Albinus

ON ST. ALBINUS, BISHOP AND CONFESSOR,

AT LYONS IN GAUL.

Fourth or fifth century.

A COLLECTION.

On his cult, relics, date and deeds.

Albinus, bishop and confessor, at Lyons in Gaul. (S.)

BY J. S.

That among the more ancient bishops of Lyons there was a certain Albinus, and that he was venerated as a Saint, St. Albinus's memory in the ancient Martyrologies, the ancient Martyrologies prove, and all the catalogues of the bishops of Lyons generally confirm, although otherwise the memory of the Saint's deeds is exceedingly obscure. The Hieronymians in Florentinius have thus on this day: At Lyons in Gaul, the deposition of Albinus the bishop. The Corbie codex plainly agrees, except in the first word, which is Lugduno. The Echternach has: At Lyons, of Appinus the bishop, the Saint's name being somewhat corrupted. With these agrees Rabanus, commemorating the Saint thus: At Lyons in Gaul, the deposition of Albinus the bishop. Baronius and Florentinius also cite Bede; but this is to be understood of a Martyrology not very ancient, to which the name of Bede was attributed: for neither Bede, nor Florus, nor Ado, nor Usuard, commemorated Albinus of Lyons. He is found, however, in the Reichenau, published by us in volume 7 of June, commemorated in these words: At Lyons, of Albinus the bishop; as also in certain others without the place, and with the name corrupted in the Augsburg one. To Wandelbert's verses there has been added in prose: And the deposition of Albinus the bishop. There is added the Martyrology of Auxerre in Martène, volume 6 of the Collectio amplissima, where is read: At Lyons in Gaul, of Blessed Albinus the bishop.

[2] Of the more recent martyrologists not a few have also commemorated Albinus. as also he is found in the present Roman: I shall bring forward only two. Baronius in the Roman has thus, briefly: At Lyons, of St. Albinus the bishop. Saussay in the Gallican adorns the Saint with such an elogium: On the same day at Lyons, of St. Albinus, bishop and confessor, who, being chosen in place of blessed Justus when he laid down the pontificate, showed himself to his clergy and people a most perfect pattern of all justice and religion, most upright in life, excelling in doctrine, outstanding in the practice of piety. Out of zeal for love of him he built and likewise consecrated in which, after the course of his glorious prelacy was completed, he was buried, and gave signal tokens of his blessedness. These things indeed are set out in a rhetorical rather than a historical style, and therefore what is handed down about the excellence of his doctrine is to be little regarded. Nevertheless what is said about the Saint's deeds is sufficiently proved from elsewhere.

[3] For that St. Albinus was St. Justus's successor, or, the Saint's date, who raised the church of St. Stephen. as the name is said to be written in the ancient catalogues, St. Alpinus, all the catalogues agree. From these the date of St. Albinus, and the beginning of his episcopate, is in some fashion gathered. For, as was proved in the treatment of St. Justus on the second of September, that Saint was at the council of Aquileia in the year 381; but probably not long after, leaving his episcopate, he withdrew into the desert. Albinus therefore will have undertaken the episcopate between the year 380 and 390. But how many years he was bishop is altogether uncertain. Hence it is equally uncertain whether he died in the same fourth century or in the fifth. As regards the building of the church of St. Stephen, several others affirm it. On this matter Severtius in the *Archbishops of Lyons*, page 34, writes thus: From the Homiliary of the basilica of St. Irenæus and an old manuscript Martyrology of the collegiate church of Beaujeu, he himself built and at the same time dedicated the church of St. Stephen in the city of Lyons, raised indeed into a cathedral, when, or as long as, the archbishops did not hesitate to transfer their see thither. With these agrees Théophile Raynaud in the Hagiologium Lugdunense, page 29, and others generally.

[4] His body is said to be preserved in the church of St. Justus: Severtius adds that the body of St. Albinus is said by Sarrazin to be buried in the aforesaid church of St. Stephen; but against him he argues thus: Or rather more safely it lies in the church of St. Justus, according to the aforesaid more ancient Homiliary. The truth of which matter has lately been made known to us from a manuscript of the doctors which we obtained (he speaks of the eight doctors who surveyed the tombs in the church of St. Justus), soon to be cited in the Life of St. Justus, in this form of print: "Likewise in another sepulchre the body of Blessed Alpinus, confessor and archbishop of Lyons, was found; which was situated next to the tomb of the glorious confessor St. Justus. Then that sepulchre is made known by his own epitaph, in which his name is set forth with his illustrious medicis *." The aforesaid Raynaud agrees in these words: That his sacred body was buried in the church of St. Stephen, which he had built, Leonardus Sarrazin declares in Demochares. But the ancient record of the sacred pledges of the church of St. Justus confirms that he was buried there. This therefore also seems to need correcting in the elogium of Saussay given at number 2.

[5] he is to be reckoned a confessor, not a martyr, and by the name of Albinus. For the rest, Severtius reasons much about the family of St. Albinus, and endeavours to insert him among the most noble Roman families. But those things are so little founded that they do not deserve even to be weighed or refuted. Hence equally inept are the things which he gathers from them about the Saint's martyrdom. That the Saint was born of an illustrious family is likely enough from his episcopal dignity and from his name. That he was a martyr is altogether improbable; both because he is announced as a confessor in the most ancient Calendars, and because he passed his life under Christian emperors, Theodosius I and Honorius. About the name also some doubt, and believe that he was called Alpinus rather than Albinus, because the name is written Alpinus in the ancient catalogues. But it does not seem to me to be doubted that in his own lifetime he was called Albinus, just as the name is expressed in the most ancient Calendars. But that Alpinus was written in the catalogues, I judge to have arisen from the dialect of the peoples who after St. Albinus's death occupied Gaul, and who changed the letter

* "meritis" (merits), I suppose

ON SS. ARCHIUS AND ARCHEON, MARTYRS,

AT NICOMEDIA IN BITHYNIA.

Archius and Archeon, martyrs, at Nicomedia in Bithynia. (S.)

BY J. S.

These two Martyrs in the Hieronymian transcripts published by Florentinius are everywhere attributed to Nicomedia. The text given by him, with which the Blume codex also seems to agree, since he noted no difference, has thus: In the city of Nicomedia, the birthday of the holy Archius and Archion. The Corbie codex agrees well enough: At Nicomedia, the birthday of the holy Arcius, Archeon. The Antwerp one exhibits only one, in this manner: At Nicomedia, of Arteus. Elsewhere I do not find these; nor do I judge that more should be added to this.