Albinus Of Angers
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Saint Albinus of Angers (; c. 470 – March 1, 550), also known as Saint Albin () in English, was a French
abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
and
bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
. Born to a
noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...
Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...
family at
Vannes Vannes (; , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, French department of Morbihan, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, northwestern mainland France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic ...
,
Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
, St. Albinus was a
monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...
and from 504 A.D. Abbot of Tintillac (which no longer stands; its location has not been satisfactorily identified). His reputation spread during the twenty-five years in which he served as abbot. In 529, St. Albinus was elected, against his wishes, Bishop of Angers.


Episcopate

He campaigned against incestuous weddings, such as those that occurred between members of the nobility.

He participated in the Third Council of Orléans (538) after Childebert I, King Childebert granted permission for this council to take place. Albinus sought advice from St. Caesarius of Arles after seeing laxity in other bishops. Tradition states that he helped all in distress, using diocesan funds to free hostages from pirates. Another tradition states that he clashed with King Childebert, who had imprisoned a woman called Etherie, from Douille near Angers. Unable to secure her release Albinus visited her in prison, and the soldier who tried to resist him fell dead at his feet. This so impressed the king that he allowed St. Albinus to bail her out. Another legend relates that St. Albinus once prayed far into the night for some men imprisoned in the Tower of Angers. Suddenly a great stone collapsed from the wall, allowing their escape.


Death and burial

St. Albinus died in 550 and was buried in the church of Saint-Pierre at Angers. In 556, a church was dedicated to him and his body was buried in its
crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...
. Near this church an abbey arose, called ''Saint-Aubin''.


Veneration

St. Gregory of Tours remarks on the cult of St. Albinus, which later became diffused in Germany, England, and Poland, making St. Albinus a popular saint during the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
. St. Venantius Fortunatus, a near contemporary, wrote a life of this saint. Churches were dedicated to him right across the continent as far as Poland, and he was sometimes seen as the
patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
for protection from
pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...
attack. This may have been based on the tradition that he bought back parishioners who had been taken captive by pirates sailing up the
Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...
river. Later the tradition was reinforced by a miracle recorded in the 10th century, when the walled town of
Guérande Guérande (; , ; ) is a medieval town located in the departments of France, department of Loire-Atlantique, and the administrative regions of France, region of Pays de la Loire, Western France. The inhabitants are referred to as ''Guérandais'' ...
, near the mouth of the
Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...
, prayed to St. Albinus for help and found their attackers miraculously defeated. In the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, Nicholas Belfort notably wrote describing miracles performed at the tomb of St. Aubin after the year 1000 AD. Belfort was a Regular Canon in the monastery of St John the Baptist by the city of
Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital ...
. Thus, his fame increased and many coastal villages chose Aubin as their patron saint. Presumably this is the reason why St. Aubin in
Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...
bears his name, preserving the name of an ancient chapel that has long since disappeared. St. Aubin is venerated there in the
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
church of St Aubin on the Hill. (See Saint-Aubin for other places named for him.) St. Albinus is the name of a tune written by
Henry Gauntlett Henry John Gauntlett (9 July 1805 in Wellington, Shropshire – 21 February 1876 in London) was an English organist and songwriter known in British music circles for his authorship of many hymns and other pieces for the organ. Biography Henry ...
to the hymn 'Jesus lives! Thy terrors now' by Christian Furchtegott Gellert 1715-1769 (New English Hymnal #112) St. Albinus'
feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...
is celebrated on March 1.

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References

THE LIFE OF ST. AUBIN by
Venantius Fortunatus Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus ( 530 600/609 AD; ), known as Saint Venantius Fortunatus (, ), was a Latin poet and hymnographer in the Merovingian Court, and a bishop of the Early Church who has been venerated since the Middle Ages. ...
, translated by John Dodd
Author's Prologue
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070110000257/http://www.societe-jersiaise.org/whitsco/aubin5.htm Chapter 2 Aubin is honoured by King Childebert and by many miracles through God's grace.br>Chapter 3: More miracles of St Aubin – his death and his translation
THE MIRACLES OF ST AUBIN by Nicholas Belfort, translated by John Dodd

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070110000440/http://www.societe-jersiaise.org/whitsco/aubin10.htm Chapter II The remarkable case of the paralysis of a certain pious man who after seven years was healed at St Aubin's tomb.]
Chapter III Victory over the enemy by the good offices of Saint Aubin – the habit of swearing is rebuked.
THE LIFE OF ST AUBIN – DETAILS ON SOURCES by John Dodd

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20081121011820/http://www.societe-jersiaise.org/whitsco/aubin16.htm Chapter II The Miracles of St Aubin and his Translation


External links


Information about St. Aubin

''Sant' Albino di Angers''


See also

Abbey of Saint-Aubin {{DEFAULTSORT:Albinus Of Angers Bishops of Angers Religion in Jersey Aubin 6th-century Frankish bishops 470 births 550 deaths 6th-century Frankish saints Medieval Breton saints 6th-century Breton people