Gereon of Cologne ( French : Géréon ), who may have been a soldier , was martyred at Cologne by beheading , probably in the early 4th century.
48-637: The Roman Martyrology states that "In Cologne in Germany, the Saints Gereon and his companions, martyrs, who with sincere piety, courageously offered their necks to the sword." That brief outline is the official account of the church, that is, the martyrdom by beheading, in the famous German city, of a group of Christians headed by a certain Gereon. In fact, nothing more can be said about them with historical certainty. According to his legend, Gereon (called
96-524: A civil war with Lower Valais, where the "Young Swiss" party, hostile to the Church, were in control. The party friendly to the Church conquered, it is true, and the influence of the Church over teaching was, at first, preserved, but on account of the defeat of the Sonderbund , with which Valais had united, a radical Government gained control in 1847. The new administration at once showed itself unfriendly to
144-578: A new legion were leaving port. During the trial of the martyr Maximilian, it was noted that there were Christians serving in the Roman army, and the existence of Theban Christian legionaries in the same units as mentioned in the Notitia Dignitatum was shown. In 1907, Henri Leclercq noted that the account of Eucherius "has many excellent qualities, historical as well as literary." L. Dupaz countered Denis Van Berchem's assertion by sifting through
192-498: A popular military saint and is often represented in art as a Roman soldier or medieval knight . Along with other saints who were beheaded, he is invoked by those suffering from migraine headaches . Hélinand of Froidmont 's Martyrium mentions Saint Gereon. St. Gereon's Basilica , in Cologne, is dedicated to him. Stefan Lochner painted a triptych in the 15th century which, in the centre piece, shows in almost life-size figures
240-617: A publication now in the public domain : Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). " Agaunum ". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company. Ælfric of Eynsham (1881). "Of the Theban Legion" . Ælfric's Lives of Saints . London, Pub. for the Early English text society, by N. Trübner & co. Roman Catholic Diocese of Sion The Diocese of Sion ( Latin : Dioecesis Sedunensis , French : Diocèse de Sion , German : Bistum Sitten )
288-486: A single cohort was martyred at Agaunum. The remainder of the cohorts (battalion sized units of which there were ten to a legion) were either on the march or already stationed along the Roman road that ran from Liguria through Turin and Milan, then across Alps and down the Rhine to Colonia Agrippinensis (Cologne). L. Dupraz and Paul Müller, by examining the military titles and ranks of the legionnaires and thereby determining
336-731: A struggle against the supremacy of France, was incorporated into the Helvetic Republic , and Prince-bishop Joseph Anton Blatter (1745-1807) went into exile in Novara . During the sway of Napoleon the Valais was separated from Switzerland in 1802 as the Rhodanic Republic , and in 1810 was annexed by France . In 1814 Valais threw off French supremacy, when the Allies entered the territory; in 1815 it joined Switzerland as one of
384-662: Is a Latin Catholic ecclesiastical territory in the canton of Valais , Switzerland . It is the oldest bishopric in the country and one of the oldest north of the Alps. The history of the Bishops of Sion, of the Abbey of St. Maurice of Valais as a whole are inextricably intertwined. The see was established at Octodurum, now called Martigny , the capital of the Roman province of Alpes Poeninae . The first authentically historical bishop
432-580: The Carolingian era , and certainly from the 11th century. In the early 17th century, the Seven Tithings began to mint their own coin, which was vigorously opposed by the bishops until they finally had to cede temporal power to the Republic in 1634. Sion and the district of the Valais were constantly drawn into wider struggles. Walter II of Supersaxo (1457-1482) had taken part in the battles of
480-544: The Coptic Encyclopedia , there were two legions bearing the name "Theban", both of them formed by Diocletian sometime after the organization of the original Egyptian legion, stationed at Alexandria. It is not certain which of these was transferred from Egypt to Europe in order to assist Maximian in Gaul. The monastic accounts themselves do not specifically state that all the soldiers were collectively executed;
528-564: The Martyrs of Agaunum ) figures in Christian hagiography as a Roman legion from Egypt —"six thousand six hundred and sixty-six men" — consisting of Christian soldiers who were martyred together in 286, according to the hagiographies of Maurice , the chief among the Legion's saints. Their feast day is held on September 22. According to Eucherius of Lyon , c. 443–450, the Legion
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#1732802136476576-510: The abbey of Agaunum ) to offer presents of gold, silver and other things. In the late 6th century, Gregory of Tours was convinced of the miraculous powers of the Theban Legion though he transferred the event to Cologne , where there was an early cult devoted to Maurice and the Theban Legion: At Cologne there is a church in which the fifty men from the holy Theban Legion are said to have consummated their martyrdom for
624-557: The rebellion of 1415–1420 . Bishop William IV of Raron (1437-1457) was obliged to relinquish civil and criminal jurisdiction over the sieben Zehnten by the Treaty of Naters in 1446, while a revolt of his subjects compelled Bishop Jost of Silinen (1482-1496) to flee from the diocese. In 1428-1447, the Valais witch trials raged through the area. The bishops of Sion minted their own money from earliest times, possibly from as early as
672-550: The "Golden Saint") was said to be a soldier of the Theban Legion . Gregory of Tours , writing in the 6th century, said that Gereon and his companions were a detachment of fifty men of the Theban Legion who were massacred at Agaunum by order of Emperor Maximian for refusing to sacrifice to pagan gods to obtain victory in battle. Some of his companions' names are stated as being Cassius, Gregorius Maurus, Florentius, Innocentius (Innocent), Constantinus, and Victor. Bede
720-473: The Bishops of Sion much of the authority of an archbishop . The defeat at Marignano and the arbitrary rule of his brothers led to a revolt of Schiner's subjects; in 1518 he was obliged to flee the diocese. The new doctrines of the Reformation found little acceptance in Valais, although preachers were sent into the canton from Bern , Zürich , and Basel . In 1529 Bishop Adrian I of Riedmatten (1529-1548),
768-515: The Church, secularized many church landed properties, and wrung large sums of money from the bishop and monasteries. When in 1856 the moderate party gained the cantonal election, negotiations were begun with Bishop Peter Joseph von Preux (1843-1875), and friendly relations were restored between the diocese and the canton. In 1880 the two powers came to an agreement as to the lands taken from the Church in 1848; these, so far as they had not been sold, were given back for their original uses. In modern times
816-569: The Egyptian desert known as the " Desert Fathers ", and the followers they inspired during the first two centuries. The persecution of high-ranking Christian nobility under Emperor Valerian following his edict in 258 and the purge of Christians from the military from 284 through 299 under Emperor Diocletian indicate that refusing compliance with emperor worship was the common method for detecting Christians. Donald F. O'Reilly argued that evidence from coins, papyrus, and Roman army lists supports
864-428: The Legion had refused to perform sacrifice according to the imperial cult —to " decimate " it by putting to death a tenth of its men. This act was repeated twice before the entire legion was put to death. According to a letter written about 450 by Eucherius, Bishop of Lyon , bodies identified as the martyrs of Agaunum were discovered by Theodore (Theodulus), the first historically identified Bishop of Octudurum , who
912-612: The Rhone were bitterly and successfully opposed by the abbots of Saint-Maurice, who had obtained large possessions in Lower Valais. The medieval bishops of Sion were generally appointed from the younger sons of noble families of Savoy and Valais and often drew the resources of the see into the feuds of these families. Moreover, the bishops were vigorously opposed, as a matter of principle, by the petty feudal nobles of Valais, each in their fortified castle on rocky heights, seeking to evade
960-907: The Swiss against Charles the Bold of Burgundy and his ally, the Duke of Savoy , and in 1475 they drove the House of Savoy from Lower Valais. Linked to the Old Swiss Confederacy since the 15th century, the Valais region was for long divided between the French party (typified by Georg of Supersaxo ) and the Burgundian-Milanese alliance, to which a powerful personage, Cardinal Matthaeus Schiner (1465-1522), bishop of Sion, had thrown his support. Schiner feared French supremacy enough to place
1008-523: The Venerable mentions that their feast was included in the Sarum calendar , as well as the calendars of Barking and Durham . Later medieval legends increased the number of Gereon's companions to 290 or 319, and Norbert of Xanten is said to have discovered, through a vision, the spot at Cologne where the relics of Ursula and her companions, of Gereon, and of other martyrs lay hidden. Gereon became
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#17328021364761056-502: The beginning of the 4th century. At first the new diocese was a suffragan of the archdiocese of Vienne ; later it became suffragan of Tarentaise. In 589 the bishop, St. Heliodorus, transferred the see to Sion, leaving the low-lying, flood-prone site of Octodurum, where the Drance joins the Rhone . Though frequently the early bishops were also abbots of Saint-Maurice, the monastic community
1104-556: The bishop and the government have been on friendly terms, under the Constitution of 1907 that, while it declared the Catholic religion to be the religion of the canton, forbade any union of spiritual and secular functions. The library of Sion is known above all for its 120 medieval codices , dating from the mid-9th century to the late 15th century, some richly illuminated, published by Josef Leisibach and Albert Jörger. The library
1152-450: The cantons. As partial compensation for the loss of his secular power, the bishop received a post of honour in the Diet of the canton and the right to four votes. Disputes often arose as the Constitution of 1815 of the canton gave Upper Valais political predominance in the cantonal government, notwithstanding the fact that its population was smaller than that of Lower Valais. This led in 1840 to
1200-935: The cathedral chapter, and the sieben Zehnten formed an alliance with the Catholic cantons of the Confederation, to maintain and protect the Catholic faith against the efforts of the Reformed cantons. On account of this alliance Valais aided in gaining the victory of the Catholics over the followers of Zwingli at Kappel am Albis in 1531; this victory saved the remaining possessions of the Catholic Church in Switzerland. The abbots of Saint-Maurice opposed all religious innovations as energetically as did Bishops Adrian I of Riedmatten, Hildebrand of Riedmatten (1565-1604), and Adrian II of Riedmatten (1604-1613), so that
1248-524: The last king of Upper Burgundy , Rudolph III , granted the Countship of Valais to Bishop Hugo (998-1017); this union of the spiritual and secular powers made the prince-bishop the most powerful ruler in the valley of the Upper Rhone, the region called the Valais. Taking this donation as a basis, the bishops of Sion extended their secular power, and the religious metropolis of the valley became also
1296-533: The legend of the Theban legion was a literary production, not based on a local tradition. David Woods, Professor of Classics at the University College Cork, alleges that the model of Maurice and the Theban Legion based on Eucherius of Lyon 's letter was a complete fiction. However, the strength of the account is based on the historical reputation of the earliest Christian monks, the hermits of
1344-542: The military force of the diocese at the disposal of the pope and in 1510 brought about an alliance for five years between the Swiss Confederacy and the Roman Church, only to end up as one of the biggest losers in the Swiss defeat at Marignano in 1515, in which the bishop fought himself. In return for his support, Julius II made Schiner a cardinal and in 1513 accepted direct control of the see, which gave
1392-463: The name of Christ. And because the church, with its wonderful construction and mosaics, shines as if somehow gilded, the inhabitants prefer to call it the "Church of the Golden Saints". Once Eberigisilus, who was at the time bishop of Cologne, was racked with severe pains in half his head. He was then in a villa near a village. Eberigisilus sent his deacon to the church of the saints. Since there
1440-569: The political centre. However, the union of the two powers was the cause of violent disputes in the following centuries. For, while the spiritual jurisdiction of the bishop, as Bishop of Sion, extended over the whole valley of the Rhone above Lake Geneva , the Countship of Valais included only the upper part of the valley, reaching to the confluence of the Trient and the Rhone. The attempts of the bishops of Sion to carry their secular power farther down
1488-463: The saint gave his precious soul to the most high God. How much more should this sacred place, Agaunum, be reverenced, where so many thousands of martyrs have been slain, with the sword, for the sake of Christ. As with many hagiographies, Eucherius' letter to Bishop Salvius reinforced an existing pilgrimage site. Many of the faithful were coming from diverse provinces of the empire, according to Eucherius, devoutly to honor these saints, and (important for
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1536-417: The soldiers had been executed, and that this was where the story of the legion's destruction originated from. Henri Leclercq suggests that it is quite possible that an incident at Agaunum may have had to do not with a legion, but with a simple detachment . Johan Mösch, after comparing information from the various chronicles on the events and geography of the martyrdoms of the legionaries, concluded that only
1584-546: The stories, carefully matching them with archeological discoveries at Agaunum, thus concluding that the martyrdom is historical and that the relics of the martyrs were brought to Agaunum between 286 and 392 through the office of the bishop Theodore. Thierry Ruinart , Paul Allard , and the editors of the "Analecta Bollandiana" were of opinion that "the martyrdom of the legion, attested, as it is by ancient and reliable evidence, cannot be called in question by any honest mind." [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from
1632-519: The story of the Theban Legion. A papyrus dated "in the sixth year of our Lord, the Emperor Caesar Marcus Aurelius Probus Pius Augustus, Tubi sixteenth" (13 January 282 AD), shows rations which would sustain a legion for about three months to be delivered to Panopolis to the "mobilized soldiers and sailors". Coins from Alexandria from the same time period were minted in a style used only when troops for
1680-403: The succession of witnesses from the martyrdom to his time, a span of about 150 years. The bishop had made the journey to Agaunum himself, and his report of his visit multiplied a thousandfold the standard formula of the martyrologies : We often hear, do we not, a particular locality or city is held in high honour because of one single martyr who died there, and quite rightly, because in each case
1728-540: The supremacy of the bishop who was at the same time count and prefect of the Holy Roman Empire . Especially in the 14th and 15th centuries, the benefactors in these traditional struggles were often the rich peasant communities of Upper Valais, which were called later the Sieben Zehnden (the "seven tithings"), who exacted increasing political rights as the price of support, beginning with the success of
1776-551: The total number of soldiers involved, estimated that the Thebans martyred at Agaunum consisted of but one cohort whose number did not exceed 520 men. Thus the execution of an entire cohors is equivalent to decimation of a legion. The account of the Theban legion is regarded as fictitious by certain modern revisionist historians. In 1956 Denis Van Berchem, of the University of Geneva , proposed that Eucherius' presentation of
1824-481: The twelfth century bishop Otto of Freising (probably influenced by Gregory of Tours' account) wrote in his Chronica de duabus civitatibus that many of the legionaries escaped and only some were executed at Agaunum , and the others apprehended later and put to death both at Bonn and Köln . It is possible that the legion was simply divided during Diocletian's re-organization of units (breaking up legions of 6000 men to create smaller units of 1000), and that some of
1872-493: The whole of Valais remained ostensibly Catholic. Both Adrian II and his successor Hildebrand Jost (1613-1638) were again involved in disputes with the sieben Zehnten in regard to the exercise of the rights of secular supremacy, which were finally settled in 1630, when the Bishops relinquished their territorial rule. The secular power of the bishops was brought to an end by the French Revolution. In 1798 Valais, after
1920-592: The worshipping of the Magi, and the side panels of which represent Ursula with her companions, and Gereon with his warriors. In 1810 the triptych was moved from the town hall to the choir chapel of the cathedral. Saint-Géréon is a small town located in the department of Loire-Atlantique of the French region Pays de la Loire. The martyr is depicted on the 13th century seal of the Convent of St. Gereon, Cologne. Theban Legion The Theban Legion (also known as
1968-578: Was Saint Theodore/Theodolus (died in 391), who was present at the Council of Aquileia in 381. He founded the Abbey of Saint-Maurice , with a small church in honor of Saint Maurice , martyred there c. 300, when he united the local hermits in a common life, thus beginning the Abbey of Saint-Maurice, the oldest north of the Alps. Theodore rebuilt the church at Sion, which had been destroyed by Emperor Maximinus at
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2016-526: Was employed to condemn atrocities committed under military orders. For Donald O'Reilly, an apologist for the historicity of the account in 1978, it was "the moral issue of organized violence". Thebaei is the proper name of one particular military unit, the Legio I Maximiana , also known as Maximiana Thebaeorum , recorded in the Notitia Dignitatum . According to Samir F. Girgis, writing in
2064-507: Was garrisoned at Thebes in Egypt. The Legion was quartered in the East until the emperor Maximian ordered them to march to Gaul , to assist him against the rebels of Burgundy . The Theban Legion was commanded by Maurice (Mauritius), Candidus , Innocent, and Exuperius , all of whom are venerated as saints . At Saint-Maurice, Switzerland , then called Agaunum , the orders were given—since
2112-536: Was in the care of the sacristan of the cathedral chapter of canons. He also was responsible for the security of the treasury. From the 12th century, the chapter was responsible for the Bishop's chancelry and kept the archives; doubtless there was a modest scriptorium . The library was enriched by donations from canons and in the 15th century from bishops: Guillaume VI de Rarogne (1437-1451), Jost de Silenen (1482-1496) and above all Walter Supersaxo (1457-1482) who possessed
2160-472: Was included among the persecution of Christians detailed in John Foxe 's 1583 Actes and Monuments , an early Protestant stand-by. Accounts of the moral inculcated by the exemplum of the Theban Legion resonate with the immediate culture of each teller. The miraculous whole-hearted unanimity of the Legion to the last individual, was downplayed by Hugo Grotius , for whom the moral of the Theban Legion
2208-488: Was jealously watchful that the bishops should not extend their jurisdiction over the abbey. Several of the bishops united both offices: Wilcharius (764-780), previously Archbishop of Vienne , whence he had been driven by the Moors ; St. Alteus, who received from the pope a bull of exemption in favor of the monastery (780); Aimo II, son of Count Humbert I of Savoy , who entertained Leo IX at Saint-Maurice in 1049. About 999,
2256-418: Was present at the Council of Aquileia, 381 and died in 391. The basilica he built in their honor attracted the pilgrim trade; its remains can still be seen, part of the abbey begun in the early sixth century on land donated by King Sigismund of Burgundy . The earliest surviving document describing "the holy Martyrs who have made Agaunum illustrious with their blood" is the letter of Eucherius, which describes
2304-471: Was said to be in the middle of the church a pit into which the saints were thrown together after their martyrdom , the deacon collected some dust there and brought it to the bishop . As soon as the dust touched Eberigisilus' head, immediately all pain was gone. The tale of steadfast conduct and faith was embroidered in later retellings and figured in the Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine and
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