Saint Lupus (french: Loup, Leu, ( cy, Bleiddian) ( 383 – c. 478 AD) was an early bishop of Troyes. Around 426, the bishops in Britain requested assistance from the bishops of Gaul in dealing with

Pelagianism Pelagianism is a Christian theological position that holds that the original sin did not taint human nature and that humans by divine grace have free will to achieve human perfection. Pelagius ( – AD), an ascetic and philosopher from t ...

. Germanus of Auxerre and Lupus were sent.

Life

Born at

Toul Toul () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Toul is between Commercy and Nancy, and the river Moselle and Canal de la Marne au Rhin. Climate Toul ...

, he was the son of a wealthy nobleman, Epirocus of Toul. He has been called the brother of

Vincent of Lérins Vincent of Lérins ( la, Vincentius; died ) was a Gallic monk and author of early Christian writings. One example was the ''Commonitorium'', c.434, which offers guidance in the orthodox teaching of Christianity. Suspected of semipelagianism, ...

. Having lost his parents when he was an infant, Lupus was brought up by his uncle Alistocus. Lupus was brother-in-law to Hilary of Arles, as he had married one of Hilary's sisters, Pimeniola. Lupus held a number of estates in Maxima Sequanorum, and worked as a lawyer. After six years of marriage, he and his wife parted by mutual agreement. Lupus sold his estate and gave the money to the poor. He entered Lérins Abbey, a community led by Saint Honoratus, where he stayed about a year. In 427 Honoratus was named Bishop of Arles, and Hilary accompanied him to his new see. Lupus retired to Macon where he came to the attention of Germanus of Auxerre, who appointed Lupus bishop of Troyes. Lupus was reluctant to assume this office and at first declined, but eventually relented. In the autumn of 429, the Council of Arles, at the request of the bishops in Britain, sent Lupus and Germanus of Auxerre to combat

. As such, Lupus is remembered in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

as ''Bleiddian'' and appears in early Welsh Literature such as the

Bonedd y Saint The ''Bonedd y Saint'' or ''Seint'' (Welsh for "Descent of the Saints") is a Welsh genealogical tract detailing the lineages of the early British saints In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degr ...

. He is venerated at

Llanblethian Llanblethian ( cy, Llanfleiddian) is a village in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales which sits upon the River Thaw. It makes up part of the community of Cowbridge with Llanblethian, which consists of the village itself, the larger market town of Cow ...

in the

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg ), often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol ...

. They returned to Gaul just after Easter in the spring of 430. Lupus was bishop for fifty-two years and died at Troyes in 479.

Sidonius Apollinaris Gaius Sollius Modestus Apollinaris Sidonius, better known as Sidonius Apollinaris (5 November of an unknown year, 430 – 481/490 AD), was a poet, diplomat, and bishop. Sidonius is "the single most important surviving author from 5th-century Gaul ...

called him "The father of fathers and bishop of bishops, the chief of the Gallican prelates, the rule of manners, the pillar of truth, the friend of God, and the intercessor to him for men." He was a friend of Bishop Euphronius of Autun.

Lupus and Attila

Lupus was credited with saving Troyes from the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...

under Attila, in 451.St. Lupus - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online
/ref> According to the accounts, after praying for many days, Lupus, dressed in full episcopal regalia, went to meet Attila at the head of a procession of the clergy. Attila was allegedly so impressed with Lupus that he spared the city. Attila went on to lose the Battle of Châlons. Lupus ran into trouble when Attila asked the bishop to accompany him and his army after Châlons; Attila believed that Lupus’ presence would spare his army from extermination. However, Lupus was accused by the Romans of helping the Huns escape. Lupus was forced to leave Troyes, and he became 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 ...

in the mountains. But "many scholars doubt the veracity of the account of the Attila incident." A similar story is told of Saint Genevieve. Donald Attwater writes that the tale of Lupus and Attila is

hagiographical A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies mig ...

rather than historical.Attwater, Donald. ''The Penguin Dictionary of Saints'',(1945) Reprint: 1981, p. 223. However, the historical kernel it might contain is that Troyes was spared being sacked by Attila's army and that its inhabitants considered this a miraculous deliverance.

References

External links

Lupus of Troyes
website with thousands of saints, and sources. (an archived, earlier version of "Saint of the Day" at www.saintpatrickdc.org) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lupus Of Troyes Bishops of Troyes 5th-century bishops in Gaul 380s births 478 deaths People from Toul 5th-century Christian saints Gallo-Roman saints 5th-century Latin writers Latin letter writers