- Stephen of Autun
Stephen of Autun (b. at
Baugé (hence inAnjou ; d. at theabbey of Cluny in 1139 or early in 1140), surnamed Blagiacus or de Balgiaco, was a Frenchliturgical writer andbishop of Autun .Life
Of his younger days nothing is known except that he was the son of Gaucerannus, lord of Baugé, and the uncle of
Humbert, Archbishop of Lyon . He appears in history (1112) as Bishop of Autun. As such he was present (1115) at asynod of Tournus .A letter is in existence of the year 1116, written to him from the
Lateran byPope Pascal II in which the pope places the Diocese of Autun under his special protection and confirms to Stephen various privileges. In 1129 Stephen was among the prelates who assisted at the coronation of Philip, eldest son ofLouis VI of France .He built a cathedral, beginning in 1120, which was solemnly consecrated (1131) by
Pope Innocent II . He always showed a great admiration for the religious state, and in 1136 resigned his see and entered the monastery of Cluny. The abbot,Peter the Venerable , under whom he entered and died, praised his learning and piety.Works
His "Tractatus de Sacramento Altaris" [Printed together with some other documents relating to Stephen, in "
Patrologia Latina ", CLXXII, 1371.] is an ascetico-liturgical treatise, consisting of twenty chapters and a preface, in which he speaks of the ordination and duties of each of the Minor and Major Orders; and of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and gives a literal and allegorical explanation of the Canon. He is one of the earliest writers using the termtransubstantiation . This treatise, published in 1517 byMontalon , canon of Autun, was ascribed by some toStephen II of Autun (d. 1189), but is vindicated for the earlier bishop byMabillon ["Annales O.S.B.", VI, 270.] .References
*
Hugo von Hurter , Nomencltor, II (Innsbruck, 1906), 75
*"Gallia christiana ", IV, 389
*Louis Duchesne , Fastes Episc., I, 339;
*Hist. Litt. de la France, XI (Paris, 1759), 710
*Ceillier , Auteurs Sacres, XIV (Paris, 1863), 304.Notes
External links
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14290e.htm "Catholic Encyclopedia" article]
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