Eugendus (also Augendus; ; 449 – January 1, 510) was the fourth abbot of

Condat Abbey Condat Abbey was founded in the 420s in the valley of Bienne, in the Jura mountains, in modern-day France. Condat became the capital of '' Haut Jura''. The founders were local monks, Romanus (died c. 463), who had been ordained by St. Hilary of ...

, at

Saint-Claude, Jura Saint-Claude () is a commune and a sous-préfecture of the Jura department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It lies on the river Bienne. History The town was originally named ''Saint-Oyand'' after Saint Eugendus. H ...

Life

Eugendus was born at

Izernore Izernore () is a Communes of France, commune in the Ain Departments of France, department in eastern France. An ancient Roman art, Roman bronze hoard consisting of a patera and an oval dish was found in Izernore in 1845 and is now in the Briti ...

. He was instructed in reading and writing by his father, who had become a priest, and at the age of seven was entrusted to Romanus and Lupicinus to be educated at Condat Abbey. Thenceforth he never left the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

. Eugendus acquired much learning, read the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

authors, and was well versed in the

Scriptures Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

. He led a life of great austerity, but out of humility did not wish to be ordained priest.Meier, Gabriel. "St. Eugendus." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909 Abbot Minausius made him his

coadjutor The term "coadjutor" (literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadjutor bishop ...

, and after the former's death (about 496) Eugendus became his successor. After the monastery, which Romanus had built of wood, was destroyed by fire, Eugendus erected another of stone, and improved the community life; thus far the brethren had lived in separate cells after the fashion of the Eastern ascetics. As abbot he transformed its early eremitism to a coenobitic rule. Eugendus played a key role in the development of pre-Benedictine monasticism in Gaul , and was influenced by early monastic rules (including the rule of

John Cassian John Cassian, also known as John the Ascetic and John Cassian the Roman (, ''Ioannes Cassianus'', or ''Ioannes Massiliensis''; Greek: Ίωάννης Κασσιανός ό Ερημίτης; – ), was a Christian monk and theologian celebrated ...

). Eugendus increased the independence of the monastery and transformed it into an ecclesiastical principality that ruled all Upper Jura. He built an abbey church in honour of the Apostles

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

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, and

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, and enriched it with precious

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

; the church was the predecessor of the rebuilt abbey church that is now Saint-Claude Cathedral The order, which had been founded on the rules of the Oriental monasteries, now took on more of the active character of the Western brethren. Condat began to flourish as a place of refuge for all those who suffered from the misfortunes and afflictions of those eventful times. When Eugendus felt his end approaching he had his breast anointed by a priest according to the custom, took leave of his brethren, and died quietly after five days, at the age of sixty-one.

Veneration

A few years after his death, his successor, Viventiolus, erected a shrine over his tomb in the abbey church, to which numerous pilgrims travelled. The village that grew round Condat Abbey came to be called, after Eugendus, ''Saint-Oyand de Joux'', a name it retained as late as the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, while the abbey's former name of Condat passed into oblivion. (However,

Claudius of Besançon Saint Claudius of Besançon (), sometimes called Claude the Thaumaturge ( 607 – June 6, 696 or 699 AD), was a priest, monk, abbot, and bishop. A native of Franche-Comté, Claudius became a priest at Besançon and later a monk. Georges Goyau ...

, who had resigned in 687 as

Bishop of Besançon A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

to become twelfth abbot, died at the abbey in 696. His grave became such a popular centre of pilgrimage that by the thirteenth century, the use of the name "Saint-Claude" had become general, and eventually superseded that of Saint-Oyand, so that the place is now known as Saint-Claude and gave its name to the Diocese of Saint-Claude.) Eugendus has a biography in the '' Vita patrum Jurensium''. The feast of Saint Eugendus was at first transferred to 2 January; in the dioceses of Besançon and Saint-Claude it is now celebrated on 4 January.

Notes

References

*Burns, Paul. ''Butler's Lives of the Saints: New Full Edition.'' Collegeville, MN:The Liturgical Press, 1995. . ;Attribution {{Authority control 510 deaths 6th-century Christian saints Gallo-Roman saints Year of birth unknown