CONCERNING THE HOLY MARTYRS MACARIUS AND RUFINUS, LIKEWISE JUSTUS AND THEOPHILUS
Historical Synopsis.
Macarius, Martyr, perhaps at Rome (Saint) Rufinus, Martyr, perhaps at Rome (Saint) Justus, Martyr, perhaps at Rome (Saint) Theophilus, Martyr, perhaps at Rome (Saint)
By G. H.
[1] Between the two groups of numerous Martyrs recorded on this day in the ancient manuscript of the Roman Martyrology, or that of St. Jerome, we interpose these athletes from other Martyrologies: concerning whom, Some things about these Saints are disputed because their acts either were not written or have perished, it may not unreasonably be doubted whether they perhaps belong to those groups; namely, Saints Macarius and Rufinus to the following group, and Saints Justus and Theophilus to the prior: which indeed seems more likely to us regarding these two. So that the judgment may be free for each person, we shall examine the individual Martyrologies.
[2] One manuscript, and as it were the standard-bearer of the others, that of St. Lambert at Liege, mentions a single one in these words: Macarius is recorded On this day, St. Macarius the Martyr. A companion is added in the manuscript of St. Martin at Trier, Rufinus, in these bare names: and Rufinus in ancient manuscripts Macarius, Rufinus. There is some controversy about the meaning of Usuard, to be resolved from the more ancient and more approved codices. These are chiefly two manuscript codices of the monastery of St. Germain at Paris, in which Usuard himself was a monk and wrote his Martyrology: likewise two manuscript codices of ours, of which the first formerly belonged to Augustine Hunnaeus, Doctor of Louvain, also of Usuard which Doctor John Molanus also used extensively in his edition of Usuard: the other manuscript codex was written in Italy, and perhaps in the Kingdom of Naples, with a few additions here and there: for at the 5th of the Ides of February, St. Sabinus, Bishop of Canosa, is recorded in first place, scarcely noted in other Martyrologies, as can be seen in his Life on page 311, number 8: furthermore two manuscript codices of Utrecht, of which one at one time belonged to the Church of St. Mary and diverges more from Usuard, while the Carthusians had the other. To these should be added two other codices, one of the monastery of Marchiennes near Douai, and one of the College of Ghent of our Society, according to the ancient use of the Cathedral Church of Tournai: with which the Usuard printed at Paris in the year 1536 agrees. In all of these the following is read: On the same day, of Saints Macarius and Rufinus. Wandelbert about eight hundred years ago concluded his February with these same Martyrs in the following couplet: and of Wandelbert
On the day before, kindly Rufinus is joined to Macarius. This end concludes the days of the month of February.
[3] In some other manuscript Martyrologies, Justus and Theophilus are added. Justus and Theophilus are added in other manuscripts Thus the manuscripts of the Carmelites of Cologne, the manuscript of Anchin, the manuscript of St. Gudula at Brussels, and seven other copies, which are indeed of Usuard but augmented for the use of certain Belgian churches, mention those four Martyrs in the same phrase in which the two above were recorded: On the same day, of Saints Macarius, Rufinus, Justus, and Theophilus: in the Cologne manuscript the word "Martyrs" is added. The same is read in the Usuard printed at Lubeck in 1475, likewise in the Martyrology printed at Cologne in the year 1490, and in another printed at Lubeck with the Doctrinale of Clerics in the same year. Likewise in Maurolycus, Felici, and Molanus. Peter of Equilinus, book 11 of his Catalogue, chapter 130, number 80, has the following: Macarius and Rufinus, Justus and Theophilus, on the day before the Kalends of March, are crowned with martyrdom: in whom, and in some others, the individual pairs of Saints are joined by the conjunction "and." But Bellini's Martyrology, according to the practice of the Roman Church, printed at Venice in 1498, suggests a greater separation, when with added punctuation he records them as if in distinct groups with this formula: On the same day, of the holy Macarius and Rufinus. Of Justus and Theophilus. Where after the punctuation the name of Justus alone is written in a larger character. Moreover, in all the Martyrologies cited thus far, except the one from Liege, the Alexandrian Martyrs are absent, among whom in the more ancient Martyrologies are Justus and Theophilus. When these are omitted, two others from the same Alexandrian group are taken up and joined in the manuscript Ado of St. Lawrence at Liege in these words: Of the holy Martyrs Macarius, Rufinus, Serapion, and Claudius. others added, more from the Alexandrian and other Martyrs These are joined together with the preceding in the manuscript Florarium: On the same day, Saints Macarius, Rufinus, Justus, Theophilus, Serapion, and Claudius. In the manuscript Martyrology of Prague, with Serapion omitted, other companions are assigned: On the same day, Saints Macarius, Rufinus, Justus and Theophilus, Celer, Pupillus, Gagus, Claudionis, Macaria, Felix. All of whom, excepting Macarius and Rufinus, we said above were joined in the manuscript Martyrology of St. Maximin, when we were treating of the Alexandrian Martyrs. Greven in his supplement to Usuard joins all of these: Macarius, Rufinus, Justus, Theophilus, Martyrs. Likewise Saints Celer, Pupillus, Claudionis, Macarius, Gaius, Serapion, again with no mention made of the city of Alexandria. But in both that supplement and the Prague manuscript, two groups of Martyrs are rather established.
[4] Thus far the place of martyrdom is indicated neither in manuscript codices nor in printed ones. Galesini was the first, as we said above, to arrange the Martyrs in a new order, Galesini writes that some suffered at Rome assigning some to Rome, some to Alexandria. In the first group he counts Macarius and Justus, leaving out Rufinus and Theophilus, and has the following: At Rome, of the holy Martyrs Celerius, Pupilus, Claudianus, Justus, Macarius, Nicephorus, who in the Diocletian persecution, after various struggles and tortures of life, were at length gloriously crowned. Galesini cites Bede and corrects him for assigning them to Alexandria, whereas he himself asserts from the ancient writing of a codex that they suffered at Rome. But Bede mentions only Pupulus, who along with Celer and Claudianus belongs to the Alexandrian group. About Justus, this is our discussion. Canisius copied from Galesini.
[5] In today's Roman Martyrology, the four Martyrs proposed in the heading are recorded in these words: At Rome, the birthday of the holy Martyrs Macarius, and the Roman Martyrology Rufinus, Justus, and Theophilus. Baronius notes that these are treated in the old manuscripts, and especially in the old Martyrology of the monastery of Monte Cassino. This we have already shown: namely, that these four are treated in various manuscript codices, not very ancient and mostly of Usuard but augmented: while the latter two are recorded in more ancient manuscripts among the Alexandrian Martyrs; and not even for Saints Macarius and Rufinus is the place of martyrdom indicated. It was afterward added in the margin to the said annotations of Baronius that they suffered in the persecution of Diocletian: which perhaps, together with the city of Rome, was taken solely from Galesini. Ferrari in his Catalogue of Italian Saints treats of the same four and considers them to have suffered at Rome. We corrected him above.
[6] Tamaius de Salazar in his Spanish Martyrology contends that Saints Macarius, Justus, Other Martyrs of these names suffered at Seville Rufinus, and Theophilus suffered at Seville, following Francisco Bivarius in his Commentaries on the Chronicle of Dexter, in which at the year of Christ 115, number 1, the following is read: At Seville in Hispania Baetica, Macarius, Justus, and Rufinus, Martyrs, suffered in the same persecution of Trajan, with no mention made of Theophilus or of the day and month. Those three Martyrs are venerated at Seville on February 12, on which day we treated of them on page 582.
[7] Among the very many bodies of Saints that were dug up and extracted from the ancient cemeteries at Rome, Claudius Acquaviva, the fifth Superior General of the Society of Jesus, obtained a good many and gave them to various churches of the same Society throughout the world. whether certain bodies of these Martyrs are at Bari? By his beneficence the Fathers of the college at Bari in Apulia obtained in the year 1613 four sacred bodies, extracted from the most famous cemetery of St. Priscilla on the Via Salaria. The name of one was affixed, namely St. Rufinus; the others were considered his companions. Because St. Rufinus is inscribed on this day in various Martyrologies along with Saints Macarius, Justus, and Theophilus, they thought these to be their relics. They were translated on the second Sunday after Easter, which that year was April 21: on which day these Saints will have to be treated again. By a similar conjecture the people of Bologna piously venerate the sacred remains of Saints Justus whether relics are at Bologna? and Theophilus, preserved among them, on this 28th of February: and indeed those of St. Theophilus are seen in the church of St. Martin Major; those of St. Justus in three churches, St. Francis, St. Gabriel, and of the Mother of God Mary, which is called Moretella. Concerning these, Masini is to be read in his Bologna Illustrated at February 28; concerning the former relics, our Antonio Beatillo, book 4 of the History of Bari, at the year 1613, page 230.