Remigius of Reims

Saint Remigius, bishop of Reims, is called the Apostle of the Franks, because he baptized King Clovis and brought many of his people to the faith. He lived in the fifth and sixth centuries and is also honoured in the Orthodox Church. His feast is on 15 January (other calendars keep 13 January, and the translation of his relics on 1 October).

Life

He was born around 437, traditionally at Cerny-⁠en-⁠Laonnois near Laon, into a distinguished Gallo-⁠Roman family. His father is said to have been Emilius, count of Laon, and his mother Saint Celine, daughter of a bishop of Soissons; his brother Principius was bishop of Soissons. He studied at Reims and soon became known for his learning and holiness, so that he was elected bishop of Reims around 459, at only twenty-⁠one or twenty-⁠two, though still a layman.

The baptism of Clovis

The story of the chalice of Soissons, taken from a church and returned to the Frankish king at the bishop’s request, shows the good relations between Remigius and Clovis. Clovis had given him and the Christians of Reims many gifts even before he was baptized. With the help of Saint Vedast and of Clovis’s wife, Saint Clotilda, a Burgundian princess, Remigius led the king to the Christian faith, not to Arianism, which was widespread then. After his victory over the Alamanni at Tolbiac, Clovis asked him to baptize him. The baptism took place at Reims on Christmas Day, traditionally in 496; some sources give 498, and scholars say it was between 496 and 500. According to Gregory of Tours, three thousand Franks were baptized with the king. It was an important moment in the conversion of the Franks and in establishing the Catholic faith among Germanic peoples, most of whom held to Arianism. The custom of anointing kings at Reims arose later, introduced by Hincmar in the ninth century.

Shepherding

Clovis granted him lands, and Remigius built and endowed many churches. He founded the bishoprics of Tournai, Cambrai, Thérouanne (where he himself ordained the first bishop, in 499), Arras (where he installed Saint Vedast) and Laon. In 530 he consecrated Saint Medard bishop of Noyon. The gifts that Frankish nobles brought him he gave to the cathedral of Reims. In 517 he held a synod at Reims, at which, after a heated discussion, he won back to right belief a bishop who held Arian views. Once the forgiveness he showed to the priest Claudius, whom he had ordained, drew the rebuke of other bishops, who thought Claudius deserved deposition; his reply, which survives, is able and convincing. Sidonius Apollinaris wrote in praise of his addresses.

Writings and relics

Few authentic works of his remain: four letters, among them his defence in the case of Claudius, two to Clovis and one to Bishop Falco of Tongres. The “Testament” that bears his name is apocryphal, and the older lives ascribed to him are legendary. His relics were kept in the cathedral of Reims, from which Hincmar moved them to Épernay during the Viking raids, and in 1099 they were taken to the abbey of Saint-⁠Rémy. On 7 October 1793 his tomb at Reims was desecrated by a commissioner of the Convention during the French Revolution. To this day the eleventh-⁠century basilica of Saint-⁠Rémy in Reims and many other churches bear his name.