Eberigisil (died before 593) was

Bishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne ...

, being the fifth well-attested bishop, and the first with a Frankish name. Evergislu's tenure was marked by the unrest brought about by the migration of peoples, which dominated both city and country. Evergislus tried to build up religious life and ecclesiastical peace.

Life

He is mentioned by

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (born ; 30 November – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours during the Merovingian period and is known as the "father of French history". He was a prelate in the Merovingian kingdom, encom ...

but always using the past tense, so it is assumed that Eberigisil died before 594. Gregory says that Eberigisil built a church in honor of the martyr Mallosus in Birten, near

Xanten Xanten (, Low Rhenish: ''Santen'') is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Wesel. Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park, one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the ...

. In 590 he settled disputes in a nunnery in

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

on behalf of

Childebert II Childebert II ( – 596) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia (which included Provence at the time) from 575 until his death in March 596, and the king of Burgundy from 592 to his death, as the adopted son of his uncle Guntram. Childh ...

."Evergislus", Heilige
/ref> Heriger of Lobbes mentions him as a bishop of Maastricht but this may well be a mix up.

Legend

According to an 11th-century legend, Eberigisil came from a wealthy family in the Flemish town of

Tongeren Tongeren (; ; ; ) is a city and former municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg, in the southeastern corner of the Flemish region of Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium, as the only Roman administrative capital wit ...

. When Bishop Severin of Cologne was visiting there (Tongern belonged to the Cologne ecclesiastical province at the time), he took the boy, who was considered pious, with him to the episcopal city on the Rhine, educated him and ordained him a deacon. When Severin died, Evergislus became his successor. On a later visit to his hometown of Tongeren, he is said to have been murdered by robbers and buried in the local Church of Our Lady. From a historical point of view, however, this narrative is not possible, since Severin was bishop of Cologne around 397.

Veneration

In 954 Archbishop Bruno I transferred the supposedrelics of Evergisilus« from

to St. Cecilia's Church, Cologne. Eberigisil was a co-patron of St. Cecilia's Church, which is now a museum. Today his relics rest in the nearby parish church of St. Peter. He is revered as a Catholic saint, honoured on 24 October, and is the patron saint of glaziers, and glass painters. The parish church in Brenig is dedicated to St. Evergislus."Patrozinium St. Evergislus", Sankt Evergilus, Bornheim-Brenig
/ref> Eberigisil is often depicted in episcopal regalia with a palm leaf.

Notes

References

Sources

* Régis de la Haye, ''De bisschoppen van Maastricht''. Maastricht, 1985

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ebergisil Roman Catholic bishops of Cologne 6th-century Frankish bishops 6th-century deaths 6th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown