Presbyters Uniwersytet Warszawski
ID
ER 133
Leobardus, a recluse from Auvergne (Gaul) living in Tours (Gaul), is preaching to himself as if being a priest, ca 573/594. Account of Gregory of Tours, "Life of the Fathers", Tours (Gaul), ca 590.
20.2
 
Tunc ille quasi iam sacerdos animae suae, praedicare sibi ipsi exorsus est.
 
(ed. Krusch 1885: 292)
20.2
 
Then, as if now the priest of his own soul, he began to preach to himself.
 
(trans. James 1991: 121)

Discussion:

From Gregory's account we know that Leobardus came to Tours when, it seems, Gregory of Tours was already a bishop, and then lived in the cell near the monastery of Marmoutier for 22 years, until his death. Thus, Leobardus must have died not so long before Gregory himself did, in 594.
 
Sacerdos ("priest") indicates here most probably a presbyter. Cf. the record [115] where sacerdotis oratorium ("oratory of the priest") denotes a chapel of a presbyter.

Place of event:

Region
  • Gaul
City
  • Tours

About the source:

Author: Gregory of Tours
Title: Life of the Fathers, Vita Patrum, Liber Vitae Patrum
Origin: Tours (Gaul)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian
Gregory of Tours (bishop of Tours in Gaul in 573-594) started writing his Life of the Fathers some time before 587 and finished it around 592 or slightly later, as shown by the cross-references to his other works.  It is a collection of twenty Gallic saints` lives of different lengths. They all are in some way connected to Gregory`s family or church interests, while also exemplifying different virtues leading to sanctity. Saints presented in the Life of the Fathers are all either ascetics or bishops.
 
More on the text: James 1991: ix-xxv.
Edition:
B. Krusch ed., Gregorii Episcopi Turonensis Miracula et Opera Minora, Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum 1.2, Hannover 1885, 211-294.
 
Translation:
Gregory of Tours, Life of the Fathers, trans. E. James, Liverpool 1991.

Categories:

Described by a title - Sacerdos/ἱερεύς
    Pastoral activity - Preaching
      Pastoral activity - Spiritual direction
        Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: J. Szafranowski, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER133, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=133