Герман Аурельский: Жизнь и деяния святого епископа

5th century Bishop of Auxerre and saint

Germanus of Auxerre (Germanus Antissiodorensis; Garmon Sant; ; 378 – c. 442–448 AD) was a western Roman clergyman who was bishop of Autissiodorum in Late Antique Gaul. He abandoned a career as a high ranking government official to devote his formidable energy towards the promotion of the church and the protection of his "flock" in dangerous times, personally confronting, for instance, the barbarian king "Goar". In Britain he is best remembered for his journey to combat Pelagianism in or around 429 AD, and the records of this visit provide valuable information on the state of post Roman British society. He also played an important part in the establishment and promotion of the Cult of Saint Alban. The saint was said to have revealed the story of his martyrdom to Germanus in a dream or holy vision, and Germanus ordered this to be written down for public display. Germanus is venerated as a saint in both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches, which commemorate him on 31 July. The principal source for the events of his life is the Vita Germani, a hagiography written by Constantius of Lyon around 480, and a brief passage added onto the end of the Passio Albani, which may possibly have been written or commissioned by Germanus. Constantius was a friend of Bishop Lupus of Troyes, who accompanied Germanus to Britain, which provided him with a link to Germanus.

Germanus was the son of Rusticus and Germanilla, and his family was one of the noblest in Gaul in the latter portion of the fourth century. He received the very best education provided by the distinguished schools of Arles and Lyons, and then went to Rome, where he studied eloquence and civil law. He practiced there before the tribunal of the prefect for some years with great success. His high birth and brilliant talents brought him into contact with the court, and he married Eustachia, a lady highly esteemed in imperial circles. The emperor sent him back to Gaul, appointing him one of the six dukes, entrusted with the government of the Gallic provinces. He resided at Auxerre. At length he incurred the displeasure of the bishop, Saint Amator by hanging hunting trophies on a certain tree, which in earlier times had been the scene of pagan worship. Amator remonstrated with him in vain. One day when the duke was absent, the bishop had the tree cut down and the trophies burnt. Fearing the anger of the duke, who wished to kill him, he fled and appealed to the prefect Julius for permission to confer the tonsure on Germain. This being granted, Amator, who felt that his own life was drawing to a close, returned. When the duke came to the church, Amator caused the doors to be barred and gave him the tonsure against his will, telling him to live as one destined to be his successor, and forthwith made him a deacon. On the way to Britain they passed through Nanterre, where Germanus noticed in the crowd which met them a young girl, whom he bade live as one espoused to Christ, and who later became St. Geneviève of Paris. Germanus and Lupus confronted the British clergy at a public meeting before a huge crowd in Britain. The Pelagians were described as being 'conspicuous for riches, brilliant in dress and surrounded by a fawning multitude'. The bishops debated and, despite having no popular support, Germanus was able to defeat the Pelagians using his superior rhetorical skills. Constantius also recounts the miraculous healing of the blind daughter of 'a man with tribunician power'. That night, Germanus claimed that Saint Alban came to him in a dream, revealing the details of his martyrdom. Some scholars have even interpreted the relevant passage in a postscript to the Passio Albani as implying the saint's name was unknown before it was revealed to Germanus but other scholars have disputed this. When Germanus awoke, he had the account written down in tituli, possibly to be engraved on the walls or illustrated placards at a church site, either in Britain, or in Auxerre. It has been suggested that this account formed the basis of the Passio Albani, the foundational text of all information about Saint Alban: while this is fundamentally unprovable the evidence is strong that the Passio originated within the circle of Germanus at Auxerre. Germanus then deposited some of the bones of continental saints in the basilica, and took a sample of the earth at the site of Alban's martyrdom, which still bore the marks of the martyr's blood. Some have advanced arguments for the antiquity of the cult of Saint Alban (for example Martin Biddle

Germanus may have made a second visit to Britain in the mid 430s who suggest it may be a 'doublet' or variant version of the visit that has been mistaken as describing a different visit and erroneously included as such by Constantius, according to whom Germanus was joined by Severus, Bishop of Trier and met Elafius, "one of the leading men of the country". Germanus is said to have cured Elafius' enfeebled son by a miracle that served to persuade the population that Gaulish Catholicism rather than Pelagianism was the true faith. According to a legend recorded in the Historia Brittonum of circa 829 it is during this second visit, around 447, that Germanus is said to have condemned for incest and other crimes Guorthigern, identified with the 'Vortigern' of Welsh tradition. Vortigern ordered his daughter to bring her child to Germanus and name the bishop as its father. The scheme having failed, Vortigern was cursed by Germanus and the council of Britons, and fled into Wales followed by Germanus and the clergy. They pursued him to a castle on the river Teifi, where they fasted and prayed for three days and three nights. Finally, fire fell from heaven consuming the castle, the guilty king, and his company. While the story appears to have no historical basis, it does indicate in what reverence Germanus was held in the Church in that part of the land. He died in Ravenna while petitioning the Roman government for leniency for the citizens of Armorica, against whom Aëtius had dispatched the Alans on a punitive expedition. Germanus had famously confronted Goar, the king of the Alans, so Constantius's Life relates. Based on the scanty evidence, some scholars have argued that his death should be dated to 442 or 448, and others that it should be dated to c. 437.

Saint Germanus' tomb continues to be venerated in the church of the Abbey of Saint Germain d'Auxerre, which although now part of municipal museum remains open for worship at stated times. There is a tradition of a panegyric on the Sunday nearest to or preceding his festival in July. The cult of Saint Germanus of Auxerre spread in northern France, hence the church Saint Germain l'Auxerrois facing the Louvre in Paris. His cult is clearly distinguished from that of the homonymous Saint Germanus of Paris. He is associated with the church at Charonne in the east of Paris and the cult of Saint Genevieve (Genoveva) in Nanterre to the west of the city, both situated on the late Roman road network. His journey to Britain is commemorated in his dedications at Siouville and at Saint Germain les Vaux in the Cotentin (Manche). In the 2004 edition of the Roman Martyrology, Germanus is listed under July 31. He is described as 'passing at Ravenna, a bishop who defended Britain against the Pelagian heresy and travelled to make peace for Armorica'.

The former priory church at St Germans in Cornwall bears his name and was in late Saxon times the seat of a bishop. A few other churches in England are dedicated to the saint, including St Germain's Church, Edgbaston, in Birmingham, St Germanus' Church, Faulkbourne, in Essex and St Germanus' Church, Rame, in Cornwall, as well as the church at Germansweek in Devon. The name of the civil parish of Wiggenhall St Germans in Norfolk reflects a church dedication. In Wales, Germanus is remembered as an early influence on the Celtic Church. In the current Roman Catholic liturgical calendar for Wales, he is commemorated on August 3, July 31 being designated for Ignatius of Loyola. In Adamsdown, Cardiff, St German's Church is a Church in Wales (Anglican) parish church by Bodley, opened in 1884. Germanus is traditionally credited with the establishment of the Diocese of Sodor and Man on the Isle of Man, though this may have been a different man of a similar name. In the medieval tradition Germanus was frequently conflated with the Welsh Saint Garmon, who is commemorated in several North Wales placenames and church dedications, including Capel Garmon, Llanarmon, Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, Llanarmon Mynydd Mawr, Llanarmon yn Iâl, Llanfechain and Castle Caereinion. However, Sabine Baring Gould and Fisher argued that Saint Garmon is a different Saint Germanus, who was born in Armorica (northern France) c. 410, visited Saint Patrick in Ireland in about 440, visited Britain in about 462, then returned to Ireland and was appointed Bishop of Man in 466, and died on the Isle of Man c. 474.