Avitus of Vienne, in Letter 68 of his correspondence, is invited by Bishop Viventiolus of Lyon to the feast of *Iustus (bishop of Lyon, ob. c. 390, S02411). Written in Latin in Lyon (south-east Gaul), 514/518.
Evidence ID
E07090
Type of Evidence
Literary - Letters
Avitus of Vienne, Letter 68
Ad similitudinem divinae benignitatis deliberatio vestra cultorum suorum petitionibus temperetur, ut in sollemnitate sancti Iusti plebeculam suam apostolatus vestri visitatio benedicat.
‘May Your Deliberation be tempered, like that of the Divine Benignity, by the prayers of its worshippers with the result that a visit from Your Apostleship may grace its beloved little congregation at the time of the feast of Saint Iustus.’
This is a very short letter (the full text is given above).
Text: Peiper 1883, 89.
Translation: Shanzer and Wood 2002, 274.
Festivals
Saint’s feast
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Source
Alcimus Ecdicius Avitus was born into a prominent Gallo-Roman senatorial family, succeeding his father, Hesychius, as bishop of the important see of Vienne at some point before 494/496. He died in 517/518, probably in February 518.Avitus was the author of a long poem De spiritualis historiae gestis in five books (telling the story of the Old Testament from the Creation to Exodus, accompanied by interpretative passages), and a poem for his sister De consolatoria castitatis laude. He is, however, now best known for his letters: an epistolary corpus of ninety-six letters, which are in no chronological order, nor ordered by recipient. The collection ranges from the personal to the official (several were written on behalf of the Burgundian King Sigismund). Avitus corresponded with many important people of his age and his letters are of considerable importance for the ecclesiastical and political history of the years between around 495 and 518 in the Burgundian kingdom. In the letters, information relating to the churches or relics of saints is occasionally mentioned, and has been collected by us in the database.
Avitus was also the author of homilies, several relating to saints' churches. His homilies are all lost in their complete form, except for two, one of which (Homily 25; E07115) is of particular importance for the cult of saints, being delivered in 515 at the dedication of Sigismund's monastery at Agaune for the martyrs of the Theban Legion. Other homilies, some relating to the dedication of churches, have survived in fragments: preserved either in a damaged sixth-century papyrus manuscript in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, or in excerpts copied by later medieval authors.
For more on Avitus' biography, his works, and on their dating see: Shanzer and Wood 2002, 3-85 and 377; and the full biography in PCBE, 242-263, 'Avitus 2', 242-263.
Discussion
Viventiolus was Bishop of Lyon between 514 and 524. See PCBE: 'Viventiolus', p. 1990-1996.It is not specified which of various feasts of Iustus is referred to. In the Martyrologium Hieronymianum he is commemorated on 4 August, 2 September, 14 October and 21 October.
Bibliography
Edition:Peiper, R., Alcimi Ecdicii Aviti Viennensis episcopi operae quae supersunt (Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi VI.2; Berolini: Apud Weidmannos, 1883).
Translation:
Avitus of Vienne, Letters and Selected Prose, trans. D. Shanzer and I. Wood (Translated Texts for Historians, Volume 38; Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2002), also with full notes and discussion.
Further reading:
Pietri L., M. Hejmans, Prosopographie chrétienne du Bas-Empire, vol. 4: La Gaule chrétien, Paris 2013 (PCBE).
Record Created By
Katarzyna Wojtalik
Date of Entry
12/11/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S02411 | Iustus/Justus, bishop of Lyon, ob. c. 390 | Iustus | Certain |
|---|
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