ON THE HOLY MARTYRS OF PONTUS, MOSEUS AND AMMONIUS.
CommentaryMoseus, Martyr in Pontus (S.) Ammonius, Martyr in Pontus (S.)
[1] The acts of the holy Martyrs Moseus and Ammonius seem to have perished; the Roman Martyrology recites this eulogy: "In Pontus, the feast of the holy Martyrs Moseus and Ammonius, The feast of these Saints, who, being soldiers, were first condemned to the mines, and finally handed over to fire." The same is recorded by Bede, Usuardus, Ado, Notkerus, Bellinus, and Maurolycus. Moseus the names is called Moyseus by Notkerus, Mosaeus by Ado; Musaeus by Maurolycus and Felicius: Ammonius is called Ammon by Bellinus and Maurolycus. The MS. of S. Jerome: "In Pontus, in the city of Asia, Moseus, Ammonius."
[2] Galesinius specifies their era, though he does not indicate from what source he learned it: "In Pontus," he says, their era, "the holy Martyrs Moseus and Ammonius, who, being soldiers, were first condemned to the mines, then snatched from there and afflicted with various torments, and finally, under the Emperor Decius, burned for the faith of Christ." Petrus de Natalibus treats of them, book 2, chapter 97.
ON THE HOLY THIRTY-SEVEN EGYPTIAN MARTYRS: PAULUS, PANSIUS, DIONYSIUS, THONIUS, HORPRESIUS, HORUS, DIONYSIUS, AMMONIUS, BESSAMMONIUS, AGATHO, RECUMBUS, BASTAMUS, SARMATA, PROTEAS, ORION, COLLUTUS, DIDYMUS, PLESIUS, ARATUS, THEONAS, HIPPEAS, ROMANUS, SATURNINUS, PINUTUS, SERAPION, BASTAMMONIUS, PAPAS, PANTHERUS, PAPIAS, DIOSCORUS, HERO, POTAMON, PETHECUS, OECOMENUS, ZOTICUS, CYRIACUS, AMMONIUS.
PrefacePaulus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Pansius, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Dionysius, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Thonius, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Horpresius, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Horus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Dionysius, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Ammonius, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Bessammonius, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Agatho, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Recumbus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Bastamus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Sarmata, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Proteas, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Orion, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Collutus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Didymus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Plesius, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Aratus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Theonas, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Hippeas, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Romanus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Saturninus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Pinutus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Serapion, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Bastammonius, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Papas, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Pantherus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Papias, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Dioscorus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Hero, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Potamon, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Pethecus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Oecomenus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Zoticus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Cyriacus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Ammonius, Martyr in Egypt (S.)
The Acts of these illustrious champions had been transcribed by Rosweyde from the most ancient manuscript codex of M. Welser, but they were fragmentary. A more complete text was supplied to us by an ancient MS. of the monastery of S. Maximinus at Trier, The Acts of these Saints, differing slightly in wording here and there. The time of their martyrdom is not specified.
[2] The feast is indicated by the MS. Martyrologies of the monastery of S. Martin at Tournai, their feast, and the Laetian, in these words: "On the same day in Egypt, of thirty-seven soldiers, who, divided into four groups, were ordered to be put to death: so that those who were separated in the Eastern part should be handed over to fire; those of the North should be beheaded; those of the South should be burned; and those who were stationed in the Western part should be handed over to the Lord's passion." Whether they were soldiers, as is said here, or Presbyters, Deacons, or of some other sacred order; and perhaps trained together in piety in some monastery, as the times then allowed, whence arose that supreme unanimity in propagating the faith -- one may rightly hesitate to say.
[3] Names varying. Certain names were written variously, even in the same codex: for those who are called at the beginning Ammonius, Bassammonius, Agathus, Collutus, and Aratus are afterward called Ammon, Bastammon, and Ammon, Agatho, Collotus, and Arato.
ACTS FROM ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS.
Paulus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Pansius, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Dionysius, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Thonius, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Horpresius, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Horus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Dionysius, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Ammonius, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Bessammonius, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Agatho, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Recumbus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Bastamus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Sarmata, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Proteas, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Orion, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Collutus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Didymus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Plesius, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Aratus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Theonas, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Hippeas, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Romanus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Saturninus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Pinutus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Serapion, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Bastammonius, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Papas, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Pantherus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Papias, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Dioscorus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Hero, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Potamon, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Pethecus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Oecomenus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Zoticus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Cyriacus, Martyr in Egypt (S.) Ammonius, Martyr in Egypt (S.)
BHL Number: 6584
From manuscripts.
[1] The testimony of Paulus, Pansius, Dionysius, Thonius, Horpresius, Horus, Dionysius, Ammonius, Bessammonius, Agathus, Recumbus, Bastamus, Sarmata, Proteas, Orion, Collutus, Didymus, Plesius, Aratus, Theonas, Hippeas, Romanus, Saturninus, Pinutus, Serapion, Papas, Bastamon, Pantherus, Papias, Dioscorus, Hero, Potamon, Petecus, Oecomenus, Zoticus, Cyriacus, and Ammonius.
[2] The Saints voluntarily offer themselves for martyrdom. These thirty-seven most valiant men and athletes of Christ came together with one accord to martyrdom. For a multitude of those offering themselves went to the Judge, so great that it not only terrified him but nearly drove him to madness. For the martyrdom was of the most distinguished men of Egypt, and none among them was ignoble or of inferior fortune: but they were of a certain principal and honorable lineage among them, all of noble birth: whose order, however, it was difficult to retain under a single name. But the sufferings of each must be related as it happened when they came to their rest.
[3] For the discourse of these men, even of this great multitude and most beautiful army, was not one and the same, They had distributed Egypt for preaching: but as if by the Holy Spirit they had encompassed all Egypt in a fourfold division, some to the morning of the East, some to the evening of the West, and others to the Northern region, and others still to the Southern. It is therefore most necessary to narrate the companies of these men. For placing them in the number of holy Teachers, the Lord sent them out in a circuit to instruct the unlearned. They are arrested: But the foolish and less educated, not recognizing their humanity, seized them as though they were pernicious and perpetrators of wicked deeds, and bound them, beating them and afflicting them with tortures. But those who were being led to martyrdom embraced all these things gratefully, and to the degree that the wicked advanced in hindering them, to that degree they grew in the benevolence of piety.
[4] They are brought before the Prefect: This, then, was not unknown to the Ruler of Egypt, and inflamed by his own malice and the most bitter cruelty beyond measure, having taken counsel with his household, he commanded that, just as they had been planted in Egypt in a fourfold manner, so they should be brought before him. But they, not discordant in mind, nor in faith, nor in will, but imitating the divine host, had thus encompassed Egypt, teaching the right and most just way: and Paulus held the leadership of this host, not unlike that Teacher of the nations who showed the true way to those who were wandering. Similar to him was B. Pansius: and the third followed, the most holy Dionysius, fellow traveler of Thonius, Those who preached in the East: and Horpresius and Horus: whom Dionysius and Ammon accompanied, and with them Ammon and Agatho, preaching the word of the Lord in the choir of the Eastern part.
[5] In the Northern part, those who had taken up this manner were not weaker than the others, but shone more brightly in their profession, even if a certain contention of faith was found among them. Those in the North; For what was the contention of those Saints, if I may say so, except that each of them should be more and more approved by Christ? In the same choir were the companions, the most holy Recumbus, together with Bastamus, Sarmata, and Proteas. Nor far behind them followed Orion, a man shining among the rest, Collotus and Didymus; with whom Plesius and Aratus filled out the same choir.
[6] Those in the South: In the Southern part were Theonas, planted by the Lord, to whom the governance of the faith had been entrusted and the task of persuading those who approached: who was not held to be isolated in this ministry, but completed the same number of the Sindonia with those who had gone before, together with Hippeas, Romanus, and Saturninus, Pinutius also joining them, and Serapion, and Bastammon, and Papas, and Pantherus, accompanied by a faith fully developed. This choir was stationed in the South to prophesy the word of God and to serve as teachers to the rest.
[7] Those in the West. In the Western part the Lord stationed as Teachers Papias, Dioscorus, Hero, and Potamon; with Pethecus, Oecomenus, Zoticus, Cyriacus, and Ammonius cleaving inseparably to them in the same choir.
[8] All these, therefore, encompassing all Egypt with the word of the Lord, Pious contention among them, had this one contention: which of them should serve the Lord more, or which should more readily endure the adversary's sufferings. Wherefore we have not without reason judged it fitting, brethren, to make this also known to you. For that man is free from the fault of ignorance who has not been willingly ignorant. Therefore receive the memory of our carnal fathers, and learn how those who sinned strayed from the right way before the Son of God appeared in the flesh, while he still abode in the bosom of the Father. On this account not even God the Father, enduring to contain the Son, gave a promise; nor did the Son in turn delay to assume the flesh, but clothed in it he preached first God the Father, then taught that he himself was the Son of God; and lastly confirmed the word of justice by the voices and teachings of the Prophets, whom even they had not proclaimed without his inspiration: and before he deigned to come to us, it was he himself who through the Prophets gave the law and prophesied. All the aforesaid Saints, therefore, encompassing this Egypt in a similar circuit, taught those who were erring, instructed the obedient, and rendered a most true account for the transgressions of the fathers. If therefore the fathers transgressed, let us amend their fall; if they went astray through inconstancy, let us, established in faith, run the course. For the contention among the aforesaid Saints was not opposed to faith, but was of a religious character. They strove among themselves as to which of them should first win a person from error; they ran to see who should unite a greater people to God.
THE ACTS OF THE SAME
Written in Italian by Paolo Regio, Bishop of Vico.
Archelaa, Virgin and Martyr at Salerno in Campania (S.) Thecla, Virgin and Martyr at Salerno in Campania (S.) Susanna, Virgin and Martyr at Salerno in Campania (S.)
Author: Paolo Regio.
CHAPTER I.
The holiness and miracles of S. Archelaa and her companions.
[1] Virginity conquers the world, restrains carnal appetites, being removed from the unhappy lot and companionship of our mother Eve, to whom was divinely declared: "In sorrow you shall bring forth children, and you shall be under the power of your husband;" Praise of virginity. and enjoying the full possession of her own liberty, she is injured by no injury of time, but flourishing with perpetual vigor she brings an excellent ornament of pious and religious life, and joined with it enters the heavenly bridal chamber of her Spouse, Christ. Gen. 3:16.
[2] S. Archelaa lives devoutly with her companions: Endowed with this noble and divine gift, Archelaa, having already taken the veil as a bride consecrated to Christ, was leading a chaste and religious life in a certain monastery removed from the crowds, such as the times then permitted to be built and maintained. Then, as the persecution of Diocletian raged, in order to escape the fury of the impious, she fled from Romagna with two companions, her sisters in Christ, She comes to Campania: Thecla and Susanna, and settled not far from the city of Nola, in a humble and poor place, where day and night she poured out prayers to God and devoted herself to other holy works.
[3] She becomes renowned for miracles: As many sick persons as were brought to her immediately obtained health from God through her merits. Her countenance was cheerful and modest; in dress both she and her companions used garments not womanly but rather manly, on account of which they were believed to be men by those who came to them for help. For they were clad in a tunic of coarse and rough cloth hanging down to the feet, and in a cloak, with their hair shorn, their faces worn by fasting and penances; in short, they bore a certain appearance of Hermits. As their fame spread far and wide, people began to flock to them in great numbers, to obtain either bodily or spiritual health. For together with that holiness of life was joined the grace of healing incurable diseases and the preaching of the Christian religion.
[4] The virtue of Archelaa and her companions was therefore celebrated in the talk of all. She preaches Christ: But since everywhere the agents and ministers of impiety were keeping watch, as though stationed at fixed posts, to spy out every movement of the Christians, they were at length denounced to Leontius, the Governor of Campania. When he was holding court at Salerno, She is arrested: he ordered them to be arrested and dragged before him, so that unless they offered sacrifices to the gods, they should be punished with death according to the edicts of the Emperors Diocletian and Maximian.
[5] She is brought before Leontius the Judge: Brought therefore to Salerno, they are presented to Leontius. Here, as though secure of obtaining by divine gift the glory of martyrdom, since they sensed that the goal of their mortal course was at hand, they freely declare that they are virgins dedicated to God, and bound by a vow of preserving chastity, having received from Christ the ceremony of voluntary devotion. Leontius, beholding a certain marvelous cheerfulness and majesty in the countenance of Archelaa, turned to her and said: "Listen, Archelaa. Why do you summon people to yourself, good and bad alike, and persuade them to worship Jesus of Nazareth, who could neither defend himself in former times, nor can now be a protection to others? Why have you dared to cure diseases with magic spells, and thus to hunt for a reputation of holiness, in order to allure mortals into fraud -- concealing your wickedness under this deceptive garb, and counterfeiting the male sex, when you are a woman, and indeed a most harmful and most impious sorceress? Moreover, you have perhaps induced these girls too to practice the same impostures. Wherefore, unless I take punishment upon you, She answers him nobly: all the more ignorant will be led into deceit." "By the power of Christ," said Archelaa, "I suppress the works of the devil, and summoning mortals endowed with reason, I imbue them with the knowledge of the true God, who created heaven, earth, the sea, and all that is in them: and moreover, through Jesus Christ, the only-begotten of the same almighty God, I restore health to all who are sick. Nor do I counterfeit my sex under this garb, since I have at once confessed myself the handmaid of Christ: and these are my sisters in the Lord, raised with me from infancy in the Christian faith." Leontius said: "Whoever resists the commands of the Emperors is guilty of a dire death." Archelaa answered: "We have as Lord Jesus Christ, for whose sake we despise the world with its vanities: from him we await mercy, who governs heaven, earth, and all other things by his providence."
[6] Then Leontius: "Our gods contain and rule all things: She mocks the gods and proclaims the power of Christ: and their names are many -- Saturn, Trismegistus, Venus, Mercury, Juno, Minerva, and Jupiter, who is greater than all the rest. These are the powers of God, and they act and govern all things." The Virgin answered: "Those gods of yours are blind, and blind are those who adore them or believe in them." "Your God," said Leontius, "is alone, and cannot sufficiently defend himself, seeing that he was long ago nailed to a cross, given vinegar to drink, crowned with thorns, and pierced with a lance." "But these things," said B. Archelaa, "he endured for our sake, so that all who believe in him should not perish but have eternal life. But your gods do not see, do not hear, do not speak, and can help neither themselves nor others."
[7] She is thrown to lions, which do not harm her: Irritated by these words, Leontius orders lions to be brought into the enclosure prepared there, driven by enormous hunger, for they had never been given sufficient food for a space of seven days; and he orders the Virgin to be violently thrown to them by the lictors, and those standing by believed she would immediately be torn apart. But the opposite happened: for by divine power they were made gentle and tame, and prostrate at the feet of the holy Martyr, they seemed as if to declare that they wished to be her protection with their claws against the fury of the most impious tyrant. And Archelaa began to pray to God thus: "Lord God, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, who have until now preserved my body from all defilement, and have today caused me to overcome the lions themselves and Leontius, who is more savage than the lions, the son of the devil, who wished to strike me dead with servile fear and to crush my soul -- be today and always my helper: into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit."
[8] When the most ferocious Leontius saw and heard this, inflamed with fresh rage, he orders the lions themselves to be killed by his attendants; She is bound and thrown into a dungeon. and the hands of Archelaa and her companions to be tightly bound behind their backs, and they to be shut up in a most foul dungeon, so that he might afterward torture them with other torments. And thus the holy Virgins, leading an angelic life on earth, were savagely tormented by the worshippers of demons for the name of Christ, who by this means was calling them to heavenly triumphs.
CHAPTER II.
Various tortures, glorious death.
[9] There is nothing sadder or more grievous for human life than when men's minds are detained by earthly desires and pleasures. Nor, on the other hand, is anything more suited to true rest and tranquility than to desire nothing at all except to serve God and to expose one's body to every torment for his honor. And therefore the one who has less acquaintance with pleasures fears death less: but the one who hopes for no life after death fears to die. The servants of God knew this: wherefore it should seem surprising to no one if they esteem mortal life as of little worth, since they know that it is appointed for men to die once; but that for those who have lived their life with virtue, another blessed and immortal life awaits. Proof of this is the most sacred virgin Archelaa, who, shut up in a dark prison, placed all her hope and protection in God. But behold, when she seemed to have been brought into the greatest straits, an Angel of God appears to her, She is strengthened from heaven: and bathes her in an incredible light, and comforts her with these words: "Archelaa, servant of God, fear not; a crown is already prepared for you in heaven: your prayers have reached the sight of God."
[10] The guards of the prison also saw the unusual light, and struck with great terror they cried out: "One is the true God, whom the blessed Archelaa proclaims." The next day Leontius orders Archelaa to be brought before him: "Drag here," he says, She exhorts the Governor to embrace the faith, "Archelaa, who both insults me and overthrows my gods with her sorceries and blasphemies." When Archelaa was brought to the tribunal, she said: "I neither insult you with injury nor do I commit any sorcery; but your own works, most impious tyrant, bring injury upon you, and your own blasphemies are preparing you as fuel for eternal flames. But if you listen to me and give credence to my words, believe in God the almighty Father, and in Jesus Christ his Son, who created you, from whose mutual love with the Father there proceeds from eternity Love itself, driving away all darkness. This one God in Trinity has long been known to all nations."
[11] The Governor, despising these words as though they were some ridiculous ravings, said: "If you too are willing to believe in my gods, you shall be adorned with riches and honor and shall obtain a distinguished place among the Roman matrons: but if not, I shall inflict upon you a death full of ignominy, and expose your body to be devoured by ravens and wolves." Archelaa answered: "I have as my helper my Lord Jesus Christ, who will protect my body from every injury you meditate, and will make me a partaker of eternal joy with his Angels, if, as hitherto, I guard my mind from all iniquity. In him my body, like those of other holy virgins, shall blessedly rest."
[12] The Proconsul Leontius, kindled with anger, orders a great fire to be set beneath a frying pan, and it to be filled with oil and pitch. While the pan is being heated, She is beaten, and anointed with oil and pitch: he meanwhile orders Archelaa to be stripped and torn with iron combs, and then beaten, then sprinkled with burning oil and pitch. By this means, burned deeply to the very bones and foully disfigured, she struck the lictors themselves with immense admiration: that one so tender and weak by nature could endure such savage torments. She herself, with arms extended in the form of a cross, eyes turned to heaven, said: "Look down, Lord, from heaven, from your holy seat, upon your faithful handmaid: extinguish with the dew of your grace this burning pyre that scorches me; refresh my body and free it from all pain and from the wounds that the cruel tyrant has inflicted." Scarcely had Archelaa uttered these words She is encouraged by a heavenly voice: when a light was seen above her head, and a voice, sent from no mortal author, declared this: "Handmaid of Christ and holy Martyr, fear not; a crown is prepared for you in heaven: fear not the punishments threatened by the tyrant, because I am with you, to help you and lead you into refreshment."
[13] When Leontius saw that no torture could break the exalted spirit of the Virgin, he orders the lictors to place her under an enormous rock, to be utterly crushed by its weight. Placed under an immense rock, she is divinely delivered: But suddenly an Angel of God rolled that immense rock to the other side, and by its size and weight it crushed the very executioners who were attempting to destroy the Martyr with it. And thus Archelaa also escaped this manner of death, while Leontius gnashed his teeth in vain. She, however, was singing praises to God, using these words: "Blessed be the God of our fathers, who saves all who hope in you." The spectators, astonished at this prodigious outcome, cried out: "True is the God of the Christians, whom B. Archelaa proclaims."
[14] When Leontius heard this, turning to his men, he said: "What shall we do with this sorceress, who has overcome all torments? Seize her and inflict upon her an ignominious death. Lead her a thousand paces outside the city of Nola, and there put her to death with her two companions." Immediately the three virgins, Archelaa, Thecla, and Susanna, with their hands bound behind their backs, were led to the appointed place of martyrdom. Then Archelaa urged the lictors to carry out the orders of the Emperor. But they, terrified by the angelic apparition that had presented itself to them, She is beheaded together with her companions, said: "By no means, Lady, shall we undertake such a thing." The holy Virgins answered with one voice: "Unless you do what the Governor has commanded, you shall have no part with us." Hearing this, the executioners at last drew their swords and with single strokes immolated all three, one by one, as undefiled victims to God. Thus they concluded a most praiseworthy life with glorious martyrdom, around the year of Christ 293.
ON S. VENERANDUS, BISHOP OF AUVERGNE IN GAUL.
Beginning of the Fifth Century.
CommentaryVenerandus, Bishop of Auvergne in Gaul (S.)
From various sources.
[1] At Clermont in Auvergne, S. Venerandus, Bishop of that city, is venerated on the fifteenth day before the Kalends of February, as Ioannes Savaro attests, although he died on another day, as we shall say afterward. Concerning him Molanus in the Additions to Usuardus: The feast of S. Venerandus, "In the city of Auvergne, S. Venerandus, Bishop and Confessor." Saussay also treats of him and writes that this is the day of his ordination; Ferrarius also treats of him, and records him again on 28 January, citing the Records and Breviary of the Church of Clermont. But Ioannes Savaro is a more reliable witness, inasmuch as he wrote from Clermont, and besides, he establishes today's festivity on the authority of both the Martyrology and the Breviary of Clermont.
[2] His memory on other days. The same Ferrarius on 24 September: "At Auvergne, S. Venerandus, Bishop." He cites in his Notes the Martyrology of Canisius, in which the name of this Venerandus does not appear. But Surius, drawing from S. Gregory of Tours, treats of him and his successor S. Rusticus on that day; and it is the feast of Rusticus.
[3] His election. Concerning Venerandus, Gregory has this in book 2 of his History, chapter 13: "At Auvergne, after the passing of S. Artemius, Venerandus, one of the Senators, is ordained Bishop." And what manner of Pontiff he was, the Presbyter Paulinus attests, saying: "For if you see these priests worthy of the Lord, his holiness, whether Exuperius at Toulouse, or Simplicius at Vienne, or Amandus at Bordeaux, or Diogenianus at Albi, or Dynantius at Angouleme, or Venerandus at Auvergne, or Alethius at Cahors, or now Pegasius at Perigueux, however much the evils of the age may abound, you will surely see the most worthy guardians of the entire faith and religion." "He is reported to have passed away on the very vigil of the Lord's Nativity." So says Gregory. We shall treat of S. Artemius, his predecessor, on 24 January, his death, on which day Savaro writes that he died, so that it is not probable that Venerandus was consecrated on the 18th day of the same month, as Saussay maintains. For who would believe that after the death of S. Artemius the See was vacant for an entire year less six days, if one considers what the same Gregory writes about the election of S. Rusticus? The fragment cited here is not found in the works of S. Paulinus of Nola; and it is doubtful whether it is his, since S. Gregory calls him merely a Presbyter: it is perhaps by another Paulinus the Presbyter, by whom the life of S. Ambrose was written. Moreover, of those bishops among whom Paulinus numbers Venerandus, many have been enrolled in the tables of the Saints: S. Exuperius on 28 September, S. Simplicius on 11 February, S. Amandus on 18 June.
[4] His church. The same S. Gregory treats at length of the basilica of S. Venerandus, which was near that of S. Illidius, in his book on the Glory of Confessors, chapters 35 and 36, and of the bodies of various Saints discovered there; and concerning the relics of Venerandus himself he writes thus in chapter 37: His tomb; "There is also the tomb of S. Venerandus the Bishop himself, from whom this building took its name, set beneath a reading desk; over which whoever wishes puts his head through a small window, praying for whatever need compels, and he soon obtains the effect, if he has prayed justly. There also rests S. Nepotianus the Bishop, miracles, who was in the world a man of the highest sanctity, now obtaining by the power of the Lord whatever has been implored of him. Especially in the cure of fevers; For often a prayer poured out over these tombs by those suffering from fevers retains the desired medicine." We shall treat of S. Nepotianus on 22 October.
[5] In book 1 on the Saints, churches, and monasteries of Clermont, no. 10, the following is recorded: "In the church of S. Venerandus, relics, the altar of S. Julian and S. Basilissa of Antioch; the altar of S. Quintinus and S. Dionysius; the altar of S. Mary, where S. Venerandus and S. Linguinus and S. Nepotianus and S. Avitus and S. Clara and six thousand two hundred others rest in the body, whose names God knows." This church, as Savaro notes there, is today within the gardens of the monastery of S. Illidius.
[6] The relics of the Saint himself, in the year 1311, on the eleventh day before the Kalends of January, together with the relics of S. Illidius, were enclosed separately in the same casket by Bishop Arbertus, at the request of Guido Scotus, Abbot of S. Illidius, translated on 22 December, as the same Savaro attests from an old MS., from which he adds the following: "Moreover, some portion of dust and bones from the body of B. Venerandus was left in his chapel, under his altar, below the original tomb made under the reading desk." The same author cites an old record of S. Illidius, in which these words are read: "For in the monastery of B. Illidius, B. Venerandus the Bishop rests, out of love for S. Mary and other Martyrs." We shall treat of S. Illidius, who in French is called S. Allyre, on 14 December.
[7] The Translation of S. Venerandus is celebrated on 22 December, as the same Savaro attests, on which day Saussay recorded it in his Martyrology; and again, the very same translation, on 21 November. But on this 18 January, in a more extended eulogy, after other matters he writes thus, without indicating his source: Whether also earlier, to the church bearing his own name. "Moreover, at Auvergne the merits of his sanctity were so outstanding that, although he had been buried in the basilica of S. Illidius, afterward, shining with miracles, his venerable body was translated to a nearby building that had been erected in his honor, and which received its name from his, in which it remains conspicuous to this very day. His relics, set beneath a reading desk, under the altar, rested there for a long time. Until at length Bishop Adebertus, acceding to the request of Guido Scotus, Abbot of S. Illidius, enclosed them separately in the same casket with the relics of S. Illidius, and sealed it with his ring in the year of the Lord 1311, on the eleventh day before the Kalends of January, on which day the translation of the same is there commemorated," etc. Of the earlier translation from the church of S. Illidius to the basilica bearing his own name, there is no trace in S. Gregory of Tours or in Savaro.
ON S. VOLUSIANUS, MARTYR, BISHOP OF TOURS IN GAUL.
Around the Year 500.
CommentaryVolusianus, Bishop of Tours in Gaul, Martyr (S.)
From various sources.
[1] "At Tours in Gaul, on this day, the feast of S. Volusianus the Bishop, who, captured by the Goths, gave up his spirit to God in exile." So the Roman Martyrology. Molanus also mentions him in his Additions to Usuardus, and Ghinius in the Calendar of Saints of the Canons. Others call him a Martyr, The feast of S. Volusianus; because although he was not killed expressly for his religion, nevertheless out of hatred for that same religion he suffered calumny from the impious, and was thus banished, and was either worn out by the hardships of exile or struck by the sword, as will be said afterward. Galesinius and the Germanic Martyrology: "At Tours, S. Volusianus, Bishop and Martyr." Molanus also in his earlier edition of the Additions to Usuardus calls him a Martyr. Andreas Saussay in the Gallican Martyrology: "On the same day, at Tours, S. Volusianus, Bishop of that same Metropolis, and glorious Martyr, who was captured by the Arian Goths, and in hatred of the orthodox truth which he upheld, was dragged hither and thither and variously harassed, and surrendered his blessed spirit to God in exile." The same author, in his Supplement, writes that he was beheaded, as we shall say presently.
[2] Concerning him S. Gregory of Tours writes the following in book 2 of his History, chapter 26: "After this, B. Perpetuus, Bishop of the city of Tours, having completed thirty years in the episcopate, his banishment, rested in peace. In his place Volusianus, one of the Senators, was appointed. But being held suspect by the Goths, in the seventh year of his episcopate he was carried off to Spain as a captive, but immediately ended his life. In his place Verus succeeded him, and was ordained the seventh bishop after B. Martin." An error seems to have crept in here: for in book 10, chapter 31, where he lists all the bishops of Tours, he makes S. Martin the third, Verus the eighth, and between them Brictius, Eustochius, Perpetuus, and Volusianus; so that Verus would be only the sixth from S. Martin.
[3] It is surprising that Verus himself was not also enrolled in the tables of the Saints, since he too, for the same cause as Volusianus, was led into exile and ended his life, as the same S. Gregory records in book 10, chapter 31, where he writes the following about Volusianus: "The seventh bishop ordained was Volusianus, of senatorial lineage, a holy man and very wealthy, himself also a kinsman of his predecessor Bishop Perpetuus. In his time Clovis was already reigning in certain cities in Gaul. And on this account this Pontiff was held suspect by the Goths, on the ground that he wished to submit to the dominion of the Franks, and was condemned to exile in the city of Toulouse, the cause of this: where he died. In his time the village of Manthelan was built, and the basilica of S. John in Marmoutier. He sat for seven years and two months."
[4] "Volusianus lived," says Baronius in his Notes on the Martyrology, "in the times of Childeric, son of Clovis, King of the Franks": but who is this Childeric, son of Clovis? His era. He lived under Clovis himself, the son of Childeric. Some error, however, seems to have crept into Gregory's account of the years of the successors of S. Martin. He writes that Martin died in the consulship of Caesarius and Atticus, which was the year of Christ 397; others say 400 or 401. To his successor Brictius he assigns 47 years, to Eustochius 17, to Perpetuus 30, to Volusianus 7 years and 2 months, to Verus 11 years and 8 days, to Licinius 12 years, 2 months, and 25 days. But as the same author writes, in the time of Licinius, The calculation of S. Gregory of Tours corrected, King Clovis returned victorious from the slaughter of the Goths to Tours. That slaughter occurred in the year 507. Theodore and Proculus then sat for 2 years. Dinifius then acceded to the episcopate by the election of the aforesaid King. Clovis died in the year of Christ 511, 112 years after the death of S. Martin. But according to the calculation already set forth from Gregory himself, 112 years are reached up to the beginning of Licinius, and 126 up to Dinifius. Moreover, Gregory himself in book 2, chapter 43, writes that Clovis died in the eleventh year of Bishop Licinius. Perhaps in book 10 one should read "by the election of the aforesaid Queen," namely Chrodield, of whom he had previously treated, rather than that Dinifius was elected by the King. But according to Gregory's earlier calculation, if Clovis died in the eleventh year of Licinius, and Verus sat for 11 years and 8 days, it would follow that S. Volusianus was expelled around the year 490, which was the ninth year of Clovis. And S. Gregory seems to imply in book 2, chapter 27, that Clovis was still a pagan when Verus obtained the episcopate: but Clovis was baptized in the year 496. So much for the era of S. Volusianus.
[5] Concerning his martyrdom, Saussay writes thus in the Supplement to the Martyrology: "At Foix, between Pamiers and Barilles, in the territory of Toulouse, the feast of S. Volusianus, Metropolitan Bishop of Tours and Martyr, The martyrdom of S. Volusianus, who (as has been noted in this Martyrology) was expelled from his See by the Goths and banished to these parts, and after many vicissitudes, at last completed a glorious contest by the cutting off of his head. Moreover, when he was ordered to present his neck to be cut off, tradition among the inhabitants says that he fixed his staff in the ground, which grew into a tree of unknown species, surviving to this very day."
[6] Guillaume Catel, book 3 of the Affairs of Occitania, writes that it is established by the tradition of the inhabitants the place of this; that he was killed in the County of Foix, between the castle of Pamiers, now an episcopal city, and the castle of Barilles, or Barelles, seven miles from the city of Toulouse: that at that place there stands a tree, to which there is a concourse of people on account of the memory of the holy Martyr. He cites as his authority Bertrand Elia, author of the history of the Counts of Foix, who testifies that he himself had often seen it, A tree from his staff: and had not been able to determine of what species it was; and that it was said to have sprung from the said Saint's traveling staff. In the Chronicles of the Counts of Foix written in the vernacular, which the same author cites, many things are related about S. Volusianus, who is there called Voulsia: that he was killed by the Goths between Pamiers and Barelles: that his body was carried by two bulls yoked to a cart his burial: to the church of S. Nazarius near the castle of Foix: that many possessions were dedicated and given to S. Volusianus by the Counts of Foix, which are enumerated one by one.
[7] Mons-Gaudii, commonly called Montgausi or Montgauci, is a place situated opposite the town of Foix, in which there is a chapel sacred to the Virgin Mother of God, famed for a very great concourse of peoples. To this place, the same Chronicles of the Counts of Foix relate, the relics of S. Volusianus were translated by Roger, son of Bernard, the second Count of Foix, in the year 1107, His relics translated, together with those of S. Antoninus of Pamiers, S. Antonius of Lezat, and S. Ferreolus. Papirius Masson, in his book on the Rivers of Gaul, treating of the Aurigera river (which, rising in the Pyrenees, washes Foix and Pamiers, and is finally joined to the Garonne two leagues from Toulouse, commonly called the Ariege), writes thus about this translation of S. Volusianus: "Not far (from Foix) is seen the sacred basilica of Mons-Gaudii, founded, as they say, by Charlemagne, and adorned with many offerings and revenues, which afterward became very famous when the body of Volusianus was translated to that city, through the zeal and diligence of Roger, the second of the Counts of Foix." Peter Olhagaray also writes in his history of the Counts of Foix that Roger, shortly before he departed from life, By whom, ordered the body of S. Antonius to be exhumed and transferred to Lezat; and that he himself followed the procession barefoot with religious devotion: and that he also translated the body of S. Volusianus to Mons-Gaudii, having invited to that solemnity Amelius, Bishop of Toulouse, and Raymond of Barbastro.
[8] More fully concerning that translation, Catel writes from the history of Guillaume Laperriere on Foix, who writes that S. Volusianus was beheaded by the order of Alaric; and that his body was translated in the year 1111 to Mons-Gaudii in a solemn procession, With what solemnity, at which, besides Count Roger, there were present Amelius, Bishop of Toulouse, the entire Clergy dwelling in the neighboring towns and villages within four or five leagues, Raymond of Barbastro and other bishops, and neighboring nobles, and an immense multitude of people.
[9] The same Catel in book 4 mentions the same translation, where he praises the piety of Count Roger, who not only attended the translation of S. Antonius to the monastery of Lezat in the year 1097 with many bishops and other holy men, but himself carried the bones of the Saint wrapped in his own cloak to the very monastery, always walking with bare head: and in the following year, 1098, In what year, he arranged for the relics of S. Volusianus and S. Ferreolus to be translated to the chapel of Mons-Gaudii.
[10] Concerning the year of this translation, the authors are not in sufficient agreement. Olhagaray relates that it occurred shortly before the death of Roger: but Catel says that Roger died in the year 1111, in the seventeenth year of his rule. The Annals of Foix cited by him place the translation in the year 1107; Catel in 1098, and earlier, on the authority of Guillaume Laperriere, in 1111. He writes in book 5, where he again mentions this translation, that Amelius, Bishop of Toulouse, seems to have succeeded Bishop Isarnus around the year 1098; and that he was certainly in office in the year 1100, as he has read recorded in many documents. But since B. Raymond, Bishop of Barbastro, is said to have been present, it must not have occurred before the year 1104: for since, as Elias the Canon of Barbastro writes in his life, he died in the year of Christ 1126, having sat for 21 years, 8 months, and 21 days, it follows that he was elevated to that See in September of the year 1104 or thereabouts, at the very time, as the same author attests, when Alfonso I the Warrior succeeded Peter I as King of Aragon. We shall give the life of B. Raymond on 21 May.
ON S. SULPITIUS, BISHOP OF MAASTRICHT IN BELGIUM.
Around the Year 500.
CommentarySulpitius, Bishop of Maastricht in Belgium (S.)
From various sources.
[1] That after S. Servatius (who flourished from the times of the sons of Constantine to Theodosius the Elder), the bishops of the Tungrian nation in Germania Secunda sat at Maastricht on the Meuse for nearly three hundred and forty years, until they migrated to Liege, was indicated under 13 January in the Designatus; and they were accustomed to be called sometimes Bishops of Maastricht, sometimes of the Tungrians; The Bishops of Maastricht. for Maastricht itself was in the territory of the Tungrians, about three leagues distant from Atuatuca and situated in a more convenient location: but the acts of the first ten, down to S. Domitianus, who subscribed to the Fifth Council of Orleans in the year of Christ 549, remained obscure because of the darkness of those times -- either because, as some maintain, the See was vacant for 114 years after the death of S. Servatius until the times of S. Remigius and the conversion of Clovis; or, as is more likely, under the dominion of the Franks, even though they were pagans, the small flock of Christians could somehow sustain itself and appointed for itself a Father and Bishop.
[2] The feast of S. Sulpitius. The sixth bishop after S. Servatius, then, was S. Sulpitius, whose feast on 18 January is recorded in the Calendar of Saints of the province of Liege, by Ferrarius, and by Saussay, with Placentius concurring. The MS. Florarium records him on 17 January; a certain MS. of the Charterhouse of Brussels on 9 February; in this same MS. under 15 August the following is found: "Translation of S. Supplicius, Bishop of Upper Maastricht, his translation, who is placed above on the fifth day before the Ides of February." Others also (such as Abbot Hariger, Giles of Orval, Saussay in his Supplement to the Martyrology on this day) call him Supplicius, as also the Bishop of Bourges of whom we treated on 17 January. We have noted elsewhere that this Maastricht on the Meuse is called Upper Maastricht, because there is another, Lower, commonly called Utrecht.
[3] This alone about Sulpitius was added by Giles, a monk of Orval, in the Acts of the Bishops of Liege, chapter 31, addressed to Abbot Hariger: "When he (Resignatus) died, his acts are obscure, the fifteenth bishop was B. Supplicius, a man praiseworthy in all respects for his piety and mercy." Ioannes Placentius makes him the son of a certain Naso, whom the Acts of the Bishops of Maastricht call Saint Naso: but these Acts are apocryphal, and Placentius, as far as those older affairs are concerned, is of no reliability.
[4] Ferrarius writes that Sulpitius died in the year 510; Claude Robert in 519; the MS. Florarium in 532. His era. Placentius writes that he was consecrated in the year 517, sat for 8 years, under the apostolic men Hormisdas, John I, and Felix IV, and under the emperors Anastasius, the elder Justin, and Justinian the Great. But these statements are not mutually consistent. For if he sat from the year 517 for 8 years, then he died at most in 525 or 526, which was the third year of Pope John and the eighth of the elder Justin: and thus he did not reach the pontificate of Felix, nor the empire of Justinian. Concerning the dates of the See of these first bishops, consult the Appendix of our Giles Bucherius to the Historical Dissertation on the First Bishops of the Tungrians, after volume 2 of Chapeauville. It appears that S. Sulpitius flourished around the year 500. Placentius writes that he was buried in the church of S. Servatius; that is, when it was subsequently built.