Saint Avitus of Vienne

chainsaw sculpture of Saint Avitus of Vienne by Adrien Meneau, date unknown; Saint-Avit, Drôme, France; photographed on 9 May 2008 by Gachepi; swiped from Wikimedia Commons Also known as

Alcimus Ecdicius

Memorial

5 February

Profile

Son of Saint Isychius. Brother of Saint Apollinaris of Valence. Bishop of Vienne, France, succeeding his father. Fought Arianism, ransomed captives, and supported papal authority as the mainstay of religious unity. Brought King Saint Sigismund of Burgundy, and was well thought of personally not only by the Christians in his diocese but also the pagan Franks and Arian Burgundians. Presided over the Council of Epaon in 517. He wrote a long, elegant narrative poem describing original sin, expulsion from paradise, the Flood, and crossing of the Red Sea; Milton made use of it when writing Paradise Lost.