Saint Aurelian of Limoges (french: Saint Aurélien) is venerated as a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

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 ...

. Christian tradition makes him the second bishop of Limoges, and the successor of

St. Martial Saint Martial (3rd century), called "the Apostle of the Gauls" or "the Apostle of Aquitaine", was the first bishop of Limoges. His feast day is 30 June. Life There is no accurate information as to the origin, dates of birth and death, or the acts ...

. According to tradition, Aurelian was originally a

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

priest who wanted to throw Martial into prison. However, Aurelian was struck dead as he attempted to do so. Martial brought him back to life,

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 ...

him as a Christian, ordained him as a priest, and consecrated him as bishop. A biography of Martial, the ''Vita Aureliana'', is attributed to Aurelian. However, the work was written much later, perhaps by the chronicler Adhémar de Chabannes or earlier, around 955, before the birth of Adhémar. The work was designed to 'prove' that Martial had been present at the Last Supper and at the crucifixion, and was indeed one of the original

apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

. Aurelian’s relics are at the church known as the

Chapelle Saint-Aurélien Chapelle or La Chapelle may refer to: Communes in France * La Chapelle, Allier * La Chapelle, Ardennes * La Chapelle, Charente * La Chapelle, Savoie * Les Chapelles, Savoie department Other places * Église de la Chapelle or Kapellekerk, a chu ...

(built between the 14th-17th centuries), in

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

. It is the property of the Confrérie Saint Aurélien, the successor organization to the ancient guild butchers of Limoges.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aurelian Of Limoges Bishops of Limoges Gallo-Roman saints