Faustin ( la, Faustinus) was the fifth

bishop of Lyon The Archdiocese of Lyon (Latin: ''Archidiœcesis Lugdunensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Lyon''), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The Archbishops o ...

. He is venerated as a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Or ...

within the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Faustin succeeds Helios in the middle of the 3rd century as

. In 254, Faustinus wrote to

Cyprian Cyprian (; la, Thaschus Caecilius Cyprianus; 210 – 14 September 258 AD''The Liturgy of the Hours according to the Roman Rite: Vol. IV.'' New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1975. p. 1406.) was a bishop of Carthage and an early Christ ...

, Bishop of Carthage, and to

Pope Stephen I Pope Stephen I ( la, Stephanus I) was the bishop of Rome from 12 May 254 to his death on 2 August 257.Mann, Horace (1912). "Pope St. Stephen I" in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company. He was later canonized ...

regarding the

Novatian Novatian (c. 200–258) was a scholar, priest, and theologian. He is considered by the Catholic Church to have been an antipope between 251 and 258. Some Greek authors give his name as Novatus, who was an African presbyter. He was a noted theol ...

tendencies of Marcianus, Bishop of Arles, in refusing to forgive Christians who repented after rejecting the Church during the

Decian persecution The Decian persecution of Christians occurred in 250 AD under the Roman Emperor Decius. He had issued an edict ordering everyone in the Empire to perform a sacrifice to the Roman gods and the well-being of the emperor. The sacrifices had to ...

. The letter of Cyprian to Pope Stephen begins: ''Cyprien brother Stephen, Our colleague Faustin, Lyons, a brother who is very dear, wrote me twice, saying that that is Marcianus in Arles, door against Christians repenting the very serious charge of heresy, so that God's servants who repent, suffer and implore the church in tears, groans and pain, are being denied the consolation and help of divine piety and gentleness of the Father; when they are injured, they do not have the right to come relieve their wounds, but without hope of appeasement and communion, they are left to the wolves and thrown prey to diable''.''Gallia Christiana Novissima'', Tome III, page 12, n°12. At that time, Faustin is not the only Gallic bishop, other dioceses have been created at least in

Vienne Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

, and maybe in other cities 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 ...

. However, in the case of Marcian, Faustin is the spokesman of the bishops of Gaul. In the early 5th century,

Castor of Apt Saint Castor of Apt (died ca. 420) was a bishop of Apt, in Gaul. He was born in Nîmes and may have been the brother of Saint Leontius of Fréjus. Castor was a lawyer and married to a wealthy widow. He lived in Marseilles. His wife, however ...

, Bishop of Apt built in his honor a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

in Nîmes.

References

{{authority control Bishops of Lyon 3rd-century bishops in Gaul Gallo-Roman saints Ancient Christians involved in controversies Year of birth unknown Year of death missing