Hilary of Arles, in his Sermon on the Life of Honoratus, describes how, when *Honoratus (founder of Lérins and bishop of Arles, ob. 429/30, S00418) died, many people had miraculous visions of him being received by the saints. Written in Latin at Arles, c. 430.
E06097
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Literary - Hagiographical - Lives
Hilary of Arles, Sermon on the Life of Saint Honoratus (Sermo de vita sancti Honorati) 34
For an overview of the Sermon on the Life of Saint Honoratus, see E06026.
Somno deinde ultimo exceptus in mortis quietem dormiens transiit, sine ullo, ut sese habent extrema, luctamine. Nullas difficiles obitus moras sensit. Angelicis choris anima illa sancta, generosa, sincera, et ab omni contactu mundi incontaminata suscipitur. Multorum interea variis visionibus somnus incutitur, quarum tamen una omnium facies erat, quod scilicet sancto illi occurrerent officia sanctorum. Et vere illi in eodem mediae noctis puncto ecclesiam in occursum sancti corporis conuentus inplevit, ut non nisi angelicis nuntiis suscitatus putaretur. Relinquitur vegetatum semper spiritu, plenum gratiae corpus exanime: integrum siquidem vultus decorem facies omnibus grata servabat. Probe vos ista nostis et multo plenius vobis, quam sermo sufficit, animorum meditatione describitis.
'Then, received by his last sleep, he passed sleeping into the quiet of death without any struggle, as usually happens at the end. He felt no difficult delays in his death. That holy soul, generous, sincere, and uncontaminated by all contact with the world, is received by the angelic choirs. Meanwhile many people's sleep is shaken by different visions, all of which had one appearance, that the saint was met by an assembly of saints. And truly, for his sake, at that very point in the middle of the night, a gathering filled the church to meet the holy body, such as one would not think had been summoned except by angelic messengers. The body always energised by his spirit is left full of grace when lifeless: the face loved by all preserved the unblemished beauty of his expression. You know these things well, and you describe it much more fully to yourselves by contemplation in your minds than my speech suffices.'
Text: Cavallin 1952, 73-4.
Translation: David Lambert.
Cult building - independent (church)
MiraclesMiracle at martyrdom and death
Apparition, vision, dream, revelation
Revelation of hidden knowledge (past, present and future)
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Crowds
Source
The Sermon on the Life of Honoratus was delivered on an early anniversary, probably the first, of the death of Honoratus (ob. 429 or 430), the founder of the monastery of Lérins and, in the last two years of his life, bishop of Arles (PCBE 4, 'Honoratus 1'). The author of the Sermon was Hilary (401-449), Honoratus' successor as bishop, who was also his relative and had been his protégé at both Lérins and Arles (PCBE 4, 'Hilarius 3').For full discussion of the Sermon on the Life of Honoratus and bibliography, see its overview entry: E06026.
Discussion
Hilary's account of Honoratus' death includes an explicit claim for his sainthood, with the statement that many people had visions of him being received among the saints at the moment of his death. Hilary also claims that there was a spontaneous gathering of Honoratus' congregation in the church where his body was taken, even though this happened in the middle of the night, 'such as one would not think had been summoned except by angelic messengers', though the latter words may be rhetorical overstatement rather than a serious claim that the event was miraculous.Bibliography
Edition:Cavallin, S., Vitae sanctorum Honorati et Hilarii episcoporum Arelatensium (Lund, 1952), 49-78.
David Lambert
07/03/2023
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00438 | Honoratus, founder of Lérins and bishop of Arles, ob. 429/30 | Certain |
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