Vault Saint Romain de Roche

Us here thus on the Holy way of the vault Romain after having passed in front of the guard of the places. The ass showed us that the site can enable us to approach absolute Initiation and to be finally worthy to cover its skin.

Who was Saint Romain?

Saint Romain de Condat was a monk in the Jura, founder of monasteries and abbot. He was the brother of Saint Lupicin de Lauconne, monk and abbot like him.

Gallo-Roman, holy Romain would have been originating in Izernore in Haut-Bugey (not far from Nantua, current department of Ain).

The youth of Romain remained pure of any corruption of the century. After having spent a few times under the control of a saint abbot, who made him study the cenobitic life seriously, it was withdrawn, old thirty-five years, in Condat, in the forests of the Jura, where it carried out the life of the former anchorites, in the middle of the wild animals, and forgotten world, which it had forgotten the first. But it was there, in the intentions of God, only one preparation: the vocation of Romain was to found monasteries where one would see flowering all the wonders of holiness achieved since more than two centuries in the deserts of the East. The first of its disciples was his Lupicin brother. For their many disciples, it founded towards 425-430, with the confluence of Bienne and the Parr, the abbey of Condat which they controlled together.

Saint Romain and holy Lupicin had installed their Iola sister as abbess of their foundation for moniales with Balme or the Balsam, in a picturesque combe which opens on right bank of Bienne, then called Saint-Romain-of-Rock. 

It is indeed there that holy Romain after his death into 460 was buried. But this monastery became later a simple priory of men depending on the abbey of Saint-Claude. This one removed the relic to the VII ^E century to enrich its own church by it. 

All these facts were reported by an anonymous monk author of “the life of the fathers of the Jura”. This work describes the installation of Romain” at the edge of Bienne, with the feet of a black fir tree, in the middle of a desert…

One identifies Romance time this vault by his framed western gate of posts, undoubtedly of first half of the XIII ème century.

The pediment awaits us again the initiating ass.

Its ears form an angle of approximately 60°, the head is leaning right side, like avoiding an earth current, (vraissemblablement a fault or a cave located just in lower part) what is confirmed by the gimlet of the tree enraciné just at side.

On the line, a human figure is at the end of a line on the basis of the top of the posts, which arrives at the level of its eyes. To look at well what it does occur?

On the northern frontage, beautiful to éclatoir.

A little higher is a hillock which, in the legend, was used as place of worship to the druids. 

It is served by a stone staircase which leaves the foot of the hillock, at the place where a furnace bridge of full air is. This place vibrates singularly…

Inside the vault, some contributions of the XVII ème century. Fortunately they are not very numerous…

A beam of glory gone back to 1627 as well as a low wall which separates the nave from the chorus. On the other hand, the sculpture being under a Roman arch is of another invoice!