Caesarius of Arles | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Statue of Caesarius of Arles in the Église Saint-Césaire d'Arles (Arles, France) | |
| Bishop and Church Father | |
| Born | 468/470 AD Chalon-sur-Saône, Western Roman Empire |
| Died | 27 August 542 AD |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Feast | August 27 |
Caesarius of Arles (Latin: Caesarius Arelatensis; 468/470 – 27 August 542 AD), sometimes called "of Chalon" (Cabillonensis or Cabellinensis) from his birthplace Chalon-sur-Saône, was the foremost ecclesiastic of his generation in Merovingian Gaul.[1][2][3] Caesarius is considered to be of the last generation of church leaders of Gaul who worked to integrate large-scale ascetic elements into the Western Christian tradition.[2] William E. Klingshirn's study of Caesarius depicts Caesarius as having the reputation of a "popular preacher of great fervour and enduring influence".[4] Among those who exercised the greatest influence on Caesarius were Augustine of Hippo, Julianus Pomerius, and John Cassian.
The most important problem for Caesarius was the efficiency of the bishop's fulfillment of his pastoral duties. By that time, preaching had already become part of the standard church service in Gaul; many bishops recognized the importance of such a means of teaching morals and encouraged it. However, Caesarius' enthusiasm was outstanding in its own way, and he urged his clergy to preach as often as possible, in the church and outside it, to the willing and the opposing. Caesarius' sermon topics generally dealt with moral issues.[5]
- ^ Arthur Malnory, Saint Cesaire Évêque d'Arles (503-543), 1894 (présentation en ligne) Éditions: G. Morin, Corp. christ. 103-104 (1953). Traductions françaises : A. de Vogüé - J. Courreau, Sources chrétiennes 345 (1988, * Œuvres monastiques, M.-J. Delage, Sources chrétiennes 175, 243 (1971, 1978, Sermons au peuple).
- ^ a b William E. Klingshirn: Caesarius of Arles : The Making of a Christian Community in Late Antique Gaul, Cambridge University Press, 1994).
- ^ Césaire d'Arles et la christianisation de la Provence, Actes des journées « Césaire » (3-5 novembre 1988, 22 avril 1989), par D. Bertrand, M.-J. Delage, P.-. Février, J. Guyon, A. de Vogüé, Éditions du Cerf, 1994
- ^ Conrad Leyser, "Authority and Asceticism from Augustine to Gregory the Great"
- ^ De Maeyer N., Partoens G. (2018). "Preaching in Sixth-Century Arles. The Sermons of Bishop Caesarius". Preaching in the Patristic Era: Sermons, Preachers, and Audiences in the Latin West. Cambridge: BRILL. pp. 198–231. ISBN 9789004363564.