Viator of Lyons (died ) is a

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 ...

saint of the fourth century.

History

The name "Viator" in Latin originally meant "traveller by road". In Roman law, the word came to designate a minor court official who went out to summon people to appear before the magistrate. This might have been Viator's prior occupation, or refer to his family of origin. McCarthy, Thomas. "Forever a Priest", CMJ Publishers and Distrib., 2004, /ref> According to tradition, he was a

lector Lector is Latin for one who reads, whether aloud or not. In modern languages it takes various forms, as either a development or a loan, such as french: lecteur, en, lector, pl, lektor and russian: лектор. It has various specialized uses. ...

or a

catechist Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...

at the cathedral of Lyons, and was held in high esteem by the

bishop of Lyons The Archdiocese of Lyon (Latin: ''Archidiœcesis Lugdunensis''; French language, French: ''Archidiocèse de Lyon''), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolitan archdioce ...

Justus Justus (died on 10 November between 627 and 631) was the fourth Archbishop of Canterbury. He was sent from Italy to England by Pope Gregory the Great, on a mission to Christianize the Anglo-Saxons from their native paganism, probably arrivin ...

(Just), and by the congregants. Around 381 Justus decided to live as a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and Viator knowing his intentions, decided to follow his bishop and master. He caught up with the bishop at

Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, and together they boarded ship for

. They died at a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

Scetes Wadi El Natrun (Arabic: "Valley of Natron"; Coptic: , "measure of the hearts") is a depression in northern Egypt that is located below sea level and below the Nile River level. The valley contains several alkaline lakes, natron-rich salt de ...

(present-day ''

Wadi El Natrun Wadi El Natrun (Arabic: "Valley of Natron"; Coptic: , "measure of the hearts") is a depression in northern Egypt that is located below sea level and below the Nile River level. The valley contains several alkaline lakes, natron-rich salt dep ...

'') in AD 389.Rivard, Eugene Louis. "Clerics of Saint Viator." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 17 April 2015
/ref>

Veneration

Their relics were

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 ...

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

(the day is recorded as September 2).St. Viator - Catholic Online
/ref> By the fifth century four feast days were celebrated annually in Lyon in honor of Sts Just and Viator. Their remains lie in the church of St. Just in Lyon. His feast day is October 21.

Legacy

The

Clerics of Saint Viator The Clerics of Saint Viator (french: Clercs de Saint-Viateur ), abbreviated C.S.V. and also known as the Viatorians is a Roman Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men (priest, brothers and lay associates) founded in ...

take their name from him.

St Just of Lyon

Just was born in Vivarais and became a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

of the Church of Vienne. Sometime after 343, he was chosen to succeed Bishop Verissimus, as bishop of Lyons. In 374, Bishop Just assisted at regional Council at Valence. In 382, he attended the Council of Aquileia, as one of the two representatives of the Bishops of Gaul. Shortly after returning from the Council of Aquileia, Bishop Just confided to Viator intention to abandon the See of Lyons in order to take up the ascetical life a monk in the desert of Scete in Egypt. This decision seems to have motivated by a number of factors: his character, that of a mild studious and contemplative man; his age, for he had been a bishop many years and it seems he was already in his sixties; and by a sad event which had occurred in Lyons a short time before. A mad man had raced through the market place of the city, slashing wildly with a sword, and wounding and killing many citizens. He then dashed to the Cathedral and claimed the right of sanctuary. A mob gathered to storm the church. Bishop Just intervened, but on being assured that the man would be given a fair trial he agreed to hand the man over. No sooner had this been done, than the mob seized the man from the magistrate's guard, and killed him on the spot. The bishop came to believe that his failure to adequately protect the murderer had made him unworthy to continue to lead the Christian community, and he resolved to devote the remainder of his life to doing penance. In 381 Bishop Just secretly left Lyons for Marseilles, where he took ship for

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

in Egypt. Once there, they joined the community of monks in the

desert of Scetes Wadi El Natrun (Arabic: "Valley of Natron"; Coptic: , "measure of the hearts") is a depression in northern Egypt that is located below sea level and below the Nile River level. The valley contains several alkaline lakes, natron-rich salt dep ...

, about 40 or 50 miles south of Alexandria, beyond the mountains of Nitria, in the Libyan Desert. At that time the leader or abbot of this community was St.

Macarius of Egypt Macarius of Egypt, ''Osios Makarios o Egyptios''; cop, ⲁⲃⲃⲁ ⲙⲁⲕⲁⲣⲓ. (c. 300 – 391) was a Christian monk and hermit. He is also known as Macarius the Elder or Macarius the Great. Life St. Macarius was born in Lower Egypt. ...

(or the Elder) († 390), a disciple of one of the founders of monasticism in Egypt, St.

Anthony Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonia (gens), Antonii'', a ''gens'' (Roman naming conventions, Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were ...

(† 356). Macarius had a reputation for great holiness and a fierce asceticism. Most of the monks lived in cells, either dug in the ground or built of stones, and each out of sight of others. They came together only on Saturdays to celebrate the liturgy. They supported themselves by manual labor, and ate only the poorest of foods. Fasting, prayer, silence, and the keeping of night vigils, characterized their lives. Bishop Just died around 389.

References

External links

The Clerics of Saint ViatorViator of Lyons
{{DEFAULTSORT:Viator Of Lyons 390s deaths Roman Catholic deacons French hermits Gallo-Roman saints 4th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown Year of death missing