Victricius (; ) also known as Victricius of Rouen ( 330 – c. 407 AD) was a bishop of Rouen (393–407),

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

, and author. His feast day is August 7.

Life

Victricius was Gallic by birth, the son of a Roman legionnaire. He also became a soldier and was posted to various locations around Gaul.Villazala, David Natal. "Symbolic Territories: Relic Translation and Aristocratic Competition in Victricius of Rouen", Society for Classical Studies
/ref> However, when he became a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, he refused to remain in the army. He was flogged and sentenced to death, but managed to avoid

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in ...

. He proselytized amongst the tribes of

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

, Hainault, and Brabant. He became bishop of Rouen around 386 or 393. He was accused of

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...

but was defended by

Pope Innocent I Pope Innocent I () was the bishop of Rome from 401 to his death on 12 March 417. From the beginning of his papacy, he was seen as the general arbitrator of ecclesiastical disputes in both the East and the West. He confirmed the prerogatives of ...

and received from Innocent the important

decretal Decretals () are letters of a pope that formulate decisions in canon law (Catholic Church), ecclesiastical law of the Catholic Church.McGurk. ''Dictionary of Medieval Terms''. p. 10 They are generally given in answer to consultations but are some ...

of the ''Liber Regularum''.

''De Laude Sanctorum''

In 396,

Ambrose Ambrose of Milan (; 4 April 397), venerated as Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Roman Christianity against Ari ...

of Milan sent Victricius (as well as

Paulinus of Nola Paulinus of Nola (; ; also Anglicisation, anglicized as Pauline of Nola; – 22 June 431) born Pontius Meropius Anicius Paulinus, was a Roman Empire, Roman Roman poetry, poet, writer, and Roman senate, senator who attained the ranks of suffect ...

and others) some relics of Vitalis and Agricola. Victricius wrote a sermon, ''De Laude Sanctorum'' (''On the Praise of the Saints''), celebrating the arrival of the relics from Italy. He mentions that he had been away from Rouen (396), as he had been requested to travel to Britain to help resolve some doctrinal issues. Victricius describes Britain as a wild and hostile place dealing with paganism and heresy in contrast with Italy with its abundance of holy sites and relics of martyrs. Victricius welcomes the arriving relics and names the (relics of) saints who are already present in Rouen: John the Baptist, Andrew, Thomas, Gervasius and Protasius, Agricola, and Euphemia.Tycner, Marta. "Victricius of Rouen", The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity, University of Oxford
/ref>

References

Bibliography

* Gillian Clark, "Victricius of Rouen: Praising the Saints (Introduction and annotated translation)," ''Journal of Early Christian Studies'', 7 (1999), 365–399; = in Eadem, ''Body and Gender, Soul and Reason in Late Antiquity'' (Farnham; Burlington, VT, Ashgate, 2011) (Variorum collected studies series, CS978), art. XII. * Gillian Clark, "Translating relics: Victricius of Rouen and fourth-century debate," ''Early Medieval Europe'', 10 (2001), 161–176; in Eadem, ''Body and Gender, Soul and Reason in Late Antiquity'' (Farnham; Burlington, VT, Ashgate, 2011) (Variorum collected studies series, CS978), art. XIII.

External links

Catholic Online: St. Victricius
*

{{Authority control Bishops of Rouen 330s births 407 deaths 4th-century Gallo-Roman people 5th-century Gallo-Roman people 5th-century Christian saints Gallo-Roman saints Year of birth unknown Year of birth uncertain