Orthodox Forge

The Fathers

Honoratus of Arles

d. ca. 430

Who he was

  • Nothing remains of his literary activity (letters, the rule), and the anonymous Vita S. Honorati is a late work.
  • The following details are biographical only:
  • A notable figure in the emergence of western monasticism because of the monastery he founded ca. 400-410 on the island of Lerins. He soon attracted many disciples, for whom he developed a rule.

What he wrote

  • His monastery produced generations of church men who gave spiritual and intellectual leadership to the Western Church during the 5th and 6th centuries.
  • His greater reputation for sanctity caused him to be called from Lerins in 428 to serve briefly as bishop of Arles before his death ca. 430.

Read alongside