France . ed bythe Church of St. Peter. In later days a general desiresprang up to trace the evangehzation of Gaul to theApostles or Disciples who had learned the Gospel fromthe lips of its Founder Himself. There was a rivalrybetween the towns and churches for such a name of an early Bishop, like St. Trophimus of Aries,was easily identified with the disciple of St. Paul. Thewhole legend of the Three Maries, and the miraculousvoyage of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary Magdalen to theshores of Prance, sprang up in Provence.* The exactdate of the evangelization of Gaul is doubtful, but it
France . ed bythe Church of St. Peter. In later days a general desiresprang up to trace the evangehzation of Gaul to theApostles or Disciples who had learned the Gospel fromthe lips of its Founder Himself. There was a rivalrybetween the towns and churches for such a name of an early Bishop, like St. Trophimus of Aries,was easily identified with the disciple of St. Paul. Thewhole legend of the Three Maries, and the miraculousvoyage of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary Magdalen to theshores of Prance, sprang up in Provence.* The exactdate of the evangelization of Gaul is doubtful, but it is atleast probable that the new religion of Christ was intro-duced by the beginning of the second century. By the end of that century a mission from Smyrnahad settled at Lyons, where Pothinius, their leader, andmany of his followers suffered martyrdom in the amphi- * The origin of tMs legend has been traced by M. Gilles to themonuments erected in memory of Marius campaigns. Of. myProvence cmd s .1 a M « ad oi EVANGELIZATION OF GAUL 13 theatre. A hundred years later another band of mis-sionaries, led by St. Denis, arrived in Gaul. St. Deniswas beheaded on the Hill of the Martyr (Montmartre) inParis, and was afterwards hailed as the patron saint ofFrance. According to the legend, the holy martyr, afterhis decapitation, walked for two miles carrying his headin his hands. But in spite of persecution the work ofevangeUzation was bravely carried on. The blood of thema,rtyrs was the seed of the Church. By the Edict ofMilan ( 312) Constantine proclaimed the toleration ofthe new creed. Christianity became the religion of theEmperors. They did their utmost to propagate it, and toforce it upon the unwilling people of the country, thepagans {pagus—pays), who, preferring their mixture ofCeltic and Roman mythology, clung obstinately to theirown rites. It remained for the son of a Roman soldierborn in Pannonia, St. Martin, the ascetic Bishop of Tours( 372), to bring t
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