Theonest

The Holy Theonistus (* in the 4th century , † in the 5th century in Poitiers ) should in the first half of the 5th century bishop of Mainz have been.

Life

The church sources on the life of Theonest and other pre-Bonifatian bishops of Mainz in the period after the fall of the Roman Mogontiacum (350 to 450) such as Crescens , Aureus and Maximus are strongly influenced by legends. The name Theomast / Theonestus is missing from the lists of bishops, but has come down to us in other sources. It is possible that he led the Mainz church instead of the Aureus, who was expelled in 406.

The oldest testimony about Theonest comes from a hagiographic work by Gregory of Tours , which he wrote between 573 and 594.

“ Theomast is reported to have been wonderful bishop of Meinz in accordance with the interpretation of his name in his holiness. For some reason he was expelled from this city and went to Poitiers. There he ended his present life, holding on to the right faith. "

In 406 several Germanic groups crossed the Rhine near Mainz , during which Alban, who was later also venerated as a saint in Mainz , suffered martyrdom . According to tradition, Alban was beheaded for preaching against Arianism in Mainz . Theomast / Theonest, on the other hand, is said to have been stoned by the Arians, put into a perforated wine barrel and then pushed into the Rhine. This is told in the legend about the origin of the name Kaub and would allow it to appear later in Poitiers.

According to a martyrology of the later Archbishop of Mainz Rabanus Maurus , his vita corresponds to that of Theonest (Theonistus, Thonistus, Onistus) of Altino, bishop of the island of Namsia. The Mainz historian Franz Staab reports in detail on three vites of Saint Theonest.

Adoration

Theonest is traditionally venerated as a saint in the diocese of Mainz . The Theonestkapelle in the Mainzer Gartenfeld , which has been occupied since 791, was dedicated to him. The chapel was built at the "Dimesser Ort", named after the spelling of the name Theomast , near today's customs and inland port . In addition to numerous civilian finds, pieces of military equipment and a late Roman cemetery were found there. The Theonestkapelle can possibly be assigned to a Coemeterialkirche . After Karl Johann Brilmayer , the chapel was closed at the end of the 16th century.

In the 10th century were relics that have been assigned to the Holy Theonistus, by the Bishop of Mainz Hildebert the St. Alban's Abbey, Mainz passed. Since the late Middle Ages, Creszenz, Aureus and Theonest have been venerated as city patrons. Theonest ( von Altino ) is also particularly venerated in the diocese of Treviso .

The feast of Saint Theonest is a festival of the Diocese of Mainz and is celebrated on June 27th according to the diocesan calendar . Today the relics of Theonest and other early Mainz saints are in a reliquary in the east crypt of Mainz Cathedral .

literature

Eugen Ewig : The oldest Mainz bishop's graves, the list of bishops and the Theonest legend , in: Ludwig Lenhart (editor): Universitas, Fs. Bishop Stohr, Mainz 1960, 19-27
Hans Werner Nopper: The pre-Bonifatian bishops of Mainz. Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2001, ISBN 3-8311-2429-9

Individual evidence

^ Moguntiner: Theonest, in: List of the bishops of Mainz
↑ Gregor von Tours Book 8: Liber in gloria confessorum (Book for the glory of the confessors).
^ Nopper, Die vorbonifatianischen Mainz Bishops, p. 125
↑ On the story of Kaub - the Cuba of the 10th century
^ Franz Staab : The Mainz Church in the Early Middle Ages. In: Friedhelm Jürgensmeier (Hrsg.): Handbuch der Mainz Kirchengeschichte. , Vol. 1 Christian antiquity and the Middle Ages. (Contributions to the history of the church in Mainz 6). Echter, Würzburg 2000
^ Nopper, Die vorbonifatianischen Mainz Bishops :, p. 125
↑ Karl Johann Brilmayer : Rheinhessen in the past and present - history of the existing and departed cities, spots, villages, hamlets and farms, monasteries and castles of the province of Rheinhessen along with an introduction . Emil Roth, Gau-Algesheim 1905.
↑ Bruno W. Häuptli: Theonest. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 22, Bautz, Nordhausen 2003, ISBN 3-88309-133-2 , Sp. 1344-1346. ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )
↑ Ekkart Sauser : Theonest. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 11, Bautz, Herzberg 1996, ISBN 3-88309-064-6 , Sp. 1021. ( Article / beginning of article in the Internet archive )

predecessor	Office	successor
Aureus	Bishop of Mainz after 400	Maximus

personal data
SURNAME	Theonest
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Theomast
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Martyr, Bishop of Mainz
DATE OF BIRTH	4th century
DATE OF DEATH	around 450
Place of death	Poitiers

[1] Moguntiner: Theonest, in: List of the bishops of Mainz

[2] Gregor von Tours Book 8: Liber in gloria confessorum (Book for the glory of the confessors).

[3] Nopper, Die vorbonifatianischen Mainz Bishops, p. 125

[4] On the story of Kaub - the Cuba of the 10th century

[5] Franz Staab : The Mainz Church in the Early Middle Ages. In: Friedhelm Jürgensmeier (Hrsg.): Handbuch der Mainz Kirchengeschichte. , Vol. 1 Christian antiquity and the Middle Ages. (Contributions to the history of the church in Mainz 6). Echter, Würzburg 2000

[6] Nopper, Die vorbonifatianischen Mainz Bishops :, p. 125

[7] Karl Johann Brilmayer : Rheinhessen in the past and present - history of the existing and departed cities, spots, villages, hamlets and farms, monasteries and castles of the province of Rheinhessen along with an introduction . Emil Roth, Gau-Algesheim 1905.

[8] Bruno W. Häuptli: Theonest. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 22, Bautz, Nordhausen 2003, ISBN 3-88309-133-2 , Sp. 1344-1346. ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )

[9] Ekkart Sauser : Theonest. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 11, Bautz, Herzberg 1996, ISBN 3-88309-064-6 , Sp. 1021. ( Article / beginning of article in the Internet archive )