Stremonius or Saint Austremonius or Saint Stramonius or Austromoine, the "apostle of

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label=Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Auverg ...

," was the first

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 ...

. He is venerated as a

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 ...

in 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 ...

Legend

During the consulship (in 250 AD) of the Emperor

Decius Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius ( 201 ADJune 251 AD), sometimes translated as Trajan Decius or Decius, was the emperor of the Roman Empire from 249 to 251. A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was procla ...

and Vettius Gratus, according to

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 Florenti ...

, who calls him Stremonius,

Pope Fabian Pope Fabian ( la, Fabianus) was the bishop of Rome from 10 January 236 until his death on 20 January 250, succeeding Anterus. A dove is said to have descended on his head to mark him as the Holy Spirit's unexpected choice to become the next pope ...

sent out seven bishops from Rome to

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 ...

to preach the Gospel: Gatien to Tours,

Trophimus Trophimus ( el, Τρόφιμος, ''Tróphimos'') or Trophimus the Ephesian ( el, Τρόφιμος ὁ Ἐφέσιος, ''Tróphimos ho Ephésios'') was a Christian who accompanied Paul of Tarsus, Paul during a part of his third missionary jou ...

to Arles,

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

to Narbonne,

Saturnin Saint Saturnin of Toulouse ( la, Saturninus, oc, Sarnin, french: Saturnin, Sernin, ca, Serni, Sadurní, gl, Sadurninho and pt, Saturnino, Sadurninho, eu, Satordi, Saturdi, Zernin, and es, Saturnino, Serenín, Cernín) was one of the ''" ...

us to Toulouse, Denis to Paris,

Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of ''Epigrams'', published in Rome between AD 86 and ...

to Limoges, and Austromoine to Clermont
''Historia Francorum'', i.30
. At Clermont he is said to have converted the senator

Cassius of Clermont Saint Cassius of Clermont is venerated as a Christian martyr of the 3rd century. He was a senator who was converted to Christianity by Austromoine. Cassius was killed with Victorinus (a pagan priest who had also been converted by Austremonius), Ma ...

and the pagan priest Victorinus, to have sent St. Serenus to Thiers, St. Marius to

Salers Salers (, ) is a commune in the Cantal department in south-central France. It is famous for the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) cheeses Cantal and Salers. It is also famous for the Salers breed of cattle that originated in this com ...

, and Antoninus into other parts of Auvergne, and to have been beheaded. A tradition states that

Saint Austremonius Stremonius or Saint Austremonius or Saint Stramonius or Austromoine, the "apostle of Auvergne," was the first Bishop of Clermont. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. Legend During the consulship (in 250 AD) of the Emperor Decius ...

ordered

Nectarius of Auvergne Saint Nectarius of Auvergne (also known as ''Nectarius of St-Nectaire, Nectarius of Limagne, Necterius of Senneterre'') (french: Nectaire) is venerated as a 4th-century martyr and Christian missionary. Life According to Gregory of Tours, Nectariu ...

to Christianize the plain of

Limagne The Limagne () is large plain in the Auvergne region of France in the valley of the Allier river, on the edge of the Massif Central. It lies entirely within the ''département'' of Puy-de-Dôme. The term is sometimes used to include this, and t ...

in the

Massif Central The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France. Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,00 ...

Veneration

His veneration was highly localized, but at Clermont he was moved back in time, to the 1st century AD, along with others of the Apostles to Gaul, such as

Saint 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 ...

, to become one of the "seventy-two Disciples of Christ", and was claimed to have been a converted Jew who came with St. Peter from

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and subsequently became the Apostle of Auvergne, as well as of

Berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

and

Nivernais Nivernais (, ) was a province of France, around the city of Nevers, which forms the modern department of Nièvre. It roughly coincides with the former Duchy of Nevers.Abbey of Mozac Mozac Abbey is a former Cluniac monastery in the commune of Mozac near Riom in Auvergne, France. History A monastery was founded here in either 533 or 680 by Saint Calminius (''Saint Calmin'') and his wife, Saint Namadia. Calminius is said to ...

, where the body of the saint was transferred in 761.Havey, Francis. "St. Austremonius." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 12 April 2019 The ''Vita'' was rewritten and amplified by the monks of

Issoire Issoire (; Auvergnat: ''Issoire'', ''Ussoire'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. Geography Issoire is located on the river Couze, near its confluence with the Allier, SSE of Clermont-Ferrand on the ...

, who retained as a relic the saint's head. There is a further elaborated ''Vita'' of the late 11th century, with new episodes, made at the same time as a forgery of a charter of Pippin (the Short or one of two kings of Aquitaine being intended). The tomb was opened in 1197.

, who was born in Auvergne in 544 and was well versed in the history of that country, looks upon Austremonius as one of the seven envoys who, about 250, evangelized Gaul; he relates how the body of the saint was first interred at Issoire, being there the object of great veneration, before the body, though not the head, was

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

to Clermont. The possibility that the major dioceses of Gaul each needed an apostolic figure, and that where the historical details had lapsed (compare Gatien of Tours) one had to be supplied, to serve local pride, should not be entirely dismissed.

Gallery

image:Statue_saint_Austremoine.jpg File:Cl-Fd Saint-Eutrope Austremoine.jpg Image:Statue St Austremonius Issoire.jpg Image:Châsse calmin mozac 6.JPG Image:Life Saint-Austremoine Issoire bottom.jpg Image:Life Saint-Austremoine Issoire middle.jpg Image:Martyrdom Saint-Austremoine Issoire top.jpg

References

External links

BQR sources hagiographiques
Hagiographic sources for Auvergne (in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Austromoine 3rd-century deaths Bishops of Clermont 3rd-century bishops in Gaul 3rd-century Christian saints Gallo-Roman saints Year of birth unknown Legendary Romans