Presbyters Uniwersytet Warszawski
ID
ER 1763
Patroclus from Bourges (Gaul), at one point ordained a presbyter, leaves Bourges. He settles in Néris and then in Celle; in both places building oratories. He founds two monasteries, one male and one female. Account of Gregory of Tours, "Life of the Fathers", Tours (Gaul), ca AD 590.
IX.2–3
 
2. Non est enim de his servus Dei commotus animo, qui iam heremi sitiebat adire secretum; sed egressus ab urbe memorata, venit ad vicum Nereensim, ibique aedificato oratorio ac sancti Martini reliquiis consecrato, pueros erudire coepit in studiis litterarum. Veniebant autem ad eum infirmi et sanabantur, atque inergumini nomen eius confitentes emundabantur; nec ei erat solitudo, ut voluerat, sed patefacta virtus publicum usquequaque reddebat.
 
Patroclus longed for solitude. The lots drawn at the altar told him that he should become a hermit. Having founded a female monastery, he moved from Néris to a place called Mediocantus (later Celle), where he built his hermitic cell. The sick and demoniacs still visited him, and he performed some other miracles. It is hinted that Patroclus also had an oratory erected nearby.
 
3. Post haec aedificavit monasterium Columbariense in milibus quinque a cellula heremi, in qua habitabat, et congregatis monachis, ut solitudinem libero potius fungeretur arbitrio, abbatem instituit, qui gregi monasteriali praeesset. Octavum enim et decimum in hoc heremi loco expleverat annum. Tunc congregatis fratribus, transitum suum adnuntians, obiit in senectute bona, sanctitate praecipua.
 
(ed. Krusch 1885: 253–255)
IX.2–3
 
2. It was not these words [archdeacon of Bourges reproached Patroclus for not sharing a joint meal with the clergy, [see [1762]] which moved the servant of God, for he already had a secret desire to withdraw into a desert. Thus, he left Bourges and came to the village of Néris. There, he built an oratory and consecrated it with the relics of Saint Martin, and he began to instruct children in the study of letters. The sick came to Patroclus and were cured, and the possessed were cleansed after having confessed his name.
 
Patroclus longed for solitude. The lots drawn at the altar told him that he should become a hermit. Having founded a female monastery, he moved from Néris to a place called Mediocantus (later Celle), where he built his hermitic cell. The sick and demoniacs still visited him, and he performed some other miracles. It is hinted that Patroclus also had an oratory erected nearby.
 
3. After that, Patroclus constructed the monastery of Colombier, five miles from the hermitic cell in which he lived. Assembling monks there, he instituted an abbot who would lead the flock of monks so that he could live in his solitude as he liked. He completed his eighteenth year in this hermitage [i.e. Celle]. Then he brought the brothers together to announce his own death; he died at an old age and in remarkable sanctity.
 
(trans. James 1991: 69, altered and summarised by J. Szafranowski)

Discussion:

According to Gregory of Tours (Histories V.10, see [1761]), Patroclus was eighty when he died in 576; thus, he had been born around 496.
 
It is unknown at which point of his ecclesiastical career Patroclus was ordained a presbyter. His office is attested by Gregory of Tours in his Histories (V.10, see [1761]). He was probably already a presbyter in Néris, since the oratory he built had an altar.
 
Néris is located approximately 65 km south of Bourges.
 
Celle (Mediocantus) is situated some 30 km north of Néris (more or less half-way between Bourges and Néris).

Place of event:

Region
  • Gaul
City
  • Néris
  • Colombier
  • Celle

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:

Travel and change of residence
Functions within the Church - Rural presbyter
Monastic or common life - Hermit
Monastic or common life - Monastic superior (abbot/prior)
Fame of sanctity
Ecclesiastical administration - Construction/Renovation
Ritual activity - Divination
Devotion - Veneration of saints and relics
Devotion - Ascetic practice
Pastoral activity - Teaching
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: J. Szafranowski, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER1763, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1763