The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

Life and Miracles of Eparchius, Hermit of Angoulême (Vita et virtutes Eparchii reclusi Ecolismensis, BHL 2559 and 2561)

Summary:

Life of Eparchius
(1.) It is a great thing to tell of miracles that are known to be true. I [the author] have recounted only things witnessed by many. I ask readers to note the faithful deeds told and not the rough language in which they are recounted.

(2.) Eparchius was born in the territory of Périgueux; his parents were Felix, otherwise called Oriolus [Aureolus] and Principia. At around the age of seven, the boy was sent to the city to learn his letters. After completing his studies, he was appointed chancellor (cancellarius) of his grandfather who was count at that time. But after doing this for fifteen years, he decided to reject worldly service. Eparchius went to the monastery of Sedaciacum [perhaps Seyssac in the Dordogne] and prostrated himself at the feet of Abbot Martinus to be ordained a monk. Although Eparchius' parents were against it, his request was fulfilled, and he was told to cultivate the land, take care of the vineyards and perform all the other work and duties that were assigned to the monks of this monastery. He was assiduous in his pious behaviour, and many who were sick or possessed were cured there.

(3.) Travelling with a monk named Victorianus to a small property called the agellus Lemoialus, he saw a doe rushing to give her milk to her young. At the blessed man's prayer, she came to him, bowed her head and licked his hand, before he told her to go on her way.

(4.) On another occasion, he was travelling with the monk Munderic to Senocella [perhaps Saint-Avit in Lot-et-Garonne] to visit the holy Aquilinus [who is otherwise unknown]. He came upon a bird seated on her chicks, who at his prayer did not move; he blessed her with her chicks.

(5.) To escape his growing renown, he secretly left his monastery to seek solitude. On his journeying, at the villa Aglesis in the territory of Angoulême, he brought back to life a boy called Gratulph, as well as another in the territory of Bordeaux.

(6.) He arrived at Angoulême, and sought to cross it in secret, but was recognised by the inhabitants. Learning of his presence in the city, Apthonius [Abthonius], its bishop, greeted Eparchius with great joy. When Apthonius learnt that Eparchius sought a place for monastic seclusion, he suggested to him a place near the city but cut off, with a mountain and spring on one side and the river Charente on the other.

(7.) Eparchius replied that he was a stranger in these lands and should not settle there without the permission of his bishop and abbot. So Bishop Apthonius sent the archpresbyter Frontonius, subsequently himself a bishop, with the archdeacon Arthemius and a defensor also named Arthemius to Bishop Sabaudus [of Périgueux] and to the abbot of the monastery of Eparchius, in order to obtain consent for this. And when they returned, they announced that they had received full permission.

(8.) One night, when everyone was asleep, Eparchius left the city and went alone to the place that was intended for him. When he got there, he fell asleep with a stone under his head. The voice of Christ announced to him that he should stay there and stop wandering. Eparchius himself told the brethren about this.

(9.) Returning to the city, he came to a prison in which many prisoners were bound. As the guard was there, he prayed outside it, and soon his prayer was answered: the doors of the prison opened and iron shackles were loosed. All the prisoners took refuge in church, and the whole populace, praising God, acclaimed Eparchius' deed.

(10.) He was ordained a presbyter by Bishop Apthonius. A man named Redemptus, whom Eparchius had redeemed from captivity, had a pot of honey stolen. He accused the thief in front of the count, Ramnulf. The thief confessed to this and other greater things under torture, and was sentenced to be hanged. Eparchius begged for his life, but without success. Then he ordered the presbyter Gratianus, from whom we learned this story, to go with the sick and those on the charity-register (matriculi) to the gates of the city and wait. When they had hanged the unfortunate and left him for dead, the supports collapsed and his bonds loosened, and the revived man ran into the city. When the count saw this, he ordered the soldiers, jumping on their horses, to seize him before he could reach the church. They rode after him but found the way blocked. Thus the man was saved.

(11.) He supplicated similarly for the life of another man the count was pursuing. But again in vain; indeed the count ordered the man to be strung up upside-down by his feet. But that evening the man appeared before Eparchius.

(12.) A woman of noble birth, Clara, also called Aranea, was severely crippled. She was brought to Eparchius by carriage. Invoking his aid, after seven days she was fully cured.

(13.) Her great faith led her to carefully keep letters from Eparchius. Once, when at her house near the shore, she saw a ship in distress. She rushed out brandishing the letters, and invoked the aid of Eparchius, asking for help 'through these relic-letters' (per haec pignora litterarum). The ship was saved.

(14.) He cured a certain Genesia of leprosy, gave sight back to three blind people, and delivered a certain Gaudemia from a legion of demons.

(15.) Arthemius, a man of good birth, having learnt the holy Scriptures and desiring to become a servant of the Lord, although not ordained became a recluse in the territory of Saintes. After spending many years in seclusion, and having grown his hair very long, at the instigation of the devil he left his cell, saying that he intended to go to King Childebert [= Childebert I, r. 511-558] to investigate his rule. Realising that he was not sane, Arthemius' parents decided to take him to Eparchius, pretending they were going to Childebert. Arriving at the vicus of Lord Genesius [Saint-Genis-d’Hiersac, Charente], which was on the road to Angoulême, Arthemius realised what was happening and vociferously refused to go to Eparchius. His hands were then tied, and he was also bound to his horse. Brought into Eparchius’ presence, he began to strike his own hair and declare that no-one equalled him in holiness. But when he behaved and ranted in this way, his fingers stuck to the palms of his hands.

(16.) Coming to a window [of his cell], Eparchius made a sign over his hands, thereby curing both the hands and silencing the blasphemy. Despite the protestations of Arthemius, the next day Eparchius ordered that his hair be cut 'as for a layman' (more laico); on a subsequent day he had him ordained a cleric. This silenced Arthemius for many days, and not long after his sanity returned. He became a deacon and remained sane for the rest of his life.

(17.) Salamon, one of Eparchius' servants, was looking after the saint's horse in winter. A slave of Hebrulf, a man much favoured by Eparchius, stole it. But as the thief took it away, he was seized by a demon and cried out his crime. He sought bread blessed by saint Eparchius (eulogias sancti Eparchii), but died a criminal before he could receive it.

(18.) A slave of the late Leoncius of Saintes, through crimes he had committed, was bound by a very heavy collar. Hardly able to walk, because of the way this tore him daily, he fled to Eparchius and begged him to free him. Eparchius summoned blacksmiths to try and remove the collar by human power; but in vain. Praying, Eparchius commanded that the hammer be given to the slave and that he should strike the collar himself. At the third blow it came away.

(19.) When fetching an ampulla of oil with which to treat the possessed, Eparchius' hand was seized by a great snake. Rather than seek a cure with incantations (carminibus), he continued to pray; his hand was unaffected.

(20.) When it was a period of vigils he forbade his monks to work, even to cook bread. When they lamented that they would go hungry, he told them that 'Faith does not fear hunger' (Fides famem non timet) [a quotation from Jerome's Letter 14], and told them stories of the hermits (fabulas heremitarum). In fact there was always enough for the community and to help the needy. We have learnt 'from written documents' (per cartarum volumina) that from gifts received he was able to ransom two thousand people.

(21.) It would take too long to enumerate all his miracles: how many captives he freed, how many of the possessed he exorcised, how many of the sick he cured. His clothes and food were of the most austere. He rejected wine and other intoxicating drinks, and none of his companions ever saw him eating. It is beyond us to say how much he prayed and fasted in Lent, while helping and exhorting his brothers.

(22.) He died on the first of July, having completed thirty-nine years as a recluse. A great miracle occurred: a possessed girl in the vicus Viegius, thirty miles or more away, heard a voice telling her of his death. She hurried to Angoulême, and reached his basilica that evening. The next day she was cured of her demon.

(23.) The citizens of the city gathered at his funeral. Among their lamentations, they also discussed where to bury him and build a basilica. The vir clarissimus Alexander showed the place, which was where the saint had slept when he heard the voice of Christ. I must also tell how a near-empty barrel of wine was miraculously refilled at night during the building of the church. With Christ's help, this and many other things were done by the saint.


Miracles of Eparchius
(1.) You have heard of the life, deeds and miracles of Eparchius, now I will tell of the miracles that have occurred after his burial at his grave and 'where relics of his limbs have been placed' (ubique articulorum reliquie condite sunt).

(2.) During the time of the glorious King Charibert [ruler of Aquitaine 629-632], who came to rule the homeland of Narbonne, he customarily called various noble Franks to meet him. Among them was Dulcadius, who received the honour of the county of Angoulême. He came to pray in the basilica of the saint and wanted a cloth hanging (velum) from there, which a pious woman had presented to the saint's burial place and which hung at the entrance to the church. He demanded that the abbot send it to him of his own free will, threatening otherwise to cause serious injury. After receiving it, he ordered it to be put on his bed. Intoxicated with wine, he went to sleep there and fell ill with a severe fever. He ordered a servant to return the veil to the saint's grave, but he died anyway in a long agony.

(3.) In the time of the same king, his count of the palace (comes palacii) ordered two men to be chained up. They prayed and asked for the help of Saint Eparchius. At night, when the guards fell sound asleep, their chains broke, and they hurried to the basilica and were saved from danger.

(4.) Waragulph, serving as a count, fell ill with jaundice (morbo regio), but, carried to the grave of the saint in a litter (as if being carried to his grave), nonetheless regained his health.

(5.) Albinus, a nobleman of Saintes, who had been bedridden for a long time, had himself carried to Eparchius' grave and he too was cured.

(6.) Iolita, the daughter of a nobleman called Fingo, regained her eyesight after visiting and praying at the grave of the saint.

(7.) A woman called Dodolena, suffering from a fever, was brought to the saint's grave on an ox-cart. Those on the charity-register and the poor prayed for her (deprecati fuerunt matriculi et pauperes), and she was cured.

(8.) The man of God was summoned to heaven on the first of July; a blind man seeking healing was hurrying to the feast which is celebrated annually on that day. He lost his guide in the crowd on the bridge in the middle of the river Charente. Crying out to the saint for help, his sight returned to him.

(9.) Discord had been sown between the two women. One of them swore an oath that she would confirm her innocence at the grave of the saint. She was about to stretch out her hand to the grave of the saint, but could not and fell to the ground and confessed to the harm she had done in front of everyone.

(10.) Nigasius, bishop of Angoulême, dedicated a church in honour of Saint Eparchius in Bordeaux, in which he placed relics (reliquiarum pignora). Ships from Britain (naves Britanicas), with sail and oars, arrived at the port of the city for trade. Suddenly the wind blew and a storm arose, and the ship began to sink. All cried out to Eparchius to be saved, and a great calm descended. With joy the sailors went to the church and distributed gifts to those on the charity-register (munera ... matriculis intulerunt).

(11.) Alurdio, a rich man, sent a vessel of wine for distribution to the poor on the annual feast of the saint, but the man he sent to deliver it handed over only half the wine, keeping the rest for himself. But then the cartwheel broke, and the wine vessel fell into a ditch and broke. Because of his greed, this man received neither wine for his gluttony, nor the reward for his labour.

(12.) A certain man stole the veils over the grave of the saint (pallas desuper sanctum sepulcrum), and tried to leave, but found himself back at the grave. He returned the veils and left confused.

(13.) Eonaldus, a man who was unable to walk, came to the church and was cured, leaving on his own two feet.

(14.) Claudius, an artisan, climbed into the church through a broken window intending to steal the silver over the grave. But he repented and confessed in fear that he had wanted to do an evil thing.

(15.) I should tell what we know about what happened in our times.

(16.) Walderic, a devout man of Saintes, bequeathed to the monastery of St. Eparchius in his will a small possession on the river Charente, known as Mons, for the benefit of his soul. However, Chrothar, an evil and very bad man, tried to take possession of this land through his servants. Abbot Rusticus appealed to him to return what was entrusted to support the poor. But he did not return it and indeed took the harvest to his barns. The abbot decreed three days of fasting, and Chrothar was taken by a fever, his stomach swelling. He invoked Eparchius, promising to return everything, and immediately sent a silver vessel to the monastery with his promise of the return of the villa. But at the command of the Lord, just as Ananias and Sapphira were struck down by the severity of Peter [Acts 5:1-11], so, through the judgement of Eparchius, Chrothar gave up both the villa and his life.

(17.) It would take long to list the single miracles effected by God through his servant. Many, with bodily infirmities and with many different types of fever, have been cured, and many have been freed from ankle-chains and wooden yokes (pedum ferreis vel carcanis ligneis absoluti sunt). Anyone with an infirmity who approaches his grave with devotion soon returns joyfully home.


Text: Krusch 1896.
Summary: Anton Kasparov (modern place-names from Pietri and Heijmans 2013).

Saint’s feast

Cult building - independent (church)
Burial site of a saint - tomb/grave
Cult building - monastic

Begging
Feasting (eating, drinking, dancing, singing, bathing)

Oath
Bequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Distribution of alms
Visiting graves and shrines
Fast
Construction of cult buildings
Transmission, copying and reading saint-related texts

Miracle after death
Punishing miracle
Healing diseases and disabilities
Power over life and death
Freeing prisoners, exiles, captives, slaves
Miraculous protection - of church and church property
Miracle during lifetime
Miracle with animals and plants
Juridical interventions
Exorcism
Miraculous protection - of people and their property

Bodily relic - entire body
Bodily relic - other body parts
Handwriting of a saint

Women
Ecclesiastics - monks/nuns/hermits
Aristocrats
Officials
Merchants and artisans
The socially marginal (beggars, prostitutes, thieves)
Crowds
Prisoners
Ecclesiastics - bishops
Ecclesiastics - lesser clergy
Animals
Relatives of the saint
Soldiers

Precious material objects
Precious cloths

Source

Discussion

Bibliography