Saint Aprus (or Aper, french: Apre, Epvre, Èvre, Avre; died 507) was the seventh
bishop of Toul
The Diocese of Toul was a Roman Catholic diocese seated at Toul in present-day France. It existed from 365 until 1802. From 1048 until 1552 (''de jure'' until 1648), it was also a state of the Holy Roman Empire.
History
The diocese was erect ...
(r. 500–507). He has been considered a saint in
Toul
Toul () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.
It is a sub-prefecture of the department.
Geography
Toul is between Commercy and Nancy, and the river Moselle and Canal de la Marne au Rhin.
Climate
Toul h ...
since the 10th century. His
feast day
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...
is celebrated on 15 September.
Life
The brother of
Saint Apronia (Evronie), Saint Aprus was born near
Trier
Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...
. He may have studied as a lawyer.
According to his official
hagiography
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...
, Aprus was born in Trancol near
Troyes
Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to ...
. Other popular variants state his birthplace as Trier, the center of the ecclesiastical province of
Belgica prima
Gallia Belgica ("Belgic Gaul") was a province of the Roman Empire located in the north-eastern part of Roman Gaul, in what is today primarily northern France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, along with parts of the Netherlands and Germany.
In 50 BC, af ...
. Whatever the venue, Troyes or Trier, he was a man of law, perhaps serving an advocate until he decided to become a priest. On the death of Bishop St. Ursus (Latin for bear), the faithful of Toul called for Aprus/Aper (Latin for wild boar) to become
bishop
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 was elected as bishop and his episcopate lasted for seven years.
Aprus distributed all his goods to the poor and just lived in his diocese, admired and revered by his followers. Meanwhile, he fought strongly against the raging paganism in the countryside. He preached in particular in the city of
Grand (Vosges), which was a centre of pagan pilgrimage, and still has important remains
Gallo-Roman
Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...
ruins.
Burial
Aprus tried to commence the construction of a large church outside of Toul. It was to be dedicated to Saint Maurice, but he died before seeing this come to a pass. When he died, the people of the Toul interred his remains in that church under construction as per his will. A community of clerics in the eighth century watched over his church and sanctuary.
Veneration
According to the hagiography, Aprus' final resting place is said to be the site of many miracles until the invasions of the 10th century. His relics remained preserved and hidden behind the walls of Toul. Many years later, these relics, which had reinstated the buildings of the Saint-Maurice church, were stolen by monks and rediscovered in 978 AD. According to the ''Vita Sancti Gerardi'',
Bishop St. Gerard I of Toul (r. 963–994) had the relics of both
Saint Mansuy
Saint Mansuetus (french: Mansuy; died 375) was the first Bishop of Toul.
Life
Mansuetus is thought to have been of Irish or Scottish origin. After religious studies in Rome, he was sent by Pope Damasus I to evangelize Gaul, becoming the first Bi ...
and Aprus brought into Toul and placed in the church of St. John the Baptist while he was ill.
[Karl Leyser, Timothy Reuter, ''Warriors and Churchmen in the High Middle Ages: Essays Presented to Karl Leyser'' (Continuum International Publishing Group, 1992), 56.]
In 1802, Bishop of La Fare, Bishop of Nancy, arranged the transfer of head of Aprus it installs in the eponymous church. This church was later destroyed. The windows of the monument that tell the life of the saint were destroyed during the 1914–18 war. The St Epvre Basilica was constructed in its place.
Today in Lorraine, forty churches bear the name of Aprus (Èvre) including:
* Domèvre-en-Haye en Meurthe-et-Moselle ;
* Domèvre-sur-Vezouze en Meurthe-et-Moselle ;
* Domèvre-sur-Avière dans les Vosges ;
* Domèvre-sur-Durbion dans les Vosges ;
* Domèvre-sous-Montfort dans les Vosges.
References
4.http://www.orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdsep.htm
Further reading
*
External links
ST. APER OR EVRE sensusfidelium.us
Butler’s Lives of the Saints – Saint Aper, or Evre, Bishop and Confessor catholicsaints.info
*For Aprus:
orthodoxengland.org.uk
St. Aprus catholic.org
*For Apronia:
Saint of the Day, July 15: ''Apronia (Evronie) of Troyes''at ''SaintPatrickDC.org''
St. Aproniaat ''Catholic Online''
{{Authority control
Bishops of Toul
507 deaths
6th-century Frankish bishops
6th-century Frankish saints
5th-century births