ON ST. DALMATUS OR DALMATIUS, ARCHIMANDRITE, AND ST. FAUSTUS, HIS SON AND A MONK,
AT CONSTANTINOPLE.
About the year 440.
PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY.
Dalmatius, Archimandrite, at Constantinople (S.)
Faustus his son and a monk, at Constantinople (S.)
BY THE AUTHOR G. C.
§ I. The more probable day of veneration, the ancient cult, a twofold compendium of the Acts, and some eulogies of St. Dalmatius.
Someone here might doubt whether this former Saint ought not to have been drawn back to the preceding day, because at the end of his Acts, which we shall subjoin in Latin to this Commentary, the following is read: The memory of our holy father Dalmatius is celebrated on the second day of the month of August, In most copies of the Acts, but he is buried on the third. But in the Greek Acts, which we received from the Vatican library, after the death of St. Dalmatius has been narrated, at the end it is noted thus: Ἡ δὲ μνήμη αὐτοῦ ἐπιτελεῖται μηνὶ Αὐγούστου τρίτῃ. That is: His memory is celebrated in the month of August, on the third day. To these add the Greek compendium of the Acts, excerpted from the Imperial library, of which we shall treat later, and into which these words are inserted: Ὁ ἐν ἁγίοις πατὴρ ἡμῶν Δαλμάτος ἐκοιμήθη ἐν εἰρήνῃ μηνὶ Αὐγούστῳ Γ. That is: Our father among the saints Dalmatus fell asleep in peace in the month of August, on the III day namely, which the numeral letter γ sufficiently clearly indicates.
[2] and by various Calendars of different nations And so we have rather judged that the Life of St. Dalmatius is to be illustrated by us today, since most of the Menologies of various peoples and times assign his yearly festival to the third day of August: for in our Syriac Calendar, of which we and our elders have already very often made mention, on the same day St. Dalmatius alone is mentioned. The Armenians, in two Calendars of the Saints, which the most learned Assemani, in volume 3 of the Clementine-Vatican Oriental Library, from page 645, abridged into Latin from their ecclesiastical and vernacular books, at the third day of August, there on pages 647 and 652, likewise made mention of St. Dalmatius alone.
[3] Our Saint is celebrated with others The Menology of the emperor Basil, which was collected in the tenth century, thus joins two other Saints to this Dalmatius: On the same month (namely August, which in this volume we have published in Greek from the manuscript codex of Grottaferrata) on the third day, the memory of the holy ones Dalmatius, and Faustus and Isacius. Concerning St. Faustus nothing has been handed down to memory in particular, except that he entered the monastery with his father Dalmatius, and strenuously contended in that wrestling-school of the virtues. Nevertheless, on account of the consensus of various Menologies, which announce St. Faustus on this day, we have joined him to his Father in the title, although we are ignorant on what day or year he died. But concerning Isacius or Isaacius we treated long ago in our work at the day the XXX of May, or volume VII of that month, from page 246.
[4] Molanus, in the Additions to Usuard, printed at Louvain in the year 1573, on the third of the Nones of August, on the third of the Nones of August thus reports the same three Saints from a certain other Greek Calendar: On the third day, of the holy fathers Isaacius, Dalmatus, and Faustus. The printed Greek Menaea, after the solemn Office of these three Saints, and a like announcement of them, subjoin a versicle, which in our Greek-Muscovite Ephemerides, before volume 1 of May, page 37, is also exhibited, and by which the day of veneration is expressly stated in this manner:
Δαλμάτος, Ἰσάκιος τριτάτῃ θάνε ἠδέ τε Φαῦστος.
The third is the last for Dalmatius, Faustus, and Isacius.
On the same day those three are seen there depicted, with the marks of holiness, in the illustrated Muscovite August. In the Slavo-Russian Menology, which the most noble baron de Sparwenfeld interpreted for us in Latin, on the third of August is celebrated the memory of our most blessed fathers Isaacius, Dalmatus, and Faustus, and then the following is added: Isaacius was in the year 378, who foretold death to Valens as he was going to war. Dalmatus and Faustus under Valentinian and Theodosius. These ecclesiastical monuments of various nations together prove the celebrated and immemorial cult of these Saints, to which nothing from elsewhere stands in the way, as will appear below from the longer Acts, and as we shall now see in the twofold compendium of the Acts.
[5] In the Basilian Menology, at the third day of August, occurs the first synopsis of the Acts, which from the Greek manuscript I thus translate into Latin: on which day also in the Basilian Menology, When holy Isacius had first exercised himself in the desert, the passions of his body being subdued, and the demons conquered, he afterward by divine providence departed to Constantinople, and, established in a certain monastery of the city, which is now called by the name of Dalmatus, by his virtue and doctrine persuaded many to leave the world, become monks, and be saved; among these were Dalmatus and Faustus his son: for when the latter was serving in the army under the reign of Theodosius, going away one day he came to the Saint, and, having tasted his manner of life, left his wife and children, and, taking with him only his son Faustus, returned to him, and, made a monk, shaved also his own son. And so they contended in the monastic wrestling-school in such wise that they became renowned before the emperors and the senate, and famous for various miracles which they had wrought to the glory of God, and after the death of Isacius departed from this life.
[6] Tillemont, in volume 5 of the History of the Emperors, page 703 and following, attacks the Acts of St. Isacius, which we illustrated at the day the XXX of May, from which Tillemont is convicted of error, with various little reasonings, and there on page 705, contrary to his custom, too confidently asserts that in the Basilian Menology no mention is made of any disciples of St. Isacius, and from this head tries also to diminish the authority of those Acts. If that learned critic had distinguished the times, and had been able to peruse the whole Menology of the emperor Basil, he certainly would have abstained from this negative argument: for although that Menology on the day the XXX of May was silent about the disciples instituted by St. Isacius, yet on this day it openly commemorates that institution of disciples, as is clear from the preceding number. For the rest, it is not of this place to examine more laboriously the other difficulties which Tillemont opposes to these Acts of St. Isacius, since perhaps afterward a more opportune occasion is to be found, on which either our commentary may be corrected according to the criticism of Tillemont, or those Acts, from his arguments,
may be vindicated.
[7] These things having been noted in passing, we proceed to the other compendium of the Acts, and in the printed Menaea which on this day is read in the printed Greek Menaea, and which from the Greek I thus render into Latin: This holy Dalmatus served in the second cohort under the emperor Theodosius, and lived piously according to the will of God. But for God's sake, leaving his wife and children, and taking with him only his son Faustus, he came to holy Isacius, with whom he embraced the monastic life, and rose to the highest summit of the virtues. That admirable Isacius from his tender years led a solitary life, and, ascending all the grades of the virtues, shone with the utmost eloquence and elegance of manners. He, meeting the emperor Valens as he was setting out for the Scythian war, said: Open, O emperor, the churches of the Catholics, and you will return victorious from the battle. But the emperor, in no way persuaded, and blazing with anger, said: When I have returned, I will demand of you an account of these things. The Saint answered him: If you return, the Lord God is not in me; for you will join battle, and in the sight of your enemies you will flee, and be consumed alive by fire. And this in fact so came to pass; when, shut up in a hayloft, he was burned.
[8] Isacius, about to depart from life, appointed St. Dalmatus abbot in his place, the compendium of the Acts is reported. Atticus then governing the church of Constantinople. Since Dalmatus had before exercised himself in the ascetic life, and had remained fasting for forty days, and for as many others had been rapt into ecstasy, he obtained great veneration among the emperors, the senate, and the Fathers gathered in the Ephesine synod, who appointed him archimandrite, and raised his successors to the perpetual headship of the monastic order. And when he had fallen asleep in the Lord, he was buried in his own monastery. Concerning the anachronism, by which St. Dalmatius is here said to have succeeded St. Isacius in the office of abbot, and concerning the place of burial, which differs from the Acts, we shall treat later. Meanwhile we shall collect other eulogies of St. Dalmatius.
[9] Even though this Saint is not celebrated in the Roman Martyrology, [Although he is not inserted in the Roman Martyrology, yet he is called holy by Baronius,] yet Cardinal Baronius, on the occasion of another St. Dalmatius, a bishop, on the day the V of December, in the notes to that Martyrology, thus honorably makes mention of our Dalmatius: There was one of the same name, and celebrated for the defense of the Catholic faith, Dalmatius the archimandrite at Constantinople in the time of the council of Ephesus, concerning whom Cyril, to Potamius, and the Ephesine Acts often speak. Perhaps the most eminent writer did not insert this Dalmatius into the Roman Martyrology because he is not found in the Sirletian Menology, from which he was accustomed to excerpt the Saints of the Greek church. But whatever the cause of this omission, he himself, in the Ecclesiastical Annals at the year of Christ 431, number 113, calls our Dalmatius by the title of "holy," and thus praises him among other strenuous defenders of the Catholic faith: The chief of these were Comarius, Potamon, and Dalmatius; in the joining of which contest the virtue of holy Dalmatius shone forth especially, a man most conspicuous for holiness, whom on account of his exceptional integrity Theodosius himself had sometimes been accustomed to visit, to receive from him monitions of salvation: for this man, though in the midst of a most crowded city, had procured for himself the solitude of the mountains, since he never set foot out of the place, namely up to the times of the council of Ephesus, as will appear from what is to be said below.
[10] Now let us proceed to the synchronous praisers of St. Dalmatius, who in the Ephesine Acts, in Labbe, volume 3 of the Councils, column 751, write thus: and this Dalmatius obtained a great fame of holiness At once all the archimandrites, surrounded by throngs of monks, rise up, and, alternating hymns and psalms, hasten to the palace. Now there was among the other archimandrites holy Dalmatius, who, secluded for forty-eight years, had never set foot outside the enclosure of his monastery. But the most pious emperor, coming, would visit him, and although on account of the frequent earthquakes shaking Constantinople he had before often been urged, by the repeated prayers of our most pious emperor, to go out and to the common supplication of the others, yet he could never be brought to go out, or to betake himself to the supplication. But while in this matter he was consulting God by prayer as to what needed to be done, a voice fell to him from heaven, and commanded that he go out: for God willed not that his flock should perish in the end. These and other things in like manner will be reported below in the Life, so that a part of it seems to be taken from the Acts of the council of Ephesus.
[11] With how great authority St. Dalmatius prevailed with the emperor and the courtiers, with synchronous writers, is also plain from the supplement of the Councils, which Baluze published after our Labbe: for when some still celebrated the memory of the heresiarch Nestorius in the diptychs, Epiphanius, archdeacon of Alexandria and syncellus of St. Cyril, to remove that scandal, wrote to Maximian, patriarch of Constantinople, a letter, which is published in the cited supplement, column 907 and following, and in which that Epiphanius, there in column 909, among other remedies for hindering that commemoration, suggests one in these words: Beseech my most holy lord Dalmatius the abbot, that he both charge the emperor, binding him with a terrible adjuration, and so bind all the chamberlains, that his memory be no longer made.
[12] Finally, how highly St. Proclus, prelate of Constantinople, esteemed the same Dalmatius, is sufficiently gathered from his letters, among whom St. Proclus esteemed him highly. which are recited in our Labbe, volume V of the Councils, from column 511, and in which that holy Prelate writes thus to John of Antioch, after other things, there in column 513: For know, most religious one, that the mentioned bishop Ibas, by obeying the present letter, will gratify no other so much as himself: for he will have not only those who now doubt about him admiring him; but indeed also our most holy father, the presbyter and archimandrite Dalmatius, exceedingly honoring and admiring him, if he see him wise in those things which are of the pious faith. For just now, this having been spread abroad concerning others, the mentioned most holy one, on account of charity, is not moderately torn, because those who ought to preach * in more divine matters are accused in adversities, whether by the zeal of the speakers, or by the envy of the accusers. Let these things said for the cult and praise of our Saint suffice.
Annotata* elsewhere: "to be preached"
§ II. Various copies of the Acts, and their authority.
We have two Greek manuscript transcripts of the Acts, the first of which we received from codex 1671 of the Vatican library, to which is prefixed this title: The Acts of St. Dalmatius, Βίος καὶ πολιτεία τοῦ ὁσίου πατρὸς ἡμῶν Δαλμάτου. The Life and conversation of our holy father Dalmatus. Then the Acts thus begin: Οὗτος ὁ ὅσιος πατὴρ ἡμῶν Δαλμάτος ἦν εὐσεβῶς ζῶν, ἐν στρατείᾳ τε καταλεγόμενος τῆς δευτέρας σχολῆς. That is: This our holy father Dalmatus lived piously, being enrolled in the military service of the second cohort. Then the Life of the Saint is narrated rather copiously, and into it are inserted the letters which St. Dalmatius received from the Ephesine synod, and which he wrote to the same synod. Further, the suspicion which our Garnier raises about the interpolation of one letter we shall examine later. At first I had resolved to publish this Greek manuscript from the Vatican codex together with our translation; but afterward I judged that this labor would be useless, since Anselm Banduri, in volume 2 of the Eastern Empire, from page 697, published similar Acts with the same letters in Greek and Latin from the manuscript codex of Saint-Germain, of which we shall treat below.
[14] of which we have two other Greek apographs, The other apograph is taken from the Greek codex of the Imperial Library, which Lambecius, in book 8 of the Imperial Library, page 100, thus describes: The fourteenth manuscript historical Greek codex is on parchment, very old, elegant and of the best quality, in folio; but, by the injury of time, mutilated in some leaves at the end, and now consists of three hundred and thirteen leaves divided by pages into two columns each, and was once procured at Constantinople by Augerius Busbeckius, as he himself testifies by the customary inscription of his own hand. In this codex, from folio 41, is read the Life of St. Dalmatus, of which Lambecius there, page 102, makes mention, and which has been reduced into a compendium, the above-mentioned letters being omitted, as is sufficiently plain from the very title, which is thus: Βίος ἐν συντόμῳ τοῦ ὁσίου πατρὸς ἡμῶν Δαλμάτου. That is: A compendious Life of our holy father Dalmatus. Although this compendium seems to agree with our Acts concerning the substance of the narration, nevertheless we shall compare it with the others, and shall advise the reader if anything different and worthy of note occurs.
[15] Banduri published it from the Saint-Germain codex in Greek and Latin. Moreover Banduri published in print the Life of St. Dalmatius, previously unedited, from the manuscript codex of the library of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, which in volume 2 of the Eastern Empire, page 647, he thus describes: This manuscript parchment codex, containing the Lives of the Saints of the month of August, from which we transcribed this narration, is mutilated at the beginning, and was written, as they say, in the ninth century by the most elegant hand of a certain Stephen. This codex indeed the most learned, and most loving of us, R. P. Bernard de Montfaucon procured a few years ago from a certain Greek presbyter, and the same most learned man most diligently composed a catalogue of the Lives which are contained in it, which catalogue, thinking that I should do a thing pleasing to the learned, I shall not be reluctant to transcribe here. Then he subjoins the individual titles, and enumerates the beginnings of the Acts in Greek. We shall reprint these Acts of St. Dalmatius in Latin after this preliminary commentary. But if now and then the translation of Banduri does not please, or if between these Acts and our Greek manuscripts there occurs some discrepancy of greater moment, we shall observe all these in the Annotations.
[16] Now we must discuss a certain fragment of a letter sent by the Ephesine synod to St. Dalmatius, A certain fragment inserted into these Acts, which below in the Acts, number 30, is read thus: We therefore decree that lord Dalmatius, and those who after him shall govern his sacred monastery, be the chiefs of the sacred monasteries, both those now existing and those hereafter to be at Constantinople; since we know for certain that he is both a master and zealous for the faith, and exceedingly fit for governing monasteries. Likewise Celestine also, the most holy Roman Pope, writing to the holy Ephesine synod, says: You have there the hegumen Dalmatius aiding you, as is worthy of God; for so we have learned about him, and received, that the praised man foreknew the faith of the nefarious Nestorius. And we decree and admonish the holy synod, that it set the aforesaid holy Dalmatius over all the monasteries which are in the royal city, as chief; and this indeed not undeservedly: inasmuch as he endured the same evils and contests as we. These things the holy synod decreed. If, therefore, anyone wishes to undermine the edict of the holy synod, let his affair be with God, who is to judge the living and the dead unto the infinite ages of ages. Amen. Quite similar things are read in Greek in our Vatican manuscript.
[17] Our Garnier, in the Preface to the latter part of the works of Marius Mercator, page 38, from the Vatican manuscript published the same letter of the Ephesine council,
which our Garnier rejected, and there thus forewarns the reader concerning the omitted fragment of this letter: In the same Vatican codex is found the synod's reply to Dalmatius; brief indeed, if it be regarded in itself, but into which is inserted a certain, as it were, digression concerning the supreme prefecture of the monasteries of the royal city conferred on Dalmatius, which I thought should be spurned on account of its unhistorical character (ἀνιστορησία). Baluze and Harduin, from Garnier's translation, inserted the same letter, thus mutilated, into their councils. Now it must be examined by us whether Garnier rightly passed over that fragment for the assigned reason.
[18] This supreme prefecture of the monasteries (I do not yet dispute whether St. Dalmatius received it from the Ephesine council) does not seem to conflict with history: it does not conflict with history; for St. Cyril, in Labbe, volume 3 of the Councils, column 549, inscribes his letter to the bishops Comarius and Potamion, and to lord Dalmatius, archimandrite of the monasteries, etc. Nay rather, our Saint himself attributes this title to himself, when there in Labbe, column 755, he thus subscribes the letter sent by the clergy of Constantinople to the Ephesine synod: Dalmatius, presbyter and archimandrite, father of the monasteries. Moreover Marianus, abbot of the monastery which took its name from our Saint, in the same Labbe, volume 5 of the Councils, column 130, sufficiently indicates that this supreme prefecture of the monasteries was preserved to the successors of St. Dalmatius, thus subscribing before the other abbots to the Constantinopolitan council: I, Marianus, by the mercy of God presbyter, and archimandrite of the said monastery of St. Dalmatius, and primate of the venerable monasteries of this imperial city, have subscribed and delivered it. Finally St. Theophanes, in the Chronographia, page 195, makes mention of the death of Timothy, who is there by him called prefect of the monasteries, and privately provost of the monastery of Dalmatus.
[19] Hence Banduri, in volume 2 of the Eastern Empire, page 696, thus judges concerning this omission of Garnier: I do not see although to Banduri it seems genuine, why that part of the letter should be rejected: for if that prerogative, granted by the Fathers of the Ephesine council to Dalmatius and his successors, were suspect, the very acts of the council, where Dalmatius is called πρεσβύτερος καὶ ἀρχιμανδρίτης πατὴρ μοναστηρίων presbyter and archimandrite, father of the monasteries, would have to be suspect. Then, after some testimonies of this dignity have been adduced, he thus concludes: By what reasoning, therefore, Garnier utterly omitted this part of the letter, we leave to others to divine; but we hold it altogether persuaded, that that part of the letter is as sincere and genuine as the other parts of it, which without doubt flowed at the same time from the same source.
[20] and it is found in various transcripts of the Acts, This opinion of Banduri can be confirmed from the above-mentioned codex of the Imperial Library, which, although in the compendium of the Dalmatian Life it does not recite the same letter of the Ephesine synod word for word, yet concerning that prerogative of St. Dalmatius and his successors, as granted by the Ephesine council, near the end of the Acts thus briefly makes mention: Τότε θεσπίζεται παρὰ τῆς αὐτῆς ἁγίας συνόδου, Κελεστίνου τε τοῦ Πάπα Ῥώμης, καὶ Κυρίλλου Ἀλεξανδρείας τοῦ εἶναι ἀρχιμανδρίτην αὐτόν τε τὸν ὅσιον Δαλμάτον, καὶ τοὺς μετ᾽ αὐτὸν μέλλοντας μέχρις αἰῶνος κρατεῖν τὸ μοναστήριον αὐτοῦ, καὶ τοῦ εἶναι ἐξάρχους πάντων τῶν μοναστηρίων, τῶν τε νῦν ὄντων, καὶ τῶν μετὰ ταῦτα ἔσεσθαι μελλόντων ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει. That is: Then it was decreed by the same holy synod, and by Celestine, the Roman Pope, and Cyril of Alexandria, that holy Dalmatus the archimandrite himself, and those who after him were to be set forever over his monastery, should be the chiefs of all the monasteries, both those now existing, and those hereafter to be at Constantinople.
[21] yet for certain reasons here adduced, We do not deny that that consensus of the Greek codices favors the Bandurian opinion; but we are also forced to confess that that fragment is inserted somewhat inopportunely into this letter, and does not sufficiently cohere with what precedes and follows. Hence I doubt whether we must acquiesce in Banduri's judgment; nay rather, I suspect that that letter of the Ephesine synod, as it is reported in our Acts, was interpolated by some copyist. This suspicion is moved in me by the other letter, which pertains to the same synod, and into which below in the Acts, number 27, the following is inserted: But this we know very well, namely that no other than your holiness can do it; inasmuch as you are chief of all the monasteries. These words are read neither in Labbe, volume 3 of the Councils, column 762, nor in Harduin, volume 1 of the Councils, where they published the same letter from head to foot in Greek and Latin. Add that our Saint is called chief of the archimandrites and father of the monasteries, before that dignity is said to have been granted him by the Ephesine council, as will appear below from the very context of our Acts.
[22] All things, therefore, being maturely weighed, the above-mentioned fragment is rendered suspect to us of falsity: it is rendered to us suspect of falsity. for although that primacy of the monasteries does not conflict with history, yet we do not judge that St. Dalmatius was adorned with that prerogative by the Ephesine council. Perhaps the Saint received that privilege, on account of his exceptional merits of virtue and miracles, from Atticus or another prelate of Constantinople. What if afterward some monk of the Dalmatian community feigned that grant of the privilege upon the Ephesine synod, that the dignity of his monastery might obtain greater strength, and that it might never be called into controversy? Nor may you say that that fragment is read in our various apographs: for in the same the death of St. Isaacius is deferred too far, and the reign of Theodosius is wrongly joined with the patriarchate of St. Atticus, as we shall note below. Further, this our suspicion will be increased, if any ancient codex be found in which the same letter of the Ephesine synod is reported without that fragment. Meanwhile in the Life to be published below we shall enclose in brackets those fragments which seem to us suspect, or which are lacking in other editions, so that the learned reader may more easily judge of their sincerity or interpolation.
§ III. The obscure and intricate chronology of the Saint, explained as best it may.
The Vatican codex and the Acts to be reprinted after this Commentary do not indicate under what emperor St. Dalmatius served. Our Saint served under the reign of the elder Theodosius, But the codex of the Imperial Library expressly expressed his name, where the above-mentioned compendium of the Dalmatian Life thus begins: Οὗτος ὁ ὅσιος Δαλμάτος σχολάριος ὑπῆρχεν στρατευόμενος ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ σχολῇ τῶν σχολαρίων ἐπὶ Θεοδοσίου τοῦ βασιλέως. That is: This holy Dalmatus was a praetorian soldier in the second cohort of the guards of the royal body, under Theodosius the emperor. The printed Greek Menaea also affirm that our Saint served under the emperor Theodosius, as is plain from the synopsis of the Acts which we exhibited above at number 7. Without doubt here in both places Theodosius the first, or elder, is designated, who reigned from the year of Christ 379 to 395. But this long reign of the elder Theodosius does not sufficiently determine the times at which St. Dalmatius passed from the profane military service to the sacred. Wherefore let us see whether we cannot, more or less, dig this out from other monuments.
[24] The Greek-Latin Acts of St. Isaacius, which we published at the day the XXX of May, in volume VII of that month, page 258, mark the death of this Saint with a twofold chronological character, and between the year of Christ 381 and 383 and betray the determined year of his death in this manner: Holy father and confessor of Christ Isaacius ceased to live on the twenty-sixth day of the month of May, Theodosius governing the empire, and his son Arcadius having been declared caesar, in the consulship of Miarobaudus (he is everywhere called Merobaudes) for the second time, and Saturninus. Now in the year of Christ 383, on the day the XVI of January, Arcadius was declared partner of the empire by his father Theodosius, and in the same year Merobaudes for the second time, and Saturninus, were consuls, as may be seen in the chronologers and collectors of the consular fasti. Since, therefore, St. Dalmatius laid the beginnings of his monastic life under that Isaacius, from this year of death it would follow that our Saint gave notice of quitting the military life before the year of Christ 383, and entered the monastery with his son Faustus.
[25] I would more distinctly assign the chronological beginning of the monastic life in our Saint, if the things which are handed down in the Acts of St. Isaacius were certain: he seems to have embraced the monastic life, for the Greek biographer of him, in us at the just-cited volume VII of May, page 257, narrates how St. Isaacius, after the Constantinopolitan synod which was held against the Arians in the year of Christ 381, only then began to gather disciples, among whom he afterward reckons St. Dalmatius. If, therefore, St. Isaacius first began to gather disciples in the year of Christ 381, and died in the month of May of the year 383, it is rightly inferred that St. Dalmatius, with his son, embraced the monastic life between the year 381 and 383.
[26] This chronology can be confirmed from the letters of the Ephesine council, in which, in our Garnier at the place cited above, page 39, we read that our Saint, the zeal of the faith urging him, after forty-eight years, having gone out from his cell, went to the most pious and most Christian emperor, as is drawn from the letters of the Ephesine council. and taught him all the things which followed, and which were done by the holy synod for the deposition of the impious Nestorius. But since this happened in the year of Christ 431, as is established from history, from that time backward must be counted the forty-eight years during which St. Dalmatius remained in the monastery. This computation made, we shall arrive at the year of Christ 383, between which and the year 431 forty-eight years elapsed, as will appear to one wishing to draw up the reckoning. From all these things we conclude at least probably that the monastic novitiate of our Saint must be assigned to the year 382 or 383.
[27] [The certain beginning of the monastic prefecture in our Saint depends on the death of St. Isaacius,] But from elsewhere arises an inextricable difficulty concerning the time of the monastic prefecture which St. Dalmatius received after the death of St. Isaacius: for if we believe the two chronological characters which the above-mentioned Greek biographer expressed, the death of St. Isaacius must certainly be assigned to the year of Christ 383, after which St. Dalmatius immediately succeeded him in the office of hegumen or abbot. But if we prefer to give credit to the Acts to be given below, the same death of St. Isacius, and consequently the monastic prefecture of St. Dalmatius, will have to be deferred beyond the year of Christ 406: for there, at number 4 and following, certain wonderful deeds of St. Dalmatius are narrated while St. Isaacius was still living, and when St. Atticus governed the church of Constantinople. But that the reader may more clearly perceive this difficulty, we shall here compare the fragments of both Lives with each other.
[28] which his biographer fixes at the year 383, The Greek biographer of St. Isaacius, in us at volume VII of May, page 257, writes thus concerning his impending death: For the rest, having now entered upon the years of a distinguished old age, and being full of days, he began to approach the end of his life. Having therefore called together all the disciples to whose spiritual profit he attended, using much admonition toward them, that on the rock of the Lord's faith firm and
immovable they should persist, he commended them to God the Father of mercies. Then, having chosen out of all one, whose name was Dalmatius, a man of most fervent faith, and an excellent imitator of the virtues of Isaacius, he appointed him as the new moderator for his own. Then on the following page, after the death of St. Isaacius has been narrated, he adds this: On the next morning the whole city, with its most holy archbishop Nectarius, and all the clergy, not without psalms and spiritual hymns, carried out the deceased to the very sepulchre. Further, Nectarius, who is here said to have been present at the obsequies of St. Isaacius, presided over the church of Constantinople from the year of Christ 381 to the year 397; as we showed in the Treatise on the prelates of Constantinople before this volume.
[29] [and which our Acts defer to the times of St. Atticus, patriarch of Constantinople,] The author of the Dalmatian Life differs from these Acts in time and manner, when in the Vatican manuscript he thus narrates in Greek the death of St. Isaacius and the election of St. Dalmatius: Μετὰ δὲ χρόνον τινὰ ἐκοιμήθη ὁ ἐν ἁγίοις Ἰσαάκιος· ἐλθόντος οὖν τοῦ ἐπισκόπου Ἀττικοῦ ἐν τῇ μονῇ καὶ ἐρωτῶντος τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους, καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς μοναχοὺς, τίνα βούλονται γενέσθαι ἡγούμενον, πάντες ὁμοθυμαδὸν εἶπον, τὸν κύριν Δαλμάτιον, ὃν καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ἐξελέξατο ἑαυτῷ εἰς ἡγούμενον. Οὕτως κατέστη ἡγούμενος ἐκ Θεοῦ, καὶ ἐπισκόπου Ἀττικοῦ, τοῦ καὶ χειροτονήσαντος αὐτόν. These things I thus explain: But after some time holy Isaacius died. Bishop Atticus, therefore, coming into the monastery, and asking the presbyters and the rest of the monks whom they wished to become hegumen, all with one accord said: Lord Dalmatius, whom also God has chosen for himself as hegumen. Thus he was appointed hegumen by God, and by bishop Atticus, who also ordained him. Similar things are briefly reported in the codex of the Imperial Library, and the same will recur in our Acts below at number 6. To these add the printed Greek Menaea, which also place the death of St. Isaacius under the patriarchate of Atticus, as is clear from number 8 above. For the rest, note that Atticus sat in the chair of Constantinople from the year 406 to 425, as we proved in the just-cited Treatise on the prelates of Constantinople.
[30] We do not see how these Acts of both Saints can be reconciled with each other, and we are ignorant which biographer deserves the greater credit. (for which perhaps Nectarius should be read) Since the briefer Life of St. Isaacius scarcely notes any certain times of the deeds done, someone might suspect that afterward, in the longer Acts, erroneous chronological characters were added by someone ignorant of chronology. But on the same ground we might suspect that the author of the Dalmatian Life wrongly put Atticus for Nectarius, and that thus that error passed from one codex to another. And this could happen the more easily, because perhaps in the more ancient Acts of St. Dalmatius the patriarch of Constantinople under whom St. Isaacius died was not expressed by name.
[31] Certainly this biographer is deceived, when in the same Acts, after the wonderful ecstasy of St. Dalmatius, at number 5 he narrates the following: and they join the patriarchate of St. Atticus Indeed the charity of God grew much between the holy ones Isacius and Dalmatius, who always gave thanks to Christ God. While the hegumen and all the brethren marveled at this, that report spread through the whole city, and was carried to the most holy bishop Atticus; nay, even to the emperor Theodosius himself; who, when they had come to him, and had heard a miracle of this kind, seized with admiration, celebrated God with praises. Then, some time having elapsed, holy Isacius died.
[32] He seems in this place to indicate the elder Theodosius, under whom St. Dalmatius had served. But that one departed this life in the year of Christ 395, with the reign of Theodosius. and St. Atticus was raised to the chair of Constantinople only in the year 406. How, therefore, could he join the reign of that Theodosius with the patriarchate of St. Atticus? If anyone perhaps should wish that here can be understood the younger Theodosius, who was first born in the year of Christ 401, it will be necessary to defer the death of St. Isacius up to the close of the patriarchate of St. Atticus, which is in no way probable. Meanwhile we define nothing; but leave this epoch of the Dalmatian prefecture in the middle, and propose to the learned investigators of antiquities that chronological knot, which perhaps will be dissolved from monuments to be dug out somewhere.
[33] Now we pass over to the happy death of St. Dalmatius, to which, however, we cannot assign a certain year. All the copies of our Acts agree Although a certain time of death cannot be assigned to St. Dalmatius, that our Saint died under the patriarchate of St. Proclus, and that this prelate of Constantinople was present at his honorable obsequies. But since St. Proclus shone in the chair of Constantinople from the year of Christ 434 to the year 446 or 447, we are again stuck in too vague an interval of time. Nevertheless that broad space of several years can be somewhat restricted from the letter which St. Proclus gave to John of Antioch, and in which he makes mention of St. Dalmatius as still living, as is plain from the fragment of the same letter which we recited above at number 12.
[34] Tillemont, in volume 14 of the Ecclesiastical Monuments, page 631 and following, refers this letter of St. Proclus to the year of Christ 437, yet we gather that between the year of Christ 438 and 446 from which chronology Vincentius Riccardus, in the Life of St. Proclus, page 36, does not shrink. We, according to this opinion, conclude that St. Dalmatius died between the year of Christ 438 and 446, and therefore at the beginning of this commentary, in the margin, we placed his death ABOUT THE YEAR 440, because we do not know how long after that letter of St. Proclus he lived. Hence falls the conjecture of Ludovicus Bulteau, who in the Monastic History of the East, printed at Paris in French in the year 1687, book 3, chapter 21, page 501, thinks that St. Dalmatius probably departed from the living in the year of Christ 433.
[35] he died over ninety years old. From this whole chronology it follows that our Saint was ninety years old when he migrated to those above: for if not long after the year of Christ 379 he served under the elder Theodosius, and at that time had a son who was then of such an age that after two or three years he might, together with his father, embrace the monastic life, it is altogether probable that St. Dalmatius was nearly forty when in the year 381 or 382 he approached St. Isaacius, and at his exhortation exchanged the military life for the ascetic. To this age add the forty-eight years during which he never set foot out of the monastery, as we reported above from the letters of the Ephesine council. To these finally add the remaining years of his life, which we gather from the letter of St. Proclus; and you will easily conclude that St. Dalmatius counted ninety or more years of age before he died. These things having been premised for the clearer understanding of the Acts, we now reprint the Life of St. Dalmatius itself in Latin from the edition and translation of Banduri, on which we are about to observe several things in the Annotations.
ACTS
Which Anselm Banduri, in volume 2 of the Eastern Empire, from page 697, published in Greek and Latin from the manuscript codex of Saint-Germain, which we have collated with two other Greek manuscripts.
Dalmatius, Archimandrite, at Constantinople (S.)
Faustus his son and a monk, at Constantinople (S.)
CHAPTER I.
The conversion of the Saint, his monastic life, and the help brought to the Ephesine synod against the heresy of Nestorius.
St. Dalmatius, a soldier, by the admonition of St. Isacius This holy Dalmatius, endowed with pious manners, when he had given his name to the military service, was a Guardsman a in the second cohort. But when he heard that a man, Isacius b by name, had come from the East to Byzantium c, he went to him for the sake of receiving a blessing. When therefore he had approached, he cast himself down at his feet, asking a blessing of him, and stayed with him for seven days. This space of days having passed, he went to the man, and, Holy father, he said, bless me a sinner, that I may return home. To whom the holy father Isacius thus answered: Blessed be God: here you must dwell with me for the whole course of my life. To this lord Dalmatius: Lord, I have property and children. To whom our father Isacius answered: Son, the Lord has shown me that you must lead your life with me as long as I live. For it is written in the holy Gospel: Whoever loves father, or wife, or son, more than me, is not worthy of me. And know that this place is to be called by your name d.
[2] Prayers having been poured out, lord Isacius dismissed him, that he might bid his wife farewell. By his command he departed, and, when he had bidden his wife farewell, he embraces the monastic life together with his son, and had sent her with his property and his daughter into the East, lord Dalmatius, together with his son, went over to the holy confessor Isacius, with whom he led his life. But as many as came to salute them and to bring them gifts, deposited their offerings into the hands of Dalmatius. And indeed at that time many things were brought, which they distributed to the captives and others who came to the monastery. For on each and every day, not even one being omitted, they made a dole or almsgiving; which custom has persevered up to this present time. Dwelling together, therefore, in this kind of life, they fulfilled their vows, and passed all their days in fasting and prayers. Hence, therefore, the name of lord Dalmatius given to the monastery remains up to this day, because the brethren, coming to the door and asking alms of them, brought in that name, when they said: Let us go to lord Dalmatius; for he has, from the bounties of God, wherewith to supply us food: and thence his name became most celebrated throughout the whole world.
[3] Following, therefore, this institute, and this rule of living, according to the grace given them by God, namely of doing good to others, and among the excellent exercises of that establishment they passed the days of their life. For God, favoring their zeal, bestowed very many things upon them; which they, with the utmost integrity, giving thanks to Christ our true God, distributed: since they spent all their time in psalms, fastings, and the praises of our Lord Jesus Christ. Moreover holy Dalmatius, when he had passed the whole forty days of Lent fasting, up to holy Thursday, then, the liturgy having been offered, all took food.
[4] But he in the evening hours reclined on a bench: and for another forty-three days he remained lying on the bench, he is rapt into a long ecstasy, and poured out prayers in his mind up to the holy Assumption e; for he was so cast down and failing in mind, that he scarcely breathed f. For, fallen out of his senses, he did not move from the place, nor did lord Isacius rouse him. But when the feast of the holy Assumption had come, lord Isacius went to him: And, brother, he said g, Dalmatius, how long at last will you sleep? Arise. Then Dalmatius, his body raised up, having beheld him h, said this: Lord father, our brethren have already completed the third hour by chanting. To whom Isacius answered: Where were you, that you can know they have already finished?
To whom lord Dalmatius: I was here just now beside my father. But at present I was present at the synaxis among the holy Maccabees i. And whence is it known, he says, that you were there? To whom lord Dalmatius said this: I was there with the patriarch Atticus k, and was present at the liturgy, sitting on the throne second from the patriarch: and I beheld there three brethren of our monastery. Then lord Isacius inquired of him in what place they stood. To whom he: One near the chancel-rails, another near the ambo, the third at the greater doors.
[5] Then our father Isacius charged the doorkeeper that he should bring to him all the brethren, to a man, who returned from the synaxis of the holy Assumption. Who, having returned, are set before the father and lord Isacius by the doorkeeper. Then Isacius inquires: Where, brethren, were you? and he becomes renowned for the fame of his holiness And they answer: At the synaxis of the holy Maccabees. And at once he asks one of them: In what place did you stand? To whom he: Near the chancel-rails, lord. Upon this he asks of another: In what place did you stand? Near the ambo, said he, attending the divine liturgy. The third likewise answered: And I, standing at the great doors, was present at the divine rites; for that cause indeed we withdrew thither. Indeed the charity of God grew much between the holy ones Isacius and Dalmatius: who always gave thanks to Christ God. While the hegumen and all the brethren marveled at this, that report spread through the whole city, and was carried to the most holy bishop Atticus, nay, even to the emperor Theodosius l himself; who, when they had come to him, and had heard a miracle of this kind, seized with admiration, celebrated God with praises.
[6] After the death of St. Isaacius he is chosen abbot of the monastery, Then, some time having elapsed, holy Isacius died m. To the bishop, therefore, who had come to the monastery, asking the presbyters and the rest of the monks whom they wished to preside over them: all with one mouth and mind answered, Lord Dalmatius, whom God has chosen for them as hegumen. Thus he was elected hegumen by the will of God, and of bishop Atticus, who ordained him. And that most holy man excelled both in exercise in divine things, and in all the virtues of his holy father Isacius; but he was devoted above all to almsgiving. In disputes likewise he pronounced judgment according to equity and goodness. For from God, who laid open to him all truth, he passed sentence.
[7] and, becoming famous by a miracle, At the same time, when two men had a suit before the emperor, and the plaintiff, involving the case by circumlocutions of words with no upright counsel, tried to overthrow his adversary, and to seize upon his goods; then he who was being wronged thus addressed the emperor: Lord, have mercy on me, and send us to that great monk Dalmatius, as a most just judge, if any other be, through whom God will declare the truth. Having heard this, the emperor at once sent them back to our holy father Dalmatius. But as they approached the most holy man, he inquires: What is the suit between you? Then the plaintiff answered, and could not finish his speech; but at once began to stammer, and, when he could no longer speak, a little after perished. For from God the judgment came forth; and justice was declared. Dalmatius therefore sent a message to the emperor in these words: God has pronounced judgment in favor of the injured. Which being heard, all the religious men who were in the city more and more preached God in his name, and celebrated him with praises.
[8] Nor long after died the holy bishop Atticus. In whose place Sisinnius n was appointed, he knew by divine [revelation the hidden heresy of Nestorius,] a pious and religious man, who, having excellently discharged the episcopate for a short time, migrated to the Lord, [and] a great controversy arose concerning the successor to the see of the imperial city. The citizens of Constantinople, therefore, diligently sought a man adorned with piety and prudence, who should succeed the preceding archbishops on the throne of the royal city. While the matter was in great commotion, not a few days having elapsed, a report spread of a certain Nestorius, who was to be chosen bishop of Constantinople. But his mind no other than God knew, who laid open to that same holy Dalmatius that that man was perverse; which secret he kept in silence.
[9] Nor very long after it happened that he was inaugurated bishop; and Nestorius, initiated into the priesthood, though altogether unworthy, came to the monastery, as is the custom of bishops, and forewarns many to beware of it. to salute holy Dalmatius; and when he wished to enter to the holy man, he was forbidden by him in these words: Depart hence; when you have amended your hidden thoughts, that is, the depravity of your faith, you shall enter my cell. But he went out, and departed even against his will. But to all who came to salute him, he gave these admonitions: Beware for yourselves, sons and brethren, of the monstrous beast which has come into this city. For that man is of a perverse faith, and by the depravity of his doctrine is about to cast many into ruin.
[10] But when he had lived in impiety for three years, When Nestorius had openly declared his heresy, the holy and consubstantial Trinity left the secret wound of his heart no longer hidden, but made it open. For at length he began publicly to utter blasphemous words against the Son of God, and divided the only Son into two sons; for he said that Christ was different from God the Word: and sometimes indeed he said: I distinguish the natures; but I make one adoration; and at other times he said: Who is the son on account of the joined son? Whence he refused to confess the Virgin as Mother of God, saying: I by no means call a two-month-old and three-month-old God.
[11] And so, on account of these his blasphemies, an Ecumenical synod was gathered in the metropolis of the Ephesians by order of the emperor Theodosius o, [he was condemned by the Ephesine synod, against which the followers of Nestorius violently set themselves:] and there again the wretch did not cease to add to his blasphemy; for he said: The Son of God was by no means incarnate; but if he was incarnate, then both the Father and the Spirit were incarnate, and thus, saying these things as before, he blasphemed. For certain champions of his impiety hindered the emperor from learning that he had been cast down from his see by the holy and Ecumenical synod. For the holy synod, gathered at Ephesus by the edict of our most pious and Christian emperors, when it found that the enemy of Christ remained in the same opinion of mind, and preached his impious doctrine, that it might utterly extirpate scandals from the world for the future, removed him from his grade and order. When this was made public at Constantinople, all who favored Nestorius, and had received all ecclesiastical offices from him, a conspiracy being made, watching all the ships and the public roads, allowed absolutely no one to come from the holy synod to Constantinople, nor again to depart thence to the synod: but only those things which pertained to the enemy of Christ were carried to and fro.
[12] But because no one can prevail anything against God (for what is man?), it happened by the divine will, when St. Dalmatius had learned of that violence by letters, that a letter, written from the city of Ephesus to the archimandrite of the monasteries, holy Dalmatius, and to Comarius and Potamon the bishops, was sent by a beggar, who, having it enclosed in the reed which he carried as he begged, brought it to lord Dalmatius, which he, having received, when he had read it, and grasped its meaning, was troubled in mind: for during forty-eight years he had never set foot out of his cell, but, hidden in it, had led a tranquil life. And so he prayed to God: Lord Jesus Christ, show me whether you will that I go out of this cell. While, therefore, he was asking these things of God, a voice fell to him from heaven, that he should go out of his cell. For God willed not that his flock should perish forever.
[When this, God revealing it to him, he clearly learned, rising up he called together his monks, and the hegumens of the monasteries, and, having gone out of his cell, alternating hymns and psalms, they hasten to the palace. For holy Dalmatius was chief of the archimandrites [p].] And there accompanied them no small multitude of the orthodox.
[13] with a great multitude of monks and people When, therefore, they had come to the palace, the emperor, having heard their psalmody, asked, saying, What is this? They answer him, that lord Dalmatius is present together with all his monks: and the emperor, marveling, said this: Although I have often visited him in his cell, when there were earthquakes, and have asked him to go out, and betake himself to the common supplication, he could never be brought to it. Then, seized with admiration, he went out to meet him, and together with the emperor he entered the palace; but the company of archimandrites and monks, and the throng of people intent on the modulation of the antiphons, remained outside. And when he was alone with the emperor, he showed him the letter sent to him by the holy synod, which being read, the emperor was greatly troubled, and charged him to read the letter before all.
[14] goes to the emperor, When, therefore, he had received from the emperor the answer that was fitting, he said to the people: Men, brethren and fathers, let us withdraw to the monastery of St. Mocius [q]: there both you shall learn the emperor's commands, and we shall read to you the letter sent by the holy synod. Then the whole multitude, both of archimandrites and of monks and of laymen, went out of the palace chanting in this manner: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and wrought the redemption of his people; and when they came to the venerable shrine of the holy and glorious Mocius the martyr, holy Dalmatius ascended the pulpit and said: If you wish to hear, be quiet and learn; and do not clamor against the things which will be said; but be present with a calm mind, that you may be able to grasp the words exactly; the most pious emperor read the letter sent by the holy synod, and was persuaded. For to him, when he had come to me, I had said that he ought to have written to the holy synod; the things suggested to him had not been fully written out. But he sent to me, and they were read to me. But lest I should afflict him with any sadness, the things that followed I sent first, which the couriers did not present, but in their place showed certain other letters. And so I spoke with him things fitting and opportune to the matter, which now, before your piety, I have not thought fit to repeat, lest I be thought by you lifted up, or boastful. For God will grind the bones of dissemblers. The emperor heard in order all the things that were done, and rejoiced, giving thanks to God, and approved the sequence of the holy synod's narration, as befits his majesty, not indeed induced to this by my words, but following the faith of his fathers and forefathers.
[15] and brings help to the oppressed synod. For the rest, he received the writings (as was fitting) and read them, and was persuaded, saying this: If the matter is thus, let the bishops who have set out come. To whom I: None of them is allowed to come. And he said: No one forbids it. Again I: They are detained, I say, and forbidden to come; and I added: Of those who are of the faction of Nestorius, many go and return freely; but the things which are done by the holy synod,
these no one permits to be reported to your piety. For the rest, on behalf of the other party, namely the Cyrillian, I said to the emperor before all: Do you prefer to hear six thousand bishops, or one impious man? (now he called those six thousand who live under the power of the most holy metropolitan bishops: and these things looked to this, that they should be summoned and come, who might make known the things that were done. I speak of the most holy bishops whom the holy synod appointed.) And he answered: You have rightly asked. And again he added one word and said: Pray for me: and I know for certain that the emperor will obey God and the holy synod rather than perverse men. Pray, therefore, for the emperor and for us.
ANNOTATIONS.
p. In that narration, which is reported in the same way in our Labbe, volume 3 of the Councils, column 751, those words are not found which I have here enclosed in brackets.
q. Concerning this sacred shrine of St. Mocius, and other things pertaining to him, treatment is given in Du Cange, book 4 of Christian Constantinople, §6, page 129 and following.
CHAPTER II.
Several letters sent to and fro in the cause of Nestorius, the pious death of holy Dalmatius, and his honorable obsequies.
The letter in which the Ephesine synod sets forth to St. Dalmatius, He read to them also the letter sent by the holy synod, which is thus: "Cyril the archbishop, to lord Dalmatius, archimandrite of the monasteries, and to Comarius and Potamon the bishops, most beloved in Christ, greeting. We were awaiting the honorable Nestorius, when he should have met us, to revoke those things which after his inauguration he uttered with blasphemous mouth, and to ask pardon of the holy synod: although it would even have been most dangerous to give him pardon; for it was not expedient to grant pardon to a man who by such harangues had perverted the world, and had undermined the faith religiously kept and cultivated by the churches. For if he who has dared to bring forth even a single contumelious word against the most pious and Christian emperors deservedly bears the indignation of the laws, how much more justly is it fitting that he experience it who is utterly impious, who tried to overturn the most sacred mystery of the Incarnation, and to abolish the economy which the holy and kind only-begotten Son of God the Father fulfilled for us, not disdaining to become man, that he might make us all safe, and free the whole world from death and sin?
[17] "For the rest, we marveled at the hardness of this man and the obstinacy of his mind; how Nestorius, for neither did he repent; nor did he wash away with weeping those things which he had dared to blurt out against the glory of Christ the savior of us all: nay rather, when he had come to Ephesus, he again used the same discourses as before, and once more furnished all with certain proof that he was by no means averse from his perverse opinion. And so, when certain more celebrated metropolitans and most pious bishops with the best right inveighed against him, and upon this clearly convicted him from divine Scripture, and showed that he whom the holy Virgin had borne according to the flesh was God, he broke out into this wicked utterance: I do not call a two-month-old and three-month-old God. To which he added not a few other things, by which he plainly took away from the midst the Incarnation of the Only-begotten.
[18] "And so the holy Pentecost day was appointed for the holy synod by the most pious emperors. For the first letters, by which we were summoned, were thus. But we came to Ephesus on the appointed day; obstinate in his heresy for the edicts of our lords are not to be neglected. But when we learned that the most pious and most religious John a the bishop of Antioch was approaching, we waited yet sixteen days, although the whole synod protested, asserting that he did not wish to be present at the session, because he feared lest perhaps the most reverend Nestorius, who had been taken from his church, should be moved from his place: which thing perhaps would bring shame upon him. That this suspicion was true, the very experience afterward clearly showed: for he deferred his coming. For some of his most pious Eastern bishops, sent forward by him, announced this: Lord John the bishop has charged us to say to your piety: If I delay, do what you are going to do.
[19] "The holy synod, therefore, gathered on the twenty-eighth day of the month Pauni b in the great temple and seeking violent evasions which is called Holy Mary, having sent certain most religious bishops, gives notice to Nestorius to come, and present himself for judgment, and render an account of the things which he had written and taught. But he first answered: I will consider, and I will see. And again he was summoned to keep his appointment, through certain most holy bishops again sent to him by the holy synod. But he then committed a plainly nefarious deed. For, soldiers received from Candidian the most magnificent count, he stationed them, armed with clubs, before the house in which he was staying, by whom they might be kept off, if any perchance should wish to enter to him. But when the most holy bishops who had been sent persevered, saying that they were not present to say or hear anything harsh, [but] that the holy synod summoned him; he used various excuses, as one who, convicted by his own conscience, would not come. We used a third citation then, and, bishops of various provinces again being sent as legates to him, he again employed the violence of the soldiers, nor would he approach.
[20] "When, therefore, the holy synod had sat, and, insisting on the ecclesiastical sanctions, had read his letters and expositions, after an exact discussion of his writings and sayings and had found them, when read, full of blasphemies; and when, besides, certain distinguished and most pious metropolitan bishops had testified that in the very city of the Ephesians, disputing with them, he had openly denied Jesus to be God; it removed him from his place, and pronounced a just and lawful sentence upon him. But because it is necessary that your piety, having these very things ascertained, should also admonish concerning them those whom it especially behooves to know them; lest either he himself, or his abettors, creep upon anyone, I thought it worthwhile to indicate these things to you. We have also the letter of John, the most pious and most religious bishop, written to him, in which indeed he sharply rebukes him, as one who has introduced new and impious dogmas into the churches, and overturns the doctrine of the holy Evangelists and Apostles handed down to the churches.
[21] "But because he can bring forward nothing for the defense of his blasphemies, he legitimately condemned him. he pleads this: I asked, he says, for a delay of four days, until the bishop of Antioch should come, and they would not grant it: although the praised and most holy bishop John had refused to come. For if he had wished to be present, to what purpose was it that he signified through his bishops: If I delay, do what you are going to do? For he would not, as I said, be present, knowing that it would come to pass that the holy synod would altogether pronounce the sentence of deposition upon Nestorius, because he had uttered impious and blasphemous words against Christ the savior of us all. But since, as I understood, it was reported by the most magnificent count Candidian c, be cautious and watchful, and report that the commentaries of the things done in the deposition of Nestorius are not yet perfectly written out: wherefore neither could we yet send to our religious and victorious emperors the report which ought to be sent: but, God favoring, it shall be sent together with the commentaries, if only we be allowed to send it, one who can carry it through. But if the series of the commentaries and of the report be delayed longer, know that we are hindered from sending. Farewell." The people of Constantinople with one voice of all cry out: Anathema to Nestorius; and when Dalmatius had read the letter, he blessed the whole people, and all returned home, praising and giving thanks to God for the deposition of the impious Nestorius.
[22] Holy Dalmatius signifies by a letter of reply, But holy Dalmatius sent a letter to the holy synod in the name of the whole clergy of the great holy church of Constantinople, of this kind: "To our most pious and most holy Fathers, gathered by the decree of our most religious emperors from the whole world in the metropolis of the Ephesians,
to Cyril d, Juvenal e, Memnon f, and to the whole holy synod, Dalmatius, presbyter and archimandrite and father of the monks, on behalf of the whole clergy of Constantinople g. Ever from our tender years glorying in the orthodox dogma, we are wholly bent on this, that we may preserve the tradition of the holy Fathers. Concerning which indeed, having lately again been admonished by your holiness through those things which the most holy and most pious bishop Cyril deigned to write to us, we gave thanks to God our Savior. And so many and great deeds, which have been excellently done for that same faith, have lately come to our knowledge. Wherefore, when we understood that Nestorius, our former prelate, because he adulterated the Apostolic and sincere and pious doctrine, had been removed from his order and place by your piety, we received the mentioned letters, presented to us by Theodosius and Valentinian, the most pious and most Christian emperors, as sent by your holiness, and at once had them read openly in the holy church of God, the whole people being gathered together.
[23] what he did against Nestorius, "Let your holiness therefore know that the people agreed with us with one voice, and also with great proclamations of praise extolled both your holy and ecumenical synod, and also the victorious emperors, because they had cared for your pious assembly with all zeal. We, moreover, rejoicing, have written back at present, and beseech your most celebrated piety, that it pray to God for us, and use all care that, as to what remains, the holy church of God, which is among us, may be perfectly established. For this one thing your great providence of the orthodox dogma understands to be still remaining, that in this way all things which please Christ the Lord may be brought to an end, and all our affairs be ascribed to no other than your holiness, and the most pious and most Christian emperors. I, Dalmatius, presbyter and archimandrite, father of the monasteries, beseech your holiness that you pray for me."
[24] The second letter written by the holy synod to lord Dalmatius: and receives another letter, "Cyril and Memnon the archbishops, to Dalmatius, first presbyter of the holy Catholic and Apostolic great church of Constantinople, and chief of the sacred monasteries h. The holy synod was greatly troubled when it found that the most magnificent and distinguished count John had not reported all things rightly, so that they took counsel even about casting into exile us also who are here: as though the holy synod had ratified the unjust and nefarious deposition which John, and the heretics who act with him, have contrived. Behold, therefore, another report was made by the holy synod, by which it shows itself grieved by the prince's letters, and that we did not approve the deposition of the three: but it declares especially that it holds void the things which were done by them impiously and illegitimately, but firm and ratified rather the things which were done by us. For the fathers, and also the first report, showed that they had rescinded the things which had been done by them contrary to the prescription of the canons; and that they hold us as partners of communion and fellow-bishops, and that they do not depart from a judgment of this kind.
[25] "But when the aforesaid most magnificent man had left nothing untried, things of which the Ephesine synod complains, various vexations whereby John, and those who are with him, might be received into the communion of the holy synod; up to this present day they have not endured even to hear that word: but they wholly resist, and say: It cannot be that we should come to this, unless that which was done against the law by them be dissolved, and they, as guilty, fall as suppliants before the synod, and anathematize Nestorius and his dogmas in writing: and in these things consists the whole insistence of the synod. But when that most magnificent man whom we mentioned had been frustrated of this hope, he devised yet another thing, and asked of the holy synod that it exhibit to him an exposition of the faith in writing: so that when they too, at his instigation, had assented to it, and subscribed, he might return and say: I have brought back into friendship those who, on account of human offenses, were at variance with one another.
[26] "The holy synod, understanding this, again resisted, inflicted on itself, expressly saying: We do not wish to bring upon ourselves that reproach; for we were not called hither as heretics; but we came that we might stabilize the tottering faith, which we have also stabilized: nor is there need for the emperor to learn the faith now, since he knows it, and was baptized in it. Wherefore neither did this succeed with the Orientals. But know this too, namely, that when they were composing the exposition of the faith, they contended among themselves, and even now are engaged in that altercation. For some of them grant to the holy Virgin the appellation of Mother of God, so that they even confess her the mother of the man: but others utterly deny it, and add that they are more ready to offer their hands to be cut off than to subscribe to a word of this kind. But everywhere they behave shamefully, declaring themselves heretics.
[27] "Let all learn these things from your piety, but especially the most pious and most holy archimandrites; and demands the help of St. Dalmatius, lest perhaps the aforesaid man, having returned, soothing the ears of some, should say or teach one thing for another. [But this we know very well, namely, that no other than your holiness can do it, inasmuch as you are chief of all the monasteries i.] But let not your piety grow slothful, nor, insisting on the labor for our sake, be wearied, knowing that in this way it commends itself to God and men. For here also the most pious bishops, who had never known us, through the grace of the Savior are ready to lay down their lives for you, and, coming to us with tears, say that they hold it among their vows to undergo both exile and death together. And indeed we all are afflicted with many miseries, both because we are guarded by soldiers, and also because they sleep before our chambers; but especially we (who write). But the rest of the synod is oppressed with weariness and sickness, so that very many have already perished; and many, because they are destitute of means, sell off their goods. Farewell."
[28] which he assigns to him by another letter. The letter sent to the holy Ephesine synod by Dalmatius the most holy archimandrite; which is thus: "I received the letter sent to me by the holy synod, and, having read the things it contained, in the first place I bore grievously and painfully the calamities which have befallen you: for it was written in the letter that some of the holy Fathers acting there had died on account of the straitness of the places. For the rest, know that I shall promptly do any of your commands, nor have I hitherto passed over anything, or neglected it through carelessness, especially since the matter of the orthodox faith and of God is at stake; for no one can fall away from the living God, and turn to other counsels. For those who rightly handle the word of truth have the life of God both in this world and in the future; but those who fall away from the grace of God are cast into the outer darkness, as Nestorius, and those who hold the same opinions as he: for God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has illuminated the whole holy synod, and edified it, and holds your labors and sweats acceptable. We give thanks therefore to God, who has led you in the right way, and granted you victory concerning the faith. Pray for me, I beseech your holiness."
[29] The Ephesine synod gives thanks to St. Dalmatius for the pains he bestowed, A copy of the letter sent by the holy synod to lord Dalmatius: "When the holy and ecumenical synod, gathered in the metropolis of the Ephesians by order of Theodosius and Valentinian k, the most religious and Christ-loving emperors, had received the letter sent by Dalmatius the most holy archimandrite, and father of the monks, and had learned that he himself, the zeal of the faith urging him, after forty-eight years, having gone out from his cell, had gone to the most pious and most Christian emperor, and had taught him all the things which followed, and which were done by the holy synod, to depose the impious Nestorius, we gave thanks to Christ, our true God, who so stirred you up to defend the sound doctrine of the faith, and to lay open our labors and sweats not only to the most pious emperors, but also to the most holy archimandrites, and to the whole Christ-loving clergy and people. For what other of men aided us, besides your holiness? Since by no one was the truth detected, except by you, that is, by lord Dalmatius. For which reason we all lift up suppliant hands to the kind God, parent of good things, for the happy life and safety of our most pious emperors, and of your holiness.
[30] [and is said to have endowed him with the supreme prefecture of all the monasteries.] "We exhort you therefore that you join yourselves yet more closely to us, and discharge our office in those things pertaining to the faith which can happen there. Although there is no need of exhortation: for we know that God has laid open to you what Nestorius bore in his mind, before he came to Constantinople, and that you were even then accustomed to say to all who came to your cell: Beware for yourselves, brethren; for an evil beast has come into this city, which is about to destroy very many by its doctrine. [Therefore we decree that lord Dalmatius, and those who after him shall govern his sacred monastery, be the chiefs of the sacred monasteries, both those now existing, and those hereafter to be at Constantinople; since we know for certain that he is both a master, and zealous for the faith, and exceedingly fit for governing monasteries. Likewise Celestine also, the most holy Roman Pope, writing to the holy Ephesine synod, says: You have there the hegumen Dalmatius aiding you, as is worthy of God: for so we have learned about him, and received, that the praised man foreknew the faith of the nefarious Nestorius. And we decree and admonish the holy synod, that it set the aforesaid holy Dalmatius over all the monasteries which are in the royal city, as chief. And this indeed not undeservedly: inasmuch as he endured the same evils and contests as we. These things the holy synod decreed. If, therefore, anyone wishes to undermine the edict of the holy synod, let his affair be with God, who is to judge the living and the dead unto the infinite ages of ages. Amen l.] May the holy and consubstantial Trinity keep you unharmed in mind and body, preaching Christ our God. Pray for us, holy brother."
[31] After, therefore, all these things were done, Maximian m succeeded the heretic Nestorius, The Saint dies, and is honorably buried. who, when he had piously ruled the most holy church, fell asleep in peace: after him Proclus n received the episcopate, a distinguished and orthodox man, whose homilies and letters are current up to this present day. And so, while he held the episcopate, our holy father Dalmatius, after he had holily and piously governed the flock and all the monasteries entrusted to him by Christ our God, rested in peace. Therefore, holy Dalmatius being dead, his venerable body was carried into the most holy great church, and there borne by pious men, the most holy archbishop Proclus going before, and the whole venerable clergy, and all the monasteries; and the whole people accompanied the holy body; for each one was eager to obtain a spiritual blessing, and the individual ones carried candles in their hands, and, chanting hymns and spiritual songs, went before the holy body. Thus, therefore, it was laid up in his monastery; and his venerable
relics lie there; and they have often sent forth an ointment, which some, receiving with faith, being anointed with it in various infirmities, obtained a cure, to the praise of the magnificent God, to whom be glory unto the ages of ages. Amen. The memory of our holy father Dalmatius is celebrated on the second day of the month of August o, but he is buried on the third.