Severin of Cologne () was the third
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 ...
, living in the later 4th century.
Life
Severin is said in 376 to have founded a
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 ...
in the then
Colonia Agrippina in honour of the martyrs
Cornelius and
Cyprian
Cyprian (; ; to 14 September 258 AD''The Liturgy of the Hours according to the Roman Rite: Vol. IV.'' New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1975. p. 1406.) was a bishop of Carthage and an early Christian writer of Berbers, Berber descent, ...
, from which developed the later
Basilica of St. Severin. Severin is notable as a prominent opponent of
Arianism
Arianism (, ) is a Christology, Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is co ...
.
[
According to legend, Severinus was taking a walk in a field while still a priest when he heard a voice tell him he would one day be bishop of Cologne. When he asked when that would happen, he was told when his staff buds and flowers. Immediately, he stuck his staff into the ground, it budded and he was called to Cologne.]Alban Butler
Alban Butler (13 October 171015 May 1773) was an English Roman Catholic priest and hagiography, hagiographer. Born in Northamptonshire, he studied at the English College, in Douai, Douay, France where he later taught philosophy and theology. He s ...
; Kathleen Jones, ed, ''Butler's Lives of the Saints: New Full Edition (December)'' (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 2000), p. 156.
Veneration
Severin was highly venerated in Cologne early on. His bones are today preserved in a gold shrine in the choir of St Severin's Church in Cologne. That seen today is a reconstruction of 1819, as the medieval shrine was melted down for the gold in the period of French rule, c. 1795–98. Its opening in 1999 corroborated the documented transfer of the bones of bishop Wigfried of Cologne (924–953), as it was possible to date the old inner wooden shrine by the latest dendrochronological techniques to the year 948.[ An ancient cloth, probably ]Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
, was also discovered, with which the wooden box was lined. The saint's feast day is 23 October.
Severin of Cologne is also venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...
.
See also
* Severinus of Bordeaux
References
External links
The wooden shrine of Saint Severin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Severin Of Cologne
403 deaths
Roman Catholic bishops of Cologne
4th-century bishops in Germania
Saints of Germania
4th-century Christian saints
Year of birth unknown