The Life of Saint Martin · Chapter IX
The “kidnapping” to make him bishop of Tours and the humiliation of Bishop Defensor
At about that time, the people of the Church of Tours began to want Martin as their bishop. Since they knew it would be anything but easy to get him out of his monastery, an inhabitant of Tours called Ruricius came up with a ruse: he pretended that his wife was at death’s door and, throwing himself on his knees at Martin’s feet, begged so hard that he persuaded him to come away with him. Along the way, several groups of townspeople were already posted by arrangement; they surrounded him on the road and took him, almost under escort, to Tours.
Waiting for him was an impressive crowd, come not only from Tours but from the neighbouring towns, to vote on the choice of the new bishop. Among the people there were no two opinions: everyone wanted the same thing and said with one voice that no one deserved to be bishop more than Martin, and that happy would be the diocese with such a man at its head. There was, however, a small group against — including some of the bishops summoned to the city for the ceremony of ordination — who tried to block the choice at all costs. They said openly that Martin was nothing but a figure of no standing, that he did not have the appearance to be a bishop, that he went about badly dressed, with dirty clothes and unkempt hair. But the people, with far more good sense than they, laughed at the obstinacy of those prelates who, in trying to belittle so admirable a man, were only singing his praises. In the end they had no choice but to consecrate him, pushed by the will of the people and by the plans of God.
It is said that, among the bishops present, the one who fought hardest against Martin was a man whose name was, of all things, Defensor — and that on that very day he ended up publicly humiliated by what everyone saw as a prophetic sign. It so happened that the reader charged with reading the Scriptures at the ceremony could not push his way through the crowd and was stuck outside. While the priests at the altar waited, flustered and not knowing what to do, one of those present picked up the book of Psalms, opened it at random and began to read aloud the first verse that met his eyes. And the Psalm said this: “Out of the mouths of children and little ones you have brought forth perfect praise against your adversaries, to defeat the enemy and the defender.”
No sooner had these words rung out in the church than the whole people burst into an immense shout, leaving the opponents completely disarmed and covered in shame. No one doubted that that Psalm had come up by the will of God, so that Bishop Defensor might hear there and then the condemnation of his intrigue: through the voice of simple folk, God’s praise in Martin was confirmed and, at the same time, the adversary’s mask fell.
The date is 4 July 371, the day Martin was consecrated bishop of Tours (Caesarodunum Turonum). This episode perfectly portrays three very vivid aspects of the fourth-century Church:
1. How a bishop was elected: In Antiquity, bishops were not appointed from a distance by Rome; they were chosen directly in open assembly by the Christians of the city (ad suffragia ferenda), together with the local priests and the bishops of the neighbouring dioceses. When a monk much loved by the people did not want to accept the office, the inhabitants sometimes resorted to a “friendly kidnapping” — just as Ruricius did!
2. The clash between the refined bishops and the unkempt monk: Why did the other bishops turn up their noses at Martin’s worn clothes and long, untidy hair? Because, in the second half of the fourth century, being bishop of a Roman city was already a position of great social prestige, held above all by former senators, high officials and great landowners used to immaculate tunics and the good manners of the aristocracy. The appearance of a poor hermit, with beard and hair uncut, offended against every rule of etiquette of that group.
3. The explosive coincidence of Psalm 8:3: Why did that reading bring the house down? In today’s translations of the Bible, the verse is rendered “to silence the enemy and the avenger”. But in the Vetus Latina — the old Latin translation used in Gaul in Martin’s day — the word used for “avenger” was literally defensorem (“ut destruas inimicum et defensorem”)! Since the leader of the opposition to Martin was called Defensor, hearing someone read out at random “to defeat the enemy and the Defensor” sounded to everyone like a direct answer from God, naming names!