Theofrid
Encyclopedia
- See also Thiofrid of EchternachThiofrid of EchternachThiofrid was the Benedictine abbot of Echternach Abbey, and writer of works in several different areas. He is one of the few medieval writers to discuss the cult of relics, in his Flores epytaphii sanctorum....
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Saint Theofrid (Chaffre, Theofredus, Theofred, Théofroy) of Orange (or of Carmery) (d. 728 or 732 AD) was an abbot of Calmeliac or Carmery-en-Velay (later called Saint-Chaffre, and today Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille
Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille
Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France.-External links:*...
), situated near Le Puy-en-Velay
Le Puy-en-Velay
Le Puy-en-Velay is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France.Its inhabitants are called Ponots.-History:Le Puy-en-Velay was a major bishopric in medieval France, founded early, though its early history is legendary...
and originally founded by Saint Calminius
Saint Calminius
Saint Calminius, also known as Saint Calmin, founded three French abbeys in the 6th or 7th centuries AD: Mozac Abbey, in Puy-de-Dôme; Laguenne Abbey and the abbey of Monastier-Saint-Chaffre. His Saint's day is August 19....
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A native of Orange
Orange, Vaucluse
Orange is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.It has a primarily agricultural economy...
, he is venerated as a martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
, as Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
tradition holds that he was killed by Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
raiders who had crossed into southern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
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Tradition states that the circumstances of his death are as follows: when the raiders neared Calmeliac, Theofrid ordered the other monks to hide in the forest. He remained near the monastery and was found in prayer, and was dragged away and mortally wounded in the head with a stone.
Veneration
His cult spread in Southern FranceSouthern France
Southern France , colloquially known as le Midi is defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Gironde, Spain, the Mediterranean, and Italy...
during the 11th century. In Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
, his cult was confused with that of the legendary member of the Theban Legion
Theban Legion
The Theban Legion figures in Christian hagiography as an entire Roman legion — of "six thousand six hundred and sixty-six men" — who had converted en masse to Christianity and were martyred together, in 286, according to the hagiographies of Saint Maurice, the chief among the Legion's...
, Chiaffredo
Chiaffredo
Saint Chiaffredo is venerated as the patron saint of Saluzzo, Italy...
(Theofredus, Teofredo).