Patiens of Metz — Acta Sanctorum

ON ST. PATIENS, OR PATIENTIUS, FOURTH BISHOP OF METZ.

About the year 152.

Preface

Patiens, Bishop of Metz in Gaul (St.)

[1] Metz, an illustrious city of Belgic Gaul (formerly Divodurum, or Diviodurum, of the Mediomatrici), is said to have received heralds of the Gospel and bishops from apostolic times. The celebrated name of St. Patiens in the sacred calendars. Of these, the first, Clement, is celebrated on November 23; the second, Caelestius, on October 14; the third, Felix, on February 21. St. Patiens succeeded these, far more ancient than the famous Patiens of Lyons, of whom we shall speak on September 11. His feast day is celebrated on January 8 in the Roman Martyrology, by Rabanus, Notker, Bellinus, Maurolycus, Galesinius, Molanus, the Viola Sanctorum, and others. And indeed the Cologne Martyrology and the Carthusians of Cologne in the Additions to Usuard say he was ^a disciple of St. John the Apostle. Andreas Saussaius in the Gallican Martyrology: "At Metz, St. Patiens the Bishop: who, ^a Greek by nationality, ^a disciple of St. John the Evangelist, was the fourth in order to govern this church, and nourished it while still tender with the milk of spiritual wisdom and the nourishment of the divine word, and made it illustrious with the glorious marks of his holiness. It is said that St. John, upon departing from him, gave him one of his own teeth as ^a pledge of love; which, at Metz, where he afterwards settled, he placed in ^a small chapel consecrated by him under the name of his most beloved Master himself, to be venerated in perpetuity. And when he had accomplished many things wonderfully and divinely in his episcopate, having completed his pious labors, he flew to heavenly blessedness." Ferrarius records him on December 28.

[2] Paulus Warnefridus testifies in the catalogue of the Bishops of Metz that the Acts of St. Patiens and of the other first bishops of the Church of Metz have perished. His Acts and era. Nevertheless, this brief narrative which we give about him was extracted from an ancient manuscript codex of the Church of Metz by our Andreas Dinettus; ^a similar but somewhat more concise version existed in ^a manuscript of St. Martin at Utrecht. St. Patiens is mentioned by Claudius Robertus, Joannes Chenu, and Demochares, On Sacred Matters, chapter 33. In the manuscript Florarium he is said to have died in the year 152.

LIFE.

From an ancient manuscript of the Church of Metz.

Patiens, Bishop of Metz in Gaul (St.)

BHL Number: 6482

From manuscripts.

[1] To remember the benefits of God is the health of the mind, just as to forget them is ^a ruinous torpor. Therefore, to the memory of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, I shall set down the life of the blessed Patiens — if the Holy Spirit assists — who guides toward order, and whom he once directed to us as both teacher and founder of our monastery.

[2] The holy Patiens, therefore, as we have learned from our predecessors by successive report, St. Patiens, disciple of St. John the Evangelist. was sprung from the illustrious lineage of the Greeks, and shone brilliantly in the region of Asia Minor, distinguished by worldly nobility as well as the glory of his wealth. The beloved of the Lord, John the Evangelist, received this region of Asia by divine dispensation as his allotted territory for preaching, and subjected it to the yoke of faith. For while he confirmed the brilliance of his words with the splendor of his miracles, very many — powerful, wealthy, and of middling rank — who were destined for life, pricked by the grace of his teaching, obeyed. And so among other distinguished persons, the blessed Patiens also submitted himself to the obedience of the faith, abandoned the pomp of the world, and attached himself intimately to the holy Apostle.

[3] Meanwhile, as the histories relate, the blessed Apostle John was brought to Rome by the Emperor Domitian. For the Lord was arranging his plan through the cruel tyrant, so that, just as John and Peter had been equals in miracles and signs, they would likewise have the memorial of their triumph in the principal City. John is proscribed. For as the Via Triumphalis is distinguished by the cross of Peter, so the Latin Gate is held as ^a memorial of John's cauldron — in which, immersed in boiling oil in the presence of the Roman Senate, he came out not burned but as if anointed. Thence, the victor over worldly raging, he was sentenced to exile on the island of Patmos and was confined to cutting marble fit for Roman palaces. But what does human fury accomplish against the faith of Christ? In ^a reversal of fortune, John was there consoled by divine revelation, certified concerning the state of his seven churches, and the ruin of the wicked and the glory of the just were shown to him in angelic vision. Shortly thereafter Domitian was cut down by the Senate, and his edicts were annulled. He is recalled. Whence John was restored to his churches, in which, while he corrected what had been revealed to him, exposed heretics, celebrated councils, taught the purity of faith, and confirmed his preaching with the power of miracles, he was entreated by common petition to elucidate the divinity and humanity of Christ more clearly than the other evangelists. He writes the Gospel: When he declared himself unable to do this except by the common supplication of the whole Church, he suddenly transcended the summit of all human understanding — indeed, the very secret of the angels. Therefore, with ^a wondrous trumpet, he proclaimed to all the co-eternity of the Father and the Son, declared the substance of the divinity and humanity of Christ in the unity of one person, and blocked every winding passage of heretical deceit, saying: "In the beginning was the Word" and "the Word was made flesh."

[4] These things accomplished, not forgetful of the command he had received in his Apocalypse — "You must again prophesy to nations, and peoples, and tongues, and many kings" Apocalypse 10:11 — he chose worthy men from among his followers to lead back to the way of true salvation those who had hitherto gone astray in pagan error. He sends disciples to various nations; Thus he placed the glorious Polycarp over the Smyrnaeans, and ordained many others as priests in various cities in the Eastern region. Also admonished by divine vision, he determined to extend his care and solicitude to the Gallic provinces: therefore Irenaeus was directed to the people of Lyons, Benignus, Thyrsus, and Andeolus to the people of Autun. But calling the blessed Patiens aside more privately — he who clung to him more familiarly than the others in many things — he revealed to him what had been disclosed to him concerning Patiens, and said: "Dearest son, from the time the Word of God tasted undeserved death for us, redeemed man is not his own master, but the servant of him who redeemed him. Therefore what is divinely commanded to us, we must carry out with ^a ready mind. He sends St. Patiens to Metz. Dearest one, it has been revealed to me in the Spirit that Clement, once ^a patrician of the City, and his successors, who were sent by my fellow-apostle Peter to the first city of Belgic Gaul, the city of Metz — two of whom have died — the one who survives is expecting ^a successor according to revelation. Hasten therefore, dearest one, according to God's dispensation; take up the pastoral care; increase the Lord's flock. Do not fear the difficulty of the journey, nor refuse the burden: for he who chose you from eternity and destined you for this office will stand by you, cooperating and coming upon you." Upon hearing the words of his most beloved father, the blessed Patiens, sorrowful in mind and suppliant in voice, answered: "Saving the Lord's disposition and your paternal command, venerable teacher, I had resolved in my heart never to be separated from you as long as you live in the flesh, and I beseech that this be granted me even now." John, who had drawn the treasure of knowledge from the breast of Christ and had revealed to others the very substance of the Godhead, spoke these prophetic words: "He alone who rules all things alone dispenses my departure; but your departure he disposes in peace, without the violence of ^a persecutor." O John, sublime in foreknowledge, to whom the places and names of regions were not unknown in the Spirit! For he to whom the super-celestial realms lay open, who discerned by faith the mystery and substance of the Trinity and the deifying Godhead — what wonder if he knew the confines of the earthly world in the arrangement of regions, in the diversity of places, in the names of nations and cities? For to one who sees the Creator, all creation is narrow and comprehensible by the amplitude of mind. For if the Delphic frenzy compelled the designation of previously unknown places of battles or disasters, why should the names of places appointed for divine service be hidden from one full of the Holy Spirit?

[5] Although the blessed Patiens had received the response of divine preordination, nevertheless, inspired by God's will — He gives him one of his own teeth. who deigned to inspire in St. John what pleased him to be done — he said: "A burning desire torments my mind for ^a portion of the relics of your body." And the blessed Apostle said: "Nothing is impossible with God. For just as with the advance of age certain parts of the human body fall away and other parts succeed them, as is proven to happen before the eyes of observers; and just as in the future resurrection of bodies, wherever the limbs shall have been scattered throughout the world, they are truly believed to return to their former union; so the supreme power can fulfill your desire, if faith — the obtainer of all things — be firmly present by God's gift." After an apostolic prayer was first offered, the Apostle fulfilled his promise by the power of God. He therefore called his dearest disciple, and in his presence placed his finger to his mouth, extracted ^a tooth without any sensation of pain, held it out, and said to him: "Take this one, and wherever the Lord shall provide for you, deposit it. My remaining bodily limbs shall be under the disposition of the Creator, who has protected me until now in every tribulation." The most beloved disciple therefore received the tooth of the Lord's beloved, as ^a safeguard for himself, as ^a pledge of pious love, as ^a propitiation for many in the future.

[6] The Apostle, adding an admonition most useful for the fainthearted, said: "Dearest one, since all things were created in time by the word of God and arranged from eternity, human nature alone has something in common with every creature. Consider, therefore, dearest one, that just as nature itself — with which all things have their being — does not produce grain He exhorts him to patience. nor ripen fruits unless cultivated by human labor, shaken by the whirlwind of winds, tempered by the air, and cooked by the heat of fire; so the soul itself does not bring forth the seed of justice unless through patience and the impulse of tribulations. For such is rational nature that unless it is pressed by temptations and restrained by discipline, it is either lifted up by free will in vain glory or submerged in earthly things by security. Therefore, dearest one, so that you may be able to receive the fruit of perpetual rest, you must exercise yourself through the patience of tribulations and win others for Christ by your preaching and example, with whom you may rejoice in heavenly rest." O praiseworthy bond of charity between teacher and hearer! Patiens is compared with John. John, when Christ had changed water into wine at his wedding, followed him and left the nuptial company; Patiens, hearing the word of God from John himself, renounced the pleasures of the world. John was socially present with Christ at the raising of the synagogue ruler's daughter in the chamber; Patiens was present with John when he raised the son of the faithful widow. John was present at the Transfiguration of Christ on the mountain; Patiens stood by John when he brought back two nobles — repenting of their renounced riches after conversion — from eternal damnation through the marvelous return of gold in leaves. John stood by the Cross of Christ; Patiens by John when he was cast into boiling oil. Christ, having conquered death, commended to his disciples the honeycomb of true Deity and the union of his humanity; John, after his release from exile, elucidated in writing for Patiens and his fellow-disciples the inseparable substance of the Father and the Word.

[7] The blessed Patiens was therefore strengthened by so great ^a miracle and by his father's admonition; he took up the pastoral office, and, endowed with many relics of the saints and with the very codex of the Gospel, he sought and received ^a blessing. Patiens comes to Gaul: He undertook an unknown journey with his companions over the seas of the Illyrian and Adriatic gulfs, and at length, with Christ as guide, he escaped the manifold difficulty of the journey and entered the borders of Gaul. Marvel! He speaks the language of the people. He understood the language of the barbarians, which he had previously been ignorant of, and was able to respond and inquire about necessities. This was ^a notable miracle in the Church of the early Christians, that those whom the Apostles sealed with chrism or ordained for preaching to the nations immediately received the knowledge of tongues manifestly, as the Acts of the Apostles narrate concerning Cornelius. Acts 10:46 And so, by ^a sure sign, the blessed Patiens arrived at the city of Metz. At his arrival the ecclesiastical order, together with the faithful people, rejoiced, and was certified and consoled — both from his appearance and from the revelation celebrated some time before — concerning the successor of St. Felix, who had been the third to govern the city after the blessed Clement.

[8] The revelation, as it is reported, came from the blessed Patiens himself and was as follows: While the blessed Evangelist John was being detained at Rome, having been brought there during the persecution of Domitian, He had been destined for the people of Metz by ^a warning from St. Peter. the blessed Prince of the Apostles, Peter, appeared to him in ^a vision and said: "Dearest brother, the first province of Belgic Gaul has long since received the faith, with divine grace assisting; and now, because those whom I directed there have paid their successive debt to death, the still-young faith of that people requires ^a faithful teacher. Know therefore, dearest one, that just as our Lord once commended his mother to your holiness, so now he commends the Church of Metz to your stewardship. Direct therefore from among your hearers one named Patiens, to whom you shall entrust the feeding of the Lord's sheepfold."

Annotations

Notes

a. Something seems to be missing, such as "I shall describe," or something similar.

b. We shall discuss on June 29 the place where St. Peter was crucified and where he was buried. St. Jerome, in his book On Ecclesiastical Writers, chapter 1, says that St. Peter was buried in the Vatican near the Via Triumphalis.

c. Some think the Latin Gate was the same as the Capena Gate, from which the Appian and Latin Ways proceeded. The Capena Gate was the nearest to the east.

d. We shall treat this matter more fully on May 6.

e. Others also write, as we shall say on that day, that St. John was exiled to Patmos (which is one of the Sporades islands) to cut marble.

f. It was not the Senate but Stephanus, steward of Domitilla, widow of Flavius Clemens, who killed Domitian. Perhaps this passage should be read thus: "Shortly thereafter Domitian was cut down; by the Senate his edicts were annulled." Certainly at his death, as Suetonius writes at the end of Book 8, the Senate was so delighted that, with the curia filled in rivalry, they could not restrain themselves from tearing apart the dead man with the most abusive and bitter kind of acclamations. They even ordered ladders to be brought in, and his shields and images to be torn down in their sight and dashed to the ground on the spot; finally they decreed that his inscriptions be erased everywhere and all memory of him abolished. And Nerva Cocceius, Domitian's successor, wanted all those who had been charged with impiety toward the gods to be acquitted, and he brought back the exiles to their fatherland, as Dio says. Indeed, by edict he forbade anyone henceforth to be accused of impiety or of Jewish customs — which must undoubtedly be understood as referring to Christians.

g. We shall treat of him on January 26.

h. He is venerated on June 28.

i. We shall treat of St. Benignus on November 1; of Sts. Thyrsus and Andochius (here called Andeolus) on September 24.

k. In volume 1 of the French Writers by Duchesne there are several divisions of Gaul, in which Belgica is listed in first place; the Belgae are celebrated by Caesar as the bravest of the Gauls. But I would sooner believe that Belgica is called the first of the Gauls because the Praetorian Prefect of the Gauls had his seat at Trier, as our Brauwerus demonstrates in the Annals of Trier, Book 4 — but this was after the age of Diocletian. Perhaps the writer here only means that Metz is a city of the first Belgica.

l. [Whether St. John was the bridegroom at the wedding of Cana.] Baronius, at the year 31, no. 30, says that the claim that these were the nuptials of John is entirely fictitious and recently invented, since among the ancient Fathers there is no mention whatsoever of this. And at no. 31 he says this opinion is ridiculous, and that one should rather agree with Nicephorus, who asserts that those nuptials were those of Simon the Cananean. But Rupert of Deutz, at the end of his commentary on John chapter 2, writes thus: "We believe that this John the Evangelist, having left his nuptials (for the opinion of almost all is that these were his own nuptials), began to follow the Lord himself." [John 2] The Venerable Bede, volume 7 (or, as others prefer, Alcuin), in a homily on the feast of St. John, says: "The histories relate that he called him from his nuptials when he wished to marry." St. Thomas has the same in Summa Theologica II-II, q.186, art. 4, ad 1. It is also read in the Preface to the Gospel of St. John in the Glossa Ordinaria — which preface Lyranus says is by St. Jerome, and is commonly supposed to be so. In the same Glossa there is a Prologue to John's Gospel attributed to St. Augustine, in which the following is read: "This indeed is John, whom the Lord called from the storm-tossed turbulence of nuptials." Baronius interprets these passages as though John did not dismiss a wife he had taken, but never married at all. St. John himself revealed these things to St. Gertrude, the most holy virgin, as she herself reports in Book 4, chapter 4 of the Revelations of Divine Love: "Throughout all the time of my life, I have more frequently recalled with what sweet familiarity of friendship my most loving Master and my Lord looked upon me — indeed, rewarded that continence by which, leaving my bride, I followed him from the nuptials. Afterwards I always applied this care in all my words and deeds, that I might diligently guard against giving myself or others any occasion by which that virtue pleasing to my Master — namely chastity — might in any way be stained." Finally (to omit countless others), our Jacobus Tirinus at the end of the Sacred Chronicle says that none of the ancients contradicts this opinion.

m. These things are reported in the life of St. John attributed to Miletus (or Melito), Bishop of Laodicea, and approved by Joannes Hesselius; they are lacking in the apocryphal version published under the name of Prochorus.

n. Atticus and Eugenius, about whom the same Melito writes at length.