Caesarius of Arles

Caesarius of Arles (* around 470 near Chalon-sur-Saône , † August 27, 542 in Arles ), also called Caesarius of Châlon , was Archbishop of Arles and one of the most important churchmen in Gaul of his time.

Life

Caesarius came from a noble Gallo-Roman family. He joined Lérins Abbey near Cannes at a young age , where his ascetic way of life is said to have been so detrimental to his health that he was sent to Arles to relax. Here he became a deacon , then presbyter and finally headed the Abbey of Arles. The Archdiocese of Arles was held by Aeonius at that time, after whose death in 502 it was decided that Caesarius would be his successor. Caesarius got into political difficulties when a Licinianus told the Visigoth king Alaric II that Caesarius wanted to hand over the city of Arles to the Burgundians . Caesarius was then removed from his post and taken to Bordeaux . After it was found out that he was innocent, he was allowed to return. In 506 he convened the Synod of Agde , which made important decisions relating to canon law. After Provence fell to the Ostrogoths, Caesarius was again accused of treason and he was brought to Ravenna in 513 . Now the Ostrogoth king Theodoric the Great stood up for him and he was released again. Caesarius then went to Rome to see Pope Symmachus , who awarded him the pallium for the Archdiocese of Arelat.

As a result, Caesarius called five church meetings: 524 in Arles, 527 in Carpentras , 529 in Orange and Vaison, and 533 in Marseille . He campaigned strongly for Catholic orthodoxy and against semi-Pelagian tendencies; so he made sure that the doctrine that there are people who are predestined to evil by the divine omnipotence was condemned at the Synod of Orange. He was considered an advocate of strict church and monastery discipline, which is also expressed in the regula ad monachos or regula ad virgines that he wrote . In 512 he consecrated the St. John's nunnery in Arles, probably the earliest nunnery in the west, and appointed his sister Caesaria as the first abbess.

Caesarius died of old age in Arles; the day of his death, August 27, is at the same time the evangelical day of remembrance and the Roman Catholic feast day of the archbishop, who became famous not least for his popular sermons. The Roman Catholic Church venerates him as a saint.

He was a student of Julianus Pomerius and was in contact with the noble Gallor-Roman and Bishop Ruricius of Limoges .

literature

• Adolf Jülicher : Caesarius 9 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume III, 1, Stuttgart 1897, Sp. 1302-1304.
• Vitae Caesarii episcopi Arelatensis libri duo . In: Bruno Krusch (ed.): Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum 3: Passiones vitaeque sanctorum aevi Merovingici et antiquiorum aliquot (I). Hannover 1896, pp. 433–501 ( Monumenta Germaniae Historica , digitized version )
• Marie-José Delage: Césaire d'Arles: Sermons au peuple 1, Sources Chrétiennes . Paris 1971.
• William E. Klingshirn: Caesarius of Arles: The Making of a Christian Community in Late Antique Gaul. Cambridge 1994.
• Knut Schäferdiek :  Caesarius of Arles. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 4, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1981, ISBN 3-11-006513-4 , pp. 319–321.
• Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz :  Caesarius of Arles. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 1, Bautz, Hamm 1975. 2nd, unchanged edition Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-013-1 , Sp. 842-843.

Web links

• Literature by and about Caesarius von Arles in the catalog of the German National Library
• His life and work

Remarks

1. ^ R. Nuremberg, Art. Caesaria the Elder: Lexicon for Theology and Church Vol. 2 (1994) Sp. 878.

predecessor	Office	successor
Eonius	Archbishop of Arles 503-546	Auxanius