Above:  A Map of Gaul in the Roman Empire

SAINT PATIENS OF LYONS (DIED CIRCA 480)

Roman Catholic Archbishop

The 400s CE (labeled that after that fact) intrigue me.  In Western Europe the Western Roman Empire faded away, the title of Emperor entering the dustbin of history in 476.  The empire had gone away by then; its demise had been gradual.  St. Patiens witnessed the end of the Western Roman Empire; he outlived his country.

St. Patiens functioned as Archbishop of Lyons from circa 450.  He lived simply, led successful missionary efforts, resisted Arianism, and gave his income to help the poor.  He also had to cope with an invasion of Goths and to feed to thousands of people and supervise the rebuilding of many church buildings in the wake thereof.  And he oversaw the construction (as opposed to repair and rebuilding) of other church buildings.  St. Patiens won the approval of St. Sidonius Apollinaris, who wrote a laudatory poem about him.

St. Patiens was also a peacemaker.  The Bishop of Chalon-sur-Saone had died.  For some reason or set of reasons this event had created serious dissension in that diocese.  So St. Euphonius of Autun invited St. Patiens to participate in the reconciliation process.  Our saint accepted, of course.

(Aside:  I found almost no information about St. Euphonius of Autun.  I discovered variations on his name and at least two different years in which he might have died.  In simple terms, I know too little to write about him intelligently.)

St. Patiens also commissioned a priest, Constantius, to write a biography of St. Gemanus of Auxerre.  This work became famous and preserved facts of that saint’s life.

It seems that the main work of St. Patiens was to rebuilt the part of Christ’s Church of which he was shepherd.  And he did it well.  Faithfulness has not guaranteed success, of course.  St. Gregory Thaumaturgus began his episcopate with seventeen Christians, labored faithfully for decades, and died with seventeen Christians.  But tangible results must have bolstered the spirits of St. Patiens.

May we–you, O reader, and I–labor faithfully in the tasks God has appointed for us.  And, whether or not we see tangible results, may we not grow weary.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 20, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS FLAVIAN II OF ANTIOCH AND ELIAS OF JERUSALEM, ROMAN CATHOLIC PATRIARCHS

THE FEAST OF SAINT ANSEGIUS OF FONTANELLE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT

THE FEAST OF ELIZABETH CADY STANTON, AMELIA BLOOMER, SOJOURNER TRUTH, AND HARRIET ROSS TUBMAN, WITNESSES TO CIVIL RIGHTS FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS AND WOMEN

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Almighty God, you have surrounded us with a  great cloud of witnesses:

Grant that we, encouraged by the good example of your servant Saint Patiens of Lyons,

may persevere in running the race that is set before us,

until at last we may with him attain to your eternal joy;

through Jesus Christ, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Micah 6:6-8

Psalm 15

Hebrews 12:1-2

Matthew 25:31-40

—Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 724

Above:  Gaul in 481

SAINT AMATOR OF AUXERRE (DIED 418)

Roman Catholic Bishop of Auxerre

His feast transferred from May 1

converted

SAINT GERMANUS OF AUXERRE (DIED 448)

Roman Catholic Bishop of Auxerre

His feast transferred from July 31

converted

SAINT MAMERTINUS OF AUXERRE (DIED 462)

Roman Catholic Abbot

His feast transferred from March 30

oversaw

SAINT MARCIAN OF AUXERRE (DIED CIRCA 488)

Roman Catholic Monk

His feast = April 20

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Once again it happened.  I started with one name I pulled from a book and uncovered a series of connections resulting in overlapping hagiographies.  This was a happy occasion, for such incidents help me learn of the reinforcing quality of Christian faith in community.

Our first link in this chain of holiness is St. Amator of Auxerre.  One ought not to confuse him with a hermit also named St. Amator.  No, this St. Amator was Bishop of Auxerre from 388 to 418, a time during which he converted the remaining heathens living within the borders of his diocese.  He also converted St. Germanus of Auxerre.

St. Germanus of Auxerre, born in that city, was a Gallic nobleman.  Well-educated, he practiced civil law and became a Western Roman imperial official in Gaul.  At this stage of his life the saint sought and enjoyed a wide variety of pleasures, many of them dubious.  One pleasure was hunting.  Another was hanging hunting “trophies” in a tree once used for pagan worship.  The latter aroused the ire of St. Amator, who had the tree cut down and the “trophies” burned.  St. Amator then forced St. Germanus to take the tonsure, become a deacon, and train to become his successor.  St. Germanus devoted the rest of his life to prayer, study, and charitable works.  He also succeeded St. Amator as Bishop of Auxerre.  As bishop (418-448) St. Germanus governed the diocese wisely, gave his possessions to help the poor, and built the St. Cosmas and St. Damien Monastery at Auxerre.  The saint died at Ravenna in 448, where he had pleaded for mercy for rebellious Bretons.

St. Germanus also converted St. Mamertinus of Auxerre, of whom we know little.  We do know, however, that St. Mamertinus was Abbot of the St. Cosmas and St. Damien Monastery.  One of his monks was St. Marcian of Auxerre.  A native of Bourges, St. Marcian fled to Auxerre to flee a Visigothic invasion.  At Auxerre St. Marcian became a lay brother.  He was responsible for tending to the animals, with whom he had a great rapport, whether they were wild or domesticated.  He was also renowned for his humility.  The saint’s reputation was so great that the abbey became St. Marcian Monastery after he died.

I think of an All Saints’ hymn, “I Sing a Song of the Saints of God.”  It reads in part:

….And one was a doctor, and one was a queen,

and one was a shepherdess on the green….

And one was a soldier, and one was a priest,

and one was killed by a fierce wild beast:

and there’s not any reason,

no, not the least,

why I shouldn’t be one too….

Be a saint, O reader, and influence others positively.  Set off a chain reaction of holiness.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 28, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF ANNA JULIA HAYWOOD COOPER, EDUCATOR

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Lord God, you have surrounded us with so great a cloud of witnesses.

Grant that we, encouraged by the examples of your servants

Saint Amator of Auxerre,

Saint Germanus of Auxerre,

Saint Mamertinus of Auxerre,

and Saint Marcian of Auxerre,

may persevere in the course that is set before us and, at the last,

share in your eternal joy with all the saints in light,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.   Amen.  

Micah 6:6-8

Psalm 9:1-10

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Luke 6:20-23

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 59