Trophimus of Arles

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Saint

Trophimus of Arles
Saint-trophime.jpg
Statue of Trophimus. Chapelle de Saint-Trophime, Buis-les-Baronnies.
Bishop
Died3rd century
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church; Eastern Orthodox Church
Major shrine Church of St. Trophime, Arles
Feast 29 December (Roman Catholic Church); 4 January (Eastern Orthodox Church)
Attributes bishop carrying his eyes; bishop having his eyes put out; bishop standing with lions
Patronage against drought; against gout; Arles; children [1]

According to Catholic Tradition, Trophimus of Arles (French : Trophime) was the first bishop of Arles, in today's southern France.

Contents

History

It was an early tradition of the Catholic Church [lower-alpha 1] that under the co-Emperors Decius and Herennius Etruscus (251 AD), Pope Fabian sent out seven bishops from Rome to Gaul, to preach the Gospel: Gatien to Tours, Trophimus to Arles, Paul to Narbonne, Saturninus to Toulouse, Denis to Paris, Austromoine to Clermont, and Martial to Limoges.

Gregory of Tours, apparently quoting from the Acta of Saint Saturninus, says in effect that Trophimus arrived in Gaul with the first bishops of Tours, Paris, and other cities after the middle of 3rd century, in the consulate of Decius and Gratus. [3]

From the mid-fifth century [lower-alpha 2] local tradition has assimilated Trophimus of Arles with the Trophimus mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as a companion of Paul the Apostle. The Martyrium romanum identifies him as the disciple of Paul, but the identification is spurious. [lower-alpha 3] Trophîme, as he is in French, does not rate a biography in the Catholic Encyclopedia , but the church at Arles dedicated to him, built from the 12th century onwards over a third-century crypt, is one of the monuments of Romanesque architecture and sculpture in Provence. In its cloister a corner figure in the north gallery, dated about 1180, represents Trophimus. [4]

Trophimus is considered by the Catholic Church the protector of those with gout. [5]

Notes

  1. In 417 Pope Zosimus wrote letters to the bishops of Gaul, in favour of Patroclus, bishop of Arles. In one he mentions that the Holy See had sent Trophimus into Gaul, where he was the source of "true faith", which implicitly contrasts Trophimus with the Arianism current among the Goths in control of Arles at the time Zosimus was writing. [2]
  2. The earliest conflation noted by Sabine Baring-Gould, The Lives of the Saints, sub 29 December, was in 450, when the official deputation from Arles reported to Pope Leo the Great that Trophimus had been sent out by Saint Peter.
  3. Compare Saint Denis of Paris, identified with St Denis the Areopagite.

Related Research Articles

Pope Zosimus was the bishop of Rome from 18 March 417 to his death on 26 December 418. He was born in Mesoraca, Calabria. Zosimus took a decided part in the protracted dispute in Gaul as to the jurisdiction of the See of Arles over that of Vienne, giving energetic decisions in favour of the former, but without settling the controversy. His fractious temper coloured all the controversies in which he took part, in Gaul, Africa and Italy, including Rome, where at his death the clergy were very much divided.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope Fabian</span> Head of the Catholic Church from 236 to 250

Pope Fabian was the bishop of Rome from 10 January 236 until his death on 20 January 250, succeeding Anterus. A dove is said to have descended on his head to mark him as the Holy Spirit's unexpected choice to become the next pope. He was succeeded by Cornelius.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arles</span> City in Provence, France

Arles is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of Provence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denis of Paris</span> 3rd-century Bishop of Paris and saint

Denis of Paris was a 3rd-century Christian martyr and saint. According to his hagiographies, he was bishop of Paris in the third century and, together with his companions Rusticus and Eleutherius, was martyred for his faith by decapitation. Some accounts placed this during Domitian's persecution and incorrectly identified St Denis of Paris with the Areopagite who was converted by Paul the Apostle and who served as the first bishop of Athens. Assuming Denis's historicity, it is now considered more likely that he suffered under the persecution of the emperor Decius shortly after AD 250.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Martial</span> 3rd century founding bishop of Limoges

Martial, called "the Apostle of the Gauls" or "the Apostle of Aquitaine", was the first bishop of Limoges. His feast day is 30 June.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gatianus of Tours</span> 3rd century founding Bishop of Tours

Gatianus in the third century AD was the founding bishop of the see of Tours. He was one of the "seven apostles of Gaul" commissioned by Pope Fabian to evangelize in the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Austromoine</span> 3rd-century founding Bishop of Clermont

Stremonius or Saint Austremonius or Saint Stramonius or Austromoine, the "apostle of Auvergne," was the first Bishop of Clermont. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saturnin</span> 3rd century founding Bishop of Toulouse

Saturnin of Toulouse was one of the "Apostles to the Gauls" sent out during the consulate of Decius and Gratus (250–251) to Christianise Gaul after the persecutions under Emperor Decius had all but dissolved the small Christian communities. Fabian sent out seven bishops from Rome to Gaul to preach the Gospel: Gatien to Tours, Trophimus to Arles, Paul to Narbonne, Saturnin to Toulouse, Denis to Paris, Austromoine to Clermont, and Martial to Limoges. His feast day is 29 November.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of St. Trophime, Arles</span>

The Church of St. Trophime (Trophimus) is a Roman Catholic church and former cathedral located in the city of Arles, in the Bouches-du-Rhône Department of southern France. It was built between the 12th century and the 15th century, and is in the Romanesque architectural tradition. The sculptures over the church's portal, particularly the Last Judgement, and the columns in the adjacent cloister, are considered some of the finest examples of Romanesque sculpture.

Paul of Narbonne was one of the "apostles to the Gauls". They had been sent out during the consulate of Decius and Gratus. Their mission was to Christianise Gaul after the persecutions under Emperor Decius had all but dissolved the small Christian communities. According to the hagiographies, Fabian sent out seven bishops from Rome to Gaul to preach the Gospel: Paul to Narbonne, Gatien to Tours, Trophimus to Arles, Saturnin to Toulouse, Denis to Paris, Austromoine to Clermont, and Martial to Limoges.

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">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Arles</span> Roman Catholic archdiocese in France (417-1801, 1817-1822)

The former French Catholic Archbishopric of Arles had its episcopal see in the city of Arles, in southern France.

The architecture of Provence includes a rich collection of monuments from the Roman era, Cistercian monasteries from the Romanesque period, medieval castles and fortifications, as well as numerous hilltop villages and fine churches. Provence was a very poor region after the 18th century, but in the 20th century it had an economic revival and became the site of one of the most influential buildings of the 20th century, the Unité d'Habitation of the architect Le Corbusier in Marseille.

Gaul was an important early center of Latin Christianity during late antiquity and the Merovingian period. By the middle of the 3rd century, there were several churches organized in Roman Gaul, and soon after the cessation of persecution, the bishops of the Latin world assembled at Arles in AD 314. The Church of Gaul passed through three crises in the late Roman period, Arianism, Priscillianism and Pelagianism. Under Merovingian rule, a number of "Frankish synods" were held, marking a particularly Germanic development in the Western Church. A model for the following Frankish synods was set by Clovis I, who organized the First Council of Orléans (511).

Virgilius of Arles was Archbishop of Arles in Gaul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gallo-Roman culture</span> Romanized culture of Gaul under Roman Empire

Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context. The well-studied meld of cultures in Gaul gives historians a model against which to compare and contrast parallel developments of Romanization in other less-studied Roman provinces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nectarius of Auvergne</span>

Saint Nectarius of Auvergne is venerated as a 4th-century martyr and Christian missionary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">December 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)</span> Day in the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar

December 28 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - December 30

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Trophimus' Church, Eschau</span> Church in France

Saint Trophimus' Church is a Romanesque church in Eschau, a small town in the suburbs of Strasbourg, the historical capital of Alsace. The church is dedicated to Trophimus of Arles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of the Saintes Maries de la Mer</span> Historic church in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer

The Church of the Saintes Maries de la Mer is a Romanesque fortified church built in the 9th century in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in Camargue, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence. Dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus and to The Three Marys, it is the subject of annual Roma pilgrimage. Since 1840, it has been classified as a French Historical Monument.

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