The Latin Life of *Eutropius (bishop of Orange, ob. c. 474, S02392) by Verus, depicts its subject as an ascetic dedicated to strenuous physical labour, and mentions miracles at his grave in the church that he himself had built and dedicated to *Ioulianos/Julian (martyr of Cilicia, buried at Antioch, S00305). Written probably in Orange in the early 6th c.
E06305
Literary - Hagiographical - Lives
Life of Eutropius, Bishop of Orange (Vita sancti Eutropii episcopi Arausicani, BHL 2782, CPL 2099)
Summary:
[pp. 52-3] The preface is addressed by Verus, the author, to 'the lord holy bishop Stephanus' (Domini sancto papae Stephano, Verus). Verus has been enjoined by Stephanus to write a thorough account of Eutropius' life, based on the testimony of witnesses; he expresses his inability to do his subject justice in terms of his style, but promises to present the truth.
[pp. 53-4] The account of Eutropius' life begins. Born to a noble family of Marseille, Eutropius 'reined in a licentious youth with the remedy of marriage' (licentiosam adoliscentiam conjugali remedio refrenasset). Widowed, he entered the clergy, encouraged by Eustasius, bishop of Marseille. [pp. 54-5] As a deacon he engaged in 'fasts, abstinence, charitable giving, prayers, weeping and vigils' (jejuniis, abstinentia, elymosinis, orationibus, lacrimis, vigiliis). He had two terrible and troubling dreams: in the first a flock of black birds emerged from his genitals, and were then consumed by fire from heaven; in the second a ball of flies emerged from his chest and was similarly engulfed by divine fire. Disturbed, he visited a holy abbot and was reassured that these were signs that he had purged his sins.
Following the death of Bishop Iustus, Orange was without a bishop. The citizens chose Eutropius as their new bishop. Daunted by the desolate state of Orange, he contemplated flight, but was successfully reminded of his holy duty to this lesser see by a certain Aper, 'a disciple of the holy Augustine' (sancti Agustini discipulo). [p. 56] Taking up his duties, he was assiduous in both prayer and manual labour, working in the fields and vineyards through both the worst cold of the winter (during which he put on only one more tunic over his normal clothing) and the most extreme heat of summer. He reminded those who suggested he spare his body during the latter, that a far worse fire might await them. [p. 57] In Lent, on top of his fasting, he increased the amount of work he took on, while still attending the various services of the day. When working on building-sites, he did not break for a meal with his fellow workers, but would spend the time carrying stones larger than his strength should allow. His suffering, and his triumph over it, is compared with the suffering of the martyrs Laurence and Vincent.
[pp. 58-9] He expelled an evil spirit from one young man by breathing into his mouth; he also cured another possessed adolescent, 'very well known to us' (nobisque notissimum), and many others. [pp. 59-60] An old man, 'dedicated to the cults of idols' (idolorum cultibus dedicatus), who had been struck by severe disability in his limbs, none the less claimed to be able to prevent storms. Hearing this, Eutropius summoned him and was told by the man that he was Italian (Italum) and 'that he was a pagan, following the religion of his ancestors' (paganum se esse, parentum ritum sequentem). Eutropius promised him a cure if he agreed to be baptised, which he did, and he was cured. [pp. 60-61] When part of the city was being devastated by fire, Eutropius went to the roof of a building already threatened by the flames, and by prayer alone calmed them. [pp. 61-2] After a dream in which he saw a multitude of people eating grass, he predicted a famine, which then hit Provence. The storehouse (horreum) used to feed the needy became nearly empty. But, after Eutropius had prayed strenuously, it was found to have filled up.
More could be said, but it is time to describe his end, which he predicted to Patiens [probably Patiens, bishop of Lyon] and Leocadius [probably another bishop, otherwise unrecorded]. [p. 63] When ill he saw on a table at the foot of his bed 'a devil in the form of a most loathsome Ethiopian' (diabolum in specie teterrimi Aethiopis). But when Eutropius invoked God, the devil disappeared. On the sixth day of the Kalends of the fourth month [27 May], his spirit left him. Not only the cell where he died, but also that part of the city, were filled with the smell of balsam. His body was taken to the cathedral, where a dove white as snow flew repeatedly over it. Hearing of his death, all from the territory of Orange flocked to the church. [pp. 63-4] His body was then taken 'to the basilica of saint Julian which the blessed Eutropius, informed by a vision, himself had built' (ad basilicam sancti Iuliani quam ipse beatus Eutropius, ammonitus revelatione, construxit). All in the city mourn.
In his lifetime he had promised to always pray for the people of Orange, and many things happen at his grave demonstrating his intercession. 'Nor should this be omitted, that whenever some hostile plot threatens the city, through certain signs a warning is given' (nec illud omittendum est, quod quocumque tempore aliquid minatur hostilis meditatio civitati, certis quibusque signis cautela praedicitur). It is amply demonstrated that the prayers of the worthy are always, who pray 'in the basilica of saint Julian, martyr of Antioch, where the body of saint Eutropius is also buried' (in basilica sancti Iuliani Antiocini martyris, ubi et sancti Eutropi corpus est tumulatum).
Text: Varin 1849, 52-64.
Summary: Bryan Ward-Perkins.
Cult building - independent (church)
Burial site of a saint - tomb/grave
Non Liturgical ActivitySaint as patron - of a community
Construction of cult buildings
Composing and translating saint-related texts
MiraclesMiracle during lifetime
Miracle after death
Miracles causing conversion
Power over elements (fire, earthquakes, floods, weather)
Healing diseases and disabilities
Material support (supply of food, water, drink, money)
Miraculous sound, smell, light
Apparition, vision, dream, revelation
Miraculous protection - of communities, towns, armies
Exorcism
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Pagans
Source
The Life of Eutropius is widely accepted to have been written not long after the saint's death. If, as has been conjectured, its patron, 'Bishop Stephanus' (papa Stephanus), was Stephanus bishop of Lyon (the only known Gallic bishop of the period to carry this name), then the date of composition can be narrowed to the time of his episcopate, 501 to c. 515.Verus, the author, is otherwise unknown. In the Martyrology of Florus, compiled in the 830s, the feast of Eutropius (27 May) is recorded with the statement that the saint's Life was written by bishop Verus (Verus episcopus) (Dubois-Renaud 1976, 95). If this information is accurate, then it is possible that Verus was an unrecorded successor to Eutropius in the see of Orange (Eutropius is last attested in 471/474, and the next bishop we know about, Florentius, is first attested only in 517, leaving plenty of space for an unattested Bishop Verus).
Other identifications of Stephanus and Verus are, of course, possible – for instance, Griffe (1957, 205) argued that Stephanus could have been an otherwise unrecorded bishop of Orange and Verus a mere cleric of that see, Florus' information being very late and so not necessarily reliable.
Discussion
Eutropius is first attested as bishop of Orange in 463/464 and last attested in 471/474. His predecessor, Iustus, is last recorded in 452, and (as noted above) the first time a successor (Florentius) is documented is in 517, so the precise length and dates of Eutropius' episcopate are necessarily uncertain.Verus' depiction of Eutropius' time as a bishop is highly unusual, with its heavy emphasis on him adopting strenuous manual labour as a form of asceticism (both in the fields and on building-sites).
The dedication of the church that Eutropius built, and in which he was buried (pp. 63-4 of the text), is interesting. The church is first mentioned as dedicated to a saint Iulianus/Julianus (with no further specification). In this Gallic context, we would naturally assume this was a dedication to Julian, the martyr of Brioude (S00035). But later it is specified that the basilica was of 'Julian the Antiochene martyr' (Iuliani Antiocini martyris), in other words Ioulianos/Julian, a martyr of Cilicia whose body was claimed by Antioch (S00305). This is a clear-cut instance of a dedication to an eastern saint, something that was not common in Gaul in the earlier 6th century. The text of the Life, while attributing the miracles attested in this church primarily to the presence of the body of Eutropius, was also careful to suggest that the church's dedicatee, Ioulianos/Julian, also played a part. In time, however, he was forgotten and the church became known simply as that of Saint-Eutrope.
Fragments of Eutropius' epitaph were found in modern times at the site of his burial-church (see E08368). Like the Life, the epitaph makes specific reference to Eutropius' asceticism and to miracles occurring at his grave.
Bibliography
Editions:Varin, P., “Vie de s. Eutrope,” Bulletin du Comité historique des Monuments écrits de l’histoire de France I (1849), 52-64.
Albanés, J.-H., and U. Chevalier, Gallia Christiana Novissima, vol. 6 (Valence, 1916), cols. 10-18.
Further reading:
Dubois, J., and G. Renaud, Édition pratique des Martyrologues de Bede, de l'Anonyme lyonnais et de Florus (Paris, 1976).
Février, P.-A., “Orange,” in: N. Gauthier and J.-Ch. Picard (eds.), Topographie chrétienne des cités de la Gaule des origines au milieu du VIIIe siècle, vol. 3: Provinces ecclésiastique de Vienne et d'Arles (Viennensis et Alpes Graiae et Poeninae) (Paris: Boccard, 1986), 95-99.
Griffe, É., La Gaule chrétienne a l'époque romaine, vol. 2 (Paris and Toulouse 1957), 205-7.
Pietri, L. and Heijmans, M., Prosopographie chrétienne du Bas-Empire, 4 Prosopographie de la Gaule chrétienne (314-614), 2 vols. (Paris 2013): vol. 1, 708-709, 'Eustasius 1'; 719-723, 'Eutropius 2'; 790-791, 'Florentius 7'; vol. 2, 1830-32, 'Stephanus 3'; 1938, 'Verus 4'.
Bryan Ward-Perkins
30/03/2023
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00305 | Ioulianos, martyr of Cilicia, buried at Antioch or in Egypt | Iulianus Anthiocinus | Certain | S02393 | Eutropius, bishop of Orange, ob. c. 475 | Eutropius | Certain |
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