SAINT GERMANUS OF AUXERRE

Few people know who ordained Saint Jerome to the priesthood, who made Saint Augustine a bishop, and finally, who, during the years of the French Revolution, ordained Saint Seraphim of Sarov to the deaconate and then to the priesthood. But Saint Patrick of Ireland was made a bishop by Saint Germanus of Auxerre. ““He is the greatest of all the saints named Germanus”,” goes the old saying. But perhaps the Parisians, who revere Saint Germanus of Paris, or the Orthodox in the USA, the heirs of Germanus of Alaska, will have a different opinion.

1 On August 13, the church celebrates the memory of Saint Germanus of Auxerre. The name of the city of Auxerre is pronounced differently from its spelling. It will therefore be difficult for a non-French speaker to find it if it is spelled Auxerre. Auxerre is a very small but historically important city in northwest Burgundy.

2 Football fans know it because the draw often paired their teams with the Auxerre club, whose symbol is a large hedgehog. The city of 40,000 inhabitants has 35 historical monuments and three museums of national importance. The Chablis vineyard is also part of Auxerre’s heritage.

3 The city owes its fame largely to the ancient Gallo-Apostolic Christianity of the undivided Church of the first millennium. Even before the Edict of Milan, in the mid-3rd century, an independent diocese was established there. In the 4th and 5th centuries, the city was on the verge of decline but experienced a revival thanks to the great Saint Germanus of Auxerre (380-448). A native of the Auxerre area, he was first a high-ranking official, then even governor of Gaul.

4 After 410, Germanus converted to Christianity and, thanks to a supernatural vision, was appointed Bishop of Auxerre in 418. He held this position for 30 years, until his death in Ravenna, then the capital of the Western Roman Empire, where he interceded for his congregation.

5 Germanus founded important monasteries, including the future Abbey of Auxerre, which still bears his name today. An Apostle of Great Britain, he himself preached in the islands. Saint Patrick, the future Apostle of Ireland, lived for a long time in Auxerre. It was Germanus who ordained him bishop!

6 The memory of Saint Germanus represents an exceptional opportunity to recognize all that modern civilization owes to the great Orthodox Catholic saints of Antiquity. Our contemporary and great saint, Bishop John of Shanghai (1896-1966), called for a revival of the veneration of ancient Western Orthodox saints. In fulfillment of this legacy, Saint Germain of Auxerre was inscribed on the calendar of the Russian Church in 2017.