ON THE HOLY ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH BAPTIZED BY ST. PHILIP THE DEACON,
In the year of Christ XXXIV or XXXV.
SYLLOGE.
His cult among the Greeks; the sacred history illustrated by various observations;
the eulogies of the Fathers; the place and the time.
Ethiopian eunuch (St.)
BY J. P.
Concerning the public veneration of this man among the Greeks we are informed by their own sacred calendars, which announce him as a Saint on this present day. His cult from the Greek calendars For the Menology published by Henry Canisius from the Latin version of Cardinal Sirleti reports him thus: The birthday of the holy Ethiopian Eunuch baptized by blessed Philip the deacon. In Chifflet's Menæum stand these words: Εὐνουχου βαπτισθ. ἀπο Φιλίππου. That is: Of the Eunuch baptized by Philip. To these may be added the great printed Menæa of the Greeks, in which is written the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch by St. Philip, and a Greek couplet is added, which after our custom we render thus in Latin:
Ἀνὴρ ἐλέγχει τὸν παροιμίαν σπάδων· Λευκαίνεται γὰρ καὶ πεφυκὼς Αἰθίοψ.
This man, a eunuch, refutes the proverb's word: For born an Ethiopian, he is made white.
There is an old proverb, You are washing an Ethiopian; you are whitening an Ethiopian. Besides this, An Ethiopian does not grow white, Αίθίοψ οὐ λευκαίνεται. That is: The Ethiopian does not turn white; and it is to this last that the poet here alludes, as though he said: The Ethiopian, contrary to what the proverb says, changes his native color and grows white in soul, being washed by the water of baptism. Concerning the proverbs cited more is written among the Adages in Paulus Manutius, printed at Ursel in the year 1603, from page 176 and from page 992. Let us return to the Saint's cult.
[2] it is asserted for him In Ferrarius, in the Index which follows his New Catalogue of the Saints, these words stand: The Eunuch of Queen Candace, X September, in Ethiopia. Where he found this we do not know: for in the body of that catalogue itself we have found nothing recorded of him on the same day; nor likewise anything then in Job Ludolf's Sacred Calendars of the Ethiopian Church, page 427. But since his yearly memory is marked in the calendars which we have brought forward, we judge that a place is owed him on this day in our Work. Our Papebroch, on the VI of June, in volume 1 of that month, page 618 and following, treated of St. Philip, one of the first seven deacons, and of the Eunuch baptized by him; to whom he did not assign the title of Saint, because he thought that only the memory of his baptism was preserved in the Menæa, expressed there on this day by one simple distich. For, the matter not being yet ripe at that time, he speaks thus: And these things I have reported (he had treated of the praised Eunuch's apostolate and martyrdom, from pseudo-Dorotheus, Maffei, and the Menæa of IX October) because the baptism of that Eunuch is indeed commemorated in the Menæa by a simple distich on XXVII August; but of him as a Saint no mention at all is made in the whole calendar of the Greeks. Here now is the sacred text in which these things are recorded of him, in the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 8, verse 26 and following:
[3] And the angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying: the history of the event is related Arise, and go toward the south, to the way that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza: this is desert. And he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch, of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasures, had come to Jerusalem to adore. And he was returning, sitting in his chariot and reading Isaiah the prophet. Then the Spirit said to Philip: Go near, and join yourself to this chariot. And Philip running thither, heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said: Do you think that you understand what you read? And he said: And how can I, unless someone show me? And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the place of the Scripture which he was reading was this: He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb without voice before his shearer, so he opened not his mouth. In humility his judgment was taken away. His generation who shall declare, for his life shall be taken from the earth? And the Eunuch answering Philip, said: I beseech you, of whom does the prophet speak this? Of himself, or of some other man?
[4] Then Philip, opening his mouth and beginning at this Scripture, from the sacred text, preached to him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came to a certain water; and the Eunuch said: See, here is water; what hinders me from being baptized? And Philip said: If you believe with all your heart, you may. And he answering, said: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still; and they went down both into the water, Philip and the Eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took away Philip, and the Eunuch saw him no more. And he went on his way rejoicing. Thus far the sacred text; the fuller explanation of which we leave to the interpreters of the divine oracles, while it will suffice for our design to have made a few observations here.
[5] Let us consider, then, in the first place, who and what manner of man this Ethiopian eunuch was. with certain Augustine Calmet, in his Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 8, page 145, writes that the name eunuch often signifies nothing else than an officer of some prince's court; but that the Greek phrase (which he subjoins in a note, Ἀνὴρ Αἰθίοψ εὐνοῦχος δυνάστης Κανδάκης etc.) rather signifies a true eunuch who was a chief man of the kingdom, or of the court of Queen Candace; yet we do not sufficiently perceive that this can be made out from the Greek text. And indeed, in Du Cange's Glossary of Middle Latin, under the word eunuchus, that word is taken for a dignity in the palaces of the emperors, whose charge was the imperial bedchamber; and for a chamberlain: but in the same place such persons are indicated in Greek under the name εὐνοῦχοι, even though there is no question there of true eunuchs or castrated men. Why then, in the sacred text, does the word εὐνοῦχος denote a true eunuch rather than a eunuch in dignity, that is, a chief officer of the palace? There are those who have wrongly applied to our Ethiopian eunuch, whose name the sacred text does not express, the name of Candace, which properly belonged to the queen. For St. Gregory Nazianzen, volume 1, oration 40, which is On Holy Baptism, page 656 of the Paris impression of the year 1609, has this: I am Philip: be you Candace. Say you also, See, here is water; what hinders me from being baptized? Seize the occasion of the time, etc. A like error occurs in the Menology of the Greeks, which is prefixed as having been composed at the command of the emperor Basil the Younger, in Ughelli, volume 6 of Italia Sacra, where in column [ ] of the earlier impression these things are said: Philip the apostle of Christ … having met Candace the eunuch of the queen of the Ethiopians, etc. Our volume cited above may also be consulted, in which the same error was long since corrected.
[6] observations Let us consider, in the second place, whether, and what, religion the Ethiopian eunuch professed before his most happy and wonderful regeneration in Christ. Eusebius, in book 2 of the Ecclesiastical History, chapter 1, page 40 of Valois's edition and translation, indicates that he was a Gentile, writing thus: Moreover, when the preaching of the saving Gospel was daily increasing with new growth, divine providence brought into Judea a certain one of the nobles of the queen of the Ethiopians … Who, when he had, from Philip warned by a heavenly vision, first among the Gentiles received the mysteries of the divine word, and had been made the firstfruits of the faithful of the whole world, is said, on returning thence to his own country, to have been the first to preach the knowledge of God and the saving advent of our Savior upon the earth. Baronius, at the year of Christ 35, number 27, correcting this opinion, says: Eusebius … in my judgment seems plainly to have erred, when he hands down that this man was a Gentile and the first of the Gentiles to be baptized. For (as appears from … the Acts of Luke) access to the Church of Christ had not yet been opened to the Gentiles, which first of all lay open to Cornelius the centurion, as we shall say below in its own place. Moreover, that this man was a proselyte, brought over from the Gentiles to the religion of the Jews, all the other ecclesiastical authors alike agree. Baronius says much, and perhaps too much, when he says all, and names none. See Cornelius a Lapide on the Acts of the Apostles, page 177, and Tillemont, volume 2 of the Ecclesiastical Monuments, note 3 on St. Philip the deacon, page 491. However that may be, this opinion of Baronius, asserting that this Ethiopian was a proselyte and not a Gentile, seems more probable than that of Eusebius. Cornelius a Lapide, just cited, asserts that he was an Abyssinian: Whence it is clear, he says, that he was a Gentile by race.
[7] by us In the Life of St. Cyprian written by Pontius his deacon, which is prefixed to the Works of that same holy Father, published at Paris in the year 1648, it is said on page 3: He (the Eunuch) was both a Jew, and, coming from the temple of the Lord, was reading the prophet Isaiah, and was hoping in Christ, although he had not yet believed that He had come. And indeed it may easily be believed that he was a Jew. For, besides the fact that the Jews were at that time scattered everywhere, this opinion is favored by his journey from Ethiopia toward Jerusalem, that he might adore God. It is favored likewise by his sacred reading of the prophet Isaiah; so that from what has now been said we may conclude that that opinion comes nearer to the likeness of truth which holds that the holy Ethiopian was a Jew either by birth or at least by religion, that is, a proselyte. Cornelius a Lapide, expounding this word on the second chapter of the Acts, verse 11, says: Proselytes is a Greek word, προσέλυτοι (whose root is προτέρχομαι, I come to); that is, NEWCOMERS or INCOMERS, namely those who, coming from the Gentiles, joined themselves to the Jews and took up their circumcision and rites.
[8] explained. Let us consider, in the third place, Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, with whom the holy Ethiopian stood in the highest favor and dignity, and of whom the sacred text speaks. Calmet, mentioned above, affirms that the Ethiopians of whom the discourse is here are the inhabitants of the island or peninsula of Meroë, above and to the south of Egypt; that women at that time held rule in that region; that very many queens who bore the name of Candace are known there; that Pliny and various others seem to say that this name was their ordinary one; and that hence it has been believed by some that the name of Candace was generic, signifying the supreme authority. Strabo, book 17, page 820 of the Paris edition which came out in the year 1620, mentions Queen Candace, who, he says, in our own times obtained (read ruled: for in the Greek it is ἦρξε) the Ethiopians — a truly manlike woman, blind in one eye. Pliny, book 6, chapter 29, reports that the buildings of the town (of Meroë) are few: that a woman, Candace, reigns, which name has for many years now passed to the queens. Strabo, page 821, says: The head of the kingdom is Meroë, a city of the same name as the island. Eusebius, praised above, writes thus that this manner of government still obtained in his own time also: For it is still the custom of those nations (the Ethiopians) to be governed by the rule of a woman. St. John Chrysostom agrees, in homily 19 on the Acts of the Apostles, volume 9 of the most recent impression, page 154; where to the sacred words, Behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch, of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, he subjoins these words, writing that this was done not only by custom but by law: Hence, he says, it is clear that she ruled over them. For of old women ruled, and this was the law among them. Tillemont, whom we have cited above, in note 2, from page 490, disputes whether the Ethiopians were always governed by their queens. From reporting these things we abstain, since what we have said abundantly suffices.
[9] Let us consider, in the fourth place, the eulogies with which the holy Eunuch is praised by the holy Fathers. SS. John Chrysostom praises the holy Ethiopian His prudence joined with lowliness of mind is recorded by St. John Chrysostom in the place already cited, speaking thus: But see how prudently the Eunuch excuses himself: "And how can I (understand), unless someone show me?" He did not regard his dress; he did not say, Who are you? He did not contradict, he does not speak arrogantly; he does not say that he knows, but confesses that he is ignorant: and therefore he learns. And presently, commending his eagerness to learn, the same holy Father continues thus: He shows his wound to the physician: he knew that this man understood these things and was willing to teach. He saw that he was a stranger to arrogance. For he wore no splendid garment. So eager was he to learn, and so intent upon the words. And that saying (Matthew, chapter 7, verse 8) "He that seeks, finds," was fulfilled in him. "And he asked Philip," says (the sacred text) "to come up and sit with him." Have you seen his zeal? Have you seen his desire? He asks him to come up and sit with him. So little did he know what he would say to him: but he simply supposed that he would hear some prophecy. But this is the greater honor, that he does not simply take care that he should come up, but asks him.
[10] "And Philip, running thither, heard him reading." SS. John Chrysostom The running shows one eager to speak; the reading is a sign of zeal. For he was reading at that hour when the sun's heat is greatest. And the place was this: "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter." And this too is a sign of his eagerness to learn, that he had in hand that prophet who is more sublime than the others. Therefore he does not speak to him with vehemence, but gently; nay, he does not speak before he is questioned, until the other has asked him. And that he did not know the slow workings of the Holy Spirit in himself by grace, the same holy prelate sets forth on page 155, on these words of sacred Scripture, Then they came to a certain water, and he said: See, here is water, adding: These are the words of a soul greatly fervent. "What hinders me from being baptized?" Do you see his desire? He does not say, Baptize me; nor does he keep silence: but he speaks something midway between desire and reverence. "What hinders me from being baptized?" See how he had the doctrines complete: for the prophet contained all things — the incarnation, the passion, the resurrection, the assumption, the judgment to come; which put a great desire into him.
[11] and Jerome: St. Jerome, in volume 4, part 2 of the Works published at Paris in the year 1706, in book 1 against Jovinian, column 156, praises his manly faith: That eunuch, he says, of Queen Candace in the Acts of the Apostles, who for the strength of his faith obtained the name of a man. In epistle 50, the second to Paulinus the priest, in the aforesaid place, from column 570, he indicates the uprightness of his life and his zeal for religion: I, he says, to speak for the moment of myself, am neither holier than this Eunuch, nor more studious: who came from Ethiopia, that is, from the farthest ends of the world, to the temple, and left the royal court; and was so great a lover of the law and of divine knowledge that he read the sacred letters even in his carriage. And a little further on he adds: In that same hour the Eunuch believes, is baptized, is faithful and holy, and from a disciple becomes a master. Nor was he made a master merely of a few, or, as it were, in a private capacity; but a public herald of the Gospel; who indeed, on the testimony of the same St. Jerome, volume 3 of the cited Works, on Isaiah chapter 53, column 385, was sent as an apostle to the nation of the Ethiopians; and that not without a certain mystery: for, as the same holy Father writes in epistle 86, otherwise 27, to Eustochium, the epitaph of her mother, volume 4, part 2, column 675, She began to go along the old road that leads to Gaza … and to turn over silently with herself how the Ethiopian Eunuch, prefiguring the peoples of the Gentiles, had changed his skin. Of his preaching we have given Eusebius above.
[12] the place and time of his conversion. Let us consider, in the fifth place, the place and the water in which the holy Ethiopian was reborn in Christ, as well as the time of the event. St. Jerome, in the book On the Site and Names of Hebrew Places, volume 2 of the Works, column 418, reports these things concerning the place and the water: Bethsur, in the tribe of Judah, or of Benjamin; and today it is Bethsorom, a village as one goes from Ælia to Hebron, at the twentieth milestone, beside which a spring bubbling up at the foot of the mountain is swallowed by the same earth in which it is born. And the Acts of the Apostles report that the Eunuch of Queen Candace was baptized in it by Philip. As to the time at which the event occurred, these authors nearly agree. Baronius relates it at the year of Christ 35; to whom add Labbe in his Chronological Compendium: but Tillemont, in the Chronology to volume 2 of the Ecclesiastical Monuments, assigns it to the year of Christ 34. We above, following them, have put the year 34 or 35.