Biography
Cyrillus of Trier
About Cyrillus of Trier
Cyrillus was a fifth-century bishop of Trier, remembered especially for honoring Eucharius and Valerius, the city’s first bishops. He succeeded Severus around the middle of the century, although the exact limits of his episcopate are uncertain.
The clearest evidence for his work is a short Latin inscription. It names Eucharius and Valerius together and describes Cyrillus setting an altar for these holy brothers. Its language presents their resting place as a home for bodies destined to live again. The text thus connects his building work with Christian hope in resurrection and with the memory of earlier bishops.
The inscription survives through copies. Schild associates it with the memorial basilica that Cyrillus built in Trier’s southern cemetery, on the site of the later Saint Matthias church. The proposed transfer of the first bishops’ remains from the Albana crypt is probable rather than certain.
Whether the inscription also refers to Cyrillus preparing his own burial place remains open to interpretation. Becker notes that its description of him as holy need not itself demonstrate a developed saint’s cult: such language could be used of bishops. His original grave’s precise location is unknown.
His later veneration is more securely visible. Devotion to him as a saint is attested in the Trier region from the twelfth century, and his feast is May 19. Suggestions that he came from Greece or the Rhône region rest on his name, rather than an established birthplace.
Wondering how to weigh the stories and sources? Learn how to read a saint biography.