Stremonius or Saint Austremonius or Saint Stramonius or Austromoine, the "apostle of

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; or ) is a cultural region in central France. As of 2016 Auvergne is no longer an administrative division of France. It is generally regarded as conterminous with the land area of the historical Province of Auvergne, which was dis ...

," was the first

Bishop of Clermont The Archdiocese of Clermont (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Claromontana''; French language, French: ''Archidiocèse de Clermont'') is a Latin Church, Latin archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the Departments of Fr ...

. He is venerated as a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Legend

During the consulship (in 250 AD) of the Emperor

Decius Gaius Messius Quintus Trajanus Decius ( 201June 251), known as Trajan Decius or simply Decius (), was Roman emperor from 249 to 251. A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was proclaimed emperor by his troops a ...

and Vettius Gratus, according to

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 ...

, who calls him Stremonius,

Pope Fabian Pope Fabian () was the bishop of Rome from 10 January 236 until his death on 20 January 250, succeeding Pope Anterus, Anterus. A Doves as symbols, dove is said to have descended on his head to mark him as the Holy Spirit in Christianity, Holy Sp ...

sent out seven bishops from Rome to

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

to preach the Gospel: Gatien to Tours,

Trophimus Trophimus (, ''Tróphimos'') or Trophimus the Ephesian (, ''Tróphimos ho Ephésios'') was a Christian who accompanied Paul during a part of his third missionary journey. He was with Paul in Jerusalem, and the Jews, supposing that the apostle ...

to Arles,

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

to Narbonne,

Saturnin Saturnin of Toulouse (, , , , and , , and ) was one of the ''" Apostles to the Gauls"'' sent out (probably under the direction of Pope Fabian, 236–250) during the consulate of Decius and Gratus (250–251) to Christianise Gaul after the pers ...

us to Toulouse,

Denis Denis may refer to: People * Saint Denis of Paris, 3rd-century Christian martyr and first bishop of Paris * Denis the Areopagite, Biblical figure * Denis, Bishop of Győr (13th century), Hungarian prelate * Denis, son of Ampud (died 1236), bar ...

to Paris,

Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman and Celtiberian poet born in Bilbilis, Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of '' Epigrams'', pu ...

to Limoges, and Austromoine to Clermont. At Clermont he is said to have converted the senator

Cassius of Clermont Saint Cassius of Clermont is venerated as a Christian martyr of the 3rd century. He was a senator who was converted to Christianity by Austromoine. Cassius was killed with Victorinus (a pagan priest who had also been converted by Austremonius), ...

and the pagan priest Victorinus, to have sent St. Serenus to Thiers, St. Marius to

Salers Salers (, ) is a commune in the Cantal department in south-central France. It is a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (The Most Beautiful Villages of France) Association. It is famous for the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC ...

, and Antoninus into other parts of Auvergne, and to have been beheaded. A tradition states that Saint Austremonius ordered Nectarius of Auvergne to Christianize the plain of

Limagne The Limagne (; ) is a large plain in the Auvergne, Auvergne region of France in the valley of the Allier (river), Allier river, on the edge of the Massif Central. It mainly lies within the ''departments of France, départements'' of Puy-de-Dôme, ...

in the Massif Central.

Veneration

His veneration was highly localized, but at Clermont he was moved back in time, to the 1st century AD, along with others of the Apostles to Gaul, such as

Saint Martial Martial of Limoges (3rd century), whose name is also rendered as Marcial, Martialis, and Marcialis, and is also called "the Apostle of the Gauls" or "the Apostle of Aquitaine," was the first bishop of Limoges. Venerated as a Christian saint, Mar ...

, to become one of the "seventy-two Disciples of Christ", and was claimed to have been a converted Jew who came with St. Peter from

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and subsequently became the Apostle of Auvergne, as well as of

Berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples of berries in the cul ...

and

Nivernais Nivernais (, ) was a province of France, around the city of Nevers, which forms the modern department of Nièvre. It roughly coincides with the former Duchy of Nevers.Issoire Issoire (; Auvergnat: ''Issoire'', ''Ussoire'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. Geography Issoire is located on the river Couze, near its confluence with the Allier, SSE of Clermont-Ferrand on the ...

on the Couze. The local view found its origin in a life of St. Austremonius written in the 10th century in the

Abbey of Mozac Mozac Abbey is a former Cluniac monastery in the commune of Mozac near Riom in Auvergne, France. History A monastery was founded here in either 533 or 680 by Saint Calminius (''Saint Calmin'') and his wife, Saint Namadia. Calminius is said to ...

, where the body of the saint was transferred in 761.Havey, Francis. "St. Austremonius." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 12 April 2019 The ''Vita'' was rewritten and amplified by the monks of

Issoire Issoire (; Auvergnat: ''Issoire'', ''Ussoire'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. Geography Issoire is located on the river Couze, near its confluence with the Allier, SSE of Clermont-Ferrand on the ...

, who retained as a relic the saint's head. There is a further elaborated ''Vita'' of the late 11th century, with new episodes, made at the same time as a forgery of a charter of Pippin (the Short or one of two kings of Aquitaine being intended). The tomb was opened in 1197.

, who was born in Auvergne in 544 and was well versed in the history of that country, looks upon Austremonius as one of the seven envoys who, about 250, evangelized Gaul; he relates how the body of the saint was first interred at Issoire, being there the object of great veneration, before the body, though not the head, was

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

to Clermont. The possibility that the major dioceses of Gaul each needed an apostolic figure, and that where the historical details had lapsed (compare Gatien of Tours) one had to be supplied, to serve local pride, should not be entirely dismissed.

Gallery

image:Statue_saint_Austremoine.jpg File:Cl-Fd Saint-Eutrope Austremoine.jpg Image:Statue St Austremonius Issoire.jpg Image:Châsse calmin mozac 6.JPG Image:Life Saint-Austremoine Issoire bottom.jpg Image:Life Saint-Austremoine Issoire middle.jpg Image:Martyrdom Saint-Austremoine Issoire top.jpg

References

External links

BQR sources hagiographiques
Hagiographic sources for Auvergne (in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Austromoine 3rd-century deaths Bishops of Clermont 3rd-century bishops in Gaul 3rd-century Christian saints Gallo-Roman saints Year of birth unknown Legendary Romans