Prudentius Maran was a French Benedictine

Benedictine

Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...

 scholar of the Maurist Congregation, known as a patrologist.

Life

After studying humanities at Paris he became a Benedictine at the abbey of St. Faron near Meaux

Meaux

Meaux is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located east-northeast from the center of Paris. Meaux is a sub-prefecture of the department and the seat of an arondissement...

 on 30 January 1703, and continued his studies at the abbey of St. Denis. He was then sent to Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Saint-Germain-des-Prés is an area of the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France, located around the church of the former Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés....

 to collaborate with his confrere Antoine-Augustin Touttée

Antoine-Augustin Touttée

Antoine-Augustin Touttée was a French Benedictine scholar of the Maurist Congregation.-Life:...

 in the edition of the works of Cyril of Jerusalem

Cyril of Jerusalem

Cyril of Jerusalem was a distinguished theologian of the early Church . He is venerated as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion. In 1883, Cyril was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII...

.

In 1734 he was forced to leave St. Germain-des-Pres at the instance of Cardinal Bissy, who suspected him of keeping his confreres from accepting the Bull Unigenitus

Unigenitus

Unigenitus , an apostolic constitution in the form of a papal bull promulgated by Pope Clement XI in 1713, opened the final phase of the Jansenist controversy in France...

. After spending a year at the abbey of Orbais, he was sent to St. Martin de Pontoise and in 1737 he was transferred to the abbey of Blancs-Manteaux, where he spent the remainder of his life.

Works

His knowledge of theology and patristics is attested by the introductions which he prefixed to his critical editions of Greek and Latin Fathers, as well as by other works.

His masterpiece is the edition of the works of Justin Martyr

Justin Martyr

Justin Martyr, also known as just Saint Justin , was an early Christian apologist. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue survive. He is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church....

: Justini philos. et martyris opera quae extant omnia necnon Tatiani, Athenagorae S. Theophili, Hermiae. He further edited:

• the works of Cyril of Jerusalem which had been prepared by Touttée: "S. Cyrilli Hieros. opera";
• the works of St. Cyprian which had been begun by Étienne Baluze
  Étienne Baluze
  Étienne Baluze was a French scholar, also known as Stephanus Baluzius.Born in Tulle, he was educated at his native town and took minor orders. As secretary to Pierre de Marca, archbishop of Toulouse, he won his appreciation of him, and at his death Marca left him all his papers...
  
  : "S. Cypriani opera", to which he prefixed a basic life of St. Cyprian;
• the third volume of the works of St. Basil, the two first volumes of which had been completed by Garnier.

His other works, all anonymous, are

• "Dissertation sur les Sémiariens"(Paris, 1722);
• "Divinitas domini nostri Jesu Christi manifesta in scripturis et traditione" (Paris, 1746, new ed., Würzburg,1859);
• "La divinite de Jesus Christ prouvée contre les hérétiques et les déistes", 3 vols. (Paris, 1751);
• "La doctrine de l'écriture et des pères sur les guérisons miraculeuses" (Paris, 1754);
• "Les grandeurs de Jésus Christ avec la defense de sa divinité" (Paris, 1756).