Porcarius I

Porcarius I ( fl. 489–495) was the abbot of Lérins in the late fifth century and into the early sixth. He wrote at least one spiritual treatise in Latin and two other works have been tentatively assigned to him.

Life

Porcarius' abbacy cannot be dated exactly. The name of no abbot is known between the departure of Faustus after the early 450s and the earliest reference to Porcarius.William E. Klingshirn, ''Caesarius of Arles: The Making of a Christian Community in Late Antique Gaul'' (Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp. 24–26, 30, 83. The next known abbot after Porcarius was Marinus, mentioned in the '' Vita patrum Iurensium'' in the years 514–520. Circumstantial evidence suggests that Porcarius was still abbot in the first decade of the sixth century.Mark DelCogliano, "Porcarius of Lérins and His counsels: A Monastic Study, Part II", ''American Benedictine Review'' 54.1 (2003): 30–58.

According to the ''Vita'' of Caesarius of Arles, Porcarius was the abbot when Caesarius arrived at Lérins in 488 or 489. He appointed him cellarer, but late removed him from this office when the other monks complained that he was enforcing a standard of asceticism more rigorous than the abbot's. Sometime before 499 (possibly as early as 495), Caesarius' health declined, owing to his ascetic practices, and Porcarius sent him to Arles to recuperate. At the request of Bishop Aeonius, he then released Caesarius from Lérins.Mark DelCogliano, "Porcarius of Lérins and His Counsels: A Monastic Study, Part I", ''American Benedictine Review'' 53.4 (2002): 400–425. The visit of John of Réôme to Lérins in the period 506–510 and the return of Caesarius to preach a sermon there, probably in 502–512, have both been linked to Porcarius' tenure.

Works

Porcarius is the author of the ''Monita'' (Counsels), a short collection of spiritual wisdom.James Francis LePree
"Pseudo-Basil's ''De admonitio ad filium spiritualem'': A New English Translation"
''The Heroic Age: A Journal of Early Medieval Northwestern Europe'' 13 (2010). Jonas of Bobbio's ''Vita Iohannis Reomaensis'', a biography of John of Réôme, shows the influence of the ''Monita'' in its idealization of the spiritual life. Ian N. Wood, "Columbanus, the Columbanian Tradition and Caesarius", in D. G. Tor (ed.), ''The ʿAbbasid and Carolingian Empires: Comparative Studies in Civilizational Formation'' (Brill, 2018), p. 164. The ''Monita'' is addressed to the individual monk. It is "wholly devoted to the interior life" with "no mention made of corporal asceticism". For Porcarius, one's relationship to Christ is central to the spiritual journey. Detachment from the world is essential and the temptations of the Devil must be constantly fought off. The greatest danger is anger. Silence, patience and prayer are of utmost importance to fending off anger and contention with the brothers.

The ''Monita'' was not a very popular text. Its manuscripts can be divided into two families, the French and the German. The oldest manuscript is the eighth-century Einsidlensis 199 of the German family. The only other German copy is of the ninth century. The earliest French text is Parisinus Lat. 2675 from the ninth century, all other French texts being of the eleventh century or later. The only writer to cite Porcarius before the Renaissance was the anonymous twelfth-century author of '' De scriptoribus ecclesiasticis'', who spelled his name Porcharius and also confused him with Porcarius II, who died around 732. The first edition of the ''Monita'' was published by Thomas Gallet in 1615 under the title ''Epistola sancti Porcarii abbatis''. André Wilmart published a critical edition based on five of eight known manuscripts in 1909.André Wilmart, "Les ''Monita'' de l'abbé Porcaire", ''Revue Bénédictine'' 26.1 (1909): 475–480. Mark DelCogliano published an English translation in 2003.

Other works have been attributed to Porcarius by . The so-called '' Rule of Macarius'', based in part on the work of Macarius of Egypt, may have been compiled by Porcarius or drawn up under his direction at Lérins. '' Admonitio ad filium spiritualem'', which has textual similarities with the ''Monita'', is generally accepted as a work of Porcarius.

References

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5th-century births
6th-century deaths
5th-century Christian monks
5th-century Latin writers