Amator Amadour or Amatre was

bishop of Auxerre The diocese of Auxerre ( la, dioecesis Antissiodorensis) is a former French Roman Catholic diocese. Its historical episcopal see was in the city of Auxerre in Burgundy (region), Burgundy, now part of eastern France. Currently the non-metropolitan ...

from 388 until his death on 1 May 418 and venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. Amator's feast day is celebrated on 1 May.

Amator of Auxerre

Amator studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

under Valerian, Bishop of Auxerre, but married a holy woman of

Langres Langres () is a commune in northeastern France. It is a subprefecture of the department of Haute-Marne, in the region of Grand Est. History As the capital of the Romanized Gallic tribe known as the Lingones, it was called Andematunnum, then ...

, venerated locally as Saint Martha, in order to please his parents. After their

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

, they mutually agreed to live together as brother and sister. By mutual consent, Martha subsequently became a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

and Amator received the clerical tonsure. He later succeeded Eladius as Bishop of Auxerre in 388 and governed the see until his death 30 years later. During this 30-year

episcopacy A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, he built two churches and converted the remaining pagans in his

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

. He introduced the

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tang ...

Saint Cyricus Cyricus ( el, Κήρυκος, am, ቂርቆስ, arc, ܡܪܝ ܩܘܪܝܩܘܣ ܣܗܕܐ ''Mar Quriaqos Sahada''; also Cyriacus, Quiriac, Quiricus, Cyr), and his mother, Julitta ( el, Ἰουλίττα, am, እየሉጣ arc, ܝܘܠܝܛܐ, ''Yul ...

into

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, thus propagating this saint's cult. Germanus was one of the six dukes, entrusted by the emperor with the government of the Gallic provinces. He resided at Auxerre. At length he incurred the displeasure of Bishop Amator by hanging hunting trophies on a certain tree, which in earlier times had been the scene of pagan worship. Amator remonstrated with him in vain. One day when the duke was absent, the bishop had the tree cut down and the trophies burnt. Fearing the anger of the duke, who wished to kill him, he fled and appealed to the prefect Julius for permission to confer the tonsure on Germain. This being granted, Amator, who felt that his own life was drawing to a close, returned. When the duke came to the church, Amator caused the doors to be barred and gave him the tonsure against his will, telling him to live as one destined to be his successor, and forthwith made him a deacon. When in a short time Amator died, Germain was unanimously chosen to succeed him as bishop. MacErlean, Andrew. "St. Germain." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 26 Jan. 2013
/ref> Germanus subsequently wrote a

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

of Amator. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, a certain Stephen also composed a life of Amator, but it is considered a work of fiction.

J. B. Bury John Bagnell Bury (; 16 October 1861 – 1 June 1927) was an Anglo-Irish historian, classical scholar, Medieval Roman historian and philologist. He objected to the label "Byzantinist" explicitly in the preface to the 1889 edition of his ''Lat ...

suggests that Amator ordained Saint Patrick to the diaconate at Auxerre; and that Patrick was later ordained priest by Amator's successor Germanus of Auxerre in a church in Auxerre dedicated to Amator.Bury, J.B., "Sources of the Early Patrician Documents", ''The English Historical Review'', (Mandell Creighton et al, eds.), Longman., July 1904, p. 499
/ref> Amator died in 418 and was buried in the church which he had built in honour of the Martyr Saint Symphorian, and which later bore his own name.Monks of Ramsgate. “Amator”. ''Book of Saints'', 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 30 May 2012
/ref>

Iconography

He is depicted as a bishop with an

axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...

and

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

. Amator is sometimes confused with a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

of legend whose feast day is 20 August. A tradition in

Autun Autun () is a subprefecture of the Saône-et-Loire department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of central-eastern France. It was founded during the Principate era of the early Roman Empire by Emperor Augustus as Augustodunum to give a Ro ...

also designates him as its first bishop, with an occupancy date of 250, tying him to the seven bishops sent to evangelise Gaul in the time of

Decius Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius ( 201 ADJune 251 AD), sometimes translated as Trajan Decius or Decius, was the emperor of the Roman Empire from 249 to 251. A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was procl ...

Amator and Rocamadour

The commune of

Rocamadour Rocamadour (; ''Rocamador'' in Occitan) is a commune in the Lot department in Southwestern France. It lies in the former province of Quercy. Rocamadour has attracted visitors for its setting in a gorge above a tributary of the River Dordogn ...

is said to have been named after Amator, who is believed to have been the founder of the ancient sanctuary. The ''crypt Saint-Amadour'' is situated here. The church of Notre Dame (1479) contains a wooden

Black Madonna The term ''Black Madonna'' or ''Black Virgin'' tends to refer to statues or paintings in Western Christendom of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus, where both figures are depicted with dark skin. The Black Madonna can be found both ...

reputed to have been carved by Amator. Amadour was identified with the Biblical Zacheus, the tax collector of Jericho mentioned in Luke 19:1-10. He is also thought to have been a servant in the house of the

Holy Family The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on, but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de Laval, the fir ...

, who married Veronica, who wiped

Jesus' Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

face on the way to Calvary. Driven out of Palestine by persecution, Amadour and Veronica embarked in a frail

skiff A skiff is any of a variety of essentially unrelated styles of small boats. Traditionally, these are coastal craft or river craft used for leisure, as a utility craft, and for fishing, and have a one-person or small crew. Sailing skiffs have deve ...

and, guided by an

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...

, landed on the coast of

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...

, where they met Bishop Martial, who was preaching the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

in the south-west of

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

. After journeying to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where he witnessed the

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

doms of

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

and

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

, Amadour, having returned to France, on the death of his spouse, withdrew to a wild spot in

Quercy Quercy (; oc, Carcin , locally ) is a former province of France located in the country's southwest, bounded on the north by Limousin, on the west by Périgord and Agenais, on the south by Gascony and Languedoc, and on the east by Rouergue and ...

where he built a chapel in honour of the Blessed Virgin, near which he died a little later.Clugnet, Léon. "Rocamadour." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 27 Apr. 2013
/ref> Amator's ''Acts'' cannot be dated as being older than the 12th century. It is now well established that Martial, Amadour's contemporary in the legend, lived in the 3rd not the 1st century, and Rome has never included him among the members of the Apostolic College. The untrustworthiness of the legend has led some recent authors to suggest that Amadour was an unknown

or the actual bishop of Auxerre of the same name.

The Portuguese Amator

Confusion is added by the fact that there is also a Amator ( pt, Amador of Portugal) whose feast day is celebrated on 27 March. He was a hermit of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, and several churches in the

of Guarda and elsewhere in Portugal are dedicated to him. A "San Amador" is the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

town of

Martos Martos is a city in the province of Jaén in the autonomous community of Andalusia in south-central Spain. It has a population of 24271 inhabitants, making Martos the fifth largest municipality in the province. The city is located on a western ...

References

External links

Saint of the Day, May 1: Amator

Cathédrale Saint-Étienne
(Image of St. Amadour)
Procesión de San Amador, patrón de Martos (Jaén), el 5 de Mayo de 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amator 4th-century births 418 deaths 4th-century bishops in Gaul 5th-century bishops in Gaul 5th-century Christian saints Bishops of Auxerre Gallo-Roman saints