Saint Ceraunus

Dom Rivet Dom Rivet Author of the Histoire littéraire de la France. , Literary History of France; Gallia Christiana nova Gallia Christiana nova Reference work on the ecclesiastical history of Gaul. .

Saint Ceraunus or Ceran succeeded Bishop Simplicius. In his person, the Church of Paris had a prelate worthy of the first centuries of Christianity, in whom learning walked hand in hand with virtue. He first applied himself to being thoroughly instructed, at the very sources, in all the dogmas of religion; and, when he had received the fullness of the priesthood, he made it a capital duty to work to imitate through his actions the holiest bishops of the apostolic times. One of the principal fruits of his knowledge and piety was to collect the Acts of the Martyrs, in order to preserve them in his Church as precious monuments of their constancy and faith. To this end, he addressed himself to a cleric of Langres, named Warnahaire, to obtain those of some Saints. Warnahaire sent them to him with the following letter: "You do not cease to walk in the footsteps and equal the merit of the most illustrious bishops by your entire conduct in the priesthood, where you seek no other brilliance than that which religion gives. You have already made yourself skilled in the holy letters, and, to crown your glory, you wish to collect in the city of Paris the Acts of the Martyrs; in which you are comparable to Saint Eusebius of Caesarea. Excuse my lack of capacity: I would praise you better if I had more eloquence; but you will at least know my obedience. I send you, as you have ordered me, the Acts of the three twins of Langres (Speusippus, Eleusippus, and Meleusippus), and those of Saint Desiderius, martyr and bishop of this city." This is all that we know precisely about Saint Ceraunus. His zeal for collecting the histories of the Saints deserved, however, that his own be preserved for us. It is nevertheless undoubted that he attended the Council which met on October 18, 614, by the order of King Clotaire II, in the church of Saint-Pierre and Saint-Paul, in Paris, where seventy-nine bishops from all the provinces of the Gauls that he had newly reunited under his dominion were present. Perhaps Saint Ceraunus also attended the Council that, two years later, Clotaire convened in one of his royal houses, at Bonneuil (apud Bonagilum), in the territory of Meaux. His death can be fixed between the years 618 and 621. He was buried on September 27, the day his feast is celebrated in the diocese, and his body was deposited in the underground chapel of the church of Saint-Pierre and Saint-Paul, to the left of the tomb of Saint Genevieve. His translation took place on November 16, 1628; but, during the Revolution, his relics, for fear of profanation, were burned with others that were kept in the church of Sainte-Genevieve. Pious hands collected the ashes; and, when peace was restored to the Church of France, they were deposited in the parish church of Saint-Leu and Saint-Gilles, where they are preserved today.

Saint Ceraunus or Ceran succeeded Bishop Simplicius. In his person, the Church of Paris had a prelate worthy of the first centuries of Christianity, and in whom learning went hand in hand with virtue. He first applied himself to being thoroughly instructed, at the very sources, in all the dogmas of religion; and, when he had received the fullness of the priesthood, he made it a capital duty to work to imitate through his actions the holiest bishops of apostolic times. One of the principal fruits of his knowledge and piety was to collect the Acts of the Martyrs, in order to preserve them in his Church as precious monuments of their constancy and faith. To this end, he addressed himself to a cleric of Langres, named Warnahaire, to obtain those of some Saints. Warnahaire sent them to him with the following letter: "You never cease to walk in the footsteps and equal the merit of the most illustrious bishops through all your conduct in the priesthood, where you seek no other brilliance than that which religion gives. You have already made yourself skilled in the holy letters, and, to crown your glory, you wish to collect in the city of Paris the Acts of the Martyrs; in which you are comparable to Saint Eusebius of Caesarea. Excuse my lack of ability: I would praise you better if I had more eloquence; but you will at least know my obedience. I send you, as you have ordered me, the Acts of the three twins of Langres (Speusippus, Eleusippus, and Meleusippus), and those of Saint Desiderius, martyr and bishop of this city." This is all that we know precisely about Saint Ceraunus. His zeal for collecting the histories of the Saints certainly deserved that his own be preserved for us. It is nevertheless undoubted that he attended the Council which met on October 18, 614, by the order of King Clotaire II, in the church of Saint-Pierre and Saint-Paul, in Paris, where seventy-nine bishops from all the provinces of the Gauls that he had newly reunited under his dominion were present. Perhaps Saint Ceraunus also attended the Council that, two years later, Clotaire convened in one of his royal houses, at Bonneuil (apud Bonagilum), in the territory of Meaux. His death can be fixed between the years 618 and 621. He was buried on September 27, the day his feast is celebrated in the diocese, and his body was deposited in the underground chapel of the church of Saint-Pierre and Saint-Paul, to the left of the tomb of Saint Genevieve. His translation took place on November 16, 1628; but, during the Revolution, his relics, for fear of desecration, were burned with others that were kept in the church of Sainte-Geneviève. Pious hands collected the ashes; and, when peace was restored to the Church of France, they were deposited in the parish church of Saint-Leu and Saint-Gilles, where they are preserved today.

Dom Rivet, Histoire littéraire de la France; Gallia Christiana nova.