The (Frightening) Funeral of Raymond Diocrès
The story of the brief resurrection of the man who inspired the Order of Carthusians.
Raymond Diocrès, a Parisian professor was, by all accounts, a virtuous man. His 1081 funeral drew hundreds of mourners, among them his student and future saint, Bruno of Cologne.
During the service, the choir recited the solemn passage from the Office of the Dead: “What are my faults and my sins? My misdeeds and my sins make known to me!” Suddenly, the professor sat up in his coffin, momentarily revived, and cried out, “By the judgment of God, I have been accused, judged, and condemned.” (The scroll emanating from his mouth represents his revelation.) Then he succumbed to death for the second and final time. (Though another source claims he was resurrected three times.)
This “miracle” so affected Bruno that he renounced the pleasures of the world and in 1084 founded the Order of Carthusians, which exists to this day.
