Palladius

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Palladius

Palladius (fl. 408-431; probably died ca 457/461) was the first Bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordination or consecration member of the Clergy#Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight....
of the Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
s of Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
, preceding Saint Patrick

Saint Patrick

Saint Patrick , said to have been born Maewyn Succat , was a Roman Britain-born Christianity missionary and is the patron saint of Ireland along with Brigid of Kildare and Columba....
.

It is believed that he is the same Palladius that is earlier described as the deacon of Saint Germanus of Auxerre

Germanus of Auxerre

Germanus of Auxerre was a bishop of Auxerre in Gaul. He is a saint in both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodoxy churches, commemorated on July 31....
. If this is the case, then he was the son of Exuperantius of Poitiers, of whom the contemporary pagan poet Rutilius Claudius Namatianus

Rutilius Claudius Namatianus

Rutilius Claudius Namatianus was a ancient Rome poet, notable as the author of a Latin poem, De Reditu Suo, in elegiac metre, describing a coastal voyage from Rome to Gaul in 416....
wrote: "Exuperantius now teaches the inhabitants of the Armorica

Armorica

Armorica or Aremorica is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul that includes the Brittany peninsula and the territory between the Seine and Loire River rivers, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic coast....
n coastal regions to love the restoration of peace; he re-establishes laws, restores freedom, and prevents the masters from being slaves to their own servants." Exuperantius was apparently praefectus praetorio Galliarum ("Praetorian prefect of the Gallic provinces") when killed in an army mutiny at Arles

Arles

Arles is a city in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rh?ne Departments of France, of which it is a Subprefectures in France, in the former Provinces of France of Provence....
in 424.

Palladius was married and had a young daughter.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Palladius'

Start a new discussion about 'Palladius'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

Palladius (fl. 408-431; probably died ca 457/461) was the first Bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordination or consecration member of the Clergy#Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight....
of the Christian

Christian

Ireland

Saint Patrick

Germanus of Auxerre

Rutilius Claudius Namatianus

Armorica

Arles

Pelagius

Pelagius was an Asceticism who denied the doctrine of original sin, later developed by Augustine of Hippo, and was declared a heresy by the Councils of Carthage....
in Rome, he kissed his family goodbye in the manner of the Apostles, and lived as an ascetic in Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is an Autonomous regions with special statute of Italy. Of all the regions of Italy, Sicily covers the largest land area at 25,708 km? and currently has just over five million inhabitants....
about 408/409, giving his daughter to a convent on that island. To this period is ascribed his authorship of six Pelagian

Pelagianism

Pelagianism is a theological theory named after Pelagius . It is the belief that original sin did not taint Instinct and that mortal will is still capable of choosing Goodness and value theory or evil without special Miracle....
documents. He seems to have been ordained a priest

Priest

A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities....
about 415, presumably after recanting the teachings of Pelagius. Lived in Rome between 418–429, and appears to be the "Deacon Palladius" responsible for urging Pope Celestine I

Pope Celestine I

Pope Saint Celestine I was pope from 422 until April 6, 432.Celestine I was a Ancient Rome. Nothing is known of his early history except that his father's name was Priscus....
to send the bishop Germanus

Germanus of Auxerre

Germanus of Auxerre was a bishop of Auxerre in Gaul. He is a saint in both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodoxy churches, commemorated on July 31....
to Britain

Sub-Roman Britain

Sub-Roman Britain is a term derived from an archaeologists' label for the material culture of Great Britain in Late Antiquity. "Sub-Roman" was invented to describe the pottery sherds in sites of the 5th century and the 6th century, initially with an implication of decay of locally-made wares from a higher standard under the Roman Empire....
, where he guided "the Britons back to the catholic faith."

It is a question whether or not it is the same person who, in 431, was sent as first bishop to the Christians of Ireland: "Palladius, having been ordained by Pope Celestine, is sent as first bishop to the Irish

Ireland

Christ

Christ is the English language term for the Greek meaning "the anointing", which is a title given to the Reigning Messiah in the given age of the Zodiac....
." That Palladius is most strongly associated with Leinster

Leinster

Leinster , one of the Provinces of Ireland, lies in the east of Ireland and comprises the counties of County Carlow, County Dublin, County Kildare, County Kilkenny, County Laois, County Longford, County Louth, County Meath, County Offaly, County Westmeath, County Wexford and County Wicklow....
, particularly with Clonard, County Meath

Clonard, County Meath

Clonard is a small village in County Meath, Republic of Ireland. It lies on the N4 road national primary route and is situated on this road between the towns of Kinnegad and Enfield, County Meath....
. There is also a cluster of dedications in the Mearns in Scotland

Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
, where the village of Auchenblae

Auchenblae

Auchenblae is a village in The Mearns, Aberdeenshire formerly Kincardineshire, Scotland. It is featured in Lewis Grassick Gibbon's novel, Sunset Song....
is believed to be his last resting place. As late as the reign of James V royal funds were disbursed for the fabrication of a new reliquary for the church there, and an annual "Paldy Fair" was held at least until the time of the Reformation

Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe. It is thought to have begun in 1517 with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses and may be considered to have ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648....
. Scottish church tradition holds that he presided over a Christian community there for around 20 years. His date of death is unknown; however, the Annals of Ulster

Annals of Ulster

The Annals of Ulster are a chronicle of Middle Ages Ireland. The entries span the years between Anno Domini 431 and AD 1540. The entries up to AD 1489 were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhr? ? Luin?n, under his patron Cathal ?g Mac Maghnusa on the island of Belle Isle on Lough Erne in the province of Ulster....
contain the following references:

457 "Repose of the elder Patrick, as some books state"
461 "Here some record the repose of Patrick"
492 "The Irish state here that Patrick the Archbishop died."
493 "Patrick... apostle of the Irish, rested on the 16th day before the Kalends of April..."

Thus, it is possible that later writers confused Palladius and Patrick

Saint Patrick

Saint Patrick , said to have been born Maewyn Succat , was a Roman Britain-born Christianity missionary and is the patron saint of Ireland along with Brigid of Kildare and Columba....
. If the earlier dates of 457/461 indeed refer to him, then it seems that the actual St Patrick died much later about 492/493. Patrick's mission was largely confined to Ulster

Ulster

Ulster is one of the four Provinces of Ireland of Ireland, in addition to Connacht, Munster and Leinster. The name is sometimes informally used as a synonym for Northern Ireland, one of the countries of the United Kingdom, although Northern Ireland covers only two thirds of Ulster....
and Connacht

Connacht

Connacht is the western Provinces of Ireland of Ireland, comprising counties County Galway, County Leitrim, County Mayo, County Roscommon, County Sligo....
, while Palladius seems to have been active in Leinster

Leinster

Killeen Cormac

Killeen Cormac, aka 'Cell Fine Chormaic' , is a place in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland. It is believed to be identical with the 'Cell Fine' where, according to the Vita Tripartia, Palladius left his books, together with a writing tablet and relics of Peter and Paul....
, County Kildare

County Kildare

County Kildare is an Republic of Ireland county located to the southwest of Dublin in the province of Leinster. The name comes from the Irish, meaning church of the oaks ....
), where he left his books, together with a writing tablet and relics of Peter and Paul.

Bibliography

O'Croinin, "Who Was Palladius 'First Bishop of the Irish'?", Peritia, volume 14 (2000), 205-37.
Vita tripartita Sancti Patricii
Vita tripartita Sancti Patricii

The Vita tripartita Sancti Patricii is a manuscript, in Latin language and Irish language, of uncertain age, possibly containing text dating from the 6th century, and known to exist in at least four copies in 1647....
(MS)

Palladius

Bibliography

External links