Athanasius and Theodore

ON SS. ATHANASIUS AND THEODORE, DISCIPLES OF ST. JAMES, AT COMPOSTELA IN SPAIN,

IN THE FIRST CENTURY.

Athanasius, disciple of St. James. (S.)

Theodore, disciple of St. James. (S.)

BY THE AUTHOR G. V. H.

§ I. Review and critique of the traditions on SS. Athanasius and Theodore.

Not once in our work have the names of SS. Athanasius and Theodore come before our predecessors, Although ancient documents are wanting, and they then passed over their Acts and sent them on to the kalends of November. Thus at the 25th of July Vol. VI of July, p. 4 one reads among those passed over: Athanasius and Theodore, as companions of St. James left behind in Spain, buried beside their master's tomb at Compostela, were referred here from Maurolico, Felicius and Galesini on the 15th of May, vol. III, p. 443, and again among those passed over on the 25th of June. Of the same, and of the other companions of the apostle St. James in Spain or bishops ordained by him, there was also treatment in the commentary on the Acts of Caecilius, bishop of Elvira, at the 1st of February. The discussion of Athanasius recurs again in vol. III of April, p. 1001, and elsewhere. What may be said of both or of either on this day I for my part do not find; for they are not mentioned in the Acts of St. James. If Tamayo is to be credited at all, this Athanasius will have been bishop of Zaragoza, whom it pleased him to enter at the 1st of November, to which day accordingly we refer the whole matter, to be examined from Sampiro and others.

[2] the tradition on these saints It is a work full of most tiresome tedium, in rejecting the fictions of false chronicles, to reheat so often the cooked-down cabbage. Let us hear by far the weightiest historian of the Spaniards, Juan de Mariana On the Affairs of Spain, book IV, chapter 2: It is reported that few disciples joined themselves to St. James during the time he was in Spain. Those who count the most number nine: Peter, bishop of Évora in Lusitania, for whom some substitute Thesiphon, prelate of Bergi, a city that was situated not far from Almería; Caecilius of Elvira; Euphrasius of Iliturgi; Secundus of Ávila; Indaletius of Urci (Verga is believed to be a town on the borders of the Basques); Torquatus of Acci, that is, of Guadix; Hesychius of Carthesa, not far from Astorga; and lastly Athanasius and Theodore, guardians of the holy tomb (of St. James), so report has it, whose tombs are shown there to right and left. There are those who think that all these were sent from Rome into Spain by the apostles Peter and Paul, in order to promulgate the gospel. Indeed Pelagius, bishop of Oviedo, who wrote a history nearly five hundred years ago, makes the disciples of James Calocerus, Basil, Pius, Chrysogonus, Theodore, Athanasius, Maximus. We, since the antiquity of the matters detracts from the certain credit of the writing, leave the reader's judgment free on this whole matter.

[3] precedes the time when history began to be disturbed; Thus Mariana; with whom we wholly agree when he says that the discipleship of the holy men to St. James is established by a report drawn from antiquity, not by the certain credit of documents. Wherefore we judge it fair to cause no annoyance to the fastidious reader, but we leave each his free judgment, while we ourselves adhere to the very tradition of the Spaniards, which attributes Athanasius and Theodore to St. James as disciples. For this report prevailed in Spain more than a thousand years ago, and is set down in the most ancient documents: documents which we do not adduce to establish the truth of the matter; for they stand immensely distant from the times of the things narrated, nearly seven centuries; but they have this value with us, that they testify to the tradition of those churches many centuries before the false compilers of chronicles began to disturb the whole of history.

[4] Leo III and Calixtus II support it, The earlier document is a letter of Leo III, Roman Pontiff: which, like the other of Calixtus II to be cited shortly, we shall bring forward entire at the foot of this commentary. There, after the narration of the translation of St. James from Jerusalem into Spain and the burial of the holy body, we read this: In the beginning, by wholesome counsel, two little clients remained there to guard the precious talent, namely the venerable body of blessed James, of whom one was called Theodore, and the other Athanasius. But the other disciples, God accompanying them, entered the Spains to preach; as we have said beforehand, those two attendant disciples, out of reverence for that master, while they kept watch unceasingly with the greatest affection over the aforesaid tomb, ever vigilant, commanded that they be buried after their death by the Christians beside their master, one at his right, the other at his left. And thus, the term of life being fixed, paying the debt of nature, they breathed out their spirits in a happy departure and with rejoicing bore their souls into heaven; and their outstanding teacher, not deserting them, obtained from God that they be placed with him in heaven and on earth, and, in a purple robe, he rejoices adorned with a crown in the eternal court together with the same disciples, ready to protect the wretched who beseech him with his unconquered suffrage. The other document is a letter of Pope Calixtus II, in which we read the following: But the other disciples, namely Athanasius and Theodore, as in the very letter of blessed Leo

is written, are buried beside the apostolic body, one at the right and the other at the left.

[5] and has recently been confirmed, the bodies having been found. Beyond what we read in the two documents, we know nothing of SS. Athanasius and Theodore. It seems, then, that the following should be established: Athanasius and Theodore were disciples of St. James, guardians of the holy apostle's tomb, and after a blessed death they rest buried, one on the right, the other on the left of St. James. This is the pure tradition of the Spaniards, to which we adhere all the more willingly since the recently opened tombs of St. James and of his disciples and the bones found in the same church have added greater weight to it See below, § II. Everyone can see, however, how wide and specious a field for invention these lines could mark out for forgers. Reluctantly indeed, but nevertheless, we shall follow them as far as Tamayo, who, Acts being wanting, himself deigned to compose the Acts of these saints in the fifteenth century after their death.

[6] To the ancient tradition Pseudo-Dexter added certain things Flavius Lucius (Pseudo-) Dexter in his Chronicle at the year of Christ 37: He also brings with him into Spain, after the apostolic manner, many disciples, the chief of them twelve in number. Namely the bishops Basil, Pius, Athanasius, Maximus, Chrysogonus; the presbyters Theodore, Caecilius, Thesiphon, Hesychius, Calocerus; the lectors Torquatus, etc., etc. Of Athanasius, whom he here merely names, he will shortly give a fuller notice at the year of Christ 50, saying: About these times St. Athanasius, first bishop of Zaragoza, a Greek by nation, a disciple of St. James from among those he had in Spain, preaches throughout Celtiberia and shows himself wonderful there. And he and Theodore run about preaching and teaching through all Carpetania. He recalls Theodore again at the year of Christ 41: His embassy honourably fulfilled and the affairs of Spain most holily composed, and the church called of the Pillar being left in the care of Theodore, which the Blessed Virgin by her presence had preserved, blessed and consecrated, where she also left her splendid image (which heavenly house has from that time been frequented by the devotion of the faithful), James returned to Jerusalem amid the tears of the Spaniards. And again at the year of Christ 71: Theodore, II bishop of Zaragoza, preaching in the African Pentapolis, became a martyr with Irenaeus his archdeacon and Serapion and Ammonius, lectors. And not long afterwards his body, carried to Spain (as Theodore himself had ordered), lies near the tomb of St. James.

[7] from Pseudo-Braulio, In the additions to the Chronicle of Maximus, which are called those of St. Braulio, the following poems are read on Athanasius and Theodore [At the foot of the Chronicle of M. Maximus (Madrid edition, 1651), pp. 53–55. See Patrologia Latina, vol. XXXI, p. 167]:

Poem of M. Maximus on St. Athanasius, first bishop of Zaragoza.

Athanasius first becomes the prelate in our city And honoured shepherd of the angelic house. Through the Carpetan tracts he scatters sacred seeds And preaches among the Celtiberian peoples. Honour to your soul's piety, old man, prelate and father, Disciple of James, and glory of pontiffs. Pray for the people entrusted to you, splendid shepherd; You who are called the anchor of the faith, be favourable.

He died near Zaragoza in the year of Christ 59. He is venerated on the 1st of November.

Poem of the same M. Maximus on St. Theodore, first archpresbyter of St. Athanasius.

In Spain with equal cares they plant their steps, St. Athanasius, and loving Theodore then. He was the first presbyter, and gladly taught The sacred doctrines on Celtiberian soil; And when Cynthius had completed his orbit four times ten, His head wreathed with leaves, he goes renowned to the stars. Partner of the other Theodore, to whom the charge was given To guard the venerable tomb of his father. Honour to your soul, holy Theodore, keeper of the sheepfold, Shining glory of the religion of Caesar's city. As a suppliant before God pray diligently for us, Who, with you as leader *, have tasted the ambrosia of the faith.

Of M. Maximus, to the holy first prelates of Zaragoza, Athanasius and Epictetus, and the Archpresbyter Theodore and their companion martyrs.

Lo, piously on the sacred altars we burn Incense and nard and the accustomed fragrances To the throng of prelates whom as patrons This city holds; Whom it holds as fathers and first prelates Of the faith, under these masters too The city of Caesar greatly flourishes, and to them It dedicates temples. I praise you first, holy Athanasius, And you, Theodore, in outstanding song. No less, Epictetus the prelate, are you Worthy of our odes. The third and the first the Ebro itself saw Suffering bravely; but the second Famed Cyrene saw, sowing sacred things Through the Libyan tracts. Here lie buried the sacred ashes Which Crescens, grieving, orders to be interred. From here Crescens, for a graver cause, Brother and host, raises them, And Irenaeus, a suppliant companion to them, Who is said to be the head of the Levites, And two lectors; but the four Are slain by the sword. On the kindly day that is six times four of March The people, suppliant to you and to your holy companions, On the day they record your suffering, celebrate The feast each year.

[8] and following these Tamayo, Tamayo, in the notes to his Hispanic Martyrology, at the kalends of November, copies out the distichs of Maximus and part of the sapphic ode. In the Martyrology itself the following elogium of Athanasius is read: At Zaragoza, in Celtiberia of Spain, of St. Athanasius, first bishop of that city, disciple of Blessed James the apostle of the Spains, and his most faithful companion in life and after death, who, the most holy body of his master having been buried and an altar consecrated in his honour, put on the infulae of the prelacy of Zaragoza, where, and in Carpetania and elsewhere, he preached, and at last was crowned with martyrdom in the first persecution of Nero. Finally he composes the Acts of St. Athanasius in this form:

[9] who also the Acts Acts of St. Athanasius, disciple of Blessed James the apostle and bishop of Zaragoza, martyr, from the breviaries and writers.

Athanasius, Greek by origin, born at Toledo, a Jew by nation, having sucked the first flowers of erudition and learning in the same city, reached the summit of wisdom, a man now accomplished, at the time when the rulers and priests of Jerusalem were fearlessly seeking the death of Jesus Christ our Lord. To accomplish this more blamelessly, as it seemed to them, they appealed by letters to the Jews who possessed a renowned synagogue at Toledo, that, assenting to his death, they might subscribe to the sentence of condemnation of the most innocent Jesus. But the Toledans, who had come to know the life, miracles and prodigies of Christ through various reports, sent to Jerusalem Athanasius and Joseph, men of admirable learning and excellently taught in the scriptures, to declare to the Jews of Jerusalem and the chief priests and other masters in the law that they should by no means destroy that man by guile, and to turn them utterly away from the proposed unworthy crime. But when Athanasius and his companion, hastening to redeem the death of Christ, had arrived at Jerusalem, they learned at once that it had already been carried out by the perfidious Jews. Hence Athanasius, desiring by the force of his erudition to look more curiously into the cause by which its rulers had been led to inflict death on the Redeemer, at length recognized more deeply that it had been perpetrated out of envy. Then, informing his Toledans of everything exactly, he wrote back to his fellow citizens that the teaching of Christ alone was henceforth necessary for salvation. Hence he admonished them that if it should happen that any of his apostles or disciples arrived at Toledo, they should receive them and readily embrace the word and faith of Christ.

[10] entire He, converted, attaching himself to James, the designated apostle of the Spains, at length returned with him to the Spains, and chosen as his disciple, he traversed all the corners of that region, until, having entered Zaragoza with his master and being at prayer with him, he beheld that admirable apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, while she still remained in the flesh, shining upon the pillar, and with his own ears understood all that was commanded to James by the blessed mother of God. Indeed he afterwards took part in the building of the oratory, and was ordained bishop of that place and city by his blessed master. Persevering in the guardianship of the angelic shrine with Theodore the presbyter, his companion and afterwards his successor, he spent much time in the service and obedience of the Virgin mother. After this, learning that the body of his master James, beheaded at Jerusalem by Herod, had been gathered by the disciples and placed on a ship, conveyed by the ministry of angels to the Spains, and brought to land at Iria Flavia of Galicia, he left the virginal house of the Pillar and went on to Galicia with Theodore the presbyter and companion, and together with the other disciples of the apostle gathering there he solemnly buried the sacred pledge of his master, and religiously built an altar with all the affection of his mind.

[11] composed Hence, the solemnities having been performed, returning to Zaragoza, that he might gain spiritual talents for the future, going round fearlessly through the borders of all Celtiberia he began to scatter evangelical seeds, and reaching the Carpetani he also traversed all that region in preaching, converting very many to the faith of Christ and calling them back from the dregs of the old law to the life-giving doctrine of evangelical truth. At length, the capture and chains of Blessed Paul the apostle having become known through the Spanish prelates, they sent him to Rome with Elpidius of Toledo and Basil of Braga; and he offered Paul the gifts and refreshment, which he was bringing in the name of the Spaniards, in token of their love. So, the embassy having been discharged, and giving an exact account of the business committed to him to the prelates and the faithful, as he busied himself with returning to his own church he was seized by the hand of the gentiles and crowned with martyrdom for the confession of the faith, on the kalends of November in the year LIX. His sacred body, gathered by the faithful and carried to Galicia, was buried beside the tomb of his master James and to this day rests there in honour.

[12] scraped together from many. This is the exemplar of the Acts of St. Athanasius, which Tamayo admits were written specifically by no one; wherefore he composed them from all. Giving an account of these Acts, he continues thus: Behold the Acts of the holy prelate and martyr, which from patchworks minutely reviewed from authors we have been able to curdle together, in proof of which we shall add some things: First, concerning his origin, which Dexter in his Chronicle, year 80, no. 2, asserts to have been Greek, in these words: About these times St. Athanasius, bishop of Zaragoza, a Greek by nation, disciple of St. James, preaches throughout Celtiberia; there agree Morillo, part 1, chapter 21, the count of Mora, chapter 17, fol. 317, and the others reported above. Second, concerning his citizenship and birth at Toledo, Julian Pérez is at hand in his Chronicle, no. 8, fol. 9, where, treating of the messengers whom the Jews of Toledo had sent to Jerusalem to speak against the death of the Lord, he reports that they were Toledan citizens of his synagogue, and the count of Mora proves it excellently, at the said chapter 17, fol. 317, and Luis López at the said chapter 7. Third, concerning the embassy to Rome to visit Blessed Paul the apostle in chains, the same Julian is witness in the Adversaria, no. 6, in this order: In the memorials of St. Justa I found that the churches of Spain chose Athanasius of Zaragoza, Elpidius of Toledo, Basil of Braga, who with others also from Judaism and gentilism might visit Paul in chains at Rome and console him by bringing gifts and refreshments. This Paul himself teaches in chapter 10 of the Epistle to the Hebrews, when he says: And you have had compassion on my chains; and this was about the month of September in the year of the Lord fifty-nine. There agree Michael de Erze, On the Coming of St. James, chapter 19,

Don Murus Castella and the other more recent writers. Fourth, concerning the martyrdom, the day, month and year of the Saint's death, M. Maximus at the foot of the epigram placed above; and what was said by Bivar at the year 60, fol. 116, is to the purpose. Hence you will depart from Galesini, Maurolico and Ferrari, who put the day of his martyrdom or passing at the 15th of May, perhaps not knowing the true day.

[13] But the other martyrologists Dismissing for the moment Tamayo, of all martyrologists the greatest in bulk as he is the least in credit, let us look at the others. The Hieronymians, the Little Roman, Bede, Florus, Rabanus, Wandelbert, Notker, Ado, Usuard are wholly ignorant of Athanasius and Theodore. Maurolico at the 15th of May adds Athanasius and Theodore to the seven others of whom Henschenius treated at the 1st of February, relying on the authority of the Leonine letter: But the two remaining companions of this apostle (James), Athanasius and Theodore, left in Spain, lie buried beside the tomb of their master at Compostela, as we read in a certain letter of St. Leo. Galesini on the same day: In Spain, of the holy confessors Caecilius… Athanasius and Theodore. Of whom Caecilius, disciple of Blessed James the apostle, consecrated bishop by Peter the prince of the apostles, presided over the church of Elvira. The others likewise, when they had carried from the city of Jerusalem into Spain the body of the same St. James, whom Herod Agrippa had slain, set out thence for Rome and, made bishops by the same man, were sent to Spain, entangled in the superstitions of the gentiles; where Indaletius, set over the episcopate of the city of Vergi, Torquatus of Acci, Hesychius of Cathena, Secundus of Ávila, Ctesiphon of Almería, Euphrasius of Iliturgi, each called back for his own region a huge multitude from the darkness to behold the light of the gospel. By those two likewise, Athanasius and Theodore, who had never left Spain, the discipline of the Christian religion was propagated into many parts of that province. Filippo Ferrari in the General Catalogue makes mention of Athanasius and Theodore twice, once at the 15th of May, again at the 25th of June. In the first place he has this: On the ides of May, at Compostela in Spain, of SS. Athanasius and Theodore, disciples of St. James the apostle; and he annotates: From Maurolico and Galesini on this day: Marieta treats of them, book I on the Saints of Spain, at the 25th of June. In the tables of the church of Compostela, however, in which the saints it venerates are noted, they are wanting, as we observed in those published at Madrid. In the second place he brings forward the same elogium with the following note: From Maurolico and Galesini on this day: of whom, however, at the 15th of May. But from the tables of the church of Compostela, on the witness of Juan Marieta, book VI on the Saints of Spain, on this day.

[14] report only the ancient tradition. All these things considered, we see one kernel common to all, adorned by some in one way and by others in another. The kernel is that Athanasius and Theodore, disciples of St. James, existed in Spain. The rest has been added with greater or lesser or even no credit. Let us therefore retrace our steps, subjecting each matter to an exact balance. The most ancient document, the letter of Leo, and following it Pope Calixtus, number among the disciples of St. James Athanasius and Theodore, who lay buried beside the body of their master James, after, on the witness of Leo, they had guarded the sacred body with vigilant care while life remained. Pelagius, bishop of Oviedo, also lists both among the disciples of James, as we have heard above from the testimony of Mariana. On this foundation of the tradition of the Spaniards the whole edifice of the Acts of Athanasius and Theodore has been built up by writers of a later age: tottering indeed and unstable, seeing that it holds ill together with its foundation.

[15] What Pseudo-Dexter hands on, Pseudo-Dexter leads the line, and makes Athanasius first bishop of Zaragoza, and assigns as his successor Theodore, second bishop of the same city, at the years of Christ 50 and 71. On what authority he did this I have been quite unable to see. The common suspicion names as the furtive father of Pseudo-Dexter Román de la Higuera, a man of great but strange genius, of immense but not sufficiently sincere erudition. It may thus be that what Pseudo-Dexter narrated of Athanasius flowed from Higuera's pen, though I do not think it was invented by Higuera. For besides others he has an author to whom he may refer himself, a man great among historians, Jerónimo de Blancas. For he writes thus in the Commentaries on the affairs of Aragon: For after blessed Athanasius, disciple of the apostle himself (James), whom they record as the first bishop of Zaragoza, etc. Hispania illustrata, vol. III, p. 578. When Román de la Higuera had read this, he soon sent a letter from Ocaña to Zaragoza to Jerónimo Blancas, on the kalends of June in the year 1589, in which among other things he writes: To this, what you write about blessed Athanasius, first bishop of Zaragoza, I had already sometimes read; but whether it rests on tradition alone, or on some ancient writer, or parchment, I should like to be informed by you [Among the letters of Nicolás Antonio and other learned men, at the foot of the work Censuras de historias fabulosas of the same Nicolás Antonio, p. 686].

[16] are confirmed only by the authority of Jerónimo Blancas; To him in the same year 1589, from Zaragoza to Ocaña, on the 20th of July, Jerónimo Blancas wrote back: Nevertheless what has been handed down to us about Bl. Athanasius, that he should be established as first bishop of our city, rests on no smaller, indeed on a greater store of ancient monuments. For among those things brought forward by Beuter and Vaseus, the very weighty testimonies of Pope Calixtus and of Basil the Great on the foundation of this our most august church of the Pillar, there appear also some traces of this matter. There are besides not a few other things to this effect, by no means to be hissed off the stage: namely, the illustrious and old history on this very matter which is preserved in the library of the same church (as is contained in it), found in the books of the Moralia, which had long lain hidden. These books are thought to be the very ones which blessed Pope Gregory revealed to our bishop Tajo, sent to Rome by the council of Toledo and the Gothic king Chindaswinth, when he was passing the night in prayer, appearing, as is said, with a company of saints in the basilica of St. Peter. There also survive what are called the lessons of the most holy disciples of Blessed James, reported to have been formerly in our breviary, which are said to have been excerpted from the same Calixtus and from Pope Leo, and from the martyrology of Bl. Jerome, as he learned from Bl. Chromatius, and also from the chronicles of the Lombards and other authentic books (for all these things are noted in the little preface of those lessons). There are also to be seen today in the same church very ancient paintings, now almost vanishing from age, by which this whole matter, sufficiently attested to everyone's ears, becomes more attested to the very eyes. For that reason I did not wish to make it doubtful by my hesitation, although I did not so put it forward without affirming it doubtfully, lest I should incur the censure of some over-critical person: especially since it has not so far been possible for me to read through the books of writers of this sort. But I by no means think that one should inquire too much into the traditions of our forebears, especially in those matters which pertain to divine worship and the increase of the devotion of the faithful Ibid., p. 687. So the most learned Blancas to Román de la Higuera on Athanasius, first bishop of Zaragoza. Of what opinion he was is sufficiently plain. It must be seen what those think whose authority he invokes.

[17] who himself also Vaseus and others Johannes Vaseus Chronicle of Spain at the year of Christ 44 wrote the following: The remaining two, St. Athanasius and St. Theodore, were buried beside the body of the holy apostle, which they had guarded in unceasing vigil, one at the right, the other at the left, by the peoples whom they had gained for God; these Pedro Antonio Beuter, in the twenty-third chapter of the first book, writes were left at Zaragoza by the apostle returning from Spain to Judaea, one a bishop, the other a presbyter. But this does not agree with the letter of Leo. The testimony of our Vaseus of Bruges refers wholly to the letter of Leo, and what Beuter adds besides, as Vaseus well noted, is absent from the letter of Leo. Here for you are the words of Beuter, whose original text I do not have to hand, put into Latin from the Italian version made by Alfonso Ulloa Beuter, Cronica etc., tradotta, chapter 23, p. 347, Venice 1556: That church having been made (the angelic church of the Blessed Virgin of the Pillar), it was entrusted to two disciples, whose names are Athanasius for the one and Theodore for the other. The latter (James) ordained presbyter, the former he consecrated bishop to preach the faith of the Lord; then with the seven others he set out again for Jerusalem.

[18] not rightly It is clear that the authority of Vaseus is invoked in vain to confirm the Zaragozan prelacy of St. Athanasius; of which Calixtus and Vincent of Beauvais were equally ignorant: ignorant, I say, not of the man, but of the man's episcopate. That he should have dragged in here Basil the Great as affirming the Zaragozan episcopate of Athanasius is indeed an amusing business. The excellent Blancas had read in the Vaseus he brings forward, writing at the year of Christ 37 about the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary founded by St. James in the city of Zaragoza, that this is a constant report and memory from many centuries back and perpetual, by which many deeds of the ancients, as Basil the Great testifies in the letter to Nepotianus, have been handed down to us as if from hand to hand. Which things are rightly and truly said by Vaseus. But the Basil whom Vaseus brings forward, as teaching that many things have come to us not by writing but by the living word of tradition, which he indeed teaches and most truly, this Basil Blancas, deceived by a trick of memory or fancy, believed to attest the episcopate of St. Athanasius. That the Roman pontiffs Leo and Calixtus, whom he then cites as authors, have not said so much as a word about the Zaragozan episcopate of Athanasius is made plain by the document of each adduced by us. As for his bringing in the Hieronymian martyrology to the assistance of his cause, again he did it with empty labour. For neither does that martyrology make mention of these men, I mean Athanasius or Theodore, nor is the martyrology which he believed to be Hieronymian from the supposititious prefatory letters of Jerome and Pammachius that of Jerome, but of Usuard. And here again he slips: for Usuard did not list Athanasius or Theodore among the disciples of James; unless perhaps some unknown interpolated codex in Spain fell into the hands of Blancas. In fact, therefore, what Blancas candidly confesses is proved true, that he had not seen these authors with his own eyes. What he relates about the history found in the books of Gregory's Moralia I cannot bring to the balance, since I do not have it; I think, however, that it is the same as that of Pelagius of Oviedo, which indeed numbers Athanasius and Theodore among the disciples of James, but is silent about the Zaragozan episcopate. That in some breviaries, and especially in the breviary of Zaragoza, Athanasius is proclaimed first bishop of Zaragoza I readily believe. And so I am compelled to suppose that there remains to Jerónimo Blancas only his Beuter as author, with the breviaries. Finally it is worthy of note that Blancas speaks from the report of others and does not bring forward a certain judgment of his own mind, while some credence is yet created by the painted images, which beyond doubt represent Athanasius wearing the infula.

[19] calls. Ambrosio de Morales History of Spain, book XI, chapter 7, no. 16 does indeed join with the seven disciples of James Athanasius and

Theodore; but that Athanasius was a bishop and Theodore a presbyter he declares on the bare credit of the people of Zaragoza. Francisco de Padilla History of Spain, century I, chapter 8, fol. 18, whom I put into Latin from the Spanish tongue, writes thus: For this church (of Zaragoza) he (James) ordained as bishop one of his companions and disciples, Athanasius by name, and another by the name of Theodore he ordained presbyter. And Beuter is cited, book I, chapter 25 (which is a printer's error for 23). Whence it is clear that Padilla depends on Beuter.

[20] testimonies also heaped up by Bivar At the year of Christ 37, where Dexter places Athanasius the bishop and Theodore the lector among the twelve disciples whom St. James brought with him into Spain, Bivar annotates what follows Commentary II, no. 4: St. Athanasius, first bishop of Zaragoza after St. James the apostle. This is the best known of all the disciples of the apostle, whom Leo III, Calixtus II, Beauvais and others recognize when they treat of St. James. The Breviary of Córdoba and that of Évora, and almost all the ancient breviaries of Spain, Pelagius of Oviedo, Vaseus, Mariana, Marieta and the other Spanish writers, and he himself confesses it of himself in the fragment which we adduced above on St. Peter of Braga, saying: James, son of Zebedee, my master, etc. M. Maximus wrote an epigram in his honour. It begins:

Athanasius first becomes the prelate in our city And honoured shepherd of the angelic house.

— But lower down it has this:

Honour to your soul's piety, old man, prelate and father, You are disciple of James, and glory of pontiffs.

— More of him in their places at the years 42 and 50. And we treated above at the year 35, where by the testimony of Julian we showed that he was sent with others to Jerusalem by the Spanish Jews regarding the death of Christ the Lord. See Caledonius and Hugh, reported above. Now each point must be answered.

[21] heaped up Athanasius, first bishop of Zaragoza. This is indeed asserted gratuitously and has no suitable author. The best known of all the disciples of the apostle. He is known, but he can in no way be called the best known of all, unless perhaps through the work and zeal of forgers. Whom Leo III and Calixtus II recognize. They do recognize him, but neither Leo nor Calixtus said that he was bishop of Zaragoza. Beauvais and others. Beauvais knows nothing except from Leo and Calixtus, and is ignorant of the episcopate of Athanasius See Speculum Historiale, book IX, chapter 6; others indeed very many, but what they say and on what authority, we have already said in part and will say further on. The Breviary of Córdoba, of Évora. I have no access to the Breviary of Córdoba, but that of Évora (Lisbon 1548) does not recall our Athanasius. And almost all the ancient breviaries of Spain. It is surely impossible that I should inspect all the ancient breviaries of Spain, seeing that they cannot be consulted by me. I suspect, however, that most breviaries depend on Leo and Calixtus or, what is the same, on Vincent of Beauvais, and are ignorant of the episcopate of Athanasius. I have in my possession the Proper of Compostela, printed at Compostela in the year of the Lord 1596: in which at the 5th of May I read thus: Of Torquatus and his companions, martyrs and pontiffs, double, disciples of Blessed James the apostle; and two of their bodies, namely those of Theodore and Athanasius, are laid in the church of Compostela. Office from the common of many martyrs in Paschal time. Although Athanasius and Theodore appear here to be counted with the other pontiffs, there is nevertheless no discussion of an episcopate at Zaragoza.

[22] or nothing Pelagius of Oviedo, Vaseus, Mariana, Marieta and the other Spanish writers. From what is reported above it is plain that Pelagius, Vaseus, Mariana indeed know Athanasius, know Theodore, disciples of St. James, but do not know of the episcopate or are silent about it. Marieta, who is not with me, I will grant to Bivar. Of the other Spanish writers I cannot reply here; I shall reply afterwards, when I examine Tamayo. And he himself confesses it of himself in the fragment which we adduced above on St. Peter of Braga. That fragment, which I am ashamed to copy out lest our pages be stained with such filth of refuse, may be read in Bivar in the commentary at the year of Christ 36. This portentous lie of a spurious document, received from the chests of a certain library of Sardinia and also from another in the kingdom of Aragon through the hands of Fr. Bartolomé de Olivenza, Provincial of the Society of Jesus in the island of Sardinia, was afterwards put into print by Divus Prudencio de Sandoval, bishop of Tuy, in the history of the same church. So Bivar. Now in that document St. Athanasius does indeed call St. James his master, but says nothing about his episcopate. M. Maximus in his honour an epigram etc. The epigrams and poems of Maximus are spurious and supposititious, fabricated in the sixteenth century: this is a thing known to the blear-eyed and the barbers. More of him in their places at the years 42 and 50: which we shall examine in the same place. And we treated above at the year 35, where by the testimony of Julian we showed that he was sent with others, etc. That testimony of Julian is spurious and fabricated, with the other documents of the false chronicles.

[23] beyond the ancient tradition See Caledonius and Hugh, reported above. Among the elogia of Dexter, author of the Chronicle Patrologia Latina, vol. XXXI, p. 22 f., Bivar alleged a certain letter of Hugh, bishop of Porto, to Maurice, archbishop of Braga, in which mention is made of the Life of St. Peter of Braga (from an old parchment codex written, as is said there, by command of Argiovitus, formerly bishop of this see of Porto) by the author Caledonius of Braga. In a fragment of this Life it is written: James had raised up a little building at Zaragoza in honour of the Virgin Mother of God, and, having created Athanasius there, he departed, etc. Here for you is what Bivar said should be seen from Caledonius and Hugh. He had said this by way of preface Ibid., p. 22: This (letter) was drawn from the autograph by the most learned man and our friend Gaspar Álvarez de Losada, by whose gift we received it sent from Lisbon. But Nicolás Antonio rightly judges that this letter and Caledonius of Braga himself were fabricated in favour of Pseudo-Dexter Bibliotheca Hispana Vetus, vol. I, chapter 21.

[24] show, Bivar at the same year of Christ 37, Commentary 2, no. 5: St. Theodore, bishop, succeeded Athanasius in the episcopate of Zaragoza. His discipleship is acknowledged by all those who treat of St. Athanasius, whom we have now cited, Calixtus, Leo and the others, and similarly Bishop Pelagius of Oviedo and M. Maximus in the hymn he published on the first three bishops of Zaragoza. We shall give it below at the year 71. We shall treat of Theodore again at the years 50 and 71, in which he was crowned with martyrdom. Let it suffice here to have remarked that exactly the same holds of the episcopate of Theodore as of that of Athanasius, namely that it was unknown to the ancients, admitted by certain more recent writers, and unknown to the best historians. What Bivar annotates of Athanasius at the year of Christ 42 there is no need to report; he supposes in his usual manner that Athanasius was ordained bishop of Zaragoza by James, and says that he hastened with the others to the body of St. James translated into Spain.

[25] or are spurious. At the year 50, the Commentary on Dexter cites places long since treated, then cites the elogium of these saints from Galesini, which we ourselves adduced above from the 15th of May; it fortifies the false Dexter with the protection of the false Maximus, adducing the hymn and epigrams described above by us; it disputes about one or two Theodores, about a quiet or a violent death: all of which are the vain contests of empty shadows, and which we therefore dismiss. Further, about the burial of each holy man it writes what is known from Leo and Calixtus. Finally it marks out from Ptolemy the places of the preaching of Athanasius and Theodore, which we likewise pass over. Lastly, at the year of Christ 71, to which Dexter ties the death of Theodore, Bivar confirms the erring Dexter with his own error. That Theodore who with his companions Irenaeus, Serapion and Ammonius underwent martyrdom in the Pentapolis in Libya he proclaims to be the very Theodore who was the successor of Athanasius in the Zaragozan episcopate and disciple of James. These things, as they are affirmed without any suitable author, do not call for the empty labour of refuting them.

[26] The same must be said On the epigrams and hymn of Maximus I have thought nothing else need be annotated but this: these are insipid poems fabricated by the hand of a forger of a later age, with a second Theodore added to the inventions of Pseudo-Dexter. We must now pass on to Tamayo, the generous composer of the Acts of Athanasius. By his careful indication of his sources he has freed us from a great care in refuting. For he depends entirely on the false authors of the chronicles and on certain writers of no authority, seeing that they were either deceived by the same forgers, or deluded by some vague tradition of the crowd, and took for accomplished what could have happened.

[27] of those things which to his Acts Let us see the chief heads of the Acts. And first, as to the Greek origin of Athanasius, he cites as author Dexter at the year of Christ 50, no. 2: and there agree, he says, Morillo, and the count of Mora and the others reported above. But there is no authority of Pseudo-Dexter, and of those who follow Dexter there is no authority. Second, as to the Toledan citizenship of Athanasius he cites Julian Pérez and his fabulous inventions; whose credit, the whole of it, is Greek credit and none at all: which neither the count of Mora nor Luis López can heal by his credulous testimony. Third, he establishes the embassy to Paul from the Adversaria of the same Julian, with equal authority, which neither Michael de Erze nor Castella nor the other more recent writers can cure. Fourth, he proclaims the martyrdom from Marcus Maximus, of the same flour as Dexter, whom not even the most learned Bivar can save.

[28] appended Tamayo had in his usual way alleged a huge troop of writers, of the first, the middle and the lowest benches, of whom most we ourselves have adduced above, or have subjected to examination as adduced by others. They are as follows: from the martyrologists, Pietro Galesini, Maurolico, Filippo Ferrari; then Calixtus II, Calixtus III, Leo III, Roman Pontiffs; the writers Flavius Dexter and his commentator Bivar, Marcus Maximus and his poems which we copied out above, finally Julian Pérez, Ambrosio de Morales, Johannes Vaseus, Vincent of Beauvais, Pelagius of Oviedo, Esteban Garibay, Juan Marieta, Pedro Antonio Beuter, Francisco de Padilla, Mauro Castella, Castillo, Bernardo de Brito, Murillo, Rodrigo de Acuña, Gaspar Escolano, Master Rus-Puerta, Michael de Erze, Luis López, the count of Mora, and others, he says, innumerable.

[29] Tamayo Leo III and Calixtus II we have given above No. 4. The bull of Calixtus III we shall not give, because it says not a word about Athanasius or Theodore: it may be read in the appendix to vol. III of the España sagrada, no. XI. We have also copied out Galesini, Maurolico and Ferrari, from whom we learned nothing else but the discipleship of both saints to James, the custody of the tomb, the burial beside the body of their master James and the glory of holiness, to which Galesini adds apostolic labours. Dexter, Maximus and Julian we spurn with impunity: for they are supposititious; and together with them we pass over the most learned

Bivar, who so abused the excellence of his talent and learning in defending them. Vincent of Beauvais, Ambrosio de Morales, Johannes Vaseus, and, much older than these, Pelagius of Oviedo, great names indeed, of whom mention has now been made a second and third time, give Tamayo no help; for they report nothing certain beyond what we have just said. The rest we do not care about: for either they followed some vague opinion or they copy out the false chronicles, and even if they should most strongly affirm the entire Acts of Athanasius, and what has been said of Theodore beyond what we have called the kernel of the historical tradition, they are in no way to be heard. For what more recent authors began to narrate after thirteen or fourteen centuries of silence is to be neglected by men of sound criticism, according to the best-known canon of this art. What has been said of the Acts of Athanasius holds all the same by the same law of Theodore and his deeds, such as they have been brought forward by Dexter or Maximus.

[30] What it seems should be thought is declared. Putting an end to a tedious inquiry, we shall freely declare what seems at last to be established about Athanasius and Theodore. Athanasius and Theodore existed as disciples of St. James, who, surrounding the body of the blessed apostle translated into Spain with constant guard, at last rested in a blessed death, and lie buried beside the body of their master, one at the right, the other at the left. They never left Spain. To these things Leo and Calixtus testify. That they died as martyrs Leo implies, when he says that they were adorned with a purple robe. That they were bishops or presbyters no sufficiently certain tradition teaches. I would, however, willingly admit it, although relying on no testimony of history. That Athanasius was first and Theodore second bishop of Zaragoza, as is read even in the very catalogue of the prelates of Zaragoza prefixed to the synodal Constitutions printed in the year 1697, we deny with the most learned Risco España sagrada, vol. XXX, treatise LX, chapter 7; inasmuch as it rests on no testimony of the ancients and no ancient tradition of the city itself. That they have been given the honour of public and ecclesiastical cult is most clearly plain from the breviaries and martyrologies often cited; and most of all in the letter of Leo III the outstanding glory of holiness which the blessed men enjoy in the heavens is manifest. The tombs of both saints were found in the year 1879, in the month of February, when the tomb of St. James was found, on either side beside the tomb of the blessed apostle.

* in the edition, dive te.

§ II. The tomb of SS. Athanasius and Theodore. The recognition of the relics made in the year 1879.

of both saints at Compostela I think I shall do something pleasing to the reader if I set before his eyes the described form of the tomb of St. James and of the tombs of Theodore and Anastasius adjoining it, such as, after the excavations made in the main chapel of the cathedral church of Compostela, Rev. Fr. Fidel Fita, S.J., and Don Aureliano Fernández-Guerra have given in a little work recently published Recuerdos de un viaje a Santiago de Galicia. Madrid 1880. In quarto. In it Page 70 there is an orthographic drawing of the sepulchral monument, from the foundations as far as the pavement of the crypt, which we append here (following page, fig. I), distinguishing the several parts by signs of inscribed letters.

[32] the tomb was found. To this drawing the most learned authors have added the form of the same monument in longitudinal section and in cross-section; these figures also we have thought should be appended at this place to the former (figs. II and III). They also sketch three pictures most worthy of being seen: the first is a fragment of the mosaic-work pavement of the underground church, whose place is marked in the drawing by the letter e; the second is a picture from the old codex A of the Compostela archive, made in the year 1129; the third, of the thirteenth century, from the Historia Compostellana. Each of these shows the finding of the sacred tombs, made by Theodemir, bishop of Iria (beginning of the ninth century) España sagrada, vol. XIX, p. 63. In the first (fig. IV) Theodemir stands with his head covered by the infula, bearing a staff in his left hand, with the index finger of his right pointing out the middle one of three tombs, which an angel flying above indicates with his right hand and censes with his left. The wall bears this inscription: Teodemir' Episkop'; from the vault a lamp hangs. The second (fig. V) paints the same story with very few attending details changed. All of which accord marvellously with the letter of Leo.

[33] The bones found there, physicians, In another place below the main chapel of the cathedral of Compostela very many human bones were found, and since the people of Compostela strongly suspected that these were the relics of St. James and of his disciples Athanasius and Theodore, the Most Eminent Michael Cardinal Payá, archbishop of Compostela, gave them to expert men to be examined. Here for you is the authentic document of this examination, rendered word for word into Latin from the Spanish In the appendix to Recuerdos, etc., cited above, pp. 109–111:

The undersigned, Doctors, Don Antonio Casares, professor in the faculty of the pharmaceutical art of this University, Knight of the Grand Cross of Isabella the Catholic, etc., Don Francisco Freire y Barreiro and Don Sánchez Freire, professors in the medical faculty of the same University, received from the Most Eminent Lord Cardinal, archbishop of this diocese, a letter full of courtesy and of official duty, which communicates the following:

[34] by the Cardinal archbishop of Compostela, The exploration which, by our order and that of our Most Excellent canonical Chapter, is being carried out beneath the pavement of the presbytery and of the interior sanctuary of this holy metropolitan church of Compostela, with the aim of uncovering the tomb and bones of the most glorious apostle St. James, to whom this magnificent basilica was consecrated after their first finding, has produced among other results the finding of a great collection of them (the bones) within a rustic tomb in the said interior sanctuary, which is the apse of the great basilica, without any inscription that might indicate that they are those of the holy apostle or of his two disciples, St. Athanasius and St. Theodore, who, as history and tradition testify, lay buried beside the ashes of their so beloved master. And since it is of the highest importance to investigate their authenticity with the greatest zeal and most exquisite care, we have thought it consonant with reason and prudence to ask your Excellencies to deign to recognize them, examine them, arrange and collect them in order, and then to inform us, according to your known science, truthfulness and faculty of judging, on these three points: 1° to how many skeletons they belong; 2° how great is their antiquity; 3° whether in them any sign is found that would make rash or unlikely the opinion that they are those of whom they are thought to be, namely, of the holy apostle either alone, or of him and his two disciples of whom we have spoken. Confident and assured of your goodness and well-known piety, we trust that you will not disdain the burden of such moment imposed on you, and that you will carry it out so completely as to present us with a luminous report, which may help us to see clearly in a matter of such gravity. God preserve your Excellencies for many years. Santiago, the 24th of January 1879.

Michael Cardinal Payá,

Archbishop of Compostela.

(There follows the mark of the signature.)

To the Most Excellent and Most Illustrious Lords, Doctor Don Antonio Casares, Rector and professor of pharmacy in this University of letters, Doctor Don Francisco Freire and Don Timoteo Sánchez Freire, professors of medicine and surgery in the same.

[35] delegated for this purpose, To fulfil the order expressed in the communication transcribed, they came together to the archiepiscopal palace; where they were received by the Lords Canons Don Santiago Blanco Barreiro, Don Antonio López Ferreiro and Don José Labín y Cabello, delegates of his Eminence and the Most Excellent Chapter to assist at the recognition by the faculty; who led them to the sanctuary, which is in the apse of the great basilica, whose pavement had been completely and recently taken up. In the centre beneath the pavement of this enclosure there is seen a chest, in the manner of a small coffer, formed of rough walls, whose cavity extends ninety-nine centimetres in length, thirty-three in width and thirty in depth. In it they found human bones, placed without order and mixed with some earthy dust, deprived of cartilages and soft parts, so worn and so fragile that not even one bone exists whole and complete. Those which were in the upper part, not covered by the earthy dust, were in a better state of preservation than the rest, and a degree of fragility and consistency can be assigned according to their compact structure and their contact with the earth, so that the inner layer consists of the latter and of innumerable bony particles. In order to examine these carefully at leisure and put them in the condition most apt for preserving them, it was necessary to arrange what had been gathered up in dishes with margins curved upward, at the same time into two parts, of which one should consist of fragments belonging to determinate bones or which could be assigned to them, the other of fragments which cannot be determined in this respect on account of smallness or loss of form. It was easy to observe that by colour, consistency, weight, conformation, texture, size, ossification and number there was manifestly indicated the existence of bones belonging to various bony frameworks of bodies (skeletons), and when a distribution into classes had been made according to these properties, the three following portions of determinable bones resulted.

The first group, whose marks are fragments of bones of normal size, of a light hazel colour, rather heavy and fragile, the interior part of the sutures of the cavity of the cranium almost completely effaced, and the exterior part in many places. The second group is formed by fragments corresponding to bones of regular size, of a sandy colour with greenish spots, of greater weight and less fragile than the preceding, and the sutures of the cranium ossified in many places on the inner side and in certain places on the outer side. The third group are fragments of bones of small volume, of a dark hazel colour, light and more fragile, and the sutures completely ossified on the inner side of the cranium, and the bones of which it is composed are of the greatest thinness.

[36] they carefully sort, Here for you is a synoptic table of the particles that constitute each group, in which the sign (?) signifies doubt concerning those comprised by the number immediately preceding it.

[37] and the examination having been made, The chemical analysis of a fragment of the diaphysis of a femur from the second group gave this sum, which the following table expresses, where it is at the same time compared with the sum which Berzelius obtained from the chemical analysis of normal bones, and that which Girardin obtained from the analysis of the bones of a Celtic skeleton.

[38] from the composition of the bones In the composition of the bones which were subjected to this study, two things

are to be noted more especially: first, the great diminution of organic matter, which seems to be referable to antiquity; second, the increase of the phosphates and the diminution of the carbonate, of which the cause may have been the action of acids produced in the fermentation of organic substances that were mixed with the bones.

[39] that they are probably those of SS. James and his disciples In consideration of what has been reported, the three questions proposed by the Most Eminent Lord Cardinal can be resolved in the following manner: 1° The bones recognized belong to three incomplete skeletons of the same number of persons, differing in size and age, of whom those belonging to the two first groups were in the transition from the second to the third part of the mean and physiological duration for which life is accustomed to last, while the third group appears to stand in this third part. 2° The antiquity of the bones recognized cannot be accurately determined; but considering the state of preservation and the composition so similar in the Celtic skeleton, it can be affirmed that they have existed for centuries. 3° As regards antiquity, it seems not rash to believe that the said bones belonged to the bodies of the holy apostle and his two disciples.

[40] they testify These labours being finished, there was proceeded to the cleaning and washing of all the bones in alcohol, to remove the moisture and give them greater consistency; those classified we left deposited in a wooden chest distinguished by three divisions, but those that had not been determined, 365 in number, in another chest. All the aforesaid operations were carried out in the same place where the bones had appeared, except the chemical analysis, with the three Lords who constituted the commission indicated in attendance, from the ninth to the twenty-fifth day of February, and from the eighth hour until half past ten at night.

Santiago, the 20th of July 1879. — Antonio Casares. — Francisco Freire. — Timoteo Sánchez Freire.

Transcribed by order of his Most Reverend Eminence the Cardinal Archbishop, my lord.

Dionisio López, secretary.

DOCUMENTS CONCERNING SS. ATHANASIUS AND THEODORE.

Athanasius, disciple of St. James. (S.)

Theodore, disciple of St. James. (S.)

BHL Number: 4059, 4062

FROM MANUSCRIPTS.

LETTER OF POPE LEO III ^a

from the Calixtine codex.

Here begins the letter of blessed Pope Leo on the translation of Blessed James the apostle; which is celebrated on the III kalends of January.

Let your fraternity know, most beloved rulers of all Christendom, how the entire body of Blessed James the apostle was translated into Spain. After the ascension of our Lord and Saviour to the heavens and the coming of the Spirit upon the disciples, in the eleventh year's revolution after the very passion of Christ, at the time of the unleavened bread, the most blessed apostle James, having gone through the synagogues of the Jews, was seized at Jerusalem by the high priest Abiathar together with his disciple Josias, and by order of Herod was beheaded. The body of that most blessed apostle James was carried off by his disciples by night for fear of the Jews; who, accompanied by an angel of the Lord, reached Joppa on the shore of the sea. There, as they were hesitating among themselves what they ought to do, behold, by the will of God a ship was there, made ready. Rejoicing they entered it, carrying the foster-son of our Redeemer, and with sails hoisted, and with favouring winds, sailing in great tranquillity over the waves of the sea, praising the clemency of our Saviour, they reached the port of Iria. There for joy they sang this verse of David: Thy ways are in the sea and thy paths in many waters. Coming out of the ship, leading it along, they laid the most blessed body in a certain little estate called Liberum Donum, distant eight miles from the aforesaid city, where it is now venerated. In that place they found a most huge idol constructed by the pagans. Looking around there, they found a crypt, in which were iron tools, with which stone craftsmen were accustomed to carry out the building of houses. Rejoicing, then, these little clients demolished the aforesaid idol and reduced it bit by bit to dust. Then digging deep, they laid a very firm foundation, and on top of it they made there a small arched house, where they built a tomb in stonework, where with artful skill the apostolic body was laid. Over it was built a church of the smallest size, which, ordered with a divine altar, opens a happy access to the devout people. After the burial of the most holy body they celebrated praises to the King above, chanting these verses of David: The just shall rejoice in the Lord and shall hope in him, and all the upright of heart shall be praised; and again: The just shall be in everlasting memory, he shall not fear the evil hearing. After some time, the peoples having been taught the knowledge of the faith by the foster-sons of the same apostle, a fruitful harvest multiplied to God shortly grew up. By wholesome counsel entered into, two little clients remained there to guard the most precious talent, namely the venerable body of Blessed James, of whom one was called Theodore, and the other Athanasius; but the other disciples, God accompanying them, entered the Spains to preach. As we have said beforehand, those two attendant disciples, out of reverence for that master, while they kept watch unceasingly with the greatest affection over the aforesaid tomb, ever vigilant, commanded that they be buried after their death by the Christians beside their master, one at his right and the other at his left. And thus, the term of life being fixed, paying the debt of nature, they breathed out their spirits in a happy departure and with rejoicing bore their souls into heaven. Their outstanding teacher, not deserting them, obtained from God that they be placed with him in heaven and on earth, and in a purple robe in the eternal court they rejoice with the same disciples, adorned with a crown, ready to protect the wretched who beseech him with his unconquered suffrage, by the help of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, whose kingdom and dominion with the Father and the Holy Spirit abide perpetually for ages of ages. Amen.

from the Escorial codex.

In the name of Christ, Leo, bishop, to you who believe in Christ and to all the Catholic people. We make known to you concerning the translation of the most blessed James son of Zebedee, brother of John the apostle and evangelist; who was beheaded by King Herod at Jerusalem, as the book of the Acts of the apostles teaches. The sacred bones of this most blessed apostle, translated indeed by the Lord's ordering to the Spains, buried, that is, opposite the British sea: and thus his body was lifted from Jerusalem by ship on a raft; and with the hand of the Lord steering, it thus came to rest between that raft and the Sar, which is called Bisria, in the place of Ilia. Thence his body, lifted by his disciples, weeping and asking indulgence from God, they took XII miles away from the place of Ilia; where his holy body was entombed under marble arches of the western city , which is honoured with the most celebrated veneration of those nations. Whence also his disciples Tessefor, Torquatus and Anastasius merited to have rest in the same place, and the other four went up on the raft and returned to the earlier Jerusalem. And while they were together, by the merit of Blessed James they destroyed the breath of the dragon, and they broke up its instruments on the mountain which from the beginning had been called Ilicinus, and from then on we shall call it the Sacred Mount. You then, brothers, having faith in Christ, offer prayers to the Lord for us **, because what we have said above is true.

ANNOTATIONS.

* codex, urbe

* edition, distantem

* codex, fide

codex, vobis

* edition, ejusdem

LETTER OF POPE CALIXTUS II.

I did not wish to exclude this translation of Blessed James from our codex, since such prodigies and trophies are written in it to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ and of the apostle, and these also by no means disagree with the letter that is entitled with the name of Bl. Leo. But it is to be known that Blessed James had many disciples, but twelve special ones. Three he is read to have chosen in the regions of Jerusalem, of whom Hermogenes, made a prelate, and Philetus the archdeacon, after his passion, adorned with many miracles at Antioch, rested in the Lord by a holy life, and blessed Josias, Herod's steward, was crowned with martyrdom together with the apostle. Nine he is said to have chosen in Galicia, while the apostle was still living; of whom seven, the other two remaining in Galicia for the sake of preaching, went on with him to Jerusalem, and after his passion carried his body by sea to Galicia. Of these blessed Jerome spoke thus in his martyrology and wrote to blessed Chromatius, that, the body of Blessed James having been buried in Galicia, they were ordained with episcopal infulae at Rome by the apostles Peter and Paul, and were sent to preach the word of God to the Spains, still entangled in gentile error. At length, innumerable peoples having been enlightened by their preaching, Torquatus at Acci, Ctesiphon at Vergi, Secundus at Ávila, Endalecius at Urci, Caecilius at Elvira, Hesychius at Caicesca, Euphrasius at Iliturgi rested on the V ides of May. But the other two disciples, namely Athanasius and Theodore, as is written in the very letter of blessed Leo, are buried beside the apostolic body, one at the right and the other at the left.