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Martin: Difference between revisions
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=Bishop of Tours= | =Bishop of Tours= | ||
Martin was happy with the life of a monk, and would have remained there except that in 371 the people of Tours lured him into the city, and, to the dismay of many of the local clergy, voted him as their bishop on his arrival. As a Bishop, Martin continued to | Martin was happy with the life of a monk, and would have remained there except that in 371 the people of Tours lured him into the city, and, to the dismay of many of the local clergy, voted him as their bishop on his arrival. As a Bishop, Martin continued to live a holy and simple life with a friendly demeanor, ministering, praying for the sick, helping the poor, and tearing down the temples of the heathen. | ||
As an indication of the depth of the Druidic folk religion compared to the veneer of Roman culture in the area, "when in a certain village he had demolished a very ancient temple, and had set about cutting down a pine-tree, which stood close to the temple, the chief priest of that place, and a crowd of other heathens began to oppose him; and these people, though, under the influence of the Lord, they had been quiet while the temple was being overthrown, could not patiently allow the tree to be cut down" (Sulpicius, ''Vita'' ch. xiii). Sulpicius affirms that he withdrew from the press of attention in the city to live in Marmoutier (''Majus Monasterium''), the monastery he founded, which faces Tours from the opposite shore of the Loire. Although he returned often to fulfill his duty as a Bishop. | |||
=Against Persecutions= | =Against Persecutions= | ||