Saint Isidore of Seville: An Archbishop Known as the Last Scholar of the Ancient World
Saint Isidore of Seville was born around 560, and he died on April 4, 636. He was a Hispano-Roman scholar, theologian and archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of the 19th-century historian Charles Forbes René de Montalembert, as “the last scholar of the ancient world.” Saint Isidore was active at a time when there was a disintegration of classical culture, aristocratic violence, and widespread illiteracy. He was named a doctor of the church. Saint Isidore was involved in the conversion of the Arian Visigothic kings to Catholicism. Do you think Archdioceses are based on location?
Saint Isidore Biography
Saint Isidore was born to a notable family in Roman Hispania. He was of high social rank and probably of Greek descent. His father was named Severianus, and his mother Theodora. His parents were members of an influential family who were instrumental in the political-religious manoeuvring that converted the Visigothic kings from Arianism to Catholicism. The Catholic and Orthodox Churches celebrate him and all his siblings as known saints.
An elder brother, Leander of Seville, immediately preceded Saint Isidore as Archbishop of Seville and, while in office, opposed King Liuvigild. Hr had a younger brother as well. His younger brother was named Fulgentius of Cartagena, who served as the Bishop of Astigi. His sister, Florentina of Cartagena, was a nun. So, he had three siblings who were all members of the Clergy.
Saint Isidore received his elementary education in the Cathedral school of Seville. Two centuries of Gothic control of Iberia incrementally suppressed the ancient institutions, classical learning, and manners of the Roman Empire. The associated culture entered a period of long-term decline.
Scholars may debate whether Saint Isidore ever personally embraced monastic life, but he undoubtedly esteemed the monks highly. After the death of Leander of Seville on March 13, 601, Isidore succeeded to the See of Seville. On his elevation, he immediately constituted himself as the protector of monks.
He presided over the second and third Synods of Seville (in 619 and 624). He also presided over the Fourth Council of Toledo, which was begun in 633 and attended by all the Bishops in Hispania. Saint Isidore of Seville died on April 4, 636, after serving more than 32 years as archbishop of Seville.
Saint Isidore Written Veneration
Saint Isidore was noteworthy because he wrote a lot at a time when many others did not. This is a big part of his legacy. Isidore was one of the last of the ancient Christian philosophers. He has been called the most learned man of his age by some scholars.
The Eighth Council of Toledo (653) recorded its admiration of his character in these glowing terms: “The extraordinary doctor, the latest ornament of the Catholic Church, the most learned man of the latter ages, always to be named with reverence, Isidore.” This tribute was endorsed by the Fifteenth Council of Toledo, held in 688. Isidore was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1722 by Pope Innocent XIII.
Saint Isidore’s tomb represented an important place of veneration for the Mozarabs during the centuries after the Arab conquest of Visigothic Hispania. His remains became something that the Arab conquistadors fought the visogoths. Today, many of his bones are buried in the Cathedral of Murcia, Spain.
Conclusion
Saint Isidore is noteworthy because he wrote so much at a time where learning was sparse. He wrote 12 books during his lifetime, all in Latin. Contemporary researchers have criticised Isidore—specifically, his work in the “Etymologies,”which was his most noteworthy book. Nevertheless, one cannot say enough about how much he wrote at a time when others did not.
