Maximianus

ON ST. MAXIMIANUS, BISHOP OF RAVENNA IN ITALY.

IN THE YEAR 556.

Maximianus, Bishop of Ravenna in Italy (S.)

By J. B.

[1] The twenty-ninth Bishop of the Church of Ravenna was St. Maximianus, or the thirtieth, as Ferdinandus Ughellus in volume 2 of Italia Sacra holds, St. Maximianus, Bishop of Ravenna, who places as the twelfth, between SS. Marcellinus and Severus, ^a second Agapitus whom Hieronymus Rubeus either omits or makes the successor of St. Severus, whereas for Ughellus this Agapitus is the third. Baronius inscribed the name of St. Maximianus in the Roman Martyrology on the twenty-first day of February he is venerated not on the 21st but the 22nd of February. in these words: "At Ravenna, St. Maximianus, Bishop and Confessor." Philippus Ferrarius consecrates his feast on the same day in the Catalogue of the Saints of Italy and presents an epitome of his Life, drawn from the more ample narrative of Rubeus, whom Baronius also cites in his Notes. Rubeus himself, however, in Book 3 of the History of Ravenna, page 169, writes explicitly: "About that time Maximianus, Archbishop of Ravenna, dies on the eighth Kalends of March. For on this day, and not on the ninth Kalends, we read in his Life (which, written in most ancient script on manuscript, is preserved to this day among the sacred Virgins of St. Andrew), his manuscript Life and on this day his feast is celebrated in the Church of Ravenna."

[2] Rubeus cites the same Life shortly afterward, on page 172, in these words: "The Acts of St. Maximianus, which, written in most ancient script on parchment, are still preserved among the sacred Virgins of St. Andrew, lead me," etc. another Life written by Agnellus, now lost: Andreas Agnellus also composed Acts of St. Maximianus and of other Bishops of Ravenna, as the same author testifies below, but his commentary on that one perished -- though Rubeus himself repeatedly cites it, having perhaps made use of excerpts from it. Agnellus wrote around the year of Christ

830, as Rubeus shows in Book 5, page 238, and elsewhere. What other information Rubeus reports about St. Maximianus he carefully collected from the ancient inscriptions of various churches and other monuments. We have drawn from his history what properly pertains to this holy Bishop collected from various sources by Rubeus, here published: and have distributed it into four chapters, to relieve the tedium of the reader.

[3] In the year of Christ 546, Rubeus writes that Maximianus was inaugurated to the episcopal dignity of the Church of Ravenna by Pope Vigilius, and indeed at Constantinople, though the Pope did not arrive there until the following year. He writes that Maximianus departed this life in the year 556, on the twenty-second of February. From ancient inscriptions the same writer derives three chronological markers the time of his See. from which it is established that he presided over that Church in the years 547, 549, and 550. The first is expressed in Chapter 2, number 11, where he is said to have consecrated the basilica of the Blessed Martyr Vitalis on the fourteenth Kalends of May, in the tenth Indiction, in the sixth year after the consulship of Basilius -- which designate the year 547. But in Chapter 3, number 14, it is related that he consecrated the Church of St. Apollinaris at Classe on the Nones of May, in the twelfth Indiction, in the eighth year after the consulship of Basilius -- that is, the year 549. The year 550 is indicated in number 18 by the church of St. Stephen, dedicated on the third Ides of December, in the fourteenth Indiction (reckoned from September, of course) in the ninth year after the consulship of Basilius.

LIFE

from the History of Ravenna by Hieronymus Rubeus.

Maximianus, Bishop of Ravenna in Italy (S.)

from Hieronymus Rubeus.

CHAPTER I

The birth of St. Maximianus and his attainment of the episcopate.

[1] Victor, Archbishop of Ravenna, dies in the year 546 and is buried on the fifteenth Kalends of March in the chapel of Saints Nazarius and Celsus next to the church, after presiding only briefly over the Church of Ravenna. In his place Maximianus is substituted, by ^a remarkable turn of events. For having been born at Pola -- ^a city of Japydia called ^a Colony by the ancients, although Pliny writes that in his time it was called Julia Pietas -- and having been initiated into holy orders there, aspiring to the office of Priest through his holiness of life, while he was ^a Deacon and was digging the earth to make ^a sowing, he found ^a great vessel full of gold. [St. Maximianus, having found ^a vessel of gold, cautiously keeps ^a portion for himself,] At first uncertain what to do in the face of this new event, he soon killed an ox, disemboweled it, and filled its belly with the coins. He then summoned cobblers and had large sandals made from goatskin, which he likewise filled with gold coins. What remained, touched by religious duty, he brought to Justinian. When the Emperor asked whether he had kept any part for himself, he replied: "I call God to witness, most august Caesar, he brings part to the Emperor Justinian, that I have kept nothing for myself except what I expended on the belly and the sandals." Justinian accepted this as if it were said about food and clothing, although Maximianus meant it concerning what he had secretly retained.

[2] While he was considering what gift to give so faithful ^a man, by whom he is designated Archbishop of Ravenna, word was brought that Victor, the Archbishop of Ravenna, had died. Wherefore, when the people of Ravenna sent envoys to the Emperor requesting the pallium, he ordered Maximianus to be consecrated as their Archbishop by Pope Vigilius. The Pope at that time was in exile at Patras, ^a city of Achaia, by order of Theodora, the wife of Justinian; for since she favored Anthemius, ^a heretical man, and Vigilius refused to agree with her in this matter, she had him brought to Constantinople, he is consecrated by Pope Vigilius: and after cruelly tormenting him with imprisonment and starvation, had banished him to Patras. Maximianus was therefore consecrated Archbishop of Ravenna by Vigilius on the day before the Ides of October, in the fifth year after the consulship of Basilius the Younger, in the tenth Indiction, which falls in the year from the birth of the Virgin 546, when he was in the forty-eighth year of his age; and having received the pallium, he came to Ravenna.

[3] The people of Ravenna, who in the meantime had appointed another as Archbishop and despised the humble origin of Maximianus, shut the man out of the city. He, as ^a man of the highest moderation and Christian innocence, so as not to be far from his flock, excluded by the people of Ravenna, he dwells near the city: took up residence outside the gate of St. Victor, not far from the river which Agnellus writes was called Fossasconti, near the church of St. Eusebius, in those buildings which the Arian Bishop Unimundus had erected in the time of King Theoderic; and also near the church of St. George. Agnellus records that all these buildings and houses had been built by the Arians and were called Episcopia because Bishops dwelt in them, and that they all survived to his own times, at which time Valerius, the Bishop of Ravenna, demolished them and from their ruins erected ^a house that was called the Nova or Valeriana.

[4] In this great dissension between the people of Ravenna and the Archbishop, there were some he does not allow complaints about himself to be brought to the Emperor: who attempted to report the pride and contumacy of the people of Ravenna to the Emperor through envoys. But when Maximianus learned of this, he restrained their effort and entrusted himself entirely to the providence of God. Meanwhile he began to soften the minds of the resistant with gentler words and with gifts, and to pray continually to God that He might bring about what would be to His honor and to the benefit of the people. The people of Ravenna at length, having perceived the virtue of the man, finally he is admitted by the citizens: willingly received him as their Archbishop.

CHAPTER II

The church of the Martyr St. Vitalis at Ravenna, consecrated and adorned by St. Maximianus.

[5] At the beginning of this archiepiscopate, the most august church of St. Vitalis was completed, at great but learned expense. For it is entirely circular, he completes the circular church of St. Vitalis, with ^a double order of columns: the upper one, which supports the vault and forms ^a portico, from which, as in ^a semblance of ^a theatre, one looks down upon the pavement of the church, which was of mosaic and tessellated work. The lower columns support the upper ones and the gallery, and are covered with cut precious stone; and by the same kind of stones all the walls were once encrusted, though now in some parts they are no longer present. In these stones nature played with admirable craft, adorned with marble of marvelous variegation: forming images of animals and also of various other things, and especially of ^a Priest clothed in sacred vestments, as if he were about to celebrate the divine service. If that most grave philosopher Albertus

Magnus marveled greatly at the head of ^a King which he saw at Venice when stones were being cut for encrusting the walls of ^a church, what would he have said about this, which is entirely complete and clothed in the vestments and garb of the Christian religion?

[6] He dedicated the high altar to the Blessed Virgin Mary, made of alabaster of marvelous transparency, he dedicates an altar to the Blessed Virgin, and supported its vault with four columns, all of which were precious, though one far surpassed all the others in nobility. When in previous years the Benedictine monks, who now inhabit the church, had moved this altar from the middle of the chapel closer to the wall, they placed the columns at the very entrance to the chapel; and by adding ^a marble wall, adorned with remarkable columns of marble: they enclosed the chapel, so that they might celebrate the divine service more secluded from the people. The column which surpasses all others appears to those entering on the right; and in it are seen matrices of Porphyry, Ophite, Jaspers of every kind, Carbuncle, Chalcedony, Agate, and many other precious stones of this sort; and, what increases the pleasure, fully formed likenesses of human heads and various other things. Between these columns, the space is filled by marble statues of twin boys on either side, ^a marine shell or at least ^a conch, and ^a serpent believed to represent Aesculapius -- all of such remarkable art by excellent craftsmen that, although their maker is unknown, they are believed to equal the works of Phidias and Praxiteles themselves.

[7] In the place where the holy body of St. Vitalis had been entombed, they excavated ^a pit, whose pavement was adorned with the same craftsmanship as the church. From there water flows to this day. another altar above the sepulchre of St. Vitalis: Upon the pit he placed an altar, covered by ^a vault supported by four most precious columns; he clothed these columns, the entire altar, and the vault in beaten silver, and added on either side mirrors in which the image of the entire church is reflected -- which still survive; but the rest has been removed. The door to the west, matching the entire work in the style of its structure, was supported by eight outstanding columns, splendid doors of the church also: and was seen to be carved with ornaments of alabaster and the whitest marble, and much ophite throughout; although opposite each column, smaller doors stood open, with jambs carved with manifold history. Now nothing at all remains; and entrance into the church is available from another direction -- namely from the south and east.

[8] In the vault of the larger chapel, the images of Ecclesius, Maximianus, and the Emperor Justinian are seen in mosaic work. For Ecclesius, as we said, oversaw the construction as long as he lived; Maximianus consecrated the completed church. [Justinian is said to have been present at the consecration of the church, with his wife,] When it was being consecrated (and the day of the consecration was the fourteenth Kalends of May, in the year five hundred and forty-seven from the birth of Christ), they say that Justinian and his wife Theodora were present, and that it happened that when Theodora was entering the church, and young women had run up to sprinkle holy water on her face as was the custom, drawing aside the linen veils with which the vessel of water was covered and surrounded so that nothing impure might fall into it, and she was sprinkled with holy water by ^a heavenly dove: ^a most white dove was seen descending from heaven, placing itself among the veils near the water and sprinkling Theodora by the beating of its wings in the water, to the great astonishment of all who were present. A painting bears witness to this event, executed in mosaic work in the vault of the larger chapel, which is still seen today.

[9] However, for my part, I can by no means be persuaded to believe that this happened to Theodora, ^a wicked woman, who both protected the heretic Anthemius and, as mentioned above, impiously afflicted Pope Vigilius with the severest torments, prison, and exile. which, although depicted in an ancient painting, is not credible: And as for what is said about the painting of the dove, I would think it was added not to signify ^a mystery but for the sake of ornament -- namely, that the sculptors added that bird, which is written to signify simplicity and purity, in the middle of the vase for decoration. The painting, however, represents the image of that vase. Unless perhaps, if we wish to assent to that widespread and long-established report, we might suppose that this occurred at the time when Vigilius was restored to the See, and we might perhaps conjecture that Theodora had come to her senses, God demonstrating by this example how far she had been from true religion.

[10] When therefore Justinian and Theodora were present at the sacred rites, as they say, together with innumerable nobles the consecration performed by St. Maximianus: and matrons and moreover ^a great multitude of people, Archbishop Maximianus consecrated the church with the greatest pomp; and among other things, he consecrated to Saints Nazarius and Celsus that most holy chapel of which we have spoken, which was closed by doors of bronze marvelously sculpted and engraved. On the chapel this was inscribed:

"Lofty temples rise with venerable roof, Sanctified by God in the name of Vitalis; the work planned by Bishop Ecclesius, Gervasius and Protasius together hold this citadel, Whom lineage, faith, and temples unite; Their father was for his sons, fleeing the contagions of the world, An example of faith and of martyrdom. Ecclesius first commissioned this citadel through Julianus, Who accomplished the wondrous work entrusted to him; This too he decreed to be held by perpetual law: That none be permitted to bury their remains in this place. But whatever memorials of earlier Pontiffs are established, Let it be lawful for him to set down only that, or its like."

[11] Moreover, in the portico of St. Vitalis, which they called the Ardica, this was read: "The basilica of Blessed Vitalis was built, adorned, and dedicated by Julianus Argentarius through Julianus Argentarius: by the command of Bishop Ecclesius, with the consecration performed by the Most Reverend Bishop Maximianus on the fourteenth day before the Kalends of May, in the sixth year after the consulship of Basilius the Younger, of illustrious memory, in the tenth Indiction." Since in this place no mention is made of Justinian, nor does the rhetorician Procopius, an equal of those times, in the little book he published on the buildings of Justinian -- where he most diligently pursues every detail, even the smallest -- bring forth anything about these buildings at Ravenna, I have nothing certain to write: let the credit rest with the authors of these accounts, who relate that Justinian and Theodora adorned the consecrated church with outstanding gifts, and that Julianus Argentarius immediately had the mystery of the consecration, gifts bestowed by Justinian. which still survives, painted in mosaic work. In the center of the vault, ^a lamb is painted with such art that, wherever you stand, it seems to have its face turned toward you -- which is no small accomplishment in painting. Book 35, Chapter 10 Indeed, Pliny writes that the painter Amulius was grave and severe yet also brilliant, and that his Minerva gazed at the viewer from wherever she was viewed. They say that Archbishop Maximianus disputed at this time with the ministers of the Empire about ^a forest called Iustrum; and ^a forest given to the Church. and that Justinian, by edict and public documents, decreed for Maximianus, whom he loved exceedingly, that it should belong to the Church of Ravenna in perpetuity.

CHAPTER III

Other churches built, dedicated, restored, and adorned by St. Maximianus. Relics of saints translated.

[12] Maximianus builds ^a church at Pola: Maximianus also built in his native city of Pola ^a church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, which he called Formosum; he added to it ^a house for the Priest who would preside over the church, and gave all his wealth as ^a gift to the Church of Ravenna,

which Agnellus reports were still preserved in his time. He supported the church of St. Andrew, which Chrysologus had built, with precious and variegated marble columns, displaying ^a pleasing play of nature. At that time, Agnellus reports, the holy body of St. Andrew the Apostle was offered to Maximianus; [he adorns the church of St. Andrew, and is said to have taken the body from Patras,] and that he set out eastward to Patras to bring the body back to Ravenna. But when Justinian learned of this, he ordered Maximianus to come to him at Constantinople, bringing the body of the Apostle, since he was held by an immense desire to see it. When Maximianus had done this, they say the Emperor urged him at length to leave the holy body at Constantinople, and to have left it at Constantinople, for it was fitting that, since Peter, the brother and Head of the Church, held Rome, the first See of the world, Constantinople, which seemed to succeed it by reason of the dignity of the Empire, should have Andrew. Then Maximianus said: "Do as you please; only grant me this: that I may be allowed with my Priests to chant hymns through the night at the holy body of the Apostle." When the Emperor had agreed to this, they spent the entire night sleepless, and after pouring out prayers to God, Maximianus seized ^a knife and cut off the beard from the body; and together with other relics of holy men, he brought it with Justinian's consent to Ravenna and placed it beneath the high altar of the church of St. Andrew, whose church he had supported with columns.

[13] These things written by Agnellus do not seem to agree with what other not ignoble writers report, though it had been translated 200 years earlier, especially Ricobaldus and Platina in his account of Cletus, who affirm that in the time of Constantius Caesar, who was the son of Constantine the First, the relics of the Apostle Andrew, of Luke the Evangelist, and of Timothy were brought to Constantinople, received with great acclamation of the people and immense veneration. However that may be, he brings the beard to Ravenna: it is agreed by all that Maximianus placed the beard of St. Andrew beneath the high altar of his church. And from this it is clear that those err grievously who think Maximianus built the church of St. Andrew, since that credit must be given to Peter Chrysologus...

[14] Archbishop Maximianus also consecrated that famous church which Julianus Argentarius had built for St. Apollinaris at Classe, he consecrates the Church of St. Apollinaris at Classe: at the urging of Archbishop Ursicinus and with the assent of the Emperor Justinian. Evidence of this survives in ^a marble tablet, inscribed in Latin in the script and manner of speaking of that century, which is now seen in the middle of that church. In the portico of the church, in large letters: "The basilica of Blessed Apollinaris the Priest was built, adorned, and dedicated from the foundations by Julianus Argentarius, by the command of the most blessed Bishop Ursicinus, with the consecration performed by the Blessed Bishop Maximianus on the day of the Nones of May, in the twelfth Indiction, in the eighth year after the consulship of Basilius." This date falls in the year five hundred and forty-nine from the birth of the Virgin.

[15] Maximianus placed the body of St. Probus, together with the bodies of other holy Bishops, he restores the church of St. Probus and translates the relics: anointed with unguents, in an excellent location; and on the facade of the church of St. Probus, in which he had placed the holy bodies -- which was by the sea (now not even ^a trace of it survives) -- he had the images of Saints Probus, Eleocadius, and Calocerus painted in mosaic work, and restored and adorned that entire church. He was ^a most weighty writer of histories after Saints Jerome he writes ^a history, and Orosius; of which nothing survives except ^a very few words which the most ancient writer of his Life, Andreas Agnellus, included; and because we did not wish this history of ours to lack them, for the sake of preserving the memory of so great ^a man as best we can, they are as follows:

[16] "In Alexandria, however, there was no external malice, but because that seditious race is always restless, ^a civil war was stirred up among themselves, not by means of virtue, nor for the sake of defense, but for the slaughter and destruction of citizens. The entire populace, roused to fury, killed their Prefect within ^a church; of which only ^a fragment survives: the same people who some years before had similarly killed their own Bishop, accusing him of being ^a heretic. When the Emperor learned of this, turning to wrath, he ordered the city to be utterly destroyed. And so, having sent another Prefect, named Lauditius, he hanged forty men on the gibbet in every district within the city. But then Dioscorus, Bishop of that city, exerted himself and plainly laid down his life for his sheep, and chosen monks from the desert hastened to the Emperor and begged pardon for the excesses of the citizens. The Emperor yielded to the clergy and ordered them to take care to avoid such things in the future. This Bishop at Alexandria was succeeded by Timothy, whom I, sailing to the East, saw rightly administering his city. But shortly before, the small city of Nazamba in Cilicia fell through an earthquake, in which more than thirty thousand people are said to have perished."

[17] Thus far Maximianus; who at Ravenna built ^a church outside the city in memory of the beheading of St. John the Baptist, he builds ^a church of St. John the Beheaded: which we now call the church "In Marmorario." He completed the Triclinium, which they called by the common name Canonica, adding his own image and those of some of his predecessors as Archbishops, with these verses:

"Here Peter the Younger, following the precepts of Christ, As was fitting, rose up by his holy manner of life; Here too he founded ^a citadel of wondrous size, And left these monuments of his own name. After his death, Aurelianus held the honors, he sets up an inscription about himself and his predecessors: After him, Ecclesius was Bishop; Then came Ursicinus, after him in order follows Victor, In more recent times Maximianus is present. He was from Pola, ^a profound Levite of Christ, Compassionate by the law of God and good in piety; Whom God Himself adorned with the sacred summit, And appointed him Pontiff of His Church; He himself, however, acknowledged that not by his own deeds had he merited The apostolic summit, but by the piety of God."

I have transcribed these verses all the more willingly so that the order of the Archbishops might more clearly appear...

[18] About the same time Archbishop Maximianus erected ^a church at Ravenna for St. Stephen, not far from the postern gate of Opilio, he builds and consecrates the church of St. Stephen. which he adorned with mosaic work and many relics of saints, and dedicated, as this inscription shows, which was read in the portico of that church: "In honor of the holy Protomartyr Stephen, the servant of Christ, Bishop Maximianus, with His help, built this basilica from the foundations and dedicated it on the third day before the Ides of December, in the fourteenth Indiction, in the ninth year after the consulship of Basilius the Younger, of illustrious memory." He also inscribed these verses above the outer arch of the vault:

"The churches gleam, sacred with the name of Stephen the Martyr, Who first performed the outstanding work of ^a Martyr. To all is given one palm for sacred blood, Yet this one enjoys more, inasmuch as he is first in time. He Himself, great Priest Maximus, has brought to completion Your faith and your vow, this work, by aiding you. For so great ^a hall, with foundations suddenly laid, The art of men alone could not have made. While the shining moon renews its eleventh course, The work both begun and completed gleams with ^a beautiful end."

These things fell in the year five hundred and fifty from the birth of the Virgin...

[19] Agnellus writes that very many prodigies were seen at Ravenna about that time, and that many people were seen conversing with one another face to face in the brightest light of midday, and that this struck immense terror into everyone; and that on the eighth Kalends of Sextilis, at the third hour of the day, battle-lines were seen fighting one another in the sky. Meanwhile Archbishop Maximianus of Ravenna gave as ^a gift to the Church of Ravenna two vessels of gold, weighing twenty-eight pounds, he gives many vessels to the Church of Ravenna, in which holy Chrism was to be preserved; of which Agnellus testifies that one had perished ^a little before his time, and the other still survived, on which was inscribed: "The servant of Christ, Archbishop Maximianus, ordered this Chrismatory to be made for the use of the faithful."

He also donated ^a most excellent linen altar-cloth of byssus, containing the entire history of Christ our God, with which Agnellus testifies the high altar was customarily adorned on the feast day of the Epiphany. ornaments, Maximianus, however, did not complete it, but rather Agnellus, who succeeded him in the archiepiscopate. He also added another altar-cloth of gold, on which the images of all the Archbishops of Ravenna who had preceded him were depicted in gold textile. He also made two others, on which was inscribed in pearls and gems: "Spare, O Lord, spare your people, and remember me, ^a sinner, whom you have raised from the dungheap in your kingdom." He also had ^a larger golden cross made, which still survived in the time of Agnellus, and had adorned it with gems and pearls; in the middle of which he enclosed ^a fragment of the wood of the Cross on which Christ our God was nailed. books: He arranged for all the divine books, numbering seventy-two, to be copied in the most elegant script for the use of his Priests and the church, and he himself most carefully corrected them. Few things are reported out of many, since in him, who fulfilled the office of the best Archbishop, nothing was ever found wanting that might seem to contribute to the salvation of his people and the administration of the Church. He left all his wealth to the Church of Ravenna...

CHAPTER IV

The death and translation of St. Maximianus.

[20] About that time, Maximianus, Archbishop of Ravenna, dies on the eighth Kalends of March. For on this day, and not on the ninth Kalends, we read in his Life, which, He dies on 22 February. written in the most ancient script by hand, is still preserved among the sacred Virgins of St. Andrew; and on this day his feast is celebrated in the Church of Ravenna. He was buried at the high altar in the church of St. Andrew, where he had placed the beard of that saint. From there he was removed in the time of Archbishop Petronacius, as we shall narrate.

[21] As for what most recent authors write -- that this man at some point fell into heresy -- this is entirely far from the truth, and what should be ascribed to Maximianus, Bishop of Istria, they falsely impose upon the Bishop of Ravenna. For since it had seemed to many, through ignorance, that the Council of Constantinople had greatly diminished the authority of the Council of Chalcedon by invalidating three of its Chapters, as they supposed, the Bishops of Liguria, Venetia, and Istria -- whose leaders were Macedonius of Aquileia in Venetia, Honoratus of Milan in Liguria, and Maximianus in Istria -- had assembled at Aquileia and had decreed that that council should by no means be observed. Therefore, when Pelagius entered upon the pontificate, he is distinct from Maximianus, the schismatic Bishop of Istria. he strove by letters written to Narses, and by sending Peter and Projectus there, to recall to the authority of the Roman Church the Bishops Thracius and Maximianus -- or rather, as he himself says, those who had only the names of Bishops -- and to see to it that they did not convert ecclesiastical property to their own use, as they were doing. But since none of those Bishops showed himself obedient to the pontifical commands, he wrote new letters to Narses to send them to Justinian at Constantinople. And he then adds thus: "Concerning the Bishops of Liguria, Venetia, and Istria, what shall I say? Your Excellency is well able to restrain them both by reason and by authority. Do not allow them to glory in their rusticity to the contempt of the Apostolic See; since if anything about the judgment of the universal synod which was recently enacted at Constantinople in the first Indiction just past disturbed them, they ought to have directed some chosen men from among them to the Apostolic See, who could give and receive an account -- as has always been done -- and not to tear apart the holy Church with closed eyes." Since Istria is by no means Ravenna, nor has it ever been placed there by anyone, it must be said outright that Maximianus, Archbishop of Ravenna, ^a man distinguished for his holiness, is not the one about whom Pelagius writes and who has been unjustly condemned of heresy by the most recent writers.

[22] Petronacius, now in the fifteenth year of his archiepiscopate, when all the people of Ravenna were urging him to take the body of St. Maximianus the Archbishop from the earth, where it was ignobly covered, and place it in ^a more honorable location, Around the year 831 wearied by many entreaties, at length betook himself to the church of St. Andrew and, after first offering prayer, ordered the workmen to remove the marble slab which they called by the Greek name Platonia. When they proceeded too carelessly, it broke, at which Petronacius, who was of an irritable nature, was greatly disturbed and sharply threatened them, and placed over them the priest Andreas Agnellus, tenth in the order of his See, ^a man endowed with the most outstanding skill and the greatest talent in all things. When everything was being done according to his direction, the sepulchre having been opened, his bones were found in water, and the stone covering the sepulchre had now been removed, the bones of St. Maximianus came into view beneath the water; for the tomb was full of water. Tears sprang to the eyes of all, and they all humbly implored the aid of the holy Archbishop with great veneration, recounting his life, admonitions, and piety, and lamenting and bewailing their own misery and calamity. The sacred bones, extracted from the water, were dried, wrapped in linen, and sealed, until the tomb itself could be brought out into the open air.

[23] The bones that were found intact were thin but tall, and so joined at the articulations that they appeared to have been stripped of flesh for scarcely ^a year; nothing was missing except ^a single tooth from the right jaw. And so, carefully washed with noble wine washed with wine and transferred. mixed with various perfumes and spices, and ^a procession of all orders having been appointed, they were placed in the same tomb with the highest devotion and reverence of the entire people, and were enclosed with an immense rain of tears that flowed copiously from the eyes of all. For many days afterward, veneration and awe settled in the minds of all, just as if they were gazing upon Maximianus in person.

[24] We have transcribed these things from Andreas Agnellus, who not only was present at these events but presided over them, His deeds and those of others described by Andreas Agnellus. and who, endowed with the highest learning, left behind ^a most weighty volume written about the Archbishops of Ravenna; which, after it had long been in the library of the archiepiscopate,

was stolen in previous years along with many other works and is nowhere to be found -- certainly ^a great loss.