Saints Savinian and Potentian (french: Savinien et Potenti(e)n) (d. 390) are

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...

s commemorated as the

patron saints A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person. ...

and founders of the

diocese of Sens The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sens and Auxerre (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Senonensis et Antissiodorensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Sens et Auxerre'') is a Latin Rite Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The Archdiocese compri ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. Savinian should not be confused with another early French martyr, Sabinian of Troyes.

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florent ...

does not mention them,Catholic Encyclopedia: Sens
/ref> nor does the '' Hieronymian Martyrology'', which was revised before 600 at

Auxerre Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are re ...

Autun Autun () is a subprefecture of the Saône-et-Loire department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of central-eastern France. It was founded during the Principate era of the early Roman Empire by Emperor Augustus as Augustodunum to give ...

. One source states that "it is considered likely that Sabinian and Potentian were bishops of Sens, with Potentian succeeding Sabinian." On the other hand, one source calls only Sabinian a bishop;Dominican Martyrology: December
/ref> and also states that they had been sent to Sens "by the Roman Pontiff to preach the Gospel, and they rendered illustrious that city by the martyrdom following their confession of faith." Later traditions made them earlier saints as disciples of

Saint Peter ) (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) , occupa ...

.Dom Basile Fleureau: De la Prédication de l'Evangile à Estampes (1668)
/ref> A tradition states that they initially preached at Ferrières in the

Gâtinais Gâtinais () or Gâtine () was a province of France, containing the area around the valley of the Loing, corresponding roughly to the northeastern part of the département of Loiret, and the south of the present department of Seine-et-Marne. Und ...

before preaching at Sens.Diocèse catholique de Sens-Auxerre - Saints Savinien et Potentien
/ref> Another states that Savinian was killed with an axe at the spot now occupied by the

crypt A crypt (from Latin '' crypta'' " vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a ...

of the church at Sens dedicated to the two saints.

Veneration

There is a church dedicated to the two saints at Sens. It is said to have been founded by the saints in the third century, rebuilt in the fifth, and restored in the eleventh.Augustus John Cuthbert Hare, ''South-eastern France'' (G. Allen, 1890), 13. One source writes that "the altar

f this church F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. Hist ...

is affirmed to be that upon which Saint Savinien was celebrating at the moment of his martyrdom." At

Chartres Cathedral Chartres Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres), is a Roman Catholic church in Chartres, France, about southwest of Paris, and is the seat of the Bishop of Chartres. Mostly ...

, a

stained glass window Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

(number 17) depicts the two saints. They are mentioned in the work of the medieval poet Adam of St. Victor: :Let us lift God's high laudation, :We, who joyous commendation :To His saints now loudly give; :To Savinian, widely noted, :And Potentian, God-devoted, :Both of whom did

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 durin ...

receive!L. Gautier, Digby Strangeways Wrangham (ed.), ''The Liturgical Poetry of Adam of St. Victor'' (Kegan Paul, Trench & co., 1881), 37.

References

External links

Saints Savinien et Potentien
{{authority control Bishops of Sens 4th-century bishops in Gaul 390 deaths 4th-century Christian martyrs Gallo-Roman saints Year of birth unknown