Saint Hesychius or Isicius (french: Isice or ; died 490) was a

bishop of Vienne The Archbishopric of Vienne, named after its episcopal seat in Vienne in the Isère département of southern France, was a metropolitan Roman Catholic archdiocese. It is now part of the Archdiocese of Lyon. History The legend according to whi ...

in the

Dauphiné The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois. In the 12th centu ...

, France. He is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church.

Life

Origins

Hesychius or Isicius (occasionally also ''Isique'' or ''Ysile''Nominis.cef.fr: Saint Ysile
/ref>) is mentioned in the first extant list of the bishops of Vienne, the ''Catalogue'' of bishop

Ado of Vienne Ado of Vienne ( la, Ado Viennensis, french: Adon de Vienne; died 16 December 874) was archbishop of Vienne in Lotharingia from 850 until his death and is venerated as a saint. He belonged to a prominent Frankish family and spent much of his early ...

(799-875) He married Audentia, with whom he had two sons,

Avitus Eparchius Avitus (c. 390 – 457) was Roman emperor of the West from July 455 to October 456. He was a senator of Gallic extraction and a high-ranking officer both in the civil and military administration, as well as Bishop of Piacenza. He o ...

, his successor in the episcopal seat of Vienne, and Apollinaris of Valence, who became

bishop of Valence The Roman Catholic Diocese of Valence (–Die–Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux) (Latin: ''Dioecesis Valentinensis (–Diensis–Sancti Pauli Tricastinorum)''; French: ''Diocèse de Valence (–Die–Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux'') is a diocese of the L ...

.''Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse'': Avit (saint)
by Catherine Santschi He was apparently related to

Sidonius Apollinaris Gaius Sollius Modestus Apollinaris Sidonius, better known as Sidonius Apollinaris (5 November of an unknown year, 430 – 481/490 AD), was a poet, diplomat, and bishop. Sidonius is "the single most important surviving author from 5th-century Gaul ...

prefect of Rome The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, and ...

and later

bishop of Clermont The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Clermont (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Claromontana''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Clermont'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the department of Puy-d ...

. According to the historian Bernard Bligny (1979), Hesychius belonged to "one of the principal Gallo-Roman families of 'Bourgogne', the Hesychii, a branch of the

Syagrii The Syagrii were an aristocratic family in late antique Gaul during the fourth and fifth centuries. The family was particularly associated with Gallia Lugdunensis (Lyons), and their family seat was located in the area of Augustodunum (Autun). Impo ...

", of whom several members were bishops of Vienne (three) and Grenoble (four).

Episcopacy

According to tradition, confirmed at least in part by the historian Ulysse Chevalier in his ''Notice chronologico-historique sur les archevêques de Vienne'' (1879), Hesychius was a senator before governing the diocese of Vienne. The ''

Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse The ''Historical Dictionary of Switzerland'' is an encyclopedia on the history of Switzerland that aims to take into account the results of modern historical research in a manner accessible to a broader audience. The encyclopedia is publishe ...

'' states that he was descended from a family of the senatorial nobility and was closely related to the

Emperor Avitus Eparchius Avitus (c. 390 – 457) was Roman emperor of the West from July 455 to October 456. He was a senator of Gallic extraction and a high-ranking officer both in the civil and military administration, as well as Bishop of Piacenza. He ...

. In his ''Chronique'' (VI) Bishop Ado mentions Hesychius as the reigning bishop when Saint

Severus of Vienne Saint Severus of Vienne (died c. 455) was a priest who evangelised in Vienne, France. He is venerated as a Catholic saint.In principle, those recognised as saints prior to 1050 are common to the Catholic and Orthodox churches, so Severus of Vienne ...

dedicated a church in Vienne at the time of the death of Saint

Germanus of Auxerre Germanus of Auxerre ( la, Germanus Antissiodorensis; cy, Garmon Sant; french: Saint Germain l'Auxerrois; 378 – c. 442–448 AD) was a western Roman clergyman who was bishop of Autissiodorum in Late Antique Gaul. He abandoned a career as a h ...

. Lucas however maintains that whereas the dedication must have taken place in 448 and Severus' death in 450, Hesychius' episcopacy was later, probably between 475 and 490. Hesychius seems to have died in about 490; his son Avitus succeeded him as bishop of Vienne.

Cultus

Saint Hesychius occurs in the ''

Martyrologium Hieronymianum The ''Martyrologium Hieronymianum'' (meaning "martyrology of Jerome") or ''Martyrologium sancti Hieronymi'' (meaning "martyrology of Saint Jerome") is an ancient martyrology or list of Christian martyrs in calendar order, one of the most used a ...

'' under the date of 16 March. (The website Nominis.cef.fr gives for ''Saint Ysile'' the date of 15 March). He is also celebrated in the diocese of Grenoble-Vienne on 1 July , together with Saint

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

and all the bishop saints of Vienne.Diocèse de Grenoble-Vienne: Histoire
/ref>

References

Sources

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