Miracles of Saints Sergius and Bacchus Recorded by Gregory of Tours

By St. Gregory of Tours

Glory of the Martyrs 96

The martyr Sergius also worked many miracles for people by healing illnesses and curing the weaknesses of those who faithfully prayed to him. As a result it happened that thereafter people either made vows or brought gifts to his large church. It is not permitted that any at all of these gifts be removed or taken away. If anyone does so, he soon pays the penalty of disgrace or death. Because of this protection many people dedicated their possessions to the saint, so that they might be protected by his power and not be seized by evil men. Once there was an old woman who was impoverished and, I think, similar to that poor woman in the Gospel who, although she had nothing else, piously threw two mites into the offertory box. This woman had a few chickens among her fowl that she entrusted to the authority of the church because of a vow to bring them to the saint's house when circumstances demanded. When many people gathered for the festival of the saint, two men who had once seen these chickens made an agreement and secretly stole one. They cut off its head, plucked its feathers, cut off its feet, and put it in a pot with water that they hung over a fire and rapidly heated. The water boiled furiously, but the stolen meat was not cooked. Even though the water boiled away, this chicken did not become tender at all. They repeatedly tested it with their hands and tried to break a claw, but they discovered that what they had put in the water was even tougher. Meanwhile the guests they had invited to dinner were arriving. These guests were about to receive nothing from the preparations. The table was ready, covered with white napkins and decorated with an embroidered cloth. But the food had been transformed into an unexpected toughness. Although the pot was often filled with water, nothing they put in it was found to be cooked. So, because of this unexpected miracle, the dinner was turned into stone, the hosts were dismayed, the guests were embarrassed, and everyone left the meal in shame.

Miracles of Saint Stephen the Protomartyr in Sixth Century France

By St. Gregory of Tours

(Glory of the Martyrs, 33)

Stephen was the first deacon of the holy church and the first martyr at Jerusalem, as the sacred history of the apostles relates. He was stoned to death for the holy name of Christ whom he saw at the right hand [of God] in a spiritual vision of power; he begged the mercy [of God] for his persecutors.

Near Tours there is an oratory that people long ago dedicated in Stephen's name and that I ordered to be enlarged a bit. When the reconstruction was completed, we moved the altar forward, exactly as it had been before. But while we were looking in its reliquary, we found none of the holy relics that tradition claimed [to be there]. I sent one of the abbots to fetch relics of Stephen for us from the oratory of the church house, but I forgot to give him the key for the reliquary, which was hanging on my belt. Once the abbot arrived, he removed the seal from the cupboard but found the reliquary locked. He was uncertain about what to do or how to act. If he returned to me, it would require much time to go and come back; if he brought the entire reliquary, he knew I would be annoyed, because in it were the relics of many saints; if he did nothing, he would not obey the order he had received. Why say more? When he took the reliquary hesitantly in his hand, the bolts clicked back and he saw that it was unlocked. He gave thanks, took the relics, and with great amazement brought them to me. At God's command I transferred them [to the altar] during the celebration of liturgy. Many days later I returned to Tours; there I found the reliquary just as I had left it, locked and again bolted.

Miracles of the Apostle Andrew from the Sixth Century

Saint Gregory of Tours, in his late-6th century book titled Glory of the Martyrs (ch. 30), records the following miracles of the Apostle Andrew:

After the glorious reception of Andrew [in Paradise] many miracles are said to have been revealed either at his tomb or in various places where his relics are located. I do not think it inappropriate to relate a few of these miracles, because the edification of the Church is found in the glory of martyrs and the power of saints.

On the Dormition of the Theotokos (St. Gregory of Tours)

By St. Gregory of Tours

(from The Glory of the Martyrs 4)

Then, after the wonderful glory of the Lord's ascension, which inspired the minds of believers to contemplate heavenly affairs by bruising the head of diabolical evilness, the holy apostles of our Lord and Savior gathered with the blessed Mary, his mother, in one house and always shared everything in common. No one said that something was his own, but each always possessed everything in charity, as the holy pen of the Acts of the Apostles narrates [Acts 4:34]. Then they were sent throughout different regions to preach the word of God. Although the blessed Mary had already been called from this world, finally the passage of her life was completed, and all the apostles gathered from their particular regions at her house. When they heard that she must be taken from the world, they all kept watch with her. And behold, the Lord Jesus came with his angels, and after taking her soul he gave it to the angel Michael and left. At dawn the apostles lifted her body on a bed, placed it in a tomb, and kept guard over it, in anticipation of the arrival of the Lord. And behold, again the Lord approached them. He took the holy body in a cloud and ordered it to be brought to Paradise, where, after regaining her soul, Mary now rejoices with his elect and enjoys the goodness of eternity that will never perish.

The Tomb of Saints Chrysanthos and Daria in Rome (St. Gregory of Tours)

By St. Gregory of Tours

(Glory of the Martyrs 37)

According to the history of his suffering, after the martyr Chrysanthos received the crown of martyrdom with the virgin Daria he graciously performed many healings for people. For this reason a crypt of wonderful workmanship was constructed over their tombs.* The crypt was vaulted in the manner of arches and stood on a very solid foundation. When a crowd of people gathered for his festival, an evil emperor had a wall constructed across the entrance to the crypt to trap the people inside and ordered that the shrine be covered by sand and rocks. A large mound was built on top. The records of the martyr's struggle clearly state that this is what happened. For a long time the crypt remained buried by this covering. Finally the city of Rome discarded its idols and yielded to Christ the Lord. Already during previous years no one knew the location of this mausoleum, until the Lord Jesus revealed and exposed it. A wall divided the place; on one side the tombs of the martyrs Chrysanthos and Daria were separated, on the other side the bodies of the other saints were placed in one tomb. But the builder left an open window in this wall that had been placed in the middle, so that a panorama was available for viewing the bodies of the saints.

Holy Virgins Maura and Britta of Touraine

Sts. Maura and Britta (Feast Day - January 15);
photo depicts the Church of Saints Maura and Britta in Touraine

In the book Glory of the Confessors (18), Saint Gregory the Bishop of Tours informs us of the following discovery of the tombs of two virgins by a certain man who after a revelation built an oratory to them in their honor, which was blessed by the then Bishop Euphronius of Tours, who was Saint Gregory's maternal cousin and predecessor, succeeding him in 573. He writes:

"Within the territory of Tours there was a small hill that was covered with briers and brambles and wild vines. The hill was so densely entwined in vines that scarcely anyone could climb it. Rumor reported that two virgins who had been dedicated to God were buried in this place. During the vigils before festival days believers often saw a light burning there by the power of God. One brave man trusted in the impulse of his heart and did not fear to approach the place during a dark night. He saw a candle shining with the vast light of a marvelous brightness. After watching it for a long time, he left and told others what he had seen. Then the virgins revealed themselves to one of the local inhabitants in a dream. They explained that they had been buried there and that without a shelter they could not endure any longer the damage from storms. But if this man wished to be of use to them, then he should cut down the thorn-bushes and build a roof over their tombs. When the man awoke, his other concerns overwhelmed him and he forgot what he had seen. On another night the virgins had appeared to him again and horribly threatened him with a menacing scowl that he would migrate from this world during the current year if he did not cover the place. The man was terrified by this dream. He took his axe, chopped down the thicket, and exposed the tombs. He found large drops of candle wax that were fragrant with the scent of nectar, similar to frankincense. He hitched oxen to a wagon, collected stones, and built an oratory during the summer.

The Patient Impassioned Suffering of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus (St. Gregory of Tours)

By St. Gregory of Tours

(Glory of the Martyrs)

1. With Christian persecutions and idol worship the world over, seven noblemen were in the palace of the King at whose petty sins of ordering God to be worshipped through lifeless images they felt divine remorse and converted; after their baptism were they renamed. When Decius came to Ephesus, he ordered that Christians be persecuted to the elimination, if possible, of their faith. He burned them amidst their pleas and fear. They burned victims and the whole city went dark with fumes. The seven champions for Christ fell crying with dust pouring over their head, begging pity of God looking down from heaven that he not, in being conquered, let his people die like this.