Eucherius of Lyon

Saint Eucherius of Lyon, hierarch, was a man of noble birth and high rank in the Church of Roman Gaul, bishop of Lyon from 434 or 439 until his death, around 449. He is remembered above all for his letters urging self-⁠denial. He is commemorated on 19 November.

His life

Eucherius was born around 380, in a wealthy Gallo-⁠Roman family. He was married to Galla and they had two sons, Veranus and Salonius, born about 400, and, by some sources, two daughters, Consortia and Tullia. After the birth of their sons, Eucherius proposed to his wife that they lead together a more austere life, a marriage as of friends, like that of Paulinus of Nola and Therasia, in which life was reduced to the minimum needed for prayer and devotion. After Galla’s death, Eucherius withdrew for a time with his sons to the monastery of Lérins, where he lived a severe and simple life, devoting himself to the education of the boys. Soon after he withdrew further, to the neighbouring island of Lerona, where he gave his time to the study of Scripture and self-⁠denial. Thinking that he might join the hermits of the East, he consulted John Cassian, the famed hermit come from the East to Marseille. Cassian dedicated to Eucherius and Honoratus, founder of Lérins, the second series of his Conferences, in which he describes the daily life of the hermits of the Egyptian Thebaid and speaks of grace, free will and Scripture. In life he was in contact with men renowned for learning and piety, among them Cassian, Honoratus, Hilary of Arles, Claudianus Mamertus and Sidonius Apollinaris.

Bishop of Lyon

His fame spread through southeastern Gaul so that he was chosen bishop of Lyon, probably in 434. It is certain that he took part, as metropolitan of Lyon, in the first council of Orange, in 441, and that he held this ministry until his death. His son Veranus succeeded him in the see, and Salonius became bishop of Geneva.

Writings

Around 428 he wrote the letter In Praise of the Desert, to Hilary of Arles. The book Formulas of Spiritual Understanding, to his son Veranus, defends the right to read the Bible allegorically. He also wrote Instructions to Salonius, a letter to Faustus of Lérins about his pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the letter of exhortation to his kinsman Valerian, On the Contempt of the World, in which he shows his despair at the world nearing its end and his hope in the world to come. His best-⁠known writing is the Passion of the Martyrs of Agaunum, about the martyrdom of the Theban Legion and of Saint Maurice, written around 430.