishop. The original foundation was perhaps not at Connor itself but at Kells, close by, where, according to a Latin life, he changed the course of the river Curi, perhaps by natural means later regarded as miraculous, for the convenience of his monks. While journeying through Munster with St Patrick and St Brigid, Macanisius had a vision of angels at Lynally in Offaly, in consequence of which St Patrick wished to establish a monastery there. But St Macanisius dissuaded him, prophesying that that was to be the work of a bishop who would follow them sixty years after. This prophecy was duly verified in the person of St Colman Elo, who is venerated on the 26th of this month. Among the more incredible legends about St Macanisius is that his reverence for the Holy Scriptures was so great that it would not allow him to carry them in a wallet when on his journey instead he proceeded on all fours, balancing the precious book on his back. He is also alleged to have saved the life of the child who was to become St Colman of Kilruaidh. Colman's father was guilty of parricide and was sentenced to lose his own son. Macanisius in vain interceded for his innocent life, so when the child was tossed into the air to be caught on the spear-points of the waiting tribesmen, the saint, standing on an adjacent hillock, prayed with such fervour that Colman's body was blown by the wind safely into his arms, at which miracle the executioners abandoned their purpose. The feast of St Macanisius is kept on this day throughout Ireland.
The Latin legend of St
MacNisse has been printed by the
Bollandists in the Acta Sanctorum,
September, vol. i, and again in their edition of the Codex Salmanticensis, pp.
925-930. The saint is commemorated in the Felire of Oengus. See also
O'Hanlon, LIS., vol. ix, pp. 62 seq
.
515 St.
Maxentius
Abbot miracle worker a monk in St. Severus’ abbey counselor to King
Clovis I marauding soldiers threatened the abbey
Maxentius miraculously saved the site
He was born Adjutor at Agde, France, and trained by St. Severus. He became a monk in St. Severus’ abbey and left for two years to avoid the acclaim given to him. In time, Maxentius entered the monastery at Poitou, now called Saint-Maixent, where he took the name Maxentius. He was a counselor to King Clovis I and he was elected abbot about 500 . When marauding soldiers threatened the abbey, Maxentius miraculously saved the site. In his later years, he lived as a hermit. Maxentius is called Maixent in some lists.
Maxentius (Maixent) of Poitou, Abbot (RM) Born at Agde, France;
Maxentius was educated under Saint Severus. Abbot of the monastery in Poitou, which has since been named after him.
He was born Adjutor at Agde, France, and trained by St. Severus. He became a monk in St. Severus’ abbey and left for two years to avoid the acclaim given to him. In time, Maxentius entered the monastery at Poitou, now called Saint-Maixent, where he took the name Maxentius. He was a counselor to King Clovis I and he was elected abbot about 500 . When marauding soldiers threatened the abbey, Maxentius miraculously saved the site. In his later years, he lived as a hermit. Maxentius is called Maixent in some lists.
Maxentius (Maixent) of Poitou, Abbot (RM) Born at Agde, France;
Maxentius was educated under Saint Severus. Abbot of the monastery in Poitou, which has since been named after him.
He is revered for his
austerities and for protecting the district from
barbarian invaders (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
also called Gibrian. From Ireland, Abran, the eldest of five brothers and three sisters, sailed to Brittany with his siblings. There all of them continued their hermitages and greatly influenced the people of the area. Abran and his brothers and sisters were all declared saints.
Gibrian (AC) The Irish hermit Saint Gibrian was the eldest of nine (or eight) siblings, all of whom migrated to Brittany where they became saints. They include his brothers Tressan (Trasain, a priest), Helan(us) (priest), Germanus, Abran (seems to be Gibrian himself), Petran, and sisters Franca, Promptia, Possenna. Gibrian labored near Rheims and was buried at a place now called after him Saint Gibrian. His cultus spread because of the many miracles reported at his tomb, especially the healing of blindness. His relics were translated to the basilica of Saint Remigius in Rheims (Benedictines, Montague).
6th v. St. James the Hermit
hermit in Palestine miracle worker
A hermit in Palestine who was the subject of numerous legends. He lived in an ancient tomb to atone for his sins and died a penitent and miracle worker.
A hermit in Palestine who was the subject of numerous legends. He lived in an ancient tomb to atone for his sins and died a penitent and miracle worker.
A later legend changes the
"lapse from the faith" into
one of homicide, committed under the most romantic circumstances
(Benedictines).
Valéntiæ, in Gállia, sancti Apollináris Epíscopi, cujus vita virtútibus fuit illústris, et mors signis ac prodígiis decoráta.
At Valence in France, St. Apollinaris, a bishop, renowned in life for virtues and in death for miracles and prodigies.
patron saint of that diocese. Apollinaris was the son of St. Hesychius and brother of St. Avitus of Vienne. He was trained by St. Marnertus and he was consecrated by his brother circa 492. He was sent into exile during the political turmoil caused by the marriage of an official of King Sigismund of Bavaria. The local bishops condemned the marriage, defended by the king. When Apollinaris' cloak was used to cure King Sigismund, he was recalled and restored to his office.
The most illustrious of the Bishops of Valence, b. at Vienne, 453; d. 520. He lived in the time of the irruption of the barbarians, and unhappily Valence, which was the central see of the recently founded Kingdom of Burgundy, had been scandalized by the dissolute Bishop Maximus, and the see in consequence had been vacant for fifty years.
Apollinaris was of a family of nobles and saints. He was little over twenty when he was ordained priest. In 486, when he was thirtythree years old, he was made Bishop of the long vacant See of Valence, and under his zealous care it soon recovered its ancient glory. Abuses were corrected and morals reformed. The Bishop was so beloved that the news of his first illness filled the city with consternation. His return to health was miraculous. He was present at the conference at Lyons, between the Arians and Catholics, which was held in presence of King Gondebaud. He distinguished himself there by his eloquence and learning.
A memorable contest in defence of marriage brought Apollinaris again into special prominence. Stephen, the treasurer of the kingdom, was living in incest. The four bishops of the province commanded him to separate from his companion, but he appealed to the King, who sustained his official and exiled the four bishops to Sardinia. As they refused to yield, the King relented, and after some time permitted them to return to their sees, with the exception of Apollinaris, who had rendered himself particularly obnoxious, and was kept a close prisoner for a year. At last the King, stricken with a grievous malady, repented, and the Queen in person came to beg Apollinaris to go to the court to restore the monarch to health. On his refusal, the Queen asked for his cloak to place on the sufferer. The request was granted, the King was cured, and came to beg absolution for his sin. Apollinaris was sixtyfour years old when he returned from Sardinia to Valence, and his people received him with every demonstration of joy. He died after an episcopate of thirtyfour years, at the age of sixtyseven, his life ending, as it had begun, in the constant exercise of the most exalted holiness.
Apud Aquínum sancti Constántii Epíscopi, prophetíæ dono multísque virtútibus clari.
At Aquino, St. Constantius, a bishop renowned for the gift of prophecy and many virtues.
In Italy, mentioned by Pope St. Gregory the Great in his Dialogues.
from about 500, also listed as Vanne or Vaune. The Benedictine abbey of Lorraine which served as the chief community of the Congregation of St. Vannes was dedicated to him. Vitonus eradicated paganism in the area and started a college for clergy, probably the foundation for St. Vanne's.
Vitonus of Verdun B (AC) (also known as Vanne, Vaune). It is said that Vitonus took the monastic habit in his youth, and then was chosen to be bishop of Verdun about 498. He shepherded his flock for about 26 years until his death--never slacking in his zeal or practice of austerity. Though little is known of his life, Vitonus is credited with many miracles. At a later period a great Benedictine abbey of Lorraine was dedicated to him, which in 1604 became the center of the Congregation of Saint- Vannes. He is the patron of Verdun (Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth).
529 St. Theodosius
the Cenobiarch Abbot founder various nationalities of monks
many healings and other miracles Born at Garissus, Cappadocia (modern Turkey), in 423, he undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and after meeting with the famed St. Simeon Stylites, he entered a monastery.
He was named the head of a church between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, but departed to live as a hermit near the Dead Sea. As he attracted a large number of followers, Theodosius established a monastery which was divided among the various nationalities of the monks (Greek, Armenian, etc.), each with their own church. Appointed by the patriarch of Jerusalem to the post of visitor to all the cenobitical communities of Palestine, he used his influence as cenobiarch to oppose the spread of the heretical doctrines of Eutychianism, displaying such zeal in his preaching that Emperor Anastasius I (r. 491-518), who was sympathetic to the Eutychians, exiled him.
Recalled by Emperor Justin soon after Anastasius' death, Theodosius spent his last years in poor health.
Saint Theodosius the Great
lived during the fifth-sixth centuries, and was the founder of cenobitic monasticism. He was born in Cappadocia of pious parents. Endowed with a splendid voice, he zealously toiled at church reading and singing. St Theodosius prayed fervently that the Lord would guide him on the way to salvation. In his early years he visited the Holy Land and met with St Simeon the Stylite (September 1), who blessed him and predicted future pastoral service for him.
Yearning
for the solitary life, Saint Theodosius settled in Palestine
into a desolate cave, in which, according to Tradition, the three Magi
had spent the night, having come to worship the Savior after His
Nativity. He lived there for thirty years in great abstinence and
unceasing prayer. People flocked to the ascetic, wishing to live under
his guidance. When the cave could no longer hold all the monks, St
Theodosius prayed that the Lord Himself would indicate a place for the
monks. Taking a censer with cold charcoal and incense, the monk started
walking into the desert.
At a certain spot the charcoal ignited by itself and the incense smoke began to rise. Here the monk established the first cenobitic monastery, or Lavra (meaning "broad" or populous").
Soon the Lavra of St Theodosius became renowned, and up to 700 monks gathered at it. According to the final testament of St Theodosius, the Lavra rendered service to neighbor, giving aid to the poor and providing shelter for wanderers.
St Theodosius was extremely compassionate. Once, when there was a famine in Palestine and a multitude of people gathered at the monastery, the monk gave orders to allow everyone into the monastery enclosure. His disciples were annoyed, knowing that the monastery did not have the means to feed all those who had come. But when they went into the bakery, they saw that through the prayers of the abba, it was filled with bread. This miracle was repeated every time St Theodosius wanted to help the destitute.
At the monastery St Theodosius built an home for taking in strangers, separate infirmaries for monks and laymen, and also a shelter for the dying. Seeing that people from various lands gathered at the Lavra, the saint arranged for services in the various languages: Greek, Georgian and Armenian. All gathered to receive the Holy Mysteries in the large church, where divine services were chanted in Greek.
At a certain spot the charcoal ignited by itself and the incense smoke began to rise. Here the monk established the first cenobitic monastery, or Lavra (meaning "broad" or populous").
Soon the Lavra of St Theodosius became renowned, and up to 700 monks gathered at it. According to the final testament of St Theodosius, the Lavra rendered service to neighbor, giving aid to the poor and providing shelter for wanderers.
St Theodosius was extremely compassionate. Once, when there was a famine in Palestine and a multitude of people gathered at the monastery, the monk gave orders to allow everyone into the monastery enclosure. His disciples were annoyed, knowing that the monastery did not have the means to feed all those who had come. But when they went into the bakery, they saw that through the prayers of the abba, it was filled with bread. This miracle was repeated every time St Theodosius wanted to help the destitute.
At the monastery St Theodosius built an home for taking in strangers, separate infirmaries for monks and laymen, and also a shelter for the dying. Seeing that people from various lands gathered at the Lavra, the saint arranged for services in the various languages: Greek, Georgian and Armenian. All gathered to receive the Holy Mysteries in the large church, where divine services were chanted in Greek.
During
the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius (491-518) there
arose the heresy of Eutychius and Severus, which recognized neither the
sacraments nor the clergy. The emperor accepted the false teaching, and
the Orthodox began to suffer persecution. St Theodosius stood firmly in
defense of Orthodoxy and wrote a letter to the emperor on behalf of the
monks, in which they denounced him and refuted the heresy with the
teachings of the Ecumenical Councils. He affirmed moreover, that the
desert-dwellers and monks would firmly support the Orthodox teaching.
The emperor showed restraint for a short while, but then he renewed his
persecution of the Orthodox. The holy Elder then showed great zeal for
the truth. Leaving the monastery, he came to Jerusalem and in the
church, he stood at the high place and cried out for all to hear:
"Whoever does not honor the four Ecumenical Councils, let him be
anathema!" For this bold deed the monk was sent to prison, but soon
returned after the death of the emperor.
St Theodosius accomplished many healings and other miracles during his life, coming to the aid of the needy. Through his prayers he once destroyed the locusts devastating the fields in Palestine. Also by his intercession, soldiers were saved from death, and he also saved those perishing in shipwrecks and those lost in the desert.
Once, the saint gave orders to strike the semandron (a piece of wood hit with a mallet), so that the brethren would gather at prayer. He told them, "The wrath of God draws near the East." After several days it became known that a strong earthquake had destroyed the city of Antioch at the very hour when the saint had summoned the brethren to prayer.
Before his death, St Theodosius summoned to him three beloved bishops and revealed to them that he would soon depart to the Lord. After three days, he died at the age of 105. The saint's body was buried with reverence in the cave in which he lived at the beginning of his ascetic deeds.
529 St Theodosius The Cenobiarch
St Theodosius was born at Garissus, incorrectly, it seems, called Mogarissus, in Cappadocia in 423. He was ordained reader, but being moved by Abraham’s example in quitting his country and friends, he resolved to do likewise. He accordingly started for Jerusalem, but went out of his road to visit the famous St Simeon Stylites on his pillar, who foretold many circumstances of his future life, and gave him advice regarding them. Having satisfied his devotion in visiting the holy places in Jerusalem, he began to consider in what manner he should dedicate himself to God. The dangers of living without a guide made him prefer a monastery to a hermitage; and he therefore put himself under the direction of a holy man named Longinus, who soon conceived a warm affection for his disciple. A lady having built a church on the high road to Bethlehem, Longinus could not well refuse her request that his pupil should undertake the charge of it; but Theodosius could not easily be induced to consent: absolute commands were necessary before he would undertake the charge. Nor did he govern long; instead he retired to a cave at the top of a neighbouring mountain.
The nations into which his community was divided were the Greeks, who were by far the most numerous, and consisted of all those that came from any province of the empire; the Armenians, with whom were joined the Arabians and Persians; and, thirdly, the Bessi, who comprehended all the northern nations below Thrace, or all who used the Slavonic tongue. Each nation sang the first part of the Eucharistic Liturgy to the end of the gospel in their own church, but after the gospel all met in the church of the Greeks, where they celebrated the essential part of the liturgy in Greek, and communicated all together. The monks passed a considerable part of the day and night in the church, and at the times not set apart for public prayer and necessary rest everyone was obliged to apply himself to some trade or manual labour not incompatible with recollection, in order that the house might be supplied with conveniences.
Sallust, Patriarch of Jerusalem, appointed St Sabas head of all the hermits, and our saint of the cenobites, or men living in community, throughout Palestine, whence he was styled “the Cenobiarch”.
These two great servants of God lived in close friendship, and it was not long before they were also united in their sufferings for the Church.
The Emperor Anastasius patronized the Eutychian heresy, and used all possible means to win our saint over to his own views. In 513 he deposed Elias, Patriarch of Jerusalem, just as he had previously banished Flavian II of Antioch, and intruded Severus into that see. Theodosius and Sabas maintained boldly the rights of Elias, and of John his successor; whereupon the imperial officers thought it advisable to connive at their proceedings, considering the great authority they had acquired by their sanctity. Soon after, the emperor sent Theodosius a considerable sum of money, for charitable uses in appearance, but in reality to engage him in his interest. The saint accepted it, and distributed it all among the poor. Anastasius, now persuading himself that Theodosius was as good as gained over to his cause, sent him a heretical profession of faith, in which the divine and human natures in Christ were confounded into one, and desired him to sign it. The saint wrote him an answer full of apostolic spirit, and for a time the emperor was more peaceable. But he soon renewed his persecuting edicts against the orthodox, dispatching troops everywhere to have them put into execution. On intelligence of this, Theodosius travelled through Palestine, exhorting all to stand firm in the faith of the four general councils. At Jerusalem he cried out from the pulpit, “If anyone receives not the four general councils as the four gospels, let him be anathema.” So bold an action put courage into those whom the edicts had terrified. His discourses had a wonderful effect on the people, and God gave a sanction to his zeal by some striking miracles. One of these was, that on his going out of the church at Jerusalem, a woman was healed of a cancer by touching his garments. The emperor sent an order for his banishment, which was executed; but dying soon after, Theodosius was recalled by his successor, Justin.
During the last year of his life St Theodosius was afflicted with a painful infirmity, in which he gave proof of heroic patience and submission to the will of God; for being advised by a witness of his sufferings to pray that God would grant him some ease, he would give no ear to the suggestion, alleging that such ideas implied a lack of patience. Perceiving that his end was close at hand, he addressed a last exhortation to his disciples, and foretold many things that came to pass after his death. He went to his reward in 529, in the one hundred and fifth year of his age. Peter, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and the whole country were present at his funeral, which was honoured by miracles. He was buried in his first cell, called the cave of the Magi, because the wise men who came to find Christ soon after his birth were said to have lodged in it. A military commander, on his march against the Persians, begged to have the hair shirt, which the saint used to wear, and believed that he owed the victory that he obtained over them to the prayers of St Theodosius.
St Theodosius accomplished many healings and other miracles during his life, coming to the aid of the needy. Through his prayers he once destroyed the locusts devastating the fields in Palestine. Also by his intercession, soldiers were saved from death, and he also saved those perishing in shipwrecks and those lost in the desert.
Once, the saint gave orders to strike the semandron (a piece of wood hit with a mallet), so that the brethren would gather at prayer. He told them, "The wrath of God draws near the East." After several days it became known that a strong earthquake had destroyed the city of Antioch at the very hour when the saint had summoned the brethren to prayer.
Before his death, St Theodosius summoned to him three beloved bishops and revealed to them that he would soon depart to the Lord. After three days, he died at the age of 105. The saint's body was buried with reverence in the cave in which he lived at the beginning of his ascetic deeds.
529 St Theodosius The Cenobiarch
St Theodosius was born at Garissus, incorrectly, it seems, called Mogarissus, in Cappadocia in 423. He was ordained reader, but being moved by Abraham’s example in quitting his country and friends, he resolved to do likewise. He accordingly started for Jerusalem, but went out of his road to visit the famous St Simeon Stylites on his pillar, who foretold many circumstances of his future life, and gave him advice regarding them. Having satisfied his devotion in visiting the holy places in Jerusalem, he began to consider in what manner he should dedicate himself to God. The dangers of living without a guide made him prefer a monastery to a hermitage; and he therefore put himself under the direction of a holy man named Longinus, who soon conceived a warm affection for his disciple. A lady having built a church on the high road to Bethlehem, Longinus could not well refuse her request that his pupil should undertake the charge of it; but Theodosius could not easily be induced to consent: absolute commands were necessary before he would undertake the charge. Nor did he govern long; instead he retired to a cave at the top of a neighbouring mountain.
When many sought to
serve God under his direction Theodosius at first determined only
to admit six
or seven, but was soon obliged to receive a greater number, and at
length came
to a resolution never to reject any that presented themselves with
dispositions
that seemed sincere. The first lesson that he taught his monks was by
means of
a great grave he had dug, which might serve for the common burial-place
of the
community, that by the presence of this reminder they might more
perfectly
learn to die daily. The burial-place being made, the abbot one day
said, “The
grave is made; who will first occupy it?” Basil, a priest, falling on
his
knees, said to St Theodosius, “Let me be the first, if only you will
give me
your blessing.” The abbot ordered the prayers of the Church for the
dead to be
offered up for him, and on the fortieth day Basil departed to the Lord
in
peace, without any apparent sickness.
The sanctity and
miracles of St Theodosius attracting numbers who desired to serve God
under his
direction, the available space proved too small for their reception.
Accordingly he built a spacious monastery at a place called Cathismus,
not far
from Bethlehem, and it was soon filled with monks. To this monastery
were
annexed three infirmaries: one for the sick; another for the aged and
feeble;
the third for such as had lost their reason, a condition then commonly
ascribed
to diabolical possession, but due, it would seem, in many cases, to
rash and
extravagant practices of asceticism. All succours, spiritual and
temporal, were
afforded in these infirmaries, with admirable order and benevolence.
There were
other buildings for the reception of strangers, in which Theodosius
exercised
an unbounded hospitality. We are told, indeed, that there were one day
above a
hundred tables served; and that food, when insufficient for the number
of
guests, was more than once miraculously multiplied by his prayers.
The nations into which his community was divided were the Greeks, who were by far the most numerous, and consisted of all those that came from any province of the empire; the Armenians, with whom were joined the Arabians and Persians; and, thirdly, the Bessi, who comprehended all the northern nations below Thrace, or all who used the Slavonic tongue. Each nation sang the first part of the Eucharistic Liturgy to the end of the gospel in their own church, but after the gospel all met in the church of the Greeks, where they celebrated the essential part of the liturgy in Greek, and communicated all together. The monks passed a considerable part of the day and night in the church, and at the times not set apart for public prayer and necessary rest everyone was obliged to apply himself to some trade or manual labour not incompatible with recollection, in order that the house might be supplied with conveniences.
Sallust, Patriarch of Jerusalem, appointed St Sabas head of all the hermits, and our saint of the cenobites, or men living in community, throughout Palestine, whence he was styled “the Cenobiarch”.
These two great servants of God lived in close friendship, and it was not long before they were also united in their sufferings for the Church.
The Emperor Anastasius patronized the Eutychian heresy, and used all possible means to win our saint over to his own views. In 513 he deposed Elias, Patriarch of Jerusalem, just as he had previously banished Flavian II of Antioch, and intruded Severus into that see. Theodosius and Sabas maintained boldly the rights of Elias, and of John his successor; whereupon the imperial officers thought it advisable to connive at their proceedings, considering the great authority they had acquired by their sanctity. Soon after, the emperor sent Theodosius a considerable sum of money, for charitable uses in appearance, but in reality to engage him in his interest. The saint accepted it, and distributed it all among the poor. Anastasius, now persuading himself that Theodosius was as good as gained over to his cause, sent him a heretical profession of faith, in which the divine and human natures in Christ were confounded into one, and desired him to sign it. The saint wrote him an answer full of apostolic spirit, and for a time the emperor was more peaceable. But he soon renewed his persecuting edicts against the orthodox, dispatching troops everywhere to have them put into execution. On intelligence of this, Theodosius travelled through Palestine, exhorting all to stand firm in the faith of the four general councils. At Jerusalem he cried out from the pulpit, “If anyone receives not the four general councils as the four gospels, let him be anathema.” So bold an action put courage into those whom the edicts had terrified. His discourses had a wonderful effect on the people, and God gave a sanction to his zeal by some striking miracles. One of these was, that on his going out of the church at Jerusalem, a woman was healed of a cancer by touching his garments. The emperor sent an order for his banishment, which was executed; but dying soon after, Theodosius was recalled by his successor, Justin.
During the last year of his life St Theodosius was afflicted with a painful infirmity, in which he gave proof of heroic patience and submission to the will of God; for being advised by a witness of his sufferings to pray that God would grant him some ease, he would give no ear to the suggestion, alleging that such ideas implied a lack of patience. Perceiving that his end was close at hand, he addressed a last exhortation to his disciples, and foretold many things that came to pass after his death. He went to his reward in 529, in the one hundred and fifth year of his age. Peter, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and the whole country were present at his funeral, which was honoured by miracles. He was buried in his first cell, called the cave of the Magi, because the wise men who came to find Christ soon after his birth were said to have lodged in it. A military commander, on his march against the Persians, begged to have the hair shirt, which the saint used to wear, and believed that he owed the victory that he obtained over them to the prayers of St Theodosius.
There
are two main
sources for the history of St Theodosius, one the biography written by
his
disciple Theodore, Bishop of Petra, the other a shorter abstract by
Cyril of
Skythopolis. The Greek text of both of these was printed for the first
time by
H. Usener see his book Der Heilige
Theodosios (1890). To the critical material thus provided, K.
Krumbacher
has made important additions in the Sitzungsberichte of
the Munich Academy for 1892, pp.
220—379. Cf. also the Byzantinische
Zeitschrift (1897), vol. vi, pp. 357 seq. Acta
Sanctorum, January 11 and E.
Schwartz, Kyrillos von Skythopolis (1939),
for text of the shorter life.
530 St.
Cannera
Irish hermitess a friend of St. Senan
She is also called Cainder or Kinnera. She lived as a recluse near Bantry, Ireland, and was buried on St. Senan's Island, Enniscarthy.
Cannera of Inis Cathaig V (AC) (also known as Cainder, Conaire, Kinnera. Little is known of Saint Cannera except that which is recorded in the story of Saint Senan, who ruled an abbey on the Shannon River, which ministered to the dying- -but only men. Cannera was an anchorite from Bantry in southern Ireland. When she knew she was dying, she travelled to Senan's abbey without rest and walked upon the water to cross the river because no one would take her to the place forbidden to women. Upon her arrival, the abbot was adamant that no woman could enter his monastic enclosure. Arguing that Christ died for women, too, she convinced the abbot to give her last rites on the island and to bury her at its furtherest edge. Against his argument that the waves would wash away her grave, she answered that she would leave that to God.
Cannera told the abbot of a vision she had in her Bantry cell of the island and its holiness. Her appearance signaled a change in the attitude of the monks toward women, whose contamination they feared. Cannera charges Senan with this unChristian prejudice.
She reminded him that "Christ is no worse than yourself." If He could find comfort in the presence of women, so should the monks. The monks believed that the holier a man, the more he distances himself from Eve. They saw their celibacy as a taboo against women, rather than a sacrifice of love to Christ. They also failed to recognize that Jesus broke the conventions of His time. Again, Cannera said, "Christ came to redeem women no less than to redeem men," and "women gave service and tended to Christ and His Apostles," so why should the monks so distance themselves?
Other double (men and women) monasteries already existed in Ireland for Saint Patrick (March 17) and his followers did not reject the fellowship and ministry of women.
Probably because Saint Cannera walked across the water, sailors honor their patron by saluting her resting place on Scattery Island (Inis Chathaigh). They believed that pebbles from her island protected the bearer from shipwreck. A 16th-century Gaelic poem about Cannera prays, "Bless my good ship, protecting power of grace. . . ." (Benedictines, D'Arcy, Markus, O'Hanlon).
She is also called Cainder or Kinnera. She lived as a recluse near Bantry, Ireland, and was buried on St. Senan's Island, Enniscarthy.
Cannera of Inis Cathaig V (AC) (also known as Cainder, Conaire, Kinnera. Little is known of Saint Cannera except that which is recorded in the story of Saint Senan, who ruled an abbey on the Shannon River, which ministered to the dying- -but only men. Cannera was an anchorite from Bantry in southern Ireland. When she knew she was dying, she travelled to Senan's abbey without rest and walked upon the water to cross the river because no one would take her to the place forbidden to women. Upon her arrival, the abbot was adamant that no woman could enter his monastic enclosure. Arguing that Christ died for women, too, she convinced the abbot to give her last rites on the island and to bury her at its furtherest edge. Against his argument that the waves would wash away her grave, she answered that she would leave that to God.
Cannera told the abbot of a vision she had in her Bantry cell of the island and its holiness. Her appearance signaled a change in the attitude of the monks toward women, whose contamination they feared. Cannera charges Senan with this unChristian prejudice.
She reminded him that "Christ is no worse than yourself." If He could find comfort in the presence of women, so should the monks. The monks believed that the holier a man, the more he distances himself from Eve. They saw their celibacy as a taboo against women, rather than a sacrifice of love to Christ. They also failed to recognize that Jesus broke the conventions of His time. Again, Cannera said, "Christ came to redeem women no less than to redeem men," and "women gave service and tended to Christ and His Apostles," so why should the monks so distance themselves?
Other double (men and women) monasteries already existed in Ireland for Saint Patrick (March 17) and his followers did not reject the fellowship and ministry of women.
Probably because Saint Cannera walked across the water, sailors honor their patron by saluting her resting place on Scattery Island (Inis Chathaigh). They believed that pebbles from her island protected the bearer from shipwreck. A 16th-century Gaelic poem about Cannera prays, "Bless my good ship, protecting power of grace. . . ." (Benedictines, D'Arcy, Markus, O'Hanlon).
530
St. Remigius or Remi, Bishop of Rheims extraordinary gift of miraclesSancti Remígii, Epíscopi Rheménsis et Confessóris, qui Idibus Januárii obdormívit in Dómino, sed hac die, ob Translatiónem córporis ejus, potíssimum cólitur.
St. Remigius, bishop of Rheims and confessor, who fell asleep in the Lord on the 13th of January, but is commemorated on this day because of the translation of his body.
REMIGIUS, the great apostle of the Franks, was illustrious for his learning, sanctity and miracles, which in his episcopacy of seventy and more years rendered his name famous in the Church. His father and his mother were both descended from Gaulish families, and lived at Laon. The boy made great progress in learning, and in the opinion of St Sidonius Apollinaris, who was acquainted with him in the earlier part of his life, he became the most eloquent person in that age. When only twenty-two, too young to be a priest, much less a bishop, he was chosen in 459 to fill the vacant see of Rheims. But he was ordained and consecrated in spite of his youth, and amply made up for lack of experience by his fervour and energy. Sidonius, who had considerable practice in the use of words of commendation, was at no loss to find terms to express his admiration of the charity and purity with which this bishop offered at the altar a fragrant incense to God, and of the zeal with which he subdued the wildest hearts and brought them under the yoke of virtue. Sidonius had a manuscript of his sermons from a man at Clermont (“ I do not know how he got hold of it. Like a good citizen he gave it to me, instead of selling it “), and wrote to tell Remigius how much he admired them: the delicacy and beauty of thought and expression were so smooth that it might be compared to ice or crystal upon which a nail runs without meeting the least unevenness. With this equipment of eloquence (of which unfortunately there is no specimen extant for us to judge its quality for ourselves) allied to the yet more valuable quality of personal holiness, St Remigius set out to spread Christianity among the Franks.
Clots, king of all northern Gaul, was himself yet a pagan, though not unfriendly to the Church. He had married St Clotildis, daughter of the Christian king of the Burgundians, Chilperic, and she made repeated attempts to convert her husband. He agreed to the baptism of their first-born, but when the child shortly after died he harshly reproached Clotildis, and said, If he had been consecrated in the name of my gods, he had not died; but having been baptized in the name of yours, he could not live “. The queen afterwards had another son, whom she had baptized, and he also fell sick. The king said in great anger, “It could not be otherwise. He will die as his brother did through having been baptized in the name of your Christ.” This child recovered, but it required a more striking manifestation of the might of the Christian God to convert the rough Clovis. It came apparently in 496, when the Alemanni crossed the Rhine and the Franks marched out to drive them back. One account says that St Clotildis had said to him in taking leave, My lord, to be victorious invoke the God of the Christians. If you call on Him with confidence, nothing can resist you”; and that the wary Clovis had promised that he would be a Christian if he were victorious. The
battle
was going badly
against him when the king, either reminded of these wprds or moved by
desperation, shouted to the heavens, “0 Christ, whom Clotildis invokes
as son
of the living God, I implore thy help! I have called upon my gods, and
they
have no power. I therefore call on thee. I believe in thee ! Deliver me
from my
enemies and I will be baptized in thy name “ The Franks rallied and
turned the
tide of battle; the Alemanni were overcome.
It
is said that Clovis,
during his return from this expedition, passed by Toul, and there took
with him
St Vedast, that he might be instructed by him in the faith during his
journey.
But Queen St Clotildis was not trusting to any enthusiasm of victory,
and sent
for St Remigius, telling him to touch the heart of the king while he
was well
disposed. When Clovis saw her he cried out, “ Clovis has vanquished the
Alemanni and you have triumphed over Clovis. What you have so much at
heart is
done.” The queen answered, “To the God of hosts is the glory of both
these
triumphs due”. Clovis suggested that perhaps the people would not be
willing
to forsake their gods, but said he would speak to them according to the
bishop’s instructions. He assembled the chiefs and warriors, but they
prevented
his speaking, and cried out, “We abjure mona) gods, and are ready to
follow the
immortal God whom Remigius preaches”. St Remigius and St Vedast
therefore
instructed and prepared them for baptism. To strike the senses of
barbarous
people and impress their minds, Queen Clotildis took care that the
streets from
the palace to the church should be adorned with hangings, and that the
church
and baptistery should be lighted with a great number of candles and
scented
with incense. Catechumens marched in procession, carrying crosses,
and
singing the litany; St Remigius conducted the king by the hand,
followed by the
queen and the people. At the font the bishop is said to have addressed
Clovis
in words that are memorable, if not actually pronounced: “Humble
yourself,
Sicambrian! Worship what you have burned, and burn what you have
worshipped!”
Words which may be emphatically addressed to every penitent, to express
the
change of heart and conduct that is required of him.
St
Remigius afterwards
baptized the king’s two sisters and three thousand men of his army, as
well as
women and children, with the help of the other bishops and priests
present.
Hincmar of Rheims, who wrote a Life of St Remigius in the ninth
century, is the
first to mention a legend that at the baptism of Clovis the chrism for
the
anointing was found to be missing, whereupon St Remigius prayed and a
dove
appeared from the heavens, bearing in its beak an ampulla of
chrism. A phial of oil, fabled to be the same, was
preserved at the abbey of Saint-Remi and used in the consecration of
the kings
of France until Charles X in 1825.
It was broken up at the Revolution, but a piece of La
Sainte Ampoule and its contents were saved and are kept in
Rheims Cathedral. St Remigius is also supposed to have conferred on
Clovis the
power of touching for the “king’s evil”
(scrofula), which was
exercised by
the kings of France at their coronation, again up to Charles X. This
power was
confirmed by the relics of St Marculf, who died about 538.
Under
the protection of
Clovis, St Remigius spread the gospel of Christ among the Franks, in
which work
God endowed him with an extraordinary gift of miracles, if we may trust
his
biographers on this point. The bishops who were assembled in a
conference that
was held at Lyons against the Arians in his time declared they were
stirred to
exert their zeal in defence of the Catholic faith by the example of
Remigius,
“who “, say they, “has everywhere destroyed the altars of the idols by
a
multitude of miracles and signs”. He did
his best to promote orthodoxy
in
Arian
Burgundy, and at a
synod in 517 converted an Arian bishop who came to it to argue with
him. But
the actions of St Remigius did not always meet with the approval of his
brother
bishops. Sometime after the death of Clovis the bishops of Paris, Sens
and
Auxerre wrote to him concerning a priest called Claudius, whom he had
ordained
at the request of the king. They blamed Remigius for ordaining a man
whom they
thought to be fit only for degradation, hinted that he had been bribed
to do it,
and accused him of condoning the financial malpractices of Claudius. St
Remigius thought these bishops were full of spite and told them so, but
his
reply was a model of patience and charity. To their sneer at his great
age he
answered, “ Rather should you’ rejoice lovingly with me, who am neither
accused
before you nor suing for mercy at your hands “. Very different was his
tone
towards a bishop who had exercised jurisdiction outside his diocese. “
If your
Holiness was ignorant of the canons it was ill done of you to
transgress the
diocesan limits without learning them...Be careful lest in
meddling with
the rights of others you lose your own.”
St
Remigius, whom St
Gregory of Tours refers to as “a man of great learning, fond of
rhetorical
studies,
and equal in his holiness to St Silvester”, died about the
year 530.
Although
the enthusiastic
letter in which Sidonius Apollinaris (who has, not unfairly,
been described as an “inveterate panegyrist ”) commends
the discourses of St
Remigius is authentic, most of the sources from which we derive our
knowledge
of the saint are, to say the least, unsatisfactory. The short biography
attributed to Venantius Fortunatus is not his, but of later date, and
the Vita Remigii, writtea by Hincmar of
Rheims three centuries after his death, is full of marvels and open to
grave
suspicion. We have therefore to depend for our facts upon the scanty
references
in St Gregory of Tours (who declares that he had before him a Life of
St
Remigius) and to supplement these by a phrase or two in letters of St
Avitus of
Vienne, St Nicetius of Trier, etc., together with three or four letters
written
by Remigius himself. The question in particular of the date, place and
occasion
of the baptism of Clovis has given rise to protracted discussion in
which such
scholars as B. Krusch, W. Levison, L. Levillain, A. Hauck, G. Kurth,
and A.
Poncelet have all taken part. A detailed summary of the controversy,
with
bibliographical references will be found, under “Clovis” in DAC., vol.
iii, cc. 2038—2052. It can safely be affirmed that no conclusive
evidence has yet upset the traditional account given above, so far, at
least, as regards the substantial fact that Clovis in 496, or soon
after, after a victory over the Alemanni, was baptized at Rheims by St
Remigius. As for more general matters, the principal texts, including
the Liber Historiae, have been edited by B. Krusch; see BHL., nn.
7150—7173. Consult also 0. Kurth, Clovis (1901), especially vol. ii,
pp. 262—265 and cf. A. Hauck, Kirchengesehichte
Deutschlands, vol.
i (1904), pp. 119, 548, 217, 595—599. There are popular but uncritical
lives by Haudecceur, Avenay, Carlier and others. For “touching” see Les rois thaumaturges (1924), by M. Bloch;
and for the ampulla, F.
Oppenheimer, The Legend of the
Sainte Ampoule (1953).
The
great apostle of the
Franks, and was illustrious for his learning, sanctity and miracles,
which in his episcopacy of seventy and more years, rendered his name
famous in the church. As a boy he made great progress in learning, and
in the opinion of St. Sidonius Apollinaris, who was acquainted with him
in the earlier part of his life, he became the most eloquent person in
that age. When only twenty-two, too young to be a priest, much less a
bishop, he was chosen in 459 to fill the vacant See of Rheims. But he
was ordained and consecrated in spite of his youth, and amply made up
for lack of experience by his fervor and energy.
Under the
protection of
King Clovis, who was baptized by Remigius, St.
Remigius spread the gospel of Christ among the Franks, in which work
God endowed him with an extraordinary gift of miracles. The bishops who
were assembled in a conference that was held at Lyons against the
Arians in his time, declared they were stirred to exert their zeal in
defense of the Catholic Faith by the example of Remigius, "who", say
they, "has everywhere destroyed the altars of the idols by a multitude
of miracles and signs." St. Remigius, whom St. Gregory of Tours refers
to as "a man of great learning, fond of rhetorical studies, and equal
in his holiness to St. Silvester", died about the year 530.
Remigius (Rémy, Remi) of Reims B (RM) + Born at Cerny near Laon, France, c. 437; died at Rheims on January 13, 530.
The name St. Rémy is intimately connected with that of King Clovis of the Franks, the bloodthirsty general and collector of vases. Rémy was the son of Count Emilius of Laon and Saint Celina, daughter of Principius, bishop of Soissons. Even as a child Rémy was devoted to books and God. These two loves developed the future saint into a famous preacher. Saint Sidonius Apollinaris, who knew him, testified to his virtue and eloquence as a preacher.
So great was his renown that, in 459, when he was only 22 and still a layman, he was elected bishop of Rheims. Hincmar, testifying that Rémy "was forced into being bishop rather than elected," adds to our impression of a virtuous man the added quality of modesty. Other sources note that the saint was refined, tall (over seven feet(!) in height), with an austere forehead, an aquiline nose, fair hair, a solemn walk, and stately bearing.
After his ordination and consecration, he reigned for 74 years--all the time devoting himself to the evangelization of the Franks. It was said that "by his signs and miracles, Rémy brought low the heathen altars everywhere." Foregoing the alternative episcopal path, Rémy chose the way of self-sacrifice. He became a model for his clergy and was indefatigable in his good works.
Remigius (Rémy, Remi) of Reims B (RM) + Born at Cerny near Laon, France, c. 437; died at Rheims on January 13, 530.
The name St. Rémy is intimately connected with that of King Clovis of the Franks, the bloodthirsty general and collector of vases. Rémy was the son of Count Emilius of Laon and Saint Celina, daughter of Principius, bishop of Soissons. Even as a child Rémy was devoted to books and God. These two loves developed the future saint into a famous preacher. Saint Sidonius Apollinaris, who knew him, testified to his virtue and eloquence as a preacher.
So great was his renown that, in 459, when he was only 22 and still a layman, he was elected bishop of Rheims. Hincmar, testifying that Rémy "was forced into being bishop rather than elected," adds to our impression of a virtuous man the added quality of modesty. Other sources note that the saint was refined, tall (over seven feet(!) in height), with an austere forehead, an aquiline nose, fair hair, a solemn walk, and stately bearing.
After his ordination and consecration, he reigned for 74 years--all the time devoting himself to the evangelization of the Franks. It was said that "by his signs and miracles, Rémy brought low the heathen altars everywhere." Foregoing the alternative episcopal path, Rémy chose the way of self-sacrifice. He became a model for his clergy and was indefatigable in his good works.
At some point
between
481 and 486, Rémy wrote to the pagan King
Clovis: "May the voice of justice be heard from your mouth...Respect
your bishops and seek their advice...Be the protector of
your subjects, the support of the afflicted, the comfort of widows, the
father of orphans and the master of all, that they might learn to love
you and fear you...Let your court fe open to all and let no one
leave with the grief of not being heard...Divert yourself with
young people, but if you wish truly to reign transact important matters
with those who are older..."
Clovis must have respected Rémy's advice even if he did not follow it: During his march on Chalons and Troyes, Clovis bypassed Rheims, Rémy's see. It is possible, though, that only his wife's civilizing influence prevented him from burning Rheims. Clovis married the radiant and beautiful Christian, Saint Clotildis, by proxy at Chalons-sur- Saone, while she was still living in Lyons under the tutelage of Saint Blandine. It was not a peaceful union. Clovis, an ambitious autocrat, allowed his rage to lead to ill-planned actions. The young, pious Clotildis showed him how much wiser it was to struggle with this wild beast than to give way to his emotions. At first Clovis resisted being tamed by his wife.
Clovis must have respected Rémy's advice even if he did not follow it: During his march on Chalons and Troyes, Clovis bypassed Rheims, Rémy's see. It is possible, though, that only his wife's civilizing influence prevented him from burning Rheims. Clovis married the radiant and beautiful Christian, Saint Clotildis, by proxy at Chalons-sur- Saone, while she was still living in Lyons under the tutelage of Saint Blandine. It was not a peaceful union. Clovis, an ambitious autocrat, allowed his rage to lead to ill-planned actions. The young, pious Clotildis showed him how much wiser it was to struggle with this wild beast than to give way to his emotions. At first Clovis resisted being tamed by his wife.
In 496, Clovis,
supposedly in response to a suggestion from his wife,
invoked the Christian God when the invading Alemanni were on the verge
of defeating his forces, whereupon the tide of battle turned and Clovis
was victorious at Tolbiac. St. Rémy, aided by Saint Vedast,
instructed him and his chieftains in Christianity. At the Easter Vigil
(or Christmas Day) in 496, Rémy baptized Clovis, his two
sisters, and 3,000 of his subjects. (Most seem to agree on the year,
but not the day or place.)
Though he never took part in any of the councils held during his life, Rémy was a zealous proponent of orthodoxy, opposed Arianism, and converted an Arian bishop at a synod of Arian bishops in 517. He was censured by a group of bishops for ordaining one Claudius, whom they felt was unworthy of the priesthood, but St. Rémy was generally held in great veneration for his holiness, learning, and miracles. He is said to have healed a blind man. Another time, like Jesus, he was confronted with a host who ran out of wine at a dinner party. Rémy went down to the cellar, prayed, and at once wine began to spread over the floor!
Rémy's last
act
was to draw up a will in which he distributed
all his lands and wealth and ordered that "generous alms be given the
poor, that liberty be given to the serfs on his domain," and concluded
by asking God to bless the family of the first Christian king.
Because
he was the most influential prelate of Gaul and is considered
the apostle of the Franks, Rémy has been the subject of many
tales. Rémy's notoriety sometimes difficult to distinguish the
reliable from the untrustworthy in his biographies (Attwater,
Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia).Though he never took part in any of the councils held during his life, Rémy was a zealous proponent of orthodoxy, opposed Arianism, and converted an Arian bishop at a synod of Arian bishops in 517. He was censured by a group of bishops for ordaining one Claudius, whom they felt was unworthy of the priesthood, but St. Rémy was generally held in great veneration for his holiness, learning, and miracles. He is said to have healed a blind man. Another time, like Jesus, he was confronted with a host who ran out of wine at a dinner party. Rémy went down to the cellar, prayed, and at once wine began to spread over the floor!
In art, St. Remigius is generally portrayed as a bishop carrying holy oils, though he may have other representations. At times he may be shown (1) as a dove brings him the chrism to anoint Clovis; (2) with Clovis kneeling before him; (3) preaching before Clovis and his queen; (4) welcoming another saint led by an angel from prison; (5) exorcising; or (6) contemplating the veil of Saint Veronica (Roeder).
530
St. Samson Xenodochius "the Hospitable," priest a doctor and renowned
figure of charity Lord blessed the efforts of St Sampson and endowed
him with the power of wonderworking. He healed the sick not only
through being a skilled physician, but also as a bearer of the grace of
GodAt Constantinople, St. Sampson, a priest, who harboured the poor.
Also called Samson
Xenodochius "the Hospitable," a doctor and renowned
figure of charity. A physician in Constantinople (modern Istanbul),
he also became a priest in
order to tend to both the physical and spiritual welfare of his
patients. Samson also founded a well known hospital near the Hagia
Sophia, in Constantinople. He was revered as "the Father of the Poor."
Samson (Sampson) Xenodochius (RM) (also known as Samson or Sampson the Hospitable) Samson was a distinguished citizen of Constantinople who studied medicine and was ordained priest in order to devote his life to the spiritual and physical care of the sick and destitute.
Samson (Sampson) Xenodochius (RM) (also known as Samson or Sampson the Hospitable) Samson was a distinguished citizen of Constantinople who studied medicine and was ordained priest in order to devote his life to the spiritual and physical care of the sick and destitute.
He founded
and equipped a magnificent hospital near Santa Sophia (Benedictines,
Encyclopedia).
Saint Sampson the Hospitable was the son of rich and illustrious Roman parents. In his youth he received an excellent education, he studied the medical arts, and doctored the sick without charge. After the death of his parents St Sampson generously distributed alms and set his slaves free, preparing himself to go into the wilderness.
With this intent in mind
he soon journeyed from Rome to the East. But
the Lord directed him onto a different path, that of service to
neighbor, and so St Sampson came to Constantinople.
Settling into a small house, the saint began to take in homeless wanderers, the poor and the sick, and he attended to them. The Lord blessed the efforts of St Sampson and endowed him with the power of wonderworking. He healed the sick not only through being a skilled physician, but also as a bearer of the grace of God. News of St Sampson spread abroad. The patriarch heard of his great virtue and ordained him to the holy priesthood.
It was revealed to the grievously ill Emperor Justinian (527-565), that he could receive healing only through St Sampson. In praying, the saint put his hand on the afflicted area, and Justinian was healed. In gratitude the emperor wanted to reward his healer with silver and gold, but the saint refused and instead asked Justinian to build a home for the poor and the sick. The emperor readily fulfilled his request.
St Sampson devoted the rest of his life to serving his neighbor. He survived into old age and after a short illness he departed peacefully to the Lord. The saint was buried at the church of the holy Martyr Mocius, and many healings were effected at his grave. His hospice remained open, and the saint did not cease to care for the suffering. He appeared twice to a negligent worker of the hospice and upbraided him for his laziness. At the request of an admirer of St Sampson the hospice was transformed into a church, and beside it a new edifice was built for the homeless. During the time of a powerful fire at Constantinople the flames did not touch the hospice of St Sampson. Through his intercession a heavy rain quenched the fire.
Settling into a small house, the saint began to take in homeless wanderers, the poor and the sick, and he attended to them. The Lord blessed the efforts of St Sampson and endowed him with the power of wonderworking. He healed the sick not only through being a skilled physician, but also as a bearer of the grace of God. News of St Sampson spread abroad. The patriarch heard of his great virtue and ordained him to the holy priesthood.
It was revealed to the grievously ill Emperor Justinian (527-565), that he could receive healing only through St Sampson. In praying, the saint put his hand on the afflicted area, and Justinian was healed. In gratitude the emperor wanted to reward his healer with silver and gold, but the saint refused and instead asked Justinian to build a home for the poor and the sick. The emperor readily fulfilled his request.
St Sampson devoted the rest of his life to serving his neighbor. He survived into old age and after a short illness he departed peacefully to the Lord. The saint was buried at the church of the holy Martyr Mocius, and many healings were effected at his grave. His hospice remained open, and the saint did not cease to care for the suffering. He appeared twice to a negligent worker of the hospice and upbraided him for his laziness. At the request of an admirer of St Sampson the hospice was transformed into a church, and beside it a new edifice was built for the homeless. During the time of a powerful fire at Constantinople the flames did not touch the hospice of St Sampson. Through his intercession a heavy rain quenched the fire.
530 ST MELAINE, BISHOP OF RENNES; the author of his life tells us that he performed many miracles; played a leading part in drawing up the canons of the Council of Orleans in 511; King Clovis after his conversion held him in great esteem
MELAINE (Melanius)
was a native of Placet in the parish of Brain, in Brittany. He had
served God
with great fervour in a monastery for some years when, upon the death
of St
Amand, Bishop of Rennes, he was constrained by the clergy and people to
fill
that see. As a bishop he played a leading part in drawing up the canons
of the
Council of Orleans in 511 (see Neues Archiv,
xiv, 50), and with others wrote a letter of rebuke to two Breton
priests
who were wandering from place to place and behaving very irregularly. A
sincere
humility, and a spirit of continual prayer chiefly enhanced his virtue,
and the
author of his life tells us that he performed many miracles. King
Clovis after
his conversion held him in great esteem. St Melaine died in a
monastery, which
he had built at Placet, some time before 549. He was buried at Rennes,
where
his feast is kept to-day, as it was formerly at Mullion in Cornwall,
where he
had come to be regarded as the local patron, supplanting an earlier St
Mollien
or Moellien. He must not be confused with the St Mellon venerated in
Normandy,
who gave his name to Saint Mellons between Newport and Cardiff.
See his life
in the Acta
Sanctorum, January 6, of
which other, and probably older, redactions may be
found in the Catalogus Cod. Hagiog. Lot. Paris, i, 7x
and ii, 531. Cf. also MGH., Scriptores
Merov., vol. iii; Duchesne, Fastes Episcopaux, vol.
ii, pp. 340—341;
and G. H. Doble, St Melaine (1935).
In Judæa sancti Sabbæ Abbátis, in óppido Cappadóciæ Mútala orti, qui miro sanctitátis exémplo refúlsit, et pro fide cathólica, advérsus impugnántes sanctam Synodum Chalcedonénsem, strénue laborávit, ac tandem in ea diœcésis Hierosolymitánæ laura, quæ ipsíus sancti Sabbæ nómine póstmodum est insigníta, requiévit in pace.
In Judea, St. Sabbas, abbot, who was born in the town of Mutala in Cappadocia. He gave a wondrous example of holiness and laboured most zealously for the Catholic faith against those who attacked the holy Council of Chalcedon. He rested in peace in the monastery later named for him in the diocese of Jerusalem.
532 ST SABAS, ABBOT
ST SABAS, one of the most
renowned patriarchs of the monks of
Palestine, was born at Mutalaska in Cappadocia, not far from Caesarea,
in 439. His father was an officer in the army and, being obliged to go
to Alexandria, took his wife with him and recommended his son Sabas,
with the care of his estate, to his brother-in-law. This uncle’s wife
used the child so harshly that, when he was eight, he ran away, went to
another uncle, called Gregory, brother to his father, hoping there to
live more happily. Gregory, having the care of the child, demanded also
the administration of the property, whence lawsuits and animosity arose
between the two uncles. Sabas, who was of a quiet disposition, was
upset at these discords and ran away again, this time to a monastery
near Mutalaska. His uncles, after some years, ashamed of their conduct,
agreed together to take him out of his monastery, restore him his
property, and persuade him to marry. But young Sabas had tasted the
bitterness of the world and the sweetness of the yoke of Christ, and
his heart was so united to God that nothing could draw him from his new
home. Though he was the youngest in the house he surpassed the rest in
fervour and virtue. Once, when he was serving the baker, this monk put
his wet clothes into the oven to dry, and then, forgetting them, put in
fire. Seeing him much troubled for his clothes Sabas crawled into the
oven and fetched them out through the flames, without hurt.
When Sabas had been ten years in this monastery, being eighteen years old, he went to Jerusalem to learn from the example of the solitaries of that country. He passed the winter in a monastery governed by the holy abbot Elpidius, whose monks desired earnestly that he would fix his abode among them. But his love of silence and retirement made him prefer the manner of life practised by St Euthymius, who even when a monastery was built for him refused to abandon his complete solitude. When Sabas asked to be accepted as his disciple St Euthymius judged him too young for an absolutely solitary life, and therefore recommended him to his monastery below the hill, about three miles distant, which was under the conduct of St Theoctistus.
Sabas consecrated himself to God with new fervour, working all day and watching in prayer a good part of the night. As he was very energetic and strong he assisted his brethern in their heavier work, and himself prepared the wood and water for the house. Once his abbot as companion sent him to another monk on business to Alexandria. There his parents met him and desired him to accept his father’s profession and influence in the world. When he refused they pressed
him at least to accept money for his necessaries ; but he would only take three pieces of gold, and those he gave to his abbot on his return. When he was thirty he obtained leave of St Euthymius to spend five days a week in a remote cave, which time he passed in prayer and manual labour. He left his monastery on Sunday evening carrying with him bundles of palm-twigs, and came back on Saturday morning with fifty baskets which he had made, imposing upon himself a task of ten a day. St Euthymius chose him and one Domitian for his companions in his yearly retreat in the desert of Jebel Quarantal, where Christ is said to have made His forty-days’ fast. They entered this solitude together on the octave-day of the Epiphany and returned to their monastery on Palm Sunday.
In the first retreat Sabas collapsed in the wilderness, almost dead with thirst. St Euthymius, moved with compassion, prayed to Christ that He would take pity on His fervent soldier, and it is said that, striking his staff into the earth, a spring gushed forth; of which Sabas drinking a little, he recovered his strength.
After the death of Euthymius, St Sabas retired further into the desert towards Jericho. Four years he spent in this wilderness in total separation from intercourse with men, when he chose a new dwelling in a cave on the face of a cliff, at the bottom of which ran the brook Cedron. He was obliged to hang a rope down the descent to hold on by when going up and down. Wild herbs that grew on the rocks were his food, till certain countrymen brought him sometimes a little bread, cheese, dates and other things, which he might want. Water he had to fetch from a considerable distance.
After Sabas had lived here some time many came to him, desiring to serve God under his direction. He was at first unwilling to consent, but eventually founded a new laura.*{* A laura was a monastery in which the monks lived in separate huts or cells, grouped around the church without any definite plan. The maximum of solitude possible in such circumstances was aimed at.}
One of the first difficulties was shortage of water. But having noticed a wild ass pawing and nosing at the ground, Sabas caused a pit to be dug at the spot, where a spring was discovered which subsisted to succeeding ages. The number of his disciples was increased to one hundred and fifty, but he had no priest in his community, for he thought no religious man could aspire to that dignity without presumption. This provoked some of the monks to complain of him to Sallust, Patriarch of Jerusalem. The bishop found their grievances groundless, except that the want of a priest was a trouble in the community. He therefore compelled Sabas to receive ordination at his hands in 491. The abbot was then fifty-three years old. The reputation of his sanctity drew persons from remote countries to his laura, and among the monks were Egyptians and Armenians, for whom special arrangements were made so that they could celebrate the offices in their own tongues.
After the death of the saint’s father, his mother came to Palestine and served God under his direction. With the money that she brought he built two hospitals, one for strangers and another for the sick, and also a hospital at Jericho and another monastery on a neighbouring hill. In 493 the patriarch of Jerusalem established St Sabas as archimandrite over all the monks of Palestine who lived in separate cells (hermits), and St Theodosius of Bethlehem over all who lived in community (cenobites).
St Sabas, after the example of St Euthymius, left his disciples every year, or oftener, and at least passed Lent without being seen by anyone, and this was one of the things complained of by some of his monks. As they got no sympathy from the patriarch some sixty of them left the laura, and settled themselves in a ruined monastery at Thecua, where the prophet Amos was born. When he heard that these malcontents were in sore straits, St Sabas gave them supplies and repaired their church. He himself had been driven for a time from his own monastery by the factions therein, but returned at the command of St Elias, the successor of Sallust at Jerusalem.
Among the stories told of St Sabas is that he once lay down to sleep in a cave that happened to be the den of a lion. When the beast came in it clawed hold of the monk’s clothes and dragged him outside. Nothing perturbed, Sabas returned to the cave and eventually reduced the lion to a considerable degree of friendliness. But it was still a rather troublesome companion, and at length Sabas told it that if it could not live with him in peace it had better go away. So the lion went away.
At this time the Emperor Anastasius was supporting the Eutychian heresy, and banished many orthodox bishops. In 511 the Patriarch Elias sent to him as deputies St Sabas, with other abbots, to endeavour to stop this persecution. Sabas was seventy years old when he undertook this journey to Constantinople. As he looked like some beggar the officers at the gate of the palace admitted the rest but stopped him. Sabas said nothing, but withdrew. When the emperor had read the letter of the patriarch, in which great commendations were bestowed on Sabas, he asked where he was. The saint was sought, and at length found in a corner saying his prayers.
Anastasius gave the abbots liberty to ask what they wanted for themselves; they presented their petitions, but Sabas had no request to make in his own name. Being pressed, he only begged that Anastasius would restore peace to the Church and not disturb the clergy.
Sabas stayed the winter in Constantinople, and often visited the emperor to argue against heresy. But Anastasius for all that procured the banishment of Elias of Jerusalem and put one John into his place. Whereupon St Sabas and other monks hastened to Jerusalem and persuaded the intruder at least not to repudiate the Council of Chalcedon. Sabas is said to have been with the exiled Elias at his death at Aïla on the Red Sea. In the following years he went to Caesarea, Scythopolis and other places, preaching the true faith, bringing back many to orthodoxy and right living.
In his ninety-first year, at the request of Patriarch Peter of Jerusalem, St Sabas undertook a second journey to Constantinople, in connection with troubles arising out of the Samaritan revolt and its violent repression by the emperor. Justinian received him with honour and offered to endow his monasteries. Sabas gratefully replied that they stood not in need of such revenues so long as the monks should faithfully serve God. But he begged a remission of taxes in favour of the people of Palestine in consideration of what they had suffered on account of the Samaritans; that he would build a hospital at Jerusalem for pilgrims and a fortress for the protection of the hermits and monks against raiders; and that he would authorize further strong measures for the putting down of the Samaritans. All which things were granted.
It happened one day, the emperor being busy dispatching certain affairs of St Sabas, who was himself present, that when it was the third hour the abbot went out to his prayers. His companion, Jeremy, said it was not well done to leave the emperor in this way. “My son”, replied Sabas, “the emperor does his duty, and we must do ours.”
Very shortly after his return to his laura he fell sick, and the patriarch persuaded him to let himself be taken to a neighbouring church, where he served him with his own hands. The sufferings of Sabas were very sharp, but God supported him under them in perfect patience and resignation. Finding his last hour approach, he begged the patriarch that he might be carried back to his laura. He appointed his successor, gave him instructions, and then lay four days in silence without seeing anyone, that he might concern himself with God alone. On December 5, 532, in the evening, he departed to the Lord, being ninety-four years old. His relics were venerated at his chief monastery until the Venetians carried them off.
Sabas was born at Mutalaska, Cappadocia, near Caesarea. He was the son of an army officer there who when assigned to Alexandria, left him in the care of an uncle. Mistreated by his uncle's wife, Sabas ran away to another uncle, though he was only eight. When the two uncles became involved in a lawsuit over his estate, he again ran away, this time to a monastery near Mutalaska. In time the uncles were reconciled and wanted him to marry, but he remained in the monastery.
In 456, he went to Jerusalem and there entered a monastery under St. Theoctistus. When he was thirty, he became a hermit under the guidance of St. Euthymius, and after Euthymius' death, spent four years alone in the desert near Jericho. Despite his desire for solitude, he attracted disciples, organized them into a laura in 483, and when his one hundred fifty monks asked for a priest and despite his opposition to monks being ordained, he was obliged to accept ordination by Patriarch Sallust of Jerusalem in 491.
He attracted disciples from Egypt and Armenia, allowed them a liturgy in their own tongue, and built several hospitals and another monastery near Jericho. He was appointed archimandrite of all hermits in Palestine who lived in separate cells, but his custom of going off by himself during Lent caused dissension in the monastery, and sixty of his monks left to revive a ruined monastery at Thecuna. He bore them no illwill and aided them with food and supplies.
In 511, he was one of a delegation of abbots sent to Emperor Anastasius I, a supporter of Eutychianism, which Sabas opposed, to plead with the Emperor to mitigate his persecution of orthodox bishops and religious. They were unsuccessful.
Sabas supported Elias of Jerusalem when the Emperor exiled him, was a strong supporter of theological orthodoxy, and persuaded many to return to orthodoxy. He was a vigorous opponent of Origenism and monophysitism.
In 531, when he was ninety-one, he again went to Constantinople, this time to plead with Emperor Justinian to suppress a Samaritan revolt and protect the people of Jerusalem from further harassment by the Samritans. He fell ill soon after his return to his laura from this trip and died on December 5 at Laura Mar Saba, after naming his successor. Sabas is one of the most notable figures of early monasticism and is considered one of the founders of Eastern monasticism. The laura he founded in the desolate, wild country between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, named Mar Saba after him, was often called the Great Laura for its preeminence and produced many great saints. It is still inhabited by monks of the Eastern Orthodox Church and is one of the three or four oldest monasteries in the world.
532 Saint Sava the Sanctified
born in the fifth century at Cappadocia of pious Christian parents, John and Sophia. His father was a military commander. Journeying to Alexandria on military matters, his wife went with him, but they left their five-year-old son in the care of an uncle. When the boy reached eight years of age, he entered the monastery of St Flavian located nearby. The gifted child quickly learned to read and became an expert on the Holy Scriptures. In vain did his parents urge St Sava to return to the world and enter into marriage.
When he was seventeen years old he received monastic tonsure, and attained such perfection in fasting and prayer that he was given the gift of wonderworking. After spending ten years at the monastery of St Flavian, he went to Jerusalem, and from there to the monastery of St Euthymius the Great (January 20). But St Euthymius sent St Sava to Abba Theoctistus, the head of a nearby monastery with a strict cenobitic rule. St Sava lived in obedience at this monastery until the age of thirty.
After the death of the Elder Theoctistus, his successor blessed St Sava to seclude himself in a cave. On Saturdays, however, he left his hermitage and came to the monastery, where he participated in divine services and ate with the brethren. After a certain time St Sava received permission not to leave his hermitage at all, and he struggled in the cave for five years.
St Euthymius attentively directed the life of the young monk, and seeing his spiritual maturity, he began to take him to the Rouba wilderness with him. They set out on January 14, and remained there until Palm Sunday. St Euthymius called St Sava a child-elder, and encouraged him to grow in the monastic virtues.
When Sabas had been ten years in this monastery, being eighteen years old, he went to Jerusalem to learn from the example of the solitaries of that country. He passed the winter in a monastery governed by the holy abbot Elpidius, whose monks desired earnestly that he would fix his abode among them. But his love of silence and retirement made him prefer the manner of life practised by St Euthymius, who even when a monastery was built for him refused to abandon his complete solitude. When Sabas asked to be accepted as his disciple St Euthymius judged him too young for an absolutely solitary life, and therefore recommended him to his monastery below the hill, about three miles distant, which was under the conduct of St Theoctistus.
Sabas consecrated himself to God with new fervour, working all day and watching in prayer a good part of the night. As he was very energetic and strong he assisted his brethern in their heavier work, and himself prepared the wood and water for the house. Once his abbot as companion sent him to another monk on business to Alexandria. There his parents met him and desired him to accept his father’s profession and influence in the world. When he refused they pressed
him at least to accept money for his necessaries ; but he would only take three pieces of gold, and those he gave to his abbot on his return. When he was thirty he obtained leave of St Euthymius to spend five days a week in a remote cave, which time he passed in prayer and manual labour. He left his monastery on Sunday evening carrying with him bundles of palm-twigs, and came back on Saturday morning with fifty baskets which he had made, imposing upon himself a task of ten a day. St Euthymius chose him and one Domitian for his companions in his yearly retreat in the desert of Jebel Quarantal, where Christ is said to have made His forty-days’ fast. They entered this solitude together on the octave-day of the Epiphany and returned to their monastery on Palm Sunday.
In the first retreat Sabas collapsed in the wilderness, almost dead with thirst. St Euthymius, moved with compassion, prayed to Christ that He would take pity on His fervent soldier, and it is said that, striking his staff into the earth, a spring gushed forth; of which Sabas drinking a little, he recovered his strength.
After the death of Euthymius, St Sabas retired further into the desert towards Jericho. Four years he spent in this wilderness in total separation from intercourse with men, when he chose a new dwelling in a cave on the face of a cliff, at the bottom of which ran the brook Cedron. He was obliged to hang a rope down the descent to hold on by when going up and down. Wild herbs that grew on the rocks were his food, till certain countrymen brought him sometimes a little bread, cheese, dates and other things, which he might want. Water he had to fetch from a considerable distance.
After Sabas had lived here some time many came to him, desiring to serve God under his direction. He was at first unwilling to consent, but eventually founded a new laura.*{* A laura was a monastery in which the monks lived in separate huts or cells, grouped around the church without any definite plan. The maximum of solitude possible in such circumstances was aimed at.}
One of the first difficulties was shortage of water. But having noticed a wild ass pawing and nosing at the ground, Sabas caused a pit to be dug at the spot, where a spring was discovered which subsisted to succeeding ages. The number of his disciples was increased to one hundred and fifty, but he had no priest in his community, for he thought no religious man could aspire to that dignity without presumption. This provoked some of the monks to complain of him to Sallust, Patriarch of Jerusalem. The bishop found their grievances groundless, except that the want of a priest was a trouble in the community. He therefore compelled Sabas to receive ordination at his hands in 491. The abbot was then fifty-three years old. The reputation of his sanctity drew persons from remote countries to his laura, and among the monks were Egyptians and Armenians, for whom special arrangements were made so that they could celebrate the offices in their own tongues.
After the death of the saint’s father, his mother came to Palestine and served God under his direction. With the money that she brought he built two hospitals, one for strangers and another for the sick, and also a hospital at Jericho and another monastery on a neighbouring hill. In 493 the patriarch of Jerusalem established St Sabas as archimandrite over all the monks of Palestine who lived in separate cells (hermits), and St Theodosius of Bethlehem over all who lived in community (cenobites).
St Sabas, after the example of St Euthymius, left his disciples every year, or oftener, and at least passed Lent without being seen by anyone, and this was one of the things complained of by some of his monks. As they got no sympathy from the patriarch some sixty of them left the laura, and settled themselves in a ruined monastery at Thecua, where the prophet Amos was born. When he heard that these malcontents were in sore straits, St Sabas gave them supplies and repaired their church. He himself had been driven for a time from his own monastery by the factions therein, but returned at the command of St Elias, the successor of Sallust at Jerusalem.
Among the stories told of St Sabas is that he once lay down to sleep in a cave that happened to be the den of a lion. When the beast came in it clawed hold of the monk’s clothes and dragged him outside. Nothing perturbed, Sabas returned to the cave and eventually reduced the lion to a considerable degree of friendliness. But it was still a rather troublesome companion, and at length Sabas told it that if it could not live with him in peace it had better go away. So the lion went away.
At this time the Emperor Anastasius was supporting the Eutychian heresy, and banished many orthodox bishops. In 511 the Patriarch Elias sent to him as deputies St Sabas, with other abbots, to endeavour to stop this persecution. Sabas was seventy years old when he undertook this journey to Constantinople. As he looked like some beggar the officers at the gate of the palace admitted the rest but stopped him. Sabas said nothing, but withdrew. When the emperor had read the letter of the patriarch, in which great commendations were bestowed on Sabas, he asked where he was. The saint was sought, and at length found in a corner saying his prayers.
Anastasius gave the abbots liberty to ask what they wanted for themselves; they presented their petitions, but Sabas had no request to make in his own name. Being pressed, he only begged that Anastasius would restore peace to the Church and not disturb the clergy.
Sabas stayed the winter in Constantinople, and often visited the emperor to argue against heresy. But Anastasius for all that procured the banishment of Elias of Jerusalem and put one John into his place. Whereupon St Sabas and other monks hastened to Jerusalem and persuaded the intruder at least not to repudiate the Council of Chalcedon. Sabas is said to have been with the exiled Elias at his death at Aïla on the Red Sea. In the following years he went to Caesarea, Scythopolis and other places, preaching the true faith, bringing back many to orthodoxy and right living.
In his ninety-first year, at the request of Patriarch Peter of Jerusalem, St Sabas undertook a second journey to Constantinople, in connection with troubles arising out of the Samaritan revolt and its violent repression by the emperor. Justinian received him with honour and offered to endow his monasteries. Sabas gratefully replied that they stood not in need of such revenues so long as the monks should faithfully serve God. But he begged a remission of taxes in favour of the people of Palestine in consideration of what they had suffered on account of the Samaritans; that he would build a hospital at Jerusalem for pilgrims and a fortress for the protection of the hermits and monks against raiders; and that he would authorize further strong measures for the putting down of the Samaritans. All which things were granted.
It happened one day, the emperor being busy dispatching certain affairs of St Sabas, who was himself present, that when it was the third hour the abbot went out to his prayers. His companion, Jeremy, said it was not well done to leave the emperor in this way. “My son”, replied Sabas, “the emperor does his duty, and we must do ours.”
Very shortly after his return to his laura he fell sick, and the patriarch persuaded him to let himself be taken to a neighbouring church, where he served him with his own hands. The sufferings of Sabas were very sharp, but God supported him under them in perfect patience and resignation. Finding his last hour approach, he begged the patriarch that he might be carried back to his laura. He appointed his successor, gave him instructions, and then lay four days in silence without seeing anyone, that he might concern himself with God alone. On December 5, 532, in the evening, he departed to the Lord, being ninety-four years old. His relics were venerated at his chief monastery until the Venetians carried them off.
St Sabas is one of
the outstanding figures of early monasticism, and his feast today is
kept
throughout the Church both in the East and the West; he is named at the
preparation in the Byzantine Mass. The Typikon of Jerusalem, setting
out the
rules for the recitation of the Divine Office and carrying out of
ceremonies,
which is the norm in nearly all churches of the Byzantine rite, bears
his name,
as does a monastic rule; but his part in their composition is a matter
of
doubt. His chief monastery, called after him Mar Saba and sometimes
distinguished as the Great Laura, still exists in a gorge of the
Cedron, ten
miles southeast of Jerusalem in the desert country towards the Dead
Sea. Among
its monks were St John Damascene, St John the Silent, St Aphrodisius,
St
Theophanes of Nicaea, St Cosmas of Majuma and St Theodore of Edessa.
After a period of ruin it was restored by
the Russian government in 1840 and is now inhabited by monks of the
Eastern
Orthodox Church, whose life is not unworthy of the example of the holy
founder.
After
St Catherine’s on Mount Sinai (and
perhaps Dair Antonios and Dair Boulos in Egypt) Mar Saba is the oldest
inhabited monastery in the world, and the most remarkable; the wildness
of its
situation and grandeur of its fortress-like buildings at least equal
those of
St Catherine’s. St Sabas’s spring still flows there, his palm-tree
still bears
stoneless dates, and the dark blue grackles that abound are called “his
blackbirds”, and are daily fed by the monks.
The Life of
St
Sabas, written in Greek by Cyril of Scythopolis, is one of the most
famous and trustworthy
of early hagiographical documents. The full text has to be sought
either in
Cotelerius, Ecclesiae Graecae Monumenta, vol.
iii, pp. 220—376; or in Kyrillos
von Skythopolis, ed. E.
Schwartz (1939). Another biography, an adaptation attributed to the
Metaphrast,
has been printed by Kleopas Koikylides as an appendix to the two first
volumes
of the Greek review, Nea Sion (1906).
The Life of St Sabas at a relatively early date was also translated
into
Arabic. On the chronology of the life see Loofs in Texte
und Untersuchungen, vol. iii (dealing with Leontius of
Byzantium), pp. 274—297; and on the literary and liturgical work
ascribed to
Sabas consult A. Ehrhard in the Kirchenlexikon, vol.
x (1897), cc. 1434—1437, or his fuller article in the Römische
Quartalschrift, vol. vii (1893),
pp. 31—79. J. Phokylides at Alexandria published an exhaustive and
satisfactory
account of Sabas himself and of his monastery in Greek in 1927. Cyril
of
Scythopolis had been impressed even as a boy by a casual meeting with
St Sabas;
he seems to have entered the monastery of St Euthymios in 544 and to
have
passed on to Mar Saba not long before his death in 558.
Sabas was born at Mutalaska, Cappadocia, near Caesarea. He was the son of an army officer there who when assigned to Alexandria, left him in the care of an uncle. Mistreated by his uncle's wife, Sabas ran away to another uncle, though he was only eight. When the two uncles became involved in a lawsuit over his estate, he again ran away, this time to a monastery near Mutalaska. In time the uncles were reconciled and wanted him to marry, but he remained in the monastery.
In 456, he went to Jerusalem and there entered a monastery under St. Theoctistus. When he was thirty, he became a hermit under the guidance of St. Euthymius, and after Euthymius' death, spent four years alone in the desert near Jericho. Despite his desire for solitude, he attracted disciples, organized them into a laura in 483, and when his one hundred fifty monks asked for a priest and despite his opposition to monks being ordained, he was obliged to accept ordination by Patriarch Sallust of Jerusalem in 491.
He attracted disciples from Egypt and Armenia, allowed them a liturgy in their own tongue, and built several hospitals and another monastery near Jericho. He was appointed archimandrite of all hermits in Palestine who lived in separate cells, but his custom of going off by himself during Lent caused dissension in the monastery, and sixty of his monks left to revive a ruined monastery at Thecuna. He bore them no illwill and aided them with food and supplies.
In 511, he was one of a delegation of abbots sent to Emperor Anastasius I, a supporter of Eutychianism, which Sabas opposed, to plead with the Emperor to mitigate his persecution of orthodox bishops and religious. They were unsuccessful.
Sabas supported Elias of Jerusalem when the Emperor exiled him, was a strong supporter of theological orthodoxy, and persuaded many to return to orthodoxy. He was a vigorous opponent of Origenism and monophysitism.
In 531, when he was ninety-one, he again went to Constantinople, this time to plead with Emperor Justinian to suppress a Samaritan revolt and protect the people of Jerusalem from further harassment by the Samritans. He fell ill soon after his return to his laura from this trip and died on December 5 at Laura Mar Saba, after naming his successor. Sabas is one of the most notable figures of early monasticism and is considered one of the founders of Eastern monasticism. The laura he founded in the desolate, wild country between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, named Mar Saba after him, was often called the Great Laura for its preeminence and produced many great saints. It is still inhabited by monks of the Eastern Orthodox Church and is one of the three or four oldest monasteries in the world.
532 Saint Sava the Sanctified
born in the fifth century at Cappadocia of pious Christian parents, John and Sophia. His father was a military commander. Journeying to Alexandria on military matters, his wife went with him, but they left their five-year-old son in the care of an uncle. When the boy reached eight years of age, he entered the monastery of St Flavian located nearby. The gifted child quickly learned to read and became an expert on the Holy Scriptures. In vain did his parents urge St Sava to return to the world and enter into marriage.
When he was seventeen years old he received monastic tonsure, and attained such perfection in fasting and prayer that he was given the gift of wonderworking. After spending ten years at the monastery of St Flavian, he went to Jerusalem, and from there to the monastery of St Euthymius the Great (January 20). But St Euthymius sent St Sava to Abba Theoctistus, the head of a nearby monastery with a strict cenobitic rule. St Sava lived in obedience at this monastery until the age of thirty.
After the death of the Elder Theoctistus, his successor blessed St Sava to seclude himself in a cave. On Saturdays, however, he left his hermitage and came to the monastery, where he participated in divine services and ate with the brethren. After a certain time St Sava received permission not to leave his hermitage at all, and he struggled in the cave for five years.
St Euthymius attentively directed the life of the young monk, and seeing his spiritual maturity, he began to take him to the Rouba wilderness with him. They set out on January 14, and remained there until Palm Sunday. St Euthymius called St Sava a child-elder, and encouraged him to grow in the monastic virtues.
When St Euthymius fell
asleep in the Lord (+ 473), St Sava withdrew
from the Lavra and moved to a cave near the monastery of St Gerasimus
of Jordan (March 4). After several years, disciples began to gather
around St Sava, seeking the monastic life. As the number of monks
increased, a lavra sprang up. When a pillar of fire appeared before St
Sava as he was walking, he found a spacious cave in the form of a
church.
St Sava founded several more monasteries. Many miracles took place through the prayers of St Sava: at the Lavra a spring of water welled up, during a time of drought there was abundant rain, and there were also healings of the sick and the demoniacs. St Sava composed the first monastic Rule of church services, the so-called "Jerusalem Typikon", accepted by all the Palestine monasteries.
The saint surrendered his soul
to God in the year 532.St Sava founded several more monasteries. Many miracles took place through the prayers of St Sava: at the Lavra a spring of water welled up, during a time of drought there was abundant rain, and there were also healings of the sick and the demoniacs. St Sava composed the first monastic Rule of church services, the so-called "Jerusalem Typikon", accepted by all the Palestine monasteries.
In pago Sigistérico, in Gállia, beáti Donáti, Presbyteri et Confessóris; qui, ab ipsis usque infántiæ rudiméntis mira Dei grátia præditus, anachoréticam vitam multis annis exégit, et miraculórum glória clarus migrávit ad Christum.
In the neighbourhood of Sisteron in France, blessed Donatus, priest and confessor. Being from his very infancy endowed with the grace of God in an extraordinary manner, he lived the life of an anchoret for many years, and after having been renowned for glorious miracles, went to Christ.
536
Saint Agapitus wonderworker healer of the blind and lame defended the
Orthodox teaching against the heretic Severus Bishop of Rome
A zealous adherent of Orthodoxy. By his pious life he won the general esteem and was elevated to the See of Rome in the year 535.
The Gothic king Theodoric the Great sent Agapitus to Constantinople for peace negotiations. Along the way, St Agapitus encountered a man who was lame and mute. He healed him of his lameness, and after receiving the Holy Mysteries the mute one spoke. After arriving in Constantinople, the saint healed a blind beggar.
At that time, a local Council was convened in Constantinople. St Agapitus participated in it and zealously defended the Orthodox teaching against the heretic Severus, who taught that the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ was subject to decay similar to every man's body.
A zealous adherent of Orthodoxy. By his pious life he won the general esteem and was elevated to the See of Rome in the year 535.
The Gothic king Theodoric the Great sent Agapitus to Constantinople for peace negotiations. Along the way, St Agapitus encountered a man who was lame and mute. He healed him of his lameness, and after receiving the Holy Mysteries the mute one spoke. After arriving in Constantinople, the saint healed a blind beggar.
At that time, a local Council was convened in Constantinople. St Agapitus participated in it and zealously defended the Orthodox teaching against the heretic Severus, who taught that the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ was subject to decay similar to every man's body.
St Agapitus died at
Constantinople in the year 536.
539 ST
GREGORY, Bishop of Langres miracles recorded after death he seemed to
give the preference to captives who had been arrested by the officers
of human justice
Apud Língonas, in Gállia, sancti Gregórii
Epíscopi, miráculis clari.
At Langres in France, St. Gregory, a
bishop renowned for miracles.
THIS
saint is welt known to us from the writings of St Gregory of Tours, who
was his
great-grandson. Of very distinguished birth, he for forty years
governed the
district of Autun as count (comes), administering
justice equitably but sternly. It was only late in life, after the
death of his
wife Armentaria that he turned from the world and gave himself
unreservedly to
God.
The
clergy and people then elected him bishop of Langres, and for the rest
of his
days he showed an admirable example of devotion to his pastoral duties.
His abstemiousness
in food and drink,
which he was ingenious in concealing from the knowledge of others, was
remarkable, and he often gave the hours of the night to prayer,
frequenting
especially the baptistery of Dijon, in which town he commonly lived.
There the
saints came to visit him and join him in chanting the praises of God in
particular St Benignus, the apostle of Burgundy, whose cultus he had at first neglected, after
some words of fatherly rebuke directed him to restore his dilapidated
shrine,
which has ever since been so famous in Dijon. It was here that Gregory
himself,
who died at Langres in 539, was
brought to be buried in accordance with his own desire. His epitaph,
composed
by Venantius Fortunatus, suggests that any severity he had displayed as
a
secular ruler was expiated by the tender charity he showed to all in
his last
years. Even in the miracles recorded after death he seemed to give the
preference to captives who had been arrested by the officers of human
justice.
See
Gregory of Tours, Vitae patrum, bk vii; Historia
Francorum, bks iii, iv and v;
and De Gloria martyrum, li. L.
Duchesne, Fastes Épiscopaux, vol. ii,
pp. 185—186; DCB., vol. ii, p. 770.
(also known as John of Réomé)
Born in Dijon (diocese of Langres), France, 425; died at Reomay c. 544. This pioneer of the monastic life in France, was first a hermit at Reomay. When disciples gathered round him, he escaped in secret and became a monk at Lérins.
Here he learned the traditions of Saint Macarius, and when summoned back to his native Langres by its bishop to found Moûtier-Saint-Jean in Reomay, he regulated his monastery according to them. He governed the abbey for many years with great sanctity, confirmed by many miracles. He was almost 120 years old at his death. Saint Gregory of Tours provides an account of this holy pioneer of French monasticism in his On the glory of confessors (chapter 87), as does Saint Columbanus 's disciple Jonas (Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson, Encyclopedia, Roeder, Husenbeth). In art, Saint John is portrayed as a Benedictine hermit-abbot near a well with a dragon on a chain (Roeder). He is venerated especially in Dijon, Lérins, and Réomé (Roeder).
540 St.
David
Hermit of Thessalonika Greece remained in his small
hermitage for seventy years, attracting many followers gift of
wonderworking, and he healed many from sickness
He remained in his small hermitage for seventy years, attracting many followers. Thus Llandewi marks the spot where St. David, Bishop of Caerleon and then of Menevia (fifth century) is said to have finally refuted Pelagius;
In 1054, David’s relics were translated to pavia, Italy. David of Thessalonica, Hermit (RM) Born in Thessalonica, 5th century. Saint David lived for 70 years as a hermit, but he also served as a spiritual director. His relics were translated to Pavia, Italy, in 1054 (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
Saint David of Thessalonica pursued asceticism at the monastery of the holy Martyrs Theodore and Mercurius. Inspired by the example of the holy stylites, he lived in an almond tree in constant prayer, keeping strict fast, and enduring heat and cold. He remained there for three years until an angel told him to come down.
St David received from God the gift of wonderworking, and he healed many from sickness. The holy ascetic gave spiritual counsel to all who came to him. Having attained to passionlessness, he was like an angel in the flesh, and he was able to take hot coals into his hands without harm. He died the year 540.
He remained in his small hermitage for seventy years, attracting many followers. Thus Llandewi marks the spot where St. David, Bishop of Caerleon and then of Menevia (fifth century) is said to have finally refuted Pelagius;
In 1054, David’s relics were translated to pavia, Italy. David of Thessalonica, Hermit (RM) Born in Thessalonica, 5th century. Saint David lived for 70 years as a hermit, but he also served as a spiritual director. His relics were translated to Pavia, Italy, in 1054 (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
Saint David of Thessalonica pursued asceticism at the monastery of the holy Martyrs Theodore and Mercurius. Inspired by the example of the holy stylites, he lived in an almond tree in constant prayer, keeping strict fast, and enduring heat and cold. He remained there for three years until an angel told him to come down.
St David received from God the gift of wonderworking, and he healed many from sickness. The holy ascetic gave spiritual counsel to all who came to him. Having attained to passionlessness, he was like an angel in the flesh, and he was able to take hot coals into his hands without harm. He died the year 540.
540-547 Saints
Eutychius and Florentius were monks pursuing asceticism in the region
of Nursa in Italy during the sixth century. St Eutychius converted many
to God by his teaching. When the igumen of a nearby monastery
died,
they appealed to him to become its head. He consented, but continued to
be concerned with the former place of his ascetic activity, where his
companion Florentius remained. miracles St Florentius worked many miracles during his lifetime. For example, he tamed a bear, which served him. It shepherded sheep, carried water and obeyed other commands of the Elder. Jealous of the fame of St Florentius, four monks killed the bear. The saint predicted that the wrath of God would fall upon the murderers. So it happened as he said. The monks were stricken with illness, and died shortly afterwards. On learning of the death of the monks, St Florentius was grievously saddened and distressed, considering himself the murderer of those monks. He wept for them the rest of his life.
St Eutychius did not work miracles during his lifetime, but after death his clothing began to produce healings. During a time of drought the people of Nursia went to the fields with his clothing, and God sent rain (this was in the year 1492). St Eutychius died on May 23, 540, and St Florentius, on June 1,547.
(also known as John of Réomé)
544 ST
JOHN OF REOMAY, ABBOT
ALTHOUGH we have a good early biography of Abbot John, the story it tells is a very simple one. He was a native of the diocese of Langres, and took the monastic habit at Lérins. Later on he was recalled into his own country by the bishop to found the abbey from which he received his surname, but which was afterwards called Moutier-Saint-Jean. He governed it for many years with a great reputation of sanctity, and was rendered famous by miracles. It is recorded of him that he refused to converse with his own mother when she came to the abbey to visit him. He showed himself to her, however, at a distance, sent her a message to encourage her to aim at a high standard of virtue, and warned her that she would not behold him again until they met in Heaven. He went to God about the year 544, when more than a hundred years old, and was one of the pioneers of the monastic state in France.
ALTHOUGH we have a good early biography of Abbot John, the story it tells is a very simple one. He was a native of the diocese of Langres, and took the monastic habit at Lérins. Later on he was recalled into his own country by the bishop to found the abbey from which he received his surname, but which was afterwards called Moutier-Saint-Jean. He governed it for many years with a great reputation of sanctity, and was rendered famous by miracles. It is recorded of him that he refused to converse with his own mother when she came to the abbey to visit him. He showed himself to her, however, at a distance, sent her a message to encourage her to aim at a high standard of virtue, and warned her that she would not behold him again until they met in Heaven. He went to God about the year 544, when more than a hundred years old, and was one of the pioneers of the monastic state in France.
The biography of St John of Reomay has been edited by B. Krusch in MGH., Scriptores Merov., vol. iii, pp. 502—517. As Krusch has shown in his article “Zwei Heiligenleben des Jonas von Sosa”, in the Mittheilungen of the Austrian Historical Society, vol. xiv, pp.385 seq., the texts previously edited have no value. The author of the vita was Jonas of Susa, and not a contemporary.
Born
in Dijon (diocese of Langres), France, 425; died at Reomay c. 544.
This pioneer of the monastic life in France, was first a hermit at
Reomay. When disciples gathered round him, he escaped in secret and
became a monk at Lérins.
Here he learned the traditions of Saint Macarius, and when summoned back to his native Langres by its bishop to found Moûtier-Saint-Jean in Reomay, he regulated his monastery according to them. He governed the abbey for many years with great sanctity, confirmed by many miracles. He was almost 120 years old at his death. Saint Gregory of Tours provides an account of this holy pioneer of French monasticism in his On the glory of confessors (chapter 87), as does Saint Columbanus's disciple Jonas (Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson, Encyclopedia, Roeder, Husenbeth). In art, Saint John is portrayed as a Benedictine hermit-abbot near a well with a dragon on a chain (Roeder). He is venerated especially in Dijon, Lérins, and Réomé (Roeder).
Here he learned the traditions of Saint Macarius, and when summoned back to his native Langres by its bishop to found Moûtier-Saint-Jean in Reomay, he regulated his monastery according to them. He governed the abbey for many years with great sanctity, confirmed by many miracles. He was almost 120 years old at his death. Saint Gregory of Tours provides an account of this holy pioneer of French monasticism in his On the glory of confessors (chapter 87), as does Saint Columbanus's disciple Jonas (Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson, Encyclopedia, Roeder, Husenbeth). In art, Saint John is portrayed as a Benedictine hermit-abbot near a well with a dragon on a chain (Roeder). He is venerated especially in Dijon, Lérins, and Réomé (Roeder).
539 St. John of
Reomay Pioneer of Western monasticism in France
He was born in Dijon, France, in 425, and became a hermit at Reomay. When too many disciples appeared at his hermitage, John went to Lerins. He returned to Reomay and introduced the rules of St. Macanus, founding an abbey that became Mount St. Jean. He was known for his holiness and miracles.
He was born in Dijon, France, in 425, and became a hermit at Reomay. When too many disciples appeared at his hermitage, John went to Lerins. He returned to Reomay and introduced the rules of St. Macanus, founding an abbey that became Mount St. Jean. He was known for his holiness and miracles.
550 St.
Benedict
of Campania Benedictine hermit contemporary of St. Benedict of Nursia
and Monte Cassino miraculously escaped burning
Benedict lived in the Campania region of Italy. When captured by Totila the Goth, he was saved miraculously from the flames Of an execution fire.
He is also called Benedict the
Hermit and is mentioned in the
Dialogues of St. Gregory. Benedict lived in the Campania region of Italy. When captured by Totila the Goth, he was saved miraculously from the flames Of an execution fire.
Benedict of Campania (RM)
(also known as Benedict the Hermit) Died c.
550. This saint was a contemporary of Saint Benedict of Monte Cassino.
He lived as a hermit in the Campagna region of Italy.
The Goths tried
to burn the monk alive, but he miraculously escaped the next day
(Attwater2, Benedictines, Encyclopedia). 
550 St Albinus, Or Aubin, Bishop Of
Angers many miracles attributed
during his life but more particularly after his deathTHE great popularity of St Aubin appears to be due, not so much to his career, which presents no remarkable features, as to the many miracles attributed to him not only during his life but more particularly after his death. His cultus spread over France, Italy, Spain, Germany and even to distant Poland, and he became the titular patron of an immense number of French parishes. Born in the diocese of Vannes in Brittany, the saint belonged to a family said to have originally come from England or Ireland. While still young he entered the monastery of Tincillac, about which little is known, and there he led a life of great devotion. At the age of about thirty-five he was elected abbot, and, under his rule, the house flourished exceedingly and became a garden of virtues. Consequently, when the see of Angers fell vacant in 529 the clergy and citizens of Angers turned their eyes to Aubin. Greatly against his will, but much to the joy of the bishop of Rennes, St Melanius, he was appointed bishop of Angers and proved himself a capable and enlightened pastor.
St Aubin preached daily, and whilst always generous. to the sick and needy he was specially concerned with helping poor widows who were struggling to bring up large families. The ransoming of slaves was another good work very dear to his heart, and he spent large sums of money in buying back prisoners who had been carried off in the numerous raids of the barbarians. Tradition says that one of these captives was ransomed, not from the pirates, but from King Childebert himself. This was a lovely girl called Etheria upon whom the monarch had cast eyes. He caused her to be carried off from her home and imprisoned in a fortress. As soon as this came to the ears of the bishop, he went to the castle to demand her release, and such was the respect he inspired that the guards delivered her up at once. The legend adds that one soldier tried to detain the maiden and used threats and violence, but St Aubin breathed upon him and he fell down dead. The king made no further attempt to recapture the girl, but was undignified enough to demand a ransom which, we are told, was paid by the saint. Whether or not there is any truth in the story, it is certain that King Childebert had a great veneration for the bishop, but in other quarters he was very unpopular because of the energy with which he enforced the decrees of the Councils of Orleans in 538 and 541 against incestuous marriages.
St Aubin was credited with very many miracles. Besides numerous cases of the healing of the sick and the restoration of sight to the blind, we read of a youth called Alabald who was raised from the dead by his intercession. Once, after he had pleaded in vain with a judge to release some criminals, a great stone fell during the night from the prison wall and thus enabled the prisoners to regain their liberty. They immediately came to seek the saint and assured him that they would in future lead reformed lives.
The
principal
source
for the life of St AIbinus is a short biography by Venantius
Fortunatus, the
most critical text of which is to be found in MGH., Auctores
antiquissimi, vol.
iv, "opera pedestria", pp. 27-33. His name is entered in the"
Hieronymianum ", and St Gregory of Tours refers to the cultus paid
to him. See Duchesne, Fastes Épiscopaux, vol. ii, pp.
347-349, 353-354;
DHG., vol. v. cc. 254-255 ; and the Acta Sanctorum, March,
vol. i,
Spoléti sancti Isaac, Mónachi et Confessóris, cujus virtútes sanctus Gregórius Papa commémorat.
At Spoleto, St. Isaac, monk and confessor, whose virtues are recorded by Pope St. Gregory.
(also known as Isaac of Monteluco) Saint Isaac was a Syrian monk who fled from the Monophysite persecution and founded a laura at Monteluco, near Spoleto, Umbria, Italy. He was one of the restorers of eremitical life in 6th century Italy (Benedictines).
550 ST ISAAC OF SPOLETO “A monk who wants earthly possessions is not a monk at all”. The holy man was endowed with the gifts of prophecy and miracles.
THE ilex-covered slopes of Monte Luco, considered sacred since pagan times, are honeycombed by caves which sheltered many a Christian solitary in the early middle ages. One of the most famous of these recluses was St Isaac, a man well known to St Gregory’s friend St Eleutherius, who furnished the particulars about the hermit which are contained in the Dialogues.
Isaac was a Syrian, who left his native land in consequence of the monophysite persecution to take up his residence in Italy. Upon his first arrival, in Spoleto he entered a church, where he remained for three days and three nights, absorbed in prayer. Mistrusting his motives, one of the custodians of the building called him a hypocrite, struck him, and drove him from the church. Retribution immediately overtook the man, for the Devil entered into him and would not leave until St Isaac had stretched himself upon the body of his assailant. “Isaac is driving me out!” exclaimed the evil spirit, thus disclosing to the inhabitants of Spoleto the identity of the stranger. The townsfolk, convinced that they had in their midst a very holy man, offered him presents and would have built him a monastery, but he refused all gifts and retired to a cave on Monte Luco. After several years spent in solitude, he had a vision of our Lady in which she bade him train disciples. He then became the director of a kind of laura, although he never founded a monastery. Several times his followers asked him to sanction their acceptance of offerings from the faithful, but he always replied, “A monk who wants earthly possessions is not a monk at all”. The holy man was endowed with the gifts of prophecy and miracles.
All that
we know of St Isaac is derived from the
third book of the Dialogues of St
Gregory. See also the Acta Sanctorum, April,
vol. ii.
In monastério Cluanénsi, in Hibérnia, sancti Queráni, Presbyteri et Abbátis.
In the monastery of Clonmacnoise in Ireland, St. Kiaran, priest and abbot.
(the Younger,
Cluain Mocca Nois), Abbot (AC) (also known
as Kieran,
Kyran, Ceran, Queran)
Born in Connacht, Ireland, c. 516; died at Clonmacnoise, c. 556. Saint Ciaran is one of the 12 Apostles of Ireland.
Born into a Meath family of pre-Celtic descent, Saint Ciaran was the son of the carpenter Beoit. As a boy he left home with a dun cow for company in order to be trained for the monastic life in Saint Finnian's monastery at Clonard. At Clonard he taught the daughter of the king of Cuala because he was considered the most learned monk in the abbey.
About 534, he migrated to Inishmore in the Aran Islands, where he spent seven years learning from Saint Enda and was ordained priest. He left after having a vision that Enda interpreted for him. Ciaran travelled slowly eastward, first Scattery Island where he learned from Saint Senan, then to Isel in the center of Ireland. He was forced to leave here because of his excessive charity and moved on to Inis Aingin (Hare Island).
He left there with eight companions and eventually settled at Clonmacnoise on the Shannon River south of Athlone in the West Meath, where he built Clonmacnoise monastery. He gave his monks an extremely austere rule, known as the Law of Kieran. The saint is said to have lived only seven months after founding the great school of Clonmacnoise, dying at the age of 34. Clonmacnoise may have been one of the most famous in Ireland, attracting students from throughout the country. When Pope John Paul II visited Ireland, it was the only school that he visited. The monastery survived many invasions and raids until 1552, and there are still many notable ruins remaining from its early days. Although Ciaran's shrine was plundered several times during the medieval period, the Clonmacnoise crozier remains in the National Museum in Dublin.
Various legends, some outlandish, are told of Ciaran. One relates that a fox's whelp would carry his lessons to Ciaran's master until it was old enough to eat the satchel containing the saint's writings. Another says that the other Irish saints were so jealous of him that they fasted and prayed that he might die young--hardly to be given any credit. (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Farmer, Macalister, Montague).
The following stories derive from the Vitae Sanctorum Hiberniae as translated by Plummer, which includes the moving account of his death:
The abbot Ciaran "was like a burning lamp, of charity so rare that not only did the fervor and devotion of his pitiful heart go out to the relieving of the hunger of men, but he showed himself tireless in caring for the dumb beasts in their necessity. . . ."
Born in Connacht, Ireland, c. 516; died at Clonmacnoise, c. 556. Saint Ciaran is one of the 12 Apostles of Ireland.
Born into a Meath family of pre-Celtic descent, Saint Ciaran was the son of the carpenter Beoit. As a boy he left home with a dun cow for company in order to be trained for the monastic life in Saint Finnian's monastery at Clonard. At Clonard he taught the daughter of the king of Cuala because he was considered the most learned monk in the abbey.
About 534, he migrated to Inishmore in the Aran Islands, where he spent seven years learning from Saint Enda and was ordained priest. He left after having a vision that Enda interpreted for him. Ciaran travelled slowly eastward, first Scattery Island where he learned from Saint Senan, then to Isel in the center of Ireland. He was forced to leave here because of his excessive charity and moved on to Inis Aingin (Hare Island).
He left there with eight companions and eventually settled at Clonmacnoise on the Shannon River south of Athlone in the West Meath, where he built Clonmacnoise monastery. He gave his monks an extremely austere rule, known as the Law of Kieran. The saint is said to have lived only seven months after founding the great school of Clonmacnoise, dying at the age of 34. Clonmacnoise may have been one of the most famous in Ireland, attracting students from throughout the country. When Pope John Paul II visited Ireland, it was the only school that he visited. The monastery survived many invasions and raids until 1552, and there are still many notable ruins remaining from its early days. Although Ciaran's shrine was plundered several times during the medieval period, the Clonmacnoise crozier remains in the National Museum in Dublin.
Various legends, some outlandish, are told of Ciaran. One relates that a fox's whelp would carry his lessons to Ciaran's master until it was old enough to eat the satchel containing the saint's writings. Another says that the other Irish saints were so jealous of him that they fasted and prayed that he might die young--hardly to be given any credit. (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Farmer, Macalister, Montague).
The following stories derive from the Vitae Sanctorum Hiberniae as translated by Plummer, which includes the moving account of his death:
The abbot Ciaran "was like a burning lamp, of charity so rare that not only did the fervor and devotion of his pitiful heart go out to the relieving of the hunger of men, but he showed himself tireless in caring for the dumb beasts in their necessity. . . ."
Ciaran left Saint Senan to
live for a time with his brethren
Luchen,
abbot, and Odran, prior, at Isel Monastery, where he was appointed
almoner. One day "Ciaran was reading out of doors in the graveyard in
the sun, when he suddenly spied some weary travellers going into the
guest house; and hurriedly getting up, he forgot his book, and it lay
open out of doors until the morrow.
"Meantime, as he busied himself settling his guests in their quarters and bathing their feet and eagerly tending them, the night fell. In that same night there fell great rains; but by God's will the open book was found dry and sound; not a drop of rain had fallen upon it, and all the ground round about it was damp. For which Saint Ciaran and his brethren gave Christ praise...
"One day, when Saint Ciaran was working in the field, there came to him a poor man asking for alms. At that very hour a chariot with two horses had been brought in offering to Saint Ciaran by a certain lord, the son of Crimthann, King of Connaught; and these horses and chariot gave Ciaran to this poor man.
"Now Saint Ciaran's brothers could not endure the vastness of his charity, for every day he divided their substance among the poor, and so they said to him, 'Brother, depart from us; for we cannot live in the same place with thee and feed and keep our brethren for God, because of thy unbounded lavishness.' To whom Saint Ciaran made reply: 'If I had remained in this place, it would not have been Isel (that is, the low-lying): not low but high, but great and honorable.'
"And with that Saint Ciaran blessed his brothers, and taking his wallet with his books on his shoulder, he set out from thence. And when he had gone a little way from the place, there met him on the path a stag, awaiting him in all gentleness; and Saint Ciaran set his wallet on his back, and wherever the stag went, the blessed Ciaran followed him. And the stag came to Lough Ree, which is in the east of Connaught, and stood over against Hare Island, which is in the lake.
"Then Saint Ciaran knew that God had called him to that island; and blessing the stag, he sent him away, and went to that island and dwelt there. And the fame of his holiness spread abroad, and from far and near good men came together to him, and Saint Ciaran made them his monks...
"And one day as they rowed across, Saint Ciaran's gospel which a brother was holding carelessly fell into the lake, and for a great while it lay under the waters and was not found. But one summer day the cows came into the lake, to cool themselves in the water from the great heat of the sun; and when they were coming out from it, the leather wallet in which the Gospel had been put had caught about the foot of one of the cows, and so the cow dragged the wallet with her back to dry land; and inside the sodden leather the book of the Gospel was found, clean and dry and shining white, with no trace of damp, as if it had been hidden in a library. For which Saint Ciaran rejoiced, and his brethren with him...
"And after these things came a man of Munster...Donnan by name, to Saint, Ciaran dwelling on Hare Island. And to him one day Saint Ciaran said, 'What seek you, my father, in these parts?' And Saint Donnan replied, 'Master, I seek a place to abide in, where I may serve Christ in exile.'
"Then said Saint Ciaran, 'Abide, father, in this place; for I shall go to some other; I know that this is not the place of my resurrection.' Then Saint Ciaran gave Hare Island with his household goods to Saint Donnan, and came to a place called Ard Mantain on the River Shannon; but he would not dwell in that place, and said, 'I will not to dwell in this place, for here there will be a great plenty of the things of this world, and worldly delight; and heard would it be for the souls of my disciples to go to heaven, if I should live here, for the place belongs to the men of this world.'
"Meantime, as he busied himself settling his guests in their quarters and bathing their feet and eagerly tending them, the night fell. In that same night there fell great rains; but by God's will the open book was found dry and sound; not a drop of rain had fallen upon it, and all the ground round about it was damp. For which Saint Ciaran and his brethren gave Christ praise...
"One day, when Saint Ciaran was working in the field, there came to him a poor man asking for alms. At that very hour a chariot with two horses had been brought in offering to Saint Ciaran by a certain lord, the son of Crimthann, King of Connaught; and these horses and chariot gave Ciaran to this poor man.
"Now Saint Ciaran's brothers could not endure the vastness of his charity, for every day he divided their substance among the poor, and so they said to him, 'Brother, depart from us; for we cannot live in the same place with thee and feed and keep our brethren for God, because of thy unbounded lavishness.' To whom Saint Ciaran made reply: 'If I had remained in this place, it would not have been Isel (that is, the low-lying): not low but high, but great and honorable.'
"And with that Saint Ciaran blessed his brothers, and taking his wallet with his books on his shoulder, he set out from thence. And when he had gone a little way from the place, there met him on the path a stag, awaiting him in all gentleness; and Saint Ciaran set his wallet on his back, and wherever the stag went, the blessed Ciaran followed him. And the stag came to Lough Ree, which is in the east of Connaught, and stood over against Hare Island, which is in the lake.
"Then Saint Ciaran knew that God had called him to that island; and blessing the stag, he sent him away, and went to that island and dwelt there. And the fame of his holiness spread abroad, and from far and near good men came together to him, and Saint Ciaran made them his monks...
"And one day as they rowed across, Saint Ciaran's gospel which a brother was holding carelessly fell into the lake, and for a great while it lay under the waters and was not found. But one summer day the cows came into the lake, to cool themselves in the water from the great heat of the sun; and when they were coming out from it, the leather wallet in which the Gospel had been put had caught about the foot of one of the cows, and so the cow dragged the wallet with her back to dry land; and inside the sodden leather the book of the Gospel was found, clean and dry and shining white, with no trace of damp, as if it had been hidden in a library. For which Saint Ciaran rejoiced, and his brethren with him...
"And after these things came a man of Munster...Donnan by name, to Saint, Ciaran dwelling on Hare Island. And to him one day Saint Ciaran said, 'What seek you, my father, in these parts?' And Saint Donnan replied, 'Master, I seek a place to abide in, where I may serve Christ in exile.'
"Then said Saint Ciaran, 'Abide, father, in this place; for I shall go to some other; I know that this is not the place of my resurrection.' Then Saint Ciaran gave Hare Island with his household goods to Saint Donnan, and came to a place called Ard Mantain on the River Shannon; but he would not dwell in that place, and said, 'I will not to dwell in this place, for here there will be a great plenty of the things of this world, and worldly delight; and heard would it be for the souls of my disciples to go to heaven, if I should live here, for the place belongs to the men of this world.'
"And thereafter Saint
Ciaran left that place and came to the
place
which was called of old Ard Tiprat, but is now called Clonmacnoise. And
coming to the place he said: 'Here shall I dwell; for many souls shall
go forth from this place to the Kingdom of God; and in this place shall
my resurrection be.' So there the blessed Ciaran lived with his
disciples, and began to found a great monastery there; and many found
all sides came to him, and his parish spread about him far; and the
name of Saint Ciaran was famous throughout all Ireland. And a famous
and holy city rose in that place to the honor of Saint Ciaran, and its
name was Clonmacnoise...and in it whether they be kings or princes,
the chiefs of the sons of Niall and of Connaught are buried beside
Saint Ciaran there...
"So for one year did our most holy patron Saint Ciaran dwell in his city of Clonmacnoise. And when he knew that the day of his death was drawing nigh, he prophesied, weeping, of the future evils that would fall after his day upon that place; and said that their life would be a poor thing. Then said the brethren: 'Father, what shall we do in the day of these calamities? Shall we abide here beside thy relics? Or shall we seek another place?'
"To whom Saint Ciaran said: 'Haste ye to some other place of peace, and leave my relics as it might be the dry bones of a stag on the mountain. Better for you that your life should be with my spirit in heaven, than that ye should abide dishonored beside my bones upon earth.'
"And when the hour of his departing drew nigh he bade them carry him out of doors from the house, and gazing up at the sky said, 'Steep is that road; and it must needs be.' The brethren said to him, 'Father, we know that nothing is hard for thee: but for us feeble folk, there is sore dread in this hour.'
"And again brought back into the house he lifted up his hand and blessed his people and his clergy, and having received the sacrifice of the Lord, on the ninth day of September he gave up the ghost, in the thirty-third year of his age" (Plummer).
"So for one year did our most holy patron Saint Ciaran dwell in his city of Clonmacnoise. And when he knew that the day of his death was drawing nigh, he prophesied, weeping, of the future evils that would fall after his day upon that place; and said that their life would be a poor thing. Then said the brethren: 'Father, what shall we do in the day of these calamities? Shall we abide here beside thy relics? Or shall we seek another place?'
"To whom Saint Ciaran said: 'Haste ye to some other place of peace, and leave my relics as it might be the dry bones of a stag on the mountain. Better for you that your life should be with my spirit in heaven, than that ye should abide dishonored beside my bones upon earth.'
"And when the hour of his departing drew nigh he bade them carry him out of doors from the house, and gazing up at the sky said, 'Steep is that road; and it must needs be.' The brethren said to him, 'Father, we know that nothing is hard for thee: but for us feeble folk, there is sore dread in this hour.'
"And again brought back into the house he lifted up his hand and blessed his people and his clergy, and having received the sacrifice of the Lord, on the ninth day of September he gave up the ghost, in the thirty-third year of his age" (Plummer).
558 St John the
Silent
of St Sabbas Monastery many miracles St John performed during this time
in the desert discern secret thoughts of people healed sick and
possessed
Saint John the Silent was born around 454 in the city of Nicopolis, Armenia into the family of a military commander named Enkratius and his wife Euphemia. The boy began to study Holy Scripture, and he loved solitude and prayer with all his heart.
With the inheritance his parents left him, John built a church dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos. At eighteen years of age John became a monk, living an ascetic life of fasting, prayer and temperance with ten other monks at the church he had founded.
At the request of the citizens of Colonia, the Metropolitan of Sebaste consecrated the twenty-eight-year-old John as Bishop of Colonia. Having assumed the episcopal throne, the saint did not alter his strict ascetic manner of life. Under the influence of the saint his relatives, his brother Pergamios (an associate of the emperors Zeno and Anastasius) and his nephew Theodore (an associate of the emperor Justinian), also lived in a Christian manner.
Saint John the Silent was born around 454 in the city of Nicopolis, Armenia into the family of a military commander named Enkratius and his wife Euphemia. The boy began to study Holy Scripture, and he loved solitude and prayer with all his heart.
With the inheritance his parents left him, John built a church dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos. At eighteen years of age John became a monk, living an ascetic life of fasting, prayer and temperance with ten other monks at the church he had founded.
At the request of the citizens of Colonia, the Metropolitan of Sebaste consecrated the twenty-eight-year-old John as Bishop of Colonia. Having assumed the episcopal throne, the saint did not alter his strict ascetic manner of life. Under the influence of the saint his relatives, his brother Pergamios (an associate of the emperors Zeno and Anastasius) and his nephew Theodore (an associate of the emperor Justinian), also lived in a Christian manner.
In John's tenth year as
bishop, the governorship of Armenia
was assumed
by Pazinikos, the husband of the saint's sister, Maria. The new
governor began to interfere in spiritual and ecclesiastical matters,
and there was unrest in the Church. St John then went to
Constantinople, and through Archbishop Euthymius, he entreated the
emperor Zeno to defend the Armenian Church from the evil Governor.
Overwhelmed by worldly quarrels, John secretly left his diocese and sailed to Jerusalem. With tears he besought God to show him a place where he might live and find salvation. A bright star appeared, which led St John to the Lavra of St Sava.
John, concealing his episcopal rank, was accepted in the community as a simple novice. Under the guidance of the igumen St Sava (December 5), Bishop John toiled obediently for more than four years at every task he was assigned. When a guesthouse was built at the Lavra, St John served the workers, serving their food and assisting in the construction of the building. When a cenobitic monastery for novices was being built, John was once again assigned to help the workers.
Seeing St John's humility and love of labor, St Sava deemed him worthy of ordination to presbyter. St John was forced to reveal his rank to Patriarch Elias of Jerusalem (494-517), who told St Sava that John could not be ordained. Moreover, he said that John was to live in silence, and that no one should trouble him. Soon the Lord also revealed St John's secret to St Sava. St John spent four years in his cell, receiving no one and not going out even for church.
Desiring ever greater solitude and increased abstinence, St John quit the Lavra and withdrew into the desert, where he spent more than nine years, eating plants and grass. He survived a devastating incursion of the Saracens and did not perish, only because the Lord sent him a defender: a ferocious lion. When the enemy tried to harm the saint, the lion attacked them and they scattered in fright. Tradition speaks of many miracles St John performed during this time in the desert.
When St Sava returned after an extended stay in Scythopolis, he persuaded St John to forsake the wilderness and to live at the monastery. After this, the Lord, in a miraculous way, revealed to everyone at the Lavra that the monk John was actually a bishop.
When St John reached age seventy, his holy and God-bearing spiritual Father St Sava died. The saint grieved deeply over this, since he was not present at the time. St Sava appeared to him in a vision, and having consoled him, he foretold that there would be much toil ahead in the struggle against heresy. St John even had to leave his solitude to strengthen the brethren in the struggle with the Origenists.
St John the Silent spent sixty-six years at the Lavra of St Sava the Sanctified. Through his constant ascetic efforts, by his untiring prayer and humble wisdom, St John acquired the grace of the Holy Spirit. At his prayers, many miracles took place, and he was able to discern the secret thoughts of people. He healed the sick and those possessed by demons. Even during his lifetime he saved those who invoked his name from certain destruction. Once, he scattered fig seeds on barren rock, and a beautiful and fruitful tree sprang up. In time, the tree grew so much that it overshadowed the saint's cell.
St John the Silent departed
to
the Lord in peace at the age of 104.Overwhelmed by worldly quarrels, John secretly left his diocese and sailed to Jerusalem. With tears he besought God to show him a place where he might live and find salvation. A bright star appeared, which led St John to the Lavra of St Sava.
John, concealing his episcopal rank, was accepted in the community as a simple novice. Under the guidance of the igumen St Sava (December 5), Bishop John toiled obediently for more than four years at every task he was assigned. When a guesthouse was built at the Lavra, St John served the workers, serving their food and assisting in the construction of the building. When a cenobitic monastery for novices was being built, John was once again assigned to help the workers.
Seeing St John's humility and love of labor, St Sava deemed him worthy of ordination to presbyter. St John was forced to reveal his rank to Patriarch Elias of Jerusalem (494-517), who told St Sava that John could not be ordained. Moreover, he said that John was to live in silence, and that no one should trouble him. Soon the Lord also revealed St John's secret to St Sava. St John spent four years in his cell, receiving no one and not going out even for church.
Desiring ever greater solitude and increased abstinence, St John quit the Lavra and withdrew into the desert, where he spent more than nine years, eating plants and grass. He survived a devastating incursion of the Saracens and did not perish, only because the Lord sent him a defender: a ferocious lion. When the enemy tried to harm the saint, the lion attacked them and they scattered in fright. Tradition speaks of many miracles St John performed during this time in the desert.
When St Sava returned after an extended stay in Scythopolis, he persuaded St John to forsake the wilderness and to live at the monastery. After this, the Lord, in a miraculous way, revealed to everyone at the Lavra that the monk John was actually a bishop.
When St John reached age seventy, his holy and God-bearing spiritual Father St Sava died. The saint grieved deeply over this, since he was not present at the time. St Sava appeared to him in a vision, and having consoled him, he foretold that there would be much toil ahead in the struggle against heresy. St John even had to leave his solitude to strengthen the brethren in the struggle with the Origenists.
St John the Silent spent sixty-six years at the Lavra of St Sava the Sanctified. Through his constant ascetic efforts, by his untiring prayer and humble wisdom, St John acquired the grace of the Holy Spirit. At his prayers, many miracles took place, and he was able to discern the secret thoughts of people. He healed the sick and those possessed by demons. Even during his lifetime he saved those who invoked his name from certain destruction. Once, he scattered fig seeds on barren rock, and a beautiful and fruitful tree sprang up. In time, the tree grew so much that it overshadowed the saint's cell.
560
Isaak der Syrer/Isaak vom
Monte Luco Er kam (auf der Flucht
vor den Monophysiten?) aus Syrien nach Spoleto (Italien) Orthodoxe Kirche: 12. April Katholische Kirche: 11. April
Der Mönch Isaak lebte im 6. Jahrhundert. Er kam (auf der Flucht vor den Monophysiten?) aus Syrien nach Spoleto (Italien). Als er in der Kirche einen bösen Geist austrieb, bestürmten ihn die Menschen, ihnen zu helfen und ein Kloster zu gründen, aber Isaak zog sich in die Berge zurück und lebte hier auf dem Monte Luco in einer Zelle. Um seine Einsiedelei herum siedelten sich Schüler an und so entstand eine Einsiedlerkolonie, wie sie in der Ostkirche üblich war. Isaak lebte in franziskanischer Armut. Geschenke lehnte er mit der Begründung ab: Ein Mönch der Geschenke annimmt, ist kein Mönch mehr. Ihm wurde die Gabe der Prophetie verliehen und er konnte so sein Kloster mehrfach vor Räubern und Betrügern bewahren. Isaak starb 550 oder 560.
In Spoleto wird sein
Gedenktag am 15. April begangen. Ein anderer Isaak der Syrer, der
Bischof von Ninevah, lebte im 7. Jahrhundert (Gedenktag 28.1.)
St Isaac the Syrian lived
during
the
mid-sixth century. He came to the Italian city of Spoleto from Syria.
The saint asked permission of the church wardens to remain in the
temple, and he prayed in it for two and a half days. One of the church
wardens began to reproach him with hypocrisy and struck him on the
cheek. Then the punishment of God came upon the church warden. The
devil threw him down at the feet of the saint and cried out, "Isaac,
cast me out!" Just as the saint bent over the man, the unclean spirit
fled.
News of this quickly spread throughout the city. People began to flock to the saint, offering him help and the means to build a monastery. The humble monk refused all this. He left the city and settled in a desolate place, where he built a small cell. Disciples gathered around the ascetic, and so a monastery was formed.
When his disciples asked the
Elder why
he had declined the gifts, he replied, "A monk who acquires possessions
is no longer a monk."News of this quickly spread throughout the city. People began to flock to the saint, offering him help and the means to build a monastery. The humble monk refused all this. He left the city and settled in a desolate place, where he built a small cell. Disciples gathered around the ascetic, and so a monastery was formed.
St Isaac was endowed with
the gift of clairvoyance. St Gregory Dialogus
(March 12) speaks of this in his "Dialogues About the Lives and
Miracles of the Italian Fathers." Once, St Isaac bade the monks to
leave their spades in the garden for the night, and in the morning he
asked them to prepare food for the workers. Some robbers, equal to the
number of spades, had come to rob the monastery, but the power of God
forced them to abandon their evil intent. They took the spades and
began to work. When the monks arrived in the garden, all the ground had
been dug up. The saint greeted the toilers and invited them to refresh
themselves with food. Then he admonished them to stop their thievery,
and gave them permission to come openly and pick the fruits of the
monastery garden.
Another time, two almost naked men came to the saint and asked him for clothing. He told them to wait a bit, and sent a monk into the forest. In the hollow of a tree he found the fine clothes the travelers had hidden in order to to deceive the holy igumen. The monk brought back the clothes, and St Isaac gave them to the wanderers. Seeing that their fraud was exposed, they fell into great distress and shame.
It happened that a certain man sent his servant to the saint with two beehives. The servant hid one of these hives along the way. The saint said to the servant, "I accept the gift, but be careful when you go back for the beehive that you hid. Poisonous snakes have entered into it. If you stretch forth your hand, they will bite you." Thus the saint unmasked the sins of people wisely and without malice, desiring salvation for all.
St Isaac died in 550. This saint
should not be confused with the other St Isaac the Syrian, Bishop of
Ninevah, who lived during the seventh century (January 28).Another time, two almost naked men came to the saint and asked him for clothing. He told them to wait a bit, and sent a monk into the forest. In the hollow of a tree he found the fine clothes the travelers had hidden in order to to deceive the holy igumen. The monk brought back the clothes, and St Isaac gave them to the wanderers. Seeing that their fraud was exposed, they fell into great distress and shame.
It happened that a certain man sent his servant to the saint with two beehives. The servant hid one of these hives along the way. The saint said to the servant, "I accept the gift, but be careful when you go back for the beehive that you hid. Poisonous snakes have entered into it. If you stretch forth your hand, they will bite you." Thus the saint unmasked the sins of people wisely and without malice, desiring salvation for all.
Prince of Cashel, Ireland, and bishop of Scotland. sometimes called Mackessag. Kessag went to Scotland as a missionary bishop, using Monk’s Island in Loch Lomond as his center. He was martyred at Bantry or at some unknown site. Kessag is credited with some extraordinary miracles. He is patron of Lennox, England.
Kessog of Lennox BM (AC) (also known as Mackessog) Born in Cashel, Ulster, Ireland; Son of the king of Cashel (Munster), Saint Kessog is said to have worked miracles even as a child. He left Ireland to evangelize Scotland, where he was consecrated a missionary bishop. Using Monks' Island in Loch Lomond as his headquarters, he evangelized the surrounding area until he was martyred, though where is uncertain--some claim at Bandry where a heap of stones was known as St. Kessog's Cairn, and others abroad. Part of the cairn at Bandry was removed in the 18th century to clear the way for a road. At that time, a stone statue of Kessog was found inside it. Luss was the principal center of his cultus with a sanctuary granted by Robert the Bruce.
Many extravagant miracles were ascribed to Kessog, who is the patron of Lennox. A celebrated Scottish church still bears the title of St. Kessoge-Kirk. For a long time the Scots used his name for their cry in battle, but later changed it for that of Saint Andrew. They sometimes painted Kessog in a soldier's habit, holding a bow bent with an arrow in it (Benedictines, Delaney, Farmer, Husenbeth) .
Senan was born of Christian parents at Munster, Ireland. He was a soldier for a time and then became a monk under Abbot Cassidus, who sent him to Abbot St. Natalis at Kilmanagh in Ossory. Senan became known for his holiness and miracles and attracted great crowds to his sermons. He made a journey to Rome, meeting St. David on the way back. He built several churches and monasteries, and then settled on Scattery Island, where he built a monastery that soon became famous. He died at Killeochailli on the way back from a visit to St. Cassidus monastery.
Senan of Scattery (AC) (also known as Senames of Inis Cathaigh) Senan, best known of the numerous Irish saints with this name, is credited with making a remarkable succession of monastic foundations on islands at the mouths of rivers and elsewhere, from the Slaney in Wexford to the coast of Clare. The stories that have survived about Saint Senan suggest a man of considerable complexity of character. He is said to have visited Rome and on his way home stayed with Saint David in Wales. On his return to Ireland, he founded more churches and monasteries, notably one at Inishcarra near Cork. He finally settled on Scattery Island (Inis Cathaig) in the Shannon estuary, where he founded a bishopric, established a school, and was buried.
On the island there is still a fine round tower and other early remnants. There are indications that he spent some time in Cornwall, but appears to have had no connection with the Land's End parish of Sennen. The Cloghan Oir or Golden Bell of Saint Senan is in the National Museum of Dublin (Attwater, Benedictines, Montague) .
Apud Suessiónes, in Gálliis, natális sancti Medárdi, Epíscopi Novioménsis; cujus vita et mors pretiósa gloriósis miráculis commendátur.
560 At Soissons in France, the birthday of St. Medard, bishop of Noyon, whose life and precious death are commended by glorious miracles.
Bishop, born in Salency, Picardy 470, he was ordained at thirty three, attained fame as a preacher and missioner, and became bishop of Vermandois in 530.
Medard of Noyon B (RM) Born c. 470 in Salency, Picardy, France; Born of a Frankish noble father and a Gallo-Roman mother, Saint Medard was educated at Saint-Quentin. He is also the brother of Saint Gildard, archbishop of Rouen. At 33, he was ordained to the priesthood and became so successful as a missioner that he was chosen to succeed Bishop Alomer in 530 in the see of Vermandois. Medard may have been consecrated by Saint Remigius of Rheims.
According to an unreliable tradition, Medard moved his see from Saint-Quentin to Noyon after a raid by the Huns, then united it with the diocese of Tournai. Allegedly Noyon and Tournai remained under one bishop for 500 years.
Medard is known to have given the veil to Queen Saint Radegund. He is credited with the institution of the old local custom of Rosiere. Each year where his feast is celebrated, the young girl who has been judged the most exemplary in the district is escorted by 12 boys and 12 girls to the church, where she is crowned with roses and given a gift of money (Benedictines, White).
In art, an eagle shelters Saint Medard from the rain, a reference to the legend that this happened when he was a child (Roeder). This may explain the origins of the superstition that if it rains on his feast day, the next 40 days will be wet; if the weather is good, the next 40 will be fine as well (White). He might also be portrayed with two horses at his feet, leaving footprints on stone, or holding a citadel (Roeder). In Medieval art, Medard may be laughing with his mouth wide open (le ris de Saint Medard), and for this reason he is invoked against toothache (White).
Saint Medard is the patron of brewers, peasants, prisoners (Roeder), corn harvests, and vintage (White). He is invoked on behalf of idiots and lunatics, as well as for fruitfulness, both in child-bearing and in the fields, for rains and vineyards, and against bad weather and toothache (Roeder) .
Petroc was born in Wales, possibly the son of a Welsh king. He became a monk and with some of his friends, went to Ireland to study. They immigrated to Cornwall in England and settled at Lanwethinoc (Padstow). After thirty years there, he made a pilgrimage to Rome and Jerusalem, at which time he is also reputed to have reached the Indian ocean where he lived for some time as a hermit on an island. He then returned to Cornwall, built a chapel at Little Petherick near Padstow, established a community of his followers, and then became a hermit at Bodmir Moor, where he again attracted followers and was known for his miracles. He died between Nanceventon and Lanwethinoc while visiting some of his disciples there.
Romæ sancti Abúndii, Mansionárii Ecclésiæ sancti Petri.
At Rome, St. Abundius, sacristan of the church of St. Peter.
Abundius served in St. Peter's in Rome. Pope St. Gregory I the Great wrote of his life, which was filled with many graces and spiritual gifts. Abundius the Sacristan (RM)(also known as Abonde) Saint Abundius was sacristan (mansionarius) of the Church of Saint Peter in Rome. His humble, but divinely favored life, is described by Saint Gregory the Great. His feast is kept as a major feast at Saint Peter's (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
565 St. Samson Welsh bishop and evangelizer-
even though he had long searched for
solitude;
disciple of St. Illtyd at the monastery of Lianwit (Llantwit) in
southern Glamorgan and then lived as a monk (and later abbot) of a
community on Caldey Island (Ynys Byr). He was joined there by his
uncle, Umbrafel, and his father, Amon. After a trip to Ireland,
Samson became a hermit with Amon whom he cured of a mortal illness.
During a trip to Cornwall, he was consecrated a bishop and appointed an
abbot. He then departed England and went to Brittany where he spent the
rest of his life as a missionary, Many miraculous deed were attributed
Born at Glamorgan, Wales, he became a disciple of St. Illtyd at the monastery of Lianwit (Llantwit) in southern Glamorgan and then lived as a monk (and later abbot) of a community on Caldey Island (Ynys Byr). He was joined there by his uncle, Umbrafel, and his father, Amon. After a trip to Ireland, Samson became a hermit with Amon whom he cured of a mortal illness.
During a trip to Cornwall, he was consecrated a bishop and appointed an abbot. He then departed England and went to Brittany where he spent the rest of his life as a missionary, even though he had long searched for solitude. Samson founded monasteries, including one at Dol and another at Pental, in Normandy. He was one of the foremost (if not relatively unknown) evangelizers of his century and has long been venerated with enthusiasm in Wales and Brittany.
Samson (Sampson) of Brittany B (RM)
Born in Glamorgan, Wales, c. 485; died at Dol, Brittany, France, July 28, c. 565. The existing vita of Saint Samson may be the earliest biography of a British Celtic saint, but scholarly opinion is divided on whether it was written in the 7th century (within 50 years of his death) or the 9th. The earliest manuscripts date only from the 11th century.
He was one of the greatest missionaries ever to come from Britain. His parents--Ammon, a lord of Glamorgan, and Anna of Gwent-- dedicated him to the service of God because he was a "child of promise" after his parents prolonged period of childlessness. According to his biography he was raised in the abbey of Llanwit Major in Glamorgan, which at that time was ruled by Saint Illtyd, who ordained him deacon and priest.
After Samson's ordination an attempt was made on his life by two nephews of Saint Illtyd, who were jealous of his ordination. So Samson left the community and lived for a time under Piro on the island of Caldey (Ynys Byr) off the coast of Pembrokeshire, where he served as cellarer. His father and his uncle, Umbrafel, joined him there after his father had recovered from a serious illness during which he received the last rites from his son. When Piro died, Samson succeeded him as abbot of Caldey Abbey, but he resigned after a preaching tour to Ireland.
He returned to Wales, where he lived as a hermit with his father and two others in a retreat near the mouth of the Severn River. Then he sojourned to Cornwall, where he was consecrated bishop of Saint Dyfrig (Dubricius), bishop of Caerleon, and appointed abbot of its monastery. Samson travelled throughout Cornwall where he worked as a missionary, founded monasteries and churches at Padstow, Saint Kew, Southill, and Golant, probably visited the Scilly Islands, and gathered to himself disciples, such as Saints Austell, Mewan, and Winnoc (which doesn't make sense because Winnoc died in 717) .
Born at Glamorgan, Wales, he became a disciple of St. Illtyd at the monastery of Lianwit (Llantwit) in southern Glamorgan and then lived as a monk (and later abbot) of a community on Caldey Island (Ynys Byr). He was joined there by his uncle, Umbrafel, and his father, Amon. After a trip to Ireland, Samson became a hermit with Amon whom he cured of a mortal illness.
During a trip to Cornwall, he was consecrated a bishop and appointed an abbot. He then departed England and went to Brittany where he spent the rest of his life as a missionary, even though he had long searched for solitude. Samson founded monasteries, including one at Dol and another at Pental, in Normandy. He was one of the foremost (if not relatively unknown) evangelizers of his century and has long been venerated with enthusiasm in Wales and Brittany.
Samson (Sampson) of Brittany B (RM)
Born in Glamorgan, Wales, c. 485; died at Dol, Brittany, France, July 28, c. 565. The existing vita of Saint Samson may be the earliest biography of a British Celtic saint, but scholarly opinion is divided on whether it was written in the 7th century (within 50 years of his death) or the 9th. The earliest manuscripts date only from the 11th century.
He was one of the greatest missionaries ever to come from Britain. His parents--Ammon, a lord of Glamorgan, and Anna of Gwent-- dedicated him to the service of God because he was a "child of promise" after his parents prolonged period of childlessness. According to his biography he was raised in the abbey of Llanwit Major in Glamorgan, which at that time was ruled by Saint Illtyd, who ordained him deacon and priest.
After Samson's ordination an attempt was made on his life by two nephews of Saint Illtyd, who were jealous of his ordination. So Samson left the community and lived for a time under Piro on the island of Caldey (Ynys Byr) off the coast of Pembrokeshire, where he served as cellarer. His father and his uncle, Umbrafel, joined him there after his father had recovered from a serious illness during which he received the last rites from his son. When Piro died, Samson succeeded him as abbot of Caldey Abbey, but he resigned after a preaching tour to Ireland.
He returned to Wales, where he lived as a hermit with his father and two others in a retreat near the mouth of the Severn River. Then he sojourned to Cornwall, where he was consecrated bishop of Saint Dyfrig (Dubricius), bishop of Caerleon, and appointed abbot of its monastery. Samson travelled throughout Cornwall where he worked as a missionary, founded monasteries and churches at Padstow, Saint Kew, Southill, and Golant, probably visited the Scilly Islands, and gathered to himself disciples, such as Saints Austell, Mewan, and Winnoc (which doesn't make sense because Winnoc died in 717) .
Finally, Samson crossed
the Channel to Armorica, where he landed at the
mouth of the Guyoult, to continue his missionary activities in
Brittany. Privatus, a Gallo-Roman, gave him a stretch of land nearby on
which to build a monastery c. 525, and this became the site of the
future town of Dol. Under his leadership, Dol became the
spiritual
center of Brittany. A vigorous organizer and a zealous preacher, Saint
Samson established numerous other abbeys, including Pental in Normandy,
and spread the word of God far and wide. It appears that he exercised
episcopal jurisdiction at Dol, although it was not a regular see until
much later. He is probably the 'Samson peccator episcopus' who signed
the acts of the Council of Paris (557).
His concern for justice, as well as the temporal importance of his position as bishop and abbot, often involved him in political affairs. When Conomor (Conmor) murdered the king of Domnonia and usurped the throne that rightly belonged to the Breton ruler Judwal (Judual), Saint Samson journeyed to Paris where, with the support of Saint Germain the bishop of Paris, he enlisted the help of the Frankish King Childebert. On his return he travelled down the Seine and founded an establishment for penitents at Vernier.
On a second visit to Paris he was granted lands in the region of Rennes and was also given jurisdiction over the Channel Islands-- and indeed it was from the Isle of Guernsey, where one town bears his name, that he and Judwal embarked on their campaign to depose the usurper Conomor. After three battles, Judwal won back his kingdom and Samson returned to his bishopric and monastery at Dol.
Towards the end of his life, when he felt that his end was near, he undertook an extensive journey throughout the whole of Neustria, a journey of which the Breton bards have left us a moving account. Accompanied by seven monks, seven disciples and seven escorts, he travelled slowly from parish to parish, often stopping to preach or to celebrate the Divine Office, bringing his mission to an end only with his death.
Many miraculous deed were attributed to Saint Samson, to which his anonymous biographer gives ample space. Recent research seems to demonstrate that Samson was the leading churchman of the colonists from Britain who founded Brittany, and a primary figure in the history of the evangelization of Cornwall and the Channel Islands.
Some of his relics, including an arm and a crozier, were acquired by King Athelstan of Wessex (924-939), for his monastery at Milton Abbas in Dorset, which is why Samson's feast is kept in many places in England. In addition, there are six ancient dedications there to him, as well as others in Cornwall and Brittany. Samson's name is still revered throughout Brittany and Wales. Usuard entered his name into the Roman Martyrology (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Taylor).
His concern for justice, as well as the temporal importance of his position as bishop and abbot, often involved him in political affairs. When Conomor (Conmor) murdered the king of Domnonia and usurped the throne that rightly belonged to the Breton ruler Judwal (Judual), Saint Samson journeyed to Paris where, with the support of Saint Germain the bishop of Paris, he enlisted the help of the Frankish King Childebert. On his return he travelled down the Seine and founded an establishment for penitents at Vernier.
On a second visit to Paris he was granted lands in the region of Rennes and was also given jurisdiction over the Channel Islands-- and indeed it was from the Isle of Guernsey, where one town bears his name, that he and Judwal embarked on their campaign to depose the usurper Conomor. After three battles, Judwal won back his kingdom and Samson returned to his bishopric and monastery at Dol.
Towards the end of his life, when he felt that his end was near, he undertook an extensive journey throughout the whole of Neustria, a journey of which the Breton bards have left us a moving account. Accompanied by seven monks, seven disciples and seven escorts, he travelled slowly from parish to parish, often stopping to preach or to celebrate the Divine Office, bringing his mission to an end only with his death.
Many miraculous deed were attributed to Saint Samson, to which his anonymous biographer gives ample space. Recent research seems to demonstrate that Samson was the leading churchman of the colonists from Britain who founded Brittany, and a primary figure in the history of the evangelization of Cornwall and the Channel Islands.
Some of his relics, including an arm and a crozier, were acquired by King Athelstan of Wessex (924-939), for his monastery at Milton Abbas in Dorset, which is why Samson's feast is kept in many places in England. In addition, there are six ancient dedications there to him, as well as others in Cornwall and Brittany. Samson's name is still revered throughout Brittany and Wales. Usuard entered his name into the Roman Martyrology (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Taylor).
In art, Samson is depicted
with a cross or staff together with a dove
and book (Farmer) .
568
Saint Anastasia Patrician of Alexandria lived in
ConstantinopleAlexandria founded a small monastery not far from the
city & a remote skete 28 yrs Lord revealed her day of death
Descended from an aristocratic family. She was an image of virtue, and she enjoyed the great esteem of the emperor Justinian (527-565). Widowed at a young age, Anastasia decided to leave the world and save her soul far from the bustle of the capital. She secretly left Constantinople and went to Alexandria. She founded a small monastery not far from the city, and devoted herself entirely to God. Several years later, the emperor Justinian was widowed and decided to search for Anastasia and marry her. As soon as she learned of this, St Anastasia journeyed to a remote skete to ask Abba Daniel (March 18) for help.
In order to safeguard Anastasia,
the Elder dressed her in a man's monastic garb and called her the
eunuch Anastasius.Descended from an aristocratic family. She was an image of virtue, and she enjoyed the great esteem of the emperor Justinian (527-565). Widowed at a young age, Anastasia decided to leave the world and save her soul far from the bustle of the capital. She secretly left Constantinople and went to Alexandria. She founded a small monastery not far from the city, and devoted herself entirely to God. Several years later, the emperor Justinian was widowed and decided to search for Anastasia and marry her. As soon as she learned of this, St Anastasia journeyed to a remote skete to ask Abba Daniel (March 18) for help.
Having settled her in one
of the very remote caves, the Elder gave her
a Rule of prayer and ordered her never to leave the cave and to receive
no one. Only one monk knew of this place. His obedience was to bring a
small portion of bread and a pitcher of water to the cave once a week,
leaving it at the entrance. The nun Anastasia dwelt in seclusion for
twenty-eight years.
Everyone believed that it
was
the eunuch Anastasius who lived in the cave.
The Lord revealed to her
the day of her death. Having learned of her
approaching death, she wrote several words for Abba Daniel on a
potsherd and placed it at the entrance to the cave. The Elder came
quickly and brought everything necessary for her burial. He found the
holy ascetic still alive, and he confessed and communed her with the
Holy Mysteries. At Abba Daniel's request, St Anastasia blessed him and
the monk accompanying him. With the words: "Lord, into Thy hands I
commend my spirit," the saint died in peace (ca. 567-568).
When the grave was prepared, the Elder gave his disciple his outer garment and ordered him to dress the deceased "brother" in it. As he was putting on the rassa, the monk noticed that she was a woman, but he did not dare to say anything. However, when they returned to the monastery after they buried the nun, the disciple asked Abba Daniel whether he knew the "brother" was a woman, and the Elder related to the young monk the life of St Anastasia. Later, the abba's narrative was written down and received wide acclaim.
When the grave was prepared, the Elder gave his disciple his outer garment and ordered him to dress the deceased "brother" in it. As he was putting on the rassa, the monk noticed that she was a woman, but he did not dare to say anything. However, when they returned to the monastery after they buried the nun, the disciple asked Abba Daniel whether he knew the "brother" was a woman, and the Elder related to the young monk the life of St Anastasia. Later, the abba's narrative was written down and received wide acclaim.
Relics of St Anastasia were
transferred to Constantinople in 1200, and put not far from
the church of Hagia Sophia.
Consortia reportedly cured Clotaire’s daughter of a mortal illness. She has long been venerated at Cluny, in France, but nothing is known of her life.
Saint Consortia is said to have been the foundress of a convent generously endowed by King Clotaire out of gratitude for her having miraculously healed his dying daughter. She was venerated at Cluny, nothing certain is known about her (Benedictines).
Ita was reputedly of royal lineage. She was born at Decies, Waterford, Ireland, refused to be married, and secured her father's permission to live a virginal life. She moved to Killeedy, Limerick, and founded a community of women dedicated to God. She also founded a school for boys, and one of her pupils was St. Brendan. Many extravagant miracles were attributed to her (in one of them she is reputed to have reunited the head and body of a man who had been beheaded; in another she lived entirely on food from heaven), and she is widely venerated in Ireland. She is also known as Deirdre and Mida.
Lugdúni, in Gállia, sancti Nicétii, ejúsdem urbis Epíscopi, vita et miráculis clari.
At Lyons in France, St. Nicetus, bishop of that city, renowned for his life and miracles.
Also Nizier, bishop of
Lyons, France, from
553. The nephew
of Bishop
St. Sacerdos of Lyons, he was appointed successor to his uncle’s see.
His time as bishop brought an extensive revival of ecclesiastical
chant. He was also known for his abilities as an exorcist.
Nicetius of Lyons B (RM) (also known as Nizien, Nizier) Born in Burgundy; died in Lyons, France, on April 2, 573. Saint Nicetius was descended from an ancient family of Gaul. He was raised in piety and given a good education by his virtuous parents. Humility and assiduous prayer were his favorite virtues from the cradle. In his father's house he always chose to appear the lowest in the family, though by birth he had a right to claim the highest place next his parents. He readily gave a preference in all things to his brethren, and took a singular delight, during his hours of recreation, in performing the most servile offices. He instructed the servants and children in all Christian duties, and taught them the psalter and church office.
In 551, he succeeded his uncle Saint Sacerdos and governed the church of Lyons faithfully for 22 years, despite all the bad things that it is possible to say about him, and despite his violent temperament. Great miracles confirmed the opinion of his sanctity: his relics are preserved in the parish church of his name, in Lyons (Attwater2, Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth).
Nicetius or Nizier, bishop of Lyon (537) - Great-uncle to Gregory of Tours. A determined opponent of loose and uncharitable speech, which he denounced on every possible occasion. He became famous for exorcising unclean spirits; revived and improved ecclesiastical chant in his diocese.
Nicetius of Lyons B (RM) (also known as Nizien, Nizier) Born in Burgundy; died in Lyons, France, on April 2, 573. Saint Nicetius was descended from an ancient family of Gaul. He was raised in piety and given a good education by his virtuous parents. Humility and assiduous prayer were his favorite virtues from the cradle. In his father's house he always chose to appear the lowest in the family, though by birth he had a right to claim the highest place next his parents. He readily gave a preference in all things to his brethren, and took a singular delight, during his hours of recreation, in performing the most servile offices. He instructed the servants and children in all Christian duties, and taught them the psalter and church office.
In 551, he succeeded his uncle Saint Sacerdos and governed the church of Lyons faithfully for 22 years, despite all the bad things that it is possible to say about him, and despite his violent temperament. Great miracles confirmed the opinion of his sanctity: his relics are preserved in the parish church of his name, in Lyons (Attwater2, Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth).
Nicetius or Nizier, bishop of Lyon (537) - Great-uncle to Gregory of Tours. A determined opponent of loose and uncharitable speech, which he denounced on every possible occasion. He became famous for exorcising unclean spirits; revived and improved ecclesiastical chant in his diocese.
Probably of Roman-Welsh descent, he was the son of a local Welsh chieftain. He studied under St. Illtyd at the Ynys Byr monastery and, according to tradition, was granted permission to become a hermit. Ordained, he nevertheless gathered around himself a group of followers and acquired such a reputation for goodness that a king in Brittany asked him to preach the Christian faith to his subjects. Paul sailed to Caldey Island in Brittany soon after and founded a monastery at PorzPol on the island of Quessant. Later he established himself and his followers at Ouismor. There, over his objections, he was made a bishop, although he was finally permitted to resign after several years and retire to Batz. He was reputed to be able to perform miracles, the accounts of which are generally considered unreliable owing to the exorbitant nature of the claims.
573
St. Cerbonius Africa bishop of Populonia St. Gregory relates that he was
renowned for miracles, both during life and after death.
Populónii, in Túscia, sancti Cerbónii, Epíscopi et Confessóris, qui (ut sanctus Gregórius Papa refert) in vita et morte miráculis cláruit.
At Piombino in Tuscany, St. Cerbonius, bishop and confessor. St. Gregory relates that he was renowned for miracles, both during life and after death.
Cerbonius was driven from Africa by the Vandals. He imigrated with St. Regulus to Tuscany and succeeded Regulus as bishop of Populonia (Piombino). He was ordered to be killed by wild beasts by King Totila of the Ostrogoths, during his invasion of Tuscany, for hiding several Roman soldiers.
Cerbonius was miraculously saved, but he spent his last thirty years of his life in exile on Elba.
Cerbonius of Piombino B (RM) Died c. 580. This Saint Cerbonius is one of the many bishops driven from North Africa by the Arian Vandals. He settled at Piombino in Tuscany, Italy, where it is said he served the Church as bishop there (Benedictines). In art, Saint Cerbonius is depicted as a bishop with a bear licking his feet (Roeder). He is venerated in Tuscany. There is another Cerbonius who is venerated at Verona (Roeder).
Verónæ sancti Cerbónii Epíscopi.
At Verona, another St. Cerbonius, bishop
Populónii, in Túscia, sancti Cerbónii, Epíscopi et Confessóris, qui (ut sanctus Gregórius Papa refert) in vita et morte miráculis cláruit.
At Piombino in Tuscany, St. Cerbonius, bishop and confessor. St. Gregory relates that he was renowned for miracles, both during life and after death.
Cerbonius was driven from Africa by the Vandals. He imigrated with St. Regulus to Tuscany and succeeded Regulus as bishop of Populonia (Piombino). He was ordered to be killed by wild beasts by King Totila of the Ostrogoths, during his invasion of Tuscany, for hiding several Roman soldiers.
Cerbonius was miraculously saved, but he spent his last thirty years of his life in exile on Elba.
Cerbonius of Piombino B (RM) Died c. 580. This Saint Cerbonius is one of the many bishops driven from North Africa by the Arian Vandals. He settled at Piombino in Tuscany, Italy, where it is said he served the Church as bishop there (Benedictines). In art, Saint Cerbonius is depicted as a bishop with a bear licking his feet (Roeder). He is venerated in Tuscany. There is another Cerbonius who is venerated at Verona (Roeder).
Verónæ sancti Cerbónii Epíscopi.
At Verona, another St. Cerbonius, bishop
Turiasóne, in Hispánia Tarraconénsi, beáti Æmiliáni Presbyteri, qui innúmeris miráculis cláruit; cujus admirábilem vitam sanctus Bráulio, Cæsaraugustánus Epíscopus, descrípsit.
At Tarazona in Aragon, blessed Emilian, a priest favoured with many miracles. His admirable life was recorded by St. Braulio, bishop of Saragossa.
ST EMILIAN CUCULLATUS, ABBOT
THIS St Emilian, under the
name
of San Millán de la Cogolla, i.e. "with the Hood ", was a famous
early
saint of Spain and is regarded as a patron of that country. The
Roman
Martyrology refers to the fact that his life was written by St Braulio,
Bishop of Saragossa, about fifty years after his death. Emilian's
birthplace has for centuries been a matter in dispute between Aragon
and Castile.
As a youth he was a shepherd. At the age of twenty he heard a call from God to His direct service and for a time he attached himself to a hermit. Then he returned to his home, but so many people importuned him that he wandered off into the mountains above Burgos. He lived there for forty years-according to tradition on the mountain where the abbey of San Milldn was afterwards built--till the bishop of Tarazona insisted on his receiving holy orders and becoming a parish priest.
But the heroic virtues that the hermit had learned in the wilderness were not understood by his fellow clergy, and he was accused to the bishop of wasting the goods of the church, which he had given away in charity. He was therefore deprived of his cure, and with some disciples returned to solitude and contemplation, and so spent the rest of his life.
St Emilian is sometimes called the first Spanish Benedictine, but the monastery of La Cogolla of course did not have Benedictine Rule till long after his time.
As a youth he was a shepherd. At the age of twenty he heard a call from God to His direct service and for a time he attached himself to a hermit. Then he returned to his home, but so many people importuned him that he wandered off into the mountains above Burgos. He lived there for forty years-according to tradition on the mountain where the abbey of San Milldn was afterwards built--till the bishop of Tarazona insisted on his receiving holy orders and becoming a parish priest.
But the heroic virtues that the hermit had learned in the wilderness were not understood by his fellow clergy, and he was accused to the bishop of wasting the goods of the church, which he had given away in charity. He was therefore deprived of his cure, and with some disciples returned to solitude and contemplation, and so spent the rest of his life.
St Emilian is sometimes called the first Spanish Benedictine, but the monastery of La Cogolla of course did not have Benedictine Rule till long after his time.
The Latin biography by
Braulio is printed by Mabillon, vol. i,
pp. 198-207. In Florea, España
Sagrada,
vol. I, will also be found an account of the saint's translation and of
the miracles wrought at his shrine. See further T. Minguella, S. Millan de La Cogolla, estudios
historicos (1883), and V. de Ia Fuente, San Millian, presbitero secular (1883). A new
critical edition of the vita,
ed. L. Vazquez de Parga, was published at Madrid in 1943.
One of the patron saints
of Spain, called La Cogalla, “the Cowled.” A
shepherd from La Rioja, in Navarre, Spain, he was ordained a priest
after many years as a hermit. He was made pastor of the parish in
Berceo but became a hermit again. In time so many joined him that he
founded a hermitage that became the Benedictine Abbey of La Cogalla.
Emilian Cucullatus, Abbot (RM) (also known as Aemilian, Emilianus or Millan of Cucullatus or La Cogolla or de la Gogolla)
Died 574. A shepherd at La Rioja, Navarre, Spain, he became a hermit when 20. After a brief stay at home, he spent the next 40 years in extreme solitude as a hermit in the mountains around Burgos when at the insistence of the bishop of Tarazona, he was ordained.
He became a parish priest at Berceo but because of his excessive charity was forced to leave and with several disciples resumed his eremitical life. He died at the age of 100. Tradition says the mountain hermitage he occupied near Burgos became the site of the Benedictine monastery of La Cogolla. He is a minor patron of Spain, where he is known as San Millan de la Cogolla--the cowled Saint Emilian (Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia).
Saint Millan is represented as a monk on horseback fighting the Moors, and sometimes as a Benedictine on horseback holding a banner and sword. Abbot of La Cogolla, Tarazona. Minor patron saint of Spain (Roeder).
Emilian Cucullatus, Abbot (RM) (also known as Aemilian, Emilianus or Millan of Cucullatus or La Cogolla or de la Gogolla)
Died 574. A shepherd at La Rioja, Navarre, Spain, he became a hermit when 20. After a brief stay at home, he spent the next 40 years in extreme solitude as a hermit in the mountains around Burgos when at the insistence of the bishop of Tarazona, he was ordained.
He became a parish priest at Berceo but because of his excessive charity was forced to leave and with several disciples resumed his eremitical life. He died at the age of 100. Tradition says the mountain hermitage he occupied near Burgos became the site of the Benedictine monastery of La Cogolla. He is a minor patron of Spain, where he is known as San Millan de la Cogolla--the cowled Saint Emilian (Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia).
Saint Millan is represented as a monk on horseback fighting the Moors, and sometimes as a Benedictine on horseback holding a banner and sword. Abbot of La Cogolla, Tarazona. Minor patron saint of Spain (Roeder).
575 St. Hervaeus, Herve or Harvey wolf,
repenting,
shouldered the dead donkey's harness stopped singning frogs angels sang
at his death (after a
sixth-century Breton monk).
6th V. St Hervé, or Harvey, Abbot
St Hervé is one of the most popular saints in Brittany, and figures largely in the folklore and ballads of the country. At one period his feast was a holiday of obligation in the diocese of Leon. His cultus, which originally centred in Lanhouarneau, Le Menez-Bré and Porzay, was propagated by a distribution of his relics in 1002, and is general throughout Brittany. No name, with the exception of Yves, is more commonly given to Breton boys than that of Hervé. Solemn oaths were taken over his relics until the year 1610, when the parlement made it obligatory for legal declarations to be made only upon the Gospels. In the absence of any reliable records it is unfortunately impossible to reconstruct St Hervé’s true history, but the legend, as set forth in a late medieval Latin manuscript, may be summarized as follows
St Hervé is usually represented with the wolf, and with Guiharan, his child guide. He is invoked for eye-trouble of all sorts, and his wolf serves Breton mothers as a bugbear with which to threaten troublesome children.
6th V. St Hervé, or Harvey, Abbot
St Hervé is one of the most popular saints in Brittany, and figures largely in the folklore and ballads of the country. At one period his feast was a holiday of obligation in the diocese of Leon. His cultus, which originally centred in Lanhouarneau, Le Menez-Bré and Porzay, was propagated by a distribution of his relics in 1002, and is general throughout Brittany. No name, with the exception of Yves, is more commonly given to Breton boys than that of Hervé. Solemn oaths were taken over his relics until the year 1610, when the parlement made it obligatory for legal declarations to be made only upon the Gospels. In the absence of any reliable records it is unfortunately impossible to reconstruct St Hervé’s true history, but the legend, as set forth in a late medieval Latin manuscript, may be summarized as follows
In the early years
of the reign of King Childebert, there came to the court of Paris a
British
bard named Hyvarnion, who had been driven from his country by the
Saxons. He
charmed all who heard him by his music, but worldly applause had no
attraction
for him. After two or three years he retired to Brittany, where he
married a
girl called Rivanon, and became the father of a little blind boy, who
received
the name of Hervé. The child, bereft in infancy of his father,
was brought up
until he was seven by his mother. She then confided him to the care of
a holy
man called Arthian, and afterwards he joined his uncle, who had founded
a
little monastic school at Plouvien, and helped him with his farm and
his
pupils. One day, as Hervé was working in the fields, a wolf came
and devoured
the ass which was drawing the plough; a young child, who was the
saint’s guide,
uttered cries of distress, but in answer to Hervé’s prayers the
wolf meekly
passed his head into the ass’s collar and finished his work. During
these years
his mother Rivanon had been living in the heart of a dense forest,
seeing no
human face except that of her niece, who waited on her. Now the hour of
departure was at hand, and Hervé sought her out in time to
receive her last
blessing and to close her eyes.
St Hervé is usually represented with the wolf, and with Guiharan, his child guide. He is invoked for eye-trouble of all sorts, and his wolf serves Breton mothers as a bugbear with which to threaten troublesome children.
The
so-called life of St Hervé, which in the very competent
judgement of A.
de la Borderie cannot have been written (at any rate in the form in
which it has been preserved to us) earlier than the thirteenth century,
was published for the first time by the same distinguished scholar in
1892 in the Memoires de la Soc. d'Émulation des Cotes-du-Nord,
vol.
xxix, pp. 251-304. There is an account in the Acta Sanctorum, June,
vol. iv, mainly based on Albert Le Grand. See, further, LBS., vol. iii,
pp. 270 seq., but Canon Doble affirms strongly that there is no ground
for connecting Hervé in any way with either Cornwall or Wales;
he had
no cult in Britain. Cf. Duine, Memento, p. 91.
St. Harvey was
blind, but became
abbot of Plouvien; later he
transferred his community to Lanhourneau, where he passed the rest of
his days and was famous for miracles. Sixth Century. Especially
after St. Harvey's relics were distributed throughout Brittany in 1002,
this monk-saint became intensely popular. Indeed, up to 1610
when
the local court ordered that all official oaths be taken on the bible
only, the Bretons took solemn oaths on the relics of St. Herve.
His feast was also for some time listed as one of the holydays of
obligation in the Breton diocese of Leon. Abbot Harvey is often
mentioned in the tales and songs of
Brittany. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to discern what
is told of him as fact or folklore. The traditional legend of
Herve is nevertheless charming enough to be related here. Around
the year 520, we are told, a Celtic bard (folk singer/historian)
driven out of Britain by the Anglo-Saxon invaders, came to the court of
Childebert I, the Frankish king of Paris. The bard's name was
Hyvarnion. Although Hyvarnion delighted the royal court with his
songs, he was too earnest a man to desire to be a mere court
musician. A couple of years later, therefore, he moved to
Brittany to be in the company of his exiled fellow countrymen.He
married a girl named Rivanon, who bore him a son baptized
Hervaeus. Unfortunately, the child was born functionally blind.
His father died soon after his birth. Rivanon raised her child
until he was seven. Then she entrusted him to the care of
Arthian, a holy man. Later Herve joined his uncle, a monk who had
launched a little school in his monastery in Plouvien. Despite
his poor sight, young Harvey was able to help the uncle with the
children and the farm tasks of the monastery. Eventually he
became a monk of the Plouvien community.
One day, we are told, while he was plowing in the fields, a wolf attacked the donkey that was drawing his plow. Guiharan, a small child who was assisting the monk, cried out in panic. But Harvey, already a devout young man, simply prayed for divine help. The response, says the legend, was miraculous. The wolf, repenting, shouldered the dead donkey's harness and meekly pulled the plow himself until the task was finished!
Harvey's mother had meanwhile been living far away in the depths of a forest, with only a niece to keep her company and do her service in her declining years. Learning of her grave illness, the future saint traveled back to see her. She gave him her last blessing, and he closed her eyes in death.
Not long after Herve returned to Plouvien, his uncle put him in charge of the little monastery. Three years later, he decided to move the whole establishment elsewhere. Accompanied by all his monks and students, he set out for western Brittany. At Leon, the bishop cordially greeted the travelers. He offered to ordain their superior a priest; but Herve, out of humility, would accept only the minor order of exorcist. Eventually his community reached the present Lanhouarneau. There he established a new monastery that was to become famous throughout Brittany.
Abbot Hervaeus spent the rest of his life at Lanhouarneau, although from time to time he was called forth to preach to the people of the area and to exercise his office of exorcist. It was in the latter capacities that he performed many of the miracles attributed to him. (Once, it is said, noisy frogs that interfered with his sermon stopped their croaking at his command.)
The older he grew, the more revered he became for his holiness.
Fr. Harvey lived a long life. When he was breathing his last, says the legend, the monks at his bedside heard angel choirs singing him a song of welcome.
St. Hervaeus is identified in pictures and statues by a wolf, with or without his child-guide. Sometimes he is also shown as a preacher quieting frogs. The Bretons invoke his aid against diseases of the eye, and cite his wolf as a warning to disobedient children.
One day, we are told, while he was plowing in the fields, a wolf attacked the donkey that was drawing his plow. Guiharan, a small child who was assisting the monk, cried out in panic. But Harvey, already a devout young man, simply prayed for divine help. The response, says the legend, was miraculous. The wolf, repenting, shouldered the dead donkey's harness and meekly pulled the plow himself until the task was finished!
Harvey's mother had meanwhile been living far away in the depths of a forest, with only a niece to keep her company and do her service in her declining years. Learning of her grave illness, the future saint traveled back to see her. She gave him her last blessing, and he closed her eyes in death.
Not long after Herve returned to Plouvien, his uncle put him in charge of the little monastery. Three years later, he decided to move the whole establishment elsewhere. Accompanied by all his monks and students, he set out for western Brittany. At Leon, the bishop cordially greeted the travelers. He offered to ordain their superior a priest; but Herve, out of humility, would accept only the minor order of exorcist. Eventually his community reached the present Lanhouarneau. There he established a new monastery that was to become famous throughout Brittany.
Abbot Hervaeus spent the rest of his life at Lanhouarneau, although from time to time he was called forth to preach to the people of the area and to exercise his office of exorcist. It was in the latter capacities that he performed many of the miracles attributed to him. (Once, it is said, noisy frogs that interfered with his sermon stopped their croaking at his command.)
The older he grew, the more revered he became for his holiness.
Fr. Harvey lived a long life. When he was breathing his last, says the legend, the monks at his bedside heard angel choirs singing him a song of welcome.
St. Hervaeus is identified in pictures and statues by a wolf, with or without his child-guide. Sometimes he is also shown as a preacher quieting frogs. The Bretons invoke his aid against diseases of the eye, and cite his wolf as a warning to disobedient children.
of Spoleto, Italy, also called “the Illuminator.” He was a Syrian, forced to leave his homeland in 514 because of Arian persecution. He went to Rome and was ordained by Pope St. Honnisdas. He then preached in Umbria and founded a monastery in Spoleto. Named bishop of Spoleto, Lawrence was rejected as a foreigner until the city’s gates miraculously opened for his entrance. He is called “the Illuminator” because of his ability to cure physical and spiritual blindness. After two decades, Lawrence resigned to found the Farfa Abbey near Rome.
also called Winin. He was born in Strangford, Lough, Ulster, in Ireland, a member of a royal family. Studying under Sts. Colman and Mochae, he became a monk in Strathclyde and was ordained in Rome. Returning to Ulster, Finian founded several monasteries, becoming abbot of Moville, in County Down, Ireland. He became embroiled with St. Columba, a student, over a copy of St. Jerome’s Psalter, and St. Columba had to surrender that copy to Finian. He also founded Holywood and Dumfries in Scotland. Finian was known for miracles, including moving a river.
580 St Martin, or
Mark: St Gregory says that many of his friends knew Martin personally
and had
been present at his miracles, and that he had heard much of him from
his
predecessor, Pope Pelagius II
The Roman
Martyrology today mentions Mark, a solitary in Campania, and refers to
his
famous deeds chronicled by St Gregory the Great, who,
however,
calls him Martin. In his Dialogues
St Gregory says that many of
his friends knew Martin personally and had been present at his
miracles, and
that he had heard much of him from his predecessor, Pope Pelagius II.
He lived alone in a small cave on
Mount
Marsicus (Mondragone), and after miraculously overcoming the lack of
water had
for three years the daily company of the Devil, in the form of a
serpent (“his
old friend”). When he first took up his quarters in the cave the hermit
fastened one end of a chain to his ankle and the other to the rock, so
that he
could not wander wantonly from his habitation. Word of this came to St
Benedict
at Monte Cassino (where Martin is said to have been a monk), and he
sent a
message in which the authentic voice of Benedict can be heard speaking:
“If you
are God’s servant, let yourself be held by the chain of Christ, not by
any
chain of iron.”
St Martin
accordingly loosed himself and later gave the chain to his followers
when they
complained that the bucket rope of the well kept on breaking. There was
a great
rock overhanging Martin’s cave and his neighbours were much afraid that
it
would fall and crush him. Therefore one Mascator came with a number of
people
and offered to remove it. Martin refused to budge from the cave while
it was
done, telling them nevertheless to do whatever they thought necessary,
and they
set to work in fear and trembling with him inside. But when the rock
was loosed
it bounced harmlessly over the cave and rolled safely down the
mountainside.
who was a model wife and mother of Naples, Italy. The Roman Martyrology states that she was famed for her miracles
Petragóricis, in Gállia, sancti Cypriáni Abbátis, magnæ sanctitátis viri.
At Perigueux in France, St. Cyprian, abbot, a man of great sanctity.
France, whose life and
miracles were recorded by St. Gregory of Tours.
585-590 Eleutherius
of
Spoleto, OSB Abbot one favored by God with the gift of miracles
(RM)
Died in Rome, Italy. The Dialogues of Saint Gregory the Great tell us of the wonderful simplicity of this holy man, who was abbot of Saint Mark's near Spoleto and well-known as one favored by God with the gift of miracles. When Eleutherius proudly rebuked the devil, after delivering a child from possession and educating him at Saint Mark's: "Since the child, is among the servants of God, the devil dares not approach him," the devil again tormented the boy. Eleutherius confessed his vanity and ordered the whole community to fast and pray until the child was again freed.
Later Saint Eleutherius resigned his abbacy and migrated to Saint Andrew's abbey founded by Saint Gregory in Rome, where he lived for many years as a simple monk. One Easter Eve Saint Gregory was unable to fast due to illness. He engaged Eleutherius to go with him to the church of Saint Andrew's and offer prayers to God for his health, that he might join the faithful in that solemn practice of penance. Eleutherius prayed with many tears, and the pope coming out of the church, found his himself so strengthened that he was able to fast as he desired. Saint Eleutherius raised a dead man to life. He died in Saint Andrew's monastery in Rome, but his body was translated to Spoleto (Benedictines, Husenbeth).
Died in Rome, Italy. The Dialogues of Saint Gregory the Great tell us of the wonderful simplicity of this holy man, who was abbot of Saint Mark's near Spoleto and well-known as one favored by God with the gift of miracles. When Eleutherius proudly rebuked the devil, after delivering a child from possession and educating him at Saint Mark's: "Since the child, is among the servants of God, the devil dares not approach him," the devil again tormented the boy. Eleutherius confessed his vanity and ordered the whole community to fast and pray until the child was again freed.
Later Saint Eleutherius resigned his abbacy and migrated to Saint Andrew's abbey founded by Saint Gregory in Rome, where he lived for many years as a simple monk. One Easter Eve Saint Gregory was unable to fast due to illness. He engaged Eleutherius to go with him to the church of Saint Andrew's and offer prayers to God for his health, that he might join the faithful in that solemn practice of penance. Eleutherius prayed with many tears, and the pope coming out of the church, found his himself so strengthened that he was able to fast as he desired. Saint Eleutherius raised a dead man to life. He died in Saint Andrew's monastery in Rome, but his body was translated to Spoleto (Benedictines, Husenbeth).
588 St.
Frediano
Irish bishop founded a group of eremetical canons Miraculously,
the river followed him
Lucæ, in Túscia, natális sancti Frigdiáni Epíscopi, virtúte miraculórum illústris. At Lucca in Tuscany, the birthday of the holy bishop Fridian, who was illustrious by the power of working miracles.
also called Frigidanus and Frigidian. He was reportedly a prince of Ireland who went on a pilgrimage to Rome and settled into a hermitage on Mount Pisano, near Lucca. The pope made him bishop of Lucca, but his see was attacked by Lombards. Frediano is believed to have founded a group of eremetical canons who merged with those of St. John Lateran in 1507.
Frigidian of Lucca B (RM) (also known as Frediano, Frigdianus) Born in Ireland; died 588; feast day formerly March 15.
In spite of the Italian name Frediano, by which he is usually called, St. Frigidian was an Irishman, the son of King Ultach of Ulster. He was trained in Irish monasteries and ordained a priest. His learning was imparted by such flowers of the 6th century Irish culture as Saint Enda and Saint Colman.
St. Frigidian arrived in Italy on a pilgrimage to Rome and decided to settle as a hermit on Mount Pisano. In 566, he was elected bishop of Lucca and was persuaded by Pope John II him to accept the position. Even thereafter the saint frequently left the city to spend many days in prayer and solitude. As bishop he formed the clergy of the city into a community of canons regular and rebuilt the cathedral after it had been destroyed by fire by the Lombards.
His most famous miracle is certainly legendary. The River Serchio frequently bursts its banks, causing great damage to the city of Lucca. The citizens reputedly called on their bishop for aid. He asked for an ordinary rake. Fortified by prayer, Frigidian commanded the Serchio to follow his rake. He charted a new, safer course for the water, avoiding the city walls, as well as the cultivated land outside. Miraculously, the river followed him.
Sometimes there is confusion between Saint Finnian of Moville and St. Frigidian. They could perhaps be the same person but the links have never been well established. Frigidian is still greatly venerated in Lucca (Attwater, Bentley, Encyclopedia).
In art, St. Frigidian walks in procession as the Volto Santo crucifix is brought to Lucca on an ox cart. He may also be shown changing the course of the Serchio River or as a bishop with a crown at his feet (Roeder).
Lucæ, in Túscia, natális sancti Frigdiáni Epíscopi, virtúte miraculórum illústris. At Lucca in Tuscany, the birthday of the holy bishop Fridian, who was illustrious by the power of working miracles.
also called Frigidanus and Frigidian. He was reportedly a prince of Ireland who went on a pilgrimage to Rome and settled into a hermitage on Mount Pisano, near Lucca. The pope made him bishop of Lucca, but his see was attacked by Lombards. Frediano is believed to have founded a group of eremetical canons who merged with those of St. John Lateran in 1507.
Frigidian of Lucca B (RM) (also known as Frediano, Frigdianus) Born in Ireland; died 588; feast day formerly March 15.
In spite of the Italian name Frediano, by which he is usually called, St. Frigidian was an Irishman, the son of King Ultach of Ulster. He was trained in Irish monasteries and ordained a priest. His learning was imparted by such flowers of the 6th century Irish culture as Saint Enda and Saint Colman.
St. Frigidian arrived in Italy on a pilgrimage to Rome and decided to settle as a hermit on Mount Pisano. In 566, he was elected bishop of Lucca and was persuaded by Pope John II him to accept the position. Even thereafter the saint frequently left the city to spend many days in prayer and solitude. As bishop he formed the clergy of the city into a community of canons regular and rebuilt the cathedral after it had been destroyed by fire by the Lombards.
His most famous miracle is certainly legendary. The River Serchio frequently bursts its banks, causing great damage to the city of Lucca. The citizens reputedly called on their bishop for aid. He asked for an ordinary rake. Fortified by prayer, Frigidian commanded the Serchio to follow his rake. He charted a new, safer course for the water, avoiding the city walls, as well as the cultivated land outside. Miraculously, the river followed him.
Sometimes there is confusion between Saint Finnian of Moville and St. Frigidian. They could perhaps be the same person but the links have never been well established. Frigidian is still greatly venerated in Lucca (Attwater, Bentley, Encyclopedia).
In art, St. Frigidian walks in procession as the Volto Santo crucifix is brought to Lucca on an ox cart. He may also be shown changing the course of the Serchio River or as a bishop with a crown at his feet (Roeder).
of a headache. Aedh was the son of Bricc, or Breece, of the Hy Neill. He was robbed of his inheritance by his brother and came under the influence of bishop Illathan of Rathlihen, Offay. Admitted into the monastic life, Aedh founded a religious community in Westmeath. He is listed in some records as a bishop.
590 Stephen of
Rieti, Abbot of admirable sanctity despised all things for the love of
heaven
extreme poverty, and a privation of all the conveniences of life In his
agony angels were seen surrounding him to conduct his happy soul to
bliss (RM)
Lugdúni, in
Gállia, sancti Stéphani, Epíscopi et
Confessóris. At Lyons in France, St. Stephen,
bishop and confessor.
Stephen was an abbot at
Rieti whom Saint
Gregory the Great in Dialogues, c. 19, describes as "rude of
speech but of cultured life." He was a man of admirable sanctity, who
despised all things for the love of heaven. He shunned all company to
employ himself wholly in prayer. So wonderful was his patience, that he
looked upon them as his greatest friends and benefactors, who did him
the greatest injuries, and regarded insults as his greatest gain. He
lived in extreme poverty, and a privation of all the conveniences of
life. His barns, with all the corn in them, the whole subsistence of
his family, were burned down by wicked men. He received the news with
cheerfulness, grieving only for their sin by which God was offended.
In his agony angels were seen surrounding him to conduct his happy soul to bliss (Benedictines, Husenbeth).
In his agony angels were seen surrounding him to conduct his happy soul to bliss (Benedictines, Husenbeth).
Confessor and a shepherd known for miracles. He lived at Policastro, Italy, and served as a subdeacon. According to Pope St. Gregory I the Great, he was responsible for the remarkable achievement of raising a man from the dead.
590 St. Blane
Scottish nephew
of St. Cathan, and was educated in Ireland under Sts. Comgall and
Kenneth Miracles
restoration of a dead boy to life
Blane was born on the island of Bute, Scotland, he studied in Ireland for seven years, became a monk there, and on his return to Scotland was ordained and devoted himself to missionary work. He was consecrated bishop, made a pilgrimage to Rome, is credited with performing miracles, and died at Kingarth on Bute. He is also known as Blaan.
St. Blane (Or BLAAN). Bishop and Confessor in Scotland, b. on the island of Bute, date unknown; d. 590. His feast is kept on 10 August. He was a nephew of St. Cathan, and was educated in Ireland under Sts. Comgall and Kenneth; he became a monk, went to Scotland, and eventually was bishop among the Picts. Several miracles are related of him, among them the restoration of a dead boy to life.
The Aberdeen Breviary gives these and other details of the saint's life, which are rejected however, by the Bollandists. There can be no doubt that devotion to St. Blane was, from early times, popular in Scotland. His monastery became the site of the Cathedral of Dunblane. There was a church of St. Blane in Dumfries and another at Kilblane. The year of the saint's death is variously given as 446, 590, and 1000; 446 (Butler, Lives of the Saints) is evidently incorrect; the date 1000, found in Adam King, "Kalendar of Scottish Saints" (Paris, 1588), in Dempster, "Menologium Scotorum" (Bonn, 1622), and in the "Acta SS.", seems to have crept in by confusing St. Kenneth, whose disciple Blane was, with a Kenneth who was King of Scotland about A.D. 1000. The highest authorities say the saint died 590.
The ruins of his church at Kingarth, Bute, where his remains were buried, are still standing and form an object of great interest to antiquarians; the bell of his monastery is preserved at Dunblane.
Blane was born on the island of Bute, Scotland, he studied in Ireland for seven years, became a monk there, and on his return to Scotland was ordained and devoted himself to missionary work. He was consecrated bishop, made a pilgrimage to Rome, is credited with performing miracles, and died at Kingarth on Bute. He is also known as Blaan.
St. Blane (Or BLAAN). Bishop and Confessor in Scotland, b. on the island of Bute, date unknown; d. 590. His feast is kept on 10 August. He was a nephew of St. Cathan, and was educated in Ireland under Sts. Comgall and Kenneth; he became a monk, went to Scotland, and eventually was bishop among the Picts. Several miracles are related of him, among them the restoration of a dead boy to life.
The Aberdeen Breviary gives these and other details of the saint's life, which are rejected however, by the Bollandists. There can be no doubt that devotion to St. Blane was, from early times, popular in Scotland. His monastery became the site of the Cathedral of Dunblane. There was a church of St. Blane in Dumfries and another at Kilblane. The year of the saint's death is variously given as 446, 590, and 1000; 446 (Butler, Lives of the Saints) is evidently incorrect; the date 1000, found in Adam King, "Kalendar of Scottish Saints" (Paris, 1588), in Dempster, "Menologium Scotorum" (Bonn, 1622), and in the "Acta SS.", seems to have crept in by confusing St. Kenneth, whose disciple Blane was, with a Kenneth who was King of Scotland about A.D. 1000. The highest authorities say the saint died 590.
The ruins of his church at Kingarth, Bute, where his remains were buried, are still standing and form an object of great interest to antiquarians; the bell of his monastery is preserved at Dunblane.
Cabillóne, in Gálliis, deposítio sancti Gunthrámni, Regis Francórum, qui spiritálibus actiónibus ita se mancipávit, ut, relíctis, sæculi pompis, thesáuros suos lárgiter Ecclésiis et paupéribus erogáret.
At Chalons in France, the death of St. Guntram, king of the Franks, who devoted himself to exercises of piety, despising the ostentation of the world, and who bestowed his treasures on the Church and the poor. ( (RM)
(also known as Contran, Gontran, Gontram, Gunthrammus)
Died March 28, 592. Saint Guntramnus, son of King Clotaire and Saint Clothildis, was crowned king of Orléans and Burgundy in 561, while his brothers Charibert reigned in Paris and Sigebert at Metz.
In general, his life was that of a peacemaker. He protected his nephews against the wickedness of the dowager queens, Sigebert's Brunehault and Chilperic's Fredegonde. But he had a period of intemperance. He divorced his wife, Mercatrude, and hastily ordered the execution of his physician. He was overcome with remorse and lamented these sins for the rest of his life, both for himself and for his nation. In atonement, he fasted, prayed, wept, and offered himself to the God he had offended.
Throughout the balance of his prosperous reign he gave examples of how the maxims of the Gospel could be rendered into effective policy. He was the protector of the oppressed, care-giver to the sick, and the tender parent to his subjects. He was open-handed with his wealth, especially in times of plague and famine. He strictly and justly enforced the law without respect to person, yet was ever ready to forgive offenses against himself, including two attempted assassins.
Guntramnus munificently built and endowed many churches and monasteries. Saint Gregory of Tours relates many miracles performed by the king, both before and after his death, some of which he witnessed himself.
At the time of his death, Guntramnus had reigned for 31 years. Almost immediately he was proclaimed a saint by his subjects. He was buried in the church of Saint Marcellus, which he had founded. The Huguenots, who scattered his ashes in the 16th century, left only his skull untouched in their fury. It is now kept there in a silver case (Attwater2, Benedictines, Husenbeth)
In art, Saint Guntramnus is depicted as a king finding treasure and giving it to the poor. Sometimes there may be three treasure chests before him, a globe, and cross on one (Roeder).
Neápoli, in Campánia, sancti Agnélli Abbátis, virtúte miraculórum illústris, qui obséssam urbem sæpe visus est Crucis vexíllo ab hóstibus liberáre.
At Naples in Campania, St. Agnellus, abbot. Illustrious for the gift of miracles, he was often seen with the standard of the Cross, delivering the city besieged by enemies.
patron of the city of Naples, Italy.
He started his religious career as a hermit then became the abbot of San Gaudioso near Naples.