Saint Berthold
Il était originaire du
Limousin, participa à la Croisade et se fit ermite au Mont Carmel, en Terre
Sainte. Le patriarche d'Antioche, légat du Saint Siège, le nomma prieur général
de cette communauté. Grande fut sa charité pour accueillir les pèlerins et sa
piété pour se rapprocher chaque jour de Dieu. Il mourut en 1188.
Saint Berthold
Prieur au Mont
Carmel en Palestine (✝ 1188)
Il était originaire
du Limousin et s'en fut à la Croisade, se promettant d'entrer en religion si
les armées chrétiennes avaient la victoire. Il accomplit donc sa promesse et se
fit ermite au Mont-Carmel en Terre Sainte. Le patriarche d'Antioche, légat du
Saint Siège, le nomma prieur général de cette communauté. Grande fut sa charité
pour accueillir les pèlerins et sa piété pour se rapprocher chaque jour de
Dieu.
Au Mont Carmel en Palestine, vers 1188, le bienheureux Berthold. Soldat, il
fut admis parmi les frères qui menaient la vie religieuse sur ce mont et, élu
peu après par eux comme prieur, il confia la communauté à la Mère de Dieu.
Martyrologe
romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/6396/Saint-Berthold.html
St. Berthold
St. Berthold
St.
Berthold seems to have had a connection with the beginnings of the Carmelite
Order. He was a relative of Aymeric, the Latin patriarch of Antioch who was
installed in Antioch during the crusades. At the time, there were a number of
hermits from the West scattered throughout Palestine, and Berthold gathered
them together, founded a community of priests who settled on Mount Carmel, and
became their first superior.
There
is a legend that he was born at Limoges in France, studied in Paris, and was
ordained a priest there. According to the legend, he accompanied Aymeric on the
crusades and found himself in Antioch when it was being besieged by the
Saracens. Through his urgings, the Christians in Antioch turned to prayer and
penance, and the city was delivered.
What
is known for certain is that St. Berthold directed the building of a monastery
and church on Mount Carmel and dedicated the church in honor of the prophet
Elias, who had defeated the priests of Baal there and seen the vision of the
cloud out over the sea. This is confirmed in a letter of Peter Emilianus to
King Edward I of England in 1282.
Berthold
lived out his days on Mount Carmel, ruling the community he had founded for
forty-five years until his death about 1195. His example and way of life
stamped the beginnings of the Carmelite Order, leading to the drawing up of the
order’s rule by St. Albert, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, about 1210. That rule
was approved by Pope Honorius III in 1226 and it is this primitive rule that is
considered the foundation of the Order of Mount Carmel.
But
it seems to have been Berthold who first organized the monastic life of the
hermits on Mount Carmel and governed them until his death. St. Brocard, who
apparently was his successor, petitioned Albert to compose a rule for them,
undoubtedly codifying and completing the work begun by Berthold.
Berthold
Bishop, Apostle of the
Livonians, killed 24 July, 1198, in a crusade against the pagan Livonians who threatened destruction to all Christians that lived in their territory. He was
previously Abbot of the Cistercian monastery of Lockum in Hanover. At the death of Meinhard, the first Bishop of Livonia (c. 1196), Archbishop Hartwig of Bremen, to whose province belonged the newly
converted countries along the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, appointed Abbot
Berthold successor. It seems very probable that, as Damberger asserts in his "Synchronistische
Geschichte der Kirche und der Welt im Mittelalter", when Meinhard came to
Bremen in 1186 to obtain help in his apostolic labours in Livonia, Berthold
joined the band of missionaries who accompanied him thither. On this
assumption, Berthold had been working ten years as a missionary among the
Livonians when he became their second bishop and was, therefore, well acquainted with his
field of labour.
The Livonian pagans were fanatically opposed to Christianity. Berthold's predecessor, assisted by merchants
from Bremen and Lübeck and a few converted natives, had
built fortifications along the River Düna, where Christians held their religious services and could
protect themselves against the fury of the pagans. Following in the footsteps of his
predecessor, Berthold tried to gain their confidence and good will by kindness.
At first they appeared to become less hostile, but soon their old hatred revived. When Berthold attempted to bless the Christian cemetery at Holm, their pagan fanaticism broke loose in all its fury and
they decided either to burn the bishop together with his church at Holm or to drown
him in the Düna. The Christians fled to their strongholds at Uxküll
and Holm, while the bishop escaped in a ship to Lübeck.
Pope Celestine III, shortly before his death, was preparing to
send a fleet of crusaders to protect the Christians of the Baltic Provinces, and his successor, Innocent III, continued the work. Berthold gained the
financial assistance of Archbishop Hartwig and many merchants of Bremen and Lübeck. In a short time a large fleet was
ready for departure well equipped and loaded with crusaders and many German peasants who were to settle
permanently in Livonia. It put to sea at Lbeck and crossed the Baltic, entering
the River Dna from what is now called the Gulf of Riga. Near the mouth of the
Dna the German peasants landed with the purpose of making their homes in the
vicinity, and laid the foundations of the city Riga, at present one of the most
important commercial seaports in Russia. Berthold, accompanied by the crusaders, sailed up the river as far as Holm, where the
pagan Livonians had gathered with the intention of
attacking the fleet. Having vainly attempted to come to a peaceful agreement
with them, Berthold and his companions sailed some distance down the river,
with the Livonians in eager pursuit. Finally, the pagans agreed to a suspension of hostilities to gain
time for collecting larger forces. At the first opportunity, however, they fell
upon the Christians who ventured outside their
fortifications, and hostilities were resumed. The crusaders were victorious, but Berthold's horse became
intractable and galloped into the midst of the fleeing Livonians. A pagan by the name of Ymant thrust his lance into
Berthold's back, inflicting a wound that caused speedy death. The bishop's body was buried by the crusaders at Uxkll whence it was transferred to Riga by
Bishop Albert of Apeldern whom Archbishop Hartwig of Bremen had appointed Berthold's successor. Soon after
the death of Berthold many of the vanquished pagans came to the crusaders, expressing their regret at the unhappy
occurrence and asked to be baptized. The final conversion of Livonia was effected
by Bishop Albert, who was assisted in his apostolic labours by the newly
founded Order of the Brothers of the Sword which in 1237 was affiliated with
the Teutonic Order.
Sources
GRUBBER, Origines Livoniæ sacræ et civiles (Frankfort and Leipzig,
1740); DAMBERGER, Synchronistische Geschichte der Kirche und der Welt im
Mittelalter (Ratisbon, 1856), IX, 328-336, 437-438; SEITERS, in Kirchenlex.,
s.v.
Ott, Michael.
"Berthold." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert
Appleton Company, 1907. 28 Mar. 2015
<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02519c.htm>.
Transcription. This article was
transcribed for New Advent by Gerald Rossi.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Berthold of Mount Carmel, OC Founder (AC)
Born at Limoges, France; died c. 1195. Saint Berthold studied and was ordained
in Paris. He went on the Crusades with Aymeric (Albert), his brother, and was
in Antioch during its siege by the Saracens. During the siege Berthold had a
vision of Christ denouncing the evil ways of the Christian soldiers.
Thereafter, he labored to reform his fellows. He organized them and became
superior of a group of hermits on Mount Carmel. Eventually Aymeric became the
Latin patriarch of Antioch and appointed his brother superior general of the
monks, gave them their rule, and, thus, is considered by some to be the founder
of the Carmelites. He ruled there for 45 years.
The
Carmelite Order may actually have survived because of a forgery. This was
necessary because no new orders were permitted. When the Bollandists in the
17th century pointed to Saint Berthold as the founder of the order in 1155, a
monk 'discovered' a document 'proving' that the Carmelites were founded by the
prophet Elijah (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Sheppard).
St. Berthold
Considered by some
historians to be the founder of the Carmelite Order. He was born in Limoges,
France, and proved a brilliant student at the University of Paris. Ordained a
priest, Berthold
joined his brother, Aymeric, the Latin patriarch of
Antioch, in Turkey, on the Crusades. On Mount Carmel he
found a group of hermits, joined them, and established a rule. Aymeric
appointed Berthold
the first Carmelite superior
general. Berthold
tried to reform the Christian
soldiers in the region, having had a vision of Christ, and headed the
Carmelites for forty-five years.
ST. BERTHOLD
Feast: March 29
Berthold seems to have had a connection
with the beginnings of the Carmelite Order. He was a relative of Aymeric, the
Latin patriarch of Antioch who was installed in Antioch during the crusades. At
the time, there were a number of hermits from the West scattered throughout
Palestine, and Berthold gathered them together, founded a community of priests
who settled on Mount Carmel, and became their first superior.
There is a legend that he was born at
Limoges in France, studied in Paris, and was ordained a priest there. According
to the legend, he accompanied Aymeric on the crusades and found himself in
Antioch when it was being besieged by the Saracens. Through his urgings, the
Christians in Antioch turned to prayer and penance, and the city was
delivered.
What is known for certain is that St. Berthold directed the building of a monastery and church on Mount Carmel and dedicated the church in honor of the prophet Elias, who had defeated the priests of Baal there and seen the vision of the cloud out over the sea. This is confirmed in a letter of Peter Emilianus to King Edward I of England in 1282.
Berthold lived out his days on Mount Carmel, ruling the community he had founded for forty-five years until his death about 1195. His example and way of life stamped the beginnings of the Carmelite Order, leading to the drawing up of the order's rule by St. Albert, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, about 1210. That rule was approved by Pope Honorius III in 1226 and it is this primitive rule that is considered the foundation of the Order of Mount Carmel.
But it seems to have been Berthold who first organized the monastic life of the hermits on Mount Carmel and governed them until his death. St. Brocard, who apparently was his successor, petitioned Albert to compose a rule for them, undoubtedly codifying and completing the work begun by Berthold.
Thought for the Day: St. Berthold became aware of something that had to be done, and he put his hand firmly to the task before him, unknowingly laying the foundation of a great religious order. We have no way of knowing what fruit will grow from the seed we plant. What is important is that we plant well.
From 'The Catholic One Year Bible': . . . A fierce storm developed that threatened to swamp them, and they were in real danger. They rushed over and woke him up. "Master, master, we are sinking!" they screamed. So he spoke to the storm: "Quiet down," he said, and the wind and waves subsided and all was calm! Then he asked them, "Where is your faith?"—Luke 8:23-25
Taken from "The One Year Book
of Saints" by Rev. Clifford Stevens published by Our Sunday
Visitor Publishing Division, Our Sunday Visitor, Inc., Huntington, IN 46750.
Provided Courtesy of:
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www.ewtn.com
Beato Bertoldo Priore generale
dei Carmelitani
XIII sec.
Nativo della Lombardia, fu intorno
al 1230 secondo priore generale dei Carmelitani. Gli si attribuisce una
visione, durante la quale vide portare in cielo dagli angeli le anime di molti
carmelitani uccisi dai saraceni. Il domenicano Stefano di Salignac che attribuì
erroneamente la composizione della regola carmelitana ad Aimerico di Malefaida
da Salignac, patriarca di Antiochia (1142-93), disse che questo aveva tra i
Carmelitani un nipote, «un uomo santo e famoso». Costui ricevette un nome ed
una qualifica nella cosiddetta Epistola Cyrilli, pubblicata dopo l'anno 1378
dal carmelitano Filippo Riboti, che lo dice fratello, non più nipote, di
Aimerico, di nome Bertoldo e primo priore generale dei Carmelitani. Il
Papenbroeck pubblicando un testo del monaco greco Phocas che nel 1177 visitò il
Carmelo, identificò Bertoldo con un vecchio monaco di Calabria.
Etimologia: Bertoldo
= famoso, illustre, splendente, dall'antico germanico
Martirologio
Romano: Sul monte Carmelo in Palestina, beato Bertoldo, che, soldato, fu
ammesso tra i fratelli che su questo monte avevano abbracciato la vita
monastica e, in seguito, eletto priore, affidò la pia comunità alla Madre di
Dio.
Nativo della Lombardia, fu, ca. il 1230, secondo priore
generale dei Carmelitani: morì e fu sepolto sul Monte Carmelo. Gli si
attribuisce una visione, durante la quale vide portare in cielo dagli angeli le
anime di molti carmelitani uccisi dai saraceni. La sua figura è passata
attraverso vari prismi deformanti. Le notizie sopra riferite ci sono state
conservate in una raccolta di Legenda abbreviatae, che per molti santi hanno
ancora una redazione primitiva.
Il domenicano Stefano di Salignac (prima del 1278) che attribuì la composizione della regola carmelitana ad Aimerico di Malefaida da Salignac, patriarca di Antiochia (1142-93), mentre essa è di Alberto, patriarca di Gerusalemme (1206-14), disse che detto Aimerico aveva tra i Carmelitani un nipote, "un uomo santo e famoso". Costui ricevette un nome ed una qualifica nella cosiddetta Epistola Cyrilli, pubblicata dopo l'anno 1378 dal carmelitano Filippo Riboti, che lo dice fratello, non più nipote, di Aimerico, di nome Bertoldo e primo priore generale dei Carmelitani. Successivamente un altro carmelitano, Giovanni Grossi, nel suo Virldarium (verso il 1400) dette a tale nipote il nome di Brocardo mentre nelle successive redazioni della medesima opera e nel catalogo dei santi carmelitani della stessa epoca, Bertoldo di Malefaida è considerato primo generale e Bertoldo di Lombardia passa al quarto posto. il Papenbroeck pubblicando un testo del monaco greco Phocas che nel 1177 visitò il Carmelo, identificò Bertoldo con un vecchio monaco di Calabria: ma evidentemente Phocas non parla di eremiti latini, bensì di monaci greci, che erano pure sul Carmelo, ma in luogo diverso. il santo è rappresentato in abito carmelitano, con un libro e una spada, oppure mentre ha la visione dei martiri. il culto fu ordinato nel capitolo generale dell'ordine del 1564. il suo nome, tolto dal breviario riformato del 1585, poco dopo, nel 1609, vi fu nuovamente introdotto; le lezioni proprie furono approvate nel 1672. La festa è fissata il 29 marzo.
Autore: Adriano Staring
http://abbaye-saint-hilaire-vaucluse.com/images_carmes/Table_des_matieres.pdf
