ON ST. EQUITIUS, ABBOT IN THE PROVINCE OF VALERIA IN ITALY.
SIXTH CENTURY.
PrefaceEquitius, Abbot in the Province of Valeria in Italy (St.)
[1] Valeria, a region of ancient Latium near Lake Fucino, contained principally these cities: Valeria or Marsi, where now Pescina is, the See of the Marsican Bishops; Carsoli, Amiternum, Furconium, and Rieti. Hence the Via Valeria is mentioned, which through the city of Tibur led to the said places. In this region St. Equitius the Abbot flourished, The Life of St. Equitius is given from the Dialogues of St. Gregory: and was Father of many monasteries in that province, as St. Gregory the Great testifies of him in book 1 of the Dialogues, chapter 4, from which place we give here what is known about St. Equitius.
[2] That St. Equitius lived in the sixth century of Christ is clear from numbers 1 and 12, where Fortunatus, an old man in 593, who had been intimately known to St. Equitius, in which three Bishops are mentioned: narrated to Gregory what he wrote; and at number 7 it is said that when St. Gregory was writing, many still survived who could have known his life. Three Bishops are also mentioned: Albinus of Rieti, Castorius of Amiternum, and Julian of Sabina, who had not yet been a Bishop when he was sent to him by the Roman Pontiff. Of these too there is no certain knowledge of how many years each presided over his See, as is clear from Ughelli's Sacred Italy. Baronius at the year 504 says the dialogue of St. Gregory on the Life of St. Equitius should be inserted here, moved by a twofold reason: that Valentinus, Bishop of Amiternum, then participated in Councils under Pope Symmachus, and that the letter of King Theodoric to Argolicus, Prefect of the City, about the trial against magicians, reported by Cassiodorus in book 4 of the Variae, epistle 22, to Argolicus, Prefect of the City, seems to have been written at that time, in which he writes that Basilius and Praetextatus, also of the magician Basilius: long polluted by the contagion of the sinister art, had been brought to trial by a sentence against the accused persons. But it is not clear that St. Gregory here treats of the same magician Basilius about whom Theodoric wrote; but granted; still the event should not necessarily be referred to the year 504, since Theodoric reigned until the year 526; indeed that history could have occurred when St. Equitius was still quite young, around at least the year 511, when in the fourth Indiction Argolicus was made Prefect of the City, according to Cassiodorus, book 3, epistle 11. Then why could the Valentinus, Bishop of Amiternum, who is mentioned here, not have been a different person from the Castorius indicated by St. Gregory?
[3] Near the end of this Life, Abbot Valentio narrates that at the tomb of St. Equitius a peasant was punished who had placed a chest of grain upon it. And of Abbot Valentio: Of the same Valentio, St. Gregory treats in book 3, chapter 22, and book 4, chapter 21, and everywhere acknowledges that he had been his own Abbot, but one who had previously governed his own monastery in the province of Valeria — perhaps one erected by himself, not one of St. Equitius's, which Gregory would otherwise have indicated. Valentio is also mentioned in the Life of St. Gregory, and so it is written in the Cassino manuscript in Lombard script and in various others; by some he is called Valentius or Valentinus. Regarding the time when he presided over the Roman monastery of St. Gregory, inquiry can be made at his Life on March 12; but nothing can be gathered from that about the time of death of St. Equitius.
[4] The name of St. Equitius is inscribed on March 7 in various Martyrologies, both handwritten and printed: among the former are the Brussels St. Gudula, the Albergen Canons Regular, Cult on March 7 in manuscript Martyrologies: the Utrecht St. Jerome, the Leiden St. Cecilia, and several others under the name of Usuard, in which after the Martyrs of Thuburbo reported by Usuard it is immediately placed, and then mention is made of St. Thomas Aquinas — so that from this alone it is manifest that they were not written more than three hundred years ago, or even later — and these words are generally found everywhere: In the province of Valeria, of St. Equitius the Abbot, whom Blessed Gregory mentions in book one of the Dialogues; from which a longer eulogy is read in a manuscript Florarium. And in printed ones: His memory is also celebrated in the ancient Cologne Martyrology and the Doctrinale of Clerics printed in 1490, in the additions to Usuard by Hermann Greuen and John Molanus, likewise in the Martyrologies of Maurolycus, Felicius, Galesinius, Canisius, and Ferrari in his General Catalogue, and again in his Catalogue of the Saints of Italy, where nearly the whole
the Dialogue of St. Gregory into a compendium, which Surius published in full at the said March 7, and following him Haraeus, Lippelous, and other collectors of the Lives of the Saints have done the same everywhere.
Wion, Menardus, and Bucelinus inscribed the same in their monastic Martyrologies. But on March 10, also by the Benedictines, the following is read in a manuscript Benedictine Calendar of no great antiquity: Of St. Equitius, Abbot, father of many monks. This Equitius according to the flesh on his mother's side was a relative of Blessed Benedict. But Bucelinus reports that after St. Benedict's death he was his most worthy successor, and that in the office of General he greatly served a most ample province, and propagated the rigor of monastic discipline far and wide. These things we would prefer to find among ancient writers, and we judge they should not have been produced from one's own conjecture, since it is not established that St. Equitius survived St. Benedict's death.
[5] Vincentius Mastareus of the Society of Jesus published in the Italian language the Lives of the Saints who are Patrons of the city of Aquila, among whom St. Equitius is listed: Relics translated to Aquila, in whose Life he reports that his sacred relics were brought to Aquila to the Church of St. Lawrence, and first deposited in an underground chapel, afterward honorably placed in another chapel magnificently constructed at public expense on the right side of the high altar: and that his feast is celebrated on the day after St. Lawrence, August 11, on which day his sacred relics are customarily publicly displayed together with his abbatial ring, which they say, when brought to the sick, through the intercession and merits of St. Equitius, has been for many the occasion of health restored by God. We suspect the Translation of these relics occurred on the very day of St. Lawrence, Patron of that Church, where he is venerated August 11, and that therefore the feast of the latter is celebrated on the following day: on which day Baronius inscribed him in the calendar of the Roman Church in these words: In the province of Valeria, of St. Equitius, Abbot: whose holiness is confirmed by the testimony of Blessed Pope Gregory. Following Baronius, Wion, Menardus, Dorganius, and Bucelinus again make mention of him on this day.
LIFE
From book 1 of the Dialogues of St. Gregory, chapter 4.
Equitius, Abbot in the Province of Valeria in Italy (St.)
BHL Number: 2577
BY ST. GREGORY.
[1] From the account of the venerable man Fortunatus, Abbot of the monastery which is called the Baths of Cicero, Equitius obtains the gift of chastity by continual prayers, and also of other venerable men, I learned what I am about to narrate. A most holy man, Equitius by name, in the regions of the province of Valeria, was held in great admiration by all there on account of the merit of his life: to whom the same Fortunatus was intimately known. This Equitius, on account of the greatness of his holiness, was Father of many monasteries in that province. When in the time of his youth the incentives of the flesh wearied him with fierce struggle, the very straits of his temptation made him more zealous in the pursuit of prayer. And when he sought a remedy from Almighty God in this matter by continual prayers, one night, with an Angel standing by, he saw himself made a eunuch: and in that vision it appeared that every impulse was cut away from his genitals: and from that time he was so free from temptation, as if he had no sex in his body. Fortified by this virtue, through the help of Almighty God, just as he had previously governed men, so he began afterward to govern women also: yet he did not cease to admonish his disciples not to trust themselves easily by his example in this matter, and, lest they fall, not to attempt the gift which they had not received.
[2] Now at that time when magicians were apprehended in this city of Rome, [he recognizes Basilius the magician and impostor, while he pretends to be a monk,] Basilius, who was foremost in magical works, fled to Valeria in monastic garb. Going to the most reverend Castorius, Bishop of the city of Amiternum, he asked him to entrust him to Abbot Equitius and commend him to be healed in his monastery. Then the Bishop came to the monastery and brought Basilius the monk with him, and asked Equitius, the servant of God, to receive the same monk into the congregation. The holy man, looking at him immediately, said: This one whom you commend to me, Father, I do not see to be a monk, but a devil. To whom the Bishop replied: You are looking for an excuse not to grant what I ask. To whom the servant of God immediately said: I indeed declare him to be what I see: but lest you think I am unwilling to obey, I do what you command. And so he was received into the monastery.
[3] But not many days later the same servant of God, to exhort the faithful to heavenly desires, departed a little distance from his cell. while absent he declares a consecrated virgin free from fever, When he had departed, it happened that in the monastery of Virgins, over which the care of that same Father kept watch, one of them, who appeared beautiful according to the corruption of this flesh, began to be feverish: and to be vehemently anxious, and to cry out with great shrieks: I shall die immediately unless the monk Basilius comes and restores my health through the zeal of his cure. But in the absence of so great a Father, no one of the monks dared approach the congregation of Virgins: how much less he, who was a newcomer, and whose life the brotherhood of the Brothers did not yet know? Word was immediately sent and reported to Equitius the servant of God, that the consecrated virgin was burning with immense fevers and anxiously sought the visitation of the monk Basilius. On hearing this, the holy man smiled with disdain and said: Did I not say that this man is a devil, not a monk? Go and expel him from the cell. But concerning the handmaid of God, who is pressed by the distress of fevers, do not be anxious: for from this hour she will neither suffer from fevers nor seek Basilius. The monk returned: and recognized that the Virgin of God had been restored to health at that very hour at which the servant of God Equitius, positioned far away, had announced her health, in the power of a miracle, holding to the example of the Master: who, invited to come to the son of the royal official, restored him to health by his word alone, so that the returning father recognized his son restored to life at the very hour at which he had heard of his life from the mouth of Truth.
[4] Now all the monks, fulfilling the command of their Father, drove the same Basilius from the dwelling of the monastery. Once expelled, he orders Basilius expelled: then burned by flames, he frequently said that he had suspended the cell of Equitius in the air by his magical arts, yet could not harm anyone of his. Not long afterward in this city of Rome, when the zeal of the Christian people was inflamed, he was burned by fire.
[5] On a certain day one handmaid of God, from the same monastery of Virgins, entered the garden: he frees a woman possessed, who, seeing a lettuce, desired it, and forgetting to bless it with the sign of the Cross, eagerly bit into it: but seized by the devil, she immediately fell. And while she was being tormented, word was quickly sent to that same Father Equitius that he should come in haste and help by praying. And as soon as the Father entered the garden, the devil who had seized her began to cry out from her mouth, as if making an excuse, saying: What did I do? What did I do? I was sitting there on the lettuce: she came and bit me. The man of God commanded him with indignation to depart and to have no place in the handmaid of Almighty God. And he immediately departed, nor was he able to touch her thereafter.
[6] A certain man, Felix by name, a nobleman of the province of Nursia, father of this Castorius, he is divinely imbued with zeal for souls and knowledge, who now resides with us in the city of Rome: seeing that the venerable man Equitius did not hold sacred Orders, yet went about everywhere and zealously preached; one day approached him with the boldness of familiarity, saying: You who do not hold sacred Orders, and have not received from the Roman Pontiff, under whom you live, license to preach, how do you presume to preach? To him, compelled by his inquiry, the holy man revealed how he had received the license to preach, saying: Those things which you say to me, I myself also pondered with you. But one night a handsome young man appeared to me in a vision and placed on my tongue a medicinal instrument, that is, a lancet, saying: Behold, I have placed my words in your mouth: go forth to preach. And from that day, even when I wish, I cannot be silent about God.
[7] to these gifts he joins purity of life, Peter: I would also like to know the works of this Father, who is said to have received such gifts from God. Gregory: The work, Peter, comes from the gift, not the gift from the work: otherwise grace is no longer grace. For all gifts precede every work, although from subsequent work the gifts themselves also increase. But lest you be deprived of knowledge of his life, the most reverend Albinus, Bishop of the Church of Rieti, knew it well, and there still survive many who could have known it. But what more do you seek of his works, when purity of life was in harmony with his zeal for preaching? For so great a fervor had inflamed him for gathering souls to God, that he presided over monasteries in such a way that he went about everywhere through churches, through fortified towns, through villages, through the homes of individual faithful, and stirred the hearts of his hearers to the love of the heavenly homeland.
[8] He was truly very humble in his clothing, and so despised, that if anyone who happened not to know him, a very humble man, when greeted would disdain even to return the greeting: and whenever he traveled to other places, he was accustomed to sit upon whatever beast of burden he could find that was the most despicable of all in the monastery: on which he even used a halter for a bridle, and sheepskins for a saddle. He carried the sacred books himself, sent in leather pouches, on his right and left side: and wherever he arrived, he would open the fountain of the Scriptures and water the meadows of minds.
[9] to be summoned to Rome, The fame of his preaching also reached the notice of the city of Rome, and (as is the way of flattering tongues, which kill the spirit of the listener by embracing it) at that time the Clergy complained in flattery to the Bishop of this Apostolic See, saying: Who is this rustic man who has seized for himself the authority of preaching and presumes, unlearned, to usurp the office of our Apostolic Lord? Let someone be sent, if it please you, who will bring him here, so that he may learn what ecclesiastical rigor is. And as is customary, when the mind is occupied with many things, flattery creeps in readily, if it has not been more quickly repulsed from the very door of the heart: the Pontiff gave his consent to the urging of the Clergy, that he should be brought to the city of Rome, so that he might learn what his proper measure was. Yet in sending this Julian the Defensor, who afterward presided over the Church of Sabina as Bishop, he gave instructions that he should conduct him with great honor, lest the servant of God should feel any injury from that summons. then occupied in cutting hay, Julian, wanting eagerly to comply with the wishes of the Clergy concerning him, hastened to his monastery, and there, in his absence, found scribes writing: he asked where the Abbot was. They said: In the valley that lies below the monastery, he is cutting hay. Now Julian had a very proud and insolent servant boy, whom he himself could scarcely control. He therefore sent him to bring Equitius to him in haste. The boy set out, and entering the meadow swiftly with an insolent spirit, seeing men there cutting hay, he asked
which one was Equitius. And as soon as he heard who he was, he beheld him while still positioned far off, and seized by immense fear, began to grow faint with terror and could scarcely carry himself with tottering step. Trembling, he reached the man of God, and with arms humbly lowered, kissing his knees, he embraced them and announced that his lord had come to meet him. The servant of God greeted him in return and gave instructions, carrying a scythe he comes to the monastery, saying: Pick up the fresh hay, carry fodder for the beasts on which you came: behold, I (since little remains) will follow you when the work is done. Now Julian the Defensor, who had been sent, wondered greatly what the cause was that the boy delayed in returning. And when he saw the boy returning, carrying hay from the meadow on his neck, he grew vehemently angry and began to cry out, saying: What is this? I sent you to bring a man, not to carry hay. To whom the boy replied: He whom you seek, behold, he follows. And behold, the man of God was coming, shod in hobnailed boots, carrying a hay-scythe on his neck. The boy pointed out to his lord, while he was still far off, that this was the one he was seeking. Now Julian, as soon as he saw the servant of God, despised him from his very appearance and was preparing in his insolent mind how he should address him. But as soon as the servant of God came near, an intolerable terror seized Julian's spirit, so that he trembled, and his tongue could scarcely suffice to make known the very purpose for which he had come. With spirit immediately humbled, he ran to his knees, asked that prayer be offered for him: and indicated that his Father, the Apostolic Pontiff, wished to see him.
[10] Now the venerable man Equitius began to give immense thanks to Almighty God, he predicts the journey will be prevented, declaring that heavenly grace had visited him through the Supreme Pontiff. He immediately called the Brothers, commanded the beasts to be prepared that very hour, and began to urge his escort vehemently that they should depart quickly. To whom Julian said: This is absolutely impossible, for I am weary from the journey and am unable to depart today. Then he replied: You grieve me, son: for if we do not set out on this day, we will not depart tomorrow. The servant of God, therefore, compelled by the weariness of his escort, remained that night in his monastery: but on the following day at the very break of dawn, a boy arrived at great speed on a horse driven to exhaustion, bearing a letter for Julian: in which he was instructed not to dare touch the servant of God or remove him from the monastery. And when Julian inquired why the decision had been changed, he learned that on the very night on which the escort had been sent there, the Pontiff had been vehemently frightened through a vision, asking why he had presumed to send someone to bring the man of God. Julian immediately arose and, commending himself to the prayers of the venerable man, said: Our Father asks that you should not be troubled. And when the servant of God heard this, he said sorrowfully: Did I not say to you yesterday that if we did not set out immediately, we would by no means be permitted to go? Then out of charity he detained his escort for a while in his cell, and gave him the profit of his labor, though reluctant and resisting. Know therefore, Peter, in how great a protection those are who in this life have known how to despise themselves: with what citizens they are inwardly numbered in honor, who are not ashamed to be despised outwardly by men: because on the other hand, in the eyes of God those lie prostrate who swell up before their own and their neighbors' eyes through the desire of vainglory. Whence the Truth also says to certain ones: You are they who justify yourselves before men: but God knows your hearts: for what is exalted among men is an abomination before God. Luke 16 Peter: I am greatly amazed that so great a Pontiff could have been deceived about such a man. 2 Kings 10 and 19 Gregory: Why are you amazed, Peter, that we who are men are deceived? Or has it escaped your mind that David, who was accustomed to have the spirit of prophecy, gave a sentence against the innocent son of Jonathan, when he heard the words of a lying servant? Yet because this was done through David, we believe it just by the hidden judgment of God, yet we do not see by human reason how it was just. What wonder then if by the mouth of liars we are sometimes led astray, since we are not Prophets? But it is a great matter, that the density of cares ravages the mind of every Bishop. And when the mind is divided among many things, it becomes less capable in each single one: and so much is stolen from him in any one matter, as he is more broadly occupied with many. Peter: What you say is very true.
[11] a peasant is punished for placing grain on his tomb, Gregory: I should not pass over in silence what I learned from the account of my former most reverend Abbot Valentio, about this man. For he used to say that his body, while it was buried in the oratory of the Blessed Martyr Lawrence, a certain peasant placed a chest with grain upon his tomb, and did not bother to consider and revere how great and what sort of man lay there. Then suddenly a whirlwind descended from heaven, and while all other things around remained in their stability, it lifted up the chest that had been placed upon his tomb and cast it far away, so that all might plainly recognize how great the merit was of him whose body lay there.
[12] Also those things which I add I learned from the account of the aforesaid venerable man Fortunatus, who greatly pleases me for his age, and the Lombards dragging away monks, his conduct, and his simplicity. When the Lombards entered the same province of Valeria, the monks from the monastery of the most reverend man Equitius fled to his tomb in the aforesaid oratory. And when the raging Lombards entered the monastery, they began to drag the same monks outside, in order either to interrogate them by torments or kill them with swords: one of whom groaned and, moved by sharp grief, cried out: Alas, alas, St. Equitius, does it please you that we are dragged away, and you do not defend us? At whose voice the raging Lombards were immediately seized by an unclean spirit: and falling to the ground, they were tormented until all the Lombards, even those who were outside, recognized this, so that they would not dare to violate the holy place any further. And thus the holy man, while defending his disciples, also provided a remedy for many who afterward fled there.