ON ST. ELEUTHERIUS
ROMAN PONTIFF.
IN THE YEAR CLXXXV.
HISTORICAL COLLECTION.
Of the time of his See, the Acts in his Pontificate, & his Crown.
Eleutherius Roman Pontiff (St.)
G. H.
Eleutherius the Saint, fourteenth Pontiff of the Holy Roman Church, was by nation a Greek, his father Abundius, to some Abundantius, His native land Nicopolis, begotten in the town Nicopolis, as the ancients here and there testify. Nicopolis is at the mouth of the Ambracian gulf in Epirus, founded by Cæsar Augustus, after Antony & Cleopatra were conquered in a naval battle; which, increased from the ruins of the remaining cities, afterward grew into a great & metropolitan city.
In the older Catalogue of the Roman Pontiffs the time of his See, The time of his See under both Aurelius Antoninus, after some gap, is thus marked: He was in the times of Antoninus & Commodus, from the Consulate of Verus & Erenianus, unto Paternus & Bradua. The former Emperor is Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, surnamed the Philosopher, who, after Lucius Ælius Verus his son-in-law & adopted into the consortship of the Empire, in the year of his reign LX, of Christ CLXIX was extinguished by apoplexy, reigned alone, the Consuls here marked being the Seventh Severus, to others Verus, & Herenianus, in the year of Christ CLXXI, when, Soter the Pontiff having ended his life on XXII April (to which day we treated of him & the year of his death) S. Eleutherius succeeded, ordained by the reckoning of my Colleague Papebroch, from the year 171 on the day III of June on a Sunday. Under his Pontificate the mentioned Antoninus the Philosopher died at Sirmium in Pannonia, on the day XVI of March in the year of Christ CLXXX, to whom then succeeded his son L. Ælius Aurelius Commodus. Under his reign the above-indicated Consuls were Paternus, to others Triarius Maternus & M. Atilius Metilius Bradua in the year CLXXXV, & L. Ælius Aurelius Commodus whom S. Eleutherius had as Consuls in the last year of his life, having died according to the Hieronymian Martyrology VI September: for thus at the VIII Ides is read, At Rome on the Salarian Way the Birthday of S. Eleutherius the Bishop. Thus Eleutherius sat XIV years III months VI days; unto the year 185 but, the Consuls being the Emperor Commodus V & M. Aurelius Glabrio, that is in the year CLXXXV, S. Victor succeeded, ordained by the reckoning praised above on the day XI September, after an interpontificate of one year & four days.
[2] The successor ordained in the year 186. This reckoning of time is confirmed in the other Catalogue of the Roman Pontiffs from the Ms. Codex of Christina Queen of Sweden, elsewhere published by us, likewise in the Lives of the Pontiffs in Anastasius the librarian & Luitprand, & the Ms. Deeds of the Pontiffs brought down to Martin the Fifth, & in the Roman Breviaries manuscript & struck in the years 1479, 1490, & 1524 which we have by us: for everywhere it is said that he was in the times of Antoninus & Commodus unto Paternus & Bradua, or corruptly Patrianus & Barduam. But if so long a vacation of an entire year displeases, no sufficiently fitting reason of it appearing, the time being tranquil enough & the persecution ceasing: there could indeed with the aforesaid second Catalogue, Anastasius, & the rest before noted, be given XV years & thus the See have been vacant only IV days; but the former Catalogue will be said, beyond its style, to have attributed the Consuls of the year CLXXXVI to Victor, who obtained the lesser part of it, the past being attributed, who reached the ninth month of that year, to Eleutherius. My Colleague therefore judges, that in that very peace which the Church then enjoyed, some tares of ambition & emulation grew up, through which it came to pass that the Roman people less patiently bore three consecutive foreign Pontiffs, & began to wish for a Roman one; the Clergy on the contrary wishing a free election, & inclined toward Victor their Archdeacon, although an African. He, even though elected sooner, could have been hindered, either by a grave disease, or some other cause unknown to us, from being immediately ordained.
[3] Among his actions S. Eleutherius is said to have made three ordinations through the month of December, 3 ordinations made: & to have consecrated eleven or twelve Presbyters, seven or eight Deacons, fifteen Bishops in number through divers places. But that is singular, that he received an epistle from Lucius King of Britain, that he might become a Christian by his mandate; which Bede confirms book 1 of the Ecclesiastical History of the English nation chapter 4, in these words: When Eleutherius a holy man presided over the Pontificate of the Roman Church, Lucius King of the Britons sent to him an epistle, the conversion of Britain aided, beseeching that by his mandate he might be made a Christian. And soon he obtained the effect of his pious request, & the Britons kept the faith received inviolate & entire in quiet peace until the times of Diocletian the Prince. Lucius is venerated III December, when there will be occasion of discussing his remaining Acts. Meanwhile may be seen the Writers of English affairs, with Baronius in the Annals & Notes to the Martyrology, in which he explains the heresies opposed: how S. Eleutherius opposed the heresy of the Montanists & others, who abstained from certain foods, as founded by an evil genius: which in the Catalogue from the Ms. of the Queen of Sweden is thus indicated in few words: And so he obtained, that no food should be repudiated by Christians, especially the faithful, which God created, which yet are rational; or, as Anastasius explains, that no usual food should be repudiated, which after all is rational & human.
[4] At the time when the seventeenth year of the Empire of Antoninus Verus was passing, then a more vehement persecution was moved in Gaul, in which two cities, beyond the rest distinguished & excellent mothers of cities, are celebrated, Lyons & Vienne. So Eusebius book 5 of the Ecclesiastical History in the Proem & chapter 1. This year was of Christ CLXXVII, S. Irenæus sent to him from Lyons. when at Lyons suffered Photinus the Bishop & others, on the second day of June. It was also the seventh year of the Pontificate of S. Eleutherius begun, whose virtues were known to the Christians of Lyons. Wherefore, that we may use the words of Eusebius related in chapter 5, the same Martyrs commended Irenæus, who at that time was still a Presbyter of the Church of Lyons, to the aforesaid Eleutherius by letters, adorning him not slightly with their testimony, as their words declare, which run thus: We wish thee in all things & perpetually to be well in God, Eleutherius. We have exhorted our brother & colleague to carry this letter to thee. Whom indeed we beg thee to hold commended, as an emulator of the testament of Christ. For if it were known to us, that place confers justice on anyone, we would have commended him to thee chiefly as a Presbyter of the Church (for this Grade he holds). With a catalogue of Martyrs & Confessors. But what need is there here to recount the catalogue of Martyrs expressed in the above-said epistle, of whom some were struck with the axe, others cast to beasts, others killed in prison? What likewise need is there to relate the number of Confessors, who afterward survived? For all these whoever shall wish, will be able most fully to know from the reading of the epistle itself, which indeed we inserted entire in the Passions of the Martyrs collected by us. The names of these Martyrs from Ado & others will be given on the second day of June, when the Acts of the martyrdom will be illustrated from Eusebius & others; as also on the XXVIII day of the same June in the Acts of S. Irenæus. Here it suffices to have observed, with what reverence those holy Christians of Lyons venerated S. Eleutherius the Roman Pontiff, to whom they indicated all things done in their Church. his body & cultus in the Vatican church:
[5] That S. Eleutherius was buried beside the body of B. Peter the Apostle in the Vatican on the VII Kalends of June, is read in the cited Ms. Catalogue, & in Anastasius in the codices struck & written by hand, likewise in the Roman Pontifical & the Ms. Deeds of the Pontiffs brought down to Martin V: but my Colleague's Dissertation IV to the Catalogue of the Roman Pontiffs shows, that the day which is said by Anastasius & those following him the day of burial, is the day of the Translation, from the place of the first
burial (which we know to have been on the Salarian way from the Hieronymian Martyrology) made to the Vatican, in the full peace of the Church under the Emperor Constantine. That the body is still kept there the Romans testify in the Order of the divine Office, wont to be struck yearly for the use of the most sacred Vatican Basilica, where the Office is prescribed under the rite of a double, & the Creed is recited in the sacrifice of the Mass, & besides the single proper Lesson, which is extant in today's Roman Breviary, all things are said of the Common of one Pontiff & Martyr. Abbot Piazza adds that some Relics are in the church of S. Anna de Funariis. This nevertheless does not hinder, but that the Relics which are now venerated at Troia in Apulia, brought from Tivoli, in the year MCV, may rather be also his, the martyrdom asserted by some. than of S. Eleutherius Bishop of Æca, as we said it seemed to us XVIII April, being about to give the very history of the Translation XIX November, on the occasion of S. Pontianus. Of the martyrdom of S. Eleutherius the Pope no mention is found among the ancients; nay, as is had in the Lesson cited, Under the Emperor Commodus the Church of God enjoyed the highest peace & quiet, & throughout the orb of the lands, especially at Rome, the faith was propagated. Meanwhile Peter de Natalibus book 5 chapter 46 asserts that he suffered by martyrdom in the time of the Emperor Commodus. Bellinus of Padua, in the Martyrology according to the manner of the Roman curia struck in the year 1496, celebrates S. Eleutherius the Pope & Martyr XXVI May; & in this were followed Maurolycus, Molanus, Galesinius, & others with today's Roman. But on the day before, or XXV May, Ado, Notker, & the Author of the Martyrology supposititious under the name of Bede set forth his veneration, without mention of martyrdom. Likewise on the day XXIV May mention of S. Eleutherius the Pope is made by Maurolycus & Felicius, & XX February in the Ms. Brussels Martyrology of the Church of S. Gudula. In the Ms. Florarium of the Saints at the day VI December is expressly recollected the memory of S. Eleutherius Bishop & Confessor at Rome. But whether these things are to be understood of this holy Pontiff, we know not.
[6] S. Felician aided in his studies. In the Life of S. Felician, Bishop of Foligno in Umbria & Martyr, published by us from the Mss. at XXIV January, these things are read: When S. Eleutherius Bishop of the city of Rome had seen the sublime purpose of S. Felician, & that he desired worthily that he be made effective, that he himself might merit the Priesthood; S. Eleutherius, Bishop of the city of Rome, ordered Victor the Archdeacon, that he should receive him among his scholars, & refuse the habit of the world. Returned to his country… enrolled in the Clergy by his fellow-citizens he is substituted Bishop: & brought to the city of Rome, S. Eleutherius the Bishop having already passed to Christ, S. Victor the Archdeacon being made Bishop, when he had seen Felician come to him after long times, he greatly rejoiced. We adjoined the Acts of the same S. Felician from the lessons of the ancient Breviaries, used in the Churches of Hamburg & Minden, where in the last lesson it is thus had: He was elected Bishop & set out for Rome, that he might be consecrated by the holy Bishop Eleutherius. Who when he came to Rome, found the same Pontiff had migrated from the world to the Lord, & in his place Victor the Archdeacon constituted. These things there, without any indication of martyrdom endured by S. Eleutherius, which before the age of the aforesaid Peter perhaps it came into no one's mind to assert.