Apostles

ON THE HOLY APOSTLES, FORTUNATUS, ACHAICUS, STEPHANATUS,

SO CALLED AMONG THE GREEKS.

From a Ms. Synaxarion of Dijon.

Fortunatus, Martyr in Lucania (S.)

Achaicus, called Apostle by the Greeks (S.)

Stephanus, called Apostle by the Greeks (S.)

D. P.

These three Heroes we conjoin, although they departed from this life by different kinds of death, because the Ms. Synaxarion, which we found at Dijon in our College, proposes them consequently, indeed under three titles, but under the same appellation of Apostle; & of the first these: On the same day the holy Apostle Fortunatus by the sword is finished.

Fortunatus the glory of the Apostles, And of the athletes, with head cut off.

The same day XV June the holy Apostle Fortunatus, ended his life by the sword.

Fortunatus the glory of the Apostles.

At the same time the head of the Martyrs is cleaved by the sword.

In the Ms. Synaxarion of the Constantinopolitan Church these words are held: And of the holy Apostle Fortunatus. killed by hunger & thirst Achaicus, We have also noted that mention of the same is had in the Mss. of Cardinal Mazarine & of the Fathers Preachers at Paris.

[2] The second is so indicated, the holy Achaicus Apostle, by hunger & thirst is finished. S. Achaicus the Apostle by hunger & thirst ended his life, & these verses are added:

Hunger he looses for thee & thirst, all-blessed one, Who said, I thirst, the Lord, on the wood.

Hunger & thirst he loosed, Achaicus, for thee, Who, I thirst, once said affixed to the cross.

[3] The third, the holy Apostle Stephanas, in peace is finished. The holy Apostle Stephanas rested in peace: which also these verses note:

By work crown Stephanas for me, Minds, Bearing the crown, whose arbiter is labor.

By work crown Stephanas for me, Angels: Who bears the crown, of which labor is the author.

Where it appears according to the first form of the simple ones it is declined Στιφανᾶν, like Αἰνείαν: The title of Apostles what it notes here uncertain. but that it may more clearly appear that the name is masculine, I have inflected it to the norm of the fifth, like Arpinas, Arpinatis.

[4] That Apostles are called by the Greeks, not only the Twelve; but also the Seventy-two Disciples of Christ, indeed all those, whom Paul signifies in the epistles to have been his helpers in the preaching of the Gospel, is more known already from things often said, than that it should here be repeated. But that to them the three Saints above-titled should be numbered, who would dare even by divining to determine, from an authority so recent, as is that of one Synaxarion, scarcely six hundred years ago or even five hundred written? That their names are absent from the common Catalogues attributed to Dorotheus & Epiphanius, does not indeed move me; since I judge that nothing less is held there, than what the title promises; & it is established that many are named in the same place, most different from the class of the first LXXII: & thus also the names of many, whose place those wrongly occupy, are missed. But not therefore would I say a place, even though vacant, should be given to anyone, for whom an authority congruous to such great age is not in suffrage, taken from somewhere.

[5] If from more examples it were established, that in the Greek Church formerly, as now in the Latin, nor here should we divine, those were called Apostles, who first introduced the faith of Christ to whatever nations, even long after Apostolic centuries; we could suspect, that by them too some barbarian nation was converted. But with examples by which this might be proved failing, fails also the foundation of suspecting this. So neither from this, that there was some Order of the Apostles or Apostolini in Italy, about which we treated on V June, where about B. Placidus a professed of the same Order, can we draw an argument to the Greeks. It is better therefore to say nothing of that title, than wholly uncertain things & not similar to truth.