Agrippina

ON SAINT AGRIPPINA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR OF ROME,

AT MINEO IN SICILY AND AMONG THE GREEKS.

UNDER VALERIAN

PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY.

Agrippina, Virgin & Martyr, at Rome (St.)

AUTHOR. D. P.

§. I. On the cult of the Saint among the Greeks & Sicilians, and her beneficence toward them.

That the cult of Agrippina, Virgin and Martyr,

was most celebrated among the Sicilians,

Her cult brought over from Sicily to Constantinople, can be proved by nothing more certainly

than from her celebrity among the Greeks,

persisting even to this day in their

printed Menaia; to such a degree that in the Typicon and in

the metrical Ephemeris she alone makes up the name of the day; and

in the latter indeed under this verse:

On the twentieth and third [day], being struck, Agrippina died.

Whence also in the figured Muscovite Calendar,

received from the Greeks, the same is expressed; but together with Aristocles,

of whom and of two companions the Greeks also

make mention; in the Menaia indeed by name only;

but in other Manuscripts merely by the reading of a brief eulogy;

while Agrippina fills the whole Office,

with four proper verses of like form, and

with a Canon or Hymn, she occupies the 22nd of June with her own Office; arranged in eight Odes,

besides the Eulogy or Epitome of her Martyrdom,

to which, according to custom, there is a prelude by means of this kind of Distich:

Filled with many weals from blows,

Receive many crowns, Agrippina.

The Eulogy is such that it seems to be taken word for word

from the Canon, as though composed beforehand. Take it here

first.

[2] under which the Epitome of the Martyrdom is to be recited, This

holy woman, from her tender nails i.e. from earliest childhood,

being the offspring and nursling

of glorious

Rome,

and like

making sweet-smelling

the hearts of the faithful,

and driving away

the foul stench

of the passions;

for, having adorned her soul

with virginity

and courage,

and being betrothed

to God,

boldly

and courageously

she advances toward

martyrdom;

and for the sake of

the love

and the affection

of her own

Bridegroom

Christ,

she gives herself over

to many

torments.

With rods,

therefore,

they beat her

body

being beaten,

she crushed

the bones

of impiety;

and being stripped

of her tunic,

she exposed to public scorn

the nakedness

of the enemy;

and being bound

with chains,

and subjected

to the rack,

and loosed

by a divine

Angel,

she dissolved

all impiety;

whence also

in the very

torments

she committed

her own

soul

to God.

But Bassa

and Paula

and Agathonice,

having taken

the body

of the Martyr

from the city

of the Romans,

and passing

from place

to place

and over great

seas,

reach

the province

of the Sicilians,

and there

lay it to rest.

And when

the land of the Sicilians

received it,

it was immediately

delivered

from the terror

of demons.

But the Agarenes,

having dared

to assail

the fortress

of her

shrine,

were given over

to utter

destruction.

From that time

and even

to this day,

lepers

are cleansed

who come

with faith;

and every

other

disease

flees away

by her

intercession. Which in Latin sounds thus.

[3] Since she was the seed and

germ of glorious Rome, and would, like a

fragrant rose in a meadow, it is given from the Menaia,

perfume the hearts of the faithful with a sweet odor, she put to flight the foul smell

of the passions. For bearing a soul

instructed in Virginity and fortitude,

herself betrothed to God, she hastened manfully and boldly to

Martyrdom, and for the love

and charity of her Spouse Christ she exposed herself to many

torments. Therefore, beaten with rods over her body,

she crushed the bones of impiety; and being

stripped of her garment, she made manifest the enemy's nakedness: then

bound with chains and subjected to torments,

when she had been loosed by an Angel of God, she dissolved

all iniquity; and in the very examination

she rendered her soul to God: but Bassa and

Paula and Agathonice, having secretly received the Martyr's body from the city of

Rome, changing place from place,

and having traversed long seas, came to the province of Sicily,

and there deposited it.

And that province, as soon as it received him,

was freed from the infestation of foul demons.

But the Agarenes, when they had presumed to plunder

the bulwark of her temple, perished

by every kind of death: and from then even to this day

lepers are cleansed, as many as faithfully

approach her, and diseases of whatever kind are put to flight by her

intercession. These things are recorded there without any

mention of the Martyrdom afterward suffered by Bassa, Paula, and Agathonice,

which, however, the Canon commends—

obscurely indeed in Ode IV and VI, most clearly in Ode IX,

which takes its beginning from it; so that it is a wonder that proper Distichs were not

at least adapted to it on this or

another day; and yet in the Roman Martyrology today they are assigned

to the 10th of August.

[4] He who soon adorned with his style the history of the Translation,

to be given presently, mentions at number 21 a book in

which the miracles of the Saint are recounted, the book of miracles is wanting: of which

he says that he reported some by way of summary, lest perhaps they

be received with distaste by readers. It is indeed

to be lamented that a book of this kind has perished, which we believe

to have been written before the last Saracen invasion and the year

827, in which they subjected nearly the whole island to their

tyranny, and indeed

in Greek. For although the history of the said Translation

was also had written in Greek, as

the Canon taken from it proves, it is not now found in its original

idiom and style, and

at the outset it seems to have had more of rhetorical fiction

than of certainty; and from this much has still further

been lost through the Latin version, made in the 11th

or 12th century; and that with the same spirit by which most of the Lives of the Sicilian

Saints, after the expulsion of the Saracens,

partly in Greek, partly in Latin, were restored

rather licentiously, so that one does not know what at all to hold to, what

one ought to add. The history of the Translation rather licentiously embellished That writing, such as it is,

in which, together with the dire persecution under Valerian, are joined

customs assimilating the times of the most peaceful

Church under Constantine the Great, Palermo first

saw, printed in the year 1572; I know not

under what curator Thomas de Monacho, who,

Rocco Pirri says, in volume 2 of Sicilia Sacra, folio 241,

published the Office of St. Agrippina, which is in circulation,

from a most ancient copy. it is given, not without censures. This

edition Cajetan collated with the Manuscripts of the Churches

of Syracuse, Palermo, and Mineo,

but with the diction (which we would not wish) somewhat polished up.

We have nevertheless received it as he gave it, and have examined it

divided in two parts, in the Annotations subjoined to each part,

declaring the author's slight accuracy

in reconciling the times, in those circumstances and names

of persons which he seems to have added of his own. For while more certain things are lacking,

I do not judge that even such things should be suppressed; only I would have the

Reader forewarned, that he believe those things only the more probable

which he will find to agree with the Canon,

for which reason I give it here before the History; although in it

too not all things are certain, resting as it does upon a subject embellished long

after the event took place.

[5] The Greek Canon, etc. This Canon seems first to have been composed

in Sicily, where, before it was purged of the Saracens,

almost all the churches used the Greek language and rite;

but how or when they came to Constantinople,

I would not easily determine. Yet to one considering

that in a small and most ancient Menology,

brought to us from the papers of Frederick Lindebrog,

and in the Synaxarium composed by command of the Emperor Basil

toward the end of the 10th century, the name of St. Agrippina does not yet

appear, a conjecture occurs

probable enough, that in the 11th century, not yet very far advanced,

certain old Christians from Mineo, having found

the opportunity of secretly carrying off the holy body,

carried it (just as others carried off other sacred relics, namely those of Saints

Agatha and Lucy) to Constantinople, [they seem to have been received at Constantinople in the 11th century, perhaps together with the body,] where

such things were received most gratefully: and that there was likewise instituted

there a festivity, on the annual day of the body more decently placed,

which persists to this day. Yet that I may not

assert this too confidently, it weighs that not only in

the Canon (which among the Greeks I judge to have been reformed to this extent,

that it there took on the form of Acrostics, which

it did not have before) is there nowhere mentioned any honor paid to her Body

or Shrine, as is usual everywhere in such cases,

but also after the Eulogy, such as we gave above,

in none of the Synaxaria is any place noted

where the Synaxis of that so celebrated saint was specially

wont to be held. Accordingly, if anyone

wishes to deny, as he can, the translation of the body—asserted by no one—

to the Royal City, it will remain for him to consider

that some singular benefit was conferred by the Saint upon

either this or that Emperor, which gave occasion for that new

cult on this 23rd of June: just as the cult of very many Sicilian

Saints was instituted at Constantinople

on days almost other than those on which the Sicilians themselves

had received them to be venerated from their elders.

[6] The Saracens having then been driven from the island, Meanwhile, whether the sacred body has been carried elsewhere,

or whether it still lies hidden in the bowels of the earth, the cult of the ancient

Patroness of Mineo did not therefore less

flourish again with the Christian Religion, after the year 1071, the new

dominion of the Normans in Sicily having been established.

Then was restored, and made Parochial, the church of St. Agrippina,

which in the year 1553 Jerome Bononio, Bishop of Syracuse,

returning from the Council of Trent (for Mineo belongs to his diocese),

made Collegiate; and the same John Antony Buglio, Baron of Burgio,

increased with buildings and revenues,

as the aforesaid Rocco Pirri writes, adding;

that although the Sacred body of the Virgin could not yet

be found by any human diligence, the power of the Saint flourishes again against demons,

yet, hidden, it reveals itself by manifest signs in answer to the vows of mortals,

and especially exercises its power over malignant

spirits, and expels them from possessed bodies.

Cajetan proves the matter by an example. In the year

1558, on the 16th day before the Kalends of August, there was brought

at Mineo a possessed woman whose name was

Agatha. The history of St. Agrippina was read through,

concerning the demon cast out by her; but repeatedly during

the reading the demon exclaiming, that they should not summon

that drunken woman (Agrippina), soon felt

vengeance. "Behold," he says, "she comes; now she draws near,

brandishing a fiery scourge; she beats,

and tears. O my back! O my back!"

Flight was ordered: a part of the woman's hair was left:

as if cut by a razor, a sign was given to her who sought

flight.

[7] Hence it came about, says Peter, that that image of the Virgin,

which stands upon a fortified rampart, which her statue also indicates,

holding in her right hand a Cross, in her left a chain inserted around the neck

of a demon, became the emblem

of the City of Mineo. Such, then, I believe to be the statue, which on the

8th day of July, when the feast day of St. Agrippina is celebrated at Mineo,

and a solemn procession is held,

is carried within and outside the walls of the city, with a great

concourse of peoples. This statue, says

Cajetan, an old opinion holds was made three hundred

years before (he himself died in the year 1620, and after his death this posthumous

work appeared) by an excellent artist,

being the work of Jacopo Matinau of Messina. accustomed to be carried in procession on the 8th of July, In it

two things are joined, not without a miracle: the exceptional

beauty of the face and its piety, so that one does not know whether it more sweetly

feeds the eyes or the mind: besides, the image is

so lifelike that whoever sees it

might rightly call Agrippina living in it. Thus

he: whose exaggeration, perhaps excessive in commending the

form of the statue, fashioned at the sculptor's discretion,

I fear may also detract somewhat from this

which follows, as if a continual miracle, yet not here

to be passed over: because, though even here something

may be exaggerated, there is nevertheless held a sure proof of that confidence

which the people of Mineo have

placed in St. Agrippina.

[8] A light appearing above the church A sign given by God for good, that the Virgin

would favor her clients, against tempests.

For when the sky is sometimes troubled, above the church of St.

Agrippina, a most brilliant light is kindled,

amid the black masses of clouds; a joyful omen

to the citizens, receiving the Saint's aid: for as

the brightness begins, so is the end of the storm. This miracle has

been very frequently wrought by St. Agrippina from all ages

even to these times. I would especially

mention what happened in the year of Christ the Lord

1558, in the month of October. A foul night

had fallen upon the city: winds, rains, thunders, lightnings,

seemed to threaten destruction to Mineo. accustomed to calm tempests. Behold,

temple: some seemed to see as it were a kindled torch,

others the appearance of five stars;

and around the bell-tower the first as many

cast about, with as many lights, were seen within an hour

to shine forth five or six times: as these

shone, that horrible tempest was abating:

it ceased altogether when they shone forth for the last time;

the citizens giving thanks and rejoicing through

the streets of the city, of whom a great multitude had flocked

to the church, asking with tears for God's benevolence and

pardon for their crimes. By very many an ascent into

the tower was made, and the light still remaining

was grasped with the hands, without any harm

and with great delight of the fearing souls.

I am not unaware that these things proceed for the most part from natural causes:

but these fires shining more often in the same

place, since neither is it higher above the city;

and that the end of the tempest will come when they have shone forth,

is beyond human explanation.

§. II. On the time of the passion, and the correction to be applied to the rather licentiously embellished

History itself; and on the situation of Mineo, & the Gallican Office.

[9] Let it suffice thus far to have proved the ancient and present-day cult. The Saint is believed to have suffered under Valerian, As for the age

or time of the martyrdom, I have noted the reign of Valerian:

not because I hold it certain, but because I find it handed down

by the writer of the Translation, and

received everywhere by the rest. Yet I have noted the time

of Valerian in such a way that, with it assumed, Bassa, who is said to have buried the Martyr's

body in the church of St. Paul, and

and thence after some years translated it into Sicily,

did neither immediately after Agrippina's passion;

since Valerian ceased to reign in the year 262;

but that church first began to be founded

in the year 324. The same Bassa too, in

such a hypothesis, would not have been the Saint's sister according to the flesh

or her contemporary, but in spirit; one who, the body having in the age of Constantine

the Great been brought from some Roman cemetery

into the new Basilica, did not even then carry it down

into Sicily; but in the sixth century, when St. Gregory of Agrigentum

is known to have lived, he who in the Canon is called by antonomasia

the Thaumaturge of Sicily,

when the island was being adorned everywhere with churches and monasteries,

and when the Christians already enjoyed deep peace. And in this way most of the

circumstances can be verified, which suppose such a state of public affairs.

The time of Valerian could also be held in such a way that the circumstances

which do not agree with it would all be considered

invented at the writer's discretion, who distinguishes nothing between the times. but unreconciled circumstances render this uncertain, Thus, with the persecution indeed raging,

the body would have been snatched from the place of slaughter, and carried by

Bassa, her own sister, into Sicily; but kept

hidden among the faithful, until, calm having been granted,

and the Christians freely conducting their affairs, the Saint began

to grow famous by miracles, and to be publicly honored

with a temple built. If the foundress of this was Euprexia,

induced to it by the health conferred upon her daughter,

she did not herself receive the holy body commended to her by Bassa;

but, hidden within a cave on her own property,

placed there in the age of her great-grandparents, she brought it out into public.

[10] One thing, however, I would add: that most things can be more easily

reconciled, more easily reconcilable. The age of Diocletian. if the Saint were said to have suffered in Diocletian's persecution:

although even then it must always be admitted

that some other circumstances were added by a luxuriant

style; for instance, the space of forty years

during which the mother and daughter served the church founded by them;

although this too can conveniently be

taken so that part of those years be ascribed to the mother

with the daughter, the rest to the daughter alone. Finally,

that the aforesaid foundress is so often said to have been admonished by the Saint

to act in such a way that the place of the hidden body

might become known to no one, is justly suspect,

lest it was devised to turn aside the opinion—

not wholly rash—about the body carried elsewhere:

to remove which also Pirri adduces

that, although the place which contains the Saint's tomb

in the area of the temple is wholly unknown,

breathes upon some: such, namely, as the History of the aforesaid Translation

relates the sacred body breathed forth far and wide at its arrival,

perhaps only from the conjecture or

invention of the writer, taken up as a province to adorn.

[11] The town of Mineo, to which all these things

pertain, is called by Ptolemy Menae: whence the gentilic name

Menaenii in Cicero, Menanini in Pliny, a description of Mineo.

as also in the old coins published by Paruta

they are named. It is a midland town of Sicily,

so situated between the cities of Agrigentum and Catania

that it is distant 30 miles from one, 60 from the other, and 30 also

from Syracuse, to which diocese it now belongs. Whether it formerly

belonged to Catania, and therefore the church of St. Agrippina

is said to have been consecrated by St. Severinus, Bishop of Catania,

otherwise unknown, let the Sicilians see to. Rocco Pirri names the city

pleasant from its situation, in which are counted nearly

two thousand hearths, citizens about seven thousand;

and besides the notable College of the Society of

Jesus, seven Convents of various Religious,

and one of Nuns: all of which indicate no small

distinction of the place, ascribing its preservation

through so many centuries—during which so many noble places once there

utterly perished—to the patronage

of St. Agrippina.

[12] Baronius notes that the Office of St. Agrippina herself

is extant in the Gallican Breviary. But do not understand this

as though this kind of Religion had penetrated into Gaul;

but that the Island, restored to the Christian cult by the Normans brought over from Gaul

in the year 1071,

took up in many Churches, restored to the Latin rite, the ancient use of the Gallican Office there

the Gallican order in sacred things. Thus Godfrey

of Bouillon, elected King of Jerusalem, beginning his reign

with divine worship, immediately (according to

William of Tyre, book 9, chapter 9) instituted Canons in the church of the Lord's

sepulchre and in the Temple of the Lord … observing the order and institutions

which the great and most ample Churches beyond the Mountains, founded by pious

Princes, observe—that is, the Gallican—just as

at the 8th of April, where it treats of Albert the Patriarch, at number

88 you will find demonstrated from the series of Gallican

Saints, inscribed in the Breviary composed for the uses

of those Canons. If anyone thinks

the use of the Gallican Breviary was first introduced in Sicily

by the French, under Charles of Anjou, brother of St.

Louis, who entered there in the year 1267;

to him I will respond, it was mixed with the Roman in the year 1564. that their brief and to all hateful

dominion, which within fifteen years ended with the Sicilian

Vespers, does not seem to have been sufficient

for introducing such a use; which it is also credible

would soon have been abolished out of hatred of the nation, if it had had such

them it was easily preserved, even until after the Council of

Trent; adhering to whose Decrees John

Horosius, Archbishop of Syracuse, in

Pirri at page 194, in the year 1569, on the 8th of May,

on the vigil of the Lord's Ascension, ordered the Roman

Office to be recited in his own and his diocese's churches,

the Gallican being omitted, which from of old they

used. Thus was then changed the old Office of St.

Agrippina, and a new one was introduced,

about which nothing here occurs to be said, to one following older things.

Receive, therefore, the Greek one, and the one in use before the Saracen invasion.

PROPER OFFICE

From the Great Menaia of the Greeks, printed in the year 1601.

Agrippina, Virgin & Martyr, at Rome (St.)

AUTHOR. D. P.

At "Lord, I have cried," the like Verses (Tone 4. "Thou hast given a sign.").

At "Lord, I have cried," the like Verses (that is, consisting of an equal number of syllables, so that they may be chanted in the same tone).

Tone IV, "Thou hast given a sign."

I Rome brings thee forth, as a meadow brings forth a sweetly

fragrant rose, Agrippina,

renowned for the multitude of thy contests; thou who, perfuming the minds of the faithful with the odors

of the virtues, dissipate the foul smell

of the passions, most Reverend one, glory

of the Martyrs, glory of the Virgins, ocean of miracles,

victress of many combats, Agrippina.

II As a tribute of great price, thee, who suffered at Rome,

did Christ our God give to Sicily:

who, when thou camest, venerable Martyr, didst put to flight the multitude of most wicked

demons by thy presence. Wherefore we call thee blessed, and

today celebrate thy holy Passion, Agrippina,

having won glory from manifold combat.

III On their shoulders Bassa & Paula bore thee; by

the command of him who bears all things, traversing various

places and long seas, O Martyr Agrippina,

working terrifying miracles by the grace of God:

and thou didst rest in a place which God foreordained,

become the rest of the laboring, O thou most renowned

in all the world.

I Rome brings thee forth, as a meadow brings forth a sweetly fragrant rose, Agrippina, renowned for the multitude of contests; thou who, perfuming the minds of the faithful with the odors of the virtues, dissipate the foul smell of the passions, most Reverend one, glory of the Martyrs, glory of the Virgins, ocean of miracles, victress of many combats, Agrippina.

II As a tribute of great price, thee, who suffered at Rome, did Christ our God give to Sicily: who, when thou camest, venerable Martyr, didst put to flight the multitude of most wicked demons by thy presence. Wherefore we call thee blessed, and celebrate today thy holy Passion, Agrippina, having won glory from manifold combat.

III On their shoulders Bassa & Paula bore thee; by his command who bears all things, wandering through various places and long seas, O Martyr Agrippina, working terrifying miracles by the grace of God: and thou didst rest in a place which God foreordained, become the rest of the laboring, O thou most renowned in all the world.

The same Cajetan also found in Greek in the Basilian monastery of St. Philip of Fragala, and gave them with the following Canon to be rendered into Latin by the companion of his pious labor, Father Augustine Florito, and published them into the light; yet with this difference, that in the Menaia, according to the rite of the Church of Constantinople, only three verses are placed concerning the Saint, and two concerning the Mother of God—here omitted, because they do nothing to our purpose; but there were found five concerning her, none concerning the Mother of God; perhaps from the rite proper to the Sicilians; and indeed in such a way that the first and last are found to have been omitted in the Menaia: wherefore I judge that they ought to be given here in Latin—although I cannot give them in Greek, having found no one hitherto in Sicily who would copy out such things for me there. They are these.

Those who, deceived by much error, devote their cult to stones, load thee with a stone, because thou wast confessing Christ the most solid rock: wherefore, having undergone death, thou hast shone glorious with the splendor of miracles, Agrippina, that thou mightest illumine the souls of all of us who celebrate thee. Here, when thou readest of the stone laid upon the Martyr's body to torture it, of which mention is made neither in the Eulogy nor elsewhere, thou understandest that a more extended history of the Passion existed, whether true or fictitious, from which this was taken. Otherwise, the Verse which is wanting in the Menaia is held thus.

Thou didst free a little woman afflicted with a long disease, by the application of thy Relics, O great Virgin. Moreover, thou didst punish with destruction the audacity of the Agarenes, rushing in to plunder thy venerable temple; when thou wast seen to stand over them from above, flying like a most beautiful dove, and bearing before thee the Cross, Virgin Agrippina. After the verses follows the Canon or Hymn concerning the Saint in this manner.

At Matins the Canon of the Saint, whose Acrostic is.

At Matins the Canon of the Saint, whose Acrostic is.

I WILL PRAISE AGRIPPINA, THE BRIDE OF CHRIST.

I WILL PRAISE AGRIPPINA JOINED TO CHRIST.

ODE ONE.

By the radiance of grace, which has flashed upon thee from on high,

drive away the gloom of my ignorance;

and by thy prayers grant me grace, Agrippina,

that I may be able to sing thy wonders, O Martyr.

Brighter than the sun, as truly thou didst rise

in the firmament of the Church of Christ,

and didst illuminate with the rays of thy virtues, O Martyr,

and of thy miracles, the ends of the world.

Having longed for an immortal Bridegroom and giver of life,

thou didst offer him thy contest as a dowry,

and in return didst receive the kingdom of heaven

and an incorruptible crown, O renowned Martyr.

Governed by the hand of the Master, thou didst sail across

the trackless sea of impiety, O venerable one,

and didst put in at the harbor, Agrippina.

By the splendor of grace, which has shone upon thee from above, dissipate the darkness of my ignorance; and by thy prayers grant grace, Agrippina, by which I may be able to sing thy wonders, O Martyr.

No otherwise than as a true sun, beautiful, thou hast arisen in the firmament of the Christian Church; and with the rays of thy virtues and miracles thou hast illumined, O Martyr, the ends of the world.

Desiring an immortal King and Spouse and giver of life, thou didst bring him thy passion as a dowry; and in turn from him didst receive the kingdom of heaven and an immortal crown, O most renowned Martyr.

The impassable sea of impiety thou didst sail across, governed by thy Lord, O Venerable one; and to the harbor thou didst come in, Agrippina.

The Second Ode does nothing to this purpose, and therefore is nowhere noted in the festal Menaia.

ODE THREE.

Being beaten with rods thou didst rejoice,

crushing with these the bones of impiety,

and crying out: Nothing shall separate me

from thy love, O Christ.

That thou mightest expose to public scorn the nakedness of the enemies,

O Martyr, thou wast stripped of thy tunics;

therefore Christ gives thee

the robe of incorruption.

S … the verse is wanting in the Menaia, but from

… it is supplied from the Sicilian version.

Chastised slavishly with rods, thou didst exult, because with those very things thou wast crushing the bones of impiety; and didst cry out, Nothing shall separate me from thy love, O Christ.

About to expose openly the nakedness of the enemies, thou wast stripped of thy garments, O Martyr: and therefore Christ gave thee the robe of incorruptibility.

The mouth speaking against thee, the most righteous Martyr of Christ, was stopped up; while thou meanwhile wast proclaiming the great works of Christ.

The minister of impiety, stretching thy body upon the ground, was frustrated of his hope; since thou hadst thy mind intent upon the Lord.

There followed in the Menaia the Heirmos (in Latin we would call it a Tractus, were the reasoning of the name not different: for the one is so called because it is to be sung drawn-out; the other, because from it is drawn the sequence of the rest which are sung in the same Office)—there followed, I say, the Heirmos and a Chant concerning the Saint, then the Theotokion Heirmos concerning the Mother of God, and the Staurosimon concerning the Cross: the two latter do nothing to our purpose; the former it pleases me to defer to the end, lest it disturb the order of the acrostic letters; especially since the Basilian Manuscript abstains from heirmoi of this kind.

ODE FOUR.

God, doing the will of those who fear him, through Angels, O Martyr, loosed thee from chains and torments—thee who didst dissolve all iniquities by the bond of charity toward Christ thy spouse.

By grace ever-living thou dost flow, having been put to death for the love of him who by his death put to death every adversary power; healing those put to death by the passions, Agrippina, ornament of God.

By the love of thy Spouse transcending every concupiscence of the flesh, the pains inflicted by the lashes thou didst bravely bear, and didst cry out: No instancy of the passions shall separate me from thy love, O Christ.

Who shall worthily praise for its fortitude the blessed fellowship of the Virgins Bassa and Agrippina and Paula, contending for love of the sacrosanct Trinity: and shall set forth how sharply the weakness of idols was confuted by them?

ODE FIVE.

Like daylight, an unfailing light appeared in thy tabernacle; to those seeing day in the night, casting forth the lights of miracles.

The spotless Ewe, clinging to the footsteps of her own Shepherd, was offered to him in a divine manner, like a most excellent victim.

Having a mind full of the light of prophecy, the venerable Bassa was found worthy to foretell things to come as though present.

ODE SIX.

Sicily, gratefully receiving the body of the holy Martyr, flashing forth from Rome like an unsetting sun upon her, is freed from the dark infestation of demons.

With a strong spirit the holy and thrice-blessed Martyrs, having died before death by their desire of Martyrdom, bring thy body, life-giving to others, though itself dead.

The swords of the enemy were blunted upon thee: for indeed thou didst dissolve his audacity, Agrippina, as a city lacking a foundation, by the glorious battering-ram of thy contests.

She who labors with a flow of blood is healed by the touch of thy tabernacle; lepers are cleansed by faith, every other disease flees away at the invocation of thy name, O Martyr.

ODE SEVEN.

In this place, according to custom, the Eulogy from the Synaxarium is to be read—that which, taken from here, you read in Greek and Latin at the beginning of this Commentary, with its prefatory Distich.

Armed with the panoply of the Cross, like a golden dove, thou didst destroy the Agarenes who attacked thy bulwark by night, preserving the faithful from their savagery, O Martyr.

Having endured countless labors for the sake of Christ, in him thou didst find a secure and perpetual rest; and didst exclaim, Blessed art thou, O Lord God of the Fathers, surpassing all praise.

That admirable man, and himself resplendent with miracles, seeing thy unusual wonders during the sacrifice, magnified God, and rejoicing, sang in psalm: O God, &c.

ODE EIGHT.

To those bearing thy relic, O Holy one, the night seemed as day; every place receiving thee was suffused with sweet fragrance; the diabolical phalanx was cast out; drops of cures flowed forth to those who supremely exalt Christ unto the ages.

Of free will having embraced the immortal Spouse, thou didst run after his ointments, O Martyr; and imitating his passion and death, O Glorious one, thou didst cry out, Sing a hymn to the Lord.

Adorned with the oil of thy blood, having the lamp of faith, O Martyr, that unextinguished one thou didst carry into the chamber of heavenly joy; and didst cry out, Bless the Lord, O his works.

Thou camest to this temple exulting, for thou wast held by a great desire of seeing it, that thou mightest take delight in sitting upon it as upon thine own chariot.

ODE NINE.

By the nod of God who works all things, arriving briskly at the goal of Martyrdom, Agathonice with Bassa together and Paula could truly sing to one another that they had obtained their own vow.

Received into the supercelestial chambers, O Virgin, and contemplating the beauty of invisible things, and enjoying the brightness of God, illumine with hymns those who sing of thee.

Upon thy blessed head was set a crown of graces, O Agrippina, as one who hast consummated the course and kept the faith sincere; and therefore the ranks of the Just joyfully received thee.

Standing with great confidence before the Creator of all things and thine own, together with the rest of the blessed spirits who are from the beginning of the world, O Martyr Agrippina, obtain remission of sins for those who eagerly desire to praise thee.

Furthermore, here as elsewhere, at the end of each Ode, was added a Theotokion or Marian verse, from the praiseworthy affection of the Greeks toward the Mother of God: which Theotokia all, without any mark of distinction (such as the Menaia always apply, and indeed by a Rubric), can be read in Cajetan, mixed in with the Hymn, printed even without the partition of the Odes. I judged that these, as pertaining nothing to the Saint, and as foreign and supernumerary to the Acrostic itself, ought to be omitted, that the order of the Acrostic might stand; and therefore I have also referred here the Chant not placed above in its own place.

HEIRMOS.

Loving the most beautiful Christ, thou didst adorn thy soul with virginity; and through all kinds of labors and afflictions thou didst draw near to him, O Virgin and Martyr. And therefore he deemed thee worthy of the ethereal chambers, praying for us who venerate thee, O most blessed Maiden.

TRANSLATION OF THE BODY

From Rome into Sicily.

In the Middle Ages rather licentiously amplified. From volume 1 of the Lives of the Sicilian Saints.

Agrippina, Virgin & Martyr, at Rome (St.)

BHL Number: 0173

FROM CAJETAN.

PART I.

The body, carried away from Rome, lands in Sicily: it is sought and honored by the Bishop of Agrigentum.

[1] Having professed virginity at Rome, Agrippina, Virgin and Martyr, born and

nurtured at Rome, desirous of guarding her virginity,

offered to God that flower, to be preserved from her tender age.

But by her admonitions, and much more by the example of the Virgin,

many girls embraced both the faith and virginity.

She is made a defendant for the crime before the Emperor Valerian,

and is at once brought forward for examination.

In which peril she displayed a mind

so constant she is slain by the sword under Valerian. that she was neither shaken by terror,

nor seduced by flatteries.

Stripped, therefore, and bound, she is torn over her whole body

with cudgels: but by angelic hands she was loosed from that torment.

Thereafter she was afflicted with greater

torments, until, a sword being driven into

her throat, she rendered up her spirit to God:

her body was laid in the church of Blessed Paul the Apostle.

[2] At that time St. Paramonus and St. Bassa,

Agrippina's sister, gathering all their own and their deceased

sister's goods into one, Bassa the sister, ordered to carry away the body,

distributed them generously through

the monasteries of religious men, and through

the needy dwelling in the churches of the Apostles.

But two Virgins,

Paula and Agathonice, because she had seen them

standing by and suffering with Agrippina in her contest,

and they had asked her to adopt them as sisters in Agrippina's place,

Bassa took on as future companions of her pilgrimage and as sisters.

Therefore, instructed and strengthened by a divine revelation,

Paramonus, Bassa, Paula, Agathonice,

took up with reverence the body of the holy Martyr Agrippina

from its resting place, and carried it as far as the river,

whither they had directed their journey:

and there, prepared and equipped for sailing,

awaiting their arrival, a ship was found

A ship was found. The ship's master, gazing upon them, turning

to the Monk, said: Well have you come,

Father. But where is the cargo of which you had told us

was to be carried? He, answering, said: These

Virgins, with this chest, I commend to you,

brothers; and I call to witness the immortal God, he places it on the ship

and all the Saints and Angels, that wherever

you have a mind to go, thither you bear these:

and may our Lord Jesus Christ be for you

at the feet of the most glorious Agrippina, and

with raised voice said, Go, holy Martyr, in

peace: preserve those who faithfully receive thee;

pray for me a sinner, and also for thy sister,

who endured thy long agony; that

with these two virgin girls, who set out on this journey

with thee, she may be able to put in at the

harbor of blessedness.

[3] Scarcely had those women boarded the ship with that precious

cargo, which is wholly suffused with a sweet odor; when behold, a wonderful

and unwonted odor is breathed everywhere throughout it,

so that wonder and fear seized all the passengers and sailors. Setting out

from the harbor, when more favorable breezes blew through the night,

at first light they put in at a certain city,

situated on the shore of Italy. In that

place three days were spent, in procuring

provisions and the other things most necessary for the voyage;

all of which the acquaintances and friends of Agrippina, once living,

supplied generously. Thence,

at the eighth hour of the day, with the wind blowing favorably, they set out;

and on the third day after their departure, in

Sicily, on the coast of Agrigentum, near a certain

place which in Greek is called Lithos, in Latin

Petra, they halted; and having landed in Sicily, and turning to Bassa,

the sailors said: We indeed,

Lady, were intending our journey into Africa; but

by what means we were carried to this place,

we know not: but if it is in your mind to proceed with us

as far as Carthage, we will gladly

bear it, that we may render the faith promised to Paramonus:

and, that we may confess the truth,

it is by your prayers to God that thus far we have arrived safe and unharmed.

She sets it down near Agrigentum. To these Bassa answered:

If you listen to me, brothers, leave us set down on this shore:

but may God lead you into the harbor

of your will and counsel. When satisfaction had been given

by the sailors to Bassa, they cast off the prow:

but an Angel of the Lord on that shore assiduously guarded the virgin

girls; and all that neighborhood overflowed with such a sweetness of odor

that the inhabitants of the nearby cities were stupefied at the novelty of the thing.

[4] By chance a Monk was making a journey through those places

(it was the Lord's Day, A Monk passing that way, drawn by the odor, at the third hour of the day),

he, sent from a certain monastery of St. Stephen, from

was going to Agrigentum, to deal about certain

matters with St. Gregory, Bishop of that city.

And so, as he proceeded, he perceived the fragrance of an odor,

proceeding from the body of the holy Martyr;

and stupefied, What is this,

said he? When he had advanced a little, as if

catching a breeze, he halted: then, stretched on the ground, he poured out a prayer

to God, and fortified with the sacrosanct sign of the Cross,

he began to go further. But behold,

he seemed to himself to hear a certain sweet psalmody,

as of a numerous legion, of men

and women alike: wherefore, refreshing his mind

and strength, he hastened to the place where

Bassa with Paula and Agathonice was pouring out a chant

to God. he finds Bassa with the holy body: When they had seen him approaching

them, going to meet him and saluting with deeply

bowed head, they said: Pray for us,

servant of God. To whom the Monk: It is yours

to pray for me a sinner, who have brought the treasure

of salvation, by the help of Jesus Christ,

to this place. But they, prostrate on the ground,

long resisted the Monk's words,

saying: To you, O holy Father, alone

is it given to entreat God for us sinful women.

Wherefore he, overcome, said: May the holy

prayers of you, and of all the Saints,

and of this Saint, the much-suffering and comely

Martyr who is present with you, preserve

you unto the ages. The Amen being said, they raised themselves up.

[5] Then the Monk first asked St. Bassa:

From what place are you, and having heard whence she was, and what she carried, Ladies? whence,

or whither do you proceed? Bassa answered: Having gone out from the Roman

city, into these regions through Italy

we have come: but thither we shall go, where the will

of God shall direct. And he: Has not

this Saint, whom you carry with you,

taught you the seat where she has decreed to rest and dwell?

The revelations of God, Brother,

said Bassa, she goes off to Agrigentum. and secret mysteries are open to pious and just

men, who do his will

day and night; in us knowledge and belief

is weak; and she was unwilling to indicate to a person

whither they were to go. But that man, beloved of God,

distinguished as he was for the goodness of his life, the honesty

of his manners, and illustrious for the virtue of the Holy Spirit,

was unwilling to offend Bassa with more questions:

but having said farewell, he said: Pray

for me, spiritual mother. To whom she: May your prayers

aid us, dearest Father.

Therefore he urged on the journey he had begun more briskly, that

he might inform Bishop Gregory of the mystery

which he had learned; and it was the seventh hour of the Lord's

day.

[6] Bassa, when he had departed, said: Let us rise,

my daughters, Bassa crosses over to Graecum, and depart hence: for it is

the counsel of that man, to return to us with a company;

but if we delay, we shall be taken either by the faithful

or by the heathen; and perhaps by some peril

we shall be prevented from being able to reach

the place which God has commanded.

And so, the body of the Martyr Agrippina being taken up,

Bassa, turning her eyes to heaven,

prayed in this manner: My Lord

Jesus Christ, who didst save St. Elizabeth with

thy forerunner John the Baptist, save

and free us from every hindrance, even to

the place revealed to us by thee, that we may arrive there:

then, walking the whole night,

by the leading of Angels, they were carried to the place which they call

Graecum, to the church of St.

George the Martyr: and they were received with

joy and great gladness by a man of that

place, an inhabitant, whose name was Dominicus. where a possessed woman is freed. He had

an only daughter, possessed and tormented

by an evil demon: who, brought to St. George's, when

she had bowed herself to the Relics of the blessed Martyr, suddenly

became whole, the demon departing from her,

with wailing and cries, which seized all present

with wonder.

[7] But that Monk, when he had

reached Agrigentum, found the Bishop praying at the ninth hour.

The prayer finished, Gregory, Bishop of Agrigentum, leave was given him

to address him. So he held these words to the Bishop:

Most holy Father, hear me, and

I will relate to thy Holiness. To whom the Prelate, What

is it, son? speak out. Said he: Wondrous and

glorious miracles have been wrought in these regions,

while thou art Prelate. For three holy maidens of venerable

form, having landed here by ship, carry with them

by the command of my Abbot, thy spiritual son, to

thy Holiness I was coming here on the monastery's business,

smelled a most sweet odor:

and so I cast myself to the earth, and prayed,

sealing myself with the sign of the Cross. Then, when a little

I advanced, I caught a wondrous chant, the report of the Monk having been heard,

as of a great people: wherefore, strengthened,

I went thither whither the voice drew me. There indeed

I observed three holy Virgins; who, when they

espied me, ran to meet me and bent their knees.

Though they were holier than I, they asked that I

bless them: nor, though I strongly and long

resisted, did I prevail. So I, a sinner, dared

to invoke good things upon them: afterward, led to the precious

body, before its feet I

cast myself; and my soul was gladdened, at the glorious

miracle which I saw, and the sweetness of the odor

fragrant thereafter. But I asked them,

From what city they were? Of whom the first

answered me: From the Roman city we have come thus far:

but we shall go whither God's

will shall direct us.

[8] These things heard from the Monk, the Bishop was so amazed

that he could not even utter a word: he goes forth to seek the Saint:

his strength at length recalled, when, being asked

about the place where these things had happened, he answered that it was very well

known by him; he summons to himself the Archdeacon,

and certain of the Clergy, chaste

and faithful, and ordered the swiftest horses to be prepared:

and all, as the sun was sinking to its setting, flew away most swiftly

to make inquiry about the matter. When

they had come near that seat where Agrippina had first rested,

to penetrate to their nostrils: cheered by which odor,

they proceeded more briskly, but when they had drawn nearer,

they saw no one, but only

the Relics of Agrippina had breathed upon by their touch.

Saddened, the Bishop pondered with himself by what way

those Virgins could have proceeded: and

setting out thence he came to the Emporium. There

was a monastery: and the Emporium being crossed, hither he ordered a boy to go, who

should ask of the Brothers, whether they knew anything

about these girls. One of the Monks said: While this

night we were fishing from the shore,

we drew in a truly wondrous odor; we also saw

sea-coast: and so we understood that a visitation of God

had been made in that place. So the Prelate

came from the Emporium into these parts, at cock-

crow; and there made the breaking

of bread.

[9] At last, on Tuesday dawning, at about the second

hour of the day, he arrives at Graecum: they reached Graecum.

But not yet had they drawn nearer, when

behold, a most sweet odor is perceived, which affected all

with joy. And so the Bishop said to his

companions: I trust in the Lord that he will

not permit us to return before we attain that which

we seek. Saying these things he advanced.

But when Bassa, by the gift of the Holy Spirit,

had foreknown the arrival of St. Gregory,

she said to her companions: Rise, my daughters, let us go forth

to meet our holy Father, the Bishop of Agrigentum:

for his mind is anxious in seeking us.

And going forth with tapers and a censer outside the village, where, having met them, to Bassa

they saluted him: Welcome, most holy Father.

And he: May the Lord God, who crowned thy holy

sister, and bestowed upon her the triumph

of victory, be propitious to thee, handmaid

of Christ. and to her companions, he foretells Martyrdom: Blessed art thou, for behold the time draws near

in which thou shalt be made companion and consort in the agony of Martyrdom

of St. Agrippina, thy sister; and with her

shalt receive the crown of glory from the hand of the Lord,

and live with Christ forever.

While he was saying these things to St. Bassa, there approached

Paula and Agathonice, that they might obtain a blessing

from him; to whom he also said:

May God give you, daughters, virtue and perseverance

in Martyrdom.

[10] Meanwhile they entered the church of St. George.

The Bishop there, prostrate before the body of the holy Martyr, he adores the holy body,

poured out these entreaties: Pray for me,

daughter, and remember that I gave thee the best counsel

when thou wast set amid torments.

Blessed art thou, who in this age hast conquered the cruel

tyrant's torments: let us glorify the Lord

Jesus Christ, who through thee will heal many in that

place which thou shalt choose for dwelling, of

their infirmities: blessed will be those who

dwell in that place, because through thee they will

obtain safety: wherefore let us give thanks to our God

living unto the ages of ages. and over it he celebrates Mass: Amen.

The prayer finished, the Prelate clothed himself in Priestly

vestments, and celebrated the divine

Mystery over the body of the holy Martyr.

This completed, and the Mystery having been shared and partaken of

by all, they refreshed the body with food.

After the meal the Bishop began to converse with Blessed

Bassa about the salvation of the soul, and about the glory to come

at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[11] As the day was inclining to evening, Bassa said

to the Bishop: and to them wishing to continue their journey, It is time, Father, that we

depart hence, and go to the place foreshown to us by God.

To whom the Bishop, It is night,

Lady, and you do not know the way: by what

means, then, do you wish to depart from this place? Father,

she said, venerable one, we have Christ

as our guide of ways with us, who continually

keeps us whole even in nightly times:

but to make the journey by day is not our mind, lest

perhaps we run into the hands of wicked tyrants.

To this the Prelate, Forgive me,

daughter, that I dared to advise thee such things: go

in peace, and may the Lord Jesus Christ be your

protector: but at least permit that your

companion be the Monk who first spoke with you.

Bassa admitted the companion: she joins the Monk as a companion of the way. and

the Prelate, when he had adored the Relics of the Martyr,

and said, Pray, daughter, pray for me a sinner,

the peace of Christ being received, dismissed the maidens.

They, the body of St. Agrippina being taken up, after

sunset departed from Graecum, the Bishop with his Clergy escorting them; and

Dominicus with all his household, who also

strongly begged of Bassa that she would allow

his daughter to go with her. To this she, Do not

fear, brother, because from this she will feel nothing

of the past evil, the holy Martyr Agrippina

being her patron. Meanwhile they halted at the bank of a certain river:

and there, again venerating the sacrosanct body, all the rest,

except the Monk, returned with joy,

thanks being given to God for the wonders they had seen.

ANNOTATIONS. D. P.

d Understand "sister" not by flesh, but by spirit, whence what is added shortly about the goods of the deceased distributed through monasteries, I would have imputed to the excessive license which the author took to himself: for that there were no monasteries and churches of the Apostles at Rome, in the reign of Aurelian, is exceedingly clear.

f A Congregation of Monks, at the Basilica of St. Paul restored by himself, Gregory II is believed first to have introduced; which, however, if it were true, Anastasius (as I think) would not have omitted in his Life, where he mentions the aforesaid restoration. Meanwhile it is difficult to name the first author of that institution there; nor would I wonder if, the monastery of Monte Cassino being restored by Blessed Petronax, thence monastery already lay desolate and squalid, and was reformed by him.

The place Cajetan confesses is unknown to him; but that it was not far from the Emporium of Agrigentum he conjectures from this, and indeed situated between the City and the Emporium at a modest interval toward the west. But since Agrigentum holds almost the middle place on the Southern side of Sicily, while for those sailing from Rome to Carthage the course is set along the Northern side, it appears that the ship deviated from its set course when it sailed around the promontory of Lilybaeum, so as to land near Agrigentum: in which the prudence of the amplifier is wanting, who forgot to invent a changed wind, by which the captain was compelled to change course.

own city on the 22nd of June: in the Roman Martyrology, however, following the Greeks, he is placed on the 25th of November. But this one flourished under the Emperor Maurice about the year 564; therefore Cajetan invents one different from this, who is venerated in June: there will be no need of that if the translation was made in the 6th century; or a certain name was substituted for an uncertain one; which is to be held below concerning the Bishop of Catania.

n But already before she seemed to have said that they had boarded the ship at Rome or Ostia; now she hints at an overland journey, namely as far as Reggio. From here, however, to one sailing into Africa the journey was not inconvenient, and Agrigentum would have had to be crossed by the same wind.

and together with his mother Elizabeth was kept safe in a certain cave near the mountain region, perhaps fleeing the bloodthirsty hand of Herod. Thus rather timidly that Author, and rightly: for it seems wholly apocryphal, that some extend the Herodian infanticide (within the bounds of Bethlehem, that is, the small precinct and territory of no great town, restricted by the Evangelist) so far that it even reached the house of Zacharias, even granted that this is the very one which otherwise is more correctly believed to have been the house of Zacharias the Prophet, distant at least three leagues from Bethlehem, as is shown to this day; whereas Jerusalem, by no means to be included within those bounds, is scarcely a league and a half distant thence. See what will be said about the place of the Baptist's birth on the following day, from Florentinius, who places it across the Jordan.

p Here Cajetan first meets with a little cloud, since this translation is said to have been made in the year of Christ 261, but St. George first suffered under Diocletian in the year 304: and he doubts whether another St. George is not here to be understood, such as the men of Velay in Gaul say was sent to them, one of the 72 Disciples. More prudently this, that perhaps the writer wished to indicate the place where afterward the church of St. George was built. Meanwhile below at number 10 it is said that the Bishop entered the very church of St. George to celebrate Mass over the holy body, which was certainly not wont to be done elsewhere.

q The Emporium is distant from the city, toward the West across the Acragas river, a few miles.

r Hence Cajetan invents that Gregory was present at Rome for some cause, when St. Agrippina suffered.

s If Cajetan had wished to indicate the site of Graecum, we would know what river is here indicated. For those coming from Agrigentum, first the Narus, then the Salsus, and the Araurelius flowing into it, must be crossed: then follows a mountainous tract, in which, lest the Monk left behind be endangered, Bassa's companions fear below at number 13.

PART II.

The holy body, carried to Mineo, grows famous by miracles, is buried there, a church being built over it.

[12] The body carried to Daphron below Mineo, The river crossed, they went on,

singing the prayers of Compline: and when the Monk

could not keep up with the maidens at an equal pace,

they halted, until he, coming, might rest with them.

And let us rise, said Bassa, Father,

and go, before the day dawns. Let us go,

Lady, he answered. Nor had they advanced

much, when behold, a shining cloud, taking the maidens from

the eyes of the Monk, carried them away: but he,

stupefied, fell upon his face upon the ground,

and rising a little after, saw no one round about:

and striking his face with weeping, said: Alas

for me! how have I lost this glory! justly indeed have I been deprived of it,

since I am destitute of all virtues. But the holy

Virgins, Bassa, Paula, and Agathonice,

with the deposit which they carried, about midnight

came to the place which is called Daphron.

In that place is a cave, lying below the Castle

whose name is Mineo.

In it demons had long ago dwelt: the demons being put to flight from the cave they besieged, but soon,

as the venerable body of the Virgin Agrippina

came thither, they fled with a howl,

crying out: What shall we do? for these accursed

women, who have fled from the face of the Emperor Valerian,

coming here from Rome,

bring with them a certain imperial standard,

by which they drive us from our home. But let us

do this, that those women, who have brought that body

here, be struck with the sword in Africa,

and die, and perish most miserably.

[13] it is carried in there. To these voices Bassa answered: Be silent,

and depart hence, and go to your father,

who from the beginning was a devourer of men:

go into the abyss of eternal fire, for our Lord Jesus

Christ casts you out from here,

by the coming of the body of the blessed

Martyr Agrippina. Suddenly those wicked

spirits vanished from that place even to the present

day. After these things the Virgins enter

into the cave, giving thanks to the Lord for the

supreme joy which they felt conceived in their mind.

But Bassa had known by the virtue of the Holy Spirit

that the body of the holy Martyr Agrippina would rest in that Castle of

Mineo, and that for the salvation of many; and that

the time had drawn near for herself, in which through the agony of martyrdom

she would receive from God the palm of perpetual happiness.

Meanwhile Paula and Agathonice, anxious,

said to Bassa: Lady, we have left

our Brother in horrid mountains,

and we fear lest he be devoured by wild beasts. To whom Bassa,

By no means, daughters; but tomorrow at the sixth

hour our Brother will come to us: which

so happened, and thanks being given to God, the Monk said:

I bless God, my Lady, because

I have seen most glorious things concerning you through this sacred

body; whence I too, a sinner, rejoice with you,

and glorify God.

[14] Now there was a citizen of Mineo, a widow woman,

good and fearing God, a servant of a matron of Mineo coming to the same place, born of Christian and pious parents,

and taught from childhood to walk in

the path of virtue; she had never strayed,

but communicated with the Christians; and

since, besides a large household and herds of animals,

she lived in very abundant family wealth,

she redeemed many bodies of Martyrs from the fire with her fortunes,

and laid them in venerable sepulchres. Many captives

and bound she set free: and this woman's

name was Euprexia; so much did she [aid] not only

Christians and the poor, and widows and orphans

she cherished, but also the Pagans. She had lived

with her husband eight years, had spent ten without him,

devoted to God immediately after her husband's death.

She had an only daughter, fourteen years old,

who for five years now had been afflicted

with so savage a paralysis that, destitute of all her limbs,

she could move neither foot nor hand,

nor be turned onto the other side without another's

support. The mother, afflicted by these evils,

had spent much on physicians: often had she carried the daughter to the holy

Martyrs; but to obtain what she sought

she had not been able. She had a servant, Anatolius,

faithful above all and very good: him

she had set over the whole household. He, with two

companions, was going toward Daphron

to visit his Lady's herds.

[15] That place belonged to Euprexia, occupied

(as we have said) by devils; she marvels that the herds graze there unharmed; so that no one dared

to approach nearer; but each kept himself off

at a distance of two or three stadia: for if

anyone, whether man or four-footed beast, went thither,

he was suddenly slaughtered by the demons.

Nevertheless, since at the coming of Agrippina

they had all fled, the herds of Euprexia,

as if driven by something, had safely penetrated

even to the cave. Now the place was most pleasant

and grassy, abounding in flowing waters,

but for a long time, through the terrors of the spirits, unfrequented and uncultivated. The servants,

beholding these things with wonder, turning

to one another, said: What is this new thing? Or

do the demons cleverly do this, to lead us to themselves,

and then likewise kill us together with the beasts,

and have they perhaps already brought death upon the shepherds?

But looking about here and there with their

eyes, the servants noticed the shepherds standing far off:

whom, being called, Anatolius questioned;

and they say that three days ago some people seemed to them to have come

to the cave, they did not know whether men or

women: and about midnight they had heard

terrible voices of those crying out and saying,

Woe! woe! why do you drive us out from here?

and with the word spoken, they had vanished.

[16] Then Listen, said Anatolius, brothers,

let us sit opposite the cave, and learning that the demons had been driven thence, and wait

until evening, to explore the cave.

If, when the sun has set, the living creatures are not killed,

hold this in your minds, that Christ,

whom our Lady worships, has visited

us; and neither we nor the herds will be devoured:

for a demon cannot feign love toward man

for three days, nay, not even for the space of one

hour. And so they sat down far

from the cave, thirteen men exploring: about

the ninth hour of the day, the Virgins began

to sing psalms: and behold, together with

the psalmody, a most sweet odor also began to spread from the cave.

Perceiving these things, Anatolius said to his companions: he announces the matter to his Lady, lamenting her paralytic daughter.

Truly, brothers, as I said, it is a visitation of that God

whom our mistress worships: and suddenly with

his two companions, with whom he had come,

he flew to the castle, and to Euprexia,

weeping over her daughter, he said: Attend, Lady, and

we will tell you. What is it, said she, son?

Christ, whom you yourself worship, has visited you

by the power of his holiness. To this Euprexia, Are you dreaming,

son? But he: Many Saints have come

into your field of Daphron, and that whole place

is filled with the sweetness of odor: and thus

he recounted whatever he had experienced of the herds, of the shepherds,

of himself, of the voices. Hearing which,

Euprexia leaped up with enormous joy;

and leading with her the girls and the two

companions, she set out toward Daphron as quickly as possible.

[17] Bassa foreknew the arrival of Euprexia,

and to the Monk and the other companions, Children, She herself having gone forth thither

she said, a certain most dear woman hastens to us;

let us therefore go to meet her: for I know that the Holy

Spirit remains in her. And when she perceived that she

had drawn nearer, Behold, she said,

she is here: let us go out to meet her. And going out of the cave,

they advanced a little. But soon, when

Bassa again saw Euprexia, Rejoice, Lady

Euprexia, she said. Indeed the woman was astonished

when she perceived herself saluted by her own name by one unknown:

and Rejoice thou, daughter of Christ,

she answered, putter-to-flight of demons: and falling

upon her face, she kissed the feet of St.

Bassa, mingling words with tears,

Have mercy on me, help me and my unbelief.

She answered: Be comforted, sister,

for great joy has come into your house:

and taking her by the hand she leads her into the cave,

where was placed the body of the holy

Martyr Agrippina. Which when Euprexia saw,

trembling she cast herself at the feet of that body,

and prayed: she implores the Martyr's help for her daughter, Have mercy on me, holy Martyr

of Christ: visit my daughter, who is held

by the infirmity of paralysis, behold, for five years.

To her, praying, Bassa said: If thou truly

believest in the Lord, know that thou and thy daughter

shall obtain salvation not only of the soul, but also of the body.

She answered: I believe,

Lady, that Christ is true God;

who was in the bosom of the Father, and for us descended

into the womb of the Virgin Mary; sustained the cross and

death, and by the will of the Father rose

from the dead, and manifested himself to his Apostles;

and after these things ascended into heaven, and sat

at the right hand of God the Father; and again will come

with glory, in the future and dread

judgment, to judge the world justly, and to render

to each one the reward of his own labor: and Blessed

are they who shed their blood for his name:

for they will be heirs of that glory

which eye has not seen, nor ear heard,

nor has it ascended into the heart of man.

[18] Which when she heard from Euprexia, Bassa said,

Be comforted, Lady and sister, and she leads her body into her house: thy alms

and prayers have ascended to God, as

once those of Blessed Cornelius: but rise, let us go to thy

house. And rising at once, with the body

of St. Agrippina they entered by night into the castle.

But while they were going up into the dwelling, with great

light that place, to the wonder of many,

shone forth. Having entered the house, which was

situated in the region called Calamarea, they placed the body of the Martyr

Agrippina in a secret and adorned chamber.

where the Saint, appearing to the sleeping daughter, When this was done, suddenly over

the bed of the girl, Euprexia's daughter, the glory of God

shone forth: and at the same moment it brought sleep

upon her, who through paralysis

could not sleep. But in her sleep she seemed

to see a splendid and venerable maiden, lofty,

standing before her and saying, Daughter and

my sister Theognia (so the girl was called),

may the Lord Jesus Christ, my Spouse, heal thee.

And taking her right hand,

she raised her up, and led her into that cell

where they had laid the holy body.

And again she spoke to her: Daughter Theognia,

this place will be my rest unto ages of ages, she heals her:

here I will dwell, since I have chosen this place,

and Christ has sent me here. When this had happened in very truth,

not in a dream, all the household being ignorant of it,

the girl awoke from sleep, and

raised herself up, and stood as if she had

had nothing wrong; and looking about, when she saw the little chest

of the holy Martyr lit up with light,

she noticed three girls sitting beside it,

and her mother with them, to whom she went

straight.

[19] The mother, when she beheld her daughter standing and whole,

who presents herself to her mother. was greatly amazed, and thought she saw a phantom.

To whom the girl:

Do not fear, Lady mother; for I am

thy daughter Theognia, whom Satan bound

behold for five years; but now there came a certain

Virgin, exceedingly splendid, who raised

me, saying, May the Lord Jesus Christ heal thee:

and immediately I rose, as though I had never

felt any kind of disease in my body. Hearing

these things, Euprexia poured out thanks and praises to God:

Blessed art thou, O Lord God

of our Fathers, who hast visited my lowliness

through these virgins, and also through

thy glorious Martyr Agrippina; Bassa commends to them the holy body,

whom thou hast sent into this place, for the health

and salvation of thy faithful people. When this

Bassa heard, she asks of Euprexia what this

was that had happened. She, the daughter being summoned,

ordered her, bent before Bassa's feet, to relate

all that she had received from Agrippina in sleep.

These things known, Hear, Lady Euprexia,

and thou Theognia, said Bassa: God,

who, as it pleased him, directed our journey,

and led us here, has committed, as you see,

the body of the holy Martyr and Virgin into your

hands: consider therefore what is to be done by you

about it.

[20] After these things, on a certain day, Bassa again addressed

Euprexia in this manner: and having said farewell, she sails with her companions to Carthage, Let us go,

Lady and sister Euprexia, to the body

of our holy sister and Martyr of Christ Agrippina,

that we may kiss her venerable feet.

And so, when all had gone, Bassa fell down,

and having kissed the feet of the holy body, said: Farewell,

Lady and sister, pray for us, holy

Martyr, that the Lord may accompany us, and that we may be worthy to fulfill

the course of our Martyrdom. Behold

the place which thou didst desire: may the Lord through thy

prayers be our pilot. After Bassa

came Paula and Agathonice, and prostrate before Agrippina

said: Pray for us,

Lady; and they joined their prayer with kisses of the feet.

This finished, they bade farewell to Euprexia and

Theognia, after kisses and embraces;

and going out by night they came down even to the sea.

There also the Monk, companion of the ways, left them

with a salutation, and there she completes her Martyrdom. and returned to the monastery

glorifying God, and praising him over the

glorious things which he had seen and heard.

But the holy Virgins, after prayer, going up

into the ship, sailed to Africa; and

at the fourth hour of the next day they landed at Carthage.

From the ship they withdrew into the church

of the holy Mother of God Mary in Susis,

of the region whose name is Ascula: and in that same

city, after many days from their arrival,

for the name of Christ they were slaughtered with the sword, on the 4th

of the Ides of August: but let us return to Euprexia.

[21] Meanwhile the miracles multiply at Mineo, On the next day in the morning, when the household and kin,

according to custom, had gathered to visit and console

her daughter, they found her whole

at home: and they broke out into praises of the God of the Christians.

This matter, spread through all the neighborhood,

manifested the hidden treasure.

So from everywhere there were carried to the sacred Relics

the sick and the demoniacs, who at the

touch of them were immediately restored to health,

whatever kind of disease afflicted them.

And so there was exultation at Mineo, and an eye lost is restored to a Presbyter: and triumph

with joy, that to the body of the holy Martyr there flocked,

not only from neighboring, but from far-distant regions,

even with the sea crossed;

and no one touched it but he recovered all health

anew. Now there was a Presbyter

in a certain village, who through the violence of disease

had lost the use of one eye. He, when

he heard the aforesaid things, flew to the castle; and

entering the villa, where the holy body was kept,

fell to the ground, entreating: Have mercy

on me, handmaid and Spouse of Christ: and suddenly

the light he had lost was restored to him, and he returned

to his own with thanksgiving. And many

other things indeed, through the prayer of the holy Martyr

Agrippina, Christ Jesus worked miracles:

which are recounted in another book, and these too

we have told by way of summary, lest perhaps

they be received with distaste by readers.

[22] Thereafter, after many years, Euprexia

built a church, large enough and comely, The body, by the Saint's command, is buried deep in the ground,

and in the church dug a pit, to bury Agrippina's

body, of the depth of six cubits.

But before she lays it down, she sees Agrippina

saying: Beware, Euprexia, lest anyone

learn the place where the body of me, a sinner,

is hidden: so, the church built,

and St. Severinus, Bishop of Catania,

summoned for that office, it is consecrated in honor

of God and the Martyr Agrippina on the Ides

of June, in the reign of Constantine, the Church resting

through the benefit of Christ. and, a church being built over it, it is honored. After

these things Euprexia spent whatever wealth she possessed

on the use of the poor, and the ornaments

of the temple set up by her; and clothed in the monastic

habit, together with her daughter, in that same church

she passed the remaining time of her life in great obedience

and fear of God. But no one

could detect in what part that most holy

body was placed: for not seldom

the Virgin Agrippina herself was wont to appear to Euprexia in a vision,

warning her not to reveal the place and tomb

to anyone. This is known for certain,

that the holy treasure is hidden

within the church. Now Euprexia and her daughter

lived in the service of the church of St. Agrippina for forty

years; and after the manner of holy women

departed in a good confession. The Virgin and Martyr of Christ Agrippina

suffered in the Roman city, on the 9th day before the Kalends of June, by command of the most wicked

Emperor Valerian. She was translated into Sicily

into the castle of Mineo on the 16th day before the Kalends of June, buried

on the 5th of the Ides of June, by her prayers to God interceding

for us, that we may be worthy to be heirs of God her sons,

who with the Father and the Holy Spirit

lives and reigns, unto all ages.

Amen.

ANNOTATIONS. D. P.

in that whole commentary up to this day nowhere are alleged Manuscripts of this kind which seem to pertain here: and I wonder if any others could be alleged than these Acts of St. Agrippina, which however mark the persecution of Valerian. Mabillon, in volume 3 of the Analecta, has an ancient Calendar of the Carthaginian Church without those names. The whole matter is justly suspect.

to reign in the year 306; nor until six years after, Maxentius being conquered, did ecclesiastical peace take any beginning; meanwhile from Valerian's captivity 60 years had elapsed. Did the Author consider how aged he made those whom he wishes to have lived 40 years after the church was built? Cajetan does not seem to find difficulty here, but, the calculations being made, allows Euprexia 118 years, Theognia 104.

m From the Acts of Saints Pancratius and Peregrinus, Cajetan hopes to prove that the monastic institution in Sicily began from the times of the Apostles. Meanwhile he himself did not dare to insert those things, as full of fables, into his work; but compiled some things by his own efforts. See what was said of Pancratius on the 3rd of April; we will treat of Peregrinus on the 3rd of November.

the Greeks suggests otherwise, and that on a day wholly other than that on which she herself is venerated at Mineo on the 8th of July, as Cajetan confesses in his notes; which I would believe to be the true day on which the body was carried into the new church, dedicated on the 6th of June.

To confirm the common opinion it makes, that, as Cajetan notes, About the middle of the church one enters into the depths of the hiding-places, and a part bends to the right toward a small chapel, which is said to have been built by Euprexia: but from it one descends by steps into a cave, of immense depth, within which hidden it is conjectured Agrippina lies: it also favors that the Greeks nowhere mention the body.

o The same Octavius, no witness or trace of ancient cult being anywhere assigned, nor soon had Ferrarius as a follower: nor could Bollandus fail to follow them, the books of Cajetan, and these Acts of St. Agrippina, not yet having been seen. They will therefore be expunged in the revision of that month.

p That both days are held in veneration by the people of Mineo, Cajetan seems to indicate in his last Annotation; but that of these the more celebrated is the 8th of July, with a solemn procession, &c.