Émilien of Valence

Who they were

Emilianus was bishop of Valence, on the Rhône in Gallia Lugdunensis, in the mid-4th century; together with Saint Eusebius of Vercelli he consecrated Saint Marcellinus as first bishop of Embrun, probably around 354. On 12 July 374 he hosted an interprovincial council of some twenty-four to thirty Gallic bishops at Valence, which dealt with disorders in church discipline; this council, whose synodal letter he signed, is the chief historical evidence for his existence.

Nothing is recorded of him after 374, and the date of his death is unknown beyond "after 374". His veneration is ancient in the church of Valence: his feast was kept from antiquity on 10 September, later moved to 12 September and then, in the Roman Martyrology, to 13 September, where he is venerated as the first bishop of the city.

The miracles

There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.

Why that counted as sanctity

Bishop of Valence who hosted a Gallic council there in 374 and consecrated Saint Marcellinus of Embrun; venerated from antiquity, feast originally 10 September.

Connected on this site

• Eusebius of Vercelli Saint
  “Emilianus was bishop of Valence, on the Rhône in Gallia Lugdunensis, in the mid-4th century; together with Saint Eusebius of Vercelli he consecrated Saint Marcellinus as first bishop of Embrun, probably around 354.” — this site's research