Beatus of Lungern, known also by the

honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It ...

Apostle of Switzerland or as Beatus of Beatenberg or Beatus of Thun, was probably a legendary

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

and

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 early

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, and is revered as a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

. Though his legend states that he died in the 2nd century, it is likely that his story has been

conflated Conflation is the merging of two or more sets of information, texts, ideas, opinions, etc., into one, often in error. Conflation is often misunderstood. It originally meant to fuse or blend, but has since come to mean the same as equate, treati ...

with other saints of the same name, especially Beatus of Vendôme, and an Abbot Beatus who received a charter in 810 from

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

to confirm that Honau Abbey would be administered by

Irish monks The Hiberno-Scottish mission was a series of expeditions in the 6th and 7th centuries by Gaelic missionaries originating from Ireland that spread Celtic Christianity in Scotland, Wales, England and Merovingian France. Celtic Christianity sp ...

Life

While legend claims that he was the son of a Scottish king, other legends place his birth in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Beatus was a

convert Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Saint Barnabas Barnabas (; arc, ܒܪܢܒܐ; grc, Βαρνάβας), born Joseph () or Joses (), was according to tradition an early Christian, one of the prominent Christian disciples in Jerusalem. According to Acts 4:36, Barnabas was a Cypriot Jew. Name ...

. He was allegedly ordained a priest in

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 ...

Saint Peter the Apostle ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupati ...

, whereupon he was sent with a companion named Achates to evangelize the tribe of the

Helvetii The Helvetii ( , Gaulish: *''Heluētī''), anglicized as Helvetians, were a Celts, Celtic tribe or tribal confederation occupying most of the Swiss plateau at the time of their Switzerland in the Roman era, contact with the Roman Republic in the ...

. The two set up a camp in

Argovia Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capita ...

near the

Jura Mountains The Jura Mountains ( , , , ; french: Massif du Jura; german: Juragebirge; it, Massiccio del Giura, rm, Montagnas da Jura) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the Frenc ...

, where they converted many of the locals. Beatus then ventured south to the mountains above

Lake Thun Lake Thun (german: Thunersee) is an Alpine lake in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland named after the city of Thun, on its northern shore. At in surface area, it is the largest Swiss lake entirely within a single canton. The lake was created af ...

, taking up a hermitage in what is now known as ''St. Beatus Caves'', near the village of

Beatenberg Beatenberg is a municipality in the Interlaken district of the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Beatenberg is first mentioned in 1275 as ''super rupes''. In 1281 it was mentioned as ''ob den fluen'' and in 1357 as ''Sant Beaten berge ...

, probably in the ninth century. Tradition states that this cave is where he fought a

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

. Saint Beatus' grave is located between the monastery and the cave entrance. He died at an old age in 112 CE.

Monastery

An Augustinian monastery was established near the mouth of the ''St. Beatus Caves''. Today, approximately one kilometer of the cave system has been opened and illuminated for tourist access; the monastery site now also houses a restaurant and gift shop for the convenience of tourists.

Veneration

Beatus is primarily remembered as the first apostle to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. The cultus of Beatus was widespread 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 ...

and survived even the hostility of the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

period when

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...

s were driven back from his cave at spear-point by

Zwingli Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland, born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenary system. He attended the Unive ...

an Protestants. After this period of turmoil, Beatus' relics, and the focus of his cultus, were transferred to the chapel at

Lungern Lungern is a municipality in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. It encompasses Lake Lungern and, besides the village of Lungern, the settlements of Bürglen, Kaiserstuhl and Obsee. Geography The village of Lungern lies above sea level in ...

Obwalden Obwalden, also Obwald (german: Kanton Obwalden, rm, Chantun Sursilvania; french: Canton d'Obwald; it, Canton Obvaldo), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of seven municipalities and the seat of the govern ...

. The mountain where he resided until his death is still a place of pilgrimage, and bears his name: Beatenberg.

Historicity

The earliest recorded accounts of St. Beatus' life date no earlier than the 10th and mid-11th centuries and have not been historically authenticated. So, some would hesitate to endorse the tradition that calls St. Beatus the "Apostle of Switzerland". Indeed,

Saint Gall Gall ( la, Gallus; 550 646) according to hagiographic tradition was a disciple and one of the traditional twelve companions of Columbanus on his mission from Ireland to the continent. Deicolus was the elder brother of Gall. Biography The ...

probably more justly deserves this honor.

Gallery

2011-07-22 Berna Oberlando (Foto Dietrich Michael Weidmann) 053.JPG, Grave of Saint Beatus at the entry to the Beatus Caves, Beatenberg, Switzerland Thunersee.jpg, Lake Thun and the surrounding mountains, where legend contends that Beatus had his hermitage and fought a dragon Beatus monastery.jpg, Monastery site from below CH-NB - Beatushöhle, mit einer Reisegesellschaft - Collection Gugelmann - GS-GUGE-WOLF-7-25.tif, St. Beatus Caves, 1785

References

External links

Caves of St. BeatusBeatus at the Kathpedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beatus Of Lungern Converts to Christianity from pagan religions Swiss saints 112 deaths 2nd-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown Helvetii