January 16

Honoratus of Lérins (ca. 350-429/430) monk and pastor

Today early martyrologies commemorate Honoratus, the founder of the monastery of Lérins and a bishop of Arles.
Honoratus was born in the middle of the fourth century into a noble Gallic-Roman family. Fascinated by the stories about the first monks that were beginning to circulate in the West, he set out for Greece with his friend Venanzius and their spiritual guide Caprasius. Their journey was interrupted by the sudden death of Venanzius, which forced Honoratus and Caprasius to return to the West.
Honoratus continued to feel strongly drawn to the solitary life, and his desire was rewarded when he received one of the islands of the Lérins archipelago, in the bay of Cannes, as a gift. He settled there with a few companions, and soon many famous Church leaders, such as Eucherius of Lyons, began to arrive, wishing to be guided by Honoratus and seek God in a semi-anchorite form of life.
Once Honoratus had provided his monks with a daily schedule, he took part in the drafting of both the first and the second rule of the Lérins community. He was then called upon to manage the diocese of Arles.
Upon arriving in Arles, he saw that divisions and lacerations in direct contradiction with the Gospel reigned. Honoratus became known as a sincere, serious man and a patient promoter of peace and harmony in the Church, which he succeeded in establishing after only two years as bishop.
By the time he died in 429 or 430, he was considered a model of the monk-pastor, and this is how he is presented in the different hagiographic sources that speak of him.

THE CHURCHES REMEMBER...

WESTERN CATHOLICS:
Marcellus (d. ca. 309), pope and martyr
Quiricus (d. 680), bishop (Spanish-Mozarabic calendar)

COPTS AND ETHIOPIANS (7 tubah/terr):
Sylvester (d. 335), pope of Rome (Coptic Church)

LUTHERANS:
George Spalatin (d. 1545), reformer in Saxony

MARONITES:
Chains of the apostle Peter

ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS AND GREEK CATHOLICS:
Chains of the apostle Peter