Albuin

Holy Hierarch Albuin was bishop of Säben and then of Brixen in the Tyrol, and reposed on 5 February 1005, 1006 or 1007 at Brixen. He was born in Carinthia in the 10th century, in the noble line of the Aribonen. He was the son of Margrave Albuin of Carinthia and his wife Hildegard, a relative of the family of King Henry II. For his studies at the cathedral school of Brixen, his mother left him the large estate of Stein near Möchling in the Drau valley. He was consecrated bishop around 975; on 8 September 977 he is first mentioned as bishop of the "Church of Säben and Brixen", in a deed by which the Emperor Otto II gave him the court of Reifnitz in Carinthia.

The bishop wanted his residence to be more easily reached and his territories easier to travel, in order to be closer to the center of his diocese. For this reason, around 990, he moved the episcopal seat from the rocky Säben to the plain of Brixen, which had meanwhile become a larger town and cultural center of the region. The measure also touched the patron of the cathedral of Brixen: in place of Saint Stephen, Saint Cassian, patron of Säben, was now venerated, to secure also religiously the continuity between Säben and the new seat. He was a companion of the Emperor Otto II in his wars. The emperor confirmed the immunity privileges from Carolingian days and recognized the episcopal protection. His successor, Henry II, brought him further lands, among them in Regensburg, Carniola and Villach; in 1004 he gave him the lordship of Veldes in Carniola. The cathedral school of Brixen is first mentioned in his time. He accompanied King Henry II on his expedition to Italy against Arduin of Ivrea, before he died in 1006.

Albuin was venerated as a saint as early as the 11th century and was entered in the Roman Martyrology. His day is 5 February, by the Western calendar (new style). He is honored as a saint of the undivided Church.