Severus of Vienne

Last updated
Saint

Severus of Vienne
Born India
Diedc. 455 A.D.
Italy
Feast 8 August
Attributes Holding a devil in a chain [1]
Patronage Vienne, Saint-Sève

Severus of Vienne (died c. 455) was a priest who evangelised in Vienne, France. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church [2] [3] as well as in other denominations. [4] [Note 1] Severus is said to have been Indian by birth [5] and of wealthy origins. His entry in the Roman Martyrology reads: [6]

Contents

"At Vienne, in France, St. Severus, priest and confessor, who undertook a painful journey from India in order to preach the Gospel in that city, and converted a great number of Pagans to the faith of Christ by his labors and miracles."

The Roman Martyrology (1916), p. 237

Severus settled in Vienne around 430. [7] He founded a church in honour of Saint Alban (now the church of Saint-Alban-du-Rhône) near Vienne. [8] He died in Italy, but his body was brought back to Vienne and buried in the church dedicated to the protomartyr Saint Stephen, which he himself had constructed. [9]

Notes

  1. In principle, those recognised as saints prior to 1050 are common to the Catholic and Orthodox churches, so Severus of Vienne is an Orthodox saint too.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope Evaristus</span> Head of the Catholic Church from c. 99 to c. 107

Pope Evaristus was the bishop of Rome from c. 99 to his death c. 107. He was also known as Aristus and is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church, and Oriental Orthodoxy. It is likely that John the Apostle died during his reign period, marking the end of the Apostolic Age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope Zephyrinus</span> Head of the Catholic Church from 199 to 217

Pope Zephyrinus was the bishop of Rome from 199 to his death on 20 December 217. He was born in Rome, and succeeded Victor I. Upon his death on 20 December 217, he was succeeded by his principal advisor, Callixtus I. He is known for combating heresies and defending the divinity of Christ.

Vincent of Lérins was a Gallic monk and author of early Christian writings. One example was the Commonitorium, c. 434, which offers guidance in the orthodox teaching of Christianity. Suspected of semi-Pelagianism, he opposed the Augustinian model of grace and was probably the recipient of Prosper of Aquitaine's Responsiones ad Capitula Objectionum Vincentianarum. His feast day is celebrated on 24 May.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hagiography</span> Biography of a saint or religious figure

A hagiography is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might consist of a biography or vita, a description of the saint's deeds or miracles, an account of the saint's martyrdom, or be a combination of these.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Valentine</span> 3rd-century Roman Christian saint

Saint Valentine was a 3rd-century Roman saint, commemorated in Western Christianity on February 14 and in Eastern Orthodoxy on July 6. From the High Middle Ages, his feast day has been associated with a tradition of courtly love. He is also a patron saint of Terni, epilepsy and beekeepers. Saint Valentine was a clergyman – either a priest or a bishop – in the Roman Empire who ministered to persecuted Christians. He was martyred and his body buried on the Via Flaminia on February 14, which has been observed as the Feast of Saint Valentine since at least the eighth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syriac Orthodox Church</span> Oriental Orthodox church

The Syriac Orthodox Church, also known as West Syriac Church or West Syrian Church, officially known as the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, and informally as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox church that branched from the Church of Antioch. The bishop of Antioch, known as the patriarch, heads the church and possesses apostolic succession through Saint Peter, according to sacred tradition. The church upholds Miaphysite doctrine in Christology, and employs the Liturgy of Saint James, associated with James the Just. Classical Syriac is the official and liturgical language of the church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birinus</span> 7th-century Bishop of Dorchester

Birinus was the first Bishop of Dorchester and was known as the "Apostle to the West Saxons" for his conversion of the Kingdom of Wessex to Christianity. He is venerated as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and Anglican churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richarius</span>

Richarius was a Frankish hermit, monk, and the founder of two monasteries. He is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, and Eastern Orthodox Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul of Thebes</span> Egyptian saint, generally regarded as the first Christian hermit

Paul of Thebes, commonly known as Paul the First Hermit or Paul the Anchorite, was an Egyptian saint regarded as the first Christian hermit and grazer, who was claimed to have lived alone in the desert of Thebes, Roman Egypt from the age of sixteen to the age of one hundred and thirteen years old. He was canonized in 491 by Pope Gelasius I, and is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and Oriental Orthodox Churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Alban</span> English protomartyr

Saint Alban is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr, for which reason he is considered to be the British protomartyr. Along with fellow Saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three named martyrs recorded at an early date from Roman Britain. He is traditionally believed to have been beheaded in Verulamium sometime during the 3rd or 4th century, and his cult has been celebrated there since ancient times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crescens</span> Figure in New Testament

Crescens was an individual who appears in the New Testament. He is traditionally considered one of the 72 disciples sent out by Jesus in Luke 10. He was a missionary in Galatia and became a companion of Paul. The name 'Crescens' is the present-active participle of the Latin word crescere, and means 'increasing'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four Crowned Martyrs</span> Martyrs and saints in Early Christianity

The Four Crowned Martyrs or Four Holy Crowned Ones were nine individuals who are venerated as martyrs and saints of Early Christianity. The nine saints are divided into two groups:

  1. Severus, Severian(us), Carpophorus (Carpoforus), Victorinus
  2. Claudius, Castorius, Symphorian (Simpronian), Nicostratus, and Simplicius
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander of Jerusalem</span> Christian bishop and saint (died 251)

Alexander of Jerusalem was a third century bishop who is venerated as a martyr and saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Roman Catholic Church. He died during the persecution of Emperor Decius.

Julius and Aaron were two Romano-British Christian saints who were martyred around the third century. Along with Saint Alban, they are the only named Christian martyrs from Roman Britain. Most historians place the martyrdom in Caerleon, although other suggestions have placed it in Chester or Leicester. Their feast day was traditionally celebrated on 1 July, but it is now observed together with Alban on 20 June by the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches.

The Archbishopric of Vienne, named after its episcopal seat in Vienne in the Isère département of southern France, was a metropolitan Roman Catholic archdiocese. It is now part of the Archdiocese of Lyon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyprian and Justina</span> Pair of Christians martyred in 304

Saints Cyprian and Justina are honored in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodoxy as Christians of Antioch, who in 304, during the Diocletianic Persecution, suffered martyrdom at Nicomedia on September 26. According to Roman Catholic sources, no Bishop of Antioch bore the name of Cyprian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferreolus and Ferrutio</span>

Saints Ferreolus and Ferrutio are venerated as martyrs and saints by the Catholic Church, especially in Besançon where they are honored as its patron saints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basiliscus of Comana</span> Early 4th-century Greek martyr

Basiliscus of Comana, also known as Basiliscus of Pontus, was a Greek martyr. His feast day is 22 May, or 30 July in the Greek calendar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theuderius</span>

Saint Theuderius was a Christian monk, abbot and hermit. His feast day is 29 October.

References

  1. Husenbeth, F. C. (Frederick Charles); Jessopp, Augustus; Blackburne, Edward Lushington; Marsh, William (1882). Emblems of saints. Norwich, Printed by A. H. Goose and co. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  2. "Saint Severus of Vienne". CatholicSaints.Info. 7 August 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  3. Abbey, Saint Augustine's; Press, Aeterna (1966). The Book of Saints. Aeterna Press. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  4. Kurikilamkatt, James (31 December 2005). First Voyage of the Apostle Thomas to India: Ancient Christianity in Bharuch and Taxila. ISD LLC. ISBN   978-1-925612-63-9 . Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  5. Raisharma, Sukanya (January 2021). "Much Ado about Vienne? A Localizing Universal Chronicon". Historiography and Identity III: Carolingian Approaches. Cultural Encounters in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. 29. Brepols Publishers: 271–290. doi:10.1484/m.celama-eb.5.120167. ISBN   978-2-503-58655-7. S2CID   234198159 . Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  6. The Roman Martyrology. Baltimore : John Murphy. 1916. p. 237. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  7. "Saint Séver". nominis.cef.fr. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  8. "Thursday, 21st January, 1915". Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of London. 27: 54–67. June 1915. doi:10.1017/S0950797300013512 . Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  9. Thomas, P. (17 December 2020). Christians and Christianity in India and Pakistan: A General Survey of the Progress of Christianity in India from Apostolic Times to the Present Day. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-000-22821-2 . Retrieved 2 September 2021.

Further reading