Saint Euphronius of Autun

While still only a simple priest and young, he showed himself worthy of the episcopate to which Providence destined him, not only by the breadth of his ecclesiastical knowledge and the eminence of all priestly virtues, but also by one of those works that immediately reveal the worth of a man. Saint Symphorien rested in a simple and small chapel, the only monument erected until then to such a great and holy renown. Euphrone, whose ideas were elevated and whose heart was as broad as it was pious, believed that this was not enough for the Christian hero, the most brilliant illustration of his homeland and even of the Church of the Gauls. Every time he went to pray in this dear and venerated, but too humble sanctuary, he said to himself: Does not the honor of the religion for which this young and valiant athlete fought, the honor also of the city that gave him birth, the good of souls, the edification of the numerous pilgrims, all demand that we render to our glorious compatriot and martyr a cult more worthy of him, and above all more worthy of the God who is pleased to glorify him? Let us honor him on earth in proportion, if possible, to the honors he receives in heaven, by adorning with holy magnificence the tomb where the sacred body of this spotless victim immolated to the Lord reposes. Symphorien enjoys almighty credit with the divine rewarder whose friend he is: let us raise under his name a temple to the One for whom he fought; let us display there the majesty of worship; let us establish near these relics a house of prayer where religious will incessantly implore his fraternal protection and bring down upon us the graces of which Jesus Christ has made him the special dispenser to his fellow citizens. To honor the saints, the martyrs, is this not also to sow seeds of holiness on earth, to provoke virtue by the compelling influence of example, to awaken faith, to inspire generous impulses in Christian courage, to revive in the hearts of the faithful the fire of divine charity? Finally, is not the glory of the saints on earth the glory of the Church, the glory of God himself?

Such was the object of his thoughts or rather his constant preoccupation and his most ardent wish. Moreover, his decision was soon made. Rich, but truly master and not slave of his riches, he knew how to use them nobly and holily; as a priest, he regarded himself only as the administrator of his fortune, persuaded that Providence had given it to him so that it might be in his hands an instrument of good works. Full of these high ideas, penetrated by these sentiments so beautiful and so Christian, he listened only to the inspiration of his priestly zeal; and soon, thanks to his pious munificence, rose in honor and under the name of Saint-Symphorien a superb basilica where the body of the glorious martyr was deposited with great pomp, along with those of Saint Faustus, his venerable father, and Saint Augusta, his heroic mother, both worthy to share here below the honors of the religious cult rendered to their son, just as they share his reward in heaven. Thus the precious remains of those who were our ancestors according to the faith and the most radiant jewel of the crown of Christian Autun, rece Autun Burgundian diocese associated with the saint's burial. ived a striking, a solemn testimony of the veneration they deserved. The faithful, seeing surrounded by holy magnificence and all the splendors, all the pomp of the sacred liturgy, a tomb that they venerated, that they loved as a family tomb, as a title of glory and protection, as a source of celestial favors, blessed the worthy priest Euphrone and thanked God for always wishing to give his Church examples of high virtues. — The architecture of this ancient basilica of Saint-Symphorien must have had a style and character analogous to tho se of the Roman monuments tha basilique de Saint-Symphorien Major religious edifice built by Euphronius. t then decorated the city, that is to say, elegance in grandeur. We would like to be able to describe it; but history is content to praise in general terms the majestic elevation of the holy edifice which struck the gaze from afar. The entrance was preceded by a superb narthex or portico. It was there that the tomb of Saint Symphorien was first placed; there that the numerous pilgrims coming from all parts to venerate the relics of the famous martyr, and the sick asking for their healing, found shelter.

Euphronius did not content himself with building this great church; he completed his work by establishing, to serve the basilica, a numerous community of regular clergy. This holy house became like a beacon of light for the whole country and a sort of diocesan seminary where the clergy were formed. Autun had an abbey in the proper sense. This great religious establishment, one of the oldest in Gaul, must therefore be marked in the history of the monastic Order as well as in the history of the cult and posthumous glory of Saint Symphorian. Thus, Euphronius had the double merit of raising over the tomb of our illustrious Saint a magnificent temple to the God of the martyrs and, at the same time, of maintaining there the holy psalmody; of fostering and developing there regular discipline, ecclesiastical vocations, and clerical life; of making evangelical perfection flourish there, in the shadow of the vast and beautiful cloister that he had just had built to gather and shelter the chosen souls who, finding the world too low for them and feeling ill at ease there, aspire to rise higher, to live in a purer atmosphere. This remarkable monument to the zeal and piety of the holy priest was like the confluence where the two great sources of monastic life at that time came to mingle: the rule of Saint Basil arriving from Cappadocia and that of Saint Anthony from Egypt. These two rules preceded all others in these places and formed the primitive code of the great monastery of Saint-Symphorian, where one saw the cenobitic life and the solitary life unite and merge into a harmonious unity: activity in recollection for some; prayer and meditation in the secrecy of a cell for others; the practice of the evangelical counsels for all.

This great work, so fruitful in the present and destined to be even more so in the future, was finally accomplished. It highlighted more than ever the holy priest who had already attracted general esteem and veneration through his learning, his wisdom, his priestly virtues, and the good use he made of his wealth. Thus, everyone designated him in advance for the episcopate; and when, many years later, the see of Autun became vacant upon the death of Leo siège d'Autun Burgundian diocese associated with the saint's burial. ntius (around the year 460), h e was Léonce Predecessor of Euphronius in the see of Autun. proclaimed by a unanimous voice as the successor to this holy prelate. His election merely ratified a choice long since settled by public opinion. He thus passed from the government of the monastery of Saint-Symphorien, of which he was undoubtedly the first abbot, to the government of a great diocese. No one was as capable as he of such an eminent position. From then on, his merit, placed on a higher stage and finding a more extended sphere in which to develop, cast an even brighter light, radiated further, and was able to exert a vast influence, which did not even stop at the borders of the church of Autun. Like Rheticius, one of his most illustrious predecessors, the new bishop became one of the lights and one of the finest ornaments of the Church of Gaul. Consulted from all sides, loved and appreciated everywhere, enjoying immense consideration, often in contact with the most illustrious figures of his time and with all the great prelates who were then the glory of the episcopate, he was involved in several important affairs and showed on every occasion that ecclesiastical learning, that wisdom, that zeal for divine worship and for holy discipline which he possessed to such a remarkable degree.

After having been an advisor to Talasius of Angers regarding worship and discipline, and to Sidonius of Clermont in the selection of the bishop of Bourges, Saint Simplicius, the soul along with Saint Patient of a meeting of bishops that gave the people of Chalon a worthy pastor in the person of Saint John, Euphronius was als o the light of the Co concile d'Arles (475) Assembly of bishops that condemned predestinarianism. uncil of Arles (475), where twenty-nine bishops conde mned the errors Prédestinations Theological doctrine condemned at the Council of Arles. of the Predestinarians that had caused trouble in the churches of Provence. The august assembly had the consolation of seeing the priest Lucidus, a proponent of this heresy, retract in these terms: "In accordance with the decree just issued by the venerable council, I condemn with it this proposition: *The action of divine grace is independent of human will or cooperation*. The Catholic dogma was set forth in a letter drafted by Faustu s of Riez. The Fauste de Riez Bishop and author of the dogmatic letter of the Council of Arles. signature of Euphronius is one of those that can be read following this beautiful monument to the faith of the episcopate of Gaul. He had gone to protest in the name of his Church against the false interpretations given by some reckless individuals to the doctrine of Saint Augustine on grace. It is thus that this great bishop is found everywhere there is a serious interest for discipline or the faith.

Not content with having shown, as seen previously, such zeal and magnificence in honoring the relics and memory of Saint Symphorian, he also contributed through pious liberality to adorning the tomb of Saint Martin in T ours: an adm saint Martin Saint whose relics were honored by missionaries in Tours. irable thought to testify so highly that the Church of Autun loved to remember that this great Saint had honored these places with his presence, marked his passage with miracles, evangelized the peoples, and contributed powerfully to destroying the remnants of idolatry. Saint Euphronius died around the year 490, full of days, but above all of merits and glory before God as before men, which is to say that he went to receive in heaven the reward for his virtues and his long labors. He was buried in the basilica and near the tomb of Saint Symphorian. He himself had chosen his final resting place there; it was there that he wished to await in peace, in the company and under the protection of the young Saint, the object of his devotion and his love, the day of the glorious resurrection. He rested in this basilica until 1803, the time at which he was transferred to the Cathedral of Autun. Several churches were placed under the patronage of Saint Euphronius or even bore his name, one among others located near Semur-en-Auxois, which was under the nomination of the Chapter of the Cathedral of Autun. Excerpt from *Saint Symphorien et son culte*, by Abbé Dinet.