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March 27

Memorial of the Resurrection.⁹¹

SS. Philetus, Lydia, and Companions, MM. in Illyria, 2nd cent.

S. Augusta, V.M. at Serravalle in Venetia.

S. Alexander, M. at Drizipara, in Pannonia.

SS. Zanitas, Lazarus, and Companions, MM. in Persia, A.D. 326.

S. John, H. at Lycopolis, in Egypt, A.D. 393.

S. Rupert, B. of Salzburg, A.D. 718.

S. Matthew of Beauvais, M. in France, 11th cent.

S. William Tempier, B. of Poitiers, A.D. 1197.

SS. PHILETUS, LYDIA, AND COMPANIONS, MM

(2ND CENT.)

[Greek Menæa and Menologium, and modern Roman Martyrology. The following account from the Greek Menology, it is almost needless to say, is fabulous.]

Saint Philetus, a senator, his wife, Lydia, their sons, Macedo and Theoprepius, also Amphilochius, a general, and Chronides, a registrar, who suffered under Hadrian, are venerated by Greeks and Latins on this day. According to the account in the Menology, Philetus, his wife and sons, and Chronides, were handed over to Amphilochius, the general, to be by him tortured. Amphilochius ordered them to be cast into a vessel of boiling oil, but as the bubbling fluid suddenly became cold, when the martyrs were about to be plunged into it, full of astonishment, he exclaimed, "God of the Christians, help me!" Then there came a voice from heaven, "Thy prayer is heard, come up hither." Now when this was noised in the ears of the emperor, he came down, full of wrath, and ordered a cauldron of oil to be boiled for seven days, and all to be cast thereinto. But they were unhurt. Then the emperor left them, and they, praying, and giving thanks to God, gave up the ghost.

S. AUGUSTA, V. M

(DATE UNCERTAIN.)

[Ferrarius, in his Catalogue of Saints. Not in the Roman Martyrology. Venerated at Serravalle, near Ceneda, on the Piavia. There is at Serravalle a church on a hill-top, containing her relics, and to this pilgrimages are made on August 1st, the day of the translation of her relics, but the anniversary of her martyrdom is March 27th, and that of the invention of her relics in Aug. 22nd. The story of this saint is purely traditional.]

There was once upon a time, when the Roman empire was tottering to its decline, a certain duke of Friuli, named Matrucus, of Gothic race, who built for himself a great castle on the mountain dominating Serravalle, the ruins of which remain to this day. Now the people of that part were Christians, but Matrucus was a heathen. He had a daughter named Augusta, young and fair, and her heart turned from the fierce gods of Germany to the Christ whom the bruised and suffering people of Serravalle adored, and to His spotless Mother, so pure and loving. And she sought means of receiving instruction, and was baptized secretly. Now there were many things in his daughter's conduct which roused suspicion in the mind of Matrucus, and he set spies to watch her. One day, he was told that she was in the church praying, and he rushed in upon her, dragged her forth, and locked her up in a chamber of the castle. In ungovernable fury he afterwards beat out her teeth, and executed her with his sword, reproaching her with having despised the gods of their ancestors and degraded the honour of his house.

S. JOHN OF EGYPT, H

(A.D. 393.)

[Almost all Latin Martyrologies, not however that of Bede, nor by the Greeks. Authorities: – Two lives, one by Evagrius, translated into Latin by Ruffinus of Aquileia, the other by Palladius, in his Hist. Lausiaca; both were contemporaries, and had visited and conversed with the saint.]

No solitary after S. Antony acquired such renown as S. John of Egypt. He was not only respected by the people, but by emperors. The most celebrated doctors and ecclesiastical writers, S. Jerome, S. Augustine, S. Prosper, Cassian, Palladius, Ruffinus, S. Eucher, and S. Fulgentius, have extolled him. John was born at Lycopolis in the lower Thebaid, the modern Siout. He exercised the trade of a carpenter till he was twenty-five, and then, the desire of labouring only for his salvation, of coming to a death-grip with flesh and blood, possessed him; and he placed himself under the direction of an aged hermit, whom he served with alacrity and diligence. The old man fearing lest the merit of this service should be injured by any admixture of human affection, affected great capriciousness, and gave his disciple many absurd orders. For instance, he one day commanded him to plant his staff in the sand and water it daily. John obeyed without a murmur, and though he had to go two miles for water, continued his task for a year. On another occasion, he ordered John to throw their dinner out of the window. He was obeyed without a trace of hesitation. On one occasion when some visitors were with the old man, to exhibit the docility of his disciple, he ordered John to run to a rock some distance off, and roll it up to his door. John ran, nothing doubting, and laid his shoulder, and then breast against the huge mass, and toiled ineffectually to move it, dripping with perspiration, till his master recalled him. On the death of the hermit, John spent five years in visiting the different monasteries of Egypt, and then he chose a cave in the face of a rock, near his native place, and walled up the entrance, leaving only a door and window. In this grotto he spent the remaining thirty-eight or forty years of his life.

However great may have been his desire to live in solitude, his fame brought great numbers to visit him, so that a great house had to be erected at the foot of his rock to receive the pilgrims. His abstinence was great. He ate nothing that had been cooked, not even bread, but took only a little fruit at sun-down. He was given an extraordinary insight into the future, and many of his prophecies have been recorded. The most famous were those made by him to Theodosius the Great, to whom he announced beforehand the irruption of the barbarians into the empire, the revolts that would take place, and the means he must employ against them. This prince specially consulted him concerning two enemies with whom he was called to fight. One was Maximus, who had killed the emperor Gratian in 383, and driven the emperor Valentinian from his possessions in 387. John assured him of victory, and promised that it would be unattended by great effusion of blood. Theodosius defeated Maximus in two encounters in Pannonia, passed the Alps without difficulty, pursued and surprised Maximus at Aquileia, where he cut off his head. Four years after, Eugenius having seized on the empire of the East, through the credit of Arbogastes, who had strangled the younger Valentinian, Theodosius resolved to march against him. Eugenius, who awaited him, prepared for the combat by consulting the augury and the entrails of victims. Theodosius sent the eunuch Eutropius into Egypt to invite the hermit John to come to him and declare to him the will of God. The saint refused to leave his cell, but sent word to the emperor by Eutropius that he would gain a victory, which would however be very bloody, and that he would only survive it a short while. Both predictions were accomplished. A battle was fought in the plains of Aquileia, on Sept. 6th, 394, in which Eugenius was defeated; Theodosius lived till January 17th of the following year, and died leaving the empire divided between his two sons Arcadius and Honorius.

Palladius was in the Nitrian desert with his master Evagrius, Albinus, Ammon, and three others; and their conversation turned on the reputation of S. John. Evagrius expressed his desire to know if all that was reported of his great virtue was true, and to have his powers of discernment tested by some one of experience. Palladius at once resolved to go. He was then aged twenty-six. He started without communicating his design to any one, and made his journey partly on foot, and partly in a boat, for it was the period of the overflow of the Nile. This is an unhealthy time, owing to the evaporation of the slime left by the retreating waters; and Palladius fell ill on his way. On his recovery he prosecuted his journey, and reached the vestibule of the hermit's cell, where he learnt that John only gave audiences on the Sabbath (Saturday) and the Sunday, and that he must therefore wait in patience till the Saturday. On that day he found the saint seated at his window, through which he conversed with all who approached. When John saw him, he greeted him through an interpreter, and asked his object in visiting him, saying at the same time that he looked like a disciple of Evagrius. Palladius satisfied his inquiries, and began to converse with him, when Alypius, the governor of the province, arrived, and approaching hastily, John signed to Palladius to withdraw whilst he received the governor. Palladius waited with some impatience, thinking in his heart that John was not free from the common infirmity of respect of persons. But the saint divined his thoughts, and sending his interpreter to him, bade him not be impatient, for he would speedily dismiss the governor. When Palladius was recalled, the hermit gently reproved him for his thoughts, saying, "It is not the whole, but those that are sick that need the physician. Thou art constantly engaged in labouring for thy salvation, but that man is immersed in the cares of this world, and can scarcely snatch an hour from business for the cultivation of his soul. Whom should I greet and prefer most readily?" and putting out his hand he gently cuffed Palladius. "And now to proceed with thy affairs," continued John. "I know that the thoughts of thy father have distracted thee of late, and thou hast been thinking of returning from the solitary life to him. But know that both he and thy sister have entered into religion like thyself. Thy father will live seven years longer. Think no more of returning to thy home, for it is broken up. He that putteth his hand to the plough, and looketh back, is not fit for the kingdom of God."

These words consoled and encouraged Palladius; and the saint having asked him with a smile whether he wished to be a bishop, Palladius answered in the same bantering style, that he was one already, as his name implied. "And prithee what is thy diocese?" asked the hermit. "I rule the diocese of the kitchen, and my episcopal jurisdiction is exercised over pots and pans," answered Palladius. "Enough of this joking," said the hermit. "In truth I tell thee thou shalt be a bishop one of these days, and shalt suffer many contradictions. But, if thou wouldest escape them, leave not thy solitude, for so long as thou remainest there, none will ordain thee bishop."

Some years after, this prophecy was verified; for, being threatened with dropsy, Palladius left the desert for Alexandria, and thence afterwards for Bithynia, where he was ordained bishop of Helenopolis. He was speedily enveloped in the persecution against S. Chrysostom, and was obliged to remain concealed for eleven months in a dark chamber.

Palladius returned from his visit to the Nitrian desert, and related all he had seen and heard to Evagrius, who was stirred to undertake the journey himself, and his account of this visit is found in the pages of Ruffinus.

S. MATTHEW OF BEAUVAIS, M

(END OF 11TH CENT.)

[Gallican Martyrology. Authority: – Guibert, Ab. of Nogent-sous-Coussi, l. 1053, d. 1124. Guibert knew S. Matthew personally; they were both natives of the same village, and grew up together from childhood as friends.]

Matthew was a knight of noble birth, of Agnetz, near Clermont, in Beauvais. He was a model of purity, sincerity, and piety, ever calm, and never giving way to petulance, or agitated by passion. He took the cross and went to the East to fight for the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre, with the bishop of Beauvais. At the court of Alexis, in Constantinople, he was greatly respected. Having been made prisoner by the Saracens, he was offered his life if he would renounce the cross of Christ. He asked to be allowed to delay his reply till the following Friday. On that day he was again urged to adopt their religion. He replied, "I asked you to grant me this delay, not because I had any doubt as to what my decision would be, but that I might have the honour and felicity of shedding my blood on the same day as my Saviour Jesus Christ bled for me. Come then, strike me! I give my life to Him who laid down His for mankind." So saying he knelt and stretched forth his neck for the blow, and with one stroke was decapitated.

March 28

SS. Priscus, Malchus, and Alexander, MM. at Cæsarea, circ. A.D. 259.

S. Xystus or Sixtus III., Pope, A.D. 440.

S. Spes, Ab. at Nursia, in Italy, A.D. 513.

S. Guntram, K. of Burgundy, A.D. 593.

S. Conon, Monk at Nesi, in Sicily, A.D. 1236.

Ven. Mary de Mailliac, V.W. at Tours, A.D. 1414.

S. XYSTUS OR SIXTUS, POPE

(A.D. 440.)

Saint Sixtus III. was a native of Rome. He succeeded Celestin I., in 432, on the Papal throne. He laboured zealously to extinguish the Pelagian and Nestorian heresies, and exhibited great joy at the reconciliation between S. Cyril of Alexandria, and John, patriarch of Antioch. Some epistles and some religious poems attributed to him exist. He built and adorned many churches in Rome, and died August 18th, 440; and was succeeded by S. Leo the Great.

S. SPES, AB

(A.D. 513.)

[Roman Martyrology, and the Benedictine Martyrology of Wyon. Authority: – The Dialogues of S. Gregory the Great, lib. iv. c. 10, from one who knew Spes.]

S. Spes was an abbot of a monastery, at a place called Cample, or Campi, near Nursia, who was blind for forty years, and bore his affliction with the greatest sweetness and patience. At the end of that time his sight was restored to him for a brief space, and he occupied this time in visiting the monasteries of his order. And on the fifteenth day of his recovery he returned to his own house, and calling the brethren together, and standing in their midst, he received the Body and Blood of Christ, and then lifted up his voice to precent the psalms. And as he and the brethren sang, his spirit fled, and the brethren saw his blessed soul as a white dove soar up to the vault of the church, which parted, and the dove ascended into the brightness above.

March 29

S. Limineus, M. at Clermont in Auvergne, circ. A.D. 255.

SS. Jonas and Barachisius, Monks MM. in Persia, A.D. 327.

S. Mark, B. of Arethusa, and S. Cyril, D.M. in Syria, A.D. 362.

S. Mark of Athens, H. in Libya, 4th cent.

SS. Armogastes, Archinimus, and Saturus, MM. in Africa, circ. A.D. 463.

S. Gundleus or Gwynllyw Filwr, K.H. in Wales, circ. A.D. 529. (See Jan. 24th, S. Cadoc.)

S. Eustace, Ab. of Luxeuil, A.D. 625.

S. Ludolf, M.B. of Ratzeburg, in Germany, A.D. 1201.

B. Hugo, Mk. of Vaucelles, 13th cent.

SS. JONAS AND BARACHISIUS, MM

(A.D. 327.)

[Greek Menology of the emperor Basil the younger, and Roman Martyrology. Authority: – The Acts written by an eye-witness, Esaias, an Armenian knight in the troops of king Sapor, pub. in Chaldaic by Asseman. The Greek version in Metaphrastes has gone through much amplification.]

King Shapoor, or Sapor, of Persia, raised a savage persecution against the Christians in his realm, believing them to be in league with the Roman emperor. Amongst those who suffered were Jonas and Barachisius, because they refused to adore the sun and fire. Melted lead was poured down the nostrils of Jonas, and red-hot plates were placed under his arms, and he was hung up by one foot in his dungeon till he fainted. His hands and feet were cut off, his tongue torn out, and he was pressed to death in a grape-crusher. Barachisius was treated with equal barbarity. Sharp splinters of reed were thrust into his flesh, all over his body, so that he resembled a porcupine, and he was then rolled on the ground to drive the spikes in.

SS. MARK, B. C., AND CYRIL, D. M

(A.D. 362.)

[By Greeks and Latins on the same day, but the Greeks commemorate especially S. Mark, and the modern Roman Martyrology only S. Cyril. S. Mark, but not S. Cyril, was in that of Galesinius, prepared for the use of the Roman Church, and approved by Gregory XIII., and Clement VIII., but was cut out by Baronius, and S. Cyril inserted in his place. The reason he gave was "Romana Ecclesia non recipit Marcum illum inter Sanctos, quem constat Arianum fuisse." But the continuators of Bollandus have shown that Baronius was without sufficient grounds for concluding that he was an Arian. Authorities: – Theodoret, lib. iii. c. 7; Socrates, lib. ii. c. 30; Theophanes, and the Oration of S. Gregory Nazianzen against Julian.]

Mark, bishop of Arethusa, on Mount Lebanon, was present at the council of Sirmium (A.D. 351), which met to depose Photinus, the bishop of Sirmium, who, in spite of former censures for heresy, had retained his church. This was at a time when the Arian controversy was being carried on with great vehemence, and the word "consubstantial" was insisted upon by the orthodox, and rejected by the Arian party. A third party of semi-Arians, as they were called, existed, which comprised within its ranks men of two different types. On the one hand were the prelates who desired to keep well with an Arian emperor, but who were not disposed to surrender the Catholic faith to obtain favour, and who were wanting in dogmatic precision. On the other hand, there was a body of very pious and thoroughly orthodox bishops, who hesitated about adopting a new word to define our Lord's nature, deprecated the heat displayed by both parties, and hoped, by avoiding this burning word, to prevent many who were passively or ignorantly heterodox, from being forced by the fierceness, wherewith the controversy was carried on, to side permanently with heresy. We have seen S. Cyril in company with these men. Mark of Arethusa was another. At the council he produced a creed, which is given by Socrates, and which it was hoped would be accepted by the semi-Arians and Catholics together. This creed is orthodox⁹²; the only questionable passage in it is in reference to a text in Genesis, and is so involved and obscure that it may be incorrectly given by the historian.⁹³ It is as follows: – "If anyone shall understand the words, (Gen. xix. 24.) 'The Lord rained from the Lord,' not in relation to the Father and the Son, but shall say that God rained from Himself, let Him be anathema: for the Lord the Son rained from the Lord the Father. If anyone, hearing the Lord the Father, and the Lord the Son, shall term both the Father and the Son Lord, and saying the Lord from the Lord, shall assert that there be two Gods, let him be anathema. For we rank not the Son with the Father, but conceive Him to be subordinate to the Father. For He neither came down to Sodom without the Father's will, nor did He rain from Himself, but from the Lord who exercises supreme authority: nor does He sit at the Father's right hand of Himself, but in obedience to the Father."

But this strange passage must not be taken to deny the Lordship of the Son, for the Creed which precedes the anathemas is very explicit on the Eternal Godhead of Christ. "We believe … in our Lord Jesus Christ, who was begotten of His Father before all ages, God of God, Light of Light, by whom all things visible and invisible, which are in the heavens and upon the earth, were made; Who is the Word, the Wisdom, the true Light, and the Life." Again, "If anyone says that the Son was not with God, begotten of the Father before all ages, and that all things were not made by Him, let him be anathema."

In the reign of Constantius, Mark had drawn down on himself the hatred of the pagan inhabitants of Arethusa, by causing the destruction of a magnificent temple. According to the law published by Julian the Apostate, on his accession to the throne, he was, under these circumstances, bound to make good the value of the temple in money, or else to cause it to be rebuilt. Being in no condition to do the former, and thinking he could not conscientiously do the latter; fearing, at the same time, for his life amidst a ferocious populace, he betook himself to flight. As others, however, were involved in danger on his account, he turned back, and voluntarily offered himself to his enemies. The fanatical multitude now fell upon him; he was dragged through the streets, stripped, and scourged, then dipped in the town sewer, and given over to the schoolboys returning from their lessons, to mangle him with their iron pens. When the old man had almost done breathing, they besmeared him with honey and other liquids, laid him in a basket, in which he was swung up in the air, and left to be preyed upon by bees and wasps. Mark shamed his cruel enemies by the cool indifference which he exhibited under all his sufferings. The governor, himself a pagan, represented to Julian what scandal it must occasion if they allowed themselves to be outdone by the constancy of a weak old man; and the emperor finally commanded him to be set free, for it was not his wish, he said, to give the Christians any martyrs. After, when Libanius, the heathen rhetorician, desired to restrain a governor from indulging in the cruel persecution of a Christian who had been accused of robbing the temples, he warned him thus: "If he is to die in his chains, then look well before you, and consider what will be the result. Take heed lest you bring upon us many more like Mark. This Mark was hung up, scourged, plucked by the beard, and bore all with constancy. He is now honoured as a god, and, wherever he appears, everybody is eager to take him by the hand. As the emperor is aware of this, he has not allowed the man to be executed, much as he is grieved at the destruction of the temple. Let the preservation of Mark be a caution to us."⁹⁴ Socrates says that the constancy of Mark converted the people of Arethusa, and that they submitted to learn from his lips the doctrines of Christianity.

In the same chapter in which Socrates relates the sufferings of Mark, he tells how other Christians suffered from popular tumults at the revival of paganism under Julian. "At Askelon, and at Gaza, they seized men truly worthy of the priesthood, and women vowed to perpetual virginity, and after having ripped open their stomachs, they threw them to the pigs to be devoured. At Sebaste, a city of the same province, they opened the coffin of John the Baptist, burnt his bones, and flung away his ashes. In Heliopolis, a city near Lebanon, dwelt Cyril, a deacon. Acting on the impulse of ardent zeal, he had there, during the reign of Constantius, destroyed many idols. These impious men not only killed him in revenge for this act, but after having ripped up his stomach, ate his liver. At Dorostolis, a celebrated city of Thrace, Emilius, an undaunted champion of the faith, was thrown into the flames by Capitolinus, governor of the province."

SS. ARMOGASTES AND COMPANIONS, MM

(ABOUT A.D. 463.)

[Usuardus, Ado, Notker, and Roman Martyrology. Authority: – Victor of Utica. De Persec. Vand. lib. i. (5th cent.)]

Genseric, the Vandal king in North Africa, had in his early youth renounced the Orthodox communion, and had become an Arian. He was exasperated to find that the Africans, who fled before him in the field, presumed to dispute his authority over their faith, and his ferocious mind was incapable of fear or of compassion. His Catholic subjects were oppressed by intolerant laws, and arbitrary punishments. The language of Genseric was furious and formidable; the knowledge of his intentions might justify the most unfavourable interpretations of his actions; and the Arians were reproached with the frequent executions which stained the palace and dominions of the tyrant.

Genseric had ordered, on the advice of the Arian bishops, that no Catholic should be allowed to hold office in his house. Now there was found one, named Armogastes, in the service of his son Theodoric. He was tortured with cords bound round his forehead and legs, compressing the flesh painfully. But he looked up to heaven, made the sign of the Cross, and the cords broke like a spider's web. Stouter cords of hemp were then used, but they proved equally inefficacious. He was next suspended by one foot, with his head downwards. His master, Theodoric, wished to cut off his head, but his hand was arrested by an Arian priest present, named Jucundus, who said, "If thou strikest off his head, the Romans will honour him as a martyr; therefore make him languish to death in other ways." By Romans, he meant the conquered inhabitants of the province. Theodoric then sent Armogastes into the province of Byzacene, to dig the earth. He afterwards recalled him to Carthage, and to disgrace him before all men, made him cow-keeper.

The confessor having had a revelation that his death was at hand, said to a Catholic, named Felix, "I pray thee, bury me under this oak tree, or thou shalt have to give account before God for not doing this." Felix replied, "God forbid that I should do so; I will bury thee, as thou deservest, in some church." Armogastes urged him, and Felix promised to fulfil his wish, so as not to vex him. The saint died a few days after, and Felix began his grave beneath the tree, but the roots incommoded him. He, therefore, got an axe, and cut through them, and found, to his surprise, an ancient marble sarcophagus beneath them; and in this he laid the body of Armogastes.

A certain Archinimus, of the city of Mascula, was also called on to confess Christ about the same time. The king himself endeavoured to persuade him to disbelieve in the eternal Godhead of Christ, and promised him great wealth and favour if he would comply with his wishes. But when he found that the man would not be persuaded, he gave orders that he should be executed, but he sent secret instructions that his life should be spared if he maintained his constancy to the last. The saint showed no disposition to yield, and he was spared.

Satur, procurator of Huneric, often spoke against Arian misbelief. For this he was denounced by an Arian deacon, named Varimad. Huneric threatened, unless he conformed to the established heresy, that he would deprive him of his house, his goods, his slaves, his children, even of his wife, and publicly wed her in his presence to a camel-driver. Satur remained inflexible, and was despoiled of all things. His wife implored delay, and going to her husband, with her garments rent, cast herself at his feet, and implored him not, by his obduracy, to expose her to such a public disgrace, and to such a sin as marriage to another whilst her husband lived. He replied, "You speak like one of the foolish women. (Job xi. 10.) If you loved me, you would not urge me to a second death. He that forsaketh not even his wife, the Lord said, when called upon so to do for His sake, cannot be His disciple." Then Satur was robbed of all, and reduced to beggary; he was even forbidden to go forth from his place. Thus was he despoiled of wealth and family, and liberty. "But," says Victor of Utica, "Of his baptismal robe they could not rob him." These three men are honoured, for their sufferings, as martyrs.

S. EUSTACE, AB. OF LUXEUIL

(A.D. 625.)

[Roman Martyrology, and that of Ado; not in the genuine one of Bede, nor in that of Usuardus; but in those of Notker and Maurolycus; and in the Gallican and Benedictine Martyrologies; and in the Scottish one of Dempster. His life was written by Jonas, monk of Bobbio, in 664.]

Eustace, born of a noble family in Burgundy, had spent his youth in arms, but he renounced the world and joined S. Columbanus at Luxeuil, and when, through the persecution of that she-wolf, Brunehault, and her grandson, Thierry, king of Burgundy, Columbanus was driven from his monastery, and from the country, Eustace was deemed worthy to succeed him in the government of the abbey. His marvellous sweetness and tender companion to all who suffered, mentally or corporeally, endeared him to his monks; and when they confessed their faults to him, his tears mingled with theirs, and filled their hearts with consolation.

By order of Clothaire II., he travelled into Italy to recall Columbanus, and the two saints had the happiness of once more falling on each other's necks, embracing. Columbanus having refused to return, Eustace went back to the king and explained to him the reasons of the saint for declining his invitation. Eustace, therefore, remained at the head of the great abbey of Luxeuil, which attracted an increasing number of monks. However, the missionary spirit and desire to preach exercised an overwhelming influence over Eustace, as over all the disciples of the great Irish missionary. The bishops, assembled in the Council of Bonneuil-sur-Marne, by Clothaire II., nominated him to preach the faith to unconverted nations. He began with the Varasques, who inhabited the banks of the Doubs, near Baume, some of whom worshipped the wood-spirit, whilst others had fallen victims to heresy. He afterwards travelled beyond the countries which Columbanus had visited, to the extremity of northern Gaul, among the Boii or Bavarians. His mission was not without success; but Luxeuil, which could not remain thus without a head, soon recalled him.

During the ten years of his rule, a worthy successor of Columbanus, he succeeded in securing the energetic support of the Frank nobility, as well as the favour of Clothaire II. Under his active and intelligent administration, the abbey founded by S. Columbanus attained its highest pitch of splendour, and was recognised as the monastic capital of all the countries under Frank government. The other monasteries, into which laxness had but too frequently found its way, yielded, one after another, to the happy influence of Luxeuil, and gradually reformed themselves by its example. This remarkable prosperity was threatened with a sudden interruption by means of the intrigues of a false brother who had stolen into the monastic family of Columbanus. A man named Agrestin, who had been secretary to king Thierry, the persecutor of S. Columbanus, came one day to give himself and his property to Luxeuil. Being admitted among the monks, he soon showed a desire to go, like Eustace, to preach the faith to the pagans. In vain the abbot, who could see no evangelical quality in him, attempted to restrain that false zeal. He was obliged to let him go. Agrestin followed the footsteps of Eustace into Bavaria, but made nothing of it, and passed from thence into Istria and Lombardy, where he embraced the schism of the Three Chapters, and endeavoured to involve therein Attalus, the second abbot of Bobbio. Failing, he returned to Luxeuil, where he tried to corrupt his former brethren. Eustace then remembered what the exiled Columbanus had written to him, in his letter from Nantes, just before his embarkation: – "If there is one among you who holds different sentiments from the others, send him away;" and he commanded Agrestin to leave the community. To avenge himself, the schismatic began to snarl, says the contemporary annalist, hawking here and there injurious imputations against the rule of S. Columbanus. Abellinus, bishop of Geneva, listened to his denunciations, and exerted himself to make the neighbouring prelates share his dislike. King Clothaire, who heard of it, and who was always full of solicitude for Luxeuil, assembled most of the bishops of the kingdom of Burgundy in the council of Macon. To this council Eustace was called, and the accuser invited to state his complaints against the rule. They were directed against certain insignificant peculiarities. "I have discovered," said he, "that Columbanus has established usuages which are not those of the whole Church." And thereupon he accused his former brethren, as with so many heresies, of making the sign of the cross upon their spoons when eating; of asking a blessing in entering or leaving any monastic building; and of multiplying prayers at Mass. He insisted especially against the Irish tonsure, which Columbanus had introduced into France, and which consisted solely in shaving the front of the head, from one ear to the other, without touching the hair of the back part, while the Greeks shaved the entire head, and the Romans only the crown.