Medicus the Martyr

CONCERNING S. MEDICUS THE MARTYR,

AT OTRICOLI IN THE DIOCESE OF NARNI IN UMBRIA.

PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY.

On the Acts, cult, finding, and translation.

Medicus the Martyr, at Otricoli in the diocese of Narni in Umbria (S.)

BY D. P.

Between Narni and Falisca, otherwise

called Civita Castellana,

the Suburbicarian cities of Umbria

in the Sabine country, The Lessons of this and other Patrons received from a Ms. of the year 1515 situated at almost an equal interval of

six miles from each side,

is Otricoli; concerning which Henschenius treats at greater length on the 22nd day of May, treating of

S. Fulgentius, Bishop of that city under Totila;

concerning whom, having more certain things from the account of S. Gregory,

he did not care to seek out another more prolix Legend of his,

apocryphal, nor compiled in good faith;

nor did he recall that we had received it, on the faith of

1661 on July 14,

while we were still at Rome, from a parchment Ms.

of the year 1515. In like manner from the same Ms. we then

received concerning the other Patrons of the people of Otricoli Lessons,

with Masses proper to each, of the year 1612, of no great authority. namely of SS. Victor

and Corona and of the holy Medicus (concerning whom we have

undertaken to treat) themselves also of antiquity and authority

not great; nor apt to prove almost anything else,

than a certain cult from time immemorial. For just as

Victor and Corona, of whom we treated on May 14

in the Analecta, number 2, from Syria, where it was established that they suffered under Sestianus, Governor under the Emperor Antoninus

and Duke of Egypt, with the same Sebastian

they bring over to Otricoli, where their notable

Relics are had; so they feign that S. Medicus, by the order of the same

Sebastian, underwent various torments, and at last the capital

sentence. I would rather confess that I

am ignorant under which Emperor this Saint suffered,

than to rely on Acts so badly stitched together; yet

I shall set forth as I have received it, because in the rest there is nothing

that gives offense, and nothing better is at hand.

[2] To the Lessons I subjoin a Notarial copy

of a certain Brief, dispatched by the most Illustrious and most Reverend

Cardinal de Monte, There is added the decree of the Congregation of Rites of the year 1612. Prefect of the sacred Congregation

of Rites, of the year 1612,

S. D. Pope Paul V sitting, in the 8th year of his

Pontificate, transcribed from the original itself on

parchment, having a Seal appended

by a silken cord, on August 22, in the year

aforesaid 1661. In this Decree is narrated

the Finding of the body, and the Translation to be made is permitted.

Ludovico Jacobilli, in volume 1 of the Saints of Umbria, a church once dedicated to S. Medicus,

asserts, that a church once dedicated to S. Medicus

stood outside the city in a place which to this day

is called the Field of S. Medicus; of which name

mention is made in the Pontifical Briefs, of Eugenius

III, for February 18, 1148; of Honorius

III, for 1221; of Gregory IX, for 1240;

and of Alexander IV, for 1258, confirming

the possession of the same place to the Canons Regular,

existing in the Collegiate church of S. Mary

of Otricoli. Then the same Jacobilli adds,

that in the year 1611, on September 5, John

Baptist Toscus of Reggio, Bishop of Narni, the body found also in S. Victor's outside the walls in the year 1611

in a most ancient stone monument,

under the altar of the same S. Medicus, in the suburban

church of S. Victor, found his body and of others

lying around him; and he,

by license of Pope Paul V from the judgment of the sacred

Congregation of Rites, dispatched on July 16,

1612, in the same year and the same month,

translated it from the suburban into the urban and Collegiate

church of the aforesaid S. Victor; then

indeed on the 18th day of the following month of May into

the chapel of Honorius himself erected within the subterranean

Crypt of the same Collegiate church.

[3] In the same old monument was found a small

stone eight inches long, three high, and inscribed with those, with an inscription of the year 1000.

which we here express in lesser form,

characters.

This inscription, with the first letter A added which had been worn away,

I judge should be read thus. Christ is Alpha

and Omega. Here rests Medicus the Martyr

of Christ, with several resting in Christ,

and found under the earth, in the year one thousand. Such

an explanation being admitted, it would follow, that perhaps the first

finding, in the crypt in which the Saint had been buried immediately after

death, and the translation to the aforesaid

suburban church of S. Victor, made the beginning of the eleventh Christian

century festive for the people of Otricoli: not

likewise, that the other Bodies translated together, are likewise

and certainly believed to be those of holy Martyrs.

Wherefore the Congregation rightly hesitated, to permit

their veneration as such. It also seems consequent

to us, that in the same eleventh century the aforesaid

Lessons were composed.

[4] I believe also that at the same time were composed the Prayers,

and the proper Mass ordained, such as I have

described on the 17th day of July aforesaid, from

the Collegiate church of S. Mary. And this Mass is ordained thus.

Introit. Thou hast protected me, O God. Collect. Almighty

everlasting God, the strength of those who contend

and the palm of Martyrs, look propitiously upon the present

solemnity; and by the intercession of B. Medicus

thy Martyr, mayest thou fulfill the vows of all

who believe in thee. The Lesson of the book of Proverbs, chapter 1, verse 12.

Blessed is the man who findeth Wisdom. Gradual.

With glory and honor thou hast crowned him, and hast set

him over the works of thy hands. Alleluia. O

Medicus Martyr of Christ, strong in the contest,

entreat the Lord for us, standing in the glory of

heaven. The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 10.

Nothing is hidden, that shall not be revealed. Offertory.

In thy strength, O Lord, the just man shall rejoice,

and over thy salvation he shall exult vehemently,

the desire of his soul thou hast granted to him. Secret.

May the Sacrifice, O Lord, which we offer with desire,

by the suffrage of B. Medicus, thy Martyr,

be made acceptable to thee. Communion. Thou hast set, O Lord,

upon his head a crown of precious stone.

Postcommunion. Grant, we beseech thee, O Lord,

that being quickened by the reception of thy Sacrament,

we may also be aided by the prayers of thy holy

Martyr Medicus.

[5] Philip Ferrarius, in the Catalogue of the Saints

of Italy of the year 1613, Ferrarius's delusion about the place of Martyrdom, exhibits an epitome of the Acts, from

an old Ms. of the Church of Otricoli; and adds in

the Notes; The Body is at Otricoli, where he is believed to have suffered,

since in Asia the Sebastene afflicted some Christians

with death. But in the general Catalogue of those,

who are not in the Roman Martyrology: He, in

Asia, he says, suffered under Sebastian the Duke,

as the Ms. Acts which we have seen, indicate.

With what eyes he saw these things, that he should believe he read Medicus suffered

in Asia, I for my part do not grasp;

nor will Sebastian, ascribed through ignorance to his Martyrdom

by the author of the Lessons, move me, that I should transfer the Saint,

Yet receive the Lessons themselves, such as they are, collated

with a more ancient Ms. copy, found among the collectanea of Gallonius

at Rome, the Relics at Bologna. in the Vallicellan library of the Fathers of the Oratory.

Furthermore I believe him to be the very same, whose

Relics are said to be had at Bologna at the gate of S. Gabriel

of Ravenna, says John Paul Masini in his

Bologna Surveyed, although he defers him until the 28th

of this month, perhaps for the greater convenience of that church,

the day being thus changed.

THE LESSONS OF THE OLD OFFICE

From a parchment Breviary Ms. of the year 1515.

Medicus the Martyr, at Otricoli in the diocese of Narni in Umbria (S.)

BHL Number: 5877

FROM THE MSS.

[1] In the reign of the Emperor Antoninus, there was a great

persecution of the Christians; and in the city

of Otricoli there was a certain Duke, Denounced as a Christian, Sebastian

by name: and there was there a certain Maleficus, a great friend

of the Emperor. Then the ministers announced

to Sebastian the Duke, saying, Most clement

Lord; Maleficus has become a Christian, and

blasphemes our Gods, and says that they are demons.

Then Sebastian, being indignant, ordered

him to be seized, and brought to himself: to whom also

he said privately, Maleficus, our friend, what

didst thou suppose was lacking to thee, that thou hast made thyself a Christian.

S. Medicus answered: For I am openly a Christian;

Christ Jesus, the Son of the living God, he generously confesses the faith,

born of the Virgin Mary, I adore, and believe with my heart,

and cease not to praise in deed. Then Sebastian,

filled with anger, ordered him to be cast

into prison, and said to him, Go, deliberate with thyself how

thou mayest be able to escape the horrid torments, which will strongly

tear thee, if thou wilt not sacrifice.

[2] Thus cast into prison he remained there

twelve days: and he ordered that neither bread nor water

be given to him: but on the thirteenth day the aforesaid

Sebastian ordered a Tribunal to be prepared at the Hippodrome

just finished, and ordered S. Medicus to be brought, and said

to him: What hast thou decided concerning thy salvation, my friend?

B. Medicus answered: and after twelve days of prison equally constant, Those ought to be friends to thee,

who do not fear to have their Lord

an enemy: for as bitter to me are

thy friendships, so much the sweeter are thy enmities.

Sebastian the Duke said, O Maleficus, what

sayest thou? B. Medicus answered: I say I have

no life of common faith with thee. Sebastian

said: Then does this please thee, that despising our

precepts thou shouldst die the death? B. Medicus answered:

The death, which thou threatenest to inflict on me, is a great

life; and therefore I do not fear thy wrath: wherefore

from it is born to me perpetual life, and a perpetual

crown and palm.

[3] Then Sebastian in anger said to Terentian

his Counselor: Tomorrow morning in thy Secretarium let him be

vexed with diverse punishments, if he will not sacrifice; yielding neither to threats nor promises:

but if he truly consents, both unite him to thy love, and

present him to my friendships. Terentian

the Counselor said: Why dost thou not sacrifice to the gods,

whom the Emperor adores, and to whom he bends his

neck? Surely if thou consentest to his precepts

and obeyest, he is ready with diverse gifts

to exalt thee with honor. To whom the glorious

Martyr answered: I do not accept the rewards promised by you,

for daily from my Lord

I receive strength.

[4] after another five days brought forth, Then Terentian announced these things to Sebastian;

who ordered him to be cast into prison, and

guarded by soldiers. And when he had been shut up there

for five days, Sebastian ordered him

on the fifth day to be led out of prison, and said to him: Sacrifice

to the gods, whom I have declared to be great … and when

he said many things like these, he is pierced with nails, he ordered him to be tied to a stake,

and commanded sharp nails to be fixed in his hands and feet,

and said to him: Lay aside now the hardness

of thy mind, and offer sacrifice to the immortal gods,

whom true divinity has shown forth. B. Medicus

said: I do not sacrifice to the gods of the pagans: it is base,

that what I received in the Baptism of sanctification,

persuaded by thee, a corruptible man and placed in every

necessity, I should reject. And Sebastian

answered: So long shalt thou stand fixed, until

thou render the due office to the immortal gods.

[5] At these things the glorious Martyr, fixed

in the love of God, hanging on the wood with a glad mind,

sang to the Lord, saying; In God I will hope, I will not fear

what man may do to me. Then Sebastian

said: Sacrifice to the gods. Medicus said: I

do not adore deaf and dumb gods, made by the hand of men:

who have a mouth and speak not;

eyes have they, and see not; ears have they,

and hear not; nostrils have they, and

smell not; feet have they, and walk not. Let those

become like unto them, who trust in them. Then

Sebastian, filled with fury, ordered him to be long

tortured. and hung on the rack he is tortured, B. Medicus prayed to the Lord, saying:

I give thee thanks, O Lord Jesus Christ,

only-begotten Son of the living and true God, that I have deserved

to be counted now in the society of those, who for

thy name have gone forth to the crown of Martyrdom.

[6] Then Sebastian in anger ordered him to be loosed,

and so taken down from the stake. and he is trodden underfoot: Medicus, compelled

by desire for martyrdom said; Do what thou art about to do:

because I know that he who fights for me is stronger than thou.

Then Sebastian and Terentian ordered

cudgels to be brought, and to be laid over him, and

five sets of three to pass over, and to cry out to him:

Sacrifice to the Gods, whom the Emperor adores. B. Medicus

answered: My Lord Jesus Christ

is eternal, and he himself said, Everyone who

shall sacrifice to Idols, shall be rooted out. Then Sebastian

ordered him to be hung on the rack, and burned

with torches, and scraped with claws. B. Medicus said to him:

Did I not tell thee? that thy enmities

gladden me, and make me acquire ampler grace in

the sight of my King?

[7] Terentian the Counselor said, Since

I see this man rebellious, and that he chooses rather to wish for blows and torments

than to fear them, lead

this one and his colleague to death: and he said

to B. Medicus, overcome by nothing of these, Tell now, Maleficus, what is the cause

of the hardness of thy mind, that by so many blows

and tortured by the rack, and burned by flames and

lacerated by claws, thou couldst in no way consent

to fulfill the precepts of the most holy Emperor.

S. Medicus answered: A true Master

has taught me. Terentian said: Whence knowest thou these things?

in what manner did he teach thee? and praising Christ as God, B. Medicus said:

The Son of God, that he might succor all, took on

and a virgin she remained after the birth … This

greatest faith, which is in Christ, is not conquered by torments,

nor overcome by flames, nor by the sword.

Terentian said: As I see, my God

is the true God: for thy God, whom

thou thyself hast said, was crucified. My God never laid down

his Omnipotence, but

enlarged his Empire.

[8] Then B. Medicus, smiling, said to him:

If thou believest this one to be Lord, thou thyself wilt not be

burned in perpetual fires. But Terentian,

being angry, ordered him to be burned with fires. Who

when he had been cast into the fire, remained unharmed.

Then the glorious Martyr of God said: he is in vain thrown to the fire;

This temporal affliction and confusion shall bring forth great confidence

and eternal glory with the King

of heaven and earth: for earthly Princes

fall swiftly, concerning whom the Psalm says:

But you shall die like men, and shall fall like

one of the Princes: and again:

I saw the wicked exalted and lifted up even to the cedars

of Lebanon: I passed by, and lo he was not; I sought

him, and his place was not found. Ps. 81, 7; Ps. 36, 35.

[9] Then Sebastian ordered him to be cast again

into prison. and at last he is struck with the capital sentence. After some days he proceeded into the palace,

and ordered him, after the manner of the Christians, bound

with chains, to be led with him; and after three days,

he ordered him to be led out and made ready outside the city. To whom,

led out to the middle, he said: Now lay aside thy pride,

and abandon the magic art; for

thou shalt be an example to all Christians. The most blessed

Martyr answered: The magic art

I know not, but I have the Lord Jesus Christ, in

whom I believe, and therefore I do not dread thy threats. Then

Sebastian in anger ordered him to be beaten with cudgels, and

to undergo the capital sentence. Who, led outside

the gate of the city, was beheaded. Whose body

and buried him in a crypt with many.

And the glorious Martyr Medicus suffered

on the sixth day before the Kalends of July.

ANNOTATIONS OF D. P.

DECREE OF THE SACRED CONGREGATION OF RITES

On the finding of the body and the cult.

From a parchment autograph Ms.

Medicus the Martyr, at Otricoli in the diocese of Narni in Umbria (S.)

FROM THE MSS.

Francis Maria, by divine mercy of the title

of S. Lawrence in Lucina, Cardinal Priest of the Holy Roman Church,

de Monte, 57 bodies of S. Medicus and others having been found by the Bishop of Narni Prefect of the Congregation of sacred

Rites, to all and singular

who shall inspect, read, and hear the present letters,

eternal salvation in the Lord. Whereas in

the territory of Otricoli of the Diocese of Narni, among the ruins

of the ancient city of Otricoli near the bank

of the Tiber, where the ancient church of S. Victor

Patron of that same city had been built,

fifty-seven Bodies, which were judged to be of holy

Martyrs, have been found;

and especially among them in a certain

sepulcher made of Tiburtine stone,

many bones with a head, with the following inscription,

placed on a small stone hidden in the said sepulcher,

namely; Here rests S. Medicus

the Martyr of Christ with several; and whereas the Bishop

of Narni took care that all the aforesaid be diligently

searched out and noted; and judged that

all the aforesaid bodies found are probably

the bodies of holy Martyrs; and whereas the community

of the said Land of Otricoli supplicated our most Holy

Lord, the Pontiff being consulted, that he might deign to grant to them,

that the said Bodies, as found above

and recognized by the Bishop and other Ecclesiastical persons,

pious and learned, might be able to be transported from the place,

in which they were found, into their Church,

and decently placed. And

whereas the same our most Holy Lord ordered this business

to be examined by the Sacred Congregation of Rites;

and whereas, by the Order of the same sacred Congregation,

concerning the finding of the said Bodies,

with his report, and were handed over

to the most Illustrious and most Reverend Lord Cardinal Bellarmine;

his report being heard, in the full Congregation

held on the seventh day of the present month

of July, concerning the contents in the said Process and report

transmitted to the City, the judgment of the Congregation of Rites being heard, by the aforesaid Bishop of Narni:

the same sacred Congregation of Rites judged,

that from the said process and report it is not sufficiently

established that all the aforesaid fifty-seven

Bodies are truly Bodies of holy Martyrs,

and are to be venerated as such, excepting

only the Body of the aforesaid holy Medicus,

which it judged to be truly the Body of a Martyr, and able to be venerated

as such; but the other aforesaid Bodies

are to be placed and conserved in a decent and honorable

place, but are not yet to be

venerated as the Bodies of holy Martyrs,

the same sacred Congregation of Rites judged. it orders only the body of S. Medicus to be exposed,

And report having been made by Us of all the aforesaid

to the aforesaid our holy Lord Pope Paul

V in secret Consistory, on this undersigned

day; His Holiness approved the sentence of the Congregation;

and granted that the Body of the aforesaid S.

Medicus may, as the Body of a holy Martyr

of Christ, be venerated and honored by all the faithful,

and with due honor be translated into the

Cathedral church; but the other aforesaid Bodies

are not to be venerated as Bodies of holy

Martyrs, but to be set aside in

to demonstrate whether they are truly the Bodies of holy

Martyrs. In faith and testimony of all and singular which things,

we have ordered the present letters to be made, through the undersigned

Secretary of our Congregation of Rites;

we have subscribed with our own hand,

and have caused them to be fortified with the impression of our accustomed seal,

on this sixteenth day of the month of July,

in the year of the Lord one thousand six hundred and twelve,

and in the eighth year of the Pontificate of the same most Holy

Father in Christ and our Lord, the Lord Paul, by divine providence

Pope the Fifth. year 1612. Francis

Maria, of the Title of S. Lawrence in Lucina, Cardinal

de Monte, in place of the appended seal. I. P. Mucantius

Secretary of the Congregation.