Saint Perpetuus (french: link=no, Saint-Perpetue) (died 30 December 490 AD) was the sixth

Bishop of Tours The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tours ( Latin: ''Archidioecesis Turonensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Tours'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The archdiocese has roots that go back to the 3rd c ...

, serving from 460 to 490.

Life

Born of a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

ial family of the Auvergne, Perpetuus became bishop of Tours around 460. He succeeded his relative, possibly an uncle,

Eustochius Eustochius (also Eustachius) was the fifth bishop of Tours from 443 to 461. He was succeeded by his close relative, Saint Perpetuus. His extremely rare name suggests a possible connection to Saint Eustochium Eustochium (c. 368 – September 28, ...

, and was succeeded by another close relative, Saint Volusian.Clugnet, Léon. "St. Perpetuus." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 26 November 2022 He was a student of sacred literature and a friend of the poet

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 ...

. It is said of him that he dedicated his considerable wealth to the relief of those in need. He guided the Church of Tours for thirty years, and it is apparent, from what little information we have, that during his administration Christianity was considerably developed and consolidated in

Touraine Touraine (; ) is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher, Indre and Vie ...

. In 461, Perpetuus presided at a

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

in which eight bishops who were reunited in Tours on the Feast of St. Martin had participated, and at this assembly an important rule was promulgated relative to ecclesiastical discipline. He maintained a careful surveillance over the conduct of the clergy of his diocese, and mention is made of priests who were removed from their office because they had proved unworthy. In 465, he presided over the Council of Vannes, which condemned the use of the ''

Sortes Sanctorum ''Sortes Sanctorum'' (incipit ''Post solem surgunt stellae'') is a late antique text that was used for divination by means of dice. The oldest version of the text may have been pagan, but the earliest surviving example—a 4th- or 5th-century Gre ...

''.Wace, Henry. "Perpetuus, St.", ''A Dictionary of Christian Biography''
/ref> Perpetuus actively promoted the cult of St.

Martin of Tours Martin of Tours ( la, Sanctus Martinus Turonensis; 316/336 – 8 November 397), also known as Martin the Merciful, was the third bishop of Tours. He has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints in France, heralded as the ...

. He replaced with a beautiful

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

(470) the little chapel of SS. Peter and Paul that Saint Britius had constructed, to protect the tomb of St. Martin. Euphronius of Autun sent marble for the cover of the saint's tomb. Perpetuus commissioned murals for the walls and inscriptions that explained them. Sidonius contributed a poem for the apse. Built 550 paces from the city, the saint's body was translated with great ceremony in July 473. Perpetuus effectively popularized the cult by making it more accessible, both to the educated classes "...and to ordinary people who could visit the church, view its murals, participate in the festivals, and listen to readings about the saint."Van Dam, Raymond. ''Saints and Their Miracles in Late Antique Gaul'', Princeton University Press, 2011, p. 18
He built

monasteries 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 ...

and a good many other churches, notably one in honour of St. Peter and St. Paul, which he constructed to receive the roof of the old chapel, as it was of elegant workmanship.

St. 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 ...

states that Perpetuus decreed that all of the members of his

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

should fast on Wednesdays and Fridays, except for a few church festivals. He set aside several Mondays as fasts as well, especially from the Feast of St. Martin until the Nativity, a precursor of

Advent Advent is a Christian season of preparation for the Nativity of Christ at Christmas. It is the beginning of the liturgical year in Western Christianity. The name was adopted from Latin "coming; arrival", translating Greek ''parousia''. In ...

.Baker O.S.B., Pacificus. ''The Christian Advent'', J. Marmaduke, 1755, p. vi
/ref> These fasts were still being observed in the 7th century. At his death, Perpetuus left his vineyards, gold, and houses to benefit the poor. He was buried in the Church of St. Martin, which he had built.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perpetuus, Saint 5th-century births 490 deaths Bishops of Tours 5th-century bishops in Gaul 5th-century Christian saints Gallo-Roman saints

Life

See also

Notes

References