E00055: Gregory of Tours, in his Life of *Gregory (bishop of Langres, ob. 539/540, S00038), tells how, with accompanying miracles, the body of the saint was moved to a newly built apse in the church of *John (presumably either the Baptist, S00020, or the Apostle and Evangelist S00042) in Dijon (eastern Gaul) by his son and successor as bishop of Langres. From Gregory's Life of the Fathers, written in Latin in Tours (north-west Gaul), 573/594.
Creators: name: Dlambert
Publisher: name: University of Oxford
Year: 2014
Subjects: History

description: Gregory of Tours, Life of the Fathers 7.4-5<br><br>(Ch.4) Admirabile est enim et illud miraculum, qualiter beatum corpus eius, cum post multa tempora transferretur, apparuit gloriosum. Cum beatus pontifex in angulo basilicae fuisset sepultus, et parvus esset locus ille, nec ibi populi sic possent accedere, ut devotio postulabat, sanctus Tetricus, filius et successor eius, haec cernens et virtutes ibidem assidue operari prospiciens, ante altare basilicae fundamenta iacet, erectaque absida, miro opere construit et transvolvit. Qua transvoluta disruptoque pariete, arcum aedificat. Quod opus perfectum atque exornatum, ut in medio absidae loculum fodit, ubi corpus beati patris transferre volens, convocat presbiteros et abbates ad istud officium; qui vigilantes orabant, ut se beatus confessor ad hanc praeparatam habitationem transferri permitteret. Mane autem facto, cum choris psallentium adprehensum sarcofagum ante altare in absidam, quam beatus episcopus aedificaverat, transtulerunt. Quod sepulchrum dum diligenter conponunt, subito et, ut credo, a Dei iussu operturium sarcofagi motum est in una parte. Et ecce apparuit beata facies eius ita integra et inlaesa, ut putares, eum non mortuum esse, sed dormientem; sed nec de ipso vestimento, quod cum eo positum fuit, aliquid ostensum est diminutum. Unde non inmerito apparuit gloriosus post transitum, cuius caro non fuit corrupta ludibrio. Magna est enim corporis et cordis integritas, quae et in praesenti saeculo praestat gratiam et in futuro vitam largitur aeternam, de qua Paulus apostolus ait: Pacem sequimini et sanctificationem, sine qua nemo videbit regnum Dei.<br><br>(Ch.4) (...) There was also a wonderful miracle by which his [Gregory's] body appeared glorious after several years, when his body was moved. The holy pontiff had been buried in a corner of the basilica, in a very narrow place, so that the people could not approach him as their devotion demanded. The holy Tetricus, his son and successor, realised this, and seeing miracles happen ceaselessly at the tomb, he laid foundations behind the part of the church where the altar was, and built an apse, constructed and vaulted with admirable workmanship. He finished the vault and then knocked down the [old] wall and opened an arch [between the church and the apse]. When the work and its decoration were complete he cut in the middle of the floor of this apse a place where he wanted to transfer the body of his blessed father. He convoked for this ceremony priests and abbots, who held vigils and prayed that the holy confessor would allow them to translate his remains to the newly prepared place. Then, on the following morning, the choirs singing psalms, they took the sarcophagus in front of the altar and then carried it into the apse built by the holy bishop. But as the burial was carefully being made, suddenly, and as I believe by God's orders, the lid of the sarcophagus came loose at one side and, behold, the blessed face of the confessor could be seen, intact and whole, just as if it belonged to a sleeping person and not a dead man. None of his vestments, which had been placed with him, had rotted in the least. It was not without reason that he was seen to be glorious after his death, since his flesh had not been corrupted by pleasures. That integrity of the body and heart is truly great which shows grace in this present life and which, in the future, is rewarded with eternal life: as the Apostle Paul said, "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no men shall see the Lord" [Hebr. 12:24]. <br><br>There follows, in chapter 5, an account of miracles at Gregory's grave: a girl was combing her hair on Sunday and for punishment the comb stabbed into her hand. She prayed at the saint's grave and it came loose. Demoniacs are cleansed after confessing the name of the saint. <br><br>Text: Krusch 1969, 239-240. Translation: James 1991, 47-48, lightly modified.