Firminus of Uzès

Saint Firminus of Uzès was bishop of Uzès in Gaul in the sixth century, a disciple and friend of Saint Caesarius of Arles. He is a saint in the Orthodox Church and in the Catholic Church. He died on 11 October 553, and his commemoration is on the same day, in French and Spanish calendars, Catholic and Orthodox.

He is thought to have been born about the year 480, probably at Narbonne, to the family of a senator and of Industria. At the age of twelve he followed his relative, the patrician and bishop Ruricius. Perhaps this is Ruricius of Limoges. In earlier interpretations of the Acts of Firminus it was believed to be the bishop of Uzès, because Firminus later replaced him in the see. The fact that Ruricius was bishop of Uzès from 533 to 538 makes this hypothesis improbable chronologically. Firminus was the fourth bishop of Uzès, from 538.

Firminus was a disciple and friend of Caesarius of Arles and is one of the compilers of the rule given to nuns. With Caesarius he took part in the first Council of Orléans, in 541. In a letter of 544, sent by a certain Arator to Parthenius, it is mentioned that Firminus was a high priest and teacher of the faith, who knew how to teach the people the dogmas, and that his fame had reached as far as Italy. He also took part in the second Council of Orléans, in 549, and in that of Paris, in 552. In that year the diocese of Uzès became a suffragan of the metropolis of Arles. After that date there is no news of him, but his cult soon spread.

He was buried at Nîmes, in a church which he himself had built north of the city.