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i^AS 


IV.  H.  ANDERDON 


^i  t\^^  ^^oiogir^i  ^ 


PRINCETON.  N.J. 


^^^-  -"r.. 


%. 


BS    2410    .A6    1884 
Anderdon,    W.    H.    1816-1890. 
Fasti   apostolici 


FASTI    APOSTOLICI. 


ROEHAMPTON  : 
PRINTED  BY  JAMES  STANLEY, 


FASTI     APOSTOLICI: 


JUL  -^^1914 
CHRONOLOGICAL  SURVEY      V  >,.  ^ 


OF  THE  Years  between  the  Ascension  of  our  Lord  and  the 
Martyrdom  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul. 


W.     H.     ANDERDON 

PKIEST    OF    THE   SOCIETY   OF   JESUS. 


SECOND      THOUSAND 
[Enlarged), 


Quid  potissimum  hoc  factum  sit  die  \_seH  anno],  noverit  Ipse  qui  fecit :  nos  tamen 
credere,  nee  dubitare  debemus,  quicquid  illud  est,  factum  esse  pro  nobis." 

S.  Maximus,  Horn.  I.  in  Epiph. 


LONDON: 

KEGAN   PAUL,  TRENCH,  &  CO.,  i    PATERNOSTER   SQUARE. 

1884. 


The  destruction  of  the  greater  part  of  the  first  edition  by  a 
calamitous  fire  has  called  for  this  second  and  enlarged  one 
much  earlier  than  was  due.  It  is  committed  to  the  press 
under  a  sense  of  the  uncertain  tenure  of  life  ;  whereas  greater 
delay  for  more  careful  remodelling  might  have  been  demanded 
by  the  extent  no  less  than  the  intricacy  and  partial  uncertainty 
of  the  subject. 


INTRODUCTION. 


"  Differences  of  opinion  have  existed,  from  the  earliest 
times,  rerardinor  the  dates  of  the  birth  and  death  of  Christ."^ 
S.  Jerome  says  :  "  Di versa  quidem  fertur  opinio  in  mundo, 
et  pro  traditionum  varietate  sententia  est  diversa."- 

These  differences  range  within  an  area  of  seven  years  : 
from  the  year  of  Rome  747  to  754  for  our  Lord's  Nativity, 
with,  of  course,  a  corresponding  oscillation  for  the  date  of 
His  Sacred  Passion,  thirty-three  years  after. 

(i)  "The  latest  researches,"  says  Alzog,  "seem  to  give 
the  weight  of  authority  to  the  year  747."  This,  as  will  be 
seen  below,  is  the  A^tmis  Vulgaris,  or  common  reckoning  of 
Baronius,  who  is  followed  by  a  Lapide.  They,  however,  with 
so  many  other  writers  of  authority,  assign  the  true  date  as 
being  five  years  later.  Four  additional  authors,  quoted  by 
Alzog,^  concur  for  this  year ;  one  of  them,  Sepp,  "  on  rather 
inofenious  than  convincinq;  combinations." 

1  Alzog,  History  of  the  Church,  vol.  i.  p.  140.  He  quotes  Fabricius,  Bibliograph. 
Aiitiqiiar.  c.  vii.  §  ix.  p.  18,  Hamb.  1716,  and  Hunter's  Star  of  the  Wise  Men^ 
Copenhagen,  1827. 

-  Serm.  de  Nativitate. 

3  P.  139,  note. 


VI  FASTI   APOSTOLICI. 

(2)  Kcplcr,  \vho  wrote  three  distinct  treatises  on  the 
chronology  of  the  Nativity,  decides  for  the  year  u.c.  748, 

(3)  According  to  Tillemont,  the  reasons  seem  unanswer- 
able which  fix  the  death  of  Herod  ("the  Great")  to  the 
year  750  ;  therefore  our  Lord's  birth  must  have  been  at  least 
four  years  before  the  common  era  :  viz.,  the  end  of  the  year 
of  Augustus'  twelfth  consulate,  the  fortieth  year  after  the 
death  of  Julius  Csesar,  the  twenty-seventh  after  the  batde  of 
Actium,  the  749th  of  the  foundation  of  Rome,  the  fourth  of 
the  193rd  Olympiad,  and  the  4000th  of  the  creation  of  the 
world,  according  to  Usher.  He  adds :  "  C'est  I'opinion  qui 
est  suivie  aujourdhui  par  presque  toutes  les  personnes 
habiles :"  and  places  F.  N orris  on  the  list  {Nofes  S7ir  la 
Vie  de  J.  C).  This  is  also  the  opinion  of  Fr.  Garrucci, 
Storia  dclla  Arte  Crist iana,  Prato,  1872,  vol.  i.  lib.  vii.  sec.  i. 
A  Lapide,  though  in  his  Chronotaxis  he  follows  Baronius 
for  the  year  752,  yet  in  his  Commentary  on  S.  Ltike  (ii.  i,  2), 
says  of  the  opinion  for  749  :  "  Ita  Chronicon  Weingartense, 
et  nonnulli  recentiores  insignes  chronologi.  Hiec  sententia 
valde  convenit  cum  historiis  sacris  et  profanis."  This  same 
year  749  is  advocated,  almost  as  these  sheets  are  going  to 
press,  by  Prof.  Sattler  of  Munich,  on  independent  grounds, 
and  chiefly  on  the  authority  of  three  coins  struck  in  the 
reign  of  Herod  Antipas,  the  genuineness  of  which  is 
acknowledged  by  numismatic  writers.  (The  argument, 
however,  is  not  given  in  the  serial  from  which  this  statement 
is  extracted). 


INTRODUCTION.  vii 

(4)  Sulpicius  Severus^  gives  a.u.  750,  which  is  the  first 
year  of  the  194th  Olympiad,  the  fortieth  of  the  reig'ii  of 
Augustus,  and  corresponds  with  v,.c.  4,  of  the  ordinary 
reckoning.  This  is  supported  by  the  arguments  of  Wieseler,'^ 
w^ho  seems  to  have  estabhshed  that  the  fifteenth  year  of 
Tiberius^  included  the  two  years  in  which  Augustus  and 
Tiberius  reigned  conjointly.  Now,  Augustus  died,  a  u.  767. 
If,  then,  the  fifteen  years  begin  in  765,  they  end  in  780.  In 
that  year,  S.  John's  preaching  would  begin,  followed  soon 
after  by  that  of  our  Lord,  who  then  era^  incipicns  quasi 
annomm  triginta?  This  gives  750  for  His  Nativity.  This 
opinion  is  strengthened  by  calculations  made  as  to  the 
appearance  of  the  Star  mentioned,^  and  especially  by  the  fact 
that,  except  in  the  year  733  u.c,  for  a  long  time  both  before 
and  after  the  coming  of  Christ,  the  Pasch  did  not  fall  on  a 
Thursday.  Now,  according  to  the  commonly  received  opinion, 
our  Lord  celebrated  His  Last  Supper  when  He  had  exactly 
completed  the  thirty-third  year  of  His  life;  which  brings  us 
back  to  the  year  750.°  This  is  also  the  calculation  of  Father 
Gordon.  10 

(5)  Cassiodorus,  S.  Irenseus,  Clement  of  Alexandria,  and 
Tertullian,  followed  by  Darras,  give  a.u.  751,  B.C.   (vulg.)  3, 

■*  Hist.  Sacr.  ii.  39,  quoted  in  Clinton's  Fasti  Hdlmici,  vol.  iii.  p.  262. 

"  Chronological  Survey  of  the  Four  Gospels,  YizxafaViX^.  1843. 

'^  S.  Luke  iii.  i,  2. 

''  S.  Luke  iii.  23. 

^  S.  Matt.  ii.  2,  7,  9,  10. 

^  See  Alzog.  Jit  sup.  p.  140. 

^"  Opus  Chronologicuni,  &.c.,  Col.  Agripp.  1614. 


Vni  FASTI   APOSTOLIC!. 

ann.  August!  41.  Clement ^^  gives  it  as  one  hundred  and 
ninety-four  years  before  the  death  of  Commodus,  who  was 
slain,  December  31,  a.d.  192,  thus  placing  the  Nativity  to  the 
common  (vulg.)  B.C.  3.  He  adds,  that  it  was  the  twenty-eighth 
year  of  the  reign  of  Augustus,  reckoning  from  the  Battle  of 
Actium,  which  is  generally  assigned  to  B.C.  31.  This,  again, 
brings  the  Nativity  to  the  same  date. 

(6)  Eusebius,^-  S.  Epiphanius,^^  Photius,^^  Zonaras,^^  and 
Orosius,^^  place  it  in  the  year  u.c.  752.  Eusebius  says  :  "This 
was  the  forty- second  year  of  the  reign  of  Augustus,  and  the 
twenty-eighth  after  the  defeat  and  death  of  Antony  and 
Cleopatra  " — a  reckoning  which,  like  that  of  Josephus,  counts 
the  years  of  Augustus  from  the  death  of  Julius  Ceesar. 
S.  Epiphanius  expressly  assigns  it  to  the  forty-second  year 
of  Augustus,  which  falls  in  the  ordinary  B.C.  2,  and  u.c.  752. 
He  is  supported  in  this  by  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle,  a  very 
ancient  record,  whatever  may  be  the  degree  of  authority 
assigned  to  it  by  later  criticism.  Its  words  are:  "A.D.  i. 
Octavianus  reigned  fifty-six  years  ;  and  in  the  forty-second 
year  of  his  reign,  Christ  was  born."  Baronius,  followed  by 
a  Lapide,  gives  u.c.  785  for  the  Crucifixion,  which  refers  back 
to   752    for   the   Nativity.     This    is   also   the   calculation    of 

11  Strotnaia,  i.  p.  340. 
»2  Hist.  Ecd.  i.  5. 

^^  De  Hcrrcs.  1.  i.  p.  48,  ct  alibi.     In  five  places,  altogether,  of  his  works,  quoted 
by  Clinton,  tit  sup. 

"  Cod.  259,  p.  1405. 
1^  X.  p.  544  D. 
^^  vi.  22,  vii.  2,  3. 


INTRODUCTION.  IX 

F.  Riess,  S.J.  (lately  deceased),  who,  in  his  Geburtsjahr 
Christi,  gives  u.c.  752  for  the  Nativity,  though  he  places 
the  Passion  in  786.  Henschenius,  Emm.  Schelstraate,  and 
F.  Hon.  a  S.  Maria  {De  Reg.  et  Usu  Criseos,  t.  iii.  diss,  i), 
give  the  same  year.  See  other  authorities  quoted  by  the 
Bollandist  G.  C,  July  15,  "  De  Divisione  Apostolorum." 

(7)  Tertullian^^  says  :  "In  the  forty-first  year  of  the 
reign  of  Augustus,  reckoning  from  the  death  of  Ceesar,^^ 
Christ  was  born."  He  adds,  that  Augustus  lived  fifteen 
years  after  the  Nativity.  If  so,  the  Nativity  was  u.c.  753, 
the  Anniis  Vtdgaris.  If  Tertullian  dated  it  forty-one  years 
after  the  death  of  Julius  Caesar,  it  ought  to  be  referred  to 
B.C.  3,  of  the  common  reckoning,  as  was  said  above. 

(8)  Dionysius  Exiguus,  a  Roman  Abbot,  writing  about 
the  middle  of  the  sixth  century  (530),  "by  an  independent 
computation  .  .  arrived  at  the  year  754."^^  This  is  also 
the  opinion  of  Bellarmine  {De  Scriptoribtis  Ecclesiasticis, 
p.  618).  Yet  it  would  appear  certainly  too  late.  For 
Josephus  assigns  the  death  of  Herod  to  the  spring  of  750 
or  751.  Now,  it  is  plain  from  S.  Matthew's  Gospel,-*^  that 
Herod  was  alive  when  our  Lord  was  born,  though  he  is 
believed  to  have  died  soon  after.  It  is  difficult  then  to  see 
how  this  does  not  disprove  the  correctness  of  any  year  after 
the  two  dates  just  mentioned  (750  or  751). 

"  Adv.  Jud.  c.  8. 

^^  The  MSS.  appear  to  read  "Cleopatra ;"  but  Clinton  proposes  this  emendation. 

^^  Alzog.     A  Lapide,  however  (in  Luc.  ii.  i). 

2»  S.  Matt.  ii.  16. 


X  FASTI   Al'OSTOLICI. 

///  dubiis  libcrtas.  Among  these  various  theories,  most  of 
them  resting  on  arguments  to  which  considerable  weight  is 
due,  the  reader  must  determine  his  choice."-^ 

None  of  the  calculations  militate,  on  the  whole,  against 
the  sequence  of  years  as  given  in  the  following  pages  ;  so  that 
the  scale  may  be  adjusted  according  to  the  year  which  shall 
seem  to  have  the  preponderance  of  proof  If  the  year  750 
is  adopted  for  the  Nativity,  the  expression  8ieTia<;  irXr^pwdeLcrr^'i 
(Acts  xxiv.  27  ;  "  Fasti,"  pp.  86,  87)  may  be  taken  to  indicate 
a  two  years'  imprisonment  of  S.  Paul  at  Caesarea,  instead  of 
referring  to  the  end  of  the  second  year  of  Nero's  reign  :  and 
still  the  martyrdom  of  the  Apostles  will  fall  in  a.u,  69,  and 
the  thirteenth  of  Nero. 

The  "  Fasti,"  here  given,  follow  the  computation  of 
Baronius,  the  "  Chronotaxis "  of  a  Lapide,  and  the  other 
authors  given  above  for  this  year,  viz.,  u.c.  752  for  the 
Nativity,  and  therefore  u.c.  78 5  (or  'j^6)  for  the  first  year 
of  the  Church's  life. 

A  work  of  great  importance  and  interest  will  be  constantly 
referred  to  in  the  notes  to  these  pages  :  the  Series  Episco- 
ponun  Ecclesicc  CaiJwliccv,  etc.  edidit  P.  Pius  B.  Gams, 
O.S.B.    Ratisb.    1873.      Though  in   form   very   terse,   as   the 

-^  "  H.-ie  sententiae  singula:  suas  habeat  conjecturas,  suas  quoque  difficultates. 
Ouare  in  re  tarn  ancipiti  nil  certo  definiri  potest.  Lector  ex  his  eligat  quani  volet '' 
(A  Lap.  tit  stfp.).  He  assigns  the  greater  probabilitj',  however,  to  the  years  749 
750,  or  751,  though  in  his  •'  Chronotaxis"  he  gives  752.  They  who  desire  to  see 
how  wide  and  perplexed  is  the  field  of  inquiry,  may  consult  the  tabular  statement 
of  thirty-two  different  theories,  given  in  Ur.  Meyer's  "  Critical  Commentary  on  the 
New  Testament,"  prefixed  to  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.     Gott.  1856, 


INTRODUCTION.  XI 

nature  and  great  extent  of  the  subject  demanded,  the  book 
is  full  of  valuable  notices  of  persons  and  places,  and  has 
tended  to  confirm  more  than  one  ancient  account  that  might 
otherwise  have  been  rejected  by  the  hypercritical  as  an 
unauthorized  tradition. 

Among  non-Catholic  works,  the  following  have  been 
chiefly  used  on  points  of  criticism  and  history  :  Mr.  Lewin's 
Life  and  Epistles  of  S.  Paid ;  Messrs.  Conybeare  and 
Howson's  w^ork,  bearing  the  same  title  ;  the  Rev.  J.  H. 
Blunt's  Annotated  Bible ;  Dean  Alford's  Annotated  Greek 
Testament;  Dr.  Jacobson's  notes  in  the  lately  published 
Explanatory  and  Critical  Commentary ;  and  various  articles 
in  the  learned  and  generally  fair  Dictionary  of  the  Bible, 
edited  by  Dr.  W.  Smith  in  1863. 

Of  the  Dean  of  Chester's  contribution  to  New  Testament 

criticism     I     will     say,    ayL<^oiv    <\>i\oLv    ovroiv,    oaiov    Trponixav    Tifv 

a\i]d6iavr^  The  remembrance  of  our  travels  together  in 
Greece,  forty  years  ago,  privileges  me  to  refer  to  him  by  that 
title  ;  while  our  great  diversities  of  view,  shown  by  the  very 
interesting  and  scholarly  book  in  which  he  has  borne  a  full 
share,  constrain  me  to  remember  the  second  clause  of  the 
Stagirite's  sentence.  It  is  difficult,  not  to  say  impossible,  for 
a  writer  in  that  position,  with  the  fairest  intentions,  really  to 
apprehend  either  the  Apostle  or  his  inspired  historian. 

A  new  era  in  Anglican  commentary  on  the  Scriptures 
may   be    said    to    open    with    the   Annotated  Bible,    already 

--  Arist.  Eth.  Nicom.  lib.  i.  c.  3,  sub  init. 


XII  lASTI   ArOSTOLICr. 

referred  to,  and  published  at  the  beginning-  of  last  year.  It 
must  be  hailed  as  a  sign  of  hope,  that  in  a  solid  and  learned 
exposition,  intended,  moreover,  for  family  as  well  as  private 
use,  a  writer  of  name  should  have  the  courage  to  discard 
the  old  traditionary  misinterpretations  of  many  important 
passages.     Sucli  a  work  will   doubtless   prove,   to   the  souls 

of  men  of  good  will,  iraiSaycoydf;  ek  Xpiarov, 

Till  from  Uethabra  northward,  heavenly  Truth 
With  gradual  steps,  winning  her  difficult  way, 
Transfer  their  rude  Faith,  perfected  and  pure. 

Feast  of  SS,  Simon  and Jmic, 
iSSj. 


CONTENTS. 


First  Year.     u.C.  785.     Tiberii  18 
Second  Year.     a.d.  35  (Vulg.  30).     Tiberii  19 
Third  Year.     A.D.  36  (Vulg.  31).     Tiberii  20 
Fourth  Year.     A.D.  37  (Vulg.  32).     Tiberii  21 
Fifth  Year.     A.D.  38  (Vulg.  33).     Tiberii  22 
Sixth  Year.     A.D.  39  (Vulg.  34).     Caligulae  I 
Seventh  Year.     A.D.  40  (Vulg.  35).     Caligulae  2 
Eighth  Year.     A.D.  41  (Vulg.  36).     Caligulae  3 
Ninth  Year.     A.D.  42  (Vulg.  37).     Caligulae  4 
Tenth  Year.     A.D.  43  (Vulg.  38).     Claudii  i 
Eleventh  Year.     A.D.  44  (Vulg.  39).     Claudii  2 
Twelfth  Year.     A.D.  45  (Vulg.  40).     Claudii  3 
Thirteenth  Year.     A.D.  46  (Vulg.  41).     Claudii  4 
Fourteenth  Year.     a.d.  47  (Vulg.  42).     Claudii  5 
Fifteenth  Year.     A.D.  48  (Vulg.  43).     Claudii  6  . 
Sixteenth  Year.     a.d.  49  (Vulg.  44).     Claudii  7 
Seventeenth  Year.     A.D.  50  (Vulg.  45).     Claudii  8 
Eighteenth  Year.     A.D.  51  (Vulg.  46).     Claudii  9 
Nineteenth  Year.     A.D.  52  (Vulg.  47).     Claudii  10 
Twentieth  Year.     A.D,  53  (Vulg.  48).    Claudii  11 
Twenty-First  Year.     a.d.  54  (Vulg.  49).     Claudii  12 
Twenty-Second  Year.     A.D.  55  (Vulg.  50).     Claudii  13 


I 
12 
21 
24 
28 
31 

34 
36 
37 
40 
41 
44 
49 
52 
53 
54 
57 
58 
65 
69 
71 
72 


CONTENTS. 


Twenty-Third  Year.     A.D.  56  (Vulg.  51).     Claudii  14 
Twenty-Fourth  Year.     A.D.  57  (Viilg.  52).     Ncronis  i 
Twenty-Fifth  Year.     A.D.  58  (Vulg.  53).     Neronis  2 
Twenty-Sixth  Year.     A.D.  59  (Vnlg.  54).     Neronis  3 
Twenty-Seventh  Year.    a.d.  60  (Vulg.  155).     Neronis  4 
Twenty-Eighth  Year.     A.D.  61  (Vulg.  56).     Neronis  5 
Twenty-Ninth  Year.     a.d.  62  (Vulg.  57).     Neronis  6 
Thirtieth  Year.     A.D.  63  (Vulg.  58).     Neronis  7 
Thirty-First  Year.     A.D.  64  (Vulg.  59).     Neronis  8 
Thirty-Second  Year.     a.d.  65  (Vulg.  60).     Neronis  9 
Thirty-Third  Year.     A.D.  66  (Vulg.  61).     Neronis  10 
Thirty-Fourth  Year.     A.D.  67  (Vulg.  62).     Neronis  11 
Thirty-Fifth  Year.     A.D.  68  (Vulg.  63).     Neronis  12 
Thirty-Si.\th  Year.     a.d.  69  (Vulg.  64).     Neronis  13 


APPENDIX. 

A.  Difficulties  in  Ancient  Chronology  . 

B.  Our  Lord's  Appearances  after  His  Resurrection 

C.  The  Locality  of  the  Ascension 

D.  I^Lixims  attributed  to  S.  Matthias    . 

E.  Tarsus  .... 

F.  Dispersion  of  the  Apostles    . 

G.  General  Toleration  of  Religions  in  Rome 
H.  Abgar,  King  of  Edessa  in  Mesopotamia 
1.  The  Roman  Arms  in  Britain 
J.  Cyprus  .... 
K.  S.  Thecla       .... 
L.  Slowness  of  the  Decay  of  Paganism 
M.  Personal  Appearance  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul 
N.  The  Epistle  ascribed  to  S.  Barnabas 


CONTENTS 

O.  S.  Dionysiiis  the  Areopagite 

P.  Temple  of  Diana  at  Ephesus 

Q.  Herod's  Temple,  and  the  Tower  Antonia 

R.  Assumption  of  the  Blessed  Virgin   . 

S.  Wealth  and  Importance  of  Asia  Minor 

T.  Primitive  Christianity  in  Britain 

V.  Apollonius  of  Tyana 

W.  Was  S.  Thomas  in  Mexico  ? 

X.  Construction  of  the  Roman  Catacombs 

Y.  The  Vatican  Cemetery 

A. A.     The  Colosseum 

B.B.     Later  Years  of  Saint  John  . 

Z.  Translation  of  the  Head  of  S.  Andrew  from  Greece  to  Rome 


XV 

page 
152 

159 
160 
161 
164 
166 
170 

173 
178 

179 

183 


The  numerals   in   brackets,  following  those  assigned  to  A.D.  in  each  year, 
denote  the  Annus  Vulgaris,  or  common  reckoning. 


FASTI    APOSTOLICI. 


FIRST   YEAR. 

A.U.C.  785.      TIBERII    18. 

A.D.  34  (S.V.  29)/  the  8th  of  the  kalends  of  April  (March  25),^  in 
the  year  of  the  World  3984,^  2327  years  after  the  Flood,  2035  after 
the  call  of  Abraham,  1530  after  the  Exodus  from  Egypt,  105 1  after 
the  building  of  Solomon's  temple,  in  the  fourth  year  of  the  202nd 
Olympiad,  785  years  after  the  foundation  of  Rome,  625  after  the 
Babylonian  captivity,  487  after  the  beginning  of  the  Seventy  Weeks 
(in  the  middle  of  the  last  week),  in  the  i8th  year  of  the  reign  of 
Tiberius,*  and  between  the  fourth  and  fifth  year  of  the  governorship 
of  Pontius  Pilate,'' 

Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Great  High  Priest,  Saviour  and  Redeemer  of  the  world.  Antitype 
of  all  types  and  figures,  Substance  of  the  foreshadowings  of  the  law, 

1  The  numbers  here  given  are,  with  April  2,  the  eve  of  the  Jewish  Pasch  on 
one  exception,  taken  from  the  "  Chrono-  the  14th  of  Nisan,  for  the  Last  Supper, 
taxis"  prefixed  by  C.  a  Lapide  to  his  Agony,  and  Betrayal,  and  therefore  April 
commentary  on  the  Acts;  without  fur-  3  for  the  Passion,  and  April  5  for  the 
ther  remark  than  is  in.pHed  in  the  Resurrection.  The  Roman  Martyrology, 
Introduction  to  the  Fasti.  A.D.  34  however,  celebrates  the  death  of  S. 
means  the  thirty-third  year  of  our  Dismas,  the  good  thief,  on  March  25. 
Lord's  life,  phis  three  months  over.  '^  The  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle  says  : 
On  the  whole  subject  of  the  diffi-  "  Being  from  the  beginning  of  the  world 
culty  of  fixing  ancient  dates,  see  Ap-  about  five  thousand  two  hundred  and 
pendix  A.  twenty-six  years."     This  is  not  far  from 

2  Tillemont  {Vie  de  N.  S.  /.  C.)  says  the  reckoning  of  the  Roman  Martyro- 
that  this  is  the  tradition  of  the  Latin  logy,  which  gives  5199  years  from  the 
Church,  and  quotes  the  BoUandists  {ad  Creation  to  the  Nativity  (See  Intro- 
25  Mart.)   to   the  same  eflect  ;  adding  duction). 

that  the  Greeks  commemorate  the  Cru-  *  That    is,   of    his    joint   reign   with 

cifixion  on  the  23rd  of  the  month,  "et  Augustus  (See  Introduction), 

d'autres  en  d'autres  jours."  Father  Riess  ^  He  had  succeeded  Valerius  Gratus, 

{Das  GebiirtsjaJn-  Chrisfi,  p.  177),  gives  about  four  years  previously. 
B 


2  IWSTI   Al'OSTOLICl  :    1-IRST  YEAR. 

Object  of  prophecy,  "the  Desired  of  all  nations,"  was  crucified  on 
Calvary,  "  for  us  men  and  for  our  salvation,"  on  the  same  day  on 
which,  thirty-four  years  before,  lie  was  Incarnate  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  the  most  pure  womb  of  His  ever-blessed  and  ever-virgin 
Mother. 

The  third  day,  He  rose  again,  according  to  the  Scriptures,'''  and 
appeared,  from  time  to  time,"  to  His  Apostles^  and  disciples,  "to 
whom  He  showed  Himself  alive  after  His  Passion,  by  many  proofs,^ 
for  forty  days  appearing  to  them,  and  speaking  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God."  His  most  pubHc  manifestation  of  Himself  was  on  a  mountain 
in  Galilee,  probably  Tabor,  to  which  He  invited^'^  His  disciples;  being 
"seen  by  more  than  five  hundred  brethren  at  once."^^ 

During  these  interviews  with  His  chosen  Apostles,  the  "founda- 
tion" stones^-  of  His  Church,  He  was  employed  in  giving  laws  and 
ordinances  for  its  government,  instituting  the  Sacraments,  and 
appointing  the  mode  of  their  administration. 

These  great  Forty  Days  being  ended,  "eating  together  with 
them"^^  for  the  last  time,  He  "commanded  them  that  they  should 
not  depart  from  Jerusalem,  but  wait  for  the  promise  of  the  Father,"^* 
the  Baptism  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  they  were  to  receive  not  many 
days  afterwards.  He  then  "led  them  out  as  far  as  Bethania,"^^  and 
from  thence  (doubtless  with  S.  Lazarus  and  his  sisters)  to  the  Mount 
of  Olives,^*^  on  the  summit  of  which  He  blessed  them  for  the  last  time, 


*^  Oseevi.3;  S.Matt.xii.40;  iCor.xv.4.  ceal  itself  in  the  Passion,  now  appears, 

"  Appendix  B.  and  manifests  itself  in  such  marvellous 

*"  The  list  of  the  Apostles  here  Riven  wise  in  His  most  holy  Resurrection,  by 

by  S.  Luke  (c.  i.  13),  corresponds  with  its  true  and  most  holy  effects"  (S.  Ign. 

that  in  the  gospels  of  SS.  Matthew  and  Excrc.  Spir.  hebdom.  4.  contempl.  i). 

Mark,   together  with   his  own  gospel;  ^'^  S.  Matt,  xxviii.  7,  16;  S.  Markxvi.  7. 

except  that  S.  Luke  in  both  places  calls  ^'  i  Cor.  xv.  6. 

S.  Thaddaus,  or  Lcbba:us,  "Judas  the  i-Eph.ii.20.  Compare  S. Matt. xvi.  18, 

brother  of  James,"  and  Simon  of  Cana  in  i  Tim.  iii.  15. 

Galilee,  "Simon  Zclotes."  Thaddaius  and  '^  Contrast  S.  Luke  xxiv.  30,  39—43, 

Lebba;us   are   expounded   as    meaning  and   Apoc.   ii.    7,  with   Judges   xiii.    16, 

Cordatiis  (egregic  cordatus  homo).     S.  Tobias  xii.  19. 

Bartholomew   is    supposed    to    be   the  '*  Acts  i.  2. 

Nathanael  of  S.  John  i.  45 — 51.  '•''  S.  Luke  xxiv.  50. 

»  "His  Deity,  which  seemed  to  con-  ^^  Appendix  C. 


A.D.    34   (29).      A.U.C.   785.      TIBERII    1 8. 


and  "  while  they  looked  on,  He  was  raised  up,^^  and  a  cloud  received 
Him  out  of  their  sight," ^^  on  His  Ascension  into  Heaven. 

During  the  ten  days'  interval  between  the  Ascension  and  Pente- 
cost, while  they  waited  and  prayed  in  an  upper  room  in  Jerusalem,^^ 
S.  Peter,^^  in  the  presence  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  of  our  Lord's 
"brethren"  or  kinsfolk,  and  disciples,  in  all  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  persons,  proposed  the  election  of  some  one  of  those  who 
had  accompanied  Jesus  from  His  Baptism  onwards,  to  fill  the  place 
in  the  college  of  the  Apostles,  left  vacant  by  the  traitor  Judas. 
Thus  Cephas,  who  had  been  ordained  to  "confirm  his  brethren," 21 
takes  the  lead  from  the  first,  on  this  as  all  other  important  occasions. 

After  prayer,  lots  w^ere  cast,^-  and  S.  Matthias ^^  was  chosen  in 
preference  to  S.  Joseph  (Barsabas)  the  Just,-*  brother  to  S.  James 
the  Less,  son  of  SS.  Alphaeus  and  Mary,  who  was  sister  to  the 
Blessed  Virgin. 

Ten  days  after  the  Ascension,  on  the  completion  of  the  seven 
weeks  after  the  Pasch,  on  the  fiftieth-^  day,  or  Pentecost,  on  which 
day,    according   to  tradition,  the   law  had   been  given   from   Mount 


^''  By  His  own  Divine  will  and  power. 
Non  angeli  adminiculo,  sed  propria 
virtute  subnixus  (S.  Bern.  De  Grad. 
Huinil.  c.  i). 

^^  Acts  i.  9. 

^9  Probably  the  "large  upper  room" 
of  the  Last  Supper.  The  supposition 
that  it  was  one  of  the  chambers  belong- 
ing to  the  Temple  is  held  to  be  less  likely, 
says  Kuinoel.  Baronius  takes  it  to  have 
been  the  house  of  Mary,  the  mother  of 
John  Mark  (cf.  c.  xii.  12). 

^^  "  Loquitur  ille  Petrus,  super  quem 
aedificanda  fuerat  ecclesia "  (S.  Cypr. 
Ep.  Ixix.  ad  PiJptain,  p.  265). 

^^  S.  Luke  xxii.  32. 

22  Prov.  xvi.  33,  S.  Jerome  {in  Jonam, 
c.  i),  SS.  Chrysost.  and  Bede  (/;/  Acf. 
i.  26),  S.  Aug.  {Serin,  de  S.  Matth.),  and 
S.  Thomas  (sec.  ix.  95,  art.  i),  consider 
this  to  have  belonged  rather  to  the 
Mosaic  dispensation  ;  and  contrast  the 
election  of  the  seven  deacons  after  the 


Day  of  Pentecost  (c.  vi.  3—6),  On 
the  legitimate  use  of  lots  by  Christians, 
see  S.  Aug.  Epist.  119,  180;  S.  Greg. 
in  cap.  xiv.  r.  Reg. 

-■'  His  name  is  not  inserted  in  the 
Canon  of  the  Mass  before  the  consecra- 
tion, as  not  having  been  of  the  original 
Twelve.  S. Paul's  name  however  is  always 
joined  with  that  of  S.  Peter  (Lorinus). 
For  two  spiritual  maxims  attributed  to 
S.  Matthias  by  Clement  of  Alexandria, 
see  Appendix  D. 

"*  S.  Matt,  xxvii.  56.  Dorotheus  says 
he  became  Bishop  of  Eleutheropolis  in 
Palestine.  The  Rom.  Mai-tyrol.  com- 
memorates him  among  the  Saints, 
July  20.  Eusebius,  E.  H.  i.  12,  iii.  30, 
says  he  was  one  of  the  Seventy,  and 
quotes  Papias  as  recording,  that  he 
drank  of  a  deadly  poison  without  re- 
ceiving harm.     Cf.  S.  Mark  xvi.  18. 

2-^  Levit.  xxiii.  15,  16;  Num.  xxviii.  26  ; 
Deut.  xvi.  9,  10. 


4  lASTI    ATOSTOLICI  :    KIRST   YKAU. 

Sinai,  tlic  promised  Paraclete  descended'-'*  on  the  Blessed  Virgin-^ 
and  the  Apostles  and  disciples.  Whit-Sunday  thenceforth  became 
a  feast  in  memorial  of  the  promulgation  of  the  new  law  of  love 
and  grace,  "  not  of  the  letter,  but  of  the  spirit,"  and  of  the  "  first- 
fruits  of  the  Spirit,-**  not  merely  of  the  produce  of  Canaan  ;  the 
Feast  of  Weeks  thus  merging  into  the  Christian  Pentecost,  as  the 
Pasch  had  vanished  into  Easter.--' 

The  miraculous  gift  of  tongues,  imparted  by  the  Holy  Spirit  the 
Paraclete,  who  then  began  to  inspire  the  Church,  and  to  teach  it  all 
truth,^"  enabled  the  faithful  to  proclaim  the  Gospel  to  the  multitudes 
of  Israelite  descent,  at  that  time  assembled  in  Jerusalem.  These 
had  come  to  keep  the  Pentecost,  from  the  various  places  of  their 
dispersion  amongst  distant  nations.'^^  They  had  come,  moreover,  in 
greater  numbers  than  usual,  owing  to  the  prophecies^-  which  pointed 
to  this  particular  time  for  the  advent  of  the  Messias.  The  faithful 
at  once  began  to  announce  "  the  wonderful  works  of  God "  in  all 
those  various  languages  ;  or,  speaking  their  own  Syro-Chaldaic,  it 
was  miraculously  translated  into  the  language  of  each  hearer."^  The 
-0  The  common  opinion  is  that  they  record  its  fulfilment,  after  his  Ascen- 
thcn  all  received  the  grace  of  the  Sacra-  sion. 
ment  of  Confirmation,  without  the  visible  -■'  Cf.  Heb.  viii.  13. 

sign  attached  to  it   in  all  other  cases.  ^^  S.  John  xvi.  13. 

This  effusion   of  the   Holy  Spirit   was  ^^  Acts  ii.  5— 11.    Cf.  Philo's  Legatio 

bestowed  in  the  church  at  the  third  ad  Caiiim  (xvi.)  for  an  account  of  the 
hour  of  tlie  day,  or  nine  in  the  morning,  dispersion  of  the  Jewish  race  into  all 
and  is  therefore  perpetually  commemo-  lands.  It  had  taken  place  at  two  very 
rated  by  the  Church  in  the  hymn  for  the  different  epochs  ;  the  Babylonian  capti- 
Office  of  Tierce —  vity  by  Nabuchodonosor,  and  the  ruin 

,  .       .  .  of  the  Persian  Empire  by  Alexander  the 

Nunc  Sancte  nob,s  Sp.ntus  ^^^^^^  ^^.j^^,^  ^j^^  j ^^^.^  ^    ^^  ^  themselves 

Unuin  Tatri  cum  hilio,  etc.  .  1       .  .1      at        j      •         i 

throughout  the  Macedonian  dominions  ; 

2^  Cf.  Albert.  Magn.  MariaU',  c.  155;  thus  filtering  into  the  third  great  Empire 

S  Antonin.  Hist.  p.  i,  tit.  vi.  c.  2,  §  i.  (Dan.  vii.  and  viii.),  as  they  had  into  the 

**  Rom.  viii.    23.     This   Book  of  the  first  and  second,  and  afterwards  into  the 

Acts  has  been   called  "The  Gospel  of  fourth. 

the    Holy    Ghost,"    as    exhibiting    the  •''-  Gen.  xlix.  10  ;  Dan.  ix.  25.  Cf.  Suet. 

Divine  work  of  the  Third  Person,  the  Vesp.  c.  iv. 

sequel  of  the  Incarnation  and  Passion  ^■'  The  former  supposition  seems  the 

of  the  Second.     S.  Luke  quotes  at  the  more  probable,  from  Acts  ii.  4.   Compare 

outset    the   promise   of    the    Paraclete  S.  Mark  xvi.   17,  S.  Thomas  {Su?/ima), 

made  by  our  Lord  before  His  Passion  S.   Greg.  Naz.     S.  Paul  afterwards  re- 

(S.   John    xvi.   1—7)   and  proceeds    to  ceived  the  same  gifts  (i  Cor.  xiv.  18, 19). 


A.D.    34   (29).      A.U.C.   785.      TIBERII    1 8. 


Blessed  Virgin^^  was  the  precentor  of  this  "sound  as  of  many- 
waters;"  being  filled  yet  more  with  the  Holy  Ghost  by  this  acces- 
sion of  grace :  even  as,  when  the  Eternal  Word  was  incarnate  in  her 
womb,  she  had  intoned  the  Mag7iificat — at  once  a  hymn  of  praise, 
an  announcement  of  the  Gospel  of  her  Divine  Son,  and  a  pro- 
phecy. 

Others,  perhaps  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  far  from  being  converted 
by  the  miracle,  or  by  the  word  of  life,  imputed  the  holy  enthusiasm 
of  these  disciples  of  the  truth  to  drunkenness.^-  But  S.  Peter  stood 
up,^^  as  the  Moses  of  the  New  Covenant,^*  promulgating  "  the  law  of 
the  spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus,"  not  as  from  Sinai,  but  from  Sion.^'* 
The  multitude,  smitten  with  compunction^*^  at  his  words,  asked  what 
they  should  do  }     S.  Peter  answered,  by  preaching  to  them  penance 


"^  S.  Irenteus,  ad  H ceres,  iii.  x.  {al.  xi.) 
speaks  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  as  pro- 
phesying for  the  whole  Church  in  her 
Magnificat.  On  which  Feuardentius 
comments  :  "  Nihil  insolens  est,  quod 
donum  simul  ac  exercitium  prophetandi 
B.  DeiparjE  hoc  loco  tribuat  Irenaeus  ; 
cum  omnibus  modis  sanctitate  et  dono- 
rum  Dei  copia  superaverit  ;  Aloysi 
sororem,  Deboram,  Judith,  Elizabethan!, 
Annam,  et  Philippi  quatuor  filias  ;  qui- 
bus  in  populo  Dei  prophetare  datum  fuit. 
Deinde,  Angelus  affirmans  eam  gratia 
pleiiain,  et  inter  oinnes  niuliercs  betie- 
dictain,  hoc  quoque  donum  Dei  haud- 
quaquam  ei  defuisse  satis  indicat.  Ad- 
de  quod  in  sancta  Pentecoste  sacro 
caetui  intererat,  in  quem  Spiritu  Sancto 
abunde  effuso  repleti  sunt  omnes  divinis 
Illius  charismatibus;  utpote  donis  lingua- 
rum,  interpretationis  sermonum,  sani- 
tatum,  prophetice,  sapientias,  fortitudinis, 
ac  ca^teris  c^uas  per  Apostolum  (i  Cor.  xii.) 
numerantur."  If  the  Blessed  Virgin  is 
mentioned  almost  last  on  the  list  of 
those  who  received  the  gift  of  Pentecost, 
a  pious  tradition  asserts  that  it  was  at 
her  own  special  instance  to  St.  Luke 
that  it  should  be  so.  Cf.  S.  Bern.  Seniio 
de  verb.  Apoc.  Signum  magnum. 


"'"-  Cf.  Gen.xix.  14,  i  Kings  i.  12 — 
16,  Psalm  Ixviii.  13,  Wisdom  v.  4, 
Ezech.  XX.  49,  Eph.  v.  18,  19,  1  S.  Pet. 
iv.^4- 

"•^  "  In  primatu  modestiam  servans, 
et  reverentiam  condiscipulis  exhibens" 
{Lo7'in.).  It  was  because  S.  Augustine 
of  Canterbury  failed  to  do  this,  or  saw- 
good  reason  not  to  do  it,  that  the  British 
bishops  charged  him  with  pride  at  the 
Second  Synod  of  Aust  (Beda,  Hist. 
ii.  2). 

^*  Unum  baptisma,  et  unus  Spiritus 
Sanctus,  et  una  Ecclesia  a  Christo 
Domino  super  Petrum  origin e  unitatis 
et  ratione  fundata  (S.  Cypr.  Ep.  Ixxi.  ad 
(2nint.  p.  273).  S.  Peter  is  sometimes 
represented,  in  the  ancient  glass  vessels 
found  in  the  Catacombs,  as  Moses  strik- 
ing the  rock,  with  the  word  Petrus  over 
his  head  ;  indicating  that  his  position 
in  the  New  Covenant  is  analogous  to 
that  of  the  great  lawgiver  in  the  Old. 
Cf.  I  Cor.  X.  2—4,  II.  See  Garucci, 
HArte  Cristiajia,  and  all  other  writers 
on  the  Catacombs,  from  Bosio  to  RR. 
MM.  Northcote  and  Brownlow. 

^^  Mich.  iv.  2  ;  Heb.  xii.  18 — 29. 

^°  Thus  fulfilling  the  prophecy,  Zach. 
xii.  10. 


6  I'ASTI    ATOSTOLICI  :    IIRST   VKAR. 

and  baptism.  About  three  thousand  souls  were  baptized,  and  thus 
added  to  the  Church. 

"  They  were  persevering  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Apostles,  and  in 
the  communication  of  the  breaking  of  the  Bread/'"  and  in  prayers. 
And  fear  came  upon  every  soul  :  many  wonders  also  and  signs 
were  done  by  the  Apostles  in  Jerusalem." 

SS.  Peter  and  John  "  went  up  into  the  temple,  at  the  ninth  hour 
of  prayer."  Seeing  a  man,  lame  from  his  birth,  asking  alms  in  the 
gate,  S.  Peter  healed  him,^^  and  announced  to  the  multitude  who 
witnessed  the  miracle,  the  Name  of  Jesus.  Whereupon,  the  priests, 
oflRcials,  and  Sadducees,  took  them  into  custody  for  examination 
the  next  day.  Meanwhile,  five  thousand  additional  converts  were 
made.  Before  the  Sanhedrim,  S.  Peter  delivered  an  Apologia  for 
the  faith.  The  two  Apostles  were  charged  to  desist  from  preaching, 
and  dismissed.  Their  narration  to  the  Church  of  all  that  had 
passed,  increased  the  fervour  of  the  disciples,  and  the  Holy  Spirit 
manifested   the  Divine  approval   by  miracle.'''^ 

The  disciples'  faith  and  charity  induced  them,  and  notably 
S.  Barnabas,  to  throw  all  their  possessions  into  a  common  stock. 
The  miracles  wrought  by  the  Apostles,'*^  as  well  as  the  lives  of 
these  primitive  Christians,  struck  and  overawed  the  unbelievers,  and 
moved  "such  as  should  be  saved"  to  present  themselves  for  admission 
into  the  Church. 

Amid  this  generous  self-sacrifice,  Ananias,  with  his  wife  Sapphira, 

^"  Cf.  S.   Luke  xxii.   19,  xxiv.  30,  35,  detail  with  which  the  Evangelist  nar- 

1   Cor.  X.  16,  17.     Observe  the  force  of  rated  events  he  had  not  personally  wit- 

the  article  :  h  Koivuvla  ttj  K\o(ret  tov  aprov,  nessed.     £.j^.  of  the  Apologia  and  mar- 

Kol  ToTr  Trpo<T€uxa<'s  (Acts  ii.42),  as  opposed  tyrdom  of  S.  Stephen,  S.  Augustine  says 

to  kKQivth  Koa   o'lKoy  &proif,  of  V.  46.  that  wc  bchold  rather  than  read  them. 

"'  It  has  been  observed  that  S.  Luke,  Scn/i.   2   dc  S.  Stcph.  (Brev.   Rorn.  in 

asaphysician,  gives  a  medically  accurate  Oct.  Fest.). 

account  of  this  miracle   of  healing,   as  "^  Acts  iv.  31. 

of  other   events  occurring  later  in  his  '•^  .See  the  numerous  passages,  both  of 

narrative  (Cf.  ix.  iS,  xxviii.  6).     It  is  the  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  in  which 

more   remarkable  in  this  instance,  be-  miracles  (o-Tj^f^a)  arc  spoken  of  as  proofs 

cause  .S.  Luke  was  not  an  eye-witness  of  a  revelation.     Exod.  iv.  8,  9,  4  Kings 

(Cf.  note  29  ad  A.D.  51).     But  we  have  xx.  8,  9,  S.  Matt.  xii.  38,  S.John  iv.  48, 

here  only  one  example  of  the  graphic  i  Cor.  xiv.  22,  and  many  others. 


A.D.   34   (29).      A.U.C.   785.      TIBERII    18.  / 

having,  most  probably/^  vowed  all  their  substance  to  God  in  His 
Church,  sacrilegiously  kept  back  a  part,  and  only  laid  the  remainder 
at  the  Apostles'  feet.  S.  Peter,  acting  as  supreme  judge  under  Christ, 
solemnly  denounced  their  sin,  and  they  successively  fell  dead  at  his  feet. 

The  multitude  and  splendour  of  the  Apostles'  miracles^-  roused 
the  indignation  of  the  High  Priest  and  the  Sadducees,  who  again 
imprisoned  them  ;  but  they  were  delivered  by  an  Angel,  and  returned 
to  teach  in  the  Temple.  A  Council,  or  Sanhedrim,  was  held  on 
the  matter.  Gamaliel,  a  doctor  of  the  law,  who  had  taught  S.  Paul, 
S.  Barnabas,  and  S.  Stephen,  and  was  afterwards  converted  to  the 
faith,^^  here  showed  his  wisdom,  and  disposition  towards  the  truth, 
by  advising  that  the  teachers  of  the  new  doctrine  should  be  let 
alone.  If  it  was  of  men,  it  would  soon  come  to  naught,  as  novelties 
and  their  teachers  had  done  before  ;  if  of  God,  it  was  irresistible, 
and  the  attempt  to  resist,  impious.  Nevertheless,  the  Apostles  were 
scourged ^^  before  their  dismissal.  They  went  forth,  rejoicing  in. 
persecution,*"  and  preached  the  truth  with  unabated  zeal. 

The  Church's  possessions  being  a  common  stock,  from  which 
"distribution  Avas  made  to  every  one  according  as  he  had  need,"**' 
the  ministering  of  relief,  probably  to  the  women,  was  intrusted  to 
certain  v/idows,*^  perhaps  deaconesses,  and  also  recipients  of  the 
alms,  like  those  about  whom  S.  Paul  afterwards  gave  direction.^* 
These  were  composed,  as  the  Church  was,  of  natives  of  Judaea,  and 
of  Israelites  born  in  Jewish  settlements  in  Greece  and  other  foreign 

"  Cf.  Corn,  a  Lap.  in  Acts  v.  i.  *5  Qf  5.  Matt.  v.  12  ;    S.  Luke  vi.  23  ; 

<2  Acts  V.  12—16.  I  S.  Peter  ii.  19,  iv.  13,  14;    Phil.  i.  29. 

*3  S.    Clement    {Recogn.    L    ix.),   and  "  Mundi    hujus    potestatibus    contraire 

S.  Bede  after  him,  suppose  that  S.  Gama-  non  praDsumerent,  nisi  eos  Sancti  Spiritus 

liel  was  already  a   Christian,  and  had  fortitudo    solidasset.      Ouales    namque 

been  counselled  by  the  Apostles  to  con-  doctores  sanct^e  EcclesTa;  ante  adven- 

ceal  it  for  a  while,  so  as  to  advocate  the  tum  hujus  Spiritus  fuerint,  scimus  :   et 

truth  in  the  Sanhedrim.  This,  however,  post  adventum  illius,  cujus  fortitudinis 

is  against  the  opinion  of  S.  Chrysostom.  facti  sint,  conspicimus"  (S.  Greg.  Hon. 

Gamaliel  and  his  grandfather  were  two  30  in  Evatig.  p.  med.). 

of  the  four  Jewish  doctors,  who  for  their  *"  Acts  iv.  35. 

learning  and  piety  received  the  title  of  ^'^  Very  early  a  distinct  class  in  the 

Rabdan,  a  very  honourable  form  oi  Rabbi.  Church.     See  the  next  reference. 

"  See  S.  Matt.  x.  17.  *«  i  Tim.  v.  9,  &c. 


8 


FASTI   APOSTOLICI  :     FIRST   YEAR. 


parts."  While  the  Church  was  comparatively  small  and  poor,  "the 
multitude  of  believers  had  but  one  heart  and  one  soul  ;  "^°  but  "the 
number  of  the  disciples  increasing,  there  arose  a  murmuring  of  the 
Greeks  against  the  Hebrews,"''^  as  being  unfairly  treated  in  the 
distribution  of  alms.  The  Apostles,  not  to  be  distracted  in  their 
spiritual  work  by  temporal  details,  proposed  to  the  Church  at  large 
to  elect  seven^-  men,  known  for  sanctity  and  wisdom,  to  be  approved 
by  the  Apostles,  and  "appointed  over  this  business."^  The  first  of 
these  was  S.  Stephen  (Heb.  Chclicl/'d.  crown  "^^),  "a  man  full  of 
faith  and  of  the  Iloly  Ghost,"  the  proto-martyr  of  the  Church,  and 
therefore  celebrated  on  the  day  after  the  Nativity  of  Him  who  is 

Rex  gloriosus  martyriim, 
Corona  confitentium. 


"  Josephus  {Antiq.  xii.  5,  xiv.  9,  xvi.  4) 
says  that  the  Jews  had  cstabHshed  colo- 
nics in  Laceda^mon  and  Ionia.  We  read 
(Acts  ii.  10,  11)  of  foreign  Jews  from 
Phrygia,  Pamphylia,  and  Crete,  being 
present  at  Jerusalem  for  Pentecost  ; 
some  of  whom  doubtless  had  been 
converted.  These  Hellenistic  Jews 
conformed  in  some  things  to  Gentile 
customs,  spoke  Greek,  and  read  the 
Septuagint  version. 
^  Acts  iv.  32. 

^^  Acts  vi.  I.  These  "  Hebrews,"  or 
convert  Jews,  who  had  never  quitted 
Palestine,  looked  down  on  the  "Greeks," 
or  Hebrew  sojourners  in  foreign  lands: 
partly  from  zeal  for  the  law,  which  the 
others  were  likely  to  have  mingled  with 
Gentile  observances.  When  Aristobulus 
besieged  his  brother  Hyrcanus,  this 
execration  came  into  use  :  '  Cursed  be 
the  man  that  tcacheth  his  son  the 
wisdom  of  the  Greeks."  In  the  war 
with  Titus,  they  decreed  that  no  man 
should  teach  his  son  Greek.  Cf.  i 
Machab,  i.  43—53. 

*^  S.  Evaristus,  in  the  time  of  Trajan, 
ordained  that  the  seven  deacons  should 
attend  the  Pontiff  during  his  preaching 
of  the  Gospel.      In  the  third  century, 


S.  Sixtus  II.  was  seized  at  the  place 
called  especially  Ad  catacumbas,  as  he 
was  celebrating  the  holy  Sacrifice,  and 
martyred  w'lihjive  of  his  deacons.  The 
Council  of  Neo-Ca;sarea  (a.d.  314) 
enacted  that  this  number  of  deacons  was 
not  to  be  exceeded  in  any  city,  however 
large  the  population.  An  epistle  of  Pope 
Cornelius,  a.d.  251,  shows  that  this 
number  had  been  kept  to  in  Rome, 
though  the  priests  were  forty-six  in 
number  (Euseb.  H.  E.  vi.  43).  Sozomen, 
writing  about  A.D.  440,  notices  this  as  a 
peculiarity  (vii.  19,  3) ;  whereas  Justinian 
sanctioned  that  in  Constantinople  there 
should  be  an  hundred  deacons. 

'"^  S.  Epiphanius,  Hares,  xx.  4,  says 
that  all  the  deacons  were  chosen  from 
among  the  Seventy  disciples. 

^^  "  Stephanus  grxce,  latine  corona 
appellatur.  Jam  corona;  nomen  habebat, 
et  ideo  palmam  martyrii  suo  nomine  pras- 
ferebat"  (S.  Aug.  Scr?n.  iii.  de  Sanciis). 
"  Stephen,  that  blessed  martyr,  is  never 
seen  exercising  what  does  not  appertain 
to  the  deaconship,  either  offering  sacri- 
fice {Ovtrtdf  avtyKwv),  or  laying  hands  on 
any;  but  keeping  to  his  deacon's  order 
to  the  last"  (S.  Hippol.  De  Charism. 
Trad.  A  post.  n.  26.  Galland.  t.  ii.  p.  512). 


A.D.    34   (29)-      A-U.C.   785.      TIBERII    18.  9 

Of  the  others,  S.  Prochorus  is  commemorated  in  the  Roman 
Martyrology  (Ap.  9)  as  having  been  martyred  at  Antioch  ;  S.  Par- 
menas  (Jan.  23)  suffered  at  PhiHppi,  in  the  persecution  under  Trajan; 
S.  Timon,  (Ap.  19)  having  preached  at  Beroea,  and  then  at  Corinth, 
was  cast  into  the  flames  by  an  united  persecution  of  Jews  and 
Greeks  ;  then,  having  been  preserved  unhurt,  was  crucified.  Another 
of  the  seven,  "Nicolas,  a  proselyte  of  Antioch,"  afterwards  became, 
if  not  the  author, ^^  at  least  the  occasion,  of  the  sect  of  the  Nicolaitans, 
of  which  our  Lord,  from  the  throne  of  His  glory,  spoke  with  detesta- 
tion;^*^ therefore,  of  the  seven,  he  alone  is  not  mentioned  in  the 
Martyrology. 

The  Church  still  increased  in  numbers  ;  many  priests  of  the  Old 
Law  were  converted.^*"  This  was  much  promoted  by  the  miracles 
and  preaching  of  S.  Stephen,  who,  being  "full  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  wisdom,"  "full  of  faith  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"^^  "full  of 
grace  and  fortitude,"  attracted  the  hearts  of  "such  as  should  be 
saved,"^^  and  the  hatred  of  the  Jews  who  were  then  in  Jerusalem 
from  various  countries,  from  Asia,  Africa,  and  Rome.  They  brought 
against  him  false  witnesses,  who  accused  him  of  blasphemy,  and  of 
having  spoken    against   the   Temple.*^*'     A  tumultuous  crowd^^  drew 

^  Iren.  Adv.  Hceres.  i.   27  ;    Epiph.  Nicolas,   one   of   the    seven   deacons." 

Hares,   xxv.  ;    Tertull.    De    Prescript,  Alzog,  Universal  Ch.  Hist.  vol.  i.  p.  225. 

c.  46.  (Cincinn.    1874,   the  translated   edition 

0^  Apoc.   ii.   6,   15.      The  sect  of  the  always  quoted  in  these  pages.) 

Nicolaitans   may  have  been  so  called,  ^^  Acts  vi.  7.     Beza  regarded  this  as 

by  misuse  of  his  name,  or  mistake  of  his  so  improbable,  that  he  rejected  the  verse 

doctrine.       Hippolytus   {Dc  72  Discip.)  on  that  account.     Luther  treated  in  like 

and  Dorotheus  {Synops.)  bear  witness  manner  the  Epistle  of  S.James,  because 

to  his  faith  and  sanctity,  and  assert  that  it  asserted  justification  by  Christian  good 

the    Apostles     made     him     Bishop    of  works ;  calling  it  epistola  straininea. 

Samaria.    S.  Hilary,  however,  (Owwtv//.  ^^  Acts  vi.  3,  5,  8  ;  Cf.  v.  I5,vii.  55. 

in  Matt,  xxv.),  refers  to  him  as  "a  false  ^'  See  Acts  ii.  57. 

prophet,"  and  is  followed  by  S.  Gregory  "<'  See   a.d.   58,  infra,  for  the   same 

the  Great  and  others  in  thus  condemning  charge  afterwards   brought  against  his 

him.     "S,  Irenaeus  informs  us  that  the  chief  persecutor,  when    that  persecutor 

belief    of    the    Nicolaitans   was   pretty  had  become  an  Apostle,  and  "  preached 

much   the   same  as   that   of  Cerinthus  the    faith    which   once  he   impugned" 

and  the  Gnostics  ;  but,  that  they  might  (Gal.  i.  23). 

surround  it  with  some  sort  of  dignity,  ^^  The  text  enumerates  "the  synagogue 

they  claimed  to  have  derived  it  from  of  the  Libertines,"  or  freedmen  of  Rome 


10 


FASTI   APOSTOLICI  :    FIRST   YEAR. 


him  into  the  Council,  presided  over  by  Caiaphas'''-  the  high  priest. 
There,  notwithstanding  his  triumphant  refutation  of  the  charges,  and 
lu's  eloquent  exposition  of  the  Gospel,  he  was  condemned  to  death. 
To  strengthen  liim  for  liis  agony,  he  was  favoured  by  being  enabled 
to  "sec  the  heavens  opened,  and  the  Son  of  Man  standing  on  the 
Right  Hand  of  God."''^  His  enemies  cast  him  out  of  the  city,*^^  and 
thus  gave  to  his  martyrdom  another  feature  of  likeness*'^  to  the 
Passion  of  his  Lord,  whom  he  also  imitated  in  praying  for  his 
cncmies,^^  while  they  stoned  him  to  death.^" 

The  witnesses,  who,  according  to  the  law,"^  w^ere  appointed  to 
stone  him,^''  laid  their  upper  garments  at  the  feet  of  a  young  man 
named  Saul,  a  native  of  Tarsus,""  son  or  descendant  of  a  Jewish 
freed  man  who  for  some  merit  or  service  had  acquired  the  privilege 
of  a   Roman  citizen."^      Saul  had  been   S.  Stephen's  fellow-disciple 


and  Italy,  of  whom  Tacitus  {Attn,  ii,  85) 
says  that  four  thousand  were  banished 
from  Rome  to  Sardinia  by  Claudius. 
The  other  "synagogues"  (sects,  perhaps, 
or  coteries,  without  any  especial  building 
for  the  assembly  of  each)  mentioned 
as  taking  part  against  S.  Stephen,  were 
those  of  Cyrenc,  Alexandria,  Cilicia,  and 

Asia.      'AvSpuy  acTf^effTaTwy  irtvTa.iro\is    (S. 

Chr)s.  Oni/.  in  .S'.  Stcph).  Josephus 
says  that  in  Cyrene  the  Jewish  popula- 
tion amounted  to  one-fourth  of  the 
inhabitants  ;  and  that  in  Alexandria, 
three  out  of  the  five  districts  of  the 
city  were  assigned  to  them  {Afiiiq.  xiv. 
7,  2,  10,  I,  xix.  5,  2).  The  synagogue  of 
Cilicia  would  be  that  to  which  Saul 
belonged.  The  Talmudists  say  there 
were  460  (or  4S0)  synagogues  in  Jeru- 
salem. 

'^-  So  called  in  the  Greek  Testament, 
from  the  Hebrew.  The  Vulgate  gives 
the  name  as  Caiphas. 

^'^  Acts  vii.  55.  Appendix  B.  The 
Church's  antiphon  on  his  feast  says  : 
Stephanus  vidit  ccclos  aperios :  vidit  et 
introivit :  bealus  /lomo,  qui  cwli  pate- 
bant. 


'^^  Lev.  xxiv.  14,  23,  Num.  xv.  35. 
They  brought  him  to  the  Valley  of 
Josaphat,  by  the  torrent  of  Cedron. 
Hence  the  Church's  antiphon  on  his 
feast  :  Lapidcs  torrentis  illi  diilces 
fucriint. 

^■'  Heb.  xiii.  12,  13,  Cf.  S.  Mark  xv.  20, 
S.  John  xix.  16,  17,  20. 

^^  S.  Luke  xxiii.  34.  So  likewise  did 
S.  James  the  Just  {Cf.  ad  k.\).  63  /;;/). 
S.  Augustine  interprets  S.  Stephen  as 
saying  :  Ego  patior  in  came  ;  isti  non 
pereant  in  mente  {Serin.  I.  de  Steph.). 

^^  S.  Bcde  {Be  locis  Sanctis,  c.  iii.) 
says  that  in  his  time  the  Christians  in 
Jerusalem  religiously  preserved  the  stone 
on  which  the  martyrdom  took  place. 
The  empress  Eudoxia  built  a  spacious 
basilica  on  the  spot  (Evagrius,//zj/.  i.  12, 
Nicephorus  xiv.  56). 

*'*  Levit.  xxiv.  14,  Deut.  xvii.  2 — 7. 

"•'  It  was  the  special  punishment  for 
blasphemy  and  profaneness  (Numb. 
xxiv.  14,  Cf.  S.  John  x.  33). 

""  Appendix  E. 

"^  Acts  xvi.  37,  38  ;  xxi.  39 ;  xxii. 
25-29. 


A.D.    34   (29).      A.U.C.   785.      TIBERII    1 8.  II 

under  Gamaliel/-  and  of  the  same  age  with  himself,  which  was  also 
about  the  age  of  our  Lord.'^ 

Relics  of  S.  Stephen  were  devoutly  carried  into  various  countries, 
and  wrought  many  miracles.''*  His  prayer  for  his  murderers  gained 
S.  Paul,  as  S.  Augustine  declares/^ 

S.  Nicanor,  another  of  the  seven  deacons,  is  said  to  have  been 
martyred  on  the  same  day. 

The  day  after  the  martyrdom,  S.  James  the  Just  (the  Less  or 
younger),  "  brother,"  i.e.  near  kinsman,  of  our  Lord,'^^  was  consecrated 


•■■-  This  is  asserted  by  Baronius, 
"  Corn,  a  Lap.  in  Act  vii.  57. 
"*  Some  of  these  are  mentioned  by 
S.  Augustine,  Dc  Civ.  Dei,  1.  xxii.  c.  8, 
circa  med.  Cf.  Lorinus  in  Act.  vii.  59. 
S.  Stephen's  body,  or  the  greater  portion 
of  it,  together  with  those  of  SS.  Gamahe], 
Nicodemus,  and  Abibo,  were  discovered, 
by  a  vision  to  the  priest  Lucian,  in  the 
reign  of  the  Emperor  Honorius.  This 
"Finding  of  S.  Stephen"  is  celebrated 
on  the  3rd  of  August  (see  Baronius,  in 
Martyrol.  Roman).  Paulus  Orosius 
made  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land, 
at  the  time  of  this  "  Invention  "  or  find- 
ing of  S.  Stephen's  relics,  a.d.  415,  the 
14th  year  of  the  pontificate  of  Innocent  I. 
He  carried  portions  to  S.  Augustine,  who 
distributed  them  among  various  churches 
in  Africa  ;  others,  Orosius  brought  with 
him  to  Minorca  and  to  Spain  ;  whence 
Portugal  and  France  received  donations 
of  the  treasure.  Miracles  everywhere 
attended  them,  says  S.  Gregory  of  Tours 
{jDe  Gloria  Mart.  c.  33,  Hist.  lib.  i,  c.  3 1). 
"  Latuit  tanto  tempore  corpus  ejus  :  pro- 
cessit  quando  Deus  voluit,  illuminavit 
terras,  tanta  miracula  fecit  :  mortuus 
vivos  facit  mortuos,  quia  nee  mortuus  " 
(S.  Aug.  Serm.  51  Dc  Divers),  who  also 
narrates  {De  Civit.  ut  supra)  that  six 
dead  persons  were  raised  to  life.  In  439, 
Eudoxia,  Empress  of  Theodosius  the 
Younger,  brought  from  Jerusalem  a 
portion  of  the  proto-martyr's  relics,  and 


enshrined  them  in  the  church  or  "  mar- 
tyrium  "  of  S.  Laurence  (Baron.).  Por- 
tions of  his  right  hand  were  carried  to 
Chalcedon,  on  which  occasion  the  Saint 
appeared  to  S.  Pulcheria  {Id.  ex  Cedreno). 
The  relics  were  finally  translated  to 
Rome,  in  the  pontificate  of  Pelagius, 
and  deposited  in  the  Church  of  S.  Lau- 
rence :  the  commemoration  of  it  occurs 
in  the  Rom.  Martyrology,  May  7.  Corn, 
a  Lap.  (in  Act.  viii.  2),  mentions  that  a 
phial  of  his  blood  in  a  glass  ajiipulla 
was  brought  from  Africa  to  Naples  by 
S.  Gaudiosus,  Bishop  of  that  place,  and 
preserved  in  the  church  of  S.  Gaudiosus ; 
and  that  it  liquefies  during  the  celebra- 
tion of  Mass. 

'^  "  Si  martyr  Stephanos  non  sic 
orasset,  Ecclesia  Paulum  hodie  non 
haberet "  (S.  Aug.  Serm.  382,  De  Sanctis. 
§4). 

'■''  As  being  son  of  Mary,  sister  to 
the  Blessed  Virgin ;  his  father  being 
Alpheus,  or  Cleophas.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded in  the  see  of  Jerusalem,  on  his 
martyrdom  twenty-nine  years  afterwards, 
by  his  brother  Simeon;  Cf.  ad.  A.D.  63. 
Several  of  the  Fathers  say  that  S.  James 
was  designated  to  his  see  by  our  Lord 
Himself  (S.  Jerome,  in  Gal.  i.  19 ; 
S.  Chrysost.  in  i  Cor.  xv.  7  ;  Euseb. 
xii.  c.  19,  &c.).  This,  however,  did  not 
supersede  his  ordination,  which  in 
ancient  martyrologies  is  assigned  to 
Dec.  27  (Tillemont  i?i  Fit.  ejus). 


12 


FASTI    ArOSTOLICI  :    SFXOND   YEAR. 


by  S.  Peter"  to  the  bishopric  of  Jerusalem  ;   and  thus  ended  the  first 
year  of  the  Church's  hfe. 


SECOND   YEAR. 

A.D.    35    (30).      A.U.C.    786.      TIBERII    19. 

The  miracles  and  preaching  of  S.  Stephen,  and  his  glorious  death, 
stirred  up  the  hatred  of  Pharisees  and  Sadducecs,  priests  and  people  ; 
especially  of  Saul,  the  chief  persecutor,  who  had  assisted  at  his 
martyrdom.  "  There  was  raised  a  great  persecution  against  the 
Church  at  Jerusalem  ;  and  they  were  all  dispersed  through  the 
countries  of  Judaea  and  Samaria,  except  the  Apostles."^  This  was 
the  first  general  persecution,  though  not  reckoned  as  the  first  of  the 
ten,  which  were  those  of  the  Roman  Empire,  and  began  with  Nero.^ 
According  to  Dorotheus,  two  thousand  Christians  were  martyred  at 
this  time.  Great  numbers  certainly  were,  as  is  known  by  S.  Paul's 
testimony  :  "  Many  of  the  Saints  I  shut  up  in  prison,  having  received 
authority  of  the  Chief  Priests  ;  and  when  they  were  put  to  death,  I 
brought  the  sentence."^ 

S.   Nicodemus,    once    a    secret    disciple,*    but    now    an    avowed 


"  "If  any  one  should  say  :  'Why 
then  did  James  receive  the  throne  of 
Jerusalem?'  this  is  my  answer:  that 
He  appointed  this  man  (Peter)  not 
teacher  of  that  throne,  but  of  the  habit- 
able globe "  (oit  ToC  Opovov,  aWa  t-/]S 
otKov/xtfri?.     S.  Chrys.  IIoui.  88,  n.  6). 

^  Acts  viii.  I. 

-  So  the  First  General  Council  was 
that  of  Jerusalem  (ch.  xv.),  though  the 
first  after  the  cessation  of  persecution 
was  that  of  Nica:a,  A.D.  325. 

^  Acts  xxvi.  10.  The  Anglo-Saxon 
Chronicle  incorrectly  states,  of  A.D.  34  : 
"  This  year,  S.  Paul  was  converted  and 
S.  Stephen  stoned. 

*  S.  John  iii.  2,  xix.  :;9.     The  Second 


Nicene  Council  (A.D.  787)  is  said  to 
have  read  and  unanimously  approved  a 
treatise  of  S.  Athanasius,  Dc  Passiotie 
Iiiiagitiis  D.N.J.C.  This  related  how 
Nicodemus,  after  taking  down  our  Lord 
from  the  Cross,  drew  a  likeness  of  Him, 
which  he  gave  before  his  death  to  Gama- 
liel, and  he  to  S.  James  the  Less.  Thence 
it  passed  to  S.  Simeon,  S.  James'  suc- 
cessor in  the  see  of  Jerusalem,  then  to 
Zaccha;us  or  Zacharias,  who  (cf.  Gams, 
p.  432)  came  after  S.  Judas  Justus  as 
fourth  bishop.  Afterwards,  the  Jews  in 
Bcrytus  assailed  it  w'ith  all  the  outrages 
which  our  Lord  had  suffered  in  His 
actual  Passion  ;  on  which  occasion, 
many  miracles  were  wrought  (Feuar- 
dentius  in  S.  Iren.  Hcur.  L  24). 


A.D.    35    (30).      A.U.C.   7S6.      TIBERII    I9.  I3 

Christian,  was  deprived  of  his  dignities  by  the  Jews,  excommunicated, 
scourged,  and  banished  from  Jerusalem  ;  only  escaping  the  penalty 
of  death  by  the  presence  of  Gamaliel  in  the  Sanhedrim.  He  was 
received  by  S.  Gamaliel  into  his  country  house,  and  maintained  there 
till  his  death. 

Baronius^  and  others  assign  this  as  the  time  when  SS.  Lazarus, 
Mary  Magdalene,  Martha,  and  three  other  disciples,  viz.,  SS.  Joseph® 
of  Arimathsea,^  Maximin,  and  Marcella,  were  seized  by  the  Jews  out 
of  hatred  to  our  Lord,  thrust  into  a  vessel  without  oars  or  sails, 
and  committed  to  the  winds  and  waves  :  but,  by  the  good  Providence 
of  God,  brought  safely  to  Marseilles.  S.  Lazarus  is  said  to  have 
become  bishop  there  ;  S.  Maximin,  of  Aix^  in  Provence  ;  and 
S.  Martha  to  have  governed  a  community  of  holy  and  consecrated 
women  at  Tarascon,  where  she  died.^  The  Magdalene  retired  to  a 
cave  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Marseilles,  still  known  as  La  Samte 
Baunie,  and  there  spent  thirty  years  in  ascetic  devotion,  being  carried 
up  by  the  angels  every  day  to  hear  the  heavenly  Alleluias. 

5  Hist.  Vatican,  torn,  i,  Ajtnal,  et  in  and  assisted  at  the  Council  of  Diospolis 
Martyrol.]\A.  22.  (Lydda?   or  more  probably  Thebes  in 

6  Maldonatus  supposes  that  S.  Joseph,  Africa)  in  415.  He  wrote  an  epistle  to 
who  is  called  by  S.  Mark,  c.  xv.  43,  the  African  bishops  against  Pelagius. 
fva-xvp-""'  ^ovXevTrjs,  iwbilis  dcciirio,  sat  in  For  some  cause,  we  are  told,  7-esigiiare 
the  Sanhedrim  when  our  Lord  was  con-  cogitur.  S.  Vincent  of  Paul  gave  the 
demned,  but  took  no  part  in  the  pro-  name  Saint  Lazare  to  the  church  and 
ceedings  against  him  (Cf.  S.  Luke  xxiii.  house  of  the  Congregation  he  founded 
50,  51).  in  Paris.     His  priests,  the  Vincentians, 

''  The  Ramathaim  Sophim  of  i  Kings,  are  otherwise  named  Lazarists.  S.  Maxi- 

i.   I,  the  birthplace  of  the  prophet  Sa-  min  is  mentioned  in  the  Roinan  Mar- 

muel.  tyrology  for  June  8. 

*  Aix,    however    (Aquas    Sextice,    or  "  Clovis  is  said  to  have  been  miracu- 

Urbs  Aquensis),  is  not  to  be  confounded  lously  healed  at  her  tomb.     Tillemont, 

with  Aquae  or  Augustse,  Ta7-bella,  the  on  the  other  hand,  reports  "  the  ancient 

birth-place  of  S.  Vincent  de  Paul.     Of  Latins,  and  the  Greeks,"  to  the  effect  that 

the  latter   place   the   first    Bishop   was  both  the  holy  sisters  remained  in  Jeru- 

S.  Vincent,  martyr,  whose  feast  occurs  salem,  and  died  there.      The  body  of 

on  Sept.  I  (Father  Gams,  O.S.B.,  Series  S.  Mary  Magdalene  is  stated  to  have 

Episcop.    Eccles.    Cath.,    Ratisb.    1873,  been  brought  to  Vezelay  in  Burgundy, 

p.  543).     The   tradition   of  S.   Lazarus  about   the  year  920,  to  have  been  an 

having  come  to  these  parts  is  further  object  of  great  devotion  in  the  twelfth 

corroborated   by  mention  in  the  same  and  thirteenth   centuries,  and  to  have 

Series,  p.  481,  of  a  bishop  Lazarus,  who  been  translated  in  1267,  in  presence  of 

was  consecrated  to  the  see  of  Aix  in  409,  S.  Louis. 


14 


FASTI    ArOSTOLlCI  :    SECOND   YliAK. 


S.  Joseph  is  said  by  an  immemorial  and  constant  tradition^"  to 
have  passed  into  Britain  with  eleven  disciples,  preaching  the  Gospel, 
then  living  an  eremitical  life^^  in  the  island  of  Avalon,  given  to  him 
by  the  heathen  king  Arviragus.^^  It  was  from  Avalon  (afterwards 
in  Saxon  times  called  Glastonbury)^^  that  S.  Elvanus  was  sent  by 
King  Lucius  to  Rome,  together  with  S.  Medwinus  from  South 
Britain,  to  obtain  from  Pope  S.  Eleutherius  some  missioners  to  con- 


'"  Ihc  Roman  Marty roL,  however, 
for  March  17,  states  that  he  died  in 
Jerusalem.  His  having  cvangehzed  a 
part  of  Britain  was  asserted  by  the 
EngHsh  ambassadors  as  a  claim  of  pre- 
cedence over  the  French,  at  the  Council 
of  Pisa,  in  1409,  of  Constance,  in  1417, 
of  Siena,  in  1424,  and  of  Basle,  in  1434. 
The  English  claim  for  Glastonbury  was 
especially  brought  forward.  The  30th 
Session  of  the  Council  of  Constance 
discussed  the  question:  "Is  it  right  and 
reasonable  that  the  kingdom  of  England 
should  take  rank  with  [perhaps  over] 
that  of  France  in  a  General  Council  ? " 
The  English  claim  of  precedence,  in 
right  of  S.  Joseph  and  his  companions, 
was  met  by  a  counter-claim  on  the  part 
of  France,  based  on  S.  Dionysius  the 
Areopagite,  the  evangelizer  of  Gaul. 
Both  claims  rest  on  immemorial  tradi- 
tion, with  the  foundation  of  churches  and 
monasteries  in  token  of  the  universal 
belief :  an  evidence,  surely,  sufficient  to 
outweigh  some  a  priori  improbability, 
or  difficulty  in  details.  See  also  below, 
ad  A.D.  50,  note. 

^^  They  are  said  to  have  erected  a 
small  wattled  oratory,  in  the  spot  after- 
wards named  Iniswitryn  {Insula  Vi/rea), 
and  by  the  Saxons  Glastingay,  or  Glas- 
tonbury. Round  this  were  their  cells, 
of  equally  rude  construction.  The 
church,  which  in  Saxon  times  was 
always  called  the  ca/tfc  circlie,  was 
regarded  with  peculiar  veneration,  as 
the  fons  et  origo  totius  religionis  in 
Britannia  (William  of  Malmesbury). 


'-  Confounded  with  Caractacus  by 
Matthew  of  Westminster.  Arviragus 
was  grandfather  to  Coel,  or  Hoel,  who 
died  about  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of 
Hadrian.  Coel  was  father  to  S.  Lucius, 
mentioned  in  the  text.  The  genealogy 
runs  thus  : — Cunobeline,  Cymbeline,  or 
Cynvalyn,was  educated  by  Julius  Ciesar, 
and  lived  during  the  reigns  of  Tiberius 
and  Caligula.  He  married  Cartismandua, 
and  became  the  father  of  Caractacus  (not 
the  celebrated  warrior  of  that  name)  and 
Arviragus.  After  the  death  of  Cymbe- 
line, Cartismandua  married  a  prince  of 
the  Brigantes,  whose  name  is  said  to 
have  been  Bran,  or  Brian.  He,  by  a 
former  marriage,  had  already  several 
children,  among  them  the  heroic  Cara- 
doc,  or  Caractacus,  and  Boadicea. 
Arviragus  married  Boadicea,  and  had 
two  daughters  ;  but  he  afterwards  for- 
sook her,  to  marry  Gwenissa,  daughter 
to  Claudius.  Struck  with  remorse,  he 
left  Gwenissa,  but  too  late  to  save 
Boadicea.  After  her  defeat  by  the 
Romans,  her  eldest  daughter  married 
the  Roman  General  Marius,  and  their 
son  was  Coel,  the  father  to  S.  Lucius, 
He  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  Coel, 
or  Hoel,  father  to  S.  Helena. 

!•'  The  "twelve  hides  of  Glastonbury  " 
were  certain  portions  of  land  belonging 
to  the  abbey  from  time  immemorial,  and 
always  stated  to  have  been  the  donation 
of  Arviragus  to  S.  Joseph  and  his  eleven 
companions. 


A.D.    35    (30).      A.U.C.   yd>6.      TIBERII    19.  1 5 

vert  that  part  of  Britain  subject  to  Lucius,  whose  British  name 
was  Lleivr  Mazvr  (Great  Light.)^^ 

S.  Cleophas,^^  one  of  the  two  disciples  with  whom  our  Lord  walked 
to  Emmaus  on  Easter  Day,  was  martyred  by  the  Jews  in  the  same 
house  in  which  he,  with  the  other  disciple,  had  constrained  Him  to 
break  bread  with  them.^^ 

"All,"  or  the  greater  part,  of  the  Christians  in  Jerusalem,  "were 
dispersed ^'^  throughout  Judsea  and  Samaria." ^^  Thus,  "the  blood  of 
the  martyrs  was  the  seed  of  the  Church," ^^  and  persecution  spread 
the  Gospel.  Their  number  is  conjectured  by  Baronius  to  have 
amounted  to  fifteen  thousand.  Others  of  them  were  probably  those 
first  disciples  of  the  faith,  and  clients  of  Mary,  who  came  to  Mount 
Carmel ;  and,  finding  there  some  remnants  of  the  ancient  school  of 
*'the  sons  of  the  prophets,"  established  by  SS.  Elias  and  Eliseus, 
joined  their  community,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  the  Carmelite 
Order. 

These  dispersed  Christians^*'  went  to  Damascus,  preached  the 
Gospel    there,    and    thence    "  as   far    as    Phoenice   and    Cyprus    and 

"  Usher    and    Stillingfleet    have   no  Just,  and  of  S.  Simeon  the  second  bishop 

difficulty  about  S.  Lucius,  though  it   is  of  Jerusalem  (Cf.  A  D.  63,  S.  Matt.  x.  3, 

strange  that  they  do  not    see  how  the  S.  Mark  iii.  18,  S.  Luke  vi.  15,  Acts  i.  13). 

mission   to  S.  Eleutherius  tells  against  S.  Jerome  considers  them  to  be  distinct 

their  theory  of  that  independence  of  the  {Epitaph.  Paitlce  ad Eiistoch.).  Alphseus 

Holy    See,  which    they    claim    for  the  was    also   the   name   of    the   father  of 

ancient  British  Church.    Lucius  Dexter,  S.  Matthew  (S.  Mark  ii.  14). 

a  cotemporary  of  S.  Jerome,  assigns  this  ^''  He  is  commemorated  in  the  Ro/iian 

expulsion  of  S.  Lazarus  and  his   com-  Marty t'ology,  on  September  25. 

panions  to  A.D.  48.     But  it  is  scarcely  ^''  li(:(fis6.p-r\cTav — scattered,  like  precious 

probable    that   persons  so  well   known  seeds  of  the  word  of  God   (S.  Athan. 

for  their  relations  with  our  Lord  (S.  John  Horn,  de  Fennentd). 

xi.  19,  31,  45,  46,  xii.  9-1 1 ),  and  therefore  ^^  Cf.  S.  Matt.  x.  23. 

so    obnoxious    to    Jewish    hate,  should  ^^  Tertullian,  Apologcf.  c.  50.     "  Non 

have  remained  unmolested, while  others,  minuitur  persecutionibus   Ecclesia,  sed 

simply  His  disciples,  were  put  to  death.  augetur  ;    et    semper    Dominicus    agar 

^■^  It  is  not  certain  whether  this  is  the  segete  ditiori  vestitur,  dum  grana,  quae 

same  person  as   Cleophas,  or  Alpheus  singula   cadunt,  multiplicata  nascuntur 

(two  names  that  are  identical,  but  with  (S.    Leo,    Serm.    I.    De   App.    Pet.    et 

a    different    pronunciation),    who    was  Paulo). 

husband   of    Mary,    the   sister    of    the  ^'^  Among  them,  Ananias,  (see  Acts 

Blessed  Virgin,  and  father  of  SS.  James  ix.  and  a.d.   36  infra),   says    Baronius 

(the  Less),  Jude,  Joseph  Barsabas  the  (Mart.  Rom.). 


l6  FASTI    APOSTOLICI  :    SECOND   YEAR. 

Antioch;"-^  in  which  last  city  the  Gospel  finally  took  such  hold, 
that  the  Antiochcnc  disciples  were  the  first  who  were  known  as 
"Christians."-- 

It  was  to  these  Christians  of  "the  dispersion"  that  SS.  Peter 
and  James  afterwards  addressed  their  Catholic  Epistles  j-^  so  called, 
because  written  to  the  Church  at  large,  not  to  Christians  of  any 
special  locality. 

Some  of  them  came  into  Europe,-'*  of  whom  a  portion  more  than 
probably  found  their  way  to  Rome.  Andronicus  and  Junia^  may 
have  been  of  that  number. 

More  than  five  hundred  took  ship  from  Cyprus,  and  arrived  at 
New  Carthage  {CartJiagend)  in  Spain.  They  spread  through  the 
country,  preaching  the  Gospel  ;  the  effect  of  which  was,  that  many 
of  the  inhabitants  afterwards  came  in  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem,  to 
confer  with  the  Ever-blessed  Mother  of  God.  The  chief  of  these 
were  chosen  by  S.  James  the  Greater,  and  made  bishops  of  the 
principal  Spanish  cities.  Some  authors  (and  among  them,  it  would 
seem.  Pope  Calixtus  II.)  suppose  that  S.  James  himself  went  at  this 
time  into  Spain.-^  S.  Luke,'-^^  indeed,  expressly  says  that  the  Apostles 
were  not  dispersed  with  the  rest :  but  he  may  be  speaking  only  of 
the  majority.     The  Apostles  remained  in  Jerusalem,  lest  the  enemies 

-'  Acts  xi.  19.  which  there  would  seem  no  reason,  if  he 
"  Acts   xi.   26.     This,    however,  was  had  not  been  venerated  in  that  country 
chiefly  brought  about  afterwards,  by  the  during  his  life.     Alzog  is  therefore  not 
preaching  of  SS.   Paul  and  Barnabas,  to  be  taken  beyond  the  strict  terms  of 
and  by  the  establishment  in  Antioch  of  his  proposition,  when  he  says  :  "  There 
S.  Peter's  first  See.  is  no  positive  proof,  either  that  S.  Paul 
23  I  S.  Peter  i.  i  ;  S.  James  i.  i.  Hence  preached  the  Gospel  in  Spain,  or  that 
it  would  appear  that  the  greater  portion  the  Apostle   S.  James,  the  son  of  Ze- 
of  them  had  not  returned  to  Juda:a,  even  bedce,  to  whose  reputed  tomb  in  Con- 
as  late  as  a.d.  45.     They  remained  as  postella  the  piety  of  the  Spaniards  (!) 
fjifroiKoi  in  the  countries  in  which  they  led  them  to  make  pilgrimages  in  after 
had  been  dispersed.  years,  was  ever  in  that  country."     He 
-*  Luc.  Uext.  Chro7i.  refers   to    Natalis   Alex.    H.  E.  saec.  i, 
-^  Rom.  xvi.  7.  dissert.  15,  on  SS.  Paul  and  James  :  but 
2°  Calixtus  11.  (ZzV/.y?/<7.rA;/?V.)ordains  the  m«''^'^'s  of  the  whole  passage  is  evi- 
that  5.  Non.  Oct.  should  be  kept  as  the  dent, 
translation  of  the  Apostle's  relics  from  '"  Acts  viii.  i. 
Jerusalem  to  Gallicia  (Compostella)  ;  for 


A.D.    35    (30).      A.U.C.   786.      TIBERII    1 9.  17 

of  the  Church  should  triumph  over  its  dispersion  ;  and  also  that  they 
themselves  might  take  counsel  of  the  Regina  Apostolorum. 

"Saul  made  havoc  of  the  Church,  entering  in  from  house  to 
house,  and  dragging  away  men  and  women,  committed  them  to 
prison." 28  "Many  of  the  Saints"  he  "shut  up  in  prison,  having 
received  authority  of  the  chief  priests ;  and  when  they  were  put  to 
death,  [he]  brought  the  sentence  ;  and  oftentimes  punishing  them 
in  every  synagogue,  [he]  compelled  them  to  blaspheme."-^ 

Among  those  who  went  down  to  Samaria  was  S.  Philip ;  not  the 
Apostle,  but  one  of  the  seven  deacons.  By  his  preaching  and  miracles, 
he  aroused  the  public  attention,  and  caused  great  joy  in  that  city,^*' 
by  the  glad  tidings  of  which  he  showed  himself  so  powerful  a  mes- 
senger. Great  numbers  believed,  and  were  baptized.  Thus  S.  Philip 
was  perhaps  the  first  apostolic  teacher  who  passed  beyond  the 
boundary  of  Judaism,  and  preached  to  the  Gentiles.^^ 

The  Samaritans  had  hitherto  been  deluded  by  one  Simon,  a 
magician,  whom  they  believed,  on  his  assertion,  to  have  Divine 
power.^2  He  claimed  to  be  God,  who  created  the  world  by  His 
angels.     This  man  was,  or  pretended  to  be,^^  converted  by  S.  Philip, 

2*  Acts  viii.  3.  ritans  as  the    Father,   to   the   Jews   as 

-^  Acts  xxvi.  10,  II.  the  Son,  and  among  the  Gentiles  as  the 

^0  Probably   the    ancient    capital,   at  Holy  Ghost.  S.  Ignatius  (^Ep.  ad  Trail.) 

that   time   called   Sebaste ;  though  the  calls    Simon  Magus  "the  first-born  of 

Acts    speak    of    it    as    "  the    city    of  Satan,"  the  name  by  which  S.  Polycarp 

Samaria."     It  had  lately  been  rebuilt,  called  Marcion  (S.  Jerome,  Catal.  Vir. 

with  great  magnificence,  by  Herod  the  Illustr.  c.  xvii.).     "At  first  the  disciple, 

Great.     Sychar  (S.  John  iv.  5)  had  also  and  afterwards  the  master,  of  Dositheus, 

received  a    Greek  name.     It  was  then  [he]  was  the  founder  of  a  strange  and 

Neapolis,  and  is  still  Nablous.  inconsistent  syncretic  system  of  theurgy, 

^1  Contrast  Acts  xi.   19.     This  state-  derived  from  the  philosophy  of  the  Jew 

ment  is   confirmed  by   S.  Justin,  Apol.  Philo,  and  which  became  quite  popular 

i.  26,  Tertull.  Apol.  13,  and  others.  in  Samaria,  his  native  country.  ,  .  The 

^2  Justin  Martyr,  himself  a  native  of  prevailing    superstition    at    Rome   had 

Samaria,  has  left  an  account  of  Simon's  prepared  the  minds  of  the  people  for  the 

doctrines  ;     and    we    gather  additional  reception  of  his  doctrine  ;  and  when  he 

details  from  SS.   Irenteus  and  Hippo-  went   thither  later    in   his    career,   his 

lytus.      The    former  {Prcef.  ad  lib.   ii.)  theurgical   art  met   with  great  favour" 

says   that   he   claimed    to    combine  in  (Alzog,  vol.  i.  p.  220). 
himself  the  three  Persons  of  the  Most  ^^  See  the  Fathers  quoted  by  k  Lapide 

Holy  Trinity  ;  appearing  to  the  Sama-  in  loc. 

C 


i8 


FASTI   ArOSTOLICI  :    SECOND   YEAR. 


and  was  baptized,  perhaps  to  obtain  miraculous  powers,  and  so  to 
increase  the  strength  of  his  delusions. 

When  tidings  of  these  conversions  reached  the  Apostles  in  Jeru- 
salem, they  asked  S.  Petcr^^  to  take  on  him  the  mission  of  going  to 
confirm  the  Samaritan  converts.  Thus  he  who  was  especially  the 
Apostle  of  Israel,  had  the  happiness  of  imparting  the  Holy  Ghost 
to  those  whom  the  sin  of  Jeroboam  the  son  of  Nebat^^  had  torn 
from  the  unity  of  the  Israelite  Church.  S.  John  went  down  with  the 
Prince   of  the  Apostles.^''      On  their  prayer  for  the  neophytes,  the 

^*  "  The  Apostles  .  .  sent  to  them 
Peter  and  John"  (Acts  viii.  14).  "Petrum 
Apostoli  mittunt,  non  imperio,  sed  fra- 
terna  charitalc  ac  impulsione,  lit  multi 
fratres  mittunt  quandoque  majorem,"  &c. 
(Cajet.  a/>.  C.  a  L.  in  loc).  "  Hinc  eccle- 
siarum  consuetudo  obtiniiit,  ut  ad  eos, 
qui  longc  in  minoribus  urbibus  a  presby- 
tero  et  diacono  baptizati  sunt,  episcopus 
ad  invocationem  Spiritus  Sancti  manum 
impositurus  excurrat"  (S.  Hieron.  Dial, 
adv.  Luci/.).         ^^  3  Kings  xii.  26,  &c. 

38  See  S.  Mark  vi.  7  ;  Acts  xiii.  2.  This 
is  the  last  mention  of  S.  John  in  the 
Acts.  He  was  probably  absent  from 
Jerusalem  at  S.  Paul's  visit,  three  years 
after  that  Apostle's  conversion  (Gal.  i. 
19) :  but  eleven  years  later,  S.  Paul  found 
him  there,  with  SS.  Peter  and  James 
(Gal.  ii.  9),  who  all  confirmed  S.  Paul's 
mission  to  the  Gentiles.  S.John  was  at 
the  Council  of  Jerusalem  (Clem.  Alex.  ap. 
Euseb.  Hist.  2,  i),  and  remained  in  or 
near  the  city  for  some  time;  though 
preaching  in  other  places.  Parthia  is 
said  to  have  been  one  great  sphere  of 
his  after  labours.  S.  Augustine  some- 
times quotes  S.  John's  first  Epistle  as 
"  his  Epistle  to  the  Parthians."  There 
is  also  a  tradition  of  his  having  planted 
the  Christian  faith  in  the  Persian  Gulf, 
between  the  mouths  of  the  Tigris  and 
Euphrates.  After  the  martyrdom  of 
S.  James  the  Less,  all  the  Apostles 
then  living  (according  to  Eusebius, 
H.  E.  lib.  iii.  c.  ii.  p.  105),  and  therefore 


S.  John  among  them,  came  from  diverse 
places  to  Jerusalem,  and  chose,  in 
council,  S.  Simeon  to  be  bishop  of  the 
vacant  See.  It  seems  to  have  been 
after  the  Assumption  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  that  S.  John  came  to  Asia  Minor, 
residing  at  Ephesus,  with  the  charge  of 
the  Seven  Churches.  He  certainly  had 
not  come  thither  when  S.  Paul,  a.d.  57, 
left  S.  Timotheus  as  bishop  of  that  city. 
S.  Irena:us  {Hcrres.  lib.  iii.  c.  3)  tells  us 
that  he  did  not  settle  there  till  after  the 
death  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul.  S.  Timo- 
theus held  the  See  for  forty  years,  until 
his  own  martyrdom,  A.D.  97.  Mean- 
while, in  the  general  persecution  under 
Domitian,  A.D.  95,  S.  John  was  appre- 
hended by  the  Proconsul  of  Asia,  and 
sent  to  Rome,  where  he  was  thrown  into 
a  cauldron  of  boiling  oil,  but  miracu- 
lously preserved  unhurt.  He  was  then 
banished  to  Patmos,  one  of  the  Sporades 
in  the  /Egean,  where  he  wrote  his 
Apocalypse.  Thence,  on  the  death  of 
Domitian,  he  was  liberated  by  the 
clement  Nerva,  went  to  Ephesus,  and 
found  that  S.  Timotheus,  whom  he  had 
addressed  as  "the  angel  of  Church  of 
Ephesus"  (Apoc.  ii.  i — 7),  had  been 
martyred.  The  Apostle  died  there,  in 
the  third  year  of  Trajan,  A.D.  98,  at  the 
age  of  ninety-four.  The  modern  name 
of  the  Turkish  town,  standing  near  the 
site  of  Ephesus,  is  Ayasaluk,  which  is 
said  to  be  a  corruption  of  'O  fi^ios 
Qio\6yos  {Agiaseolog.). 


A.D.    35    (so)-      A.U.C.   786.      TIBERII    19.  I9 

Holy  Spirit  descended  upon  them  ;  probably  by  visible  and  miracu- 
lous sign  ;  for  Simon  Magus,  struck  by  what  he  saw,  offered  money 
to  the  Apostles  to  give  him  also  this  power  ;^''  thus  committing  a 
sin  which  is  named  after  him,  simony.^^  S.  Peter,  severely  rebuking 
him  for  it,  exhorted  him  to  repentance.  Simon  submitted  out- 
wardly ;  perhaps  fearing  the  fate  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira,  But 
when  the  Apostles  had  returned  to  Jerusalem,  he  continued  to  seduce 
many  of  the  Samaritans  from  the  faith.^^  S.  Clement^^  adds  that 
S.  Peter  afterwards  met  and  confuted  him  at  Caesarea,  whence  the 
arch-heretic  fled  to  Italy,  and,  later,  presented  himself  at  the  Court 
of  Nero.  His  magical  arts  produced  him  great  honour  in  Rome;  so 
that,  according  to  Eusebius,^^  a  statue  was  raised  to  him  in  the 
Insula  Tiberina,  with  the  inscription,  Simoni  Deo  Sancto^'^  When 
S.  Peter  came  to  Rome,  Simon,  by  his  pretensions,  incidentally 
caused  the  martyrdom  of  the  Apostle,  and  probably  of  his  com- 
panion, S.  Paul.*^ 

After  his  mission  to  Samaria,  S.  Peter,  according  to  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  Chronicle,  "established  [his]  episcopal  See  in  the  city  of 
Antioch."^* 

S.  Philip,  having  concluded  his  mission  in  Samaria,  was  admon- 
ished by  an  angel  to  go  southward  in  the  direction  of  Gaza.^^     On 

^''  Bellarmine  {De  Notis  Eccl.  iv.  13)  *'  See  below,  ad  a.d.  59,  note. 

believes  that  Simon  wished  to  purchase  **  This  is,  however,  against  the  testi- 

the  bishopric  of  Samaria,  and  thus  to  mony   of  Eusebius,   who    assigns    this 

enrich  himself  by  selling  the  gifts  of  the  event   to  A.D.  38.     Whichever  date   is 

Holy  Spirit,  as  well  as  buying  them.  adopted,   it   is   certain   that   S.    Peter's 

2^  It  may  be  said  that  Balaam,  Esau,  apostolic  life,  like  that  of  S.  Paul,  had 

Giezi,  and  Jason  (2  Mach.  iv.  8),  com-  "no  fixed  abode"  (i  Cor.  iv.  ii),  but 

mitted  the  same,  or  a  similar  sin.  was  greatly  employed  in  circuits  (Acts 

2^  S.  Irenaeus,  Hcer.  lib.  i.  c.  20.  ix.  22)  during  his  Antiochene  episcopate,, 

*•>  Cotistitut.  lib.  vi.  c.  7.  as  afterwards  in  his  Roman  (Cf.  ad  A.D.. 

*^  Hist.  lib.  ii.  c.  13.  39,  s.f  44,  note  6,  and  68).     He  may 

*^  S.   Justin   {Apolog.   i.    26).       This  probably  have   been  absent  when  SS.. 

inscription   has   received   another    and  Paul    and    Barnabas    went    down    to 

perhaps  a  more  probable  interpretation,  Antioch,    and   laboured   there   (Cf.    S» 

as  referring  to  Seno  Sanctus,  the  Sabine  Chrysostom,  quoted  ad  a.d.  37,  note). 

Hercules.    Alzog,  however,  declares  for  *^  If  the  expression,  "this  is  desert" 

its  reference  to  Simon  Magus  (vol.  i,  p.  (Acts  viii.  26),  refers  to  Gaza,  it  may 

221,  note).  mean   that  the  city  had  been  utterly 


20  FASTI   APOSTOLICI  :    SECOND   YEAF. 

the  road,  he  met  with  one  whom  he  was  destined  to  convert — the 
prime  minister  and  treasurer  of  Candace,''^  Queen  of  ^Ethiopia,  or 
Abyssinia  ;  probably  a  proselyte  to  Judaism,  He  was  returning 
home  in  his  chariot,  after  paying  his  devotions  in  Jerusalem,  and 
reading  in  a  MS.  of  Isaias^^  a  prophecy  concerning  our  Lord."^  This 
text  S.  Philip  expounded,  converted  him,  and  baptized  him  in  water 
by  the  road-side.  Then  "the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  took  away  Philip," 
and  "  he  was  found  at  Azotus "  (Ashdod),*''  where  he  preached  the 
Gospel,  as  also  in  all  places  between  that  and  Caesarea,^°  {Stratojiis 
Tun-is),  the  seat  of  the  Roman  praetor. 

Meanwhile,  his  convert  "went  on  his  way  rejoicing;"  and,  on  his 
return  to  ^Ethiopia,  became  the  Apostle  of  that  country.  He  is 
said    to    have    received     S.   Matthew    on    his    Ethiopian    mission. 


destroyed  by  Alexander  the  Great  after 
his  capture  of  Tyre.  But  it  refers,  pro- 
bably, to  the  road,  as  being  a  rnore 
unfrequented  one.  There  is  a  tradition 
(discountenanced,  however,  by  Moreri) 
that  S.  Philemon,  to  whom  S.  Paul  wrote 
his  Epistle,  became  Bishop  of  Gaza,  and 
was  martyred  there,  with  his  wife  Appia. 
See  below,  A.D.  60. 

•"^  The  name  of  a  line  of  Queens  of 
Meroii  (Plin.  A\il.  Hist.  vi.  29),  the 
present  Abyssinia  and  Nubia.  Eusebius 
says  the  country  was  still  governed  by 
female  Sovereigns  in  the  fourth  century. 
The  Queen  of  Saba  reigned  over  the 
same  country. 

*^  In  the  Septuagint  version,  which 
was  in  use  throughout  Egypt. 

^s  Isaias  Uii.  7,  8. 

^^  About  sixty  miles  W.  from  Jeru- 
salem, nearly  midway  between  Gaza  and 
Joppa.  It  was  besieged  for  twenty-nine 
years  by  Psammetichus  (Herodot.  II. 
157).  Its  destruction,  foretold  by  Jer. 
XXV.  20,  Amos  i.  8,  Soph.  ii.  4,  Zech.  ix.  6, 
was  wrought  by  the  Machabees,  1.  v.  68, 
X.  77-S5,xi.  4.  It  was  rebuilt  by  Gabinius, 
B.C.  55  (Joseph,  xiv.  5,  3),  and  was  one 
of  the  cities  bequeathed  by  Herod  the 
Great  to  his  sister  Salome,  ibid.  xvi.  8-1. 


^0  Not  Caesarea  Philippi,  on  the  spurs 
of  the  Libanus  (see  below,  ad  Ann.  iv.), 
but  on  the  sea-coast,  about  half  way 
between  Joppa  and  Dora  (Joseph.  B.  y. 
i.  21,  5),  some  thirty  miles  from  either. 
Here  Herod  Agrippa  was  struck  by  an 
angel  for  his  pride,  and  perished  miser- 
ably (Acts  xii.  23).  Here  Cornelius  was 
baptized  by  S.  Peter  (Acts  x.  i,  &c.). 
From  this  port  St.  Paul  sailed  to  Tarsus 
(Acts  ix.  30)  and  landed  here,  after  his 
second  missionary  journey  (xviii.  22). 
Brought  hither,  bound  from  Jerusalem, 
he  pleaded  before  King  Agrippa,  then 
again  before  Festus  the  governor,  ap- 
pealed to  Ceesar,  and  was  put  on  board 
ship  for  his  voyage  to  Rome  (xxiii.  seq.). 
Here  S.  Philip  had  his  home,  and  lived 
with  his  four  daughters,  prophetesses 
(xxi.  8,  9),  until,  twenty  years  after,  "  he 
received  under  his  roof  in  that  city 
one  who,  like  himself,  had  travelled 
in  obedience  to  the  Divine  command, 
'preaching  in  all  the  cities'"  (Acts 
xxvi.  8).  Father  Gams  (p.  443)  makes 
S.  Philip  the  first  Bishop  of  Tralles 
(Evanthia),  and  his  successor  Poly- 
bius  to  have  been  Bishop  there,  when 
S.  Ignatius  wrote  his  epistle  to  the 
Trallians. 


A.D.    35    (30).      A.U.C.   786.      TIBERII    I9.  21 

Dorotheus  and  Nicephorus  add  that  he  preached  the  Gospel  in 
Arabia  Felix,  Taprobana,  and  Erythra,  that  he  suffered  martyrdom 
in  some  of  those  regions,  and  that  his  tomb  continued  to  be  fre- 
quented for  the  many  miracles  wrought  there. 

In  Rome,  Sejanus,  the  sanguinary  favourite  of  Tiberius,  after 
many  crimes,  had  finally  been  tried  and  put  to  death.  The  Emperor 
now,  from  his  retirement  at  Capreae,  orders  the  execution  of  many 
of  the  fallen  man's  followers,  and  thus  inaugurates  a  Reign  of  Terror^^ 
in  the  City. 

Probably  before  now,  Herod  Agrippa,  son  of  Aristobulus  and 
Berenice,  and  grandson  of  Herod  the  Great,  who  had  been  brought 
up  at  Rome  with  Claudius  and  Drusus,  was,  after  many  vicissitudes,^^ 
thrown  into  a  Roman  prison  by  Tiberius  for  an  unguarded  speech, 
and  so  remained  during  that  Emperor's  lifetime. 


THIRD   YEAR. 

A.D.    36   (31).      A.U.C.    J^J.      TIBERII   20. 

Saul,  unsated  with  the  blood  of  S.  Stephen,  and  of  the  other 
Christians  in  whose  death^  he  had  co-operated,  was  "still  breathing 
out  threatenings  and  slaughter  against  the  disciples  of  the  Lord." 
His  fiery  persecution  having  dispersed  so  many  of  the  disciples 
from  Jerusalem,  he  turned  his  misguided  zeal  against  those  in 
the  provinces.  "  Being  yet  more  mad  against  them,  [he]  per- 
secuted them  even  unto  foreign  cities."  ^  To  assail  them  with  all 
authority,  he  "went  to  the  High   Priest,  and  asked  of  him  letters* 

SI  Tacit.  AufiaL   iii.  4,   5.      Seut.   in  ^  The  high  priest  and  Sanhedrim  pro- 

Tiber.  bably  had  the  power  continued  to  them^ 

s2  Joseph.  Antiq.  xviii.  7.  which  had  expressly  been  granted  by- 
Augustus  to  Herod,  to  order  the  arrest 

^  Acts  xxii.  19,  20  ;  xxvi.  9-1 1.  of  persons  even  out  of  Judaea  (Josephus,. 

2  As   he   afterwards  confessed,    Acts  i.  24,  2).     The  fact   of   Saul  being  en- 

xxvi.  II.  trusted  with  this   mission   is   said    by 


22 


FASTI   ArOSTOLICI  :    THIRD   YLAR. 


to  Damascus,*  to  the  synagogues  ;  that  if  he  found  any  men  and 
•women  of  this  way/' he  might  bring  them  bound  to  Jerusalem."*^ 

When  near  the  end  of  his  journey/  he  is  suddenly  struck  down 
"by  a  bright  hght  from  Heaven,  and  converted  by  the  glorious 
appearance  as  well  as  the  voice^  of  our  Lord,  who  declares  to  him 
that,  in  persecuting  the  Church,  he  was  persecuting  its  Divine 
Author.  "And  he,  trembling  and  astonished,  said:  Lord,  what  wilt 
Thou  have  me  to  do  ? "  Our  Lord  bids  him  go"  into  Damascus, 
where  the  Divine  will  should  be  made  known  to  him.  Led  by  the 
hand  into  the  city,  blind  and  penitent,  he  "  was  there  three  days 
without  sight,  and  did  neither  eat  nor  drink," 

Meanwhile,  a  vision  is  granted  to  Ananias,  a  Christian^"  at  Damas- 
cus, who  is  bidden  to  go  to  a  street  named  Straight/^  and  seek  out 


Vitringa  to  evidence  that  he  had  taken 
the  degree  of  Rabbi.  He  was  certainly 
a  member  of  the  Sanhedrim,  and  may 
have  sat  among  them,  though  without  a 
vote,  when  our  Lord  was  brought  before 
the  Council  (Cf.  2  Cor.  v.  16). 

*  For  a  history  of  Damascus,  probably 
the  oldest  existing  city  in  the  world,  see 
Gen.  xiv.  15,  XV.  2  ;  2  Kings  viii.  6  ;  3 
Kings  xi.  24,  &c.  ;  4  Kings  x.  32  ;  Amos 
i.  3,  4  ;  4  Kings  xii.  17,  18,  xiii.  3,  22,  25, 
xiv.  28,  XV.  37,  xvi.  5-9  ;  Is.  viii.  4,  ix.  11, 
X.  9,  xvii.  I  ;  4  Kings  xxiv.  2  ;  Jer.  xxxv. 
II. 

^  Compare,  for  this  use  of  the  word. 
Acts  xiii.  ID,  xviii.  25,  26,  xxii.  4,  xxiv.  22  ; 
S.  Matt.  xxii.  16  ;  2  S.  Peter  ii.  2  ;  Isaias 
xl.  3,  &c.  &c. 

•^  S.  Paul's  former  cruelties  and  perse- 
cuting spirit  are  frequently  referred  to, 
in  his  own  Epistles  as  well  as  in  the 
narrative  of  his  companion,  S.  Luke, 
■while  the  Apostle  was  "preaching  the 
faith  which  once  he  impugned."  It  may 
be  believed  that  his  unconverted  errors 
are  thus  largely  dwelt  on  in  the  Acts  at 
S.  Paul's  own  especial  request,  as  the 
fall  of  S.  Peter  is  more  fully  narrated 
by  his  disciple  S.  Mark  than  by  the  other 
Evangelists  (Acts  viii.  3,  ix.  12,  13,  14, 


xxii.  4,  5,  19,  20,  xxvi.  9-1 1,  14-15,  Gal. 
i.  13,  Phil.  iii.  6,  i  Tim.  i.  13), 

''  It  would  occupy  from  fiv'c  to  six 
days  ;  being,  by  any  one  of  the  several 
roads,  one  hundred  and  thirty  to  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles. 

*  Cf.  Acts  ix.  7,  17,  27,  xxvi,  16;  i  Cor. 
XV.  8. 

^  Cf.  4  Kings  V.  10—14  ;  S.  Luke  xvii. 
14  ;   S.  John  ix.  7. 

1"  S.  Augustine  believes  him  to  have 
been  a  priest,  or  even  a  bishop.  The 
Greeks  give  him  a  place  in  their  calendar, 
Oct.  I,  as  bishop  of  Damascus,  and 
martyr. 

"  In  contradistinction  to  the  gene- 
rality of  streets  in  Eastern  cities,  whose 
windings,  as  well  as  narrowness,  are 
partly  accounted  for  by  the  necessity 
of  securing  shade.  See  the  reasoning 
of  Tacitus,  {Afi/tal.  xv.  43,)  on  the 
difference  in  the  modes  of  building  at 
Rome,  before  and  after  the  fire.  A 
writer  of  our  day  says  the  same  of 
modern  Cairo.  "  For  that  climate,  the 
old  system  of  narrow  streets,  and  exclu- 
sion of  too  much  sunshine,  together 
with  the  old  plan  of  Eastern  building, 
were  best  suited  to  the  climate,  place, 
and  people"  (M.  Edwin  de  Leon,  Egypt 


A.D.    S^   (31).      A.U.C.   787.      TIBERII   20.  23 

"one  named  Saul,  of  Tarsus."  Ananias,  to  whom  the  coming  of 
Saul,  and  its  purpose,  were  known,  seemed  at  first  fearful  to  under- 
take this.  Like  Moses  and  Jeremias,  when  their  mission  was  declared 
to  them,  he  was  disposed  to  excuse  himself  He  is  reassured  ;  the 
former  persecutor  is  now  a  changed  man — "  Behold,  he  prayeth." 
He  is  to  be  no  ordinary  instrument  in  promoting  the  Divine  glory : 
"This  man  is  to  Me  a  vessel  of  election,  to  carry  My  Name  before 
the  Gentiles,  and  kings,  and  the  children  of  Israel."  ^^  And  he 
will  be  prepared  to  do  it,  at  whatever  cost  :^^  "I  will  show  him  how 
great  things  he  must  suffer  for  My  Name's  sake." 

Ananias  then  seeks  out  Saul,  announces  to  him  the  message  he 
had  received,  and  lays  hands  on  him^*  in  blessing.  "Immediately 
there  fell  from  his  eyes  as  it  were  scales,  and  he  received  his  sight ; 
and  rising  up,  he  was  baptized."  The  future  Apostle  straightway  ^^ 
"  preached  Jesus  in  the  synagogues,  that  He  is  the  Son  of  God," 
to  the  astonishment  of  all  hearers,  and  the  confusion  of  the  obstinate 
Jews;  "preaching  the  faith  which  once  he  impugned."^*' 

Saul  then  went  into  Arabia,^^  and  again  returned  to  Damascus, ^^ 
spending  between  those  two  places  about  three  years. 

The  Reign  of  Terror  continues  in  Rome.     Even  the  consuls  are 


under  its  Khedives).    "  Straight  Street "  the  Church?"  (S.  Aug.  Qticest.  Evang. 

is  still  the  principal  street  in  Damas-  iii.  ii.  n.  40). 

cus.  ^^  Probably  to  Auranitis,  or  Tracho- 

12  Acts  ix.  15,  16.  nitis.     S.  Jerome,  and  Lorinus,  in  Acts 

"  Cf.  2  Cor.  xi.  23-28.  ix.,  believe  that  S.  Paul  went  to  Jeru- 

"  See  S.  Mark  xvi.  17,  18.  salem  not  long  after  his  conversion,  to 

^°  Gal.  i.  23.     Cf.  Acts  xxvi.  19,  20.  avoid  the  Jews'  conspiracy  against  his 

1°  S.  Jerome  {in  Lncif.  c.  3,  p.   138,  life,  but  not  at  that  time  to  confer  with 

c.)  says  that  he  then  received  the  Holy  S.  Peter:  which  is  all  he  denies  (Galat.  i. 

Spirit  by  the  means  of  Ananias,  which  17).     Baronius,  however,  more  probably 

strengthens   the   opinion   of   the  latter  refers  the  "many  days"  to  his  sojourn 

having  been  a  bishop.     "  Paul,  on  hear-  in  Arabia  and  return  to  Damascus  ;  in 

ing  the  voice  of  the  Lord,  .  .  was  never-  all,    three    years.      He    says   that    the 

theless   sent   to   Ananias,  that   by   the  Apostle's  first  visit  to   Jerusalem  as  a 

priesthood  established  in  the  Church,  he  believer  was  that  mentioned  in  Acts  ix. 

might  receive  the  sacrament  of  the  doc-  26,     C.  h.  Lap.  gives  reasons  in  support 

trine  of  faith.  .  .  Not  that  the  Lord  is  of  the  former  opinion,  but  it  appears  to 

unable  to  do  all  things  by  Himself;  for  be  contradicted  by  the  texts  referred  to, 

who  but  He  does  these  things  even  in  **  Gal.  i.  17. 


24  FASTI   APOSTOLICI:     FOURTH   YEAR. 

executed,  immediately   after    celebrating   with   solemnity   the    com- 
mencement of  the  2 1st  year  of  the  Emperor's  reign. 

Great  indignation  is  excited  in  Jerusalem  against  Pilate,  who 
had  seized  upon  the  treasures  in  the  Temple,  to  defray  the  cost  of 
an  aqueduct ;  besides  committing  other  arbitrary  acts.^'-* 


FOURTH  YEAR. 

A.D.    37    (32).      A.U.C.   788.      TIBERII   21.^ 

S.  Peter,  executing  his  charge  to  rule  and  guide  the  whole  flock, 
"passed  through,  visiting  all"^  the  Churches.  At  Lydda,^  he 
healed  the  bed-ridden  Eneas^  of  his  eight  years'  palsy,  and  at 
Joppa^  raised  again  to  life  a  charitable  Christian  woman  narAcd 
Tabitha  (Dorcas). 

While   S.  Peter  was  staying  at  Joppa,  a  pious  centurion  of  the 


^^  See  below,  ad.  A.D.  38. 

^  Some  place  the  death  of  Tiberius  in 
this  year,  March  16. 

^  Acts  ix.  22.  Compare  also  Zach. 
i.  10,  II. 

"*  A  city  on  the  coast,  in  the  great 
maritime  plain  of  Sharon,  between  J  oppa 
and  Jerusalem.  It  is  mentioned  in  the 
Old  Testament  as  Lod  (l  Paral.  viii.  12  ; 
Nehem.  xi.  34).  For  a  time  it  was  named 
Uiospolis.  I'elagius  here  answered  for 
his  heresy  before  a  council  of  bishops, 
who  acquitted  him.  "  Ilia  miserabilis 
synodus  Diospolitana "  (S.  Jerome). 
William  of  Tyre  (twelfth  century)  says 
that  in  his  time  was  to  be  seen  there 
"the  glorious  tomb  of  the  eminent  martyr, 
S.  Gcorge,"in  whose  honour  the  Emperor 
Justinian  erected  a  church  with  much 
devotion  ;  the  martyr  having  been  born 


in  Lydda.  This  account  is  confirmed  by 
Adrichomius. 

*  "  In  the  power  of  the  same  Holy 
Spirit,  Peter  also,  who  stood  foremost 
of  the  Apostles,  and  the  Key-bearer  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  healed  yEneas 
the  paralytic  in  the  Name  of  Christ" 
(S.  Cyr.  Jerus.  Catech.  xviii.  n.  27). 

'•>  Joppa  (Jaffa),  said  by  tradition  to 
have  been  built  by  Japhet,  is  the  port 
of  Jerusalem  ;  the  place  to  which  Hiram, 
King  of  Tyre,  floated  down  the  cedar 
and  other  beams  hewn  by  his  subjects, 
and  cut  for  the  building  of  Solomon's 
Temple  (2  Paralip.  ii.  16).  It  was  alsa 
the  port  where  Jonas  took  ship  to  flee 
to  Tarsus  in  Ciiicia  (Jonas  i.  3).  Ves- 
pasian levelled  it  with  the  ground,  and 
built  a  fort  there,  upon  which  a  new  city 
arose.  Both  Cicsarea  and  Joppa  were 
fortified  by  S.  Louis. 


A.D.   37    (32).      A.U.C.   788.      TIBERII   21. 


25 


"Italian"^  cohort,  stationed  at  Caesarea/  was  favoured  by  a  manifest 
vision,  after  noontide,  instructing  him  to  send  for  the  Apostle,  and 
learn  from  him  the  word  of  Hfe.  When  his  messengers  drew  near 
to  Joppa,  about  noon  of  the  next  day,^  S.  Peter  also  had  a  vision, 


"  Probably  the  Sixth,  surnamed  Co- 
hors  Ferrata.  Dio  mentions  this  cohort 
as  having  been  quartered  by  Augustus 
in  Judaea.  Cornelius  must  have  been 
a  Roman  and  a  pagan,  though  "  not  far 
from  the  Kingdom  of  God."  The  cohort 
was  called  "the  Italian,"  as  being  com- 
posed of  men  who  had  been  levied,  not 
in  the  foreign  provinces,  but  in  the 
mother  country  (see  Flanagan's  Manual 
of  British  and  Irish  History,  p.  13). 
"The  youth  of  Britain,  forming  at  least 
twenty-six  cohorts,  were  not  allowed  to 
serve  in  their  own  country,  but  were 
scattered  over  foreign  lands  ;  while  the 
youth  of  those  lands  were  transported 
to  Britain,  or  to  some  other  distant 
region.  Such  was  the  invariable  policy 
of  Rome.  In  the  ranks  of  the  legions, 
none  but  Roman  citizens  could  serve  ; 
all  others,  whether  provincials  or  bar- 
barians, were  enrolled  among  the  auxi- 
liaries." 

"'  Not  "  Caesarea  of  Philip,"  (S.  Matt. 
xvi.  13),  which  was  near  the  sources  of 
the  Jordan,  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Li- 
banus.  Philip  the  tetrarch  enlarged  it, 
and  called  it  Caesarea,  in  honour  of 
Tiberius.  It  was  also  called  "of  Philip," 
after  himself.  Here  our  Lord,  at  this 
most  northern  point  of  His  journeyings, 
healed  the  woman  afflicted  with  ha;mor- 
rage,  according  to  Kusebius,  who  says 
{Hist.  vii.  18)  that  he  had  seen  the 
miracle  represented  on  a  sculpture  be- 
fore the  door  of  her  house.  The  Sire 
de  Joinville  {Hist,  dc  S.  Lojiis,  §  570) 
calls  it  Bdlinas,  and  says  that  the  Jordan 
flows  from  two  fountains  which  meet 
near  the  city,  and  give  their  name  to 
the  river  "ou  Diex  fu  bauptiziez."  The 
Caesarea  here  mentioned  (Acts  x.  i)  was 


the  coast  city  of  that  name  ;  one  of  the 
most  strongly  fortified  places  in  Roman 
Judaea,  and  one  of  the  largest  towns  in 
Palestine.  It  was  the  seat  of  the  Roman 
Procurators,  and  called  by  Tacitus  {Hist. 
h-  79)  "Judaeae  caput."  It  was  named 
in  honour  of  Augustus  ;  having  before, 
in  Strabo's  time,  been  only  a  fort  {Stra- 
tonis  titrris).  Between  the  time  of  Strabo 
and  of  Tacitus,  the  mere  tower  had 
been  enlarged  into  a  city  by  Herod  the 
Great,  with  the  utmost  care  and  expense. 
He  spent  ten  years  on  the  work,  and  he 
gave  it  the  full  name,  Ccesarea  Sebaste 
(see  Joseph.  Antiq.  xv.  9.  Cf.  xvi.  5,  §.  5. 
Bell.  Jud.  i.  21).  "  Constant  feuds  took 
place  here  between  the  Jews  and  Greeks; 
and  an  outbreak  of  this  kind  was  one 
of  the  first  incidents  of  the  great  war. 
Vespasian  [who  was  declared  Emperor 
at  Caesarea]  .  .  made  it  a  Roman 
colony,  called  it  by  his  name,  and  gave 
it  the  Jus  Italiann."  In  consequence 
of  this  opening  of  the  door  of  salvation 
to  the  Gentiles,  Caesarea  became  the 
metropolitan  Church,  with  Jerusalem  as 
one  of  its  suffragans  {Concil.  Niccen.  can. 
7,  S.  Hieron,  Ep.  61,  ad  Painmach.  Act. 
Porphyrii  Episcopi  Gazensis).  S.  Cor- 
nelius was  consecrated  by  S.  Peter  as 
first  bishop  of  the  See  {Rom.  Martyrol. 
Feb.  2  ;  S.  Clem.  Constitut.  vii.  47).  It 
was  afterwards  the  diocese  of  Eusebius 
the  Church  historian,  in  the  time  of  Con- 
stantine.  But  in  553  Pope  Vigilius,  in 
the  Council  of  Constantinople,  exercising 
his  supreme  authority  over  all  Sees, 
erected  the  Holy  City  into  a  patriarchate 
(Baronius). 

*  The  distance  was  about  thirty  Roman 
miles.     See  note  36  ad  ann.  35. 


26  FASTI   ArOSTOLlCI  :     FOURTH   YFAR. 

from  whicli  he  understood  that  the  Gentiles  as  well  as  the  Jews 
were  called  to  salvation.  lie  therefore  went  with  them,  and  found 
Cornelius,  with  his  friends  and  kindred,  awaiting  him.  While  he 
was  declaring  to  them  the  Gospel,  the  Holy  Ghost  descended  on 
all  who  heard  him,  and  thus  convinced  the  Jews  who  were  present, 
that  the  Church  was  to  know  no  distinction  established  by  circum- 
cision or  race.  They  were  all  baptized,  and  the  Apostle  stayed 
with  them  some  days. 

According  to  one  account,  the  Twelve  departed  about  this  time 
for  their  respective  spheres  of  Apostolate,^  as  it  had  been  made 
known  to  them.  The  common  tradition  says,  they  united  to  com- 
pose^^  the  SymboP^  called  after  them,  as  the  rule  and  touchstone 
of  their  teaching,  and  of  the  orthodox  faith  throughout  the  world. 

This  "Apostles'  Creed"  would  have  been  sufficient  for  all  times, 
had  "the  multitude  of  believers"  still  "had  but  one  heart  and  one 
soul."  ^2  But  when  "  men  arose,  speaking  perverse  things,"  ^^  the 
Church  was  compelled  to  enlarge  her  Symbol  by  fresh  definitions, 
strengthening  the  bulwarks  at  the  point  of  attack. 

S.  Peter,    in   his   universal  visitation    of  the  Churches,   came   to 

'  The  writer  named  Pseudo-Dexter,  afterwards  written  down  ;  probably  about 
quoted  by  the  Bollandists  (July  15)  says  the  close  of  the  first  century:  when, 
this  dispersion  of  the  Apostles  took  owing  to  the  increasing  number  of  here- 
place  on  the  last  day  of  June,  A.D.  34,  sies,  and  the  necessity  of  openly  deny- 
about  forty-eight  days  after  the  coming  ing  them,  it  had  been  extended  to  a 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.     See  Appendix  F.  considerable  length"  (Alzog,  vol.   i.  p. 

^°  Natal  Alex.  Hisf.  Ecd.  Sac.  i,  diss,  234,  note). 

12,     Rufinus,  Expos.  Syinb.  App.,  Bol-  "  The  word  Sy^/SoAo;/  is  applied  to  the 

land.  Acta  SS.  ad  15  Jul.  Meyers,  De  Creed  in  each  of  its  two  senses  ;  as  a 

^W(^.  Trev.  1 849.    I.  L.  Selvagio,  ^w/Z^r.  watchword  by  which  soldiers  recognise 

Christ.  \.\^^.  II,  c.  ii,&c.    Alzog,  how-  each  other,  and  as  a  united  result   to 

ever,  or  his  translators,  agree  with  Tille-  which  each  person  of  a   number  con- 

mont  in  discrediting  the  tradition.  "But,  tributes  his  portion.      S.   Clem.   Episf, 

though  not  the  actual  composition  of  the  ad  Jacob.,  S.  Aug.  Scnii.  125  De  Temp., 

Apostles,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  item.  115  et  181  ;  Leo  Papa,  ^/iVA  13  rt^ 

is    substantially   the    same    Symbolum  Pnlch.  ti  Serm.  i\i  de  Pass.  Dam. 

Fidei  as  that  which  they  agreed  should  '^  Acts  iv.  32. 

serve  them  as  a  guide  in  their  work  of  ^^  Acts  xx.  30.    Sub  ipsis  paucis  verbis 

conversion.  It  may  be  taken  for  granted  in  symbolo  constitutis  plerique  hasretici 

that  a  short  Symbol  of  Faith  was  in  venena  sua  occultarc  conati  sunt  (S.Aug, 

early  times  taught  to  the  faithful,  and  in  lib.  d4  Sytnb.  c.  i.). 


A.D.   n    (32).      A.U.C.    'jZZ.      TIBERII   21.  27 

Antioch/^  the  metropolis  of  Syria,  and  there  set  up  his  Pontifical 
See.^^  Eusebius  (Chyon)  says  that  he  did  so  in  the  last  year  of 
Tiberius.^*^  This  event  is  omitted  by  S.  Luke,  together  with  many 
other  things  he  passes  by.^^  There  was  great  confluence  of  Jews  to 
the  place,  and  many  of  the  dispersed  Christians  also  had  fled  thither.^^ 
S.  Peter  occupied  his  Antiochene  See  for  seven  years,  viz.,  until  the 
second  year  of  Claudius,  A.D.  44,  when  he  transferred  his  See,  with 
all  its  authority  and  supremacy,  to  Rome.  While  at  Antioch,  how- 
ever, he  constantly  "passed  through,  visiting  all,"  as  before. 

It  seems  to  have  been  at  Antioch  that  S.  Johanna,  the  wife  of 
Chusa,  Herod's  steward,^^  closed  a  holy  life."*' 

The  Gospel  having  now  been  proclaimed  to  the  Gentiles,  S.  James 
the  Greater,  the  son  of  Zebedee  and  brother  of  S.  John,  is  said  to 
have  gone  into  Spain  ;  and  seems  to  have  been  absent,  there  and 
elsewhere,  about  seven  years. 

Aretas,  King  of  Arabia,  father-in-law  to  Herod  Antipas,  makes 
war  upon  him,  to  avenge  the  desertion  of  his  daughter  for  Herodias.^^ 


"   Built   by   Seleucus    Nicator,   who  Wouter's  Hist  Eccl.  Compend.  t.  i.  p. 

named   it   after    his   father  Antiochus.  25,  note. 

Its  excellent  situation,  besides  its  being  i"  The  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle  assigns 

the  seat  of  the  Syrian  princes,  attracted  it  to  A.D.  35.     See  above,  p.  19. 

so  large  a  population,  that  four  conti-  "  Cf.  S.  John  xx.  25.  '^Axon.Martyrol. 

guous  cities  were  successively  built  here,  Rom.  in  Sept.  23. 

surrounded  by  one  wall :  hence  it  was  ^^  Acts  xi.  19. 

called  Tetrapolis.     Its  after-importance  "  S.  Luke  viii.  3,  xxiv.  lo. 

as  a  Christian  city  caused  that  name  to  20  j^om.  Mart.  May  24. 

be  changed  into  Theopolis.   The  present  -^  Herodias  (S.  Matt.  xiv.  3,  S.  Mark 

poor  remains  are  called  Antakieh.  vi.  17 — 22,  S.  Luke  iii.  19)  was  daughter 

1^  "  This  is  one  privilege  of  this  our  of  Aristobulus :  thus  grand-daughter  of 

city  (Antioch),  that  it  had  for  its  first  Herod    of    Great,    sister    of    Agrippa, 

teacher  the  leader  of  the  Apostles.     For  (afterwards  King  of  Judsea),  and  niece 

it  was  fitting  that  that  city  which  was  as  well  as  wife  to  Philip,  who  is  called 

crowned   before  the  rest  of  the  world  Herod  by  Josephus  {Atitiq.  1.  xviii.  c.  7). 

with  the  Christian  name,  should  receive  His  mother  was  Mariamne,  daughter  of 

as  its  shepherd  the  first  of  the  Apostles.  Simon  the  high-priest.     He  is  not  to  be 

But  after  having  had  him  as  our  teacher,  confounded   (Tillem.  in  S.  Jo.   B.  art. 

we  did  not  retain  him,  but  surrendered  vi.)  with  his  brother  Philip  the  Tetrarch, 

him  to  regal  Rome."     S.  Chrysostom,  whose  mother  was  a  Cleopatra  ofjeru- 

t.  iii.  horn.  ii.  in  Itiscr.  Act.  n.  6.     See  salem. 
the    catena    of  authorities    quoted    in 


FASTI   APOSTOLICI  :     FIFTH   YEAR. 


This  domestic  war  proved  disastrous  for  Antipas,  who  was  at  length 
defeated.  The  Jews  recognised  in  his  calamity  a  just  retribution  for 
the  death  of  S.  John  Baptist.-- 


FIFTH  YEAR. 

A.D.   38    (33).      A.U.C.    789.      TIBERII   22. 

S.  Peter,  coming  to  Jerusalem  on  one  of  his  Apostolic  circuits,  is 
assailed^  by  some  Judaising  Christians,  at  the  instigation  (says 
S.  Epiphanius)  of  Cerinthus^ — the  second  heresiarch  in  order  after 
Simon  Magus — for  having  communicated  with  the  Gentiles.  The 
Apostle,  therefore,  details  the  miraculous  signs  attending  the  con- 
version of  Cornelius  ;  to  the  joy  and  thankfulness  of  the  "  men  of 
good  will "  among  those  present. 

Pontius  Pilate,  after  ten  years  of  office,^  is  deprived  of  his 
governorship,  and  degraded  by  Lucius  Vitellius,  the  Prefect  of 
Syria,  who  sends  him  to  Rome,  to  answer  to  charges  of  ambition, 
rapacity,  and  cruelty,  made   against   him   by  the  Jews.*      Caiaphas, 

--  S.   Chrysost.   in  Act.   hom.    xxvi.  ;  government  of  the  Jewish  nation,  and 

Tillemont,  in  S.  Jo.  Bapt.  ait.  vii.  s.f.  remained  therein  ten  successive  years, 

See  note  ad  a.d.  39.  ahnost  until  the  death  of  Tiberius"  (S. 

liede). 

^  Acts  xi.  2.  ••    This   cruelty  had   been  the   indis- 

2  Hceres.  28.     Cerinthus  is  also  said  criminate  massacre  of  the  Samaritans 

to  have  taken  part  in  the  attack  on  S.  assembled  at  Mount  Gerizim,  to  whom 

Paul,  Acts  xxi.  27,  28.  an    impostor    had    promised    10     show 

2  Pilate  was  the  sixth  procurator  or  certain  sacred  treasures,  buried   there, 

governor     of    Judaea,    and    succeeded  as  he  alleged,  by  Moses.     For  Pilate's 

Valerius    Gratus.      He    had    held    the  rapacity,  see  ad  a.d.  36,  j.y^    Soon  after 

office   for  ten  years,  from  780  to  790,  his    disgrace,  Vitellius   proceeded   with 

says    Goschler.      His  condemnation  of  much  solemnity  to  Jemsalcm,  and  de- 

our  Lord  fell  rather  before  the  middle  posed    also    Caiaphas,    who   had    been 

of  that  period.     "  Pilate  was  sent  in  the  high-priest  for  twenty  years, 
twelfth  year  of  Tiberius  to  assume  the 


A.D.    38   (33)-      A.U.C.   789.      TIBERII   22. 


29 


the  high-priest,^  is  likewise  deposed  by  Vitellius,  and  commits 
suicide.^  Annas,  his  father-in-law,  also  had  a  miserable  deathJ 

While  those  who  had  condemned  our  Lord  were  thus  overtaken 
by  the  vengeance  of  Heaven,  His  Divine  character  so  impressed 
Tiberius,^  that  he  desired  to  have  Him  numbered  among  the  deities 
worshipped  in  Rome ;  and  was  only  withheld  from  his  purpose  by 
the  opposition  of  the  Sen'ate.  He  thereupon  issued  a  decree, 
threatening  with  death  all  who  should  accuse  the  Christians  on 
account  of  their  religion.^ 

S.  James  the  Greater  sends,  or  afterwards  brings  back  with  him 
from  Spain,  seven  of  the  principal  Spanish  converts  for  consecration 
by  S.  Peter:  they  return  to  found  dioceses  in  their  native  country. ^° 

In  this  year,  5.  MattJiezv  probably  wrote  his  Gospel,  if  not  before.^^ 


*  "When  John  began  his  preaching, 
both  Annas  and  Caiaphas  were  the 
high  priests  ;  but  Annas  held  the  office 
that  year,  Caiaphas  the  same  year  in 
which  our  Lord  suffered  on  the  Cross. 
Three  others  had  meanwhile  held  the 
office  ;  but  these  two,  as  having  special 
reference  to  our  Lord's  Passion,  are 
mentioned  by  the  Evangehst.  For  at 
that  period  of  violence  and  intrigue, 
the  ordinances  of  the  law  being  no 
longer  in  force,  the  honour  of  the  high 
priest's  office  was  never  bestowed  on 
merit  or  high  birth,  but  the  affairs  of 
the  priesthood  were  managed  by  the 
Roman  power.  For  Josephus  relates, 
that  Valerius  Gratus,  when  Annas  was 
thrust  out  of  the  priesthood,  appointed 
Ismael  high-priest,  the  son  of  Baphas  ; 
but,  rejecting  him  not  long  after,  substi- 
tuted Eleazar  the  son  of  the  high-priest 
Ananias.  After  the  space  of  one  year, 
he  expelled  him  also  from  the  office, 
and  gave  the  administration  of  the 
high-priest  to  one  Simon,  the  son  of 
Caiaphas,  who  held  it  no  more  than  a 
year,  and  had  Joseph,  whose  name  also 
was  Caiaphas,  for  his  successor"  (S. 
Bede). 

*  S.  Clement,  Constitut.  lib.  viii.  c.  i. 
Anglo-Saxon  Citron. 


"^  Nicephorus,  lib.  ii.  c.  x. 

**  Probably  from  the  relation  made  to 
him  by  Pilate.  The  "Acts  of  Pilate," 
or  report  sent  by  him  to  Tiberius  are, 
in  their  present  form,  generally  rejected. 
Yet  many  of  the  Fathers  (S.  Justin, 
Apolog.  i.  35,  TertuU.  Apolog.  5  and  21, 
Euseb.  H.  E.  ii.  2,  cf.  Bolland.  Acta  SS. 
Feb.  5,)  mention  genuine  Acts,  which 
may  afterwards  have  been  interpolated 
and  corrupted  (Wouter's  Co7iipend.  Hist. 
Eccl.  V.  i.  p.  17).  Septimius  Severus 
afterwards  placed  a  bust  of  our  Lord  in 
his  private  oratory,  together  with  those 
of  Moses  and  Socrates. 

"  Tertull.  Apolog.  ;  Eusebius,  Chron. 
lib.  ii.  c.  2.  They  both  mention  the 
letter  which  Pilate  is  said  to  have 
written  to  Tiberius,  giving  an  account 
of  the  miracles  of  our  Lord,  and  of  His 
Resurrection. 

^"  Pope  Innocent  {Epist.  de  Decent^ 
declares  that  Spain  first  received  the 
faith  from  Rome.  He  may  refer  to 
those  parts  not  evangelized  by  S.  James. 
S.  Isidore  {Offic.  Eccles.  i.  1 5)  says  their 
liturgy  was  ordained  by  S.  Peter  him- 
self.    Cf.  itifra,  ad  A.D.  68. 

1^  The  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle  refers 
it  to  A.D.  40,  at  least  for  the  commence- 
ment of  the  writing. 


30 


FASTI   ArOSTOLICI  :    FIFTH   YEAR. 


It  was  certainly  composed  before  the  dispersion  of  the  Apostles,  for 
S.  Bartholomew  took  a  copy  of  it  into  India,  and  left  it  there.  It 
was  written  in  Hebrew^-  (Syro-Chaldaic^^),  to  satisfy  the  desire  of 
the  converts  in  Palestine :  but  translated  into  an  authentic  Greek 
version  during  the  time  of  the  Apostles.  Beginning,  as  he  does,  with 
the  human  genealogy  of  our  Lord,  S.  Matthew  is  represented  among 
the  four  Evangelists  by  "the  face  of  a  man."  ^* 

In  spite  of  the  universal  toleration  existing  in  Rome,^^  Tiberius, 
before  his  death,  had  "  suppressed  the  dangerous  power  of  the  Druids 
in  Gaul ;  but  the  priests  themselves,  their  gods,  and  their  altars,  sub- 
sisted in  peaceful  obscurity  till  the  final  destruction  of  Paganism."^* 
This  degree  of  anti-Keltic  persecution  in  Gaul  was  afterwards 
continued   by  Claudius, 


^2  "  Matthew  produced  his  Gospel, 
written  among  the  Hebrews  in  their 
own  dialect,  whilst  Peter  and  Paul  pro- 
claimed the  Gospel  and  founded  the 
Church  at  Rome"  (S.  Irena;us,  apud 
Euseb.  1.  V.  c.  8).  The  original  Hebrew 
version  was  discovered  in  the  reign  of 
the  Emperor  Zeno,  by  revelation  of  S. 
Matthew,  together  with  the  body  of  S. 
Barnabas  (Raron.  Martyrol.  Sep.  2i). 

•'  This  dialect  of  Hebrew,  called  also 
the  Aramxan,  dates  from  the  Baby- 
lonish captivity,  and  became  the  ver- 
nacular of  Palestine,  for  the  use  of  the 
Jews  and  Jewish  converts  of  that 
country.  Papias,  S.  Irena:us,  Origen, 
S.  Epiphanius,  and  the  early  Fathers 
in  general,  witness  to  S.  Matthew  hav- 
ing written  his  Gospel  in  it.  This  has 
been  disputed,  on  insufficient  grounds. 
Others  have  supposed  that  S.  Matthew 


wrote  a  Gospel,  both  in  Aramaean  and 
in  Greek.  A  Syro-Chaldaic  Gospel, 
often  called  "the  Gospel  according  to 
the  Hebrews,"  existed  in  the  time  of 
S.  Jerome  among  the  Nazarenes  and 
Ebionites,  by  whom  it  had  been  cor- 
rupted ;  this  was  probably  the  reason 
why  S.  Matthew's  Hebrew  text  was 
superseded  by  the  Greek  version,  and 
lost  at  an  early  period  (Ornsby).  S. 
Matthew  quotes  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment according  to  the  Septuagist.  See 
Corn,  h  Lap.  in  Acts.  xxvi.  31. 

"  Ezech.  i.  10 ;  Apoc.  iv.  7.  The 
Apostle  was  martyred  in  ^Ethiopia, 
where  he  converted  S.  Iphigeneia 
{Marty 7-ol.  Sep.  21). 

^•^  Appendix  G. 

^^  Gibbon,  vol.  i.  pp.  51,  52,  ed.  1815. 
He  quotes  Suetonius,  iti  Claud,  and 
Pliny,  N.  H.  xxx.  r. 


A.D.   39   (34)-      A.U.C.   79^.      TIBERII   23— C.   CAL.   I.  3 1 


SIXTH   YEAR. 

A.D.   39  (34).      A.U.C.   790.      C.   CALIGULA  I. 

Tiberius  dies,  April  12,  set.  y8.  The  Senate  excludes  from  the 
succession  his  grandson,  Tiberius  Gemellus,  and  raises  to  the  purple 
Caius  Caligula,  son  of  Germanicus.^  Nero  is  born  at  the  close  of 
the  year.  Lucius  Vitellius  is  recalled  from  the  governorship  of 
Syria,  and  Petronius^  sent  in  his  place. 

Caligula  delivers  Herod  Agrippa  I.,  the  son  of  Aristobulus,  and 
grandson  of  Herod  the  Great,  from  the  prison  into  which  Tiberius 
had  thrown  him.  He  adorns  him  with  a  gold  chain  of  equal  weight 
with  the  iron  chain  he  had  been  loaded  with,  and  makes  him  King 
of  the  tetrarchy  of  Philip,  i.e.  Batanaea,  Trachonitis,  and  Auranitis,^ 
and  of  the  tetrarchy  of  Abiline,  which  had  been  held  by  Lysanias. 
His  brother  Herod  is  made  King  of  Chalcis. 

Pilate  arrives  in  Rome,  accused  and  disgraced,  to  find,  in  the 
other  world,  "  what  is  truth " — the  question  he  had  not  waited  to 
hear  answered  in  this.*  Condemned  by  the  new  Emperor  Caligula 
to  perpetual  punishment  at  Vienne  in  Gaul,  he  is  reduced  to  such 
misery  and  destitution  that  he  dies  by  his  own  hand.^     His  wife,  to 

'  Caligula  was  fifteen  years  old  at  our  "jesting"  on  the  part  of  the  Governor, 
Lord's  Nativity,  and  was  therefore  now  who  was  evidently  much  struck  by  the 
about  forty-nine.  demeanour  of  the  Divine  Sufferer,  and 
-  Cf.  infra  A.D.  42,  note  7.  would  have  released  Him,  could  he  also 
'  Joseph.  Antiq.  xviii.  6.  10.  have   continued    to   be    Caesar's   friend 
*  That  Pilate's  guilt  consisted,  among  (S.  John  xix.  12).     Pilate  was,  however, 
other    particulars,     in     neglecting    the  bitterly  opposed  to  the  Pharisees ;   re- 
opportunity  of  learning  the  truth,  given  garding  them  as  the  great  enemies  of 
him   by   our    Lord,   is   unquestionable.  the  Roman  power  :  this  may  the  more 
But  Lord  Bacon  seems  to  deal  rather  have  disposed  him  to  take  part  with  our 
hardly  with  him  in  saying  :  "  What  is  Lord. 

truth  ?    says  Jesting  Pilate,  and  would  ^  Eusebius,  Ado,  and  Cassiodorus  in 

not    stay   for    an    answer"   {Essay  I.)  Chron.  Josephus,  lib.  xviii.  c.   5.     The 

There  is  no  symptom  of  mockery  or  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle  assigns  Pilate's 


32 


FASTI    APOSTOLICI  :    SIXTH    YEAR 


whom  is  assigned  the  name  Procla,"  was  a  "  devout "  proselyte  of  the 
gate  ;^  she  afterwards  became  a  Christian,  and  is  honoured  among 
the  Saints.^ 

Saul,  now  about  three  years  after  he  first  went  into  Arabia, 
preaches  the  Gospel  in  Damascus,  and  is  therefore  sought  for  by 
the  Jews,  and  by  the  cthnarch  or  "governor  of  the  nation"  under 
King  Arctas,^  to  put  him  to  death.  The  gates  being  watched  day 
and  night,  he  is  let  down  in  a  basket  by  the  disciples,^*'  and  escapes 
to  Jerusalem,  whither  he  goes  to  see  S.  Peter,^^  and  remains  fifteen 
days.  The  only  other  Apostle  then  in  Jerusalem  seems  to  have 
been  S.  James  the  Less,  who  had  been  consecrated  by  S.  Peter  to 
be  Bishop  of  the  Holy  City.  Most  of  the  disciples  in  Jerusalem 
hesitated  to  admit  the  recent  convert  among  them,  having  known, 
•what  Ananias  also  had  heard,^^  "how  much  evil  he  had  done  the 
Saints  in  Jerusalem."     But  Barnabas,  once  his  fellow-disciple  under 


suicide  to  the  previous  year.  A  few 
miles  from  Vienne  is  the  Moftt  dii  Dcse- 
spoir,  from  whose  precipitous  height  he 
threw  himself,  according  to  local  tradi- 
tion, A.D.  37.  The  popular  belief  that 
the  Mont  Filai  in  Switzerland  was  the 
scene  of  Pilate's  exile  and  miserable 
wanderings,  has  arisen  from  a  mere 
similarity  of  names.  It  is  Mons  Pileatus, 
the  Capped  Mountain,  from  its  summit 
being  so  often  hid  in  clouds.  The  Anglo- 
Saxon  Chronicle  assigns  Pilate's  suicide 
to  the  previous  year. 

"  Evang.  Apocr.  Nicodem.  c.  ii. 

5"  eeocre/Srjs,  Cf.  ActS  xiii.  16,  43,  50  ; 
xvii.  4. 

8  Calmet,  Dictionn.  s.  v.  Procla, 

»  Aretas  was  the  name  of  a  dynasty 
of  kings,  like  Ptolemy,  and  others.  They 
ruled  in  Petra,  the  mercantile  metro- 
polis of  Stony  Arabia,  until  Petra  be- 
came a  Roman  province  in  the  reign  of 
Trajan.  The  Aretas  of  the  text  was 
father-in-law  to  Herod  Antipas.  A  mis- 
understanding between  them  had  been 
aggravated  into  war  by  Herod's  deser- 
tion   of  his   wife   for    Herodias.      (See 


above,  ad  A.D.  37.)  Tiberius  had  ordered 
Vitellius,  Governor  of  Syria,  to  aid 
Herod :  but  the  expedition  was  stayed 
by  the  Emperor's  death.  Caligula  re- 
versed his  predecessor's  policy ;  and, 
while  he  judged  and  banished  Antipas, 
on  the  latter  going  to  Rome  (see  next 
year),  he  probably  assigned  Damascus 
to  Aretas.  Or,  the  Petr:can  king  may 
have  seized  it,  during  the  confusion 
arising  from  the  change  of  government 
in  Rome  (Wieseler,  vol.  i.  p.  89).  In 
either  case,  one  of  the  first  acts  of  the 
new  King,  or  his  representative,  was  the 
persecution  of  S.  Paul. 

^^  1  Cor.  xi.  33,  33. 

1^  Galat.  i.  18.  "  For  if  the  foundation 
of  the  Church  was  placed  on  Peter,  as 
is  said  in  the  Gospel,  Paul,  to  whom  all 
things  had  been  revealed,  knew  that  he 
ought  to  sec  Peter,  as  him  to  whom  so 
great  authority  had  been  given  by  Christ ; 
not  that  he  might  learn  anything  from 
him"  (Victorinus,  apud  Mail,  Script, 
Vet.  Nov.  Collect,  t.  iii.). 

^''-  Acts  i.\.  13. 


A.D.    39   (34).      A.U.C.   790.      TIBERII   23.  33 

Gamaliel,  already  known  as  a  great  benefactor  to  the  Church's  poor,^^ 
"  took  him,  and  brought  him  to  the  Apostles,  and  told  them  how  he 
had  seen  the  Lord,  and  that  He  had  spoken  to  him."  Saul  then 
begins  to  preach  with  great  boldness,  both  to  native  Jews,  and  to 
Jews  coming  from  Greece,  (therefore  called  "Greeks"),^^  or  proselytes; 
"  but  they  sought  to  kill  him.  Which  when  the  brethren  had  known, 
they  brought  him  down  to  Caesarea  (Stratonis),  and  sent  him  away" 
to  his  native  Tarsus.  Here  Saul  seems  to  have  remained  for  two 
years,  until  afterwards  sought  by  S.  Barnabas. 

This  is  S.  Paul's  first  visit  to  Jerusalem  after  his  conversion. 
During  it,  and  while  he  was  praying  in  the  Temple,  he  was  favoured 
with  a  Divine  communication,  made  to  him  in  ecstasy,  that  bade 
him  depart  from  Jerusalem,  and  go  to  the  Gentiles  afar  off.  Long 
afterwards,  he  detailed  this^^  to  the  tumultuous  crowd  of  Jews  in  the 
Temple  ;  and  they  "  went  about  to  kill  him  "  for  his  words. 

"  Now  the  Church  had  peace  throughout  all  Judaea,  and  Galilee, 
and  Samaria,  and  was  edified,  walking  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and 
was  filled  with  the  consolation  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  ^" 

During  the  seven  years  of  S.  Peter's  See  at  Antioch,  he  preached 
to  the  Jews  dispersed  throughout  all  those  parts  in  the  East,  to 
which  he  afterwards  wrote  his  First  General  or  Catholic  Epistle.^'' 
He  is  the  only  one  of  the  Apostles  whom  the  Gospel  mentions  as 
having  been  married ^^  before  his  -vocation.  Certain  of  the  fathers 
and  historians  add  S.  Philip  ^^  and  some  others,  as  being  so.^''   Clement 

1^  Acts   iv.   36,  37.      Eusebius,   Epi-  De  Afono^.n.8,p.  ^2g).  For  the  martyr- 

phanius,    S.   Bede,    and    others,   assert  dom  of  S.  Peter's  wife,  see  ad  a.d.  68. 

that  S.Barnabas  was  one  of  the  seventy-  i''  The   daughters    of    S.   Philip    the 

two  disciples  of  our  Lord.  Apostle  are  not  to  be  confounded  with 

^*  Acts  ix.  29.  those  of  his  namesake,  the  deacon  (Cf. 

1^  Acts  xxii.  17 — 21.  ad  A.D.  35,  note  50).     Baronius  quotes 

1^  Acts  ix.  31.  S.  Jerome  (in  Joh.  1.  i.  c.   14)  to  show 

^''  I  S.  Peter  i.  i.  The  assertion  in  the  their  identity.     But  that  Father  is  only 

text  is  made  by  Eusebius.  saying  that  no  text  in  Scripture  speaks 

18  "  By  the  mention  of  his  father-in-  of  any  married  Apostle  except  S.  Peter  ; 

law,    I    find   Peter    the   only   [Apostle]  and  he  cites  a  passage   of  Polycrates, 

married.     By  the  Church,  which,  built  bishop  of  Ephesus   at  the  end'  of  the 

on    him,   was    about    to    confer   every  second,   century   (see   Eusebius,  H.    E. 

degree  of  her  order  on  monogamists,  I  1.  iii.  c.  31    and   v.  x.   24),  mentioning 

presume  him  a  monogamist"  (Tertull.  two  of  the  Apostle's  daughters  who  re- 

D 


34  FASTI   APOSTOLIC!:    SEVENTH   YEAR. 

of  Alexandria,  SS.  Jerome  and  Kpiphanius  expressly  affirm  that  from 
the  time  of  their  entrance  on  the  Apostolate,  they  lived  a  life  of 
holy  celibacy. 

Caligula,  recovering  from  an  illness,  changes  the  character  of 
moderation,  with  which  his  reign  had  begun,  for  unheard-of  licence 
and  cruelty.  He  now  leads  his  troops  through  Gaul,  more  as  an 
Imperial  progress  than  a  campaign. 


SEVENTH  YEAR. 

A.D.   40   (35).      A.U.C.   791.      C.    CALIG.   2. 

Retribution^  still  follows  those  who  had  caused  the  Passion  of 
our  Lord,  or  persecuted  His  disciples.  Herod  Agrippa,  appointed  by 
Caligula  the  last  Jewish  King  of  Jerusalem,  returning  from  Rome 
to  Judaea  byway  of  Alexandria,  was  insulted-  by  the  pagan  Alex- 
andrians, even  as  his  own  subjects,  the  Jews,  had  mocked  the 
Saviour.      Herod  Antipas,  Agrippa's  uncle,  the  Tetrarch  of  Galilee 

mained  virgins,  and  were  buried  with  virgo,  virginem  sanctimoniam  commen- 

him  at  Hierapolis.     Consult  Tillemont,  dantem  :    Virgo    (inquit)    cogitat    quae 

i7i  S.  Phil,  et  not.  Domini    sunt,"   &c.  {Serin,   ad  Novit. 

20  Clement  of  Alexandria  {Strom,  iii.  pars  tertia,  p.   109). 
p.  448  b.)  and  Eusebius  after  him  (//. 

E.  iii.  c.  30)  believe  that   S.  Paul  was  ^  Lactantius,  De   Mortibtis  Persecu- 

married.      Origen   reports    opinion    as  torntn,  shows   that   all  those  who  per- 

being  much   divided   on  the   point  {in  secuted    the    Christians    met   with    an 

Ron.  1.  V.  i.  pp.  459-6),  and  leaves  it  un-  unhappy  death.  "His  list  of  such  begins 

decided.     Tertullian  {De  Mo7iog.  c.  iii.  with    Tiberius ;    but    the   remark   was 

pp.  674-6),  S.  Epiphanius,  {Hco-.  58)  and  verified  by  many  examples   before  his 

especially  S.  Jerome  {Ep.  22)  assert  him  time  "  (Alzog). 

to   have   been    converted   as   a  virgin.  -  "II  fut  traitd  par  les  paiens  d'Alex- 

S.  Chrysostom    {in   toe.)  says   that  the  andrie  avec  les  mcmcs  indignitces  en  la 

Apostle's  words  (Phil.  iv.  3)  prove  noth-  personnc  d'un  nommc  Carabas,mais  non 

ing    against    this.      Theodoret    quotes  avec  la  nicme  cruaute"  (Tillemont,  vY/j/. 

I   Cor.  vii.  7,  8,  as  proving  the  point.  r/i?  A'.^'.y.C'.art.xvii.).  He  is  commenting 

Thomas  h.  Kempis  cannot  be  cited  as  a  on  our  Lord's  coronation  with  the  crown 

critical  commentator  on  Scripture  ;  but  of  thorns  ;  but  the  expressions  are  vague, 

he  reports  the  feeling  of  his  day  (writing  as  applied  to  Agrippa.     Josephus  gives 

in  1441  or  1456)  when  he  says  :  "Audi  more  distinct  particulars  {Antiq.  xix.  8). 


A.D.  40   (35).      A.U.C.   791.      C.  CALIG.   2.  35 

— who  had  clothed  our  Lord  with  a  robe  of  mockery  and  sent  Him 
back  to  Pilate— now,  envious  of  Agrippa's  kingship,  and  urged  by 
the  ambitious  Herodias,  goes  to  Rome,  to  seek  his  fortune.  But 
Agrippa,  aware  of  his  design,  anticipates  it  by  a  rapid  journey  to 
Rome,  and  there  institutes  a  charge  against  Antipas,  of  having, 
plotted  with  Sejanus  against  Tiberius,  and  of  treasonable  corres- 
pondence with  Artoban,  King  of  the  Parthians,  Antipas  is  found 
guilty,  deprived  of  his  tetrarchate  and  possessions,  and  banished  for 
life  to  Lyons.^  Herodias  shares  his  exile.'^  There  they  both 
languished  in  misery,  and  died.  His  tetrarchate  is  given  to  Agrippa. 
S.  Mark,  the  future  Evangelist,  a  convert  of  S.  Peter's,^  was  likely 
to  have  been  at  this  time  with  the  Apostle  at  Antioch,  and  to  have 
gone  with  him  afterwards  to  Rome.  S.  Bede,  quoting  his  Acts, 
affirms  that  he  was  of  the  race  of  Aaron.  S.  Epiphanius'^  names 
him  as  one  of  the  seventy-two  disciples,  and  says  that  he,  with  others,, 
forsook  our  Lord  in  consequence  of  His  eucharistic  doctrine,"^  but  was 
converted  again  by  S.  Peter  after  our  Lord's  resurrection. 

S.  Apollinaris  also,  the  future  Bishop  of  Ravenna,  had  come  with 
S.  Peter  to  Antioch,  and  afterwards  went  with  him  to  the  Eternal  City.^ 

Caligula  enacts  his  childish  comedy  of  a  pretended  conquest  of 
Britain,  at  least  of  the  British  Channel,  known  afterwards  as  "  the 
Saxon  shore."  He  assembles  the  army  that  had  been  levied  for  the 
German  war,  at  Gesoriacum  (Boulogne),  commands  the  soldiers  to 
gather  sea-shells,  and  returns  to  Rome,  to  give  himself  the  honours. 
of  a  triumph.^ 

Intoxicated  with  this,  he  determines  that  his  name  and  image- 
shall  be  adored  throughout  the  Empire,  and  thus  brings  down  the 
Divine  vengeance  on  "  the  whole  world  "  in  the  shape  of  famine.^° 

^  Or    perhaps    Lugdunum    Convena-  ^  i   S.  Pet.  v.    13.     See  the   passage 

rum,    at    the    foot    of    the     Pyrenees.  quoted  from  S.  Leo  ad  A.D.  51,  note. 

Eusebius    {H.   E.    i.    2)    says    Vienne,  «  //(Z-rfj-.  51,  c.  5. 

confounding    Antipas   with    Archelaus.  '  S.  John  vi.  66. 

Josephus  says,  he  died  in  Spain  {B.  J.  ^  Brev.  Rom.  in  Jul.  23. 

ii.  9,  §  6).  ^  Suet.  /;/  Calig.  46,  47  ;  Dio,  Ux.  754,. 

*  Of  her   own   free-will   (Riess,   Das  Lingard,  v.  i.  pp.  23,  24. 

Geburtsjahr  Christi,  p.  180).  "  Cf.  note  7  ad  a.d.  42. 


36  FASTI   APOSTOLICI  :    EIGHTH   YEAR. 


EIGHTH   YEAR. 

A.D.   41    (^6).      A.U.C.   792.      C.  CALK].    3. 

EUSEBIUS,  with  Baronius,  and  Theophylact,  assign  to  this  year  the 
writing  of  S.  Matthcivs  Gospel}  S.  Ircncxus,  however,  makes  it 
subsequent  to  A.D,  60,  "while  Peter  and  Paul  were  preaching  and 
founding  the  Church  in  Rome,"-  a  passage  which  creates  no  small 
difficulty.  The  Evangelist  "  was  a  person  much  devoted  to  heavenly 
contemplation,  and  led  an  austere  Hfe."^  Venantius  Fortunatus  relates 
that  he  suffered  martyrdom  at  Nadabar,  a  city  in  [Parthia].  His 
relics  were  long  ago  brought  into  the  West.  Pope  Gregory  VH.,  in 
a  letter  to  the  Bishop  of  Salerno,  in  1080,  testifies  that  they  were 
then  kept  in  a  church  which  bore  his  name  in  that  city.  They  still 
remain  in  the  same  place."* 

S.  Matthew's  symbol  among  the  four  Evangelists  is  an  Angel, 
having  "the  face  of  a  man,"^  inasmuch  as  he  begins  his  Gospel  with 
our  Lord's  genealogy,  according  to  the  flesh.  Continuing  the  same 
mystical  application  of  the  vision  of  Ezechiel,  S.  Mark  is  symbolized 
by  a  lion,  because  he  quotes,  at  the  outset,  "  a  voice  of  one  crying 
in  the  desert ; "  S.  Luke,  by  an  ox  for  sacrifice,  because  he  begins 
by  mentioning  the  Jewish  priesthood.     S.  John's  symbol  is  the  eagle, 

^  See,    however,   the   reasons    given  nein.      See  the  whole  of  that  subHme 

above  (a.d.  38)  for  beheving  it  to  have  passage.     Cf.  S.  Iren.  ill.  8.     S.  Hieron. 

been  written  previously.     It  is  unlikely  in  Ezech.  c.  i.  S.  Dion.  Areop.  GzV. //zVr. 

that  S.  Matthew  would  remain  in  Jeru-  li.  i,  2,  13,  14.     Ecclcs.Hicr.  c.  4.     "Ad 

salcm  on  the  dispersion  of  the  rest  of  idem  pertinent  ii  non  inclegantes  Sedulii 

the  Apostles  ;   and  impossible   that  he  presbyteri  versus,  quibus  Christum  ita 

should    depart    for   the    scene    of    his  alloquitur ; 

labours   in    Persia  and    Parthia    before  Hoc    Matthajus    agcns,   homincm  generaliter 

writing  it—  because  S.Bartholomew  took  implct, 

with  him  a  copy  to  India.  Marcus  ut  alta  frcmit  vox  per  deserta  leonis, 

2  ]-l  ,}■  iii    I                      '  Jura  sacerdotii  Lucas  tenet  ore  juvenci, 

_    .,  '^     ■,,    ■     '.,         r>     T            •  "Alore  volans  aquilas  verbo  petit  astra  Johannes. 

See  Clem.  Alex.  P(rdagog.  1.  c.  2.  Quatuor  hi  proceres  una  Te  voce  canentes, 

*  Alban  Butler,  in  Sept.  21.  Tempora  ceu    totidem    latum    sparguntur  in 

^  S.  Aug.     Tract,    xxxvi.    /;/    Johan-  orbem."    (Varior-.'^nnot.  inlib.  iii.  S.  Irencei.) 


A.D.   42    (37).      A.U.C.   793.      C.    CALIG.   4.  37 

forasmuch  as  he  is  "a  preacher  of  sublime  things,  and  with  fixed 
gaze  contemplates  the  light  internal,  yea,  eternal." 

Flavius  Dexter*^  asserts  that  "in  the  forty-first  year  of  Christ, 
being  the  third  of  Caligula's  reign,  S.  James,  returning  out  of  Spain, 
visited  Gaul,  Britain,  and  the  towns  of  the  Veneti,  where  he  preached 
the  Gospel ;  and  so  came  back  to  Jerusalem,  to  consult  with  the 
Blessed  Virgin  and  Peter  about  matters  of  very  great  weight  and 
importance." 


NINTH    YEAR. 

A.D.   42    (37).       A.U.C.   793.       C.  CALIG.   4. 

The  persecution  that  arose  on  S.  Stephen's  martyrdom  still  produces 
fruit  by  the  dissemination  of  the  Gospel.  Phoenicia,  Cyprus,  and 
Cyrene  were  thus  evangelized.  In  Antioch,^  especially,  "the  hand 
of  the  Lord  was  with  "  the  messengers  of  good  things  ;  "  and  a  great 
number,  believing,  was  converted  to  the  Lord.  And  the  tidings  came 
to  the  ears  of  the  Church  that  was  at  Jerusalem,  concerning  these 
things  ;  and  they  sent  Barnabas  as  far  as  Antioch.  Who,  when  he 
was  come  .  .  exhorted  them  all  with  purpose  of  heart  to  continue 
in  the  Lord.  For  he  was  a  good  man,  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  of  faith.  And  a  great  multitude  was  added  to  the  Lord.  And 
Barnabas  went  to  Tarsus,  to  seek  Saul,"-  once  his  fellow-disciple  in 
Judaism  under  Gamaliel,  now  to  be  his  fellow-Apostle  in  preaching 
the  Faith.      Saul  had  returned  to  Tarsus,  his  native  place,  after  his 

6  Chronic,  ad  ann.  41.  reckoned  the  population  in  his  day  at 

two  hundred   thousand,  half  of  whom 

^  Once  the  capital  of  the  Greek  kings  were  Christians  (Horn,  in  S.  Ignat.  §  4, 
of  Syria,  now  the  residence  of  the  Pro-  Horn,  in  S.  Matt.  86  or  87). 
consul,  to  whom  the  Procurator  of  Judcea  ^  Acts  xi.  21 — 25.  S.  Paul's  mental 
was  subordinate.  Josephus  (i>V//.  y«<^.  culture  at  Tarsus,  a  seat  of  philosophical 
iii.  ii.  4)  reckoned  it  the  third  city  in  the  education,  would  qualify  him  for  deal- 
Roman  Empire  ;  S.  Jerome  placed  it  ing  with  the  task  now  assigned  to  him  at 
next  after  Rome  and  Alexandria.  S.  Antioch. 
Chrysostom,    who     was     born     there, 


TASTI   ArOSTOI.ICI  :     NINTH    YEAR. 


fifteen  days'  visit  to  S,  Peter  in  Jerusalem.  He  now  went  with 
S.  Barnabas  to  Antiocli,  where  tlicy  laboured  abundantly,  gathered 
•disciples  round  them,  and  "  taught  a  great  multitude  :  so  that  at 
Antioch  the  disciples  were  first  named  Christians."^ 

In  this  year,  some  of  the  faithful  who  had  the  gift  of  prophecy* 
•came  down  from  Jerusalem  to  Antioch.  "  One  of  them,  named 
Agabus,''  rising  up,  signified  by  the  Spirit  that  there  should  be  a 
■great  famine  over  the  whole  world,  which  came  to  pass"°  in  the 
second  year  of  the  Emperor  Claudius,''  who  began  to  reign  very  soon 

^  Acts  xi.  26.  In  .S.  Justin  Martyr's  day, 
it  was  the  custom  of  the  Jews  to  repeat 
a  curse  against  Christians  whenever  they 
assembled  in  their  synagogues  (Just.  M. 
adv.  Trypli.  xcvi.).  This  is  confirmed 
by  S.  Jerome  (on  Is.  v.  8).  Cf.  Acts  xxvi. 
28,  for  its  use  twenty-eight  years  later 
than  this  date:  also  i  S.  Pet.  iv.  16. 
TertuUian  complained  of  the  detestation 
in  which  the  name  was  held.  Julian 
would  fain  have  revived  the  use  of 
the  term  "Galihxans"  as  a  substitute. 
Lucian  \Philopatris)  speaks  of  S.  Paul 
as  "  the  Galihean  who  had  trodden  upon 
the  air  up  to  the  third  heaven."  The 
Gentiles,  whether  by  mistake  or  from 
derision,  frequently  pronounced  the 
name  '•  Chrestian,"  and  named  our  Lord 
Chrestus  (Cf.  ad  a.d.  51,  note  i).  Hence 
TertuUian  takes  occasion  to  plead  for 
the  faith,  as  that  of  good  and  innocent 
men  (xpvf"rhi).  "  If  your  hatred  attaches 
itself  to  the  nnme,  how  can  a  name  be 
guilty  ?  what  charge  can  be  laid  against 
a  title .''  unless  the  sound  of  a  name  has 
in  it  anything  barbarous,  ill-omened, 
abusive,  or  contrary  to  modesty:  whereas 
"•  Christian,'  as  far  as  the  interpretation 
goes,  is  derived  from 'unction.'  Even 
when  you  pronounce  it  incorrectly — for 
you  do  not  accurately  know  even  our 
name  —  '  Chrestian  '  is  derived  from 
sweetness,  or  goodwill.  Thus,  even  a 
harmless  name  is  hated  in  men  them- 
selves harmless.  .  .  Before  you  hate  the 
name,  you  ought  first  to  gain  a  know- 


ledge of  the  sect  from  its  Author,  or  of 
the  Author  from  the  secN  But,  as  the 
case  stands,  you  neglect  acquaintance 
and  inquiry  alike,  and  catch  hold  of  a 
name,  make  war  on  a  name  :  the  very 
sound  of  it  prejudges  and  condemns 
sect  and  Founder,  both  being  ecjually 
unknown."  See  this  and  similar  passages 
from  the  early  Fathers  in  Corn,  a  Lap, 
z'n  loco.  For  the  use  of  the  term  by 
heathen  writers,  see  Tacit.  Aiuial.  xv. 
44.  Plin.  Epist.  cix.  ad  Trajan. 

*  Prophecy  being  one  of  the  endow- 
ments of  the  true  Church,  as  one  of 
the  gifts  {gratis  datce)  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
I  Cor.  xiv.  passim. 

^  Commemorated  among  the  Saints 
under  February  12.     Mariyrol.  Roi/i. 
^  Acts  xi.  28. 

"  Roman  historians  mention  four 
great  famines  in  the  reign  of  Claudius  : 
viz.,  in  his  second,  fourth,  tenth,  and 
eleventh  years.  Cf.  Euseb.  H.E.  ii.  8, 
1 2,  and  Chron. 

Eusebius  {Chron)  and  Orosius  (vii.  6) 
in  recording  this  famine,  add  that 
Helena,  Queen  of  the  Adiabeni,  who 
seems  to  have  been  converted  to  the 
faith,  contributed  large  supplies  in  aid 
of  the  Christians  in  Judaea.  This 
chastisement  throughout  the  Empire 
(oAtj  t]  oiKovfiivrf)  was  probably  sent  to 
avenge  an  universally  accepted  sin  of 
idolatry  ;  Caligula  had  caused  himself 
to  be  everywhere  adored  by  the  Gentiles 
as  a  god,  and  superior  even  to  Jupiter. 


A.D.  42    {2>y).      A.U.C.   793.      C.   CALIG.   4.  39 

after  the  prophecy.  This  determined  the  faithful  in  Antioch  to  make 
a  collection,  "  every  man  according  to  his  ability,"  for  those  in  Judaea, 
without  waiting  for  the  famine  to  begin.  Thus  they  evidenced  the 
bond  of  charity  and  mutual  help  that  was  ever  to  unite  those  who 
professed  the  new  and  sacred  name  of  "  Christian."  These  alms  were 
sent  to  "the  ancients,""^  or  priests,  and  deacons  in  Jerusalem,  "by 
the  hands  of  Barnabas  and  Saul. 

This  is  S.  Paul's  second  visit  to  Jerusalem.  He  does  not  mention 
it  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Galatians^.  When  his  mission  thither  was 
accomplished,  he  returned  with  S.  Barnabas  to  Antioch. 

Caligula  begins  to  persecute  the  Jews ;  and  thus  becomes  the 
unconscious  instrument  of  Divine  vengeance  on  those  who  had  cried 
out  against  the  Son  of  God  :  "  His  Blood  be  upon  us,  and  upon  our 
children."^*'  He  designed  to  have  his  statue  placed  in  the  Temple, 
and  to  receive  the  adoration  of  the  Jews.  Philo  (Judzeus)  is  thereupon 
sent  with  others  to  the  Emperor,  to  deprecate  this  profanation.  The 
Emperor  gives  them  an  interview  at  Puteoli  in  the  autumn,  at  the 
end  of  his  progress  through  Gaul.  Finally,  he  drives  them  from  his 
presence  with  contempt  and  mockery.  Philo  has  narrated  this  event 
in  an  express  treatise,  his  Legatio  ad  Caiiun, 

He  had  intended  to  change  the  image  this    time    (according  to  one  account) 

of  Jupiter  Olympius  into  his  own;  had  dispersed  on  their  several  missions, 
assumed   the   title   of  Jupiter   Latialis,  ^  His  object   in   writing  that   epistle 

and  had  caused  temples  to  be  erected  was  to  show  that  he  had  received  the 

in  his    own    honour,   in    which   costly  Gospel   by   immediate    revelation   (c  i. 

sacrifices  were  offered  to  him  every  day.  12).     It  was  therefore  only  to  his  pur- 

The  Jews  resisted  his  intended  profana-  pose   to   mention    such   visits   to   Jeru- 

tion  of  the  Temple — the  setting  up  of  salem  as  would  bring  him    in   contact 

his  image  in  the  Holy  Place,  Petronius,  with   the   other  Apostles.      A  visit   in 

by  the  Emperor's  order,  brought  a  strong  which    he    did    not     find    them    there 

body  of  troops  from  Antioch  towards  was  foreign  to  the   end  for  which   he 

Jerusalem,  to  enforce  it  ;  but  the  Jews  wrote,  and  might  be  passed  over.     In 

showed  so  much  zeal  for  their  law,  and  fact,  he  only  mentions  two  of  his  five 

for  the  sanctity  of  the  Temple,  that  he  visits  (Gal.  i.   18  ii.),  namely,  the  first, 

desisted  ;  and  was  only  saved  by  Call-  and  probably  the  third  or  fourth.  Wiese- 

gula's  death  from  feeling  the  Emperor's  ler  argues  for  the  fourth,  Conybeare  and 

vengeance  on  this  disobedience  to  orders  Howson  for  the  third. 
(Joseph.  Hist.  ii.  10).  i»  S.  IMatt.  xxvii.  25. 

'  Acts  xi.  30.     The  Apostles  had  by 


40 


FASTI    Al'OSTOLICI  :    TE.NTH   YEAR, 


TENTH   YEAR. 

A.D.   43    (38).       A.U.C.   794.       CLAUDII   I. 

In  the  beginning  of  this  year,  Caligula  is  slain  by  the  Praetorian 
guards,  in  the  fourth  year  of  his  reign,  and  twenty-ninth  of  his  age. 
He  is  succeeded  by  his  uncle  Claudius,  son  of  Drusus  Nero,  and 
nephew  of  Livia  Augusta. 

The  new  Emperor  establishes^  Herod  Agrippa  in  his  kingdom 
of  Juda:a,  and  adds  to  it  Samaria  and  the  rest  of  Palestine.  His 
dominions  thus  equalled  those  of  his  grandfather,  Herod  the"Great."^ 

S.  Thaddaeus^  is  said  to  havebeen  sent  by  the  Apostle  S.  Thomas* 
to  Edessa,  to  King  Abagar,  or  Abgar,''  to  convert  his  kingdom, 
together  with  the  King  himself,  to  the  Faith.  According  to  the 
records  kept  in  the  Church  of  Edessa,  Abgar  had  written  to  our 


^  Apparently  in  reward  for  Agrippa's 
having  taken  part  on  his  behalf,  and 
against  the  Senate,  while  the  nomination 
to  the  Empire  was  pending. 

-  Joscphiis,  Antiq.  xix.  v.  i. 

2  Euseb.  (/■/.  E.  i.  13,  in  Jin)  says, 
this  was  not  the  Apostle  S.  Jude,  but 
one  of  the  seventy-two  disciples,  who 
preached  in  Syria.  But  S.  Jerome  (in 
Matt.  X.)  seems  to  think  otherwise,  and 
is  followed  by  most  Western  writers. 
The  Apostle,  S.  Jude,  or  Thaddicus 
(called  Lebba;us  in  S.  Matt.  x.  10, 
according  to  some  MSS.),  preached 
in  Judaea,  Galilee,  Samaria,  Iduniica, 
Arabia,  Syria,  and  Mesopotamia  (Ni- 
ceph.  ii.  40),  and  is  said  to  have  been 
martyred  at  IJcrytus.  S.  Bernard  re- 
ceived relics  of  this  Apostle,  sent  to 
him  from  Jerusalem.  (}ams  {Scries, 
p.  437)  after  naming  S.  Thomas,  gives 
"  ^laris  7't7  Agis  {titerqite)  soc.  S. 
Thaddaci." 

*  So    says    Moses     of    Khoren,    an 


Armenian  historian  of  the  sixth  century 
(Goschler,  art.  Abgar.).  S.  Thomas' 
own  connection  with  Edessa  seems 
undoubted.  His  relics,  or  a  portion  of 
them,  were  preserved  there  in  the  fourth 
century,  and  held  in  great  veneration. 
The  Roman  Mar  tyro  logy  {]u\y  3)  records 
their  translation  thither  from  the  place 
of  his  martyrdom,  Calamina,  which  is 
perhaps  Mcliapor,  in  India.  They  were 
afterwards  translated  to  Ortona  in  Italy, 
(iams,  7ii  Slip,  gives  S.  Thomas  as  first 
Bishop  of  Edessa,  in  the  sense  of  being 
its  Apostle. 

^  It  was  a  name  hereditary  among 
the  kings  of  Osroene,  a  province  of 
Mesopotamia,  in  which  Edessa  was 
situated.  The  king  in  question  was 
surnamcd  Uchamo,  or  the  Black,  appa- 
rently from  his  leprosy.  This  detail  is 
given  by  the  Syrian  patriarch,  Uionysius 
Telmaris,  in  the  eighth  century  (Asse- 
mani,  Bibl.  Orient.  Clement,  t.  i.  p. 
420). 


A.D.   44   (39)-      A.U.C.   795.      CLAUDII   2. 


41 


Lord,  during  His  lifetime,  inviting  Him  into  his  kingdom,  with  a 
view  of  being  healed  by  Him  of  a  leprous  malady  with  which  he 
was  afflicted.  Our  Lord  is  said  to  have  replied  by  a  letter,*^  long 
preserved  in  the  archives  of  Edessa. 


ELEVENTH  YEAR. 

A.D.    44   (39).       A.U.C.    795.       CLAUDII   2, 

Before  SS.  Barnabas  and  Saul  had  reached  Jerusalem  with  the 
alms  collected  at  Antioch,^  S.  James  the  Greater,^  returning  from 
Spain  to  Jerusalem,  converts,  among  others,   Hermogenes  the  ma- 


"  The  terms  of  this  letter  were : 
"  Blessed  art  thou,  Abgar,  for  believing 
in  Me  without  having  seen  Me.  For  it 
is  written  of  Me,  that  they  who  shall 
have  seen  Me  would  not  believe  in  Me ; 
and  that  they  who  shall  not  have  seen 
Me  would  believe,  and  so  have  life.  As 
to  thy  request,  that  I  should  come  and 
see  thee,  this  is  to  acquaint  thee  that  I 
must  here  fulfil  all  things  for  which  I 
am  sent,  and  then  return  to  Him  who 
sent  Me.  But  when  I  am  departed, 
I  will  send  one  of  My  disciples  to  thee, 
that  he  may  heal  thee  of  thy  disorder, 
and  give  life  to  thee,  and  to  them  that 
are  with  thee."  Eusebius  {Joe.  citat.  atin. 
praced.)  expressly  declares  that  he 
transcribed  this  letter,  and  the  whole 
account,  from  the  public  records  of  the 
city  of  Edessa.  S.  Ephrem,  who  was 
a  deacon  in  that  place,  and  who  pro- 
bably never  saw  the  history  of  Eusebius, 
gives  his  independent  testimony,  and 
quotes  the  epistle  as  being  universally 
received.  He  is  supported  by  Procopius, 
Evagrius,  S.  John  Damascene,  and 
many  others  ;  and,  in  later  days,  by 
Baronius,  Mamachi,  Assemani,  Grabe, 
and  Tillemont.  Bellarmine,  it  must  be 
added,  with   others,  take  the   negative 


side  (Rutter's  Life  of  Christ,  vol.  ii. 
p.  473).  For  a  very  full  list  of  apocry- 
phal books,  both  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament,  in  which  this  Epistle  to 
Abgar  is  included,  see  Goschler,  art. 
Apocryphes.  On  the  whole  subject, 
see  Appendix  H. 

^  An  article  on  S.  Jacques  le  Majeur, 
in  Goschler,  denies  the  possibility  of  the 
events  recorded  in  Actsxii.  i — 24  having 
occurred  in  the  short  space  of  time  be- 
tween the  two  Apostles'  journey  to 
Jerusalem  and  their  return  to  Antioch 
(v.  25).  But  (i)  it  is  not  said  that  they 
made  no  pause  or  detour  on  their  way  ; 
much  apostolical  work  may  have  been 
omitted  by  S.  Luke,  who  passes  by  so 
many  other  events.  (2)  The  famine 
predicted  by  Agabus  only  "came  to 
pass  under  Claudius,"  and  the  collection 
of  alms  may  have  been  going  on  for 
some  time  before  the  first  symptom  of 
it.  (3)  S.  James'  mission  into  Spain 
need  not  have  occupied  so  long  a  time 
as  to  disprove  the  assertion  in  the  text. 

^  The  son  of  Zebedee.  He  is  called 
"James  the  brother  of  John"  (Acts  xii.  2), 
to  distinguish  him  from  the  bishop  of 
Jerusalem. 


42  FASTI   ArOSTOLICI  :    KLEVENTII   YEAR. 

gician.     The  Apostle  is  then  seized  by  "  Herod  the  King,"  (Agrippa),^ 
and  martyred  by  the  sword,*  just  before  the  azymes. 

Herod,  gaining  much  popularity  thereby,^  seeks  to  improve  it  by 
imprisoning  S.  Petcr,^  intending  to  bring  him  forth  to  the  people 
when  the  festival  was  overJ  The  chief  of  the  Apostles  is  delivered 
by  an  Angel,  and  goes  through  Ca^sarca,  Berytus,  Sidon,  Tripolis,  and 
so  to  Laodicca,  Cappadocia,  and  other  places,  preaching  the  Gospel, 
and  ordaining  bishops  and  priests.  Besides  S.  Mark  the  future 
Evangelist,  he  was  accompanied  by  SS.  Rufus,  Pancratius,  and 
Marcian,  who  became  bishops  respectively  of  Capua,  Taormina,  and 
Syracuse.^      Also  by  S.  Apollinaris,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Ravenna, 


^  S.  Luke's  accuracy  is  shown  by  his 
describing  this  persecutor  as  "  Herod 
the  King."  For  no  period  of  time  for 
thirty  years  before,  or  ever  afterwards, 
was  there  a  king  reigning  in  Jerusalem. 
The  early  part  of  Agrippa's  life  was 
obscurely  past  in  Rome  ;  then  he  was 
raised  high  in  imperial  favour;  afterwards 
imprisoned  by  Tiberius,  and  now  (see 
the  preceding  year)  exalted  to  a  kingdom 
by  Claudius.  He  was  son  of  Aristobulus, 
and  grandson  of  Herod  "the  Great," 
who  sought  our  Lord's  life  in  Beth- 
lehem. Agrippa's  uncle,  Herod  Antipas, 
had  beheaded  S.  John  Baptist.  It  was 
before  his  son,  Agrippa  the  Younger, 
that  S.  Paul  pleaded  (Acts  xxvi.}. 

*  Acts  xii.  2.  Decapitation  was 
reckoned  by  the  Jews  the  most  igno- 
minious of  their  four  forms  of  capital 
punishment ;  and  was  especially  inflicted 
on  those  who  drew  away  the  people  to 
any  strange  worship.  In  Rome,  on  the 
contrary,  any  other  mode  of  execution 
was  held  to  be  more  infamous.  See 
below,  ad  .v.D.  69.  S.  James  converted 
his  executioner,  as  did  S.  Alban  after- 
wards, in  the  time  of  Diocletian.  Sub- 
sequently, the  Apostle's  relics  were 
translated  to  Compostelia,  which  becarne 
thenceforward  one  of  the  great  pil- 
grimage-places for  the  whole  Church  ; 


and  S.  James  himself  became  Patron 
Saint  of  Spain  {Brcv.  Rom.  July  25). 

^  The  attitude  of  the  Jews  towards 
the  Church  was  now  always  hostile.  See 
(besides  numerous  passages  in  the  Acts 
themselves)  Rom.  xv,  31,  2  Cor.  xi.  24, 
I  Thess.  ii.  13 — 16.  A  hundred  years 
later,  when  S.  Polycarp  was  about  to  be 
burned  in  the  amphitheatre  at  Smyrna, 
the  Jews  were  especially  active  in 
collecting  faggots  {Martyriuni  Polyc. 
xiii.).  Joscphus  {Aniiq.  xix.  7.  3,)  men- 
tions Agrippa's  great  desire  to  obtain 
popularity. 

•^  Probably  the  only  other  Apostle 
remaining  in  Jerusalem.  See  Acts  xii.  1 7. 

"  During  the  feast,  he  could  not  be 
put  to  death.     Cf  S.  John  xviii.  28. 

*"  Act.  Martyr,  ciuoted  by  Gerbert, 
Rome  Chrctictinc,  v.  i.  12.  Gams,  /;/  voce., 
who,  however,  mentions  S.  Priscus 
(Sop.  i)  before  S.  Rufus,  as  bishop  of 
Capua.  ]'2ither  on  this  or  a  subsequent 
occasion,  the  ship  which  carried  S.  Peter 
from  Naples  was  driven  by  contrary 
winds  to  Pisa  :  or  at  this  time,  accord- 
ing to  another  account,  he  passed  some 
days  in  tlie  town  of  Atina,  near  the 
Pontine  marshes,  in  the  house  of  his 
fellow-countryman,  S.  Mark  of  Galilee, 
its  first  bishop  {Act.  S.  .Ifarci  Ep.  Atin. 
Gerbert,  tit  sap.).     For  the  foundation 


A.D.   44   (39).      A.U.C.   795.      CLAUDII   2. 


43 


and  S.  Martial,  whom  S.  Peter  sent  into  Gaul.  He  staid  for  some 
time  in  Naples,  and  founded  a  Church  there.  His  journey  terminates, 
before  the  end  of  this  year,^  in  Rome;  henceforth  to  be  his  See,  and 
the  metropolis  of  the  Christian  world.  The  Apostle's  first  stay  in 
Rome  is  said  to  have  lasted  some  five  years.^*^ 

Britain  had  revolted,  under  Caractacus^^  and  his  brother  Togi- 
dumnus,  sons  of  Cassebelan  ;  and  the  treaties  made  with  Julius  Caesar 
had  been  broken.  Claudius  conducts  an  expedition,  and  lands  in 
Britain  with  a  numerous  and  veteran  army.  In  a  pitched  battle,  won 
chiefly  by  the  valour  of  the  German  auxiliaries,  Togidumnus  was 
slain.^2  The  Emperor  penetrated  to  Camalodunum  (Maiden,  or 
Colchester),  received  a  mere  local  submission  ;  then,  after  sixteen 
days'  stay  in  the  island,  returned  to  Rome,  and  was  decreed  a 
triumph. ^■■^      The  Roman    forces  remaining   in   Britain  were  divided 


of  the  Church  in  Aquileia,  see  Zaccaria, 
Raccolta,  &c.  vol.  v.  dissert  i  and  2. 

^  "After  his  episcopate  in  the  Church 
of  Antioch,  and  his  preaching  to  the 
dispersed  of  the  circumcision,  [Simon 
Peter]  goes  to  Rome  in  the  second  year 
of  Claudius,  to  overthrow  Simon  Magus; 
and  there  he  held  the  sacerdotal  chair 
for  twenty-five  years,  down  to  the  last, 
that  is  the  fourteenth,  year  of  Nero. 
Buried  at  Rome  in  the  Vatican,  near  the 
Via  Triumphalis,  he  is  honoured  by  the 
veneration  of  the  whole  City"  (S.  Jerome, 
in  Catal.  Script  or.  Ecclesiast.  c.  i.). 
Lactantius  does  not  mention  this  first 
coming  of  S'.  Peter  to  Rome  (see  below, 
ad  A.D.  68),  but  only  the  second,  saying 
that  he  came  to  Rome  in  the  reign  of 
Nero,  who  put  him  and  S.  Paul  to 
death  {De  Morf.  Persec.  n.  2). 

^^  He  baptized  in  a  crypt  known  as 
the  CcEnicterimii  Ostrianum,  probably 
in  the  Jews'  quarter,  beyond  the  Tiber. 
His  chair  existed  there  in  the  time  of 
S.  Gregory  the  Great.  For  an  interesting 
account  of  this  cemetery,  as  well  as  of 
that  of  Priscilla,  on  the  A^ia  Salaria 
Nova,  said  to   have  been  dug  in   the 


property  of  the  Pudens  family,  see 
Northcote  and  Brownlow,  Roma  Sottc- 
ra7tea,  i.  pp.  115 — 120. 

^^  The  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle  says, 
ad  A.D.  46,  "This  year,  Claudius,  second 
of  the  Roman  kings  (!),  sought  the  island 
of  Britain,  and  brought  under  his  power 
the  greater  part  of  the  island  ;  and  also 
subjected  the  Orkney  islands  to  the 
dominion  of  the  Romans.  This  war  he 
effected  in  the  fourth  year  of  his  reign, 
and  in  the  same  year  was  the  great 
famine  in  Syria."     Appendix  I. 

12  D'lo '[<\\c:x\\s.,apudXiphii.  Lingard, 
however,  supposes  him  identical  with 
the  Cogidunus  whom  somic,  again,  have 
identified  with  Caractacus  {Hist.  Engl. 
V.  i.  p.  27). 

13  Tacit.  Ann.  xii.  31,  38.  A  cotem- 
porary  poet  pronounced  that  Claudius 
had  united  two  worlds,  and  brought  the 
ocean  within  the  limits  of  the  Empire  : 

At  nunc  oceanus  gcminos  interluit  orbcs  ; 

Pars  est  imperii  :  terminus  ante  fuit. 
(Ex  Catalect.    Scalig.    ap.  Caind.   lix.). 
Florus,  a  poet  in  the  reign  of  Hadrian, 
was  less  complimentary  to  his  Imperial 
master  on  the  hardships  the  Emperor 


44  FASTI   ArOSTOLICI:    TWELFTH   YKAR. 

between  Aulus  Plautius,  the  legate,  and  Vespasian,  afterwards  Em- 
peror.    Plautius  was  the  husband  of  Pomponia  Gra;cina.^* 

S.  Paul,  now  returned  to  Antioch,  is  prepared  for  his  Apostolatc 
among  the  Gentiles  by  being  rapt  even  to  the  Third  Heaven,  caught 
up  into  Paradise,  where  he  "  heard  secret  words,  which  it  is  not 
granted  to  man  to  utter."  ^^ 


TWELFTH   YEAR. 

A.D.   45    (40).      A.U.C.    796.      CLAUDII   3. 

The  famine  begins  in  Rome.  The  Emperor,  to  give  employment, 
builds  the  port  of  Ostia.  Suetonius^  says  that  Claudius  was  sur- 
rounded by  starving  crowds  in  the  Forum,  who  so  assailed  him 
with  reproaches,  and  morsels  of  bread  thrown  at  him,  that  he 
escaped  by  a  postern  door,  and  did  his  utmost  to  collect  provisions 
from  every  quarter,  winter  though  it  was. 

S.  Peter  establishes  his  Cathedra,  or  See,  in  Rome,  Januar}'  18, 
at  first  in  the  Jews'  quarter,  beyond  the  Tiber ;  afterwards  in  the 
house^  of  the  Senator,  Ouintus  Cornelius  Pudens,  whose  wife,  Priscilla, 
gave  her  name  to  the  family  cemetery  on  the  Salarian  Way.  They 
were   both   probably  converts  of  the  Apostle.     This   senator's  son, 

endured  in   our  island.     He   wrote   to  ^   Viia   Claud,  c.  xviii.     Tacit.  Attn. 

him :  xii.  43. 

Ego  nolo  Caesar  esse,  -^  The  house  of  Pudens  was  afterwards 

Ambulare  per  Hritannos.  consecrated  as  a  church  by  S.  Pius  I., 

bcyth.cas  pat.  prumas.  ^^^  ^^,^^^j    ^f^^^.    3     Pudentiana,   who 

To  which  Hadrian  repHed  :  probably  died  shortly  before.    See  note  9 

Ego  nolo  Floras  esse,  below.  The  two  first  Popes  after  S.  Peter, 

Ambulare  per  tabernas,  viz.,  SS.  Linus  and  Cletus,  were  conse- 

Latitare  per  popinas,  crated  in  this  house  by  the  Prince  of  the 

Culices  pati  rotundos.  Apostles.       It    stands— or    rather,    the 

"  See  below,  a.d.  57.  church  built  on  the  spot — near  the  hxht- 

1*  2  Cor.  xii.  1—4.  rian  basilica,  commonly  called  Sa.  Maria 

Maggiore. 


A.D.  45    (40).      A.U.C.   796.      CLAUDII    3. 


45 


the  younger  Pudens,^  married  Claudia,  a  British  maiden,  the  daughter, 
according  to  some,  of  Caractacus  (Caradoc),  who  was  himself  in 
Rome  at  the  time.  Others  make  Claudia  daughter  of  Togidumnus.* 
She  was  named  after  the  Emperor,  who  had  liberated  Caractacus 
when  the  British  chief  was  brought  before  him.  Her  surname  was 
Rufina,^  perhaps  from  having  been  brought  up  under  the  Christian 
care  of  a  great  Roman  and  Christian  lady,  Pomponia  Grsecina,*^  who 
was  connected  with  the  house  of  the  Rufi.  The  younger  Pudens,  and 
Claudia,  are  mentioned  by  S.  Paul  as  being  in  Rome  towards  the 
end  of  his  life.  Martial,  in  two  epigrams,^  celebrates  Claudia's 
British  origin,  her  proficiency  in  Greek  and  Roman  literature,  and 
the  esteem  in  which  she  was  held  in  Rome.  Pudens  and  Claudia 
had  four  children,  S.  Novatus,  S.  Timotheus,  a  priest,^  and  SS.  Puden- 
tiana  and  Praxedes. 

The  house  of  the  elder  Pudens  was  made  a  church,  with  the 
titidus  of  "  Pastor."  ^  On  the  wooden  altar,  now  preserved  in  S.  John 
Lateran,  S.  Peter  said  his  Mass.     His  see  at  Antioch  was  filled  by 


^  "  Who,  having  by  the  Apostle's 
Tiands  put  on  Christ  in  baptism,  pre- 
served the  robe  of  his  innocence  un- 
spotted, even  to  the  crowning  point  of  his 
life"  {Rom.  MartyroL).  He  is  mentioned 
by  S.  Paul,  2  Tim.  iv.  21.  Fr.  Cressy 
seems  to  confuse  between  father  and 
son  by  making  the  two  'vives,  Priscilla 
and  Claudia,  identical  {Ch.  Hist.  Brit. 
iii.  12).  The  names  of  father  and  son 
were,  indeed,  the  same ;  Quintus  Corne- 
lius. 

*  It  is  at  least  a  probable  opinion, 
that  Caractacus,  Cogidunus,  and  Togi- 
dumnus,  were  all  the  same  person.  See 
note  12  of  the  preceding  year. 

'"  Cressy  {Ch.  Hist.  iv.  7)  supposes 
her  to  have  been  named  Rufina,  "  from 
her  husband  Rufus,"  but  without  giving 
any  authority.  This  would  make  her 
union  with  the  younger  Pudens  a  second 
marriage;  of  which  there  is  no  indication. 
It  could  hardly,  at  all  events,  have  been 


after  her  conversion  ;  the  feeling  in  pri- 
mitive times  against  second  marriages 
being  so  decided.  Cf.  sup.  ad  A.D.  39, 
note  18. 

^  See  below,  ad  A.D.  57. 

'^  Martial  {Epigr.  ii.  54,  iv.  13). 

^  Rom.  MartyroL  June  20.  Cressy's 
Ch.  Hist,  of  Britain.,  iii.  12,  13,  15. 

^  Pastor  was  a  priest,  the  special 
friend  of  Pudens'  and  Claudia's  four 
children.  While  S.  Timotheus  was 
preaching  the  Gospel  to  his  British 
kinsfolk,  S.  Pastor  wrote  him  a  letter, 
detailing  the  death  of  his  brother 
Novatus,  and  asking  his  wishes  respect- 
ing the  property  left  by  the  deceased. 
This  was  after  the  death  of  S.  Puden- 
tiana,  and  in  the  pontificate  of  S.  Pius  I. 
See  the  letter,  in  Cressy,  pp.  43,  44. 
Pastor  afterwards  interred  S.  Praxedes 
in  the  cemetery  of  Priscilla  on  the 
Salarian  Way,  where  S.  Pudentiana  was 
already  buried  {Brev.  Rom.  in  Jul.  xxi.). 


46  FASTI   APOSTOLICI:    TWELFTH   YEAR. 

S.  Evodius,^"  who  was  consecrated  by  the  Apostle/^  and  who  among 
his  first  episcopal  acts  must  have  consecrated  S.  Paul. 

The  most  general  opinion  assigns  to  this  year  the  dispersion  of 
the  Apostles  for  their  several  spheres  of  mission  beyond  the  bounds 
of  Juda,>a,  Samaria,  and  Syria.^' 

S.  Paul  receives,  at  Antioch,  his  distinct  mission  from  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  evangelize  the  Gentiles,^^  and  is  therefore  consecrated  a 
bishop,  and  goes  forth  with  S.  Barnabas,  who  also  received  his  special 
call  to  the  same  sphere  of  action. 

This  is  S.  Paul's  First  Apostolic  Journey. 

The  other  "  prophets  and  doctors  "  left  at  Antioch,  who  had  been 
offering,  together  with  them,  the  Holy  Sacrifice,"  with  fastings,  were 
Simon,  surnamed  Niger,  Lucius  of  Cyrene  (afterwards,  according  to 
S.  Bede  and  others,  bishop  of  that  place),^^  and  Manahen,^^^  foster- 
brother  of  that  Herod  Antipas,  who  had  mocked  our  Lord,  and 
beheaded  S.  John  Baptist. 

SS.  Paul  and  Barnabas  took  with  them,  as  a  temporal  coadjutor, 
John,  surnamed  Mark,  the  son  of  Mary,  a  disciple,  in  whose  house 
in  Jerusalem  many^^  were  assembled  during  S.  Peter's  incarceration,^^ 

1"  Eusebius  {Chron.).     He  held  the  Sacrifice  of  the  New  Law  on  the  altar 

see  twenty-six  years,  and  was  succeeded  (Cf.  Heb.  xiii.  lo). 

by  the  great  martyr,   S.    Ignatius,  the  ^^  S.  Lucius,  however,  is  claimed  by 

friend  of  S.  Polycarp,  and  who  is  said  to  Johannes  Avcntinus,  antiquita/uvi  jioii 

have   been   the  child  whom  our  Lord  scs^nis  investigator  {Variot:  Annot.  in 

took  in  His  arms  (S.  Mark  ix.  35,  36,  lib.  i.  6".  Irenai,^.  42),  as  the  Apostle  of 

S.   Matt,  xviii.  2,  S.  Luke  ix.  47),  and  Vindelicia   and    Rha^tia.     He   is   there 

indicated  to  His  disciples  as  a  type  of  also  called  S.  Paul's  cousin.     The  same 

those  who  should  enter  the  Kingdom  of  author  speaks  of  S.  Mark  (apparently 

Heaven.  John  Mark)  as  evangelizing  Noricum; 

"  'Ensth.  Chron.  S.  Crescens,  Moguntia  or  Mayence;  and 

^-  See  Appendix  F.  "a  certain  Clement,"  Metz.  The  archives 

*^  Acts  xiii.  2  ;  cf.  Galat.  ii.  9  ;  I  Tim.  of  Treves  and  Cologne  record  that  SS. 

ii.  7  ;  2  Tim.  i.  11.  Maternus,  Eucherius,  and  Valerius  were 

"  hiiTovpyovvTwv  T<p  Kupi'y, which  would  sent  to  those  places  by  S.  Peter.    Arno- 

not  be  the  expression  for  merely  praying.  bius  {adv.  Ccntt'S,  lib.  i.)  speaks  of  the 

See  Ornsby's  ed.   of  Card.    Maii's  Gr.  Allemanni  as  having  early  received  the 

Test,  in  loc.  The  ancient  Sacramcntaries  Gospel. 

assigned  to  S.  James,  and  the  rest,  have  ^''^  Rom.  Marty  vol.  May  24. 

always  been  called  "Liturgies,"  as  pre-  •"'  SS.  Paul  and  Barnabas  probably 

scribing  the  method  of  performing  the  included,  says  Salmeron. 

highest  act  of  public  service  to  God  -  the  ^'  Acts  xii.  1 2. 


A.D.  45    (40).      A.U.C.   796.      CLAUDII    3.  47 

praying  for  his  release.  John  Mark  had  accompanied  SS.  Paul  and 
Barnabas  from  Jerusalem  to  Antioch,^^  and  now  went  with  them 
on  their  further  mission.  He  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  S.  Mark 
the  Evangelist,  who  had  by  this  time  accompanied  S.  Peter  to 
Rome.^^ 

Herod  Agrippa,  the  persecutor  of  SS.  Peter  and  James,  was 
overtaken  by  Divine  vengeance  at  Cassarea,  to  which  place  he  went 
to  celebrate  solemn  games  for  the  prosperity  of  the  Emperor.^** 
Among  the  multitudes  who  flocked  thither  were  envoys  from  Tyre 
and  Sidon,  to  ask  pardon  for  an  offence  given  him  by  those 
cities.-^ 

"  Upon  a  day  appointed,  Herod,  arrayed  in  royal  apparel,  sat 
in  the  judgment-seat,  and  made  an  oration  to  them.  And  the  people 
made  acclamation,  saying  :  It  is  the  voice  of  a  god,  and  not  of  a 
man.  And  forthwith  an  Angel  of  the  Lord  smote  him,  because  he 
had  not  given  the  honour  to  God  :  and  being  devoured  by  worms,^^ 
he  gave  up  the  ghost.-^ 

On  the  death  of  Herod  Agrippa,  Judaea  and  Samaria  sank  into 
Roman  provinces  ;   their  first  governor  being  Cuspius  Fadus. 

^5  Acts  xii.  25.  FlaccuSjthePrefectof  Syria,  of  Agrippa's 

1'  S.  Irenasus  calls  S.  Mark  "  the  having  accepted  a  bribe  ;  he  had  there- 
disciple  and  in/erpreter  of  S.  Peter"  fore  been  dismissed  from  Syria  in  dis- 
{Hcrr.  iii.  i).  grace.     This  ill-feeling  may  have  been 

-^'  It  was  probably  the  first  of  August  revived  by  some  more  recent  act  of 
(Wieseler,  pp.  132 — 136).  The  occasion  hostility  on  the  part  of  those  cities.  Or, 
has  been  variously  conjectured  :  the  Herod  may  have  supposed  the  Tyrians 
Emperor's  safe  return  from  Britain  ;  his  and  Sidonians  likely  to  interfere  with 
birthday  ;  or,  more  probably,  the  festival  the  growing  prosperity  of  Cassarea. 
of  the  OuinquennaHa,  observed  on  the  "  His  grandfather,  Herod  of  Ascalon, 
same  day  of  the  same  month  in  honour  the  murderer  of  the  Holy  Innocents, 
of  Augustus.  The  observance  dated  had  perished  under  a  similar  horrible 
from  the  taking  of  Alexandria,  or  the  disease  (Joseph,  lib.  xviii.  3).  Likewise 
reform  of  the  calendar  B.C.  8,  when  the  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  for  his  pride  and 
month  Sextilis  had  received  Augustus'  persecutions,  2  Machab.  ix.  4 — 13.  Add 
name.  Agrippa  seems  to  have  made  to  these,  Maximianus  Galerius,who  had 
Ciesarea  practically  the  capital  of  his  instigated  Diocletian  to  begin  his  perse- 
kingdom,  as  being  already  that  of  the  cution.  C.  k  Lap.  gives  other  instances, 
Roman  province.  in  loc. 

21  An  old  grudge  had  existed  between  ^3  y^^-^g  j.jj^  21 — 23.     Joseph.  Antiq. 

them.      The    Sidonians  had  informed  xix.  8,  2. 


48 


FASTI   Al'OSTOLICI  :    TWKLFTII    YEAR. 


Theudas  (Thcodas)  arose  as  a  false  prophet,  and  led  many  away 
after  him  ;  but  he  was  slain,  and  his  followers  dispersed.-^ 

Others  place  Agrippa's  death  in  the  preceding  year,  and  more 
immediately  after  the  martyrdom  of  his  victim,  S.  James.  The 
Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle,  on  the  contrary,  says  A.D.  46 :  "  This 
year  Herod  died  ;  he  who  slew  James,  one  year  before  his  own  death." 

5.  Peter  writes  from  Rome,  which  he  calls  "  Babylon," ^^  his 
First  Epistle  to  the  faithful  of  the  dispersion,  especially  to  those  of 
Pontus,  and  other  places  which  he  had  visited  on  his  first  journey 
to  Rome,  after  being  delivered  from  prison.^"  He  mentions  his 
spiritual  "son  Mark." 2''  Another  of  S.  Peter's  disciples  was  Clement, 
son  of  Faustinus,  "of  the  region  of  the  Coelian  Hill,"  who  was  to 
succeed  him  as  fourth  Pope.-^ 

5.  Mark  writes  his  Gospel  in  Rome.-^  Some  time  later,  he  is 
sent^*^  by  S.  Peter  to  Egypt,  preaches  the  Gospel  in  Alexandria, 
rules  that  Church  as  bishop  for  some  years,  and  is  martyred  there 
in  the  eighth  year  of  Nero.^^ 


-^  He  may  probably  have  been  son 
or  nephew  to  the  Theudas  mentioned 
by  Gamahel,  speaking  (Acts  v.  36)  in 
the  1 8th  year  of  Tiberius,  as  having  run 
the  same  career  of  rebellion  before. 
Eusebius  {Hist.  ii.  11),  S.  Bede,  and 
others,  would  make  these  two  identical, 
against  the  express  testimony  of  Jose- 
phus  {Antiq.  xx.  2),  and  the  fact  that 
Gamaliel  places  the  elder  Theudas 
bfforc  the  rebellion  of  Judas  of  Galilee, 
"  in  the  days  of  the  enrolling,"  i.e.  the 
dateofour  Lord's  Nativity  (S.  Lukeii.  i). 
The  motive  of  this  Judas'  revolt  appears 
to  have  been,  the  indignity  offered  to 
the  Jewish  nation  by  the  act  of  Augustus. 
Compare  Joseph.  Antiq.  xviii.  i,  xx.  3, 
Bell.  Jitd.  vii.  29,  in  which  last  place  he 
speaks  of  the  heroic  constancy  of  even 
the  Jewish  youth  in  resisting  Caesar's 
title  to  be  their  Lord.  The  two  sons  of 
Judas  of  Galilee  were  crucified  in  the 
reign  of  Claudius  for  this  very  cause 
(Cf.  S.  ALatt.  xvii.  27,  xxii.  17,  Rom.  xiii.). 


Origen  {contra  Celsum,  lib.  i.  et  Tract. 
24  in  Matth.)  reckons  Theudas  as  before 
the  Nativity,  and  Judas  after  it. 

-■''  I  S.  Peter  v.  1 3. 

-"  Cf.  sicp.  ann.  2. 

27  Ibid. 

2^  See  below,  ad  a.d.  69. 

2^  "  But  it  is  inferred,  from  the  testi- 
mony of  S.  Ircnitus,  that  S.  Mark  wrote 
after  the  martyrdom  of  S.  Peter  and 
S.  Paul."  Prof.  Ornsby,  Gr.  Test.  (Pref. 
to  Gospel  ace.  to  S.  Mark.)  Eusebius 
quotes  Clement  of  Alexandria,  and 
Papias  bishop  of  Hierapolis,  as  saying 
that  S.  Mark's  Gospel  was  written  at  the 
solicitation  of  the  faithful  in  Rome;  that 
it  was  divinely  inspired,  and  afterwards 
approved  by  S.  Peter  (//.  E.  1.  ii.  c.  14, 1 5). 
S.  Jerome,  however,  assigns  it  to  the 
year  64  (see  below). 

'^^  Sec  below,  ad  a.d.  51. 

3^  This  is  the  account  of  Gelasius, 
Metaphrastes,  and  Procopius.  See  also 
the  Roman  A  f arty  rot.  Apr.  25. 


A.D.   46   (41).      A.U.C.   797.      CLAUDII  4. 


49 


Some  say  that  Livy  the  historian  died  in  this  year. 

One  account  assigns  to  about  this  date  the  death  and  Assumption 
of  the  Ever-Blessed  Mother  of  God.  Another,  and  more  probably, 
places  it  twelve  years  later,  in  the  third  year  of  Nero.^^ 


THIRTEENTH   YEAR. 

A.D.   46   (41).       A.U.C.   797.       CLAUDII  4. 

SS.  Paul  and  Barnabas,  having  passed  through  Seleucia,  set  sail 
for  Cyprus,^  of  which  S.  Barnabas  was  a  native,^  and  afterwards  its 
Bishop.  Some  of  the  Cypriotes  were  already  Christians.^  Landing 
at  Salamis,*  on  the  east  coast  of  the  island,  "  they  preached  the  word 
of  God  in  the  synagogues  of  the  Jews."^  Thence  they  journeyed 
to  Paphos,*^  on  the  western  coast;  having  thus  "gone  through  the 
whole  island."  At  Paphos  resided  the  Roman  Proconsul,  Sergius 
Paulus,  a  man  of  intelligence."     At  his  court  the  Apostles  found  a 


^2  See  Appendix  R. 

1  The  Cethim  of  the  O.T.  (Is.  xxiii.  i). 
Its  original  inhabitants  have  been  gene- 
rally supposed  to  be  of  Hethite  or 
Phoenician  origin,  somewhat  like  the 
inhabitants  of  Malta  (cf  ad  a.d.  58). 
Mr.  Gordon  Hake,  however,  from  his 
recent  explorations  in  the  island,  claims 
for  the  aborigines  an  Aryan  descent. 
The  island  was  conquered  in  succession 
by  the  Egyptians,  Phoenicians,  Assyrians, 
Persians,  and  Romans.  It  had  now  been 
in  Roman  possession  for  a  century. 

2  Acts  iv.  36. 

^  Acts  xi.  19,  30  ;  xxi.  16. 

*  The  ancient  Greek  capital  of  the 
island.  It  was  rebuilt  in  the  fourth 
century,  and  called  Constantia  (now 
Porto  Costanzo),  after  the  Emperor 
Constantine.  About  the  year  368,  S. 
Epiphanius  was  its  bishop.  See  Appen- 
dix J. 


^  From  the  mention  of  synagogues. 
Acts  xiii.  5,  it  may  be  inferred  that  the 
Jews  were  numerous  in  Salamis  (Cf.  vi. 
9  ;  ix.  20).  Other  cities,  even  large  and 
important  ones,  seem  to  have  had  only 
one  (cf  xvii.  i  ;  xviii.  4).  Salamis  was 
the  scene  of  a  Jewish  insurrection  in  the 
reign  of  Trajan,  when  great  part  of  the 
city  was  destroyed. 

•^  Now  called  IJaffo.  It  first  bishop 
was  S.  Epaphras  (Gams,  ?//  supra.). 
It  was  here  that  the  vessel  con- 
taining S.  Louis  and  his  queen  was 
nearly  wrecked  on  his  return  from  the 
Crusade  {De  Joiiivillc,  cxxii.  618.)  It 
seems  that  in  the  middle  ages  the 
Cypriote  Olympus  was  called  the  Moun- 
tain of  the  Cross  {Ibid.). 

^  ffvvirhs  avr\p,  Acts  xiii.  J.  The  Elder 
Pliny  cites  him,  more  than  once,  as  an 
authority  in  physical  science  {Nat.  Hist. 
lib.  I  ;  Elench.  hbb.  ii.  and  xviii.).  Galen 
{De  P7-anot.  cited  by  Wettstein  on  this 


50 


FASTI    ArOSTOLICI  :    TIIIRTKENTII   YEAR. 


Jewish  impostor,  named  Barjcsus*^  (or,  son  of  Josuc),  surnamed 
Elymas,"  i.e.,  the  "magus,"  or  the  "wise."  But  the  Proconsul's  mind 
was  prepared  for  a  better  teaching  ;  he  "desired  to  hear  the  word  of 
God,"  and  sent  for  the  Apostles.  Elymas,  striving  to  oppose  their 
influence,  was  smitten  with  temporary  blindness  at  the  rebuke  of 
S.  Paul  ;^°  the  miracle  converted  Sergius  Paulus.^^  From  that  time, 
Saul  was  definitely  and  without  exception  called  Paul  :^^  whether  the 
name  was  assumed  from  his  distinguished  convert,  is  uncertain.^^ 

Setting  sail  from  Paphos,  the  Apostles  came  to  Perga  in 
Paniphylia.^^  Here  their  attendant,  John  Mark,  alarmed  at  the 
fatigues  and  dangers  of  the  Apostolate,  or  yielding  to  home-sickness, 
left  them,  and  returned  to  his  relations  in  Jerusalem.^'"'  This  occa- 
sioned the  subsequent  difference  between  SS.  Paul  and  Barnabas.^^ 

From  Pcrga  they  came  to  Antioch,^^  in  Pisidia, 


passage  in  the  Acts)  also  mentions  a 
Sergius  Paiilus,  son  or  grandson  of  the 
proconsul,  as  "a  man  of  the  first  stamp 
in  all  things,  both  in  word  and  deed,  as 
regards  philosophy." 

•*  Compare  Bar-jonas,  S.  Matt.  xvi.  17, 
Bartim.'tus,  Barabbas,  Barnabas,  besides 
other  patronymics  of  the  same  form  in 
the  Old  Testament. 

"  The  Aramaic  equivalent  for  the 
Persian  title  "  Magian,"  and  from  the 
same  root  as  the  Turkish  "  Ulemah." 
He  was  probably  an  apostate  Jew,  -who 
hoped  to  convert  Sergius  Paulus  to  the 
worship  of  the  sun  and  of  fire. 

^'^  This  is  the  first  recorded  miracle 
of  the  Apostle  ;  very  appropriately 
chastising  an  unbeliever  by  the  same 
infliction  which  had  attended  his  own 
conversion. 

"  A  place  marked  in  Keith  Johnston's 
iitlas,  close  to  Famagusta  on  the  east 
coast  of  Cyprus— apparently  a  small 
town,  perhaps  a  monastery— is  named 
Hag! OS  Sert^ios. 
•-  Acts  xiii.  9. 

'■'  Probably,  as  the  son  of  a  freedman, 
and  liimscif  a  Roman  citizen,  lie  had  it 


from  the  first,  in  conjunction  with  his 
Hebrew  name  Saul  ;  but  now  began  to 
use  it  exclusively,  in  memory  of  this  his 
first  great  success  among  the  Gentiles. 
Cf.  2  S.  Peter  iii.  15.  There  is  also 
a  beautiful  significance  in  the  name 
"Little"  {Pauliis)  as  being  that  of  the 
great  Apostle,  whose  persistent  humility 
taught  him  to  speak  of  himself  as  "  the 
least  of  the  Apostles,"  i  Cor.  xv.  9,  and 
"less  than  the  least  of  all  Saints,"  Eph. 
iii.  8.  It  was  not  unusual  among  the  Jews 
who  were  brought  much  into  contact 
with  Gentiles,  to  take  a  Greek  or  Roman 
name,  assonant,  or  nearly  so,  with  their 
original  Hebrew  name,  as  conveying  a 
sound  more  familiar  to  those  with  whom 
they  dealt. 

"  A  voyage  of  about  two  hundred 
miles.  Perga  was  celebrated  for  a 
temple  of  Diana,  and  an  annual  festival 
in  her  honour  (Strabo,  xiv.  4). 

'•''  See  the  preceding  year. 

^^  Cf.  ad  A.D.  51,  note  16. 

''  One  of  the  sixteen  cities  of  that 
name  which  had  been  built  by  Selcucus 
Nicator. 


A.D.   46   (41).      A.U.C.   797.      CLAUDII   4.  51 

mountain-passes,  and  gorges  worn  by  torrents  ;  "  perils  of  rivers," 
and  "perils  of  robbers.^^ 

The  Pisidian  Antioch  was  a  Roman  colonia ;  besides  Greeks, 
Romans,  and  Semitic  aborigines,  it  contained  a  population  of  Jews. 
Though  sent  to  the  Gentiles,  the  Apostles  did  not  neglect  "the 
lost  sheep  of  the  hou'se  of  Israel : "  and  on  the  Sabbath,  S.  Paul 
addressed  them  in  the  synagogue.  His  words  produced  a  deep 
impression  ;  they  begged  him  to  repeat  his  exhortation  on  the 
following  Sabbath,  when  "almost  the  whole  city  came  together  to 
hear  the  word  of  God."^^  It  was  opposed,  however,  and  blasphemed, 
by  the  unbelieving  Jews.  "  Then  Paul  and  Barnabas  said  boldly  : 
To  you  it  behoved  us  first  to  speak  the  word  of  God  ;  but  because 
you  reject  it,  and  judge  yourselves  unworthy  of  eternal  hfe,  behold, 
we  turn  to  the  Gentiles.^''  .  .  And  the  Gentiles,  hearing  it,  were  glad, 
and  glorified  the  word  of  the  Lord  ;  and  as  many  as  were  ordained 
to  life  everlasting,  believed.  And  the  word  of  the  Lord  was  published 
throughout  the  whole  country."  ^^ 

A  persecution  was  raised  against  the  Apostles  by  the  Jews,  who 
procured  their  expulsion  from  the  city  :  "  but  they,  shaking  off  the 
dust  of  their  feet--  against  them,  came  to  Iconium"^  in  Lycaonia, 
leaving  the  Pisidian  converts  full  of  "joy  and  the  Holy  Ghost,"  in  the 
midst  of  their  persecutions. 

Tiberius  Alexander,  a  renegade  Jew,  and  nephew  to  Philo,-*  is 
made  Governor  of  Judaea  and  Samaria,  in  place  of  Cuspius  Fadus. 

^^2  Cor.  xi.  26.  ,  place  than  Lystra.    "  Urbs  celeberrima" 

13  Acts  xiii.  44.  (Pliny,  N.  H.,  v.  27).     It  was   entitled 

20  Namely,  the  Gentiles  in  the  city  ;  "  the  Damascus  of  Lycaonia."     It   lay 

for  we  find  their  first  act  afterwards  in  in  a  fertile  plain,  about  ninety  miles  S.E. 

Jerusalem   was,   to   go    into   the   syna-  of  the  Pisidian  Antioch,  near  the  boun- 

gogue,  and  still  to  give  precedence  to  daries  of  Phrygia,  Pamphylia,  and  Gala- 

"the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel"  tia,  as  well  as  of  Lycaonia.     Several  of 

(xiv.  I.    Cf.  S.  Matt.  XV.  24).  the  Roman  roads  met  at  this  point ;  the 

-1  Acts  xiii.  46—49.  chief  of  them  being  the  high  road  from 

"  According  to  our  Lord's  own  com-  Ephesus  to  the  Syrian  Antioch.  Iconium, 

mand,  in  the  case  of  determined  oppo-  at  that  date,  with  the  adjacent  country, 

sition  to  His  word  (S.  Matt.  x.   14;  S.  formed    a    distinct     and     independent 

Mark  vi.  1 1  ;  S.  Luke  ix.  5).  tetrarchy. 

23  A  more  populous   and   important  -^  AlhdinBviXlQX  {]\.\nQ  2(^,  note*  s.f.). 


FASTI   ArOSTOLICI:     FOURTEENTH   YEAR. 


FOURTEENTH  YEAR. 

A.D.   47    (42).      A.U.C.   798.      CLA'UDII    5. 

The  two  Apostles  "abode  a  long  time"^  in  Iconium,  preaching  in 
the  synagogue,  and  converting  "a  great  multitude"  both  of  the  Jews 
and  of  the  Greeks.  Their  most  distinguished  convert  was  S.  Thecla, 
virgin,  for  her  many  sufferings  reckoned  a  martyr,-  and  even  the 
proto-martyr  among  female  Saints.  SS.  Tryphcna  and  Tryphosa^ 
■whom  S.  Paul  afterwards  commends"  as  "labouring  in  the  Lord," 
were  also  brought  to  the  faith.'* 

These  numerous  conversions  were  in  great  measure  due  to  the 
miracles  wrought  by  the  two  Apostles.  "  The  Lord  gave  testimony 
to  the  word  of  His  grace,  granting  signs  and  wonders  to  be  done  by 
their  hands." 

This  period  of  success  w^as  followed  by  a  persecution,  like  that  in 
Antioch.  "And  when  there  was  an  assault  made  by  the  Gentiles 
and  the  Jews,  to  use  them  contumeliously,  and  to  stone  them,  they 
fled  to  Lystra  and  Derbe,  cities  of  Lycaonia,  and  to  the  whole  country 
round  about ;  and  were  there  preaching  the  Gospel."^ 

^  Acts  xiv.  3.  Appendix  K.     Basil,  an  early  bishop  of 

2  An  apocryphal  and   untrustworthy  Seleucia,  where   S.  Thecla   lived   to   a 

book,    entitled   "Circuits"    {vfploSoi)   of  great  age,  and  died,  wrote  a  panegyric 

SS.  Paul  and  Thecla,  is  mentioned  by  of  the  Saint:  but,  following  apparently 

Tertullian    (/)c   />a/>L),   reprobated    by  the  frepiodoi,  he  leaves  it  doubtful  which 

S.  Jerome  {De  Scr/p/or.  Ecclcs.  in  Luca),  of  his  supposed  f;icts  of  her  life  may  be 

and   authoritatively   rejected    by    Pope  taken  as  trustworthy.     The  devotion  to 

Gelasius.      This    has  tended   to  throw  her  must  have  flourished  in  Germany  in 

discredit  on  the  real  facts  of  her  con-  the  seventeenth  century :  Schiller  gives 

version    by    S.    Paul,    and    her    after-  the  name  to  the  heroine  in  his  trilogy 

sufferings  for  the  faith.     See  a  note  by  of  Wallenstein.     The  cathedral  ofTar- 

Baronius,  Martyrol.  Rom.  in  Sep.  23  ;  ragona  in  Spain  was  dedicated  under 

Cornel,   a   Lap.  in   Act.  xiv.  ;   and  the  the  invocation  of  S.  Thecla  (Gams,  in 

Bollandists,  in  Sep.  23.     The  author  of  voc). 

this  apocryphal  narrative,  who  was  an  ^  Rom.  xvi.  12. 

Asiatic   priest,  was  thereupon  deposed  *  Roman  Martyrology^  Nov.  20. 

from    the   ministry   by   S.  John.      See  '-^  Acts  xiv.  5,6. 


A.D.   48    (43).      A.U.C.   799.      CLAUDII   6. 


53 


FIFTEENTH   YEAR. 

A.D.   48   (43).       A.U.C.   799.       CLAUDII   6. 

S.  Paul's  cure  of  a  man  at  Lystra,  lame  from  his  birth/  made  the 
multitude  cry  out:-  "The  gods  are  come  down  to  us,  in  the  likeness 
of  men.  And  they  called  Barnabas,  Jupiter  ;2  but  Paul,  Mercury, 
because  he  was  the  chief  speaker."  Sacrifice  was  about  to  be  offered 
to  them  :  the  people  were  scarcely  restrained  from  it  by  the 
Apostles'  protestation,  and  announcement  of  the  Gospel  of  their 
Master. 

Some  of  the  Jews,  however,  who  had  persecuted  them  in  Antioch 
and  Iconium,  came  to  Lystra,  "and  persuading  the  multitude,  and 
stoning  Paul,*  drew  him  out  of  the  city,  thinking  him  to  be  dead. 
But  as  the  disciples  stood  round  about  him,  he  rose  up  and  entered 
into  the  city,  and  the  next  day  he  departed  with  Barnabas  to  Derbe."^ 

case  (2  Cor.  x.  i,  10).  But  S.  Paul's 
ready  eloquence  gained  for  him  the 
supposition  that  he  was  Mercury,  the 
anda-ToXos,  or  "  messenger  of  the  gods." 
It  was  an  unconscious  witness  to  a 
higher  truth  (Cf.  Niceph.  //zjV.  Ecd.  ii. 
37)- 

*  Compare  Acts  xxviii.  4-6  for  an 
opposite  revulsion  of  popular  feeling,  in 
the  "barbarous  people"  of  Melita,  who 
first  took  S.  Paul  for  a  murderer,  and 
then  for  a  deity.  He  refers  (2  Cor.  xi.  25) 
to  the  stoning  mentioned  in  the  text. 

^  Acts  xiv.  19.  That  is,  he  walked  a 
distance  of  at  least  twenty  miles,  after 
the  stoning  (almost  to  death)  of  the  day 
before.  This  could  not  have  been, 
except  by  distinct  miracle.  Some  have 
supposed  that  he  had  actually  died  ; 
others,  that  the  rapture  into  Paradise 
and  the  third  heaven  (2  Cor.  xii.)  took 
place  at  this  time.  S.  Paul,  when  at 
Lystra,  could  have  gone  by  a  short  and 


^  Compare  S.  Luke's  description  of 
the  miracle  at  the  Beautiful  Gate  (Note 
18  ad  A.D.  34). 

2  In  their  native  tongue,  which  may 
have  been  spoken  by  S.  Paul  miracu- 
lously (Cf  I  Cor.  xiv.  18). 

^  Jupiter  was  especially  worshipped  at 
Lystra,  and  had  a  temple  before  the  city 
gates  (v.  12).  It  was  to  these  very  regions 
in  the  interior  of  Asia  Minor  that 
Jupiter,  accompanied  by  Hermes  (Mer- 
cury) was  supposed  to  have  descended, 
to  be  the  guest  of  Baucis  and  Philemon 
(Ovid,  Me/a/fi.  viu.  611  seq.).  The  Lyca- 
onians  probably  spoke  (v,  10)  a  bar- 
barous dialect  of  Greek,  mingled  with 
their  own  native  Semitic.  S.  Barnabas, 
perhaps  the  elder  of  the  two  Apostles, 
had  probably  something  venerable  and 
majestic  in  his  appearance  (as  S.  Chry- 
sostom  supposes,  Horn,  xxx.),  while  S. 
Paul  could  quote  at  least  unfriendly 
allegations  to  the  contrary,  in  his  own 


54  FASTI   APOSTOLICI  :    SIXTEENTH   YEAR. 

Not,  however,  without  having  made  some  disciples,  of  whom  his 
future  companion,  S.  Timothy,  was  chief.'^ 

Having  preached  the  Gospel  in  Derbe,  they  returned  to  Lystra, 
Iconium,  and  Antioch,  confirming  the  souls  of  their  converts,  and 
ordaining  for  them  priests  in  every  church.  Thence,  through  the 
Pisidian  mountains,  they  came  back  to  the  plain  of  Pamphylia,  more 
thoroughly  evangelized  Perga,  and  went  on  to  Attalia,'^  about  sixteen 
miles  to  the  west,  on  the  same  coast. 

Ventidius  Cumanus  succeeds  Tiberius  Alexander  as  Governor  of 
Judaea  and  Samaria. 

Herod,  King  of  Chalcis,  brother  of  Agrippa,  dies.  His  kingdom 
is  given  to  his  nephew,  Agrippa  H. 


SIXTEENTH   YEAR. 

A.D.   49   (44).       A.U.C.    800.       CLAUDII   7. 

Rome  begins  the  celebration  of  the  eight  hundredth  anniversary 
of  the  City's  foundation,  which  now  opens  on  the  twenty-first  of  April, 
with  Ludi  ScEcidm-cs,  and  (probably)  a  Carmen  Sccculare} 

S.  Paul,  having  now  completed  five  years  in  his  First  Apostolic 

easy  journey  to  his  own  home,  by  the  given  epoch.     The  first  were  held   by 

famous  pass  called  the  Cilician  Gates  ;  ordinance  of  Val.  Publicola,  to  avert  a 

but    he    turns   away,    and    back   again  plague  which  coincided  with  the  expul- 

(uTreo-Tpe'ij/ar,  xiw  2o)  to  rcsume  his  apos-  sion  of  the  Tarc[uins,  U.C.  245,  B.C.  509. 

tolic  labours  in  another  direction.     See  The  second  celeljration  was  U.C.  305,  the 

S.  Luke  ix.  57—62.  third,   u.C.    505,  the    fourth,   u.C.    608. 

^  Cf.xvi.  I,  2  ;  I  Tim.  i.  2  ;  2  Tim.  i.  2;  Augustus  celebrated  the  fifth,  U.C.  737, 

iii.  10,  II.  B.C.  16.  [It  was  for  this  feast  that  Horace 

^  A  newer  sea-port  than  Perga,  built  composed  his  Caiiiicii  Scccula7-ei\  Clau- 

by  Attalus  Philadelphus,  King  of  Per-  dius  ordained  their  repetition  in  u.C  800, 

gamus  (B.C.  159 — 138),  and  called  after  to  square  the  celebration  with  the  centu- 

him.  ries  of  the  City ;  but  Domitian  regulated 

his  ordinance  on  that  of  Augustus,  and 

^  In  spite  of  their  name  and  original  proclaimed  the  games  one  hundred  and 

i  ntention,  the  Ludi  Sceculares  were  not  three  years  after  his,  viz.,  u.C.  840,  B.c  86. 

celebrated  exactly  at  the  expiration  of  a  Suetonius  records  that  this  caused  some 


A.D.   49   (44).      A.U.C.   800,      CLAUDir   J. 


55 


journey,  returns  with  S.  Barnabas  to  the  Syrian  Antioch.^  There, 
having  assembled  the  Church,  they  related  what  great  things  God 
had  done  with  thein,  and  how  He  had  opened  the  door  of  faith  to  the 
Gentiles.  And  there  they  abode  no  little  time  with  the  disciples  ;"^ 
that  is,  says  Baronius,  for  two  years,  A.D.  49  and  50.  The  visit  to 
Jerusalem  for  the  Council  is  included  in  this  period. 

Vespasian  conducts  the  British  campaign  with  great  vigour,  and 
obtains  frequent  victories.  Twenty  cities  in  Britain  are  reduced, 
together  with  the  Isle  of  Wight* 


mockery  among  the  people  ;  the  terms 
of  Claudius'  proclamation  having  been, 
that  "  all  should  come  as  spectators  of 
games  which  they  had  never  seen  before, 
and  would  never  see  again."  They  were 
continued  under  Septimius  Severus  and 
Caracalla,  and  lastly  under  the  Emperor 
Philip,  in  the  thousandth  year  of  Rome, 
A.D.  247.  The  Christian  Emperors  for- 
bade them  (See  Appendix  L). 

The  games  were  ordered  solemnly, 
and  in  much  detail,  in  the  Sibylline 
books.  According  to  the  exposition  of 
the  Ouindecimvirs,  who  had  the  privi- 
lege of  reading  them,  they  were  to  be 
celebrated  every  no  years  (Moreri,  in 
voc.  Jeiix  Seciilaires). 

-  A  non-Catholic  writer,  Bishop  Jacob- 
son,  says  here:  "This  Antioch  was  the 
Mother  Church  of  Gentile  Christendom." 
He  had  used  the  same  expression  on 
Acts  xiii.  I,  adding  that  it  took  the  place 
of  Jerusalem;  without,  however,  advert- 
ing to  the  fact  that  it  had  been  the  See 
of  S.  Peter. 

^  Acts  xiv.  25—27. 

■*  He  is  said  to  have  fought  no  less 
than  thirty  battles,  before  he  could  sub- 
due the  Belgas  in  the  south  of  Britain, 
and  the  islanders  of  Vectis  (Wight), 
"quam  Britones  insulam  Guicd  aut 
Gtcith,  quod  Latine  divortium  dici 
potest"  {Nenniics),  i.e.,  from  its  separa- 
tion from  the  mainland  ;  the  same 
meaning  as  Britain  and  British.  "  Names 
like  these,  signifying  a  separated  people, 


were  very  common  among  the  Celtae  in 
general.  They  appear  even  in  the  name 
of  the  island,  Britain  [hence  brittle — 
brittan,  Saxon — Johusoii].  And  the 
name  of  Fict  or  Pict  in  our  own  country, 
being  common  to  the  Caledonians  and 
the  Irish,  must  have  been  derived  from 
some  separation  that  was  equally 
common  to  both  :  their  disjunction,, 
namely,  from  the  tribes  of  the  Roman 
Britons,  and  their  position  without  the 
pale  of  the  Roman  British  Empire 
(Whitaker, ///j/.  of  Craven,  ii.  209 — 11). 
The  Belgie  occupied  a  large  portion  of 
the  island  of  Britain.  "  Britannia^  mari- 
tima  pars  ab  iis  incolitur  qui  pr£ed^  ac 
belli  inferendi  causa  exBelgistransierant: 
qui  omnes  fere  iis  nominibus  civitatum 
appellantur  quibus  orti  ex  civitatibus  eo- 
pervenerunt"  (Cassar,  Bell.  Gall.  v.  12). 
The  Belga;  first  landed  in  Britain  about 
350  B.C.,  and  took  possession  of  Kent, 
Sussex,  Hampshire,  Dorset,  and  Devon. 
The  dislodged  Britons  crossed  over  to 
Ireland  {Er  or  ler  (west)  In  (island). 
Other  colonies  of  expelled  Britons  fol- 
lowed, about  250  years  after  the  first, 
from  Surrey,  Middlesex,  and  Essex. 
These  incorporated  themselves  into  a 
body,  called  by  the  Britons  the  Scuites 
(Scots),  i.e..  Wanderers,  or  Refugees 
(Whitaker's  Hist,  of  Craven,  ii.  232,  233). 
A  parallel  denomination  is  that  of  the 
Flemings,  qit.  d.  Flyman,  i.e.  forban- 
nitus,  and  their  country,  Fleanderland, 
Flanders     (De     Lettenhove,    Hist,    de 


56 


FASTI   ArOSTOLICI  :    SIXTKIiNTII   YEAR. 


Plautius,  meanwhile,  found  a  still  more  arduous  field  among  the 
Cassii'*  and  Silures." 

This  year  is  assigned  by  some  as  the  date  at  which  S.  Mansuetus, 
a  British  convert  and  disciple  of  S.  Peter/  was  by  him  consecrated 
to  the  sec  of  Toul  (Tullum)  in  Lorraine,  the  metropolis  of  the  Leuci. 
He  uas  of  noble  birth  among  the  Caledonians,  and  had  gone  to 
Rome,  either  with  Adminius  or  Baricus,  or  accompanying  Caractacus. 
An  ancient  Gallican  Martyrology  mentions  him  on  the  3rd  of  Sep- 
tember, and  relates  that  he  turned  the  hearts  of  the  pagans  among 
whom  he  came,  by  raising  to  life  the  son  of  the  governor  of  the  city. 
He  died  after  an  episcopate  of  nearly  forty  years.^ 


Flaiidrc,  Introd.).  At  the  time  when 
Agricola  was  making  his  way  northward, 
a  body  of  the  Uamnii,  originally  from 
Valentia,  Valence,  or  rather,  Valen- 
ciennes, who  had  previously  crossed 
into  Ireland  from  Galloway  or  Cantire, 
were  driven  out  by  some  disturbances, 
and  had  re-crossed  to  Britain,  where 
they  were  permitted  to  remain  {Ibid.), — 
and  "  marched "  on  the  west  with  the 
Damnonii,  or  men  of  Devon.  They 
were  connected  with  the  Firbolgs  (Viri 
Belga;)  in  Ireland.  The  Roman  name 
of  Winchester  was  Vcnta  Belgarum 
(Milner,  Hist,  of  Winchester). 

s  The  name  of  this  tribe  has  survived 
historically  in  that  of  Cassibclan.  It 
extended,  says  Lingard  (vol.  i.  p.  10), 
together  with  the  Dobuni,  "along  the 
left  bank  of  the  Thames,  from  the 
Severn  to  the  Trinobantes,"  who  were 
"  on  the  eastern  coast  of  the  island, 
between  the  Thames  and  the  Stour," 
their  capital  being  London. 

^  "Across  the  arm  of  the  sea,  now 
called  the  Bristol  Channel,  the  most 
powerful  was  the  tribe  of  the  Silures " 
(Lingard,  ut  sup.).  Silchester  {Siliirum 
Castra)  in  Hampshire,  remains  as  a  very 
perfect  specimen  of  a  Roman  town,  as 
far  as  the  circuit  of  walls  may  claim  the 
title  ;  and  in  that  respect  vies  with  the 
square  enclosure-walls  of  Richborough 


{Ruiupicr)  near  Ramsgate,  and  Burgh 
Castle  {GarianonuJii),  in  Suffolk. 

'^  The  Bollandists,  however,  seem  to 
prove  that  the  Saint  of  this  name  could 
not  have  consecrated  the  church  at  Toul 
earlier  than  the  time  of  Constantine. 
They  assert  that  he  flourished  in  the 
reign  of  that  Emperor  and  of  his  sons, 
and  died  about  the  year  375.  S.  Gerard, 
Bishop  of  Toul,  translated  his  relics  in 
971,  and  founded  the  rich  monastery 
which  bears  his  name.  See  the  autho- 
rities given  by  Butler,  in  Sep.  4.  Gams 
{lit  sup.),  gives,  as  the  first  bishop  of 
Toul  {Tullum),  "S. Mansuetus  (Mansuy) 
Scotus,"  as  having  been  consecrated  in 
338,  and  dying  in  375;  which  corres- 
ponds in  all  particulars  with  the  Bol- 
landist  writer. 

*  Cressy's  Church.  Hist.  pp.  12,  13. 
Another  Briton,  afterwards  consecrated 
to  a  Gallic  see,  was  S.  Marcellus,  of 
whom  the  Eui^lish  Marty ro I.  (Sep.  4) 
says,  that  "  he  gathered  into  a  flock  the 
remainder  of  those  who  had  been  con- 
verted by  S.  Joseph  of  Arimatha^a  and 
his  companions;  confirming  them  in  the 
same  faith."  After  apostolic  labours  in 
Britain,  he  was  consecrated  bishop  of 
the  united  sees  of  Tongres  and  Treves, 
during  the  pontificate  of  S.  Pius  I.,  and 
the  last  years  of  the  reign  of  Antoninus 
Pius.      His   martyrdom   took   place   in 


A.D.    50   (45).      A.U.C.    801.      CLAUDII    8.  57 


SEVENTEENTH   YEAR. 

A.D.    50   (45).       A.U.C.   801.       CLAUDII   8. 

While  SS.  Paul  and  Barnabas  are  labouring  in  the  work  of  the 
Gospel  at  Antioch,  S.  Peter,  in  Rome,  lays  the  foundations  of  that 
Church  whose  faith  should  be  "spoken  of  in  the  whole  world." ^  He 
consecrates  bishops,  and  sends  apostolic  labourers  to  gather-in  and 
feed  the  flock  in  various  parts.  Among  these  were  S.  Romulus, 
whom  the  Apostle  sent  to  Fiesoli ;  S.  Prosdocimus,  whom  he  conse- 
crated the  first  Bishop  of  Padua;  S.  Clateas,  Bishop  of  Brixen, 
martyred  under  Nero ;  and  perhaps  S.  Patrobas,  made  Bishop  of 
Naples,  or  Puteoli.^  Among  his  spiritual  children  was  S.  Plautilla,^ 
and  probably  S.  Hermas,*  reputed  author  of  the  "Pastor." 

S.  Apollinaris  was  probably  consecrated  to  the  See  of  Ravenna 
nine  or  ten  years  later. 

Ostorius  Scapula  succeeds  Aulus  Plautius  in  the  command  of 
Britain.  "The  reduced  tribes  were  gradually  moulded  into  the  form 
of  a  Roman  province;  and  when  the  Iceni  dared  to  refuse  the  yoke, 
their  rebellion  was  severely  punished,  and  a  colony  of  veterans  was 
planted  at  Camalodunum  to  insure  their  obedience."^  Caradoc 
(Caractacus)  and  bis  Silures  being  defeated  at  Caer-Caradoc  in 
Shropshire,  he  was  betrayed  to  the  Romans  by  his  step-mother, 
Cartismandua,  Queen  of  the  Brigantes.     Caradoc  and  his  family  were 

the   reign  of  Marcus  Aurelius  (Cressy,  S.   Patrobas  is  mentioned   in   the  text 

pp.   42,  43).     He  was  the  first  known  more  doubtfully,  because  he  may  have 

martyr  of  British  birth  :  the  honour  of  been  afterwards  converted  by    S.   Paul 

being   proto- martyr    in    Britain    being  (Rom.  xvi.  14). 

reserved  for  S.  Alban,  during  the  perse-  ^  Rom.  Martyrol.  May  20. 

cution  under  Diocletian,  the  first  that  *  Ibid.  May  9.    S.  Hernias,  according 

visited  this  island.  to  Blondel,  or  S.  Hermas  and  the  apolo- 
gist  Papias,    says    Dodwell,    composed 

^  Rom.  i.  8.  at  least  a  portion  of  what  are  known  as 

2  Ron.  Martyrol.  for  July  6,  Novem-  the  "  Sibylline  books." 

ber   7,  July  23,  June  4,   November  4.  ^  Lingard,  v.  i.  p.  25. 


58 


FASTI   ArOSTOLICI  :    KIGIITEENTII    VKAK. 


sent    in    chains    to     Romc,^    but    he 
Claudius,  and  afterwards,   perhaps, 
part    of  Britain." 


was    restored    to    liberty   by 
invested    with   authority   over  a 


EIGHTEENTH    YEAR. 

A.D.    51    (46).       A.U.C.    802.       CLAUDII   9. 

Claudius  expels  from  Rome  all  who  were  of  the  Jewish  race;^  on 
account,  says  Suetonius,  of  their  frequent  tumult  with  the  Christians." 
This  edict  included  all  Christians  of  the  Jewish  race,  as  Aquila  and 
his  wife  Priscilla  ;  who  therefore  retired  to  Corinth,  where  they  met 
with  S.  Paul  the  following  year. 

S.  Mark  departs  for  Alexandria,  having  been  consecrated  its  first 
bishop  by  S.  Peter.^ 


^  Tacit.  Agric.  14. 

"  "The  supposition  is  confirmed  by 
the  similarity  of  the  two  names,  and  is 
little  affected  by  the  unsupported  asser- 
tion of  Dio,  that  Togidumnus  had  fallen 
at^  Caer-Caradoc.  Whatever  was  the 
case,  history  speaks  no  more  of  the 
heroic  brothers"  (Flanagan's  Manual  of 
British  and  Irish  History,  p.  10). 

*  Acts  .wiii.  2,  Thus  "  repressing  for 
the  moment,"  according  to  Tacitus 
{Aiinal.  XV.  44),  the  exitiabilis  siipcr- 
stitio  of  Christianity,  or  at  least  freeing 
the  City  from  it  (Cf.  ad  ann  66,  infra, 
note). 

-  "  In  consequence  of  seditions,  that 
had  for  their  instigator  one  Chrestus" 
(Suet.  Claud,  xxv.).  The  Name  of  our 
Lord  was  frequently  thus  pronounced 
and  written  by  the  Pagans  ;  whether  by 
error,  or  as  a  play  on  the  word  {xpvo-rhs) 
as  implying  that  His  followers,  "the 
Chreestians"  were,  as  the  modern  phrase 
goes,  '"good  poor  creatures,"  or  rather, 
simpletons.  Pliny  {Epist.  cix.  ad  TraJ.), 
Lucian  (Jn  Philop.).  Brotier,  how^cver, 
in  his  edition  of  Tacitus  (AW.  ad  Annal. 


XV.  44),  interprets  this  passage  of  Sueto- 
nius as  referring,  not  to  our  Divine  Lord, 
but  to  a  Jew  named  Chrestos,  the  author 
of  a  sedition  in  Rome  {impulsore 
direst d).  The  name,  he  says,  was  not 
an  uncommon  one,  both  among  Greeks 
and  Romans  (crj7//;v7.  note  3, ad  .A.D.  42.) 
'•'  .S.  Leo  writes  to  Dioscorus,  Bishop 
of  Alexandria  :  "As  the  most  blessed 
Peter  received  the  Apostolic  primacy 
from  the  Lord,  and  the  Roman  Church 
continues  in  his  ordinances,  it  is  criminal 
to  believe  that  his  holy  disciple,  Mark, 
who  was  the  first  that  governed  the 
Church  of  Alexandria,  formed  decrees 
by  other  rules  of  his  own  traditions  ; 
for  doubtless  the  spirit  of  the  disciple 
and  of  his  master  was  from  the  same 
source  of  grace  ;  nor  could  the  ordained 
transmit  anything  beside  what  he  re- 
ceived from  who  ordained  him"  (S.  Leo 
Papa  ad  Diosconnu  Epist.  Alex- 
andra. Thcodorct  wrote:  "This  man 
(Dioscorus)  brings  forward  at  every  turn 
that  his  is  tlie  throne  of  Mark  ;  yet  he 
knows  well,  that  the  great  city  of  Antioch 
has  the  throne  of  Peter,  who  was  both 
the  teacher  of  Mark,  and  the  first  and 


A.D.    51    (46).      A.U.C.    802.      CLAUDII   9.  59 

S.  Peter  also  left  Rome,  and  returned  to  Jerusalem,  where  he 
presided  at  the  First  General  Council,  on  the  question,  how  far 
Christians  were  to  observe  the  Jewish  law.  For  some  judaizing 
disciples  had  gone  down  from  Judrea  to  Antioch,  and  asserted  the 
necessity  of  such  observance.  "  And  when  Paul  and  Barnabas  had 
no  small  contest  with  them,  they  determined'^  that  Paul  and  Barnabas, 
and  certain  of  the  other  side,  should  go  up  to  the  Apostles^  and 
priests  to  Jerusalem,  about  this  question." ° 

The  only  Apostles  now  in  the  Holy  City  were  probably  SS.  Peter, 
James,  and  John."  This  was  S.  Paul's  third  visit  to  Jerusalem,^ 
fourteen  years  after  his  conversion,  as  seems  the  most  probable 
opinion. 

"And  the  Apostles,"  SS.  Peter,  Paul,  John,  and  James  the  Less, 
"and  ancients,  assembled  to  consider  of  this  matter,"  under  the 
presidency  of  S.  Peter,  who,  after  much  discussion,  reminded  the 
Council  of  the  special  mission  he  had  received  from  the  first,  that 
by  his  mouth  the  Gentiles  should  hear  the  word  of  the  Gospel,  and 
believe.  "Now,  therefore,"  he  exhorted,  "why  tempt  you  God,  to  put 
a  yoke  upon  the  necks  of  the  disciples,  which  neither  our  fathers 
nor  we  have  been  able  to  bear.^*"^  The  Council  then  listened  to 
the  report  given  by  SS.  Paul  and  Barnabas,  of  the  wonders  which 
"  God  had  wrought  among  the  Gentiles  by  them."     S.  James,  Bishop 

coryphaeus  of  the  choir  of  the  Apostles"  "  Acts  xv.  i,  2.     S.  Paul  took  S.Titus 

(t.  iv.  Ep.  86  ad  Flavia,i.).  with  huTi  to  Jerusalem  (Gal.  ii.  i). 

*  S.  Paul  says  (Gal.  ii.  2)  that  he  went  ''  Gal.  ii.  9,  Baronius  /;/  loc. 

up  to  Jerusalem  by  revelation.  *  For  the  two  previous  ones,  see  Acts 

■^  Theodoret,   of  the    Greek   Church,  ix.  26,  xi.  30,  and  for  the  two  subsequent 

writing  in  the  fifth  century  to  S.  Leo,  ones,  xviii.  22,  and  xxi.  17.  This  present 

says  :    "  If    Paul,    that    herald   of    the  visit,    on   occasion   of  the    Council,   is 

truth,  that  trumpet  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  referred  to  by  S.   Paul   (Gal.   ii.  i),  as 

repaired  to  Peter,  to  bring  from  him  an  being  after  an  interval  of  fourteen  years 

explanation   to   those   of  Antioch,  who  from  his  first  visit  (Acts  ix.  26),  which 

were  disputing  concerning  questions  of  he  had  mentioned  seven  verses  before  ; 

the  law  ;  with  much  greater  reason  do  or,  as  others  say,  from  his  conversion, 

we  hasten  to  your  Apostolic  throne,  to  The  years   are   to   be   reckoned   inclu- 

receive  from  you  a  cure  for  the  wounds  sively,  by  the  Jewish  method,  and  may 

of  the  Churches.     For  it  pertains  to  you  thus  be  really  thirteen,  or  even  twelve, 

to  hold  the  primacy  in  all  things"  {Eptst.  The  passage,  however,  is  not  free  from 

iv.  13).  difficulty.            ^  Acts  xv.  10. 


6o  FASTI   ArOSTOLICI  :    KIGIITEENTII   VLAR. 

of  Jerusalem,  also  gave  his  judgment  on  the  side  of  liberation  from 
Jewish  observances.  Finally,  the  Council  sent  a  letter  "  to  the 
brethren  of  the  Gentiles  that  are  at  Antioch,  and  in  Syria,  and 
Cilicia,  greeting."  It  was  sent  by  SS.  Paul,  Barnabas,  Judas  Bar- 
sabas,  and  Silas  or  Silvanus.^°  The  Jewish  law  was  declared  no 
longer  binding  :  observance  of  the  moral  law,  and  abstinence  from 
eating  blood ^^  and  from  things  sacrificed  to  idols,  sufficed.  "It  hath 
seemed  good,"  was  the  expression  of  the  infallible  Church,  "  to  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  to  us,^^  to  lay  no  further  burden  upon  you  than 
these  necessary  things." 

The  Apostolic  envoys  returned  to  Antioch,  "and  gathering 
together  the  multitude,  delivered  the  epistle :  which,  when  they  had 
read,  they  rejoiced  for  the  consolation,"  or  exhortation.  Judas 
Barsabas  then  returned  to  Jerusalem  ;  but  S.  Silas  remained  in 
Antioch,  with  SS.  Paul  and  Barnabas. 

Shortly  after  this,  S.  Peter  also  visited  Antioch,  his  former  See. 
Acting  on  the  decision  of  the  late  Council,  he  ate  with  the  converted 
Gentiles  ;  but  on  the  arrival  of  some  convert  Jews  from  Jerusalem, 
he  withdrew  again  from  that  act  of  communion,  for  fear  of  shocking 
these  Jewish  neophytes.  His  example  influenced  S.  Barnabas  and 
the  other  Jewish  converts  at  Antioch  ;^'^  and  he  was  publicly  repre- 
hended by  S.  Paul.^* 

10  The   two    last-named   were  gifted  ^*  "  The   weakness  of  the   Galatians 

with    prophecy    (Acts   xv.    32),   as  the  forces  him  [S.  Paul]  to  state  not  only 

others  appear  to  have  been.  Silas  was  a  that  the  other  Apostles  had  not  aided 

Roman  citizen  (xvi.  37).  him  in  anything,  and  that  he  had  not 

1'  Tertull.   {A/>o/.  ix.)    vindicates  the  been  less  than  they,  but  that  he  had 

Christians  from  the  charge  of  Thyestian  corrected  something  in  Peter,  who  was 

banquets,  by  saying  that  they  abstained  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles  "  (Sedulius, 

altogether  even  from  the  blood  of  ani-  Collect,  in  Ep.  ad  Gal.  c.  2,  Bibl.  Max. 

mals.     The  same  prohibition  was  con-  6"J>'.  PF.  t.  vi.  p.  557).     St.  Peter's  fault 

tinued,    Canon.    Apost.    Ixiii.,     Concil.  (if,  indeed,  he  was  the  "  Cephas  "  whom 

Gangr.    ii.  (a.d.  370),  2    Concil.   Trail.  S.  Paul  reproved),  was  one  of  indecision 

Constantin.  Ixvii.  (a.u.  691).  in  conduct,  and  no  more  aftected   his 

1-  Acts  XV.   28.       Compare    S.    Luke  infallibility   than  the  conduct  of  Pope 

X.   16,   I  Thess.  iv.   11,  13.     Hence  the  Honorius  afterwards  (cf.  Y^s\\\xs  in  loc). 

usual  form  of  a  Concihar  decree:  "Ha^c  "  Convcrsationis  fuit  vitium,  non  pra:di- 

sancta  synodus,  in  Spiritu   Sancto  legi-  cationis  ;    non   enim    dc    pnisdicatione, 

time  congregata,  decernit,  etc."  sed  de  conversatione  notabatur  a  Paulo 

"  Gal.  ii.  13.  ob  inconstantiam  victijs,  quem  variabat 


A.D,    51    (46).      A.U.C.    802.      CLAUDII   9. 


61 


SS.  PauP^  and  Barnabas  now  finally  separated.^''  The  latter  took 
with  him  his  nephew,  John  Mark  (who  seems  to  have  accompanied 
them  again  from  Jerusalem  to  Antioch),  and  went  to  his  native 
Cyprus.^"  He  is  said  to  have  passed  into  Italy,  evangelized  Liguria, 
and  established  the  Church  in  Milan.^^  Finally,  he  returned  to 
Cyprus,  and  gained  his  crown  by  a  glorious  martyrdom.^^ 


pro  qualitate  personarum "  (Tertull. 
C.  Ma7xioii.  lib.  4). 

On  the  whole  subject,  and  (i)  whether 
the  Cephas  here  reproved  was  S.  Peter, 
(2)  how  far  the  reproof  can  be  adduced 
in  diminution  of  the  authority  of  the 
Prince  of  the  Apostles,  see  a  tripartite 
volume  printed  at  Venice,  containing 
{a)  QiicstioHC  difatto,  se  il  Ccfa  riprcso 
da  S.  Paolo,  etc.,  by  Girol.  Costantini, 
1763  ;  ib)  Harduin,  Cepham  a  Paulo 
reprchcnsiini  Petravi  non  esse;  {c)  a 
translation,  both  in  Latin  and  in  Italian, 
of  a  Dissertation  of  Calmet's,  prefixed  to 
S.  Paul  to  the  Galatians,  1755.  "Both 
these  Apostles  received  keys  from  the 
Lord  ;  the  latter  (S.  Paul)  of  knowledge, 
the  former  of  power  ;  Peter  dispenses 
the  riches  of  immortality,  Paul  bestows 
the  treasures  of  knowledge.  They  there- 
fore tower  above  all  the  rest  of  the 
Apostles,  and  excel  them  by  a  kind  of 
special  prerogative.  But  which  of  the 
two  is  to  be  preferred  before  the  other, 
is  uncertain  ;  for  1  think  them  equal  in 
merits,  for  they  are  equal  in  their 
passion,  &c."  (S.  Maximus,  Bishop  of 
Turin,  Horn.  v.  In  natal.  BB.  App.  P.  et  P. 
t.  \'i.,  Bibl.  Maxim.  SS.  PP.  p.  36).  The 
holy  writer  is  not  comparing  them  as  to 
supremacy  of  jurisdiction,  but  as  to 
sanctity,  merits,  and  infused  knowledge. 
For  the  contrast  of  the  two  Apostles  in 
personal  appearance,  see  Appendix  M. 

1^  Some  have  supposed  S.  Paul  to 
have  been  at  his  native  Tarsus,  at  the 
beginning  both  of  his  second  and  third 
Apostolic  journeys. 

^•^  On  the  question  of  taking  with  them 
John  Mark,  who  had  left  them  before. 


"  Paulus  severior,  Barnabas  clementior  " 
(S.  Jerome,  adv.  Pelag.  ii.  6.  See  S. 
Chrys.  Horn,  xxxiv.  i).  This  event  was 
providential,  for  the  wider  diffusion  of 
the  w'ord  of  life.  So  S.  Chrysostom 
says  that  our  Lord,  by  His  words  to 
S.  Peter  (S.  John  xxi.  22),  intended  to 
repress  his  affectionate  wish  to  remain 
near  the  beloved  disciple.  "  For  since 
they  [the  Apostles]  were  to  be  charged 
with  the  care  of  the  habitable  globe,  it 
was  not  expedient  that  they  should 
remain  any  longer  together,  which  would 
have  been  a  great  loss  to  the  world " 
(Hom.  35  in  JoJia)in.  ci?-ca  7ned.).  So 
here.  "  Id  factum  est  nutu  Dei,  ut  sepa- 
rati  diversis  et  pluribus  evangelizarent, 
ait  S.  Chrysostomus"  (C.  a  Lap.  in  loc). 

^"  John  Mark,  notwithstanding  his 
fonner  conduct  (xiii.  13,  cf.  xv.  37-39), 
was  afterwards  received  into  favour  by 
S.  Paul  (Col.  iv.  10;  2  Tim.  iv.  11), 
who  also  recommended  him  to  the 
faithful  in  Colosse,  and  approved  of  him 
as  "  useful  "  to  him  "  for  the  ministry." 

^^  This,  says  Baronius,  is  attested  by 
distinct  tradition,  the  ecclesiastical 
archives  of  Milan,  and  the  testimony  of 
several  writers. 

^3  Rom.  Mart.  June  4.  The  bishop 
Anthemius  found  his  body  at  Salamis, 
by  the  Apostle's  own  supernatural  indi- 
cation, in  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Zeno, 
A.D.  485,  with  a  copy  of  the  Gospel  of 
S.  Matthew,  transcribed  by  himself. 
Baronius  gives  an  account  of  the  trans- 
lation of  the  relics.  The  successor  of 
S.  Barnabas  in  the  see  of  Salamis 
(afterwards  Constantia)  was  S.  Aristion, 
one    of    the    seventy  disciples  ;    then 


62  FASTI   APOSTOLICl  :    lilGIlTEKNTlI    YEAR. 

Meanwhile,  S.  Paul  commences  his  Second  Apostoh'c  Journey. 

Taking  with  him  S.  Silas,  he  "went  through  Syria  and  Cilicia, 
confirming  the  Churches,  commanding  them  to  keep  the  precepts  of 
the  Apostles  and  ancients."  -^  They  came  to  Derbe  and  Lystra,  in 
one  of  which  cities  S.  Paul  seems  to  have  found  again  his  former 
convert,  Timothy,-^  who  was  a  native  of  Lystra.  He  was  the  son  of 
a  devout  woman,  Eunice,  herself,  as  also  her  mother,  Lois,'^-  a  convert 
from  Judaism.  The  Apostle  chose  S.  Timotheus  as  a  fellow-labourer; 
circumcised  him,  to  conciliate  the  Jews,  who  knew  his  father  to  be  a 
Gentile ;  then  passed  with  his  three  companions  through  Phrygia,-^ 
perhaps  visiting  Colossae  ;  and  through  the  Galatai,  Keltas,  or  Gauls,-* 
probably  making  for  Ephesus,  Smyrna,  Pergamus! 

But  the  Divine  Spirit  indicating  another  direction,  they  passed 
through  Mysia,  and  went  down  to  Troas,^^  where  S.  Paul  had  a 
vision,'"^^  assuring  him  that  God  had  called  him  to  preach  the  Gospel 
in  Macedonia.  Thus  he  was  now  to  pass  from  the  East  into  Europe,^'^ 
where  his  final  triumph  awaited  him.  At  this  point,  he  took  S.  Luke 
also  with  him,-*^  probably  at  once  on  S.  Luke's  conversion-^  from 
paganism. 

S.    Heraclius    succeeded  ;     then,    after  but     afterwards     occupied     by    Gauls. 

Gclasius,  came   S.   Epiphanius,   conse-  During  his  sojourn  in  Galatia,  S.  Paul 

crated  a.d.  403.  On  the  Epistle  ascribed  was  visited  by  sickness  (Gal.  iv.  13,  14), 

to  S.  Barnabas,  see  Appendix  N.  -''  The  coast  city  in  Mysia,  opposite 

-"  Acts    xv.  40,   41.      Especially   the  the  S.E.  extremity  of  Tenedos.     Julius 

decrees  of  the  recent  Council  of  Jeru-  Caesar  had   thought   of  making   it   the 

salem.  capital   of    his    Empire.       Constantine 

->   I  Tim.  I,  2  ;  2  Tim.  i,  2  ;  Cf.  iii.  10,  began  building  there,  before  he  decided 

II.  During  the  interval  between  S.  Paul's  on  Byzantium. 

two  visits  to   Lystra,   S.   Timothy  had  ^^  Acts  xvi.  9.      It  partly  resembled 

won  a  good  report  from  the  Churches  that  by  which  S.  Patrick  was  directed 

both  of  Lystra  and  Iconium  (Acts  xvi.  2)  to  evangelize  Ireland. 

His   being  still  uncircumcised  was  no  -"  Infra,  ad  A.  11.  57,  note, 

stumbling-block,   in   places   where    the  -^  W'clearn  this,  simply  from  S.  Luke's 

Gentile  element  largely  prevailed.  sclf-forgclting   and  unobtrusive  change 

-"-  2  Tim.  i.  5.  of  the  third  into  the  first  person  plural  : 

-•'  Multitudes  of  the  Jews  were  settled  compare  Acts  xvi.  8,  with  v.  11. 

here   in    the   time   of  the    Machabees.  ''■'■*  It  is  uncertain  at  what  time  S.  Luke 

Two   thousand  families  of  Babylonian  had  the  privilege  of  making  the  portrait 

Jews     settled     in     the     country    (Jost,  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  which  Niccphorus 

Geschic/it,  Sec,  i.  349).  more  than  once  {H/s/.  vi.  16,  xiv.  2  (?) 

-^  Originally  inhabited  by  Phrygians,  affirms  to  have  been  venerated  in  Con- 


A.D.    51    (46).      A.U.C.   802.      CLAUDII   9. 


63 


Sailing  from  Troas,  they  came  to  the  island  of  Samothracia,  and 
thence  to  Neapolis  and  Philippi.  At  this  latter  place,  I.ydia,^*'  a  native 
of  Thyatira,^^  was  converted,  and  an  evil  spirit  of  divination  was  cast 
out^-  of  a  damsel,  whose  masters,  enraged  at  losing  the  gains  she  had 
brought,  denounced  them  to  the  magistrates.^^  These  caused  SS. 
Paul  and  Silas^*  to  be  severely  scourged,^^  and  cast  into  prison.  Their 
feet  were  "  made  fast  in  the  stocks."  ^^  At  midnight,  while  they  were 
engaged  in  prayer  and  praise,  an  earthquake  opened  the  prison 
doors  :  the  gaoler  and  all  his  house  were  thereby  converted.  The  two 
Apostolic  sufferers  declared  their  privilege  as  Roman  citizens,^"  which 
made  the  magistrates  fear  the  consequences  of  their  ill-treatment ; 
"and  coming,  they  besought  them;  and  bringing  them  out,  they 
desired  them  to  depart  out  of  the  city."  Rejoining,  therefore,  their 
other  companions,  SS.  Timotheus  and  Luke,^^  they  passed  through 
Amphipolis  and  Apollonia  to  Thessalonica.^^ 


stanlinople  down  to  the  time  of  S.  Pul- 
cheria,  together  with  those  of  SS.  Peter 
and  Paul,  which  were  hkewise  from  the 
pencil  of  the  Evangelist. 

^°  She  was  perhaps  the  "sincere  com- 
panion," whom  the  Apostle  exhorted 
(Phil.  iv.  3),  to  help  the  women  who  had 
aided  him  in  his  work.  Others  suppose 
Epaphroditus,  who  may  have  been 
exhorted  to  help  Lydia. 

^^  Thus,  though  they  were  "  forbidden 
to  preach  the  word  in  Asia,"  their  first 
convert  in  Philippi  was  an  Asiatic.  Lydia 
would  doubtless  carry  the  Gospel  home 
to  Thyatira,  which  became  one  of  the 
Seven    Churches     of    Asia    (Apoc.     ii. 

^-  Perhaps  the  first  time  when  S.  Paul 
had  exercised  his  power  over  evil  spirits. 

33  (TTpaTriynl,  a  military  command,  as 
Philippi  was  a  Roman  Coloiiia. 

-^■*  SS.  Timotheus  and  Luke  seem  not 
to  have  been  present  ;  they  had  probably 
remained  in  the  house  of  Lydia,  to 
instruct  any  who  came  to  them  (cf. 
xvi.  40). 

3^  The  Apostle  refers  to  this  "shame- 


ful treatment ''  in  writing  afterwards  to 
his  Thessalonian  converts  (i  Thess.  ii. 
I,  2).  It  was  one  of  the  three  occasions 
when  he  was  "  beaten  with  rods,"  z>., 
those  of  the  lictors  (2  Cor.  xi.  25). 

•■^"  Psalm  civ.  18.  "Nihil  crus  sentit 
in  nervo,  quum  animus  in  caelo  est." 
Tertull.  ad  Martyres^  c.  2,  vol.  i.  p.  623. 

3"  Cf.  Cicero,  if.  F^rr.  v.  62,  63 ,  66.  Pro 
Rabirio,  3. 

""^  S.  Luke  (contracted  from  Lucanus, 
as  Silas  from  Silvanus),  "  the  most  dear 
physician"  (Coloss.  iv.  14  ;  cf  2  Tim.  iv. 
11),  was  certainly  with  S.  Paul  at  Troas, 
and  went  with  him  to  Philippi  ;  for  he 
uses,  for  the  first  time,  the  first  person 
plural  in  describing  what  took  place  in 
those  cities.  Thenceforward,  again,  "  he 
drops  the  style  of  an  eye-witness  and 
resumes  that  of  a  historian,"  until  Acts 
XX.  4-6,  when,  seven  years  after,  he  once 
more  accompanied  S.  Paul  from  Philippi 
to  Troas,  and  so  continued  with  him  on 
his  voyage  to  Rome,  where  he  appears 
to  have  been  long  the  Apostle's  support 
in  his  persecutions  (2  Tim.  iv.  11). 
Eusebius,  H.  /T.,  iii.  4,  and  S.  Jerome, 


64 


FASTI   ArOSTOLlCI  :     EIGHTEENTH   YEAR. 


Here  they  converted  many ;  and  thus  stirred  up  the  hatred  of  the 
Jews,  who  tumultuously  besieged  the  house  of  Jason,*''  where  the 
Apostles  were  staying.  SS.  Paul  and  Silas,  however,  escaped  by 
night  to  Beroea,  and  preached  in  the  synagogue  ;  finding  the  Jews 
there  more  earnest^^  in  listening,  and  searching  the  Old  Testament 
to  try  this  new  doctrine  by  what  they  knew  to  be  Divine  revelation. 
The  unbelieving  Jews  from  Thcssalonica  soon  "came  thither  also, 
stirring  up  and  troubling  the  multitude.^-  And  then  immediately 
the  brethren  sent  away  Paul,  to  go  unto  the  sea,  but  Silas  and 
Timotheus  remained  there."  They  were  soon  enjoined  by  the 
Apostle  to  come  to  him  at  Athens,  whither  he  had  preceded  them. 
Eventually,  however,  he  sent  S.  Timothy,  and  probably  S.  Silas,  from 
Athens'*^  to  Thcssalonica  again,"*^  and  was  not  rejoined  by  them  until 
he  had  reached  Corinth.''' 


De  Script.  Ecd.  7,  say  that  he  was  a 
native  of  Antioch. 

3''  It  was  at  this  time  the  capital  of 
the  province  of  Macedonia,  which  from 
an  imperial  had  become  a  senatorial 
province.  Cassander  gave  it  the  name 
on  rebuilding  it,  in  honour  of  his  wife 
Thessalonica,  sister  of  Alexander  the 
Great  (Strabo,  lib.  vii.  10). 

■•^  Perhaps  an  Hellenistic  Jew,  whose 
original  name  Josue  was  thus  gra^cised. 
Cf.  I  Mac.  viii.  17  ;  2  Mac.  ii.  23.  He 
may  have  been  that  kinsman  of  S.  Paul, 
mentioned  by  him,  Rom.  xvi.  21.  He  is 
said  to  have  become  Bishop  of  Tarsus. 

*i  (vyeveffTfpoi  (Acts  xvii.  ii),  more 
free  from  narrow  Jewish  prejudice,  more 
really  desirous  of  arriving  at  the  truth. 
It  need  hardly  be  pointed  out  that  this 
often-quoted  text  affords  no  ground  for 
the  boasted  "  right  of  private  judgment" 
n//cr  the  faith  has  been  sufficiently  pro- 
pounded. The  Berocans  used  the  law 
and  the  prophets  to  find  "  Him  of  Whom 
Moses  in  the  law  and  the  prophets 
wrote,"  and  to  test  the  new  doctrine, 
then    first    proclaimed,    by   what    the 


true  Church  of  a  former  day  had  pro- 
pounded as  Divine  revelation. 

••-  This  would  have  reminded  S.  Paul 
of  his  own  former  conduct  (Cf.  Acts 
xiv.  19  with  xxvi.  11). 

''  "  In  order  to  understand  the  [Athe- 
nian] localities  mentioned  in  the  sacred 
narrative,  it  may  be  observed  that  four 
hills  of  moderate  height  rise  within  the 
walls  of  the  city.  Of  these,  one  to  the 
N.E.  is  the  celebrated  Acropolis,  or 
citadel,  being  a  square  craggy  rock, 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high. 
Immediately  to  the  W.  of  the  Acropolis 
is  a  second  hill  of  irregular  form,  but 
inferior  height,  called  the  Areopagus. 
To  the  S.W.  rises  a  third  hill,  the  Pnyx, 
on  which  the  assemblies  of  the  citizens 
were  held  ;  and  to  the  S.  of  the  latter 
is  a  fourth  hill,  known  as  the  Musa^um. 
The  agora,  or  '  market-place,'  where 
S.  Paul  disputed  daily,  was  situated  in 
the  valley,"  partly  inclosed  by  these  four 
hills. 

^'  I  Thess.  iii.  i, 

^■'  Acts  xviii.  5. 


A.D.    52   (47)-      A.U.C.   803.      CLAUDII 


65 


NINETEENTH    YEAR. 

A.D,    52    (47).      A.U.C.   803.      CLAUDII    lO. 

While  S.  Paul  awaited  them  at  Athens,  "his  spirit  was  stirred 
within  him,  seeing  the  city  wholly  given  to  idolatry.^  He  disputed, 
therefore,  in  the  synagogue  with  the  Jews  and  with  them  that  served 
God,  and  in  the  agora  every  day  with  them  that  were  there."  The 
attention  thus  roused  among  the  populace  reached  to  the  philosophers, 
the  Epicureans^  and  Stoics  f  who,  conceiving  from  his  mention  of 
Anastasis  (Resurrection)  as  well  as  of  our  Lord,  that  he  was  "  a  setter 
forth  of  new  gods,"^  invited  him  to  plead  his  cause  before  the  highest 
tribunal,  the  Areopagus.    Here,  facing  the  Parthenon,  and  the  colossal 


^  Pliny  says,  there  were  three  thousand 
statues  of  gods  worshipped  in  Athens  at 
this  time;  reckoning  only  those  which 
stood  in  public  places.  Pausanias  {A idea, 
xvii.  24)  says,  there  was  no  place  where 
so  many  were  to  be  seen.  Petronius 
{Sat.  xvii.)  declares  that  it  was  easier  to 
find  gods  than  men  in  Athens.  Xeno- 
phon,  De  Repub.  Aih.,  p.  699,  says  that 
the  city  was  "  one  altar,  one  smoke  of 
incense  and  sacrifice,  one  holocaust  to 
the  gods."  Josephus  also  {co?ii?-a  Apio7i. 
i.  12)  calls  the  Athenians  roxis  eua-e^eard- 
Tovs  Twv  'EW-fivcoy. 

^  From  Greece,  the  Epicurean  doc- 
trines had  very  naturally  penetrated  to 
Rome.  "  The  rich  and  polite  Italians, 
who  had  almost  universally  embraced 
the  philosophy  of  Epicurus,  enjoyed  the 
present  blessings  of  ease  and  tranquillity, 
and  suffered  not  the  pleasing  dream  to 
be  interrupted  by  the  memory  of  their 
old  tumultuous  freedom"  (Gibbon,  vol.  i. 
c.  ii.  p.  96).  The  "Garden" of  Epicurus 
became  a  term  to  designate  his  followers, 
like  the  "  Porch  "  of  Zeno  (Juvenal,  Sat. 
xiii.  72,  xiv.  319).     Cf.  Middleton's  Lt/e 


of  Cicero  (sec.  vii.).  Epicurus  left  this 
garden  to  his  school,  on  condition  that 
philosophy  should  always  be  taught 
there,  and  that  they  should  make  an 
annual  commemoration  of  himself 

3  "  The  Stoa  Pcecile,  or  "  Painted 
Cloister"  (Porch)  gave  its  name  to  one 
of  those  sects  who  encountered  the 
Apostle  in  the  Agora.  It  was  decorated 
with  pictures  of  the  legendary  wars  of 
the  Athenians,  of  their  victories  over 
their  fellow-Greeks,  and  of  the  more 
glorious  struggle  at  Marathon.  Origi- 
nally the  meeting-place  of  the  poets,  it 
became  the  school  where  Zeno  met  his 
pupils,  and  founded  the  system  of  stern 
philosophy  which  found  adherents  both 
among  Greeks  and  Romans,  for  many 
generations." 

*  It  was  one  of  the  charges  on  which 
Socrates  had  been  put  to  death  ;  Kaivh. 
SaLiJ.6vta  il(x<p(peiv.  Compare  Cicero's  quo- 
tation {De  Legibus,  ii.  8)  from  the  Laws 
of  the  Twelve  Tables  :  "Separatim  nemo 
habesset  deos,  neve  novos,  sed  ne  adve- 
nas,  nisi  publice  adscitos,  privatim 
colunto." 


€6 


FASTI   APOSTOLICI  :    NINETEENTH   YEAR. 


bronze  statue  of  Athene  (Minerva)  Promachos,  or  "Defendress"  of 
the  City,^  the  Apostle  proclaimed  °  the  spirituality  of  the  Godhead, 
who  "dwelleth  not  in  temples  made  with  hands,"^  nor  is  "like  unto 
gold,  or  silver,  or  stone,  the  graving  of  art  and  device  of  man."^  He 
came  to  announce  to  them  no  Sai/xoviop,  such  as  Socrates  had  taught, 
but  the  True  God,  whom  they  were  "  feeling  after,"  as  was  proved  by 
the  altar  he  had  seen  among  them,  dedicated  to  a  God  unknown.^ 
Man,  he  urged,  is  the  son  of  the  Most  High,  as  their  own  poets  had 
declared  ;'^  and  he  ought,  therefore,  to  have  worthier  thoughts  of  his 


^  It  was  placed  on  high  before  him, 
at  a  distance  of  two  hundred  yards. 
This  statue  of  Athene  Promachos, 
which  remained  to  the  time  of  Alaric, 
was  the  masterpiece  of  Phidias.  It  stood 
full  twenty-six  cubits  in  height.  Another 
statue  to  Nemesis,  by  the  same  sculptor, 
was  formed  of  marble  brought  into 
Greece  by  Xerxes,  and  left  behind  in 
the  Persians'  disastrous  retreat.  Imme- 
diately under  the  rock  of  the  Areopagus 
stood'the  small  temple  of  the  Eumenides, 
the  tremendous  divinity  whose  power 
inspired  the  guilty  Nero  with  such 
dread,  that  he  avoided  the  projected 
visit  to  Athens  (Tacit.  Ann.  xvi.  53). 
He  shunned  the  Eleusinian  mysteries, 
and  the  city  of  Lycurgus,  for  a  similar 
reason  {Idut). 

"  '"Too  superstitious"  (Acts  xvii.  22), 
conveys  quite  an  inaccurate  view  of  the 
opening  of  S.  Paul's  address.  On  the 
contrary,  he  praises  his  hearers  as  being, 
more  than  others,  open  to  religious 
impressions ;  and,  on  the  basis  of  that 
acknowledgment,  goes  on  to  proclaim 
the  True  God,  Whom  they  worshipped, 
though  "  unknown  "  to  them.  "  The 
mistranslation  of  this  verse  .  .  is  much 
to  be  regretted  ;  because  it  entirely 
destroys  the  graceful  courtesy  of  S. 
Paul's  opening  address,  and  represents 
him  as  beginning  his  speech  by  offending 
his  audience." 

''  It  is  striking  to  hear  S.  Paul  use 
the  very  expression  which,  perhaps,  he 


had  caught  from  the  lips  of  his  former 
victim,  S.  Stephen,  (cf.  Acts  vii,  48) 
though  with  a  new  application.  So  the 
opening  of  his  address  at  Antioch,  in 
Pisidia  (xiii.  17,  &;c.),  is  very  like  that  of 
the  proto-martyr. 

-^  Cf.  Exod.  XX.  22,  23. 

'•*  Some  have  thought  the  altar  was 
erected  to  Him  whom  the  Jews  wor- 
shipped ;  and  that  this  title  was  given, 
because  His  incommunicable  Name  had 
never  been  made  known  to  them.  Cali- 
gula had  reviled  Philo  and  his  Jewish 
companions  because,  refusing  Divine 
honours  to  himself,  they  worshipped  the 
Un-named  (Philo,  Embassy^  xviii.).  But 
the  altar  was  more  probably  erected 
during  a  time  of  calamity,  to  the  power, 
whoever  it  might  be,  that  had  been 
offended,  and  had  sent  the  infliction. 
Altars  of  un-named  and  unknown  gods, 
in  the  plural,  are  spoken  of  by  Pausa- 
nias  {Attica,  iv.),  by  Philostratus,  {Life 
of  Apollon.  vi.  3),  by  Tertullian  {Ad 
Naiioncs,  ii.  8),  and  by  S.  Jerome  {in 
Jitum,  and  again,  in  Ezcch.)  S.  Aug. 
{De  Civ.  Dei,  iii.  12),  says,  "Deos  certos 
atque  incertos." 

1'^  Aratus  {Phccnomcn.),  and  Cleanthes, 
in  his  h)mn  to  Jupiter.  The  former 
poet  was  a  Cilician,  therefore  a  country- 
man of  S.  Paul.  The  argio/icntuin  ad 
Jioiiiineni  implied  in  this  quotation  would 
be  very  powerful  with  the  Athenians, 
devoted  as  they  were  to  the  exquisite 
poetry  of  their  own  native  tongue.     It 


A.D.   52    (47).      A.U.C.   803.      CLAUDII    10. 


67 


Divine  Author  and  Father,  the  Personal  Creator  and  Lord  of  all 
things,  man  himself  inclusive.  A  clearer  revelation  of  this  primary- 
truth  had  now  been  made  to  the  world,  and  a  call  given  to  repent- 
ance ;  inasmuch  as  a  general  Judgment  was  awaiting  all  men,  at  the 
hands  of  One  who  had  Himself  risen  again  from  the  dead.  This 
was  the  "Anastasis"  the  Apostle  came  to  preach;  not  a  goddess  of 
the  name,^^'but  a  rising  again  of  all  men  to  stand  at  the  bar  of 
Jesus,  "the  Resurrection  and  the  Life." 

The  mention  of  a  resurrection  caused  derisive  laughter  among 
the  audience,  interrupted  the  discourse,  and  broke  up  the  assembly.^- 
Some,  indeed,  like  Felix  afterwards,  courteously  promised  to  hear 
S.  Paul  again  at  a  "convenient  time,"  which,  probably,  never  came. 
The  only  recorded  converts  at  Athens  were  Dionysius,^^  a  member 


was  not  the  only  occasion  on  which  the 
Apostle  quotes  the  heathen  poets.  See 
Titus  i.  12,  where  the  quotation  is  a 
hexameter  from  Epimenides ;  and  i  Cor. 
XV.  23,  which  S.  Jerome  says  is  an 
iambic  trimeter  from  Menander. 

11  Some  of  the  objects  worshipped 
in  Athens  were  abstract  qualities.  "  As 
if  the  imagination  of  the  Attic  mind 
knew  no  bounds  in  this  direction, 
abstractions  were  deified  and  publicly 
honoured.  Altars  were  erected  to  Fame, 
to  Modesty,  to  Energy,  to  Persuasion, 
and  to  Pity.  This  last  altar  is  mentioned 
by  Pausanias  among  'the  objects  in  the 
Agora  which  are  not  understood  by  all 
men  ;  for  the  Athenians  alone  of  all  the 
Greeks  give  Divine  honour  to  Pity.' 
Cicero,  moreover,  mentions  a  temple  or 
altar  to  Contumely  ;  and  Plutarch  says 
that  in  the  temple  of  Minerva  Polias  in 
the  Acropolis,  there  was  an  altar  to 
Oblivion." 

^-  Cf.  Acts  xxvi.  24,  25. 

^•^  According  to  a  very  ancient  tradi- 
tion, S.  Dionysius  had  been  already 
prepared  to  receive  the  truth,  by  the 
preeternatural  darkness  at  the  Cruci- 
fixion, nineteen  years  before,  when  he 
was  twenty-nine  years  old  (Cf.  his  own 


epistle,  vii.,  translated  by  Scotus  Erigena 
from  the  original  Greek,  in  876).  He 
is  recorded  then  to  have  exclaimed : 
"  Either  the  God  of  natui-e  is  suffer- 
ing, or  the  frame  of  nature  itself 
is  being  dissolved."  Syncellus,  in  Laud. 
S.  Dioiiys.  gives  a  slightly  different 
version,  introducing  the  phrase,  "the 
unknown  God."  On  the  question 
whether  this  is  the  same  S.  Dionysius 
who  afterwards  evangelized  Gaul  and 
was  martyred  in  Paris,  see  the  Disser- 
tations prefixed  to  the  second  volume 
of  the  Celestial  Hierarchy^  &c.,  that 
goes  by  his  name,  ed.  Corder.  fol.  Paris, 
1644.  He  is  said  to  have  gone  from 
Athens  to  Rome,  accompanied  by  Satur- 
ninus,  Marcellus,  and  Lucianus,  to  vene- 
rate S.  Clement.  Thence  he  passed  to 
Aries,  and  from  that  place  sent  S. 
Marcellus  into  Spain,  and  S.  Saturninus 
into  Aquitaine  ;  proceeding  himself  to 
Paris,  with  SS.  Lucian,  Rusticus,  and 
Eleutherius.  S.  Lucian  was  here  de- 
tached for  the  city  of  the  Bellovaci, 
(Beauvais).  Paris  at  that  time  was  a 
small  city,  consisting  only  of  the  present 
Isle  de  Paris,  "but  full  of  gentile  error." 
Here  S.  Dionysius  is  said  to  have  been 
martyred,  in  the  reign  of  Adrian,  about 


68  FASTI   APOSTOLICI  :    NINETEENTH    YEAR. 

of  the  Court  of  Areopagus,  whom  the  Apostle  ordained  bishop  of 
the  place/^  a  woman  named  Damaris,  "and  others  with  them." 

S.  Paul  passed  from  Athens  to  Corinth/^  the  chief  mart  of  Grecian 
commerce,  the  residence  of  the  Roman  Governor  of  Achaia,  and  in 
direct  communication  with  Rome.  Here  he  met  with  Aquila,^*'  a 
man  of  Jewish  extraction,  native  of  Pontus,  who,  with  his  wife 
Priscilla,  had  been  expelled  from  Rome  by  the  edict  of  Claudius.^'^ 
They  were  either  Christians  already,  or  were  now  converted  by  S.  Paul; 
who  remained  Avith  them,  and  supported  himself  by  working ^^  at  the 
trade  of  tent-making.  The  Apostle  here  "  reasoned  in  the  synagogue 
every  Sabbath  .  .  and  persuaded  the  Jews  and  the  Greeks."  Mean- 
while, SS.  Timotheus  and  Silas  came  to  him  from  Macedonia.  His 
zeal  increased  under  the  Jews'  opposition  ;  which  became  so  vehement 
that  "  he  shook  his  garments,  and  said  to  them  :  '  Your  blood  be  upon 
your  own  heads :  I  am  clean  ;  from  henceforth  I  will  go  unto  the 
Gentiles.' "  Being  encouraged  by  a  vision  of  our  Lord,  he  stayed 
here  a  year  and  six  months,  "teaching  among  them  the  word  of 
God." 

Having  received  the  report  of  S.  Timotheus  from  Thessalonica, 
the  Apostle  wrote  the  First  of  the  two    Epistles  addressed  to  the 

A.D.   121,  and  in  the  iioth  of  his  age.  ^"  Aquila  and  Priscilla  probably  went 

The  martyrdom  is  said  to  have  taken  with  S.  Paul  from  Corinth  to  Ephesus, 

place  on  the  hill  near  Paris,  once  called  where  he  again  remained  in  their  house 

the   hill    of    Mercury,    afterwards    "of  (i  Cor.  xvi.  19).     It  became  a  place  of 

Martyrs,"  Avhich   title   (Montmartre)  it  assembly  for  the  faithful  {ibid.),  as  was 

still  retains.     Fescennius  was  Prefect  at  also  their  house  in  Rome  (Rom.  xvi.  3-5), 

the  time.     Compare  note  8,  ad  A.D.  35,  where   they  resided  when   the  Apostle 

and  Appendix  O.  wrote  to  the  Romans.     But  they  were 

^*  Euseb.  H.  E.  iii.  4,  iv.  23.    He  was  again  at  Ephesus  towards  the  close  of 

succeeded   in    the   see   by   S.    Publius,  S.  Paul's  life  (2  Tim.  iv.  19),  and  they 

Ro)ii.  Martyr.  Jan.  21.  died  "in  Asia  Minor"  {Ro/n.   Martyr. 

'^'•'  At    the    close    of    the     Republic,  July   8),     The    Greek   Menology  states 

Corinth   was   entirely   destroyed.      But  that   they   were    beheaded.     They  had 

Julius  Cssar  re-established  the  cily  on  both  risked  their  lives  in  devotedness  to 

the   isthmus,  in  the  form  of  a  colony,  S.  Paul  (Rom.  xvi.  4). 
and  the  mercantile  population  flockecl  ^'  Acts  xviii.  2. 

back  to  their  old  place  ;  so  that  Corinth  ^^  See  i   Cor.  ix.  12  ;  2  Cor.  xi.  9,  xii. 

rose    again    with    great    rapidity,    and  12,  13;   Ephes.  iv.  28;  i  Thess.  ii.  9; 

became  almost  the  second  city  of  the  2  Thess.  iii.  8,  10,  12. 
Roman  Empire. 


A.D.    S3    (48).      A.U.C.   S04.      CLAUDII    II.  69 

ThessaloHians,  in  his  own  name  and  those  of  SS.  Timotheus  and 
Silas.^'-'  It  is  the  earliest  epistle  of  S.  Paul  which  has  come  down 
to  us. 

Agrippa  II.  is  made  Tetrarch  of  Trachonitis,  in  exchange  for  his 
kingdom  of  Chalcis. 

Antonius  Claudius  Felix  is  made  Procurator  or  Governor  of 
Judaea,  replacing  Ventidius  Cumanus,  who  had  been  unable  to  com- 
pose the  tumult  between  the  Galilasans  and  Samaritans  at  the  Feast 
of  Tabernacles,  and  was  therefore  disgraced  and  banished  by- 
Claudius.  Josephus  dates  from  this  period  the  commencement  of 
the  Jews'  destruction. 


TWENTIETH   YEAR. 

A.D.    53    (48).       A.U.C.   804.       CLAUDII    II. 

S.  Paul  is  still  at  Corinth,  labouring  among  the  Gentiles,  instructing 
them  especially  in  the  house  of  a  proselyte  named  Justus,  which 
adjoined  the  synagogue  ;  thus  giving  opportunity  to  any  of  the 
Jews  whose  hearts  might  have  been  moved  by  grace.  S.  Timotheus 
is  helping  him  with  zeal  in  the  Apostolic  work,^  especially  in  baptizing 
converts.-  The  first  Gentile  convert  seems  to  have  been  Epasnetus, 
"the  first-fruits  of  Asia,"^  or,  perhaps,  of  "Achaia."  Caius,^  who 
afterwards  received  the  Apostle  into  his  house,^  was  probably  now 
converted.     "  Many  of  the   Corinthians,  hearing,  believed,  and  were 

^'■^  The    general    exhortation    to    the  ^  2  Cor.  i.  ig. 

Church  of  Thessalonica  ends  Avith  v.  13,  ^  i  Cor.  i.  14 — 17. 

after  a  charge  to  the  faithful  to  "  acknow-  3  Rom.   xvi.    5.     The  reading  of  the 

ledge  those  who  are   labouring  among  Vulgate  ("Asia")    solves  the   difficulty 

them,"  and  (as  the  Apostle  afterwards  presented  by  i  Cor.  xvi.  15,  except  that 

wrote   to    the   Ephesians)    to  keep  the  the  term  "first-fruits"  need  not  apply 

unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace.  to  one  individual  only.    Epicnetus  was, 

The     14th    verse    commences    a    final  perhaps,  a  member  of  "  the  household 

charge    to    the    clergy,  teaching   them  of  Stephanas." 

hozij  to  "admonish."    The  Epistle  con-  •*   i  Cor.  i.  14. 

eludes   with    an    autograph    salutation,  ^  Rom.  xvi.  23. 
verse  28. 


70  FASTI   ArOSTOLICI:    TWENTIETH   YEAR. 

baptized."'^  Though  the  majority  of  the  Jews  rejected  the  word, 
Crispus,  "  the  ruler  of  the  synagogue,"  yielded  to  the  power  of  grace  ; 
for  him  the  Apostle  deviated  from  his  usual  practice/  and  baptized 
him,  as  well  as  Caius  and  the  household  of  Stephanas,  with  his  own 
hand. 

The  conversion  of  Crispus  intensified  the  Jews'  opposition  and 
hatred  ;  and  S.  Paul,  having  now  occasion  to  address  a  Second  Epistle 
to  the  Thcssaloiiian  CJiristians,  besought  their  prayers,  that  he  and 
his  fellow-labourers  might  "be  delivered  from  perverse  and  wicked 
men."^  His  letter  was  occasioned  by  their  erroneous  interpretation 
of  his  former  one,°  as  though  the  Second  Advent  was  drawing  so 
near  as  to  make  it  useless  to  pursue  the  common  employments  of 
life.^**  Imaginary  revelations,  and  forged  letters,  as  from  himself,^* 
were  adduced  in  support  of  this  impression  ;  to  combat  which,  the 
Apostle  declares  that  certain  signs  will  precede  the  Great  Day, 
especially  the  appearance  of  a  personal  Antichrist,  "the  lawless  one." 

During  his  residence  at  Corinth,  S.  Paul  may  have  made  apos- 
tolical journeys  into  the  neighbouring  parts  of  Greece,  and  revisited 
Athens.  He  must  have  established  "the  Church  in  Cenchrcae,"^^ 
the  port  of  Corinth.  He  speaks  also  of  "  the  Churches  of  God,"^^ 
and,  later,  of  "the  Saints  in  all  Achaia."^* 

The  province  of  Achaia,  including  Hellas  and  the  Peloponnesus, 
was  now  under  the  Proconsul  Gallio  (Annaeus  Novatus),  elder  brother 
to  Anna^us  Seneca,  the  Stoic  philosopher  and  tutor  of  Nero.^°     On 

*>  Acts  xviii.  8.  i3  o  Thess.  i.  4. 

"^  I  Cor.  i.  14-16.  ^'  2  Cor.  i.  i. 

^  2  Thess.  iii.  2.  ^^  Tacitus,  Ann.  xv.  73.  Dion  Cassius, 

^  See  I  Thess.  v.  i  — 10.  Ixii.  25,  says   that   GalHo   died   in   the 

^'^  Cf.  Hob.  i.   I  ;   S.  James  v.  7—9;  year  65.     Seneca  says  that  his  brother, 

2  S.  Peter  iii.  3,  4  ;  1  S.  John  ii.  18.     It  when  in  Achaia,  took  a  sea-voyage  to 

has  ever  been  the  constant  expectation  recover  from  an  attack  of  fever  {non 

of  the  Church  ;  as  might  be  shown  by  corporis  sed  loci  moi-bum,  Sen.  Ep.  civ.). 

innumerable  passages   of  Fathers   and  Seneca  had  returned  from  exile  by  the 

holy  writers,  especially  S.  Gregory  the  year    49,   and   had   the   youthful    Nero 

Great.  placed  under  his  tuition.     The  procon- 

^'  2  Thess.  ii.  2  ;  cf.  iii.  17.    His  signa-  sulate  of  Gallio,  therefore,  would  be  of 

ture  was  to  authenticate  the  genuineness  later  date,  and  was  probably  obtained 

of  his  Epistle,  in  contrast  with  the  forged  by   the   influence   of   Seneca   with   the 

one.     ^'-  Rom.  xvi.  i.  Emperor. 


A.D.    54   (49)-      A-U.C.    805.      CLAUDII    12. 


71 


Gallio's  coming  into  the  province,  the  Jews,  hoping  for  a  favourable 
turn  from  his  known  facility  of  disposition,  "  rose  up  against  Paul^ 
and  brought  him  to  the  judgment-seat."  But  the  Proconsul  refused 
to  determine  a  matter  so  foreign  to  his  jurisdiction,^^  and  drove  them 
away:  whereupon,  in  their  fury,  they  took  Sosthenes,^''  the  ruler  of  the 
synagogue,  probably  as  being  too  favourable  to  the  Apostle,  and 
beat  him  before  the  tribunal.^^  The  storm  dying  out,  S.  Paul 
remained  in  Corinth,  zealously  labouring  "  yet  many  days,"  i.e.,  till 
he  had  spent  altogether  a  year  and  a  half  there  (or  more,  according 
to  S.  Chrysostom).  All  the  success  that  our  Lord  had  promised  him 
in  vision^''  was  abundantly  given  him.  At  length,  determining  to 
return  to  Syria,  he  went  down  with  his  companions  to  Cenchrese,  the 
port  of  Corinth,  and  there  shaved  his  head,  in  token  that  a  Nazarite 
vow,  which  he  had  taken  for  a  time,  was  expired.-*^ 

Nero  marries  Claudia,  daughter  of  the  Emperor  Claudius,  who' 
had  adopted  him  as  his  successor. 


TWENTY-FIRST  YEAR. 

A.D.    54   (49).        A.U.C.   805.       CLAUDII    12. 

S.  Paul,  now  on  his  way  to  Jerusalem,  sails  towards  Asia  Minor, 
through  the  Icarian,  a  part  of  the  .^gjean.  Sea. 

Accompanied  by  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  he  came  to  Ephesus,^  and 

^°  He  was  acting  in  the  spirit  of  a 
rescript  of  the  Emperor  Claudius,  which 
inculcated  universal  toleration  (Joseph. 
Aniig.  XIX.  vi.  3). 

^^  See  below,  ad  A.D.  57. 

1'  S.  Chrysostom  states  that  S.  Paul 
also  was  beaten  by  the  Jews.  Sosthenes 
had  already  followed  the  example  of 
Crispus,  his  predecessor  in  office,  in 
receiving  the  faith,  or  did  so  now. 
S.  Paul  seems  to  have  taken  him  with 
him  to  Ephesus  (i  Cor.  i.  i).  The  Greek 
Menology  makes  him  Bishop  of  Colo- 
phon.    The  Roman  Martyrology  com- 


memorates him,  November  28,  as  being 
converted,  and  severely  beaten  before 
the  Proconsul. 

I'*  Acts  xviii.  9,  10. 

2"  Afterwards  he  took  another  vow,, 
which  was  completed  by  the  time  he 
arrived  in  Jerusalem,  when  he  went  ta 
offer  his  sacrifice  of  purification  in  the 
Temple  (Acts  xxi.  23—27). 

1  One  of  the  "Eyes  of  Asia"  (Plin. 
Nat.  Hist.  V.  31);  Smyrna  being  the 
other  :  so  called,  alike  from  the  beauty 
and     the     advantageousness    of    their 


72  P^ASTI   APO.STOLICI  :    TWENTV-FIRST   YEAR. 

left  thcni  there.  During  his  stay,  he  held  a  discussion-  with  the 
Jev/s  of  Ephesus  in  their  synagogue,  which  so  much  concih'ated 
them,  that  "  they  desired  him  that  he  would  tarry  a  longer  time." 
He  could  only  promise  to  return  to  them,  "God  willing;"  for  he 
hastened  towards  Jerusalem,  perhaps  to  accomplish  a  vow  :  and  so 
went  on  through  the  coasts  and  islands  of  the  yEga^an,  to  Cos  and 
Cnidus,^  then  across  the  open  sea,  by  Rhodes  and  Cyprus,  to  Ca^sarea. 
This  had  become  the  military  capital  of  Judaea,  since  the  death  of 
Herod  Agrippa ;  and  was  now  under  the  procuratorate  of  Felix. 

Probably  the  Apostle  arrived  in  Jerusalem  too  late  for  the  festival.* 
He  therefore  "saluted  the  Church,  and  so  came  down  to  Antioch.^ 
And  after  he  had  spent  some  time  there,  he  departed,  and  went 
through  the  country  of  Galatia  and  Phrygia,  in  order,  confirming  all 
the  disciples"  whom  he  had  brought  to  the  faith  at  his  previous 
visits ;  as,  in  Derbe,  Lystra,  Iconium,  and  the  Pisidian  Antioch.  His 
other  object  seems  to  have  been  a  collection  for  the  Christian  poor 
in  Judaea.''  S.  Silas  probably  remained  behind  in  Jerusalem,  where 
he  was  "a  chief  man  among  the  brethren."'^  S.  Timotheus  still 
accompanied  S.  Paul,  as  probably  did  S.  Titus.^ 

Meanwhile,  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  in  Ephesus,  met  with  Apollonius, 

or  Apollo,  a  Jew  born  in  Alexandria,  "an  eloquent  man,  one  mighty 

in  the  Scriptures."     He,  "being  fervent  in  spirit,  spoke  and  taught 

diligently  the  things  that  are  of  Jesus,  knowing  only  the  baptism  of 

John."     He  began  to  speak  boldly  in  the  synagogue  ;  and,  coming 

under  the  notice  of  Aquila  and  his  wife,  was  instructed  by  them** 

position.     In  a  contrary  sense,  Pericles  ^  See  i   Cor.  xvi.  i — 4  ;    2   Cor.  viii. 

denounced  the  hostile  ..^gina  as  "the  ix.  ;  Rom.  xv.  25,  26  ;  Acts  xxiv.  17. 

eye-sore"  (?<vij-v)   of  the  Piraeus  ;  lying  ''  Acts  xv.  22.     His  name  occurs  in 

full  in  sight,  as  it  did.  the   salutation  in  both  Epistles  to  the 

2  AieA.e|oTo,  Acts  xviii.  1 9.  Thessalonians,  but  in  no  later  writings 

^  Cf.  xxi.  I  ;  xxvii.  7.  of  S.  Paul,  except  casually,  2  Cor.  i.  19. 

*  It  must  have  been  so,  except  with  **  See  Acts  xix.  22;    i    Cor.   iv.    17; 

especially  favourable  weather.  xvi.    10;    2   Cor.    i.    i;    Rom.  xvi.   21  ; 

■^  This   is   the   last   time    Antioch   is  Acts  xx.  4. 

mentioned    in    the     New     Testament.  '■'  It  has  been  justly  inferred  from  this, 

S.  Paul  went  to  salute  S.  Evodius,  its  that  Priscilla,  as  well  as  her  husband, 

Bishop,  who  had  probably  consecrated  must  have  been  a  person  of  ability  and 

him  (see  ad  ann.  12)  at  the  beginning  culture,  competent  to  instruct  a  gifted 

of  his  Apostolate.  neophyte  like  Apollonius. 


A.D.    55    (50).      A.U.C.   806,      CLAUDII    1 3.  73 

more  accurately  in  the  scheme  of  redemption.  The  Church  in 
Ephesus  gave  him  letters  to  Achaia  and  Corinth,  where  "  he  helped 
them  much  who  had  believed  :  for  he  vigorously  convinced  the  Jews 
in  public,  showing  by  the  Scriptures  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ." 

Eusebius^*^  places  in  this  year  the  martyrdom  of  S.  Philip  the 
Apostle,  at  Hierapolis  in  Asia.  For  preaching  the  Gospel,  he  was 
crucified,  and  stoned  on  his  cross.  Hippolytus,^^  however,  reckons  his 
martyrdom  as  later. 


TWENTY-SECOND   YEAR. 

AD.    55    (50).       A.U.C.   806.       CLAUDII    1 3. 

S.  Paul,  while  he  "passed  through  the  upper  coasts,"^  i.e.  the  interior 
of  Asia  Minor,  going  through  Galatia  and  Phrygia,  may  have  founded 
the  Church  at  Colossse.  Others  ascribe  it  to  Epaphras,-  whom  the 
Apostle  sent  to  them  as  their  bishop ;  and  whom  he  afterwards  sent 
back  to  Colossae  from  Rome.^ 

He  then  returned  to  Ephesus,*  where  he  found  some  twelve 
disciples  of  S.  John  Baptist,  who  had  probably  gone  up  from  Ephesus 
to  Jerusalem,  and  there  receiving  baptism  from  the  great  Forerunner, 
had  returned,  without  much  knowledge  of  the  after  events.  They 
now  received  Christian  baptism,  and,  through  S.  Paul's  hands,  the 
miraculous  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  For  three  months,  the  Apostle 
taught  in  the  synagogue ;  then,  owing  to  the  determined  opposition 
of  "hardened"  enemies,  he  removed  his  place  of  teaching  to  the 
philosophical  or  rhetorical  school  of  Tyrannus,*^  probably  a  recent 

^'*  Chronic.  order  to  distinguish  him  from  the  bishop 

"  Tract.  De  XII.  Discipulis.  of  Phihppi. 

3  Col.  i.  7;  iv.  12. 
*  Acts  xix.  I. 
^  Acts  xix.  I.  ■'''^As    he   had   promised,  if  possible, 

-  Not  EpaphrodituSjWho  was  a  Philip-  xviii.  21.  Some  have  supposed  this  not 
pian,  and  bishop  of  that  place.  The  to  be  his  name,  but  to  denote  his  posi- 
bishop  of  Colossce  was  probably  called  tion  in  Ephesus,  or  his  descent  from 
by  the  contracted  form  of  his  name,  in      Androcus,  who  had  founded  the  city. 


74  1- ASTI   APOSTOLICI  :    TWENTY-SECOND   YEAR. 

convert/'  Aquila  and  Priscilla  rejoined  S.  Paul,  cither  on  his  first 
coming  to  Ephesus,  or  during  his  residence  there  ;  and  afforded  him 
lodging  in  their  house,  which  thus  became  the  "Church"  in  that  city/' 
He  probably  still  worked  with  them  at  their  trade/ 

The  length  of  this  stay  at  Ephesus  was  two  years  and  three 
months  :5  though  he  may  have  made  journeys  into  the  province,  e.g. 
to  Colossai,  to  Laodicea,^  and  to  Macedonia/*^ 

"And  God  wrought  by  the  hand  of  Paul  more  than  common 
miracles  :  so  that  even  there  were  brought  from  his  body  to  the  sick 
handkerchiefs  and  aprons,  and  the  diseases  departed  from  them,  and 
the  wicked  spirits  went  out  of  them."  Some  Jewish  exorcists 
attempted  to  produce  the  same  effect  on  a  possessed  person,  by 
mention  of  the  Holy  Name  of  our  Lord  :  but  the  demon  spoke 
tauntingly  to  them  through  the  lips  of  the  sufferer,  who  leaped  upon 
and  wounded  them,  and  put  them  to  flight. 

S.  Prisca,  virgin  and  martyr,  suffered  for  the  Faith  during  the 
reign  of  Claudius,^^  and  thus  became  the  proto-martyr  among  Christian 
women  :  a  title,  however,  generally  given  to  S.  Thecla,  owing  to  the 
"  three  most  cruel  torments "  from  which  she  was  delivered  by  the 

''  About    a    century    after    this,   the  mention  as  bishop  of  that  place.    Others 

disputation  between    S.  Justin    Martyr  have  supposed  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephe- 

and  the  Jew  Tryphon  took  place,  which  sians ;  or  that  it  was  a  circular  epistle 

is  embodied  in  S.Justin's  "  Dialogue."  sent  to  Laodicea  among  other  places. 

'^  I  Cor.  xvi.  19.  ^°  This   last   has  been   supposed  by 

"^  See  Acts  xx.  34  ;  i  Cor.  iv.  11,  12.  some,  from  i  Tim.  i.  3. 

8  Or,     approximately,     three     years.  ^^  Mart.  Rom.  Jan.  18,  July  8,  Brev. 

Numbers  from  the  neighbouring  cities  Rom.  Jan.  18.     Alban  Butler,  however, 

in  Asia  Minor  must  have  been  brought  assigns  her  martyrdom  to  about  A.D.  275, 

under  his  teaching   during   so   long   a  in  the  reign  of  Aurelian,  adding  :  "  She 

time  :    so  that  we  may  here  trace  the  is  mentioned    in   the    Sacramentary   of 

foundations   of  the  Seven  Churches  of  S.  Gregory,  and  in  almost  all  Western 

Asia.  Martyrologies"  (a.d.  Jan.  18).     He  also 

^  Josephus  {Ant.  xii.  3,  4,  xiv.  10,  20)  refers    the    martyrdoms    of    S.    Maris 

says  there  were  Jews  in  Laodicea  :  these  (Marius)    and   his   companions   to    the 

must  have  been  influenced  by  the  preach-  same  later  period  ;    whereas  the  Rom. 

ing  at  Ephesus,  and  a  Church  probably  Breviary   (Jan.    19)  says   they   suffered 

formed  there.  It  appears  from  Col.  iv.  16,  under  Claudius.    There  is  no  doubt  that 

that    S.  Paul  wrote   an    epistle   to   the  persecutions  and  martyrdoms  took  place 

Laodiceans,    which    Wieselcr     {Apost.  before  the  reign  of  Nero,  though  not  to 

Zeitaltcr,  p.  450)  supposes  to  be  that  to  the  same  extent. 
Philemon,  whom    the   Apostol.    Const. 


A.D.    56   (51).      A.U.C.   807.      CLAUDII    I4.  75 

Divine  mercy.^-  These  were,  the  lions,  fire,  and  the  sword  ;  by 
means  of  which  S.  Thecla  became,  like  S.  John  the  Evangehst,  "a 
martyr  in  will,"  though  not  in  deed. 


TWENTY-THIRD   YEAR. 

A.D.    56   (51).      A.U.C.    807.      CLAUDII    I4. 

On  occasion  of  the  Apostle's  miracles  at  Ephesus,  and  the  confession 
of  the  truth  extorted  from  the  demons,  "  the  Name  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
was  magnified,"  and  conversions  were  made.  It  produced  also  a 
spirit  of  penance  among  the  faithful,  who  were  thereby  stirred  up  to 
confession.^  Many,  whether  of  Christians  who  had  still  practised 
superstition,  or  of  the  Gentiles,  brought  their  charms^  and  amulets, 
"and  burnt  them  before  all;  and  counting  the  price  of  them,  they 
found  the  money  to  be  fifty  thousand  [drachms]  of  silver.  So  mightily 
increased  the  word  of  God,  and  grew  strong." 

October  13th  of  this  year,  Claudius  dies  of  poison  administered 
to  him  by  his  wife  Agrippina,  in  the  sixty-fourth  year  of  his  age, 
having  reigned  thirteen  years  and  eighteen  months.^  She  obtains 
the  succession  for  her  son  Nero,  a  youth  not  yet  eighteen,  who  was 
afterwards  to  cause  her  own  death.      This  was  to  the  exclusion  of 

^-  Offic.  Coin  moid.  Aniince.  raised  a  statue  to  Apollonius  Tyanoeus 

who    established    a    school    of    magic 

^  See  h.  Lapide  in  loco  (Acts  xix.  18)  among  them,  apparently  at  the  time  of 

for  reasons  to  conclude  that   the   text  the  Apostle's  stay  in  the  city.    S.  Paul 

refers    to    auricular    and     sacramental  and  this  arch-deluder  may  have  come 

confession.  into  collision  ;  and  hence,  possibly,  the 

2  Tos  ^i^Xovs,   amulets  inscribed  with  tumult  of  the  following  year.  Shakspeare 

magical    words.       They    were     called  is  therefore  accurate  in  his  description 

'E(^e(na7pa^/iOTa,  and  probably  contained  of  Ephesus,  as  being  a  "town  full   of 

the  name   and  symbols  of  Diana.     S.  cozenage,"  «S:c.  ("  Comedy  of  Errors "). 
Jerome,  praef.  in  Epist.  ad  Ephes.  says  ^  Sueton.  in  Vit.  Claud,  c.  45  ;    Dion, 

that  even  in  his  day,  the  Ephesians  were  lib.  60. 
greatly  addicted  to  magical  arts.     They 


^6  FASTI   ArOSTOLICI  :    TWENTY-FOURTH   YEAR. 

Claudius'  own  son  Britannicus,  whom  Nero  soon  afterwards  takes 
off  by  poison. 

About  this  time,  S.  Paul  sent  S.  Titus  from  Ephesus  to  Corinth, 
with  a  commission  to  remedy  the  scandals  existing  there,  and  to  allay 
dissensions. 

TItc  high-priest  Jonathan  is  deposed  by  Felix,  though  the  governor 
owed  his  elevation  to  the  high-priest's  intercession  with  the  Emperor. 
Felix,  by  means  of  the  Sicarii,  or  assassins,  whom  he  encouraged  in 
Jerusalem,  caused  the  assassination  of  Jonathan.*  Agrippa  bestows 
the  high-priesthood  on  Ismael,  son  of  Phabreus. 


TWENTY-FOURTH   YEAR. 

A.D.    57   (52).      A.U.C.    808.      NERONIS   I. 

The  prohibition  of  the  late  Emperor  Claudius,  against  Jews  residing 
in  Rome,  is  rescinded.  S.  Peter  therefore  probably  about  this  time 
returned  to  his  See.^ 

S.  Paul,  now  in  his  third  year  at  Ephesus,  purposes  to  visit  the 
Eternal  City,-  as  he  expresses  the  following  year,  writing  to  the 
Christians  there.  He  defers  it,  until  he  had  visited  the  Churches  of 
Achaia  and  Macedonia,  and  gone  once  more  to  Jerusalem.  These 
things  he  "  purposed  in  the  Spirit ;  "  one  special  object  of  the  journey 
being  to  collect  alms  for  the  faithful  in  the  Holy  City,^  and  to  visit 
St.  James  for  the  last  time. 

In  the  beginning  of  Nero's  reign,  Apollonius  of  Tyana,  a  kind  of 
"pseudo-Christ,"  returning  from  his  voyage  to  India,  came  to  Antioch. 

*  Joseph.  Aiitiq.  xx.  7.  the  world.    .    And  their  God  has  even 

now  made  their  throne  iUustrious;  having 

^  Lactantius,  Z>i?  il/i?;'/.  PersecutoriDii.  estabUshed  therein  your  Hohness,  emit- 

-  Theodoret  says  of  the  two  Apostles:  ting  the  rays  of  orthodoxy"  (T.  iv.  Ep. 

"Their  thrice-blessed  and  divine  twin  ad  Lco)i.  q.^\\\). 

star  rose  indeed  in  tlie  East,  but  had  ^'  Rom.  i.  10,11,15.     He  had  a  vision 

the  setting  of  its  existence,  by  choice,  in  afterwards,  which    showed   it   was   the 

the  West,  and  thence  even  now  illumines  Divine  Will,  xxiii.  1 1. 


A.D.    57   (52).      A.U.C.   808.      NERONIS    I.  77 

Not  meeting  with  the  reception  he  expected,  he  passed  to  Cyprus, 
thence  to  Ionia,  and  stayed  at  Ephesus ;  where  he  drew  the  whole 
place  after  him  by  his  prophecies  and  "  lying  wonders." 

It  would  seem  that,  before  leaving  Ephesus,  S.  Paul  returned  for 
a  short  time  to  Corinth.*  His  visit  was  probably  for  the  purpose  of 
reforming  abuses  in  Christian  morals ;  many  in  that  Church  having 
reverted  to  the  evil  living  for  which  Corinth  had  long  been  notorious. 
This  painful^  visit  produced  too  little  effect ;  his  mildness  was  mis- 
taken for  weakness :  news  came  to  him,  on  his  return  to  Ephesus, 
that  the  evil  was  still  increasing.  He  then  wrote  an  epistle,^  which 
is  not  extant,  commanding  the  faithful  to  withdraw  from  every 
professing  Christian  of  evil  life. 

Soon  after,  the  Apostle  sent  Timotheus^  and  Erastus  before  him 
into  Macedonia,  probably  with  a  view  to  the  same  collection  of  alms. 
Timotheus,  and  perhaps  Erastus  also,  went  by  way  of  Corinth,^  of 
which  city  Erastus  seems  to  have  been  treasurer ;  ^  or  at  least  they 
made  for  Corinth  after  executing  their  charge  in  Macedonia.  Timo- 
theus returned  to  Ephesus  before  S.  Paul's  departure  thence. 

The  Apostle  now,  in  conjunction  with  "  Sosthenes  a  brother,"  ^^ 

*  2  Cor.  viii.,  ix.  It  seems  uncertain  when  he  first  became 

^  Wieseler,  Chronol.  pp.  232 — 341.  a  companion  to  S.  Paul  on  his  mission. 

"  See  I  Cor.  v.  9.  Some  have  supposed  him  to  have  been 

''  S.  Luke  is  silent  regarding  S.  Timo-  already  converted  when  he  was  beaten 

theus  from  the  date  of  his  labours  at  before  the  tribunal  of  Gallio  ;    others 

Corinth  (a.d.   53)  to  this  point  ;  but  it  make  him  one  of  the  seventy-two  dis- 

cannot  be  doubted  that  he  was  all  the  ciples  (S.  Luke  x.  i,  17).     This  second 

while  in  faithful  zealous  attendance  on  opinion  is  against  the  statement  of  the 

the  Apostle.  Roman  Martyrology,  which,  commemo- 

^  See    the     affectionate     expressions  rating    him    on    the    28th    November, 

which  the  Apostle  uses  regarding  him  says  :    "  At    Corinth,    the    birthday    of 

(i  Cor.  iv.  17),  implying  to  the  Corin-  S.  Sosthenes,  S.  Paul's  disciple,  whom 

thians  that  he  had  sent  S.  Timotheus  to  [that  Apostle]  mentions  in  his  Epistle  to 

them  at  great  cost  to  his  own  feelings.  the  Corinthians.     From  being  ruler  of 

^  Mentioned  Rom.  xvi.  23,  and  2  Tim.  the    synagogue,   he   was    converted   to 

iv.  20.  Christ  ;  and,  suffering  grievous  wounds 

^^  The   Apostle  joins   the    name    of  before  Gallio  the  pro-consul,  consecrated 

Sosthenes   with   his    own,  as   likely  to  the  first-fruits  of  his  faith  by  so  noble  a 

have     weight     with     the     Corinthians,  commencement."   The  Greek  Menology 

among    whom   he   had   formerly    been  makes   him    bishop   of  Colophon,   and 

ruler  of  the  synagogue  (Acts  xviii.  17).  keeps  his  feast  on  the  7th  December. 


78  FASTI   APOSTOLICI:    TWENTY-FOURTH   YEAR. 

wrote  from  Ephcsus  his  First  (canonical)  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,^^ 
sending  it  by  Stephanas,  Fortunatus,  and  Achaicus,  who  had  brought 
their  letter  to  him.^' 

"  At  that  time,  there  arose  no  small  disturbance  ;"  a  tumult  raised 
by  the  silversmiths^^  of  Ephesus,  headed  by  one  Demetrius,  who  per- 
ceived that  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  would  interfere  with  their  trade 
of  making  shrines  for  "Diana  of  the  Ephesians."^*  The  town  clerk,^^ 
however,  allays  it  by  a  moderate  speech,  appealing  to  their  good 
sense,  and  exculpating  the  Apostles.  It  is  not  this  commotion  to 
which  S.  Paul  refers  when^*^  he  writes  to  the  Corinthians  that  he  had 
fought  with  beasts  at  Ephesus ;  for  the  tumult  occurred  after  he 
wrote  that  first  Epistle.  There  is  evidence^^  however,  that  he  had 
indeed,  like  his  convert  S.  Thecla,  been  exposed  to  wild  beasts  in  the 
amphitheatre.^^ 

On  the  return  of  S.  Timotheus  to  Ephesus,  the  Apostle  ordained 
him  bishop  of  that  place  :^^  then,  having  assembled  and  exhorted 
the  disciples,  he  departed  to  Troas,  hoping  to  find  Titus  there,-*'  but 
failing  to  do  so,  pursued  his  way  to  Macedonia.-^     Probably,  Tychicus 

"  Excluding  that  which  is  not  extant.  OtaTpov.     As   in   the   amphitheatre,   the 

12  I  Cor.  xvi.  17,  18.  moritmi    were   beheld    by    spectators, 

^3  Among    them,   it    is    said,  but    on  some    from  lower   tiers  of  seats,  some 

doubtful  authority,  was  Alexander   the  from  higher,  so  the  combats  and  suffer- 

coppcrsmith  (2  Tim.  iv.  14  ;  i  Tim.  i.  20).  ings  of  the  Apostles,  who  "died  daily," 

He  may  have  been   the   man  of  that  were   beheld,  with  very  different  eyes, 

name  who  was  "put  forward"  by  the  from  heaven,  earth,  and  hell. 
Jews  (Acts  XX.  33),  to  defend  their  cause  ■'^  Thus,  the  description  given  by  him 

before  the  assembly  in  the  theatre.  to  the  Hebrews  (c.  xi.  34)  of  the  triumphs 

i''  Sec  Appendix  P.  of  faith  was  realized  in  his  own  person 

1^  rpa/i^areus,   probably    one    of    the  in  this  as  in  so  many  other  particulars, 
three    chief    Asiarchs,    who    kept    the  ^"  i  Tim.  i,  3;  iii.  15;  vi.  20 ;  2  Tim. 

official   register   of   the   victors   in   the  i.  6,   14 ;    iii.    14 ;   iv.    5.      After   many 

games.      Others   make  it   a  municipal  labours  and  conflicts  for  the  Faith,  he 

office  under  the  Roman  local  authority.  rebuked  the  Ephesians  for  their  sacri- 

1"  I  Cor.  XV.  32.  fices  to  Diana,  and  was  stoned  by  them, 

^"^  See  Corn.  h.  Lap.  in  Acts  xix.  40.  a.d.  97.     Rom.   Mariyj-ol.  January  24. 

The  testimony  of  Nicephorus  is  distinct  See  above,  a.d.  35,  note  36. 
and     circumstantial,    given    from     the  '^  2  Cor.  ii.  18. 

ancient   Acts    of    S.    Paul,  that    were  ^^  S.   Luke   relates  this  journey  into 

cited   by  Origen   with    approval,   Peri-  Macedonia  too  briefly  to  allude  to  the 

arch.  I,  2.     Cf.  i  Cor.  iv.  9,  where  the  afflictions  endured  there  by  the  Apostle 

Apostle    calls    himself    imdai'dTtos   and  (2  Cor.  vii.  5). 


A.D.    57    (52).      A.U.C.    808.      NERONIS    I.  79 

and  Trophimus,  both  of  Ephesus,  accompanied  him."  From  Mace- 
donia,"^ he  wrote  his  First  Epistle  to  S.  Tiniot/mis,  instructing  him  in 
the  duties  of  his  episcopate  at  Ephesus,  S.  Titus  now  came  to  him 
from  Corinth,-^  with  an  improved  account  of  the  state  of  things  there. -^ 

"When  he  had  gone  over  those  parts,  and  had  exhorted  them 
with  many  words,  he  came  into  Greece,-*'  that  is,  Achaia,  which 
included  the  south  of  Macedonia.  After  three  months,  to  avoid  a 
conspiracy  of  the  Jews,  he  returned  to  Phihppi,  whence  he  wrote  his 
Second  (canonical)  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  sending  it  by  Titus  and 
two  others,-"  probably  SS.  Silas  and  Luke,  or  perhaps  Apollo,  who 
were  empowered  to  make  collections  for  the  faithful  in  Jerusalem. 

C.  a  Lapide  and  Baronius  place  in  this  year  a  voyage  of  S.  Paul 
to  Crete,  and  his  ordination  of  S.  Titus  as  bishop  of  that  island. 
More  recent  authors  assign  it  to  a  later  date,  after  the  Apostle's 
first  imprisonment  at  Rome. 

Felix  with  great  energy  puts  down  the  bandits  who  were  infesting 
Judaea  ;^^  and  especially  captures  Eleazar,  a  noted  chief  of  them. 

Pomponia  Graicina,  daughter  of  a  consul,-^  and  a  relative  of 
Cicero's  friend  Pomponius  Atticus,  is  accused  before  the  family 
council  of  abandoning  the  religion  of  the  Empire,  and  embracing 
a  foreign   superstition.^*'      She  is  acquitted    by  her   husband,  Aulus 

^-  Among  his  companions  was  Gains,  insignis  fccniina — a   person   of   distin- 

or  Caius,  of  Derbe,  supposed  to  be  the  guished  qualities.     The  name  Grascina 

same  to  whom  S.  John  afterwards  wrote  may   imply   an   unusual   cultivation   of 

his  Third  Epistle.  Greek  literature   and  philosophy.    She 

^^  The  Roman  Breviary  says  it  was  seems  to  have  been  a  Christian  for  some 

written  from  Laodicea.  time.     Tacitus  says  that  for  forty  years 

^^  2  Cor.  vii.  6,  7.  after  her  friend  and  relative,  Julia  the 

25  2Cor.  vii.  5 — 16.  daughter  of  Drusus,  had  been  put   to 

28  Acts  XX.  2.  death  by  Claudius  and  Messalina,  she 

-'^  2  Cor.  viii.  16,  18,  22.  was    noted   for  her    absence   from   all 

^^  He  had,  however,  previously  coun-  joyous  festivals,   and   for  her  mournful 

tenanced  these  sicarii,  and  encouraged  deportment  ;    and    Rome  admired  this 

their  presence  in  Jerusalem.     See  end  bold  protest  against  Imperial  tyranny. 

of  the  preceding  year.  Much  of  this  conduct  was  perhaps  dic- 

'^'^  See  an   interesting   article   in   the  tated  by  the  necessity  of  keeping  away 

Z>;/MV^ /^£■77V■r^' for  October,  1874,  p.  314.  from  heathen  rites.     Claudia,  daughter 

^"  Supcfstitiotiis    externa    rea,    says  of   Caractacus,  afterwards  wife  to  the 

Tacitus  {Afi7i.  xiii.   32),  who  calls  her  younger  Pudens   (2    Tim.    iv.  21),  was 


80 


FASTI   APOSTOLICI  :    TWEXTV-FOURTII   YEAR. 


Plautius,^^  the  conqueror  of  Britain  under  Claudius  ;  and  is  henceforth 
able  to  practise  the  Christian  religion  unmolested.  She  afterwards 
converted  T.  Flavins  Sabinus,  the  elder  brother  of  Vespasian,  and 
gave  him  her  daughter  Plautia  in  marriage.  Plautia  became  mother 
to  T.  Flavins  Clemens,  afterwards  martyred  under  Domitian,  and  to 
Plautilla,  mother  of  S.  Flavia  Domitilla.  S.  Flavia  was  educated  by 
her  uncle  Clemens,  and  martyred  in  the  island  of  Pontia,  at  the  same 
time  with  her  two  chamberlains,  SS.  Nereus  and  Achilleus,  by  whose 
exhortation  she  had  consecrated  herself  to  the  Lord. 

About  this  time,  Suetonius  Paulinus,  "a  general  of  consummate 
skill  and  distinguished  reputation,"-^-  takes  the  command  in  Britain  ; 
succeeding  Aulus  Didius  and  Veranius,  who  had  successively  occu- 
pied that  post.  / 


apparently  consigned  to  her  tutelage 
in  Rome,  and  thus  gained  her  own 
conversion  (Lewin,  Life  and  Epistles  of 
S.  Paul,  vol.  ii.  392,  etc.). 

21  The  pedigree  stand  thus  : 
AULUS   PlAUTIUS,  =  POMPONIA  GR.^i- 
I  CINA 

Plautia,  =  T.  Flavius  Sabinus,  bro- 
ther of  Vespasian ;  son 
of  T.  Flavius  Petro, 
(Suet,  in  Vesp.  i). 


T.  Flavius   Plautilla, 


Sabinus, 
put  to  death 
under     Do- 
mitian. 


niece  toVes- 
pasian,  cou- 
sin to  Titus 
and  Domi- 
tian. 


T.  Flavius 
Clemens, 
martyred 
under  Do- 
mitian, du- 
ring his 
consulate. 


Flavia  Domitilla,  educated 
by  her  uncle  T.  F.  Clemens; 
consecrated  herself  by  the 
exhortation  of  SS.  Nereus 
and  Achilleus ;  afterwards 
banished  to  the  island  of 
Pontia,  and  martyred. 


Dio,  Hist.  Rom.  lib.  67,  mentions  that 
Domitian  slew  these  his  near  relations, 
on  an  accusation  of  impiety,  together 
with  many  others  who  had  fallen  into 
Jewish  \i.e.  Christian]  ways.  He  seems 
mistaken,  however,  in  making  T.  Fl. 
Clemens  husband  instead  of  uncle  to 
Fl.  Domitilla. 

■'^  Lingard,  vol.  i.  p.  28.  Hume,  how- 
ever, implies  that  the  success  due  to  his 
military  skill  was  marred  by  excessive 
severity,  which  not  long  afterwards  pro- 
cured his  recal.  "  Nero  soon  after  [the 
suicide  of  Boadicea]  recalled  Suetonius 
from  a  government,  where,  by  suffering 
and  inflicting  so  many  severities,  he  was 
judged  improper  for  composing  the 
angry  and  alarmed  minds  of  the  inhabi- 
tants. After  some  interval,  Cerealis 
received  the  command  from  Vespasian, 
and  by  his  bravery  propagated  the  terror 
of  the  Roman  arms.  Julius  Frontinus 
succeeded  Cerealis  both  in  authority 
and  in  reputation.  But  the  general  who 
finally  established  the  dominion  of 
the  Romans  in  this  island,  was  Julius 
Agricola,"  etc.  {Hist.  Engl.  vol.  i.  p.  9). 


A.D.    58    (53).      A.U.C.    S09.      NERONIS   2.  8 1 


TWENTY-FIFTH   YEAR. 

AD.  58    (53).      A.U.C.   809.      NERONIS   2, 

From  Philippi,  apparently,  S.  Paul  came  to  Nicopolis/  intending 
there  to  winter.  From  this  place,  according  to  some,  he  wrote 
his  Second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians ;  giving  reasons  for  not  .being 
able  to  fulfil  his  intention,  expressed  in  the  former  Epistle,  of  coming 
to  them.  He  mentions  the  oppositions  and  afflictions  he  had  sus- 
tained in  Asia,  Macedonia,  and  other  places ;  these  are  omitted  by 
S.  Luke,  as  not  having  occurred  during  his  presence  with  the  Apostle. 
The  holy  Evangelist  was  probably  at  Corinth. 

About  this  time,  however,  S.  Paul  seems  to  have  penetrated  into 
the  mountainous  interior  of  Macedonia,  and  thence  to  have  crossed 
to  the  shores  of  the  Adriatic,  and  "round  about  as  far  as  unto 
Illyricum."  - 

In  the  Second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  he  had  told  them^  of 
his  proximate  coming  to  visit  them.  This  promise  he  now  seems  to 
have  fulfilled ;  and  from  Cenchreai,  the  port  of  Corinth,  he  probably 
wrote  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans^  whom  he  had  always  intended^  to 
visit  on  his  return  from  Jerusalem. 

^  See  Tit.  iii.  12.     It  was  not  the  city  and  to  send  on  before  him  Zenas  the 

of  that  name  inThrace,as  S.  Chrysostom  lawyer,  and  Apollo  (Tit.  iii.  13). 

supposes,  but,  according  to  S.  Jerome,  ^  Rom.  xv.  19. 

Nicopolis  in  Epirus,  built  by  Augustus,  ^  2  Cor.  xii.  14  ;  xiii.  i,  10. 

and  so   called    ("  City  of  Victory  ")    in  *  It  was  sent  to  Rome  by  Phoebe,  a 

commemoration    of    his    victory    over  deaconess   of  the   Corinthian    Church, 

Antony  at  Actium,  a  promontory  in  the  who  was  proceeding    thither   on  some 

neighbourhood.    It  was  afterwards  the  business  (Romans  xvi.  i).  The  fact  that 

birth-place     of     Pope    S.    Eleutherius.  St.   Peter   is  neither  saluted  nor  men- 

C.   k    Lapide,  who    places    in  the  pre-  tioned  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans, 

ceding  year  the  Apostle's  visit  to  Crete,  has  been  urged  by  non-Catholic  writers, 

and   the    consecration   of   S.   Titus    as  But   (i)    S.  Peter  may  have   been,   to 

Bishop  of  that  island,  supposes  S.  Paul  S.  Paul's  knowledge,  absent  on  one  of 

to  have  written  to  him  at  this  time  from  his  apostolic  circuits  ;  (2)  another  and 

NicopoUs,  urging  him  to  come  to  him,  private  epistle  (like  that  to  S.  Timothy) 
G 


82 


FASTI   ArOSTOLICI:    TWENTY-FIFTH   YLAR. 


Though  S.  Peter  himself  may  have  been  at  that  time  absent 
from  Rome,  yet  the  faith  he  had  planted  there  was,  even  thus  early, 
"  spoken  of  in  the  whole  world."  ^ 

On  arriving  at  Corinth,  S.  Paul  received  from  Ephesus  the  news 
that  some  of  his  Galatian  converts  were  in  danger  of  relapsing  into 
Judaism.  He  therefore  wrote  his  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  which,  after 
conveying  the  Apostolic  salutation,  begins  abruptly  and  severely,^ 
pointing  out  that  any  one  so  relapsing  would  lose  all  the  benefit  of 
his  Gospel  privileges.  The  similarity  in  style  and  topics  of  the  two 
Epistles,  to  the  Romans,  and  to  the  Galatians,  would  of  itself  indicate 
that  they  were  written  nearly  at  the  same  time,  and  under  circum- 
stances similarly  affecting  the  inspired  writer.^ 

S.  Paul  now  held  his  judgment  on  those  who  had  disturbed  the 
Corinthian  Church,^  and  excommunicated  the  worst  offenders.  He 
remained  three  months  at  Corinth,  as  his  head-quarters,  completing 
the  collection  for  the  Christians  of  Palestine,  on  which  he  had  been 
so  long  engaged.  This  was  entrusted  to  treasurers  approved^*'  by 
the  faithful  in  Corinth,  who  were  to  accompany  S.  Paul  with  it  to 
Jerusalem. 


may  have  been  sent  to  him  by  the  same 
messenger,  and  have  rendered  super- 
fluous a  distinct  salutation  when  S.  Paul 
was  addressing  the  Roman  Church  at 
large  ;  (3)  he  does  not  salute  S.  James 
in  his  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  nor 
S.  Timothy  in  that  to  the  Ephesians  : 
and  such  omission  was  in  accordance 
with  his  usual  practice  (see  Dr.  Lardner's 
Hist,  of  the  Apostles  and  Evangelists, 
c.  xiii.).  Of  those  who  are  saluted  in 
the  Epistle,  or  whose  salutations  the 
Apostle  conveys,  Sosipater  is  commemo- 
rated in  the  Martyrology,  March  25, 
Asyncritus  and  others,  April  8th  ; 
Ouartus,  who  became  Bishop  of  Berj'- 
tus,  November  3rd  ;  Philologus,  Bishop 
of  Sinope,  November  4th ;  Patrobas, 
on  the  same  day,  who  became  Bishop 
of  Naples  or  Puteoli  ;  Rufus,  Bishop  of 
Thebes,  November  21. 
*  Rom.  i.  10,  XV.  23—28. 


•^  Rom.  i.  8.  "The  solidity  of  that 
faith  which  is  commended  in  the  Prince 
of  the  Apostles  is  perpetual  ;  and  as 
what  Peter  believed  in  Christ  is  perma- 
nent, so  what  Christ  instituted  in  Peter 
is  permanent "  (S.  Leo,  Serm.  iii.  Dc 
Natal.  Ord.  c.  2—4,  p.  11— 13). 

"  This  severe  tone,  however,  soon 
gives  place  to  the  most  affectionate  and 
even  maternal  solicitude  (c.  iv.  19,  20) — 

^QiXov  aWd^ai  ttjv  (pwvriv  fxou.     "  A  mother 

changes  her  voice ;  sometimes  intreat- 
ing,  sometimes  reproaching,  sometimes 
lamenting,  as  affection  suggests " 
(Ornsby). 

**  Except  that  in  the  one  he  had  to 
remind  and  to  rebuke,  in  the  other 
merely  to  instruct  and  exhort. 

^  For  the  form  and  procedure  of 
this,  compare  i  Cor.  v.  5. 

1"  I  Cor.  xvi.  3. 


A.D.    58    (53)-      A.U.C.   809.      NERONIS   2.  8^ 

On  his  way  to  Judaea,  he  made  a  detour  to  Philippi,  in  order  to 
confirm  those  in  that  city  whom  he  had  brought  to  the  faith. 

His  companions  were  Sopater,  son  of  Pyrrhus  of  Beroea,  Arls- 
tarchus  and  Secundus  of  Thessalonica,  Gains  of  Derbe,^^  Timotheus 
and  Tychicus  and  Trophimus  from  Asia.^-  These  he  sent  before 
him  to  Troas,  but  retained  S.  Luke/^  whom  he  had  left  at  Phih'ppt 
seven  years  before,  and  who  once  more  became  the  companion  of 
his  journeys,  labours,  and  perils,  to  the  end. 

After  Easter,  the  Apostle  and  S.  Luke  (the  "  we  "  of  the  remainder 
of  the  narrative  in  the  Acts)  made  a  five  days'  voyage  to  Troas,  and 
stayed  there  seven  days,  during  which  S.  Paul  raised  Eutychus  from 
the  dead. 

The  further  points  of  their  voyage  towards  Jerusalem  were  Assos,^* 
Mitylene,^^  Chios,  Samos,  Miletus.  Here  the  ship  was  detained  long 
enough  to  enable  S.  Paul  to  send  for  the  clergy  of  Ephesus^*'  to  come 
to  him.  He  would  not  now  delay  by  visiting  them  ;  "  for  he  hasted,  if 
it  were  possible  for  him,  to  keep  the  day  of  Pentecost  at  Jerusalem." 
The  Holy  Spirit  probably  urged  him  to  hasten  to  the  City,  to  visit 
the  Ever-Blessed  Mother  of  God,  and  to  commend  to  her  his 
approaching  trials  and   imprisonment,  before  her  own  sacred  death. 


^^  So   described,   to   distinguish  him  in  it  ;  hence  the  term  sarcophagus  was 

from  Gaius  of  Macedonia,  ch.  xix.  29.  primarily  applied  to   coffins  hewn    out 

^-  Trophimus  was  an  Ephesian,  Acts  of  it,  and  thereafter  more  generally. 
xxi.  29.  15  Mitylene  pulchra,  Hon  Ep.  xi.  17. 

1^  See  Acts  XX.  5,  where  the  Evangelist  Compare  Od.  i.  vii.  i. 
resumes  the  first  person  plural  in  his  1°  His  own  disciple  S.  Timotheus,  of 

narrative,  and  maintains  it  to  the  end.  course,  foremost  among  them,  as  their 

It  has  been  suggested  that   S.  Luke's  Bishop  :  with  the  Bishops,  or  "  Angels  "' 

calling  as  a  physician  may  have  caused  (Apoc.    i.   20,  ii.   iii.)  of  others    of  the- 

him  frequent  alternations  of  residence  Seven  Churches  of  Asia.    So  afterwardS' 

between  Philippi  and  Troas  (compare  S.  Ignatius  of  Antioch,  on  his  way  to 

Acts  xvi.   10,  &c.),  and  so  have  made  martyrdom  in  Rome,  found  several  at 

him  familiar  with  those  coasts.  Perhaps  Smyrna    with   his   friend   S.    Polycarp,. 

he  hired  the  ship,  which  seems  to  have  Bishop  of  the  place.      S.  Iren^eus   (iii.. 

been  at  S.  Paul's  disposal  (See  V.  1 7j.  14,    2),    says:    "In    Mileto    convocatis 

"  Celebrated  for  its  granite   tombs,  episcopis   et   prcsbyteris,    qui  erant  ab' 

of  the  lapis  Assius,  Pliny,  A''.  H.  ii.  95,  Epheso   et    a   reliquis   proximis   civita- 

xxxvi.  ly.     This  stone  had  the  property  tibus."     The  distance   from  Miletus  to- 

of  consuming  the  flesh  of  those  buried  Ephesus  was  about  twenty-five  miles. 


84  FASTI   APOSTOLICI  :    TWENTV-FIFTII   YEAR. 

and  glorious  Assumption,  which  is  assigned,  by  a  very  probable 
opinion,  to  this  year. 

When  the  Hphcsian  clergy  were  come  to  S.  Paul  at  Miletus,  he 
delivered  to  them  a  solemn  and  tender  charge  on  their  responsibili- 
ties :  announcing  that  they  should  meet  no  more  on  earth  ;  though 
all  he  knew  of  his  own  future,  and  that  by  repeated  revelation/'  was 
that  bonds  and  afflictions  awaited  him  at  Jerusalem.  "And  there 
was  much  weeping  among  them  all ;  and  falling  on  the  neck  of  Paul, 
they  kissed  him  ;  being  grieved  most  of  all  for  the  word  which  he 
had  said,  that  they  should  see  his  face  no  more.  And  they  brought 
him  on  his  way  to  the  ship." 

Thence  they  sailed  to  Cos,^*^  Rhodes,  and  Patara,^^  where  they 
found  a  ship  ready  to  sail  for  Tyre,-°  with  a  cargo  of  merchandise. 
Sighting  Cyprus,-^  they  steered  south-east,  and  so  arrived  at  Tyre, 
where  they  stayed  some  days  with  disciples.^'^  Thence  they  pro- 
ceeded along  the  coast  of  Palestine  to  Ptolemais^^  ^nd  Caesarea. 

At  Cjesarea,  they  stayed  with  S.  Philip  the  deacon,^''  who  "  had 
four  daughters  virgins,-^  who  did  prophesy."  Another  prophet  here 
joined  them,  Agabus,  who  had   formerly  predicted  the  famine  ;    he 

"  See  Acts  xx.  23;    xxi.   4,   10,    11.  46   and    51,  notes,  and  F.  Gams,  there 

Compare  Rom.  xv.  31.  quoted). 

'*  It   has  been   well   remarked,   that  -^  Probably   converts   made    on    the 

Cos  would   have   a  special  interest  for  dispersion  from  Jerusalem  that  followed 

S.  Luke,  S.  Paul's  companion,  as  being  the  martyrdom  of  S.  Stephen,  Acts  xi. 

the    birth-place    of     Hippocrates     the  19.     S.    Paul   himself  would   doubtless 

physician,  and    of  Apellcs  the  painter.  have   visited   Tyre    (which   lay   on  the 

It    had  a  famous    temple    of    /Escula-  great    Roman    road    from   Antioch   to 

plus.  Jerusalem)   when    he   went   up   to   the 

J'-*  Where  was  a  temple  and  oracle  of  Council,  Acts  xv.  3. 

Apollo.     Herod,  i.   182.  Hon   Od.  iii.  4.  ^^  The   modern  S.  Jean  D'Acre.     It 

"  Patareus  Apollo."  had  been  rebuilt,  'not  long  before  the 

-f'  Three    hundred     and    fifty    miles  time  of  the  Machabees  by  one  of  the 

across  the  open  sea.  Ptolemies,  and  re-named  after  himself. 

21  Ai/a(^o^eVTes  tV  KuTrpor,  Acts  xxi.  3.  The  Original  name  was  Accho,  Judges 

S.  Paul,  at  the  sight  of  the  island,  must  i.  31. 

have   had   many  memories  of  his  first  -^  See  Acts  viii.  40. 

missionary  voyage  thither,  twelve  years  '^''  Euseb.  E.  H.  iii.  31,  quotes  earlier 

before,  in  company  with  S.   Barnabas,  writers  as  saying  that  they  lived  to  old 

who  probably  was  there  at  the  moment  age  in  Hierapolis,  and  that  the  tomb  of 

(cf.  A.D.  51),  having  been  consecrated  to  two  of  them,  with  S.  Philip  himself,  was 

the  see  of  Salamis  a.d.  57  (Cf.  ad  .\.D.  to  be  seen  there.    See  above,  ad  A.D.  39. 


A.D.    58    (53).      A.U.C.    809.      NERONIS   2. 


85 


now  foretold  to  the  Apostle  the  bonds  of  which  S.  Paul  had  himself 
spoken  at  Miletus,  and  that  the  Jews  should  deliver  him  into  the 
hands  of  the  Gentiles.-" 

Arriving  in  Jerusalem,  about  Pentecost,""  "the  brethren  received 
us  gladly  :  and  the  day  following,  Paul  went  in  Vvith  us  unto  James, 
and  all  the  ancients  were  assembled  ;  whom  when  he  had  saluted, 
he  related  what  things  God  had  wrought  among  the  Gentiles  by  his 
ministry."  At  the  suggestion  of  S.  James,  he  undertook  the  vow  of 
a  Nazarite,  to  conciliate  the  converted  Jews  in  things  indifferent  ; 
but  going  into  the  Temple  for  its  fulfilment,  was  set  upon  by  some 
fanatical  Jews  as  the  "  man  that  teacheth  all  men  everywhere  against 
the  people,  and  the  law,  and  this  place." -^  The  Apostle  was  in 
instant  danger  of  his  life  ;  when  Claudius  Lysias,  the  commandant  of 
the  garrison  in  the  fortress  Antonia,-^  came  with  sufficient  force  to 
compel  them  to  release  him.  As  he  was  being  carried  into  the  castle, 
in  the  midst  of  tumult,  he  obtained  Lysias'  permission  to  address  the 


26  This  was  fulfilled  by  S.  Paul  being 
brought  back  a  prisoner  to  that  very  city, 
a  fortnight  afterwards,  in  custody  of 
Roman  soldiers,  and  accused  by  his 
own  nation,  who  wished  to  destroy  him. 

-"  See  Acts  xx.  16. 

-^  Compare  vi.  13,  for  the  same  accu- 
sation made  against  S.  Stephen.  It  must 
have  come  strongly  into  the  mind  of 
the  Apostle,  as  he  was  thus  making 
reparation  for  his  former  persecuting 
acts. 

-^  Contiguous  to  the  Temple,  on  the 
north-west,  and  almost  forming  part  of 
it,  but  raised  high  above  it,  and  con- 
nected with  the  Temple  buildings  by  a 
flight  of  stone  steps.  It  had  been 
built  by  the  Asmonean  princes,  and 
called  Baris  ;  then  rebuilt  by  the  first 
Herod,  and  named  after  Mark  Antony, 
Joseph.  B.  J.  i.  4,  5.  Within  its  walls 
were  barracks  for  at  least  a  thousand 
soldiers.  These  covered  galleries,  or 
"cloisters"  are  often  mentioned  by 
Josephus  {^Bell.  Jiid.  lib.  ii.  xv.  6,  xvi.  5, 


xvii.  I  ;  lib.  iv.  ix.  12  ;  Atitiq.  xv.  ii.  3,  5). 
The  stairs  were  broken  down,  and  so 
the  communication  between  the  temple 
and  Antonia  cut  off,  by  the  Jews,  in  their 
revolt  against  Florus  {Ibid.).  The  ex- 
ternal aspect  of  Jerusalem,  and  of  its 
fortifications,  is  graphically  described 
by  Tacitus, //zV/.v.  11  (compare  2  Kings 
V.  9,  3  Kings  xi.  17,  i  Paral.  xi.  4 — 8, 
2  Paral.  iii.  i,  Lam.  v.  18,  Zach.  viii.  3, 
2  Esdr.  iv.  and  5,  15,  16).  "  Urbem, 
arduam  situ,  opera  molesque  firmave- 
rant,  quibus  vel  plana  satis  muniretur. 
Nam  duos  colles,  immensum  editos, 
claudebant  muri  per  artem  obliqui,  aut 
introrsus  sinuati,  ut  latera  oppugnantium 
ad  ictus  patescerent.  Extrema  rupis, 
abrupta  ;  et  turres,  ubi  mons  juvisset,  in 
sexaginta  pedes  ;  inter  devexa,  in  cente- 
nos  vicenosque  attoUebantur  ;  mira 
specie,  ac  procul  intuentibus  pares.  Alia 
intus  maenia,  regime  circumjecta  ;  con- 
spicuoque  fastigio  turris  Antonia,  in 
honorem  M.  Antonii  ab  Herode  appel- 
latur."     See  Appendix  Q. 


86  FASTI   APOSTOLICI  :    TWENTY-FIFTH   YEAR. 

Jews  ;  Avho  heard  him  with  patience  till  he  announced  his  mission  to 
the  Gentiles,  when  the  commotion  was  renewed  with  greater  violence. 
Lysias  then  commanded  him  to  be  examined  by  scourging  and 
torture.  He  now  again,  as  at  Philippi,  asserted  his  privilege  as  a 
Roman  citizen,  and  so  escaped  the  indignity.^^  The  next  day, 
Lysias  called  a  Sanhedrim,  under  the  presidency  of  Ananias^^  the 
liigh-priest,  "and  bringing  forth  Paul;  he  set  him  before  them." 

By  declaring  himself  a  Pharisee,  and  that  the  real  question  was  a 
future  resurrection,  S.  Paul  divided  the  assembly,  diverting  the  con- 
tention from  himself  to  the  Sadducees.  Claudius  Lysias  had  him 
safely  conveyed  into  the  fortress,  where  the  Apostle  was  again^^ 
favoured  by  a  vision  of  our  Lord  at  night,  saying:  "Be  constant; 
for  as  thou  hast  testified  of  Me  in  Jerusalem,  so  must  thou  bear 
witness  also  at  Rome."  Next  day,  more  than  forty  Jews  conspired 
by  oath  not  to  eat  or  drink  till  they  had  assassinated  him  :  but  it 
was  discovered  by  the  Apostle's  nephew,  who  informed  Lysias. 
S.  Paul  was  therefore  sent  by  night,  under  escort  of  two  hundred 
legionaries,  seventy  horsemen,  and  two  hundred  light-armed  troops, 
by  a  forced  march  towards  Cnesarea,  for  judgment  before  Antonius 
Claudius   Felix,   Governor   of    Judaea   and    Samaria.^^      Halting   at 

30  The  commandant  had  made  him-  destruction  of  Jerusalem,   a   period   of 

self  liable  to  punishment,  not  only  for  107  years,  there  had  been  twenty-eight 

preparing  to  scourge  a  Roman  citizen,  high-priests:    a  state  of  confusion  and 

but  for  having  bound  him  ( Valcr.  Max.  secular     interference     which     denoted, 

iv.  I,  Cic.  in  Vcrr.  v.  54).  says  Eusebius  (//.£".  i.  6),  that  the  old 

•"''  "Son  of  Nebedttus.     He  had  been  priesthood  was  about  to  give  place   to 

•sent  in  chains  to  Rome,  by  Ouadratus,  the  new. 

prefect  of  Syria,  to  answer  to  Claudius  ^-  Compare,  for  other  instances,  Acts 

for   his   conduct  ;   but  was   enabled   to  xviii.  9,  10 ;  xxvii.  24. 

'Come  off  successfully,  and  returned  to  ^^  He  had  been  appointed  through  the 

Jerusalem  "  (Ornsby,   in   Act.   xxiii.   2).  influence  of  his  brother  Pallas,  who  had 

S.  Paul  was  unacquainted  with  him  by  arranged  the  marriage  between  Claudius 

sight  (Acts  xxiii.  5),  having  been  little  and   Agrippina,    Nero's    mother  ;    thus 

in  Jerusalem  since  his  conversion,  more  procuring  the  accession    of  Nero,  who 

than   twenty   years   previously.     More-  afterwards  made  Felix  Governor  of  all 

over,  since  the  death  of  Herod,  there  Juda:a,  including  Samaria,  Galilee,  and 

had  been  a  great  number  of  high-priests,  Pcrita.     At  the  same  time,  Agrippa  II. 

the  office  being  no  longer  held  for  life,  had  a  large  accession  of  territoiy  from 

nor  by  legitimate  succession  (Jos.  y^/z/zV.  the    Emperor    (Joseph.    Bell.   Jiid.   ii. 

XV.    2,    XX.    18).     From    Herod    to    the  xiii.  2).     Felix  retained  his  office  for  ten 


A.D.    5S    (53).      A.U.C.    809.      NERONIS    2.  8/ 

Antipatris,^*  the  foot-soldiers  returned  to  Jerusalem,  while  the  horse- 
men pushed  on  with  the  Apostle  to  Caesarea. 

In  a  few  days,  Ananias  the  High  Priest,  and  others,  with  Ter- 
tullus  an  orator,  came  down  to  accuse  him.  The  Apostle  defended 
himself;  and  P'elix  deferred  judgment  till  the  arrival  of  Lysias. 
Meanwhile,  he  assigned  him  quarters,  with  a  centurion,  and  permitted 
his  friends  to  have  access  to  him.  Felix  afterwards,  with  his  wife 
Drusilla,  a  Jewess,  gave  the  Apostle  another  audience  ;  in  which 
S.  Paul  filled  him  with  a  salutary  dread  by  treating  of  justice  and 
chastity,  and  of  the  judgment  to  come  f^  but  Felix  put  off  the  con- 
sideration of  these  things  to  "  a  convenient  time,"  which  seems  never 
to  have  been  given  to  him. 

Domitius  Corbulo,  who  had  greatly  distinguished  himself  in 
Germany  and  in  the  East,  is  made  Governor  of  Syria. 

Fortius  Festus^*^  arrives  at  Caesarea  to  replace  Felix  in  the 
governorship  of  Judaea  and  Samaria,  at  the  end  of  the  second  year 
of  Nero.^''     After  three  days,  he  goes  to  Jerusalem,  but  refuses  the 

years  (say  some  ;  at  least  for  six.    Cf.  rebuilt  by   Herod,  who  called  it  Anti- 
sup.  A.D.    52).      On  his  recal,  he  only  patris,  after  his  father  Antipater  (Ant. 
escaped   punishment   for    mal-adminis-  xiii.  15,  i,  xvi.  5,  2,  B.  J",  i.  21,  9).     Its 
tration,  through  his  brother's  influence  modern   name    is   Kafr-Sabaj    but    it 
(Joseph.  Antiq.  xx.  7,  9).  They  had  both  scarcely  exists,    except   that   the   name 
been  slaves,  but  liberated  by  Claudius.  identifies  the  position. 
"  Felix  per  omnem    sa?vitiam  et  libidi-  ^i  Tacitus  gives  Felix  the  character  of 
nem  jus  regium  servili  ingenio  exercuit"  a  cruel,  unjust,  and  immoral  man  {Ann. 
(Tacit.  Hist.  1.  v.  9,  6).     "  Pallas,  ce  vil  xii.  541,  Hist.  v.  9,  6). 
ministre    de    Claude,    dont    I'opulence          ^^  Neither  Tacitus  nor  Suetonius  men- 
avait  scandahse  la  corruption  meme  de  tion    him.      He    continued   with   great 
Rome ;    ce  qui  n'avait  pas  empeche  le  energy     his     predecessor's     operations 
senat   de   lui   voter   les   honneurs  d'un  against  robbers  (Joseph.  Antiq.  xx.  viii. 
mausolee  "    (Gerbet,   Rome   C/irc'tienne,  10,  i?^?//. ///^/.  lib.  ii.  xiv.  i),  but  he  died 
vol.  i.  p.  205).    Felix  had  two  successive  within  two  years  of  assuming  office,  and 
wives  named   Drusilla  (see   Acts  xxiv.  was  succeeded  by  Albinus,  as  he,  again, 
24),  one,  the  grand-daughter  of  Antony  by  Gessius  Florus.     Cf.  ad  A.D.  68. 
and  Cleopatra,  the  other,  a  daughter  of          '■^~  This    seems,    chronologically,    the 
Herod  Agrippa  I.,  and  wife  of  Azizus,  most  probable   interpretation   of  Sierias 
King  of  Emesa,  whom  Felix  had  per-  iT\7]poi6(i(T7]s ;  though  many  modern  com- 
suaded    this  second   Drusilla  to  leave.  mentators  follow  S.   Bede,    Onuphrius, 
Their    son    Agrippa    perished    in    the  and    others,    in    supposing    S.  Paul    to 
destruction  of  Pompeii  (Joseph,  ut  sup.).  have  been  imprisoned  for  two  full  years 
^  Originally     named     Capharsaba  ;  in  Csesarea,     If  this  was  so,  he  would 


88 


FASTI   ArOSTOLlCI  :    TWENTV-FIFTII   YEAR. 


Jews  in  the  City  to  allow  S.  Paul  to  be  brought  from  Cassarea ;  the 
Apostle  thus  escapes  their  second  plot  against  his  life.  Eight  or 
ten  days  after,  Festus  returns  to  Ca^sarea,  and,  having  had  the 
Apostle  brought  before  him,  determines  to  send  S.  Paul  to  Rome, 
on  his  own  appcal,^^  to  Ccxsar.  Ilcrod  Agrippa  II. .^'^  with  his  sister 
Berenice,^°  came  to  salute  Festus,  who  requested  him,  as  a  Jew,  to 


have  been  in  bonds  for  Christ  during^ 
four  years  altogether  in  his  Apostolic 
course.  The  Greek  certainly  appears  to 
favour  this  latter  view.  Baronius,  Lori- 
nus,  and  Scaliger  suppose  him  to  have 
been  apprehended  in  the  second  year  of 
Nero,  and  sent  to  Rome  towards  the 
end  of  that  year  (compare  Acts  xxvii.  9). 
The  following  reasons  appear  to  favour 
this  opinion,  (i)  It  is  difficult  to  suppose 
that  S.  Luke,  who  seems  to  have  been 
master  of  his  own  actions,  should  either 
have  left  the  Apostle  in  his  imprison- 
ment, or,  remaining  still  with  him, 
should  have  had  no  event  to  record 
during  those  two  years.  Especially 
when  this  silence  is  contrasted  with  the 
minute  details  of  the  after  voyage,  and 
the  graphic  account  he  has  given  of  the 
commencement  of  S.  Paul's  imprison- 
ment in  Rome.  (2)  The  injustices  and 
cruelties  of  Felix  in  administering  the 
prefecture  of  Judfea  had  reached  such 
a  height,  that  it  seems  unlikely  that 
those  intluential  Jews,  who  proceeded 
to  Rome  on  his  disgrace,  to  accuse  him 
before  Nero  (Joseph,  y:/;///!/.  xx.  7)  should 
have  waited  for  two  whole  years  without 
some  movement  for  his  dismissal.  (3) 
Neither  Festus  in  his  answer  to  the  Jews 
in  Jerusalem  and  his  address  to  Agrippa, 
nor  S.  Paul  in  his  pleadings,  make  any 
allusion  to  so  long  a  detention.  (4)  Felix, 
in  his  interviews  "  often  times  "  with  his 
prisoner,  would  have  given  S.  Paul  an 
opportunity  of  putting  in  his  appeal  to 
Caesar,  of  which  it  seems  very  unlikely 
that  he  should  not  have  availed  himself 
within  two  years  :— eager  as  he  must 
have  been,  to  bear  witness  to  the  truth 


in  the  Eternal  City  ;  compare  Acts  xix. 
21  ;  xxiii.  11.  If  we  suppose  the  "two 
full  years"  to  begin  with  the  prefecture 
of  Felix  in  Juda>a,  to  which  he  was 
appointed  by  Claudius  towards  the  close 
of  that  Emperor's  reign,  a  second  and 
concurrent  reason  is  afforded  for  S. 
Luke's  expression,  5i€Ti'as  ■K\rjpw&iiffi)s. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  we  take  the  words 
to  indicate  a  two  years'  imprisonment, 
the  date  of  our  Lord's  Nativity  will  be 
thrown  back  to  U.C.  750  (see  Intro- 
duction, p.  vii.). 

"-  Our  Lord  had  already  made  known 
to  S.  Paul  (Acts  xix.  21,  xxiii.  11)  His 
Will  that  the  Apostle  should  bear  witness 
to  Him  in  Rome  :  this  doubtless  moved 
S.  Paul  to  appeal  to  Caesar. 

■'''  Agrippa  II.  lived  chiefly  in  Jeru- 
salem ;  though  Claudius  had  assigned  to 
him  his  dominion  in  the  N.  W.  of 
Galilee,  with  Ca;sarea  Philippi  for  its 
capital.  His  royalty  at  this  time  was 
only  titular,  and  by  courtesy.  See  note  i 
ad  D.  43,  supra.  Though  descended 
from  a  race  of  persecutors,  Agrippa  the 
Younger  appears  to  have  been  mild  and 
equitable  ;  which  may  account  for  the 
tone  observable  in  S.  Paul's  address  to 
him,  c.  xxvi.  2,  3,  26,  27. 

■*"  The  same  name  as  Veronica.  She 
v>'as  also  elder  sister  to  Urusilla,  the 
wife  of  Felix.  She  had  been  first 
married  to  Herod,  King  of  Chalcis, 
brother  to  H.  Agrippa  I.  and  therefore 
her  own  uncle.  After  his  death,  she 
became  the  wife  of  Polemon,  King  of 
Cilicia,  but  soon  left  him  (Joseph.  Aiitiq. 
XX.  7,  3)  and  lived  chiefly  with  her 
brother.     After  the  destruction  of  Jeru- 


A.D.    58    (53).      A.U.C.    809.      NERONIS   2.  89 

hear  his  fellow-countryman.'*^     This  he  did,  with  attention,  until  the 
Apostle  proclaimed  the  Passion  and  Resurrection  of  our  Lord,  and 


the  calline  of  the  Gentiles  ;   when   Festus   broke 


with   a  loud 


voice,  whether  of  derision,  astonishment,  or  impatience,  affirming 
him  to  be  mad.  Agrippa  seems  also  to  have  scoffed  at  him  ;^^ 
but  both  his  judges  agreed  that  their  prisoner  had  done  nothing 
worthy  of  death,  or  even  of  imprisonment ;  and  that  only  his  appeal 
to  Cffisar  prevented  his  release. 

S.  Paul,  therefore,  with  S.  Luke,*^  Aristarchus^^  of  Thessalonica, 
and  other  prisoners,  was  put  on  board  a  ship  of  Adrumetum,^°  and 
sailed  to  Sidon,  thence  "  under  "^''  Cyprus,  and  so  by  the  Apostle's 
native  Cilicia,  and  Pamphylia,  to  Myra.'*^  They  made  Cape  Salmone, 
the  eastern  extremity  of  Crete,  and  got  to  Thalassa.  The  fair  season 
being  now  past,"*^  the  Apostle  warned  Julius  the  centurion,^'-*  who  had 


salem,  she  went  to  live  in  Rome,  where 
Titus  wished  to  make  her  Empress 
(Suet.  Tit.  vii.  Dion.  Cassius,  Ixvi.  15). 
The  identity  of  the  names  Berenice  and 
Veronica  disposes  of  the  shallow  objec- 
tion brought  against  the  legend  of  S. 
Veronica's  handkerchief,  used  on  the 
way  to  Calvary  ;  as  though  that  name 
were  a  mere  barbarous  compound  of 
vera  and  ilKuv. 

'^^  Thus  fulfilling  our  Lord's  words  : 
S.  I^Iatt.  X.  18,  S.  Mark  xiii.  9,  S.  Luke 
xxi.  12,  Acts  ix.  15.  Also  see  Psalm 
cxviii.  46,  161. 

^-  As  the  Athenians  had  done  before, 
Acts  xvii.  32. 

^3  Acts  xxvi.  28.  Compare  i  S.  Peter 
iv.  16.  The  pi-nbable  meaning  of 
Agrippa's  words  is  :  "You  are  peisuad- 
ing  yourself  {irdQus)  that  I  can  so  easily, 
or  in  so  short  a  time  (tV  dKiyqi)  be  made 
a  Christian  ;  but,  no — not  so  fast."  Or, 
iv  oAiyoj  [\6yoj],  "  This  is  a  very  short 
speech  by  which  to  persuade  me,  or  any 
one,  to  become  a  Christian." 

*^  It  is  not  clear  whether  S.  Luke 
went  as  a  prisoner  like  the  rest. 

*'^  See  Acts  xix.  29,  xx.  4,  Col.  iv.  10. 


■*"  A  sea-port  of  Africa  Proper  :  Adra- 
mytium  was  a  sea-port  of  Mysia.  It 
is,  however,  doubtful  which  of  the  two 
is  here  meant. 

"*"  This  is,  along  the  N.  W.  coast  of 
the  island,  the  ship  being  driven  by 
contrary  winds,  south  of  its  direct  course. 

*'^  The  Vulgate  has  Lystra  ;  but  that 
is  in  Lycaonia,  some  ninety  Roman  miles 
from  the  coast  ;  whereas  Myra  is  a 
maritime  city  of  Lycia.  It  lay  about 
fifty  miles  south-west  of  Attaleia,  whence 
S.  Paul  took  ship  on  returning  from  his 
first  missionary  journey  (Acts  xiv.  25). 
The  churches  of  many  sea-port  towns 
(Liverpool  among  the  rest)  are  dedi- 
cated under  the  invocation  of  S.  Nicolas 
of  Myra,  the  great  Bishop  of  that  see  in 
the  fourth  century.  According  to  the 
apocryphal  "  Circuits  of  SS.  Paul  and 
Thecla"  (see  Appendix  K.)  it  was  to 
Myra  that  S.  Thecla  proceeded,  to  pro- 
cure another  interview  with  the  Apostle. 

*'■'  "  Sailing  now  was  dangerous,  be- 
cause the  fast  was  now  past"  (Acts 
xxvii.  9).  This  was  the  fast  on  the  loth 
of  the  month  Tisri,  which  answers  to 
our     September     and     October.      The 


90 


FASTI   ArOSTOLICI  :    TWENTY-FIFTH   YEAR. 


them  in  charge,  that  it  would  be  well  to  winter  there.  I  lis  counsel 
being  neglected,  they  set  out  again,  and  encountered  a  tempest, - 
which  after  driving  them  up  and  down  for  fourteen  days,  wrecked 
them^^  on  the  island  of  Melita.^-  The  inhabitants''^  received  them 
with  hospitality,  which  was  exchanged  for  even  idolatrous  veneration 
on  S.  Paul  being  miraculously  preserved  from  harm  when  attacked 
by  a  viper.^^  The  Apostle  healed  the  father  of  Publius,^^  the  chief 
man  of  the  Melitenes."^^ 

This  year,  probably,  soon  after  S.  Paul's  arrival  in  Jerusalem,^'' 
died  the  Ever-Blessed  Mother  of  God,  and  was  assumed  into  Heaven, 
in  the  seventy-second  or  seventy-fourth  year  of  her  age.''^ 


weather  after  this  would  become  un- 
settled (Ornsby). 

^  Probably  Julius  Priscus,  afterwards 
Prefect  of  the  Prxtorian  Guard  under 
Vitellius. 

^1  Probably  in  the  bay  still  called 
"  St.  Paul's  Bay,"  N.W.  of  Valetta. 

'^'^  Malta  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
Carthaginians  from  ii.C.  402  to  B.C.  242, 
was  taken  by  the  Romans  during  the 
Second  Punic  War,  and  formed  at  this 
time  part  of  the  province  of  Sicily  (Cic. 
in  Ven:  iv.  18).  Some,  however,  have 
supposed  S.  Paul's  shipwreck  to  have 
been  on  the  island  of  Melita  on  the 
Illyrian  coast.  See  four  dissertations  in 
the  fourth  vol.  of  Zaccaria  {Raccolta  di 
Disscrtazzoiii,  &.C.). 

^^  They  were  of  Punic  origin,  and  to 
this  day  retain  traces  of  their  African 
descent.'  Twice,  S.  Luke  calls  them 
fidpfiapoi  (Acts  xxviii.  i,  4).  A  recent 
letter  in  the  Tz'mes  (Feb.  5.  1883)  gives 
an  interesting  description  of  the  mono- 
lithic Phccnician  remains  in  the  island. 
The  .Saracen  occupation  in  the  middle 
ages  accounts  for  the  Arabic  element  in 
the  Maltese  language,  which  so  far  pre- 
dominates, that  the  peasants  of  Malta 
and  of  Barbary  are  able  to  understand 
each  other. 

■'■*  Here,  as  in  previous  instances, 
the  expressions  used  by  S.  Luke  show 


his  medical  knowledge  (Cf.  sup.  Acts 
iii.  7  ;  ix.  18). 

^■'  Fr.  Gams  {Series,  p.  947)  says, 
circa  A.D.  61,  "  S.  Publius  primus  Meli- 
tensium  episcopus  fuisse  perhibetur." 

^•^  An  official  title,  given  to  the  gover- 
nor of  the  island  under  the  proconsul 
of  Sicily.  It  has  been  found  in  local 
inscriptions. 

^'^  He  had  hastened  to  keep  the 
Pentecost  at  Jerusalem  (Acts  xx.  16), 
and  therefore  had  sufficient  time  before 
the  Assumption  to  venerate  the  Queen 
of  Apostles  :  perhaps  he  was  miracu- 
lously brought  from  prison  to  share  that 
privilege,  of  which  all  the  surviving 
Apostles  were  partakers. 

^*  See  especially  the  remarkable  pas- 
sage in  S.  Dion.  Areopag.  De  Divin. 
Noininib.  c.  3,  with  the  comment  on  it 
in  Father  Halloix's  life  of  the  Saint, 
c.  vi.  (vol.  ii.  p.  747,  ed.  Migne).  Choisy 
{Hist,  de  VEglise,  par.  1703,  t.  i.),  has 
declared  his  opinion  that  the  Blessed 
Virgin  departed  this  life  at  Ephesus. 
Natalis  Alexander,  Tillemont  and  Bailly, 
think  this  probable.  Trombelli,  in  his 
life  of  her  (tom.  iii.  diss.  35,  qua:st.  3), 
thinks  it  more  probable  that  it  took 
place  at  Jerusalem,  and  that  her  tomb, 
shown  in  the  valley  of  Josaphat,  is 
authentic.  See  also  the  fourth  Disserta- 
tion given  by  Zaccaria  {Raccolta,  v.  viii.), 


A.D.    59   (54).      A.U.C.   810.      NERONIS   3.  9I 

Baronius  holds  that  vS".  Luke  wrote  his  Gospel^'^  this  year.  But  it 
seems  more  probable  that  he  wrote  it  during  the  interval^*'  when  he 
was  not  with  the  Apostle,  but  living  at  Troas  or  Philippi/'^ 


TWENTY-SIXTH   YEAR. 

A.D.    59    (54).      A.U.C.    8rO.      NERONIS   3. 

The  "Mother "whom  our  Lord  from  the  Cross  had  committed  to 
His  beloved  disciple/  being  now  in  Heaven,  and  no  longer  needing 
his  care,  S.  John  probably  comes  to  Ephesus,  "  there  to  continue 
and  extend  the  work  begun  by  S.  Paul."^  He  would  watch  with 
equal  vigilance  over  the  Churches  of  Smyrna,  Pergamus,  Thyatira, 
Sardis,  Philadelphia,  and  Laodicea. 

After  three  months'  stay  in  Malta,  S.  Paul,  still  in  bonds,  sailed 
to  Syracuse,  thence  to  Rhegium,  and  finally  to  Puteoli.^  Here  they 
quitted  the  ship  ;  and  after  seven  da3's  went  to  Rome  by  land,  a 
distance  of  some  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  ;  partly  along  the 
Appian  Way,  "the  Queen  of  Roads."*  The  disciples  came  out  to 
meet  him,  in  two  successive  companies  ;    one  advancing  as  far  as 

quoting   in   the   same   sense    Baronius,  tion  as  being  unanimous  as  to  the  event. 

Ven.  P.  Canisius,  "  E  cent'  altri  prima,  The  date,  however,  is  uncertain. 
e  dopo  di  lore."     Appendix  R.  ^  Originally    called    Dica^archia,   ac- 

^'^  It  was  afterwards  much  corrupted  cording  to  Jesephus  {Vit.  3),  who  landed 

by  the  Marcionites,  to  whom  S.  Irenjeus  here  after  his  shipwreck.    In  the  Acts  of 

alludes  {Hares,  iii.  i),  as  claiming  to  be  S.  Ignatius'  martyrdom,  fifty  years  after 

"emendatores  Apostolorum"  (cf.  Tertul-  S.  Paul's  landing,  it  is  said,  that  on  his 

lian,  c.  Mardou.  1.  ii.  Epiph.  H<xr.  42).  voyage  to  Rome,  "  when  Puteoli  came 

*^''  Acts  xiv.  10  ;  XX.  5.  in  sight,  [the  martyr]  was  eager  to  dis- 

''i  S.  Paul  may  refer  to  him,  and  to  embark  there,  desiring  to  tread  in  the 

the  service  he  had  done  to  the  whole  footsteps  of  the  Apostle:"  but   a  gale 

Church  by  writing  it,  in  2  Cor.  viii.  18;  springing  up,  he  was  unable  to  do  so, 

which  would  fix  it  to  the  earlier  date.  and  the  ship  carried  him  on  to  Ostia, 

Others  refer  that  text  to  the  labours  of  tfie  port  of  Rome  {Martyr.  Ignat.  c.  v.). 

S.  Silas,  or  S.  Barnabas.  Puteoli  derives  its  name  from  the  sul- 
phurous exhalations  of  the  district. 
^  S.  John  xix.  26,  27.  ■*  Appia  longarum  teritur  regina  via- 

^  Alzog,  p.  226.     He  speaks  of  tradi-  rum.     Stat.  Sylv.  ii.  2. 


92 


FASTI   ArOSTOLICI  :    TWENTY-SIXTH   YEAR. 


Appii  Forum,  in  the  Pontine  marshes,  fifty-one  miles  from  Rome, 
the  other  to  *'  the  Three  Taverns,"  near  Aricea,^  some  eighteen  miles 
nearer  the  City.*'  "Whom  ^vhen  Paul  saw,  he  thanked  God  and 
took  courage.""  Aquila  and  Priscilla  were  doubtless  of  the  number.® 
In  Rome,  the  Apostle  "was  suffered  to  dwell  by  himself^  with 
a  soldier  that  kept  him."^*'  "After  the  third  day,  he  called  together 
the  chief  of  the  Jews,"^^  to  vindicate  himself  from  having  done  any- 
thing against  his  nation,  or  the  customs  of  the  fathers,  and  from  the 
imputation  that  his  forced  appeal  to  Caesar  was  an  accusation  against 
the  Jewish  people.  They  at  first  received  him  well,  and  appointed 
a  day  on  which  to  hear  him  expound  the  principles  of  that  "sect 
which  is  gainsayed  everywhere."^-  Very  many  came  to  his  lodging 
for  this  purpose,  and  his  exposition  lasted  "  from  morning  until 
evening.      And  some  believed  the  things  that  were  said,  but  some 

^  Where  Horace  lodged,  hospitio 
modico,  as  his  first  stage  from  Rome 
to  Brundusiimi.  The  "Three  Taverns" 
have  been  identified  by  some  with  Cis- 
terna,  by  others  with  Civitona. 

•^  Both  these  stations  are  mentioned 
by  Cicero  in  a  very  brief  letter  to  Atticus, 
Epist.  ii.  lo.  Felix,  who  was  Bishop  of 
Tirs  Tabcr?tcc  in  the  beginning  of  the 
fourth  century,  assisted  at  a  Synod  in 
Rome,  and  seems  to  have  been  the  first 
who  held  the  See.  He  was  one  of  the 
nineteen  appointed  by  Constantine  to 
decide  between  Donatus  and  Ciecili- 
anus  :  S.  Optat.  de  Schisjii.  Dojiaiist.  i. 
23.  The  see  was  united  to  that  of  Ostia 
and  \'eletri  in  762,  and  again  in  868. 
(Gams,  ut  supra,  p.  vii.). 

''  S.  Paul  would  have  passed  between 
the  mausoleum  of  Concilia  Metella  and 
the  tomb  of  the  Scipios ;  thence  by 
the  temple  of  Alars,  with  its  hundred 
columns ;  and  finally  entered  Rome  by 
the  Appian  Gate,  now  the  Gate  of 
S.  Sebastian  (Martinelli,  Prim.  Triojif. 
Delia  Croce,  p.  31). 

*^  They  afterwards  returned  to  Ephe- 
sus,  probably  on  S.  Paul's  release  from 
his  first  imprisonment,  and  perhaps  in 


company  with  S.  Timotheus.  2  Tim. 
\v.  19.     See  note  20,  infra. 

"^  The  house  has  now  become  the 
Church  of  S.  Maria  in  Via  Lata. 

1"  Acts  xxviii.  16.  S.  Paul  was  pro- 
bably delivered  into  the  care  of  the 
commander  of  the  Augustan  cohort, 
the  Emperor's  body-guard  (see  Acts 
xxvii.  i),  whose  quarters  were  in  the 
imperial  Pra;torium,  or  palace  (Phil.  i. 
13,  iv.  22).  Herod  Agrippa  had  been 
imprisoned  here,  when  he  had  offended 
Tiberius  (Joseph.  Antiq.  xviii.  6,  7). 

^^  From  the  Transtiberine  quarter, 
where  they  chiefly  dwelt.  They  had 
been  permitted  to  return  to  Rome,  after 
the  death  of  Claudius.     See  above,  ann. 

1-  On  the  active  and  persevering 
calumnies  of  the  Jews  against  our  Lord 
and  His  followers,  see  Justin  Mart. 
Dial,  xvii.,  cviii.  The  Roman  opinion 
of  the  faith  in  Christ  is  summarized  in 
the  "exitiabilis  supcrstitio  "  of  Tacitus, 
Annal.  xv.  44,  the  "superstitio  nova 
ac  malefica:"  of  Suetonius,  Nero,  §  16, 
and  the  "  superstitio  prava  et  immo- 
dica  "  of  Pliny,  Epist.  x.  96. 


A.D.    59   (54).      A.U.C.   810.      NERONIS    3.  93 

believed  not."  Before  they  departed,  the  Apostle  solemnly  warned 
them,  that  on  their  rejection  of  the  truth,  it  was  sent  to  the  Gentiles, 
and  that  they  would  hear  it.^^ 

S.  Timotheus,  according  to  some,  joined  the  Apostle  in  Rome, 
not  long  after  his  arrival  there  :  but  not  without  undergoing  imprison- 
ment, perhaps  on  his  way  from  Ephesus. 

Though  still  an  untried  prisoner,  and  chained  by  the  arm  to  the 
soldier  on  guard  over  him,^"*  S.  Paul  was  mildly  treated  by  Burrhus, 
Prefect  of  the  City,  and  was  allowed  to  receive  all  who  came  to  his 
lodging.  He  "preached  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  taught  the 
things  which  concern  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  with  all  boldness, 
without  prohibition."  Thus  was  fulfilled  his  long-cherished  desire 
to  "  proclaim  the  Gospel  to  them  also  that  were  in  Rome."^^  And 
so  he  continued  during  the  remainder  of  this  year,  awaiting  the 
coming  of  his  accusers  from  Jerusalem. 

The  fear  of  Nero  seems  to  have  caused  many  to  abandon  him,^^ 
even  before  the  actual  persecution  of  five  years  after ;  but,  he  records, 
"  the  Lord  stood  by  and  strengthened  me,  and  I  was  delivered  out 
of  the  mouth  of  the  lion."^'' 

They  who  remained  faithful  to  him  were  SS.  Luke,^^  Timotheus,^^ 
with  Tychicus,"^  Epaphras,^^  and  Aristarchus  of  Thessalonica,  whose 

13  Compare  Acts  xiii.  46.     This  long  "  fought  with  beasts  at  Ephesus,"  so  he 

discourse    of    the    Apostle's    doubtless  was  exposed  to  them  also  at  Rome :  but 

contained  the  topics  of  his  Epistle  to  the  expression  may  well  be  referred  to 

the   Hebrews,  which   winds  up  with  a  the  savage  Nero, 

like  denunciation,  c.  xii.  25.  1*  Col.  iv.  14  ;  Philem.  24. 

1^  Acts   xxviii.    16  ;    Ephes.    vi.     30  ;  ^^  Phil.   i.    i  ;    Col.   i.    i  ;    Philem.    I, 

Phil.  i.   13;  Colos.  iv.   18.     The  guard  After  the  liberation  of  S.  Paul,  S.Timo- 

was  doubled  at  night:  "nox  custodiam  theus  seems  to  have  returned  to  Ephe- 

geminat :  "  see  Acts  xii.  6.     The  martyr  sus,  where  he  was  martyred  by  stoning, 

S.  Ignatius  was  afterwards  subjected  to  A.D.  97,  on  his  reproving  the  idolatrous 

severer  treatment  on  his  way  from  Asia  Ephesians  for   their  worship  of  Diana 

Minor  to    Rome  ;   being   committed  to  {Rom.  Martyrol.  Jan.  14).     Cf  not.   28 

ten  soldiers,  or  rather  "  leopards,"  as  he  ad  a.d.  35. 

called  them,  from  their  savage  implac-  ^^  Ephes.  vi.  21  ;  Col.  iv.  7.    Cf.  Acts 

able  conduct  towards  their  prisoner.  xx.  4  ;  Tit.  iii.  12. 

i'5  Rom.  i.  10—15.  21  A  Colossian,  and  not   to  be  con- 

i*'  See  2  Tim.  iv.  16.     They  resumed  founded  with  the  Philippian  Epaphrodi- 

courage  afterwards,  however  (Phil.  i.  12).  tus,  another  of  S.  Paul's  fellow-labourers 

1''  Some  suppose,  that,  as  S.  Paul  had  at  this  time.    See  above,  A.D.  55,  note  2. 


94 


FASTI   APOSTOLICI:    TWENTY-SIXTH   YEAR. 


life  had  been  endangered,  together  with  the  Apostle's,  at  Ephesus.^^ 
John  Mark,  nephew  to  S.  Barnabas,  had  now  rejoined  him,^^  making 
amends  for  his  former  desertion  ;-^  and  so  continued  with  S.  Paul  to 
the  end.-^  Demas,  who  was  afterwards  to  forsake  him,-"  "  loving  this 
world,"  was  steadfast  up  to  this  point-*^  as  a  "fellow-labourer"  in  the 
word  of  life. 

Rome  became  filled  with  the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel.  It  pene- 
trated the  "  Praitorium,"-^  by  which  may  be  understood  the  imperial 
palace,-'^  the  quarters  of  the  Pra:torian  Guard,^°  the  Senate,  or  the 
College  of  Pontiffs.  There  were  certainly  "  Saints  in  Caesar's 
household."  ^^ 

About  this  time,  probably,  S.  Peter  consecrated  S.  Apollinaris 
the   first   Bishop   of  Ravenna.      S.  Bede^-  says   that    S.  Apollinaris 


'^'^  Acts  xix.  29,  He  had  also  acconi- 
panied  S.  Paul  on  his  sea-voyage ;  see 
xxvii.  2  ;  Coloss.  iv.  10. 

23  Philem.  24. 

"  Cf.  Acts  xiii.  5,  13  ;  xv.  37 — 39. 

'•is  2  Tim.  iv.  II,  where  he  received  S. 
Paul's  testimony  that  he  was  €tjxpvo"ros 
els  SiaKoyiav. 

-'^  2  Tim.  iv.  9. 

2'  Philem.  24.  Perhaps  he  may  after- 
wards have  returned,  as  John  Mark  had 
done  :  though  the  contrast  between  S. 
Luke  and  himself  is  very  distinctly  drawn 
in  S.  Paul's  epistles.  Compare  Col.  iv.  14, 
and  Philem.  24,  with  2  Tim.  iv.  9,  11. 

28  Phil.  i.  13. 

^  Probably  a  barrack  attached  to  the 
Imperial  residence  on  the  Palatine.  The 
word  "  pra^torium  "  is  used  for  Pilate's 
residence  in  S.  John  xviii.  28,  and  for 
that  of  Herod,  Acts  xxiii.  35. 

^'^  Tiberius  had  established  them  in  a 
great  camp  outside  the  walls,  on  the 
N.E.  of  the  City  (Tacit.  Ami.  iv,  2,  Suet. 
Tii.  37). 

"^  Phil.  iv.  22.  The  Roman  Mariyrology 
for  May  17,  mentions  S.  Torpes,  once 
high  in  office  at  Nero's  court,  as  being 
one  of  these.     He  was  afterwards  mar- 


tyred at  Pisa.  Josephus,  quoted  by 
Baronius  for  this  year,  mentions  that 
PoppcTea  Sabina,  Nero's  favourite,  was 
inclined  to  Judaism.  This  might  have 
meant  Christianity,  as  the  two  were  at 
first  confounded  in  the  Roman  mind. 
The  well-known  life  of  Poppaea  need 
not  of  itself  discredit  the  idea,  if  the 
cases  of  S.  Thais,  S.  Mary  of  Egypt, 
and  others,  are  borne  in  memory.  But 
the  impression  seems  to  have  arisen 
from  the  vague  terms  of  Josephus,  com- 
bined with  S.  Chrysostom's  assertion 
{Ho)ii.  liv.  in  Act.  and  Advers.  Vitiip. 
Vit.  Mon.  lib.  i)  that  S.  Paul  had  con- 
verted, or  influenced  for  good,  a  concu- 
bine of  the  Emperor's,  and  had  thereby 
gained  the  crown  of  martyrdom.  Poppasa 
could  not  have  been  a  declared  Christian, 
since  she  retained  the  favour  of  Nero  to 
the  last,  and  after  her  death  had  a 
funeral  of  regal  magnificence  (Tacit. 
A7171.  xvi.  6,  7,  Plin.  A^.  H.  xii.  18). 

3-  Martyrol.  July  23.  S.  Bede,  with 
Usuard  and  Adon,  follow  the  Acts  of 
the  Saint,  which  are  certainly  ancient, 
though  of  doubtful  authority. 


A.D.   60   (55).      A.U.C.   81 1.      NERONIS   4. 


95 


occupied  the  see  of  Ravenna  for  twenty  years,  and  was  martyred^^ 
under  Vespasian.  That  Emperor  reigned  A.D.  69—79  (vulg.)  Assum- 
ing, then,  that  the  martyr-bishop  suffered  about  the  middle  of 
Vespasian's  reign,  his  consecration  would  fall  to  about  the  present 
year. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH  YEAR. 

A.D.   60   (55).      A.U.C.    811.      NERONIS   4. 

Onesimus,  a  runaway  slave  from  Colossae,  who  had,  moreover, 
robbed  his  Christian  master,  Philemon,  had  been  converted  in  Rome 
by    S.    Paul,    who    now   wrote   a   persuasive    Epistle    to    Phileinon^ 


33  Tillemont  doubts  this  fact ;  but  the 
title  of  martyr  is  given  to  him  both  in 
the  Roman  Breviary  (July  23),  which 
gives  a  circumstantial  account  of  his 
martyrdom,  and  in  a  panegyric  by  S. 
Peter  Chrysologus,  his  illustrious  suc- 
cessor in  the  see  of  Ravenna ;  who 
adds  that  S.  Apollinaris  was  the  only 
martyred  bishop  of  that  see.  His  body 
was  venerated  there  in  the  fifth  and 
sixth  century,  either  in  the  Cathedral 
or  in  the  church  of  Classis,  the  port 
of  Ravenna,  where  S.  Peter  Chryso- 
logus "fontem  extruxit  magnitudinis 
vere  admirabilis,  et  templa  quaedam 
magnifica  aedificavit,  tum  beato  Andrea; 
Apostolo,  tum  aliis  Sanctis  "  (Brev.  Rom. 
Dec.  4).  S.  P.  Chrysol.  himself  had  been 
indicated  in  a  vision  to  Pope  S.  Sixtus  III. 
as  the  divinely  appointed  successor  to 
the  vacant  see  of  Ravenna  :  appearing 
to  the  Pontiff  between  S.  Peter  the 
Apostle  and  S.  Apollinaris  {Ibid.).  A 
recent  writer,  probably  Cardinal  Wise- 
man, says  of  Ravenna  that  it  is  "a  perfect 
Christian  museum;  city  and  suburbs  are 
full  of  splendid  edifices  of  the  first 
Christian  ages,  churches  erected  or 
embellished  by  Justinian,  Valentinian, 
or  Galla  Placidia.    The  domestic  chapel, 


built  by  S.  Peter  Chrysologus,  still  serves 
.  .  his  worthy  successor,  the  present 
saintly  Archbishop  ;  and  the  beautiful 
frescoes  of  Giotto  have  faded  away  or 
have  been  peeled  off  by  damp,  from  the 
church  of  Santa  Maria  in  Porio  fuori j 
while  the  mosaics  of  double  their  age,  in 
the  apsis  of  the  neighbouring  basilica  of 
Sanf  Apollinari  in  Classe,  display  as  yet 
almost  their  original  freshness "  {Dub- 
lin Review,  Nov.  1840).  Consult  Ama- 
desius,  In  atitistiimn  Ravennatuvi 
Chronotaxim  Disqiiisitiones,  Favent. 
1783.     See  Appendix  U. 


^  Philemon  is  said,  in  some  apocry- 
phal accounts,  to  have  been  consecrated 
bishop  of  Gaza,  and  his  wife  Appia 
(Philem.  2)  having  made  a  vow  of 
chastity,  to  have  accompanied  and 
assisted  him  in  his  apostolical  labours. 
They  were  both,  it  is  said,  condemned 
by  the  prefect  Artocles,  and  martyred  in 
Gaza,  Nov.  22,  during  the  persecution  of 
Nero  (Moreri,  in  voc.  Appia).  "Both 
Latins  and  Greeks,"  says  Butler, "honour 
SS.  Philemon  and  Appia  on  this  or  the 
following  day.  Some  Greeks  say  Phile- 
mon died  a  martyr." 


96  FASTI   APOSTOLICI  :    TWENTY-SEVENTH   YEAR. 

entreating  him  to  take  back  Onesimus,- "not  now  as  a  slave,  but 
a  most  dear  brother."^  He  sent  him  back  to  his  master  in  Colossae, 
with  Tychicus,  who  was  the  bearer  of  S.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the 
Colossian  Church,^  written  in  this  year.""' 

Demas  still  remains  faithful,*^  though  he  was  afterwards  to  fail, 
almost  in  sight  of  the  goal/ 

The  Apostle  seems  about  this  time  to  have  written  an  Epistle 
to  the  Laodiceans,**  which  he  desires  the  Colossians  to  interchange 
with  their  own,  so  that  each  Church  might  read  that  addressed  to 
the  other. 

The  Apostle  is  said  by  some  to  have  now  Avritten  his  Second 
Epistle  to  Timothyf  and  that  to  the  Ephcsians,  sending  both  Epistles 
by  the  same  messenger,  Tychicus. 

The  Philippian  Church,  hearing  of  the  Apostle's  imprisonment, 
had  made  a  collection  to  relieve  his  wants.  This  had  reached  him 
by  the  hands  of  their  bishop,^*^  S.  Epaphroditus,  wdio  nearly  lost  his 
life  in  Rome,  perhaps  from  the  fatigue  of  his  journey.  On  his 
recovery,  S.  Paul  sent  him  back,  with  an  Epistle  to  the  Philippians, 
full  of  thanks  and  consolation  at  their  charity.      He  also  wrote  to 

2  The   younger    Pliny  wrote  a   letter  '■  S.  Chrysostom,  however,  and  Theo- 

to   a   friend   under    the    same    circum-  doret,  say  otherwise  ;  the  latter  asserts 

stances    {Epist.  ix.   21).      "Scholars.  .  that  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians  was 

hesitate  not  to  say,  that  not  only  in  the  not  written  before  the  return  of  Onesi- 

spirit  of  Christian  love,  of  which  Pliny  mus  to  S.  Paul  from  Colossae  (according 

was  ignorant,  but  in  dignity  of  thought,  to    the   implied   wish    of    the    Apostle 

argument,  pathos,  beauty  of  style,  elo-  (Philem.  13,  14). 

quencCjthecommunication  of  theApostle  ''  Philem.  24. 

is  vastly  superior  to  that  of  the  polished  "  2  Tim.  iv.  9. 

Roman  writer."  *  Col.  iv.  16. 

^  Onesimus  is  said  to  be  the  person  '■*  Though  the  expression,  c.  iv.  6—8, 

of  that   name   whom    S.  Ignatius    {Ad  would  seem  to  imply  a  date  nearer  to 

Ephes.   14.)  highly  commends.      He  is  his    martyrdom,    if    he   had   any   such 

mentioned  in  the  Apostolical  Constitu-  prescience   as   was    given   to    S.    Peter 

tio7is  as  bishop  of  Laodicea,  and  was  (2   S.   Peter  i.   14).       It  was,   however, 

afterwards     martyred     under     Trajan.  much  more  probably  written  during  the 

Gams,  however  (.S'^^/Vj',  p.  429),  makes  Apostle's  second  imprisonment  in  Rome, 

S.  Onesimus  bishop  of  I3errhoea  in  Ma-  and  nearer  to  his  martyrdom.      See  2 

cedonia    (not,    of   course,    Beroea,    the  Tim.  iv.  6—8. 

present  Aleppo).  '"  Phil.  ii.  25,  as  interpreted  by  Theo- 

*  Col.  iv,  7,  9.  doret,  Baronius,  and  others. 


A.D.   6l    (56).      A.U.C.   812.      NERONIS   5. 


97 


the  Hebreivs}'^  mentioning-,  in  the  letter,  the  release  of  S.  Timotheus/^ 
who  seems  to  have  undergone  imprisonment  somewhere  between 
Ephesus  and  Rome,  on  his  way  to  rejoin  the  Apostle  and  aid  him 
in  his  bonds.^^ 


TWENTY-EIGHTH   YEAR. 

A.D.   61    (56).      A.U.C.   812.      NERONIS    5. 

S.  Paul,  having  suffered  two  years'  imprisonment,  is  freely  dismissed. 
Before  the  Apostle's  release,  S.  Luke's  narrative  concludes. 

Lactantius^  says  that  both  the  Apostles  foretold  in  Rome  the 
coming  afflictions  and  desolation  of  Jerusalem,  for  having  rejected 
our  Lord. 

There  seems  no  certain  indication  whether  S.  Peter  also  suffered 
a  first  imprisonment  in  Rome,  and  was  released  at  the  same  time 
with  S.  Paul.^  The  latter  would  appear  highly  probable,  if  the 
former  were  true. 


^^  The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  seems 
especially  addressed  to  the  Hebrew 
converts  in  Palestine,  because  it  sup- 
poses, on  the  part  of  those  addressed,  a 
minute  acquaintance  with  the  Temple- 
worship  in  Jerusalem,  such  as  could 
scarcely  be  possessed  by  the  synagogues 
of  the  "  dispersion."  Also,  the  hope 
expressed  by  the  Apostle  (c.  xiii.  19,  23) 
of  seeing  them  again,  could  hardly  apply 
in  general  to  the  latter.  It  appears 
more  than  doubtful  whether  he  ever 
returned  to  the  Holy  Land  (see  below, 
ad  A.D.  61).  "The  apparent  difference 
of  style  between  this  and  the  other 
Pauline  epistles  gave  rise  to  an  opinion 
that  this  epistle  was  written,  originally, 
in  Hebrew,  and  translated  by  S.  Clement 
or  S.  Luke ;  or  that  the  thoughts  were 
S.  Paul's,  the  words  his  amanuensis'. 
The  Apostle,  however,  founds  reasoning 
H 


on  passages  as  rendered  by  the  LXX., 
and  not  as  in  the  Hebrew.  See,  espe- 
cially, the  word  Staflij/c'?,  in  c.  ix.  16" 
(Ornsby). 

^^  Heb.  xiii.  23. 

^•^  This  is  the  supposition  of  the  writer 
in  Goschler,  art.  "  Paul,"  and  seems  not 
improbable,  though  difficult  to  reconcile 
with  S.  Tiinotheus  being  already  with 
S.  Paul  in  Rome  (Phil.  i.  i,  Col.  i.  i, 
Philem.  i).  He  may  have  departed  for 
a  time  to  revisit  Ephesus  or  other  places, 
and  been  imprisoned  on  his  way  back  to 
Rome.  S.  Timotheus' liberation  perhaps 
gave  the  Apostle  some  expectation  of 
his  own  (Heb.  xiii.  23). 

^  Lib.  iv.  21,  quoted  from  Alban  But- 
ler, June  29. 

2  Tillemont,  with  all  his  research,  has 
nothing  to  say  on  this  point. 


98  FASTI   ArOSTOLICI  :    TWENTV-EIGIITII   YEAR. 

From  this  time  till  S.  Paul's  martyrdom,  his  apostolical  journeys 
and  acts  arc  uncertain.  His  Epistle  to  the  Philippians  and  Hebrews, 
and  to  Philemon,^  show  him  to  have  had  the  intention  of  returning 
to  the  East.  Greek  and  Latin  Fathers,*  quoted  by  Baronius  (///  hoc 
atni.)  and  the  Roman  Martyrology  {ibid.)  assert  that  he  went  into 
Spain  ;  which  had  long  been  his  intention.''  S.  Clement,^  his  fellow- 
labourer,^  says  that  "  he  preached  both  in  the  East  and  the  West," 
and  that,  "  having  taught  righteousness  to  the  whole  world,  he  came 
to  the  extreme  limit  of  the  West : "  an  expression  understood  in 
those  days  to  signify  Spain,  Gaul,  and  also  Britain.^  Eight  years 
are  to  be  accounted  for,  until  his  death  in  the  thirteenth  year  of 
Nero  :  he  may  therefore  have  evangelized  many  other  countries,  and 
returned  upon  his  former  steps.^ 

The  island  of  Mona  (Anglesey)  is  attacked  by  Suetonius  Paulinus, 
an  easy  victory  gained,  and  great  slaughter  of  druids  and  druidesses 
made.  Boadicea  retaliates,  by  reducing  Camalodunum  to  ashes. 
Londinium  and  Verulam  share  the  same  fate,  and  seventy  thousand 
Romans  and  non-insurgents  are  slaughtered.^*'      Paulinus  afterwards 


^  Phil.  i.  24—26;    Philem.  22;  Heb.  Londinium  having  been  dedicated  under 

xiii.  23.   Cf.  Phil.  ii.  19.     See,  however,  his  invocation,  affords  a  degree  of  pre- 

Corn.  i\  Lap.  in  vers.  17.  sumption  that  he  came  into  Britain  :  as 

••  Especially    S.    Gregory   the    Great  the  Church  of  S.  Peter  in  Cornhill,  built 

{Moral,  lib.  31,  c.  22).  by  S.  Lucius,  the  first  Christian  King, 

'•>  Rom.  x\\  24,  28.  may  perhaps    indicate   a    visit   to    this 

^  S.  Clem,  ad  Cor.     Passing  through  island  from  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles. 

Gaul  on  his  way,  the  Apostle  is  said  to  See  note  6  ad  a.d.  44  supra. 

have  left  Crescens  as  bishop  of  Vienne  ;  ^^  "  The  work  of  twenty  years  was  in 

his  own  namesake,  Paul,  at  Narbonne  ;  a  moment  undone.    Far  and  wide,  every 

and  Trophimus   at   Aries.      Theodoret  vestige     of    modern     civilization     was 

takes  "  Galatia  "  (2  Tim.  iv.  10)  to  mean  trodden  into  the  soil.     At  this  day,  the 

■"Gaul"  (Introd.  in  Ep.  ad  Galat).     S.  workmen  who  dig  through  the  founda- 

Epiphanius  says  the  same  (//(T/rj.  L.  i.).  tions  of  the    Norman   and   the    Saxon 

Several  ancient  martyrologies  state  that  London,    strike   beneath    them   on    the 

S.  Crescens  founded  the  sees  of  Vienne  traces   of    two   distinct    Roman    cities, 

and  Mentz.     Cf.  Gams,  (pp.  653,  4).  between  which  lies  a  mass  of  charred 

"  Phil.  iv.  3.  and  broken  rubbish,  attesting  the  con- 

**  Theodoret,    P/iilothcus,    xxvi.    881.  flagration    of    the    terrible    Boadicea" 

■"  Ultimos     orbis      Britannos,"     Horat.  (Dr.  Merivale,  History  of  the  Romans 

Carm.  i,  35,  29.  under  the    Empire,    vol.    iv.    pp.    258, 

9  Rom.   XV.    28.     The    Cathedral    of  259). 


A.D.   6l    (56).      A.U.C.   812.      NERONIS   5.  99 

gains  a  victory,  in  which  the  Britons  lose  eighty  thousand,  including 
women  and  children. 

Boadicea,  in  despair,  commits  suicide,  Nero  soon  afterwards 
recalled  Suetonius ;  apparently  as  having  been  unfortunate,  no  less 
than  severe.^^  His  successor,  Cerealis,  was  not  appointed  before  the 
accession  of  Vespasian. 

S.  Luke,  departing  from  Rome,  preached  the  Gospel  in  various 
places.  S.  Epiphanius^-  mentions  Dalmatia,^^  Gaul,  Italy,  and  Mace- 
donia. GEcumenius  makes  him  return  to  the  East,  and  thence  pro- 
ceed to  Lybia,  evangelizing  Thebes,  and  dying  there  at  a  great  age. 
S.  Gregory  Nazianzen  and  others  assert  him  to  have  been  martyred : 
Nicephorus  says,  he  was  suspended  from  the  branches  of  an  olive 
tree.      His  tomb  is  said  to  exist  at  Ephesus.^"* 

At  Cassarea,  sanguinary  conflicts  take  place  between  the  Jews 
and  Syrians.  This  particular  outbreak  (among  many  which  were 
constantly  occurring)  may  be  reckoned  as  "  one  of  the  first  incidents 
in  the  [Jewish]  war." 

This  year,  Nero  puts  an  end  to  the  life  of  his  mother  Agrippina. 
Servile  rejoicings,  accompanied  perhaps  by  the  opening  of  the  prisons, 
take  place  in  Rome,  on  the  Emperor's  safety  being  thus  secured. 
This  may  probably  account  for  S.  Paul's  liberation,  and  that  of 
S.  Peter,  supposing  him  also  to  have  been  imprisoned. 

1^  See  Hume,  quoted  above,  ad  a.d.  is  said  to  have  been  consecrated  by  him 

57,  note  32.  the   fii-st   bishop   of  Salona.      The   see 

1-  Hares,    li.       He    also    says    that  was   afterwards    removed   to    Spalatro. 

Crescens,    S.    Paul's   disciple,  laboured  Gams,   Scries,  p.  419  ;    who,  however, 

in  Gaul   (not    Galatia)    2    Tim.  iv.    10.  places    S.   Hermes   between    SS.  Titus 

S.  Isidore  of  Seville  adds  S.  Philip  as  and  Domnius  :  so  that  S.   Titus  must 

an   evangelical    labourer    in   the   same  have   consecrated   them   both    in    suc- 

province  {De  Vit.  ct  Mart.  SS.  c.  74).  cession. 

1'  S.  Paul,  however,  had  sent  S.  Titus  "  Mr.  Wood,  Discoveries  at  Ephesus, 

thither  (2  Tim.  iv.  10),  and  he  is  honoured  gives  a  bas-relief,  which  affords  a  pre- 

in  that  country  as  its  Apostle  and  prin-  sumption  of  its  being  part  of  the  holy 

cipal   patron    (F.    Farlet,    S.J.    Illyria  Evangelist's  tomb,  pp.  56 — 59. 
Sacra,  t.  i.  p.  355).  S.  Domnius  (May  7) 


lOO 


FASTI   ArOSTOLICI  :    TWENTV-NINTII   YEAR. 


TWENTY-NINTH    YEAR. 

A.D.   62   (57).      A.U.C.  813.      NERONIS  6. 

Festus,  Governor  of  Judsea,  dies.  Nero  appoints  Albinus  as  his 
successor ;  who,  however,  only  departs  for  his  province  the  following 
year. 

During  the  interregnum,  King  Agrippa  deposes  Joseph  the  High 
Priest,  and  gives  the  office  to  Ananus,  or  Annas,  the  Younger,  an 
intolerant  Sadducee.  In  the  next  year,^  before  the  arrival  of  Albinus, 
and  while  the  governorship  is  practically  vacant,  he  causes  the  mar- 
tyrdom of  S.  James,  Bishop  of  Jerusalem,  together  with  the  death  of 
others,  probably  Christians. 

In  this  year,  the  city  of  Laodicea-  was  overthrown  by  an  earth- 
quake, but  promptly  rebuilt  by  its  citizens.^  Its  wealth  and  prosperity 
had  already  caused,  or  certainly  did  afterwards  cause,  relaxation  and 
tepidity  in  the  Church  there.*  Eusebius  {Chronic)  places  the  earth- 
quake four  years  later,  and  adds  that  Hierapolis  and  Colossae  were 
involved  in  the  calamity. 


1  The  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle  assigns 
the  martyrdom  of  S.  James  to  this  year. 

-  Tacit.  Aimal.  xiv.  27.  This  is  con- 
firmed by  Orosius,  vii.  7.  That  part  of 
the  valley  of  the  Ma^ander  in  which 
Laodicea  was  built,  (hence  one  of  its 
former  names,  Rhoas),  was  subject  to 
earthquakes.  A  previous  one  had  oc- 
curred in  the  reign  of  Augustus  (Strabo, 
578).  "  In  subsequent  times,  it  became 
a  city  of  eminence,  the  see  of  a  bishop, 
and  a  meeting-place  of  Councils.  It 
is  often  mentioned  by  the  Byzantine 
writers.  The  Mahommedan  invaders 
destroyed  it,  and  it  is  now  a  scene  of 
utter  desolation."  Its  present  Turkish 
name  is  Eski-Hissar. 

3  .See  Appendix  S.  Gibbon  adds,  in  a 
note  to  the  passage  there  given,  regard- 
ing the  eleven  cities  of  Asia  mentioned 


by  Tacitus  :  "  I  have  taken  some  pains 
in  consulting  and  comparing  modern 
travellers,  with  regard  to  the  fate  of 
those  eleven  cities  of  Asia.  Seven  or 
eight  are  totally  destroyed — Hypa^pe, 
Tralles,  Laodicea,  Ilium,  Halicarnassus, 
Miletus,  Ephesus,  and  we  may  add 
Sardis.  Of  the  remaining  three,  Per- 
gamus  is  a  struggling  village  of  two  or 
three  thousand  inhabitants  ;  Magnesia, 
under  the  name  of  Guzel-hissar,  a  town 
of  some  consequence  ;  and  Smyrna,  a 
great  city,  peopled  by  an  hundred 
thousand  souls.  But  even  at  Smyrna, 
while  the  Franks  have  maintained  com- 
merce, the  Turks  have  ruined  the  arts  " 
{DecliJie  and  Fall,  vol.  i.  c.  ii.  p.  80, 
ed.  1815). 

*  Apoc.  iii.  14,  &:c. 


A.D.   6^    (58).      A.U.C.   814.      NERONIS   /.  lOI 


THIRTIETH   YEAR. 

A.D.   6^    (58).      A.U.C.   814.      NERONIS   /. 

S.  James  the  Just,  son  of  Alpheus,  is  martyred,  after  having 
occupied  the  See  of  Jerusalem^  twenty-nine  years.  By  order  of 
Ananus,  on  the  feast  of  the  Pasch,  S.  James  was  taken  up  to 
a  pinnacle  of  the  Temple,  under  plea  that  by  virtue  of  the  con- 
sideration he  enjoyed  with  the  people,  he  should  persuade  them  to 
renounce  Christ.  On  his  confessing  our  Lord,  he  was  cast  down 
thence,  and  despatched  with  stones  and  with  a  club,  while  praying 
for  his  enemies  in  our  Lord's  own  words.  The  holy  Apostle  had 
been  a  Nazarite  from  his  birth.  So  great  was  the  veneration  for 
his  sanctity,  even  by  the  Jews,  that  he  was  permitted  once  every 
year  to  enter  the  Holy  of  Holies,  a  privilege  otherwise  reserved  to 
the  high  priest.  When  he  appeared  in  public,  multitudes^  crowded 
round  him,  to  touch  the  hem  of  his  garment.  By  his  assiduous 
prayer,  his  knees,  and  S.  Chrysostom^  adds,  his  forehead,  through 
frequent  prostrations,  had  grown  hard,  like  the  skin  of  a  camel. 
Josephus*  records  that  this  act  of  violence  was  much  reprobated  by 
the  more  moderate  Jews,  as  both  unjust  and  unlawful,^  and  adds 
that  Agrippa  deposed  Ananus  from  the  high  priesthood  for  being 
guilty  of  it. 

Besides  his  Epistle,  written  to  the  dispersed  of  the  Twelve  Tribes, 
5.  James  is  said  to  have  left  the  Liturgy,  or  Mass,  that  goes  by  his 
name.*' 

1  Pope  Nicolas  I.  says,  those  Churches  *  Atttiq.  xx.  9,  i.  S.  James  was  buried 
are  to  be  accounted  patriarchal  in  which  near  the  Temple,  where  his  tomb  still 
it  can  be  proved  that  an  Apostle  had      existed  in  the  time  of  Hadrian. 

his  See  (Lorinus  in  Act.  i.  13.     Cf.  ad  ^  Cf.  S.  John  xviii.  31. 

A.D.  37,  note  6).  "Its  authenticity  is  established  by  the 

2  S.Jerome  in  Gal.  i.  19,  Epiph. //izr.  citations  made  from  it  by  S.  Cyril  of 
XXX.  2.  Jerusalem  in  his  iMystagogica,  5.     It  is 

3  Horn.  V.  in  Matt.  Southey  makes  cited  by  the  Council  of  Trullo,  can.  32, 
a  scoffer  call  Thalaba  "  a  camel-knee'd  but  may  have  been  added  to  by  a  later 


prayermonger. 


hand. 


102  FASTI   APOSTOLICI  :     THIRTY-FIRST   YEAR. 

Eusebius^  says  that,  upon  the  Martyrdom  of  S,  James,  all  the 
Apostles  who  were  still  alive,  came  from  their  divers  missions  to 
Jerusalem,  assembled  in  council,  and  chose,  as  S.  James'  successor, 
his  brother  S.  Simeon,  or  Simon,  son  of  Cleophas.  He  was  afterwards 
crucified,  in  his  one  hundred  and  twentieth  year,  A.D.  107,  having 
held  the  see  about  forty-three  years. 

This  year,  probably,^  S.  Lazarus  was  martyred,  whether  at  Mar- 
seilles,^ as  bishop  of  the  place,  or  in  Cyprus^*'  is  uncertain. 

Tigellinus  is  made  prefect  of  the  Praetorium  in  Rome. 

Nero  repudiates  Claudia,  and  marries  Poppaea,  who  is  said  to 
have  been  disposed  towards  Judaism.  Through  her  influence, 
Josephus,  who  was  then  in  Rome,  obtains  the  liberation  of  the 
Jewish  priests,  whom  Festus  had  sent  thither  as  prisoners. 


THIRTY-FIRST   YEAR. 

A.D.   64   (59).      A.U.C.    815.      NERONIS   8. 

S.  Jerome^  assigns  to  this  year  the  martyrdom  of  S.  Mark  the 
Evangelist,  the  first  bishop  of  Alexandria.  The  fact  of  his  martyrdom 
is  attested  by  the  ancient  Roman  Martyrology  and  Greek  Menology. 
He  was  seized  by  the  Gentiles,  while  celebrating  on  the  Lord's  Day ; 
dragged  through  rough  places  during  two  days,  with  a  rope  round 
his  neck,  and  so  went  to  his  reward  on  the  25th  of  April. 

Philo-  and  Josephus^  have  left  a  description  of  the  Essenes,  Es- 
sseans,  or  Jessaeans,  of  Alexandria,  and  of  their  ascetic  lives.  They 
aimed  at  monastic  perfection,  possessed  nothing  of  their  own,  gave 

^  Cf.  supra  ad  a.d.  35,  note  28.  ^^  His   tomb  was  shown  at  Cytia  in 

*  S.  Epiphanius  (c.   34,  p.  652)  says  that  island. 
that    S.    Lazarus   was   thirty   years  old 

when  he  died  and  was  raised  again  by  ^  De  Scripiofib.  Eccles.  in  Marcum. 

our  Lord,  and  that  he  lived  for  thirty  ^  jr)^    y^^    Coiitemplativa,    sive    De 

years  afterwards.  Siipplicibus j  also  his  writing  entitled, 

^  Cf.  sup.  ad  A.D.  35.  Quod  omnis  probtcs  sit  liber. 

3  Bell.Jud.  ii.  8  ;  2,  13. 


A.D.   64   (59)-      A.U.C.   815.      NERONIS   8. 


103 


away  their  goods  to  the  poor,  spent  their  time  in  prayer  and 
psalmody,  in  hearing  instruction,  or  manual  labour ;  and  lived  in 
great  continence.  Writers  of  very  opposite  schools*  have  asserted 
the  identity  of  these  with  S.  Mark's  disciples,  the  primitive  Alex- 
andrian Christians. 

This  year  is  also  assigned  as  the  probable  date  of  the  martyrdom 
of  SS.  Simon  and  Jude,  in  Persia.^ 

Gildas^  says,  the  first  dawn  of  the  light  of  the  Gospel  appeared 
in  Britain,  about  the  eighth  year  of  Nero.^ 

The  Emperor  begins  at  Naples  to  exhibit  himself  as  a  public 
singer,  as  a  prelude  to  appearing  afterwards  in  the  same  character 
at  Rome.^ 


*  Freethinkers,  and  other  non-Catho- 
lics, especially  in  Germany,  endeavour 
thence  to  prove  that  Christianity  had  a 
merely  human  origin  ;  and  many  Fathers 
and  early  writers  of  the  Church,  to  show 
that  the  monastic  system  was  coeval 
with  the  Faith.  Cassian  asserts  this 
{Ifistt'f.  Coejiob.  ii.  5),  and  Corn.  h.  Lap. 
in  Act.  V.  2.  See  the  authorities  given 
by  the  latter,  for  the  primitive  character 
of  the  vows  of  Religion.  Besides  these 
writers,  Eusebius,  ^.  E,  (lib.  ii.  c.  16,  17), 
Baronius  {ad  anti.  64),  Serrarius  {De 
Trib.  Jiidaor.  Sectts),  and  Bacchinius 
{De  Origine  Hierarchies  EccL),  may  be 
quoted  for  the  Christian  character  of 
those  who  are  described  by  Philo ;  while 
Valesius  {Afinotai.  in  Euseb.  lib.  cit.), 
Cotelerius  {Monuvt.  EccL  Grcecce.  t.  i., 
p.  789),  Pagi  {Criiica,  ad  afui.  62),  and 
Mamachi  {Origines  et  Antiq.  Christ), 
suppose  them  a  Jewish  sect. 

°  Moreri,  in  voc.  Apotre. 

c  Script.  Hist.  Brit.  §  6,  t.  i.  ed.  Gale, 
p.  3.  Persecution  seems  never  to  have 
reached  these  distant  shores  until  the 
reign  of    Diocletian,   when   it   sent   to 


Heaven  the  British  proto-martyr  S. 
Alban,  with  the  numerous  converts 
made  by  his  instructor  S.  Amphibalus, 
in  Wales.  S.  Bede,  in  his  account  of 
S.  Alban's  martyrdom,  adds,  "  At  the 
same  time  suffered  Aaron  and  Julius, 
citizens  of  Chester,  and  many  more  of 
both  sexes  in  sundry  places  "  (b.  i.  c.  vi. 
s./.).  Gildas  makes  them  citizens  of 
Carlisle  ;  others  call  them  inhabitants 
of  the  Roman  town  of  Caerleon  upon 
Usk,  from  which  Adelphius,  one  of  three 
British  bishops,  went  to  be  present  at 
the  Council  of  Aries,  in  314,  The  other 
two  were  Eborius  of  York,  and  Resti- 
tutus  of  London. 

^  See  Appendix  T.  This  date  would 
allow  both  S.  Peter  and  S.  Paul  to  have 
visited  the  island.  Tertullian  {Adv. 
Jicd.  c.  vii.  p.  189,  ed.  Rig)  had  said,, 
before  S.  Gildas,  Britannoruin  inaccesscc 
Romafiis  loca,  Christo  vero  subdita. 

*  Tacit,  y^;//;.  XV.  33.  On  the  character 
of  Nero,  his  acts,  his  extravagant  con- 
duct, and  lavish  expenditure,  the  first 
part  of  Dr.  Merivale's  seventh  volume,, 
Hist.  Sec.  (ut  sup.)  is  well  worth  reading.. 


104  FASTI   ArOSTOLICI  :    THIRTY-SECOND   YEAR. 


THIRTY-SECOND   YEAR. 

A.D.   65    (60).      A.U.C.   816.      NERONIS  9. 

Four  years  before  the  Jewish  war,  and  nearly  eight  before  the  final 
siege  of  Jerusalem,  Almighty  God  would  have  the  approaching 
calamities  publicly  announced.     Josephus  records : 

"  While  the  City  was  in  profoundest  peace,  and  in  the  greatest 
wealth,  one  Josue  (Jesus),  the  son  of  Ananus,  a  plebeian  and 
peasant,  came  on  a  festival  day,  and  at  once  began  to  cry :  'A  voice 
from  the  East,  a  voice  from  the  West,  a  voice  from  the  four  winds, 
a  voice  to  Jerusalem  and  to  the  Temple,  a  voice  to  the  bridegroom 
and  to  the  bride,  a  voice  to  the  people ! '  By  day  and  by  night  he 
thus  cried  out,  going  incessantly  through  the  streets  of  the  City. 
He  was  brought  before  the  magistrates,  and  was  scourged,  even  to 
the  bone ;  yet  he  made  no  entreaty,  nor  shed  a  tear ;  but  bowing 
himself  to  the  utmost,  at  every  stroke  he  responded,  with  a  lament- 
able voice:  'Woe,  woe  to  Jerusalem!'  Up  to  the  time  when  the 
war  began,  he  was  never  seen  to  consort  or  speak  with  any ;  but  he 
daily  and  mournfully  repeated,  as  if  pondering  some  form  of  prayer : 
*  Woe,  woe  to  Jerusalem ! '  Though  punished  every  day,  he  cursed 
none,  neither  did  he  bless  those  who  offered  him  food  ;  the  only 
answer  he  returned  to  any  one,  was  that  lamentable  prophecy.  It 
was  especially  on  festival  days  that  he  so  cried  out ;  and,  continuing 
this  for  seven  years  and  five  months,  his  voice  grew  none  the  hoarser, 
nor  did  he  fail  through  weariness,  until  the  time  of  the  siege ;  then, 
his  predictions  being  verified,  he  came  to  his  end.  For,  going  round 
once  again  upon  the  walls,  he  cried  out,  with  a  very  loud  voice, 'Woe, 
woe  to  the  City,  and  to  the  Temple,  and  to  the  people ;'  and,  adding 
finally,  'Woe,  woe  to  myself!'  a  stone  cast  from  an  engine  slew  him 
on  the  spot,  and  released  his  still-lamenting  soul."^ 

1  Joseph.  Bell.  Jiid.  lib.  v.  11  and  12. 


A.D.   66   (6l).      A.U.C.   817.      NERONIS    lO. 


105 


S.  Paul  about  this  time  sends  S.  Titus  to  preach  in  Dalmatia.^ 
S.  Titus  is  said  to  have  consecrated  S.  Domnius  as  first  bishop  of 
Salona,^  which  was  then  the  Metropolis. 

S.  Matthias  suffers  martyrdom  in  Colchis,  having  preached  the 
Gospel  in  Cappadocia  and  on  the  shores  of  the  Caspian  See  :  residing 
chiefly  near  the  port  Issus.* 


THIRTY-THIRD   YEAR. 

A.D.   66   (61).      A.U.C.    817.      NERONIS    10. 

Nero,  apparently  in  order  to  create  a  new  City,  to  be  called  by  his 
name,  is  asserted  to  have  set  fire  to  Rome.^  The  conflagration  raged 
continuously  for  six  days,  or  more.^  Of  the  fourteen  Regions  of 
the  City,  four  alone  remained  intact ;  three  were  burnt  to  the 
ground  ;  in  the  other  seven,  only  a  few  poor  dwellings  were  left 
standing,  half-consumed.  The  most  ancient  fanes,^  the  temple  of 
Vesta,  the  pe^iates  of  the  Roman  people,  the  wealth  accumulated  by 
so   many  triumphs,  the   treasures   of  art   brought   from  Greece,  all 


2  2  Tim.  iv.  10.  He  is  honoured  in 
that  country  as  its  principal  patron 
(F.  Farlat,  SJ.  Illyria  Sacra,  t.  i.  p.  355). 

^  Gams,  however  {Series,  p.  419), 
makes  S.  Hermes  immediately  succeed 
S.  Titus. 

*  The  Greek  Menologies,  quoted  by 
Alban  Butler,  Feb.  24. 

*  The  fire  broke  out  after  a  sumptuous 
banquet  given  to  Nero  by  Tigellinus  in 
his  yfemilian  Gardens ;  and  the  favourite 
shared  with  his  imperial  master  the 
odium  of  the  act  (Tacit,  nt  infra).  This 
serves  to  point  Juvenal's  allusion  to  the 
Christian  martyrs,  given  below  {Pone 
Tigelliman,  &c.).  The  minister  would 
be  as  anxious  as  the  Emperor  to  shift 


the    accusation    from    himself    to    the 
Christians. 

2  From  July  16  to  22.  Riess,  Gebiirts- 
jahr.  Chrisii. 

3  Tacitus  enumerates  "  the  great  altar 
and  shrine  "which  Evander  the  Arca- 
dian is  said  to  have  dedicated  in  the 
presence  of  Hercules ;  the  temple  of 
Jupiter  Stator  ;  the  votive  offering  to 
Romulus  ;  the  ancient  palace  of  Numa, 
near  the  temple  of  Vesta  (cf.  Hor.  Od.  I. 
ii.  15,  16),  and  on  the  slope  of  the 
Palatine,  &c.  &c.  In  the  temple  of 
Vesta  was  preserved  the  sacred  fire, 
tended  by  the  vestals,  which  was  pro- 
bably lost  in  the  conflagration.  Com- 
pare (though  in  a  very  different  sense) 
2  Mach.  i.  18—36. 


io6 


FASTI   APOSTOLICI  :    THIRTY-THIRD   YEAR. 


perished.       Suetonius/  Dion,^  and    Tacitus,''  unite    in    charging   the 
conflagration  upon  the  Emperor. 

To  avert  from  himself  the  popular  indignation,  Nero  accused  the 
Christians  as  the  authors  of  this  crime.^  "  Their  death-agonies  were 
aggravated  by  sport  and  mockery ;  they  were  wrapped  in  the  skins 
of  wild  beasts,  and  torn  to  death  by  dogs  ;  or  fastened  on  crosses ; 
or  set  on  fire,  and  burnt  by  way  of  lamps  lit  up  at  night,  when 
daylight  failed  :"^  wrapped  in  garments  that  had  been  steeped  in 
combustibles,  while  they  were  kept  motionless  by  pointed  stakes 
that  transfixed  their  throats.     In  this  condition,  they  were  stationed 


*  In  Neron.  c.  38. 

^  Ibid. 

^  This  writer,  with  whom  the  Christian 
religion  is  exitialis  superstitio,  is  yet 
candid  enough  to  abstain  from  direct 
accusation  of  its  disciples  in  this  matter. 

^  "To  quash  the  rumour  [of  his  guilt], 
Nero  charged  it  on  those  men,  already- 
hated  for  their  crimes,  whom  the  common 
people  called  Christians ;  and  on  them 
he  inflicted  the  most  exquisite  tortures. 
This  name  was  derived  from  one  Chris- 
tus,  who  had  been  punished  with  death 
by  the  governor  Pontius  Pilate,  in  the 
reign  of  Tiberius.  The  deadly  super- 
stition, repressed  for  the  moment,  broke 
out  again,  not  only  through  Judaea,  where 
the  evil  had  its  rise,  but  also  in  the  City 
[Rome],whitherall  that  is  either  atrocious 
or  shameful  congregates,  and  obtains 
notoriety.  Accordingly,  those  only  were 
first  apprehended  who  avowed  them- 
selves [Christians]  ;  then,  on  their 
information,  a  vast  number  was  con- 
victed, not  so  much  on  the  charge  of 
the  conflagration,  as  for  [their]  hatred  of 
the  human  race."  Hand  perindc  in 
cri?>iine  incendii  quain  odio  humani 
generis  convic/i  sunt"  (Tacit.  An?tal. 
XV.  44).  It  must  be  supposed  that  the 
"informers"  of  whom  Tacitus  here 
speaks,  were  Jews  apprehended  as 
Christians,  by  a  confusion  that  was  not 
uncommon,  both   then   and  afterwards 


(Cf.  ad  A.D.  51).  Some  of  them,  more- 
over, might  have  been  apostates,  who 
thus  purchased  for  themselves  an  immu- 
nity from  threatened  tortures. 

*  Tacit.  {Ann.  tit  sup.)  Compare 
with  the  pagan  historian's  description 
of  the  torments  to  which  the  primitive 
Christians  were  subject,  the  terms  in 
which  Fathers  of  the  Church  spoke  of 
them  at  a  later  period.  S.  Gregory 
Nyssen.  says  :  "  The  mere  preparatives 
for  execution  were  enough  to  shake  one 
with  all  horror.  There  were  swords, 
fire, wild  beasts, trenches  and  pits;  those 
instruments,  too,  whereby  the  limbs  were 
extended  and  racked  ;  the  heated  iron 
chairs,  the  upright  posts  at  which,  while 
the  sufferers  stood  in  full  tension,  their' 
bodies  were  torn  by  dreadful  pointed 
teeth  :  and  numberless  other  things 
which  they  invented,  giving  exquisite 
torture  to  the  body  in  a  variety  of  ways. 
The  sole  anxiety  of  those  invested  with 
such  offices  was,  lest  any  one  of  them 
should  be  outdone  by  the  rest  in  excess 
of  barbarity.  Neither  pity  for  infants, 
nor  respect  to  grey  hairs,  nor  reverence 
for  virtue,  came  into  their  embittered 
minds  ;  no  consideration  for  natural 
timidity  could  exempt  even  the  weaker 
sex  from  the  same  perils.  There  was 
one  savage  law  for  all,  and  administered 
to  all  alike  "  ( Vita  S.  Greg.  Thaum.  t.  iii. 
p.  568,  ed.  Paris,  1638). 


A.D.  66  (6i). 


A.U.C.   8 1 7.      NERONIS    10. 


107 


to  niuminate  Nero's  gardens  and  circus.^  while  he  drove  his  chariot 
by  Zu^^lo^^^^^^^  f  orrible  fires.-  Juvenal  describes  the.  tortures, 
in  well-known  lines ;'' 

Portray  the  favourite  ?  you'll  burn,  among 
Those  living  torches,  men  on  flame-v»ho  stand 
Reeking,  each  throat  impal'd  ;  then,  d.tchward  drawn, 
Score  in  the  sand  broad  trails  of  charred  limbs. 

Seneca'^  probably  refers  to  their  suffering,  when  he  cotjitnemorates 

arng  th'e  tortuL  inflicted  d"™^ .  N-^/^'^"'  ""Pf  .Tthe  hps 
stake  that  passed  up  through  the  ""^st,  and  came  forth  at  the  ip 
and  also  garments  steeped  in,  or  woven  w.th  "'"bu  t.ble  mate  al^ 
An  epistle  probably  apocryphal,  is  extant,  purportmg  to  be  from 
Sentca  to  S  Paul  on  the  subject  of  the  conflagration.  It  was  known 
fo  S  Terotne-and  is  mentioned  by  S.  Augustine;"  who,  however, 
couU  hIrdTy  have  believed  it  authentic,  since  he  elsewhere- asserts 
that  Seneca  never  mentions  the  Christians. 


9  Elagabalus  afterwards  designed  to 
enlarge  this  circus,  to  admit  of  elephant 
races,  the  animals  to  be  harnessed  tour 
abreast.     See  Appendix  Y. 

10  Tacitus  {iii  sup.).    He  adds  :      1  he 
populace,  with  their  usual  levity,  turned 
to  compassion  for  the  sufferers,  justly 
odious  though  they  were  held  to  be  ;  as 
feeling  that  they  were  punished,  not  lor 
their  actual  guilt,  nor  for  the  common 
weal,  but  to  glut  the  ferocity  of  a  single 
tyrant."      Dr.    Merivale    adds  :       1  nis 
horrid  sacrifice,  so  deeply  impressive  to 
the  minds  of  sixty  generations  of  Chris- 
tians, ruffled  then   for  a  moment   the 
feelings  of  Roman  society,  and  excited 
perhaps   in  the  heart  of  the  historian, 
impassive  as  he  constrains  himself  to 
appear,  more  pity,  more  wonder,  more 
reflection,  at  least,  than  he  has  deigned 
to   intimate.      But  a  few  days  passed  ; 
and    when    the    people    looked    again 
around  them,  they  beheld  the  recon- 
struction  of  their   smoking   City  com- 


mencing with  extraordinary  vigour,  &c." 

{Hist.  vol.  vi.  pp.  352,  353)-  , 

11  PoneTigellinum;  tseda  lucebis  in  lua, 

Qua  stantes  ardent,  qui  fixo  gutture 

""     fumant,  j  j     -^ 

Et    latum    media     sulcum    deducis 

arena.  (Sat.  1. 1 55,  etc.) 

12  Epist.  xiv.  "  Adactum  per  medium 
hominem,  qui  per  os  emergat,  st.pitem 
et  tunicam  alimentis  ignium  illitam  et 

^"  ^'^De  Scriptor.  Ecdesiast.  in  Senccam. 

1*  EMst  xiv.  "  It  is  hardly  necessary 
to  refef  to  the  pretended  letters  between 
S.  Paul  and  Seneca.  Besides  the 
evidence  from  style,  some  of  the  dates 
they  contain  are  quite  sufficient  to  con- 
demn them  as  clumsy  forgeries.  They 
are  mentioned,  but  with  no  expression 
of  beUef  in  their  genuineness,  ^Y  Jerome 
and  Augustine.  See  Jones  0«  /^e 
Canon,  it  80"  (Merivale,  Hist.  vol.  vi. 
p.  457,  note).     ^  .     .   ^ 

15  De  Civit.  Dei.  xi.  6. 


io8 


FASTI   APOSTOLICI  :    THIRTY-FOURTH   YEAR. 


Gessius  Florus  is  made  Procurator  of  Judaea,  in  place  of  Albinus, 
and  commences  a  mal-administration^"  of  oppression  and  cruelty, 
that  soon  brings  on  the  revolt  of  the  Jews.  Cestius  Gallus,  prefect 
of  Syria/^  seems  to  have  been  more  lenient. 


THIRTY-FOURTH   YEAR. 

A.D.   ^-J    (62).      A.U.C.   818.      NERONIS   II. 

The  persecution  assumes  more  formal  proportions,  and  seems  to 
have  extended  to  the  provinces.^  Nero  publishes  edicts  against  the 
Christians.  The  names  of  some  few  among  the  sufferers  are  pre- 
served in  the  Roman  Martyrology,  together  with  an  un-named  com- 
pany (June  24) :  but  an  immense  number  remain  unknown,  through 
the  destruction  of  the  Acts  of  their  martyrdom  by  Diocletian, 

SS.  Gervasius  and  Protasius,  the  proto-martyrs  of  Milan,^  seem 
now  to  have  suffered,  shortly  before  SS.  Nazarius  and  Celsus,  of  the 
same  city. 

S.  Aristarchus^  had  been  made  Bishop  of  Thessalonica,  but  was 
S.  Paul's  fellow-prisoner  at  Rome,  and  suffered  martyrdom  there 
before  him.* 

S.  Paul,  before  his  last  return  to  Rome,  revisits  Asia  and  Mace- 


^^  Joseph,  Antiq.  xviii.  I.  s.  f.  xx.  i. 
Bell.  Jud.  II.  xiv.  &c. 

^'^  For  a  complete  list  of  the  pro- 
consuls of  Syria,  from  Oiiintus  Didius, 
I3.C.  30,  to  C.  L.  Mucianus,  who  suc- 
ceeded Cestius  Gallus,  A.D.  63,  see  Dr. 
Merivale,  Hist.  vol.  vii.  p.  19,  quoting 
Zumpt. 

^  Father  Gruter  reports  an  inscription 
found  in  Lusitania,  commemorating  the 
extinction  by  Nero  of  robbers  in  those 
parts,  and  also  of  "the  enemies  of  the 
human  race"  {hiscriptiows  ^hiliqucr, 
p.  283).  It  runs  thus  :  "  To  Claudius 
Nero  Caesar  Augustus,  Pont.  Max.,  for 


having  cleared  the  province  of  robbers, 
and  of  those  who  oppressed  the  human 
race  with  a  new  superstition."  The  inscrip- 
tion, however,  has  been  rejected  by  critics. 

2  Surius,  Sept.  12,  Tillemont.  S.Am- 
brose {Epist.  54,  p.  316)  says  these  Saints 
suffered  when  the  Church  in  Milan  was 
still  barren  of  martyrs.  Their  relics 
were  found,  and  translated,  by  S.  Am- 
brose in  the  year  3S6,  as  those  of  SS. 
Nazarius  and  Celsus  in  395  (S.  Aug. 
Confess,  tit.  ix.  c.  7  ;  S.  Ambrose,  Epist. 
54,  in  contradistinction  to  Epist.  53, 
which  is  rejected  as  spurious). 

3  Col.  iv.  10. 

*  Roman  Martyrology,  August  4, 


A.D.  6/    (62).      A.U.C.   8l8.      NERONIS    II. 


109 


donia,  goes  to  Crete,  where  he  "  leaves "  S.  Titus  as  its  first  bishop,^ 
and  places  S.  Timotheus  in  his  see  at  Ephesus  f  intending  to  return 
thither/ though  "  all  Asia  was  turned  away  from  him."^ 

Thence  he  may  have  gone  to  Colossae,^  Laodicea,^*'  and  Hiera- 
polis,^^  to  which  places  this  was  perhaps  his  first  visit.^^  Probably, 
the  last  Churches  he  visited  were  those  of  Macedonia,^^  intending 
to  spend  the  winter  in  Nicopolis.^* 

From  Macedonia,  according  to  one  theory,  the  Apostle  wrote  his 
First  Epistle  to  S.  Timotheus}^  and  that  to  6".  Titus ;  sending  it 
probably  by  Apollonius  (Apollo)  and  Zenas,^^  He  then  returned 
to  Troas.^'' 

Meanwhile,  S.  Peter  is  said  to  have  preached  both  in  the  East 
and  in  the  West,  and  to  have  spent  some  time  in  Britain.^^ 


5  Tit.  i.  5. 

^  I  Tim.  i.  3. 

"^  I  Tim.  iii.  14. 

8  2  Tim.  i.  15. 

"  Philem.  22. 
i»  Col.  ii.  I. 
^1  Col.  iv.  13.  • 

12  Cf.  supra  ad  A.D.  55. 

13  Phil.  ii.  24. 

1*  Tit.  iii.  12.  Nicopolis,  called  also 
Cassiopsea,  was  a  city  in  Epirus,  built 
by  Augustus  to  commemorate  his  vic- 
tory at  the  neighbouring  promontory 
of  Actium,  u.C.  723,  B.C.  31.  Hence 
its  name,  "  City  of  Victory."  "  Scribit 
Apostolus  de  Nicopoli,  quae  in  Actiaco 
littore  sita,"  &c.  (S.  Jerome,  Proccni.  ix. 
195).  Another  city  of  the  same  name, 
in  Lesser  Armenia,  was  built  by  Pompey, 
who  had  vanquished  Mithridates  near 
the  spot.  Emmaus  was  also  called  by 
that  name  (Moreri,  r'«  verb.  Nicopolis). 

1^  The  Apostle's  warning  to  S.  Timo- 
theus of  coming  heresies  (i  Tim.  iv.  1—3) 
was  in  consequence  of  a  special  revela- 
tion made  to  him  (Du  Pin,  H.  E.  i.  168), 
and  was  abundantly  fulfilled,  during  the 
two  succeeding  centuries,  by  the  heresies 
of  the  Encratites,  Marcionites,  and 
Manichaeans  (Cf.  S.  Chrys.  Ho?n.  xii.  in 


I  Tim.  tnit.).  For  the  expression  "  the 
last  times,"  cf.  Is.  ii.  2,  Mich.  iv.  i, 
S.  Matt.  XX.  6,  Acts  ii.  17,  2  Tim.  iii,  i, 
Heb.  i.  2,  I  S.  Pet.  i.  20,  2  S.  Pet.  iii.  3, 
I  S.  John  ii.  18,  S.  Jude  18. 

1"  See  Tit.  iii.  13.  S.  Jerome,  in  loc, 
says  that  Apollonius  was  going  to 
Corinth,  of  which  place  he  was  bishop. 
Others  make  him  bishop  of  Dyrrachium, 
or  of  Colossse. 

1^  2  Tim.  iv.  18. 

1*  Simeon  Metaphrastes,  a  Greek 
author  of  "  Lives  of  the  Saints,"  who 
belongs  probably  to  the  tenth  century, 
quotes  Eusebius,  perhaps  from  one  of 
those  many  works  of  his  which  S.Jerome 
tells  us  are  lost,  to  the  effect  that  S.  Peter 
spent  twelve  years  in  the  East,  and 
passed  twenty  at  Rome,  in  Britain,  and 
other  cities  in  the  West  (See  Cressy's 
Church  History,  p.  14).  The  same 
author  adds  :  "S.  Peter  came  out  of  the 
East  to  Rome,  from  whence  .  .  he  passed 
into  Britain  ;  in  which  island  having  made 
a  long  abode,  and  converted  to  the  faith 
of  Christ  several  nations  of  unknown 
names,  he  had  a  vision  of  angels,  which 
said  to  him  :  '  Peter,  the  time  of  thy 
dissolution  is  at  hand,  and  it  is  necessary 
that  thou  go  to  Rome,  where  thou  must 


10 


FASTI   ArOSTOLICI  :    TIIIRTY-FIFTII   YEAR. 


A  conspiracy  of  many  of  the  Roman  nobles  against  the  Emperor's 
life,  headed  by  Piso,  is  discovered.  Nero's  former  preceptor,  Anna^us 
Seneca,^''  is  involved  in  it,  and  suffers  death,  together  with  the 
philosopher's  nephew,  the  poet  Lucan.  Among  the  victims  also  is 
riaulius  Lateranus,-"  of  consular  rank  ;  owner  of  that  palace  and 
basilica  on  the  Ca:lian  Hill,  afterwards  given  by  Constantine  to 
S.  Silvester,  which  became  "the  Mother  and  Mistress  of  all  churches," 
and  the  seat  of  the  fivc-^  Lateran  Councils,  in  the  twelfth,  thirteenth, 
and  fifteenth  centuries. 


THIRTY-FIFTH  YEAR. 

A.D.   68  {6}).      A.U.C.   819.      NERONIS    12. 


SS.  Peter  and  Paul  return 
missions.  S.  Paul  had  probably 
had  gone  thence  to  Ephesus,  to 

suftcr  the  death  of  the  Cross,  and  so 
receive  the  reward  of  righteousness.' 
Having  received  this  revelation,  he 
glorified  God,  giving  thanks  for  the 
same  ;  and  he  continued  certain  days 
among  the  Britons,  during  which  he 
enlightened  many  more  with  the  word 
of  grace.  Having  constituted  churches, 
and  ordained  bishops,  priests,  and 
deacons,  in  the  twelfth  year  of  the 
Emperor  Nero  he  returned  to  Rome" 
(Cf.  2  S.  Peter  i.  14). 

1^  Seneca's  wealth,  notwithstanding 
his  Stoic  principles,  was  immense.  One 
account  states  that  the  insurrection  in 
Britain  under  Boadicea  was  partly 
owing  to  his  vexatious  prosecutions  of 
British  chieftains,  who  had  borrowed  of 
him  ten  millions  of  drachmas  (about 
^^480,000)  to  pay  the  levies  exacted  of 
them  (Lingard,  ///si.  Engl.  vol.  i.  p.  29). 

I  line    iisura  vorax,    rapidumque    in    tempore 

foenus, 
Hinc  concussa  fides,  et  multis  utile  bellum. 

Lucan,  quoted  by  Bacon  in  his  Essay  ^  Du  Pin,  //.  E.  vol.  i.  p.  170. 


to   Rome,    each   from    his   distant 

spent  the  winter  in  Nicopolis,  and 

find  S.  Timotheus  there.^     He  had 

(XV.)  "Of  Seditions  and  Troubles." 
'•  High  as  the  great  philosopher  [Seneca] 
strained  the  principles  of  virtue  in  liis 
sublimest  exhortations,  he  often  acknow- 
ledged, in  descending  to  a  lower  level, 
that  for  his  own  part  he  aspired  only  to 
be  not  the  worst  among  bad  men  "  (see 
Senec.  Epist.  75,  De  Vita  Beata,  17). 
"  He  preached,  he  owned,  more  rigidly 
than  he  practised"  (Merivale,  //ist.  Sec. 
vol.  vi.  281). 

2°  He  was  put  to  death  with  circum- 
stances of  great  ignominy,  and  in  such 
haste  that  he  was  not  permitted  to 
embi-ace  his  children  (Tacit.  An/!,  xv. 
60).  Suetonius  (in  A^er.  c.  37)  says  that 
all  the  victims  were  despatched  an  hour 
after  the  conspiracy  was  discovered. 
The  dignified  way  in  which  Lateranus 
met  his  death  (Tacit,  /oc-  cit.)  accords 
with  the  character  given  of  him  by 
Arrian,  in  Epictct.  i.  i. 

'^  Eleven  Councils  altogether  have 
been  held  in  the  Lateran. 


A.D.   6S    (6^).      A.U.C.   819.      NERONIS    12.  Ill 

been  accompanied  by  Tropliimus,  who  remained  in  Ephesus,  out  of 
health ;  while  the  Apostle  proceeded  to  Troas,  and  thence,  perhaps, 
straight  to  Rome. 

SS.  Peter  and  Paul  were  drawn  to  the  Eternal  City  by  Divine 
Providence,  to  succour  the  afflicted  Church.^  They  came  thither  by 
inspiration,  says  S.  Athanasius  f  the  Holy  Spirit  having  revealed  to 
them  that  Rome  was  to  be  the  scene  of  their  sufferings. 

The  persecution  is  in  some  measure  diminished,  or  diverted,  by 
the  recent  conspiracy,  and  the  punishment  of  the  victims  ;*  so  that 
the  Apostles  are  able  partly  to  build  up  the  Church's  ruins,  and  to 
reconcile  those  who  may  have  lapsed. 

It  was  perhaps  during  the  second  presence  of  the  Apostles  in 
Rome,  that  they  sent  missionary  bishops  into  Spain.  The  seven 
following  are  enumerated  :  S.  Torquatus,  Bishop  of  Guadix  (Acci), 
S.  Secundus,  of  Abula  {Avila),  S.  Indaletius,  of  Urci,  S.  Ctesiphon,  of 
Bergii  ( Verja),  S.  Csecilius,  of  Eliberis  {Elvira  Granada),  S.  Esitius 
(Hesychius),  of  Carcasae  {Cazoria),  and  S.  Euphrasius  of  Illiturgi  and 
other  places.^ 

S.  Peter  writes  his  Second  Epistle  to  the  converted  from  among 
the  Jews ;  warning  them  against  the  heretical  doctrines  and  corrupt 
practices  of  various  false  teachers,  especially  the  Nicolaitans.*^     The 

-  "De  illis  Ecclesije  apicibus,  immo  Euphrasius,  whom  SS.  Peter  and  Paul 

oculis,   qui   omnem    loqueiidi  superant  sent  as  missionaries  to  Spain"  (Alzog, 

facultatem,  nihil  diversum,  nihil  debe-  I.  i.  p.  242,  quoting  Gams,  p.  3  and  98, 

mus    sentire    discretum,    quia    illos   et  quern  vid). 

electio  pares,  et  labor  similes,  et  finis  "  Apoc.  ii.  6.    See  above,  ad  ann.    i, 

fecit  squales"  (S.  Leo,  Sam.  I.  dc  SS.  They  soon  adopted  the  name  Gnostic, 

Pet.  et  Paul).  as  pretending  to  an  exterior  and  exclu- 

^  Apol.  De  Fnga  Sua,  §  121,  127,  sive  yvuxTis,  or  knowledge  (i  Tim.  vi.  20). 

*  No  one  seems  to  have  been  found  S.  John's  first  Epistle,  passion,  and  his 

to  charge  the  Christians  with  this  crime.  use  of  the  term   yvSia-is.     S.    Paul   also 

It  was  reserved  for  later  persecution  to  warns  his  disciple  against  the  avneiaeis 

cloak  itself  under  a  political  pretext.  tiis  ^iv^wvvfj.ov  yudxrews.    "Some  think  the 

^  "  Historians   of    the    third   century  Apostle  here  designates   the    Gnostics, 

make  mention  of  the  churches  of  Leon,  Tliey  were    not,    however,    as    yet    so 

Astorga,  Ctesaraugusta,  Tarragona,  and  named,  though  their  heresies  had  begun 

others,  which  the  Mozarabic  liturgy  and  to    show  themselves  ;    and   heretics    in 

Spanish  writers  affirm  were  founded  by  general  may  be  more  probably  under- 

the  seven  bishops, Torquatus,  Ctesiphon,  stood"  (Ornsby).    It  was  chiefly  against 

Secundus,    Indaletius,    Hesychius,   and  the  Gnostics  that  S.   Irena;us  directed 


112  FASTI   APOSTOLICI:    THIRTY-FIFTH   YEAR. 

Apostle  is  followed  in  his  line  of  argument,  and  often  in  his  very- 
words  and  sentences,  by  S.Jjidc  (or  Thaddaeus)^  brother  of  S.  James 
the  Less,  who  seems  to  have  written  his  Catholic  Epistle  soon  after 
S.  Peter's  martyrdom,  and  therefore  in  the  Pontificate  of  S.  Linus.^ 
S.  Peter  announces^  that  his  life  was  near  its  close,  and  that  our 
Lord  had  made  this  known  to  him  by  direct  communication. 

S.  Peter's  wife  is  said  by  Clement  of  Alexandria^°  to  have  suffered 
martyrdom  before  the  Apostle.  He  met  her  on  the  way  to  her 
suffering,  and  exhorted  and  encouraged  her,  saying:  "Remember 
thou  the  Lord."  The  virgin  Aurelia  Petronilla,  whose  name  occurs 
in  Christian  antiquity,  was  almost  certainly  his  spiritual  daughter," 
as  the  Apostle  calls  S.  Mark  his  "  son."  She  lived  a  consecrated 
life,  died  a  holy  death  in  Rome,  and  is  named  in  the  Roman  Martyr- 
ology.  May  31. 

Simon  Magus,  whom  S.  Peter  had  already  discomfited  at  Samaria 
and  at  Caesarea,^^  was  now  in  Rome,  and  held  in  great  favour  by 
Nero,  because  of  his  wonder-workings.  He  once  more  opposed  the 
Apostle,  while  he  flattered  the  Emperor,^^  who  was  greatly  addicted 
to  magic,  and  had  gathered  its  professors  from  all  parts  of  the  world. 
Simon,  to  support  the  pretensions  he  had  made,^*  of  being  "some 
great  one,"  and  "  the  power  of  God,  which  is  called  great,"  announced 

his  five  books,  entitled   (in   the    Latin  nomcn   Aureha,   found    on    her   sarco- 

version,    the    Greek    title    being   lost),  phagus,   associates    her    with    a    noble 

"  Detectionis  et  eversionis  falso  cogno-  Roman  family.     "  The  name  Petro  was 

minatas  agnitionis,  seu  contra  haereses."  no  stranger  to  the  family  of  Domitilla  ; 

''  Cf.  ad  A.D.  43,  note  2,     It  has  been  for  Titus  Flavius  Petro  was  the  father  of 

inferred  from  v.  17  of  S.  Jude's  Epistle  the  first  T.  F.  Sabinus  ;  and  if  Petronilla 

that  it  was  written  after  the  greater  part  was  descended  from  this  Petro,  as  she 

of  the  Apostles  had  died.     Of  S.  Jude's  may  have  been  on  her  mother's  side,  it  is 

own  death  nothing  certain  is  known.  at  once  accounted  for  how  she  found 

**  Wouter's  Hist.  Eccl.  Compe?id.  vol.  her  place  of  burial  on  the  property  of 

i.  p.  56.  her  relative  Domitilla  "  (Northcote  and 

^  2  S.  Peter  i.  13, 14.  Compare  S.  John  Brownlow,   Roma    Sotteranea,   i.    122). 

xxi.  18,  19.  See  the  pedigree,  ad  ann.  57,  note. 

1"  Strom,  lib.  vii.  11.  ^'■^  See  above,  ad  ann.  2. 

^1  Baronius  (ad  ann.   69)   points  out  ^^  Plin.  N.  H.  xxx.  c.  2.    This  passion 

that   her   name   is    derived,    not    from  for  magical  arts  divided  with  music  the 

Petrus,  but  from  Petronius,  as  Priscilla  Emperor's  devotion, 

from  Priscus,  &c.     Moreover,  her  pre-  ^^  Acts  viii.  9,  10. 


A.D.   6S   (6^).      A.U.C.   819.      NERONIS    12. 


113 


that  he  would  ascend  through  the  air  to  Heaven,^^  and  thence  procure 
all  benefits  to  his  votaries.  The  spectacle  took  place  in  presence  of 
an  immense  concourse,  and  his  magical  power  enabled  him  to  rise 
to  a  certain  height ;  but  by  S.  Peter's  prayers^*'  he  fell,  broke  his 
limbs,  and  perished  miserably.^''  On  which,  Nero,  enraged,^^  caused 
S.  Peter,i9  together  with  S.  Paul,^^  to  be  thrust  into  the  Tullian,  or 
Mamertine,  prison,^^  where  they  were  kept  nine  months,  from  the 
beginning  of  October  in  this  year,  till  the  end  of  June  in  the  next. 

Nero  proceeds  to  Achaia,  to  superintend  the  cutting  through  the 
isthmus  of  Corinth,  and  takes  Vespasian  with  him.  He  leaves  the 
government  of  Rome  to  the  freedman,  Helius.  The  martyrdom  of 
the  Apostles  is  delayed  till  his  return.  Before  his  departure,  he 
commands  all  philosophers  to  leave  Rome ;  Apollonius  of  Tyana-^ 
among  the  number,  who  accordingly  sets  out  for  Spain. 


15  Another  account  says,  he  promised 
to  fly  from  the  Capitol  to  the  Aventine, 
if  S.  Peter  would  follow.  A  former  pre- 
tender had  made  the  same  attempt, 
had  fallen  in  the  crowded  theatre,  and 
sprinkled  the  Emperor  himself  with  his 
blood  (Suet.  Nero,  c.  19). 

1^  S.  Cyr.  Jerus.  {Catech  vi.  n.  15) 
says  it  was  by  the  united  prayers  of 
SS.  Peter  and  Paul. 

1''  For  the  crowd  of  authorities,  sacred 
and  profane,  in  attestation  of  this,  see 
Baronius,  in  hoc  ann.  F.  Waterworth's 
England  and  Rome,  pp.  1 3 —  1 8. 

1*  Lactantius,  however,  ascribes  the 
martyrdom  of  the  Apostles  to  Nero's 
anger  at  the  miracles  wrought  by  S. 
Peter,  and  the  "  great  multitude  of  con- 
versions that  resulted  from  his  preach- 
ing" {De  Morte  Persecutor,  c.  ii.  p.  523). 
Probably  both  motives  combined.  Cf. 
ad  A.D.  59,  s./. 

19  «  Peter,  v/ho  was  set  above  the 
Apostles,  after  being  often  seized,  im- 
prisoned, and  ignominiously  treated,  at 
length  was  crucified  at  Rome"  (S.  Pet. 
Alexandr.  m  Canon  IX.  Galland.  t.  iv. 
p.  98.) 

2"^  On  the  probably  cause  of  S.  Paul's 
I 


imprisonment  and  martyrdom,  see  above, 
A.D.  59,  note  24. 

21  On  the  proofs  for  this,  and  for  the 
genuineness  of  the  chains  shown  in  the 
church  of  S.  Peter  ad  Vincula,  in  Rome, 
see  the  monograph  of  the  Abbate  Mon- 
socrate,  De  Caien.  S.  Petri  Diss.  Romse, 
1750,  and  Cancellieri,  Notizie  del  Care. 
Tull.  c.  xiv.  The  very  ancient  chapel  in 
the  Tower  of  London  is  dedicated,  not 
inappropriately,  under  the  same  title  of 
St.  Peter's  Chains. 

22  It  had  been  a  prophecy  of  Apollo- 
nius of  Tyana,  when  at  Corinth  :  "  This 
tongue  of  land  will  be  cut  through  ;  or, 
rather,  it  will  not."  The  words  were 
taken  to  be  fulfilled  by  the  commence- 
ment of  the  undertaking  by  Nero,  and 
its  being  left  incomplete  at  his  death 
(Suet.  Nero,  c.  19).  But  the  event  might 
easily  have  been  foreseen  ;  the  distance 
between  the  two  gulfs  of  the  "  bimaris 
Corinthus"  would  have  made  the  scheme 
appear  an  impossible  one,  without  a 
greater  expense  of  money  and  labour 
than  the  Senate  would  have  been  likely 
to  grant.  A  Roman  Emperor  was  not, 
after  all,  an  autocratic  Xerxes.  See 
Appendix  V. 


114  FASTI   ArOSTOLICI  :    TIIIRTV-FIFTII   YEAR. 

When  the  Jews  assemble  at  Jerusalem  for  the  Azymes  and  the 
Pasch,  various  prodigies  occur,  in  token  of  the  approaching  calamities 
and  destruction  of  the  City.  At  nine  in  the  evening,  there  shone 
round  the  altar  and  the  Temple,  a  light  as  strong  as  that  of  mid-day, 
which  lasted  for  half-an-hour.  The  eastern  gate  of  the  Temple,  which 
was  of  brass,  so  heavy  that  twenty  men  could  hardly  move  it,  with 
iron  bars,  and  bolts  entering  deeply  into  the  monolith  threshold,  was 
found  open,  and  was  closed  by  the  "  Captain  of  the  Temple  "  and  his 
assistants,  with  difficulty.  A  few  days  after  the  Pasch,  before  sunset, 
in  various  parts  of  the  country  were  seen  chariots  and  armed  troops, 
now  in  the  air,  now  traversing  the  streets,  and  surrounding  the  City. 
Finally,  on  the  feast  of  Pentecost,  the  priests  who  enter  the  Temple 
for  the  functions  of  the  solemnity,  hear  a  Voice  that  exclaims,  "  Let 
us  depart  hence."-^  The  events  denoted  by  these  signs  follow  imme- 
diately ;  for. 

This  year,  the  seventeenth  of  King  Agrippa,  the  Jews,  driven  to 
desperation  by  the  exactions  and  tyranny  of  the  Procurator,  Gessius 
Florus,  rise  against  the  garrison,  and  massacre  all  the  Romans  in  the 
city.  Cestius  Callus,  the  Governor  of  Syria,  comes  with  a  numerous 
army,  devastates  the  towns  that  lie  on  his  way  to  Jerusalem,  and 
invests  the  City  in  the  month  of  October.  Thus,  at  the  same  time 
when  the  two  Apostles  are  imprisoned  in  Rome  for  the  Faith,  Jeru- 
salem, "  that  slew  the  prophets,"  and  rejected  our  Lord,  enters  on 
her  period  of  unexampled  calamity.  The  siege,  however,  is  at  first 
conducted  with  slackness  ;  so  that  the  Christians,  led  by  their  bishop, 
S.  Simeon,  were  enabled  to  escape,-^  and  retire  beyond  the  Jordan  to 

-3  Joseph.  Dc  Bell.  Jud.  ii.  12,  Tacit.  Mamertine  dungeon  in  distant  Rome, 
Hist,  V.  13.  The  pagan  historian  adds  through  whom  the  true  glory  and  free- 
that  while  some  few  (?)  were  moved  by  dom  of  "  the  Israel  of  God"  (Gal.  vi.  15, 
these  prodigies  to  fear,  "pluribus  per-  16)  was  to  be  especially  wrought, 
suasio  inerat,  antiquis  sacerdotum  literis  ^^  See  S.  Matt.  xxiv.  15,  etc.  S.  Epi- 
contineri,  eo  ipso  tempore  fore,  'ut  phanius  (//tz-rtx  29,  et  Z>6' i7/^«j-//;7j  30) 
valesceret  Oriens,  profectique  Juda:a  says,  they  were  warned  by  an  angel  to 
rerum  potirentur.'"  It  is  very  suggestive,  escape,  inasmuch  as  the  City  was 
that  while  the  Jews  were  thus  relying  on  doomed  to  destruction.  "When  the 
their  ancient  books  of  prophecy  for  the  city  was  rebuilt,  the  Christians  who  had 
temporal  restoration  of  Israel,  two  men  gone  forth  from  it  before  its  destruction, 
were    at    that    moment    lying    in    the  returned  again,  accompanied  by  Simeon 


A.D.   68    (6s).      A.U.C.    819.      NERONIS    12. 


15 


Pella  in  Decapolis.  The  heresies  of  the  Nazarenes,  the  Ebionites, 
and  others,  are  said  to  have  originated  among  those  who  remained 
in  that  city.-^ 

Eusebius-^  says  that  the  episcopal  chair  of  S.  James  had  been 
preserved  to  his  own  times  ;  so  that  it  must  have  been  saved  with 
other  holy  relics  and  dedicated  objects. 

Remarkable  coincidences  of  names,  traditions,  and  evident  rem- 
nants of  Christianity,  have  induced  a  belief  in  several  authors,  that 
about  this  time  S.  Thomas  was  evangelizing  portions  of  Mexico, 
Peru,  and  Yucatan.-^  If  so,  it  was  probably  before  his  recorded 
labours  in  CEthiopia,  or  in  the  Indian  peninsula;  in  which  latter 
region  he  suffered  martyrdom  by  thrusts  of  a  lance,  and  where  his 
tomb  is  still  shown,  at  Meliapor. 


their  bishop.  The  thirteen  bishops  who, 
between  this  time  and  the  reign  of 
Hadrian,  successively  followed  Simeon, 
were  of  Jewish  birth,  and  the  commu- 
nities over  which  they  presided  con- 
tinued to  observe  (?)  the  Mosaic  law. 
[Cf.  Acts  xxi.  18 — 30].  But,  when  the 
notorious  Bar  Cochba  {i.e.,  "  Son  of  the 
Star"  —Numb.  xxiv.  17),  calling  himself 
the  Messias  .  .  had  excited  the  Jews  to 
rebellion  in  the  reign  of  Hadrian,  the 
whole  of  Palestine  was  laid  waste,  and 
the  community  of  Christian  Jews  in 
Jerusalem  driven  out  of  the  City."  (Miin- 
ter  :  The  Jewish  War  tinder  Trajan 
and  Hadrian,  Lps.  1821.)  The  exiles 
took  refuge  with  the  Christians  of  pagan 
descent  living  at  -.^lia  Capitolina,  a  city 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Jerusalem,  built 
by  and  named  after  ^lius  Hadrianus, 
and  of  which  Mark,  a  man  of  gentile 
birth,  was  bishop.  The  Church  of 
Ceesarea  (Stratonis)  in  Palestine,  was 
still  more  important  than  that  of  ^lia  ; 
[cf.  ad  A.D.  37,  note  7,  s.f.]  but  the 
Church  of  Antioch,  of  which  S.  Peter 
and  Evodius  had  been  bishops,  and  to 
which  a  fresh  glory  had  been  added  by 
the  martyrdom  of  S.  Ignatius  (a.d.  107 
or   114),  was   always  regarded  as   the 


most   influential   Church  of  the   East" 
(Alzog.  t.  i.  p.  237). 

-^  Tillemont  in  S.  Sim.  Hegesippus 
asserts  that  before  the  death  of  S.  Simeon, 
who  lived  to  see  the  beginning  of  the 
second  century  (till  a.d.  107)  and  the 
time  of  Trajan,  no  heretic  ventured  to 
leach  errors  publicly.  But  see  Apoc.  ii. 
6,  15. 

20  Hist.  vii.  14. 

27  Appendix  W.  ''John  III.,  King  of 
Portugal,  ordered  the  body  of  S.  Thomas 
to  be  sought  for  in  an  old  ruinous  chapel 
which  stood  over  his  tomb  without  the 
walls  of  Meliapor.  By  digging  there  in 
1523,  a  very  deep  vault  in  form  of  a 
chapel  was  discovered,  in  which  were 
found  the  bones  of  the  Saint,  with  a 
part  of  the  lance  with  which  he  was 
slain,  and  a  vial  tinged  with  his  blood. 
The  body  of  the  Apostle  was  put  in  a 
chest  of  porcelain,  varnished  and  adorned 
with  silver.  .  The  Portuguese  built  a  new 
town  about, this  church,  which  is  called 
S.  Thomas's.  .  Many  of  the  Christians 
of  S.  Thomas  .  .  continue  in  the  Nesto- 
rian  errors,  and  in  obedience  of  the 
Nestorian  patriarch  of  Mosul"  (Alb. 
Butl.  in  Dec.  21). 


Il6  FASTI   ArOSTOLICI:    TIIIRTY-SIXTII   YEAR. 


THIRTY-SIXTH  YEAR. 

A.D.    69   (64).      A.U.C.   820.      NERONIS    1 3. 

Vespasian  is  sent  by  Nero  from  Achaia  into  Judaea,  to  allay  the 
rebellion  ;  superseding  Domitius  Corbulo,  who  is  summoned  to  return 
and  meet  the  Emperor,  probably  at  Corinth.  At  Cenchreae,  Corbulo 
is  met  by  a  command  from  his  imperial  master,  to  kill  him- 
self.i 

Vespasian  sends  his  son  Titus  to  Alexandria,  to  bring  thence  the 
fifth  and  the  tenth  legions  to  the  seat  of  war  ;  while  he  himself  crosses 
the  Hellespont  into  Syria,  and  there  concentrates  the  Roman  forces, 
together  with  a  considerable  number  of  auxiliaries  from  the  neigh- 
bouring kings.^ 

Nero  returns  from  Achaia,^  with  great  pomp  and  triumph  :  *  but 
his  cruelties  and  extravagances  have  made  him  intolerable  to  the 
Senate  and  people  of  Rome.  Twenty  days  earlier,  as  it  seems, 
than  the  martyrdom  of  the  holy  Apostles,  S.  Peter  and  S.  Paul, 
(which  was  probably  by  his  orders),  on  the  ninth''  of  June,  and  on 
the  same  day  on  which,  six  years  before,  he  had  put  to  death  his 
wife  Octavia,  Nero  commits  suicide,  to  avoid  death  at  the  hands  of 
soldiers  sent  by  the  Senate. 

The   government   of  the  city  is  left  in  the  hands  of  Tigellinus 

1  "Without  murmur  or  remonstrance,  arrival  of  Galba,  who  was  chosen  as 
he  plunged  a  sword  into  his  heart,  ex-  his  successor.  Fleury  interprets  S. 
claiming,  as  he  struck  the  blow:  'Rightly  Clement  as  meaning  that  Nero  was 
served  ! '"  (Dion,  Ixiii.  17  :  iraluv  e\ey(y,  still  in  Achaia  {//.  E.  ii.  xxx.).  Nero's 
ei|(os.      Merivalc,  vol.  iii.  p.  31.)  death  was  certainly  in  June  of  this  year, 

2  Josephus,  De  Bell.  Jud.  iii.  r,  3.  and   must   therefore   have   very   nearly 
■^  S.  Clement,  however  (i  Cor.  v.),  says      coincided  with  that  of  the  Apostles. 

of  S.  Paul,  that  he  "  suffered  martyrdom  *  Sueton.  in  Ner.  c.  25. 

under  the  prefects,"  viz.,    Sabinus   and  ^  Vitx\v?\z,  Hist,  of  the  Rofnans  under 

Tigellinus,  who   had  charge   of  affairs  the  Efnpirc,  vol.  vii.  p.  48.     Fleury  says 

after  the    suicide  of    Nero,  until    the  the  same. 


A.D.   69   (64).      A.U.C.   820.      NERONIS    13.  II7 

and  Nymphidius  Sabinus,^  under  whose  regency  the  holy  Apostles 
suffered,  on  one  and  the  same  day,  their  glorious  martyrdom^ 

During  their  imprisonment,  they  had  converted  their  gaolers, 
SS.  Processus  and  Martinianus,  together  with  forty-seven  other 
soldiers  of  the  guard ;  these  were  all  afterwards  martyred.^  For 
their  baptism,  a  fountain  sprang  up  miraculously  in  the  lower 
Mamertine  Prison,  which  flows  to  this  day. 

S.  Paul  is  supposed,  by  those  who  adopt  the  later  of  two  dates, 
to  have  recently  written  his  Second  Epistle  to  Timothejis?  That 
S.  Paul's  second  imprisonment  in  Rome  was  the  date  of  this 
Epistle,  seems  probable  from  the  mention  of  Demas  having  forsaken 

The  faithful  had  earnestly  implored  S.  Peter  to  endeavour  to 
preserve  his  life  for  his  flock.  Yielding  to  their  importunity,  he  left 
the  prison  by  night,  and  went  as  far  as  the  gate  of  the  City,  where 
he  had  a  vision  of  our  Lord  entering  in  ;  and,  to  his  question : 
"  Lord,  whither  goest  Thou  ? "  answering  :  "  I  am  going  again  to  be 
crucified." ^^  On  which  answer,  the  Apostle  returned  to  his  prison, 
to  await  his  martyrdom.^- 

®  Others  give  the  names  Helius  Cae-  ficed "  {Ibid.   6,   8j.     In   contrast   with 

sarianus  and  Polycletus.      See  Hefele's  S.    Peter,  who  had  a  foreknowledge  of 

Note  to  the  fifth   chapter  of  the  first  the  proximate  "laying  away  of  his  taber- 

Epistle  of  S.  Clement  to  the  Corinth-  nacle"  (2  S.  Pet.  i.  13,  15),  either  by  our 

ians,  in  his  edition  of  the  Patres  Apos-  Lord's  previous  words  to  him  (S.  John 

tolici.     See  also  the  preceding  year.  xxi.    19),   or  by  some   later  revelation. 

'■  Prudentius    {Peristeph.    hymn.    12),  The  expression  in  2  Tim.  iv.  11  seems 

and  S.  Augustine  {Serin,  de  Sand.  28)  inconsistent  with  S.  Paul's  being  then  in 

seem  to  have  thought  the  martyrdoms  prison  with  S.  Peter,  and  presents  one 

took    place    in   successive   years ;    but  of   the   difficulties   in   determining  the 

Baronius   brings   an  overwhelming  list  date  of  that  epistle, 

of  writers  to  the  contrary,  besides  the  ^**  C.  iv.  9.     Cf.  sup.  ad  A.D.  59. 

Ro7na?i  Martyrology,  the  Greek  Meno-  ^1  S.  Ambrose,  in  Auxent.  De  Basil, 

logy,  and   the   Acts   of   their   Passion,  TVb?^  7><tc/.  and  the  Acts  of  S.  Linus,  and 

said  to  be  by  S.  Linus.  of  SS.  Processus  and  Martinianus.  Also 

^  Rom.    Martyrol.    March     14,    and  Hegesippus  (lib.  iii.),  Excidii  Hieroso- 

July  2.  lomytani  (c.  2).     The  tradition  is  per- 

^  Not  knowing,   apparently,  that  his  petuated  in  the  small  church  erected  on 

martyrdom  was  so  close  at  hand  (see  the  spot  in  Rome,  and  entitled :  Domitie, 

2  Tim.  iv.  8,  11,  13,  21),  though  con-  Quo  Vadis? 

scious  that  he  was  "  ready  to  be  sacri-  ^-  Appendix  A. 


iiS 


FASTI   ArOSTOLICI  :    THIRTV-FIFTII   YEAR. 


S.  Paul  was  scourged,^^  as  well  as  S.  Peter,  notwithstanding  the 
privilege  of  his  Roman  citizenship,  which  had  exempted  him  on 
former  occasions.^*  Being  then  led  out  beyond  the  walls,  they  bade 
•each  other  farewell  at  a  spot  on  the  Ostian  Way,^^  still  commemorated 
by  an  ancient  bas-relief  and  inscription  ;^^  then  each  proceeded  to 
the  appointed  place  of  his  sufferings. 


S.  Paul  was  led  ad  Aquas  Sah 


three  miles  beyond  the  Ostian 


Gate,  to  be  decapitated  as  a  Roman  citizen.^^  On  his  way,  he  con- 
verted three  soldiers  of  the  escort,  who  were  afterwards  martyred. 
When  the  head  of  the  Apostle  was  struck  off,  milk  instead  of  blood 
flowed  from  his  veins,^'-^  and  the  spot  has  always  been  named  the 
"  Three  Fountains."  These  sprang  up  in  miraculous  attestation  of 
the  sacred  head  having  thrice  rebounded  on  the  spot  His  body  was 
taken  by  S.  Lucina,  a  Christian  lady  of  consular  rank,  and  buried 


"  He  had  undergone  that  ignominious 
punishment  thrice,  seemingly,  at  the 
hands  of  the  Romans  (2  Cor.  xi.  25  ; 
cf.  Acts  xvi.  22,  23.  37,  38},  as  well  as 
five  times  from  the  Jews  \2.  Cor.  xi.  24\ 
Josephus,  Bill.  JuJ.  II.  xiv.  s.f.  men- 
tions that  Gessius  Florus,  among  other 
barbarities,  had  scourged  some  Jews 
"  of  the  equestrian  order,''  and  crucified 
them  before  his  tribunal :  "  who,  though 
Jews  by  birth,  were,  notwithstanding, 
of  Roman  dignity." 

^*  Acts  xxii.  24-29.  In  the  church 
of  S.  Maria  trans  Tiberim,  are  vene- 
rated the  tzL'o  pillars  to  which  the 
Apostles  were  bound  during  their 
scourging. 

1^  Not  far  from  the  Palatine  bridge, 
the  present  PtmU  Rctio  (Gerbet,  Rcnu 
Ckritunne  vol.  L  p.  25\ 

"  The  inscription  (in  ancient  Italian) 
records  the  farewell  words  addressed 
by  each  Apostle  to  the  other,  as  taken 
fi-om  a  letter  purporting  to  be  from 
S.  Dionysius  the  Areopagite  to  Timo- 
theus.  it  runs  thus  :  "  In  questo  luogo 
si  separavono  S.  Pietro  et  S.  Pavolo, 
andando  al  martirio,  et  dice  Pavolo  a 


Pietro  :  La  pace  sia  con  teco  funda- 
mento  della  chiesa  et  pastore  di  tutti  li 
agneUi  di  Christo  :  et  Pietro  a  Pavolo, 
Va  in  pace,  predicatore  dei  buoni,  et 
guida  de  la  salute  dei  justi."  It  will  be 
seen  that  the  language,  at  the  date  of 
this  inscription,  had  only  made  half 
its  way  from  the  Latin  to  its  present 
form. 

^^  A  place  afterwards  used  for  other 
mart\Tdoms.  S.  Zeno,  with  ten  thousand 
Christian  soldiers,  died  there  by  the 
sword  {Rem.  Mariyrol.  July  9}.  The 
napkin  with  which  S.  Paul's  eyes  were 
bound,  according  to  custom,  the  Apostle 
had  asked  a  noble  matron,  PlautiUa,  to 
lend  him.  It  was  afterv^-ards  returned 
to  her,  and  preser\"ed  as  a  great  relic 
In  the  time  of  S.  Gregory-  the  Great,  the 
Empress  Constantia  besought  the  Pope 
to  send  it  to  her,  but  without  obtaining 
the  request  (S.  Greg.  Epist.  iiL  3}. 

1*  Contrast  note  ad  A.D.  44. 

13  Ambros.  Serm.  6S,  Chr>sosL  Orat. 
in  Princ.  App.  L  v.  Acta  S.  LinL  The 
same  miracle  attended  the  mart>Tdom 
of  S.  Martina  ^Ribi.uUtuira  in  Jan.  30}. 


A.D.   69   (64).      A.U.C.   820.      XEROXIS    1 3. 


119 


on  her  property  on  the  Ostian  Way.-"^  S.  Paul's  age  is  said  to  have 
been  that  of  our  Lord  ;  he  was  therefore  martyred  in  his  sixty-ninth 
year.  S.  Stephen,  his  former  victim,  had  preceded  him  to  his  "crown 
of  hfe  "  by  more  than  half  the  Apostle's  lifetime.-^ 

S.  Peter,  as  a  Jew,  was  taken  across  the  Tiber  to  the  Jews' 
quarter,—  and  there  crucified,  on  the  Janiculum  Hill.  The  spot  is 
sometimes  called  the  Vatican,  these  two  hills  being  contiguous,  and 
not  very  distinct.  He  petitioned  to  be  crucified  with  his  head  down- 
wards, as  not  worthy  to  suffer  like  his  Lord.  The  Acts  of  S.  Linus 
assert,  that  S.  Peter's  body  was  prepared  for  burial  with  aromatic 
spices,  by  Marcellus  the  presbyter.  It  was  interred  in  a  small  cata- 
comb^ or  cemetery-^  on  the  slope  of  the  Vatican ^^  Hill,  near  the 


-"'  So  Caiu5,  who  visited  Rome  in  the 
time  of  S.  Zephyrinus,  says  to  Proclus, 
the  Cataphngian,  in  his  disputation 
with  him :  "  I  can  show  you  the  trophies 
of  the  Apostles  ;  for  if  you  will  go  to  the 
Vatican,  or  to  the  Ostian  Way,  you  will 
find  the  trophies  of  those  who  laid  the 
foundation  of  this  [the  Roman]  Church" 
{Apud  Eiiseb.  lib.  iL  c  25). 

^  See  Gen.  xlLx.  27,  and  S.  Augus- 
tine's application  of  the  prophecy  to 
S.  Paul,  who  was  of  the  tribe  of  Ben- 
jamin. Se-nti.  xiv.  De  Sanctis,  j  Brev. 
Rom.  in  Jan.  25,  iL  NocL 

*^  In  the  time  of  Augustus,  the  Trans- 
tiberine  quarter  had  teen  occupied  by 
Jews,  who  were  for  the  most  part  freed- 
men.  They  had  been  expelled  by 
Qaudius,  but  returned  after  his  death 
(C£  ad  A.D.  51,  and  57).  "The  Jews 
residing  in  Rome  undoubtedly  formed  a 
considerable  community  at  the  time  of 
the  death  of  Christ ;  for,  although  the 
date  of  their  expulsion  by  Claudius 
cannot  be  strictly  determined  i?;,  it  is 
clear  from  that  e\-ent  that  they  had 
already  excited  the  jealousy  of  the 
Imperial  government  That  the  Gospel 
had  pre\iously  been  made  known  to 
some  at  least  among  them,  may  be 
inferred  firom  the  fact  that  Aquila  and 


Priscilla  at  once  joined  S.  Paul  at 
Corinth.  The  Roman  Jews  inhabited 
the  right  bank  of  the  Tiber,  or  what  is 
now  termed  the  Transteverine  quarter 
of  the  City  ;  and  they  appear  to  have 
had  a  verj-  early  catacomb  of  their  own, 
in  the  Monte  Verde,  contiguous  to  their 
place  of  abode.  This  catacomb  was 
visited  by  Bosio  in  the  beginning  of  the 
seventeenth  centur)'," &c.  ("The Roman 
Catacombs,"  Edinb.  Review,  Jan.  1859, 
p.  102). 

^  Known  always,  in  later  times,  as 
S.  Peter's  "  Confession,"  the  spot  made 
sacred  by  the  relics  of  one  who  had 
witnessed  a  good  confession,  as  a  naprlp 
for  the  truth.  S.  Zoe  {Martyrol.  Rom. 
July  5)  was  apprehended  while  praying 
here,  as  was  S.  Tranquilhnus  (Ibid. 
July  6),  at  that  of  S.  Paul  The  place 
where  a  martyr's  body  was  laid,  was 
also  frequently  called  his  7ne7noria,  and 
sometimes  his  "trophy."  The  word 
"  catacomb  "  is  one  of  debased  Latinity, 
apparently  corrupted  from  the  strange 
compound,  Kara,  t umbos.  S.  Gregorys  the 
Great,  in  a  sermon  preached  at  the 
tmmoria  of  SS.  Nereus  and  Achi  Ileus, 
says  :  "  Sancti  isti,  ad  quorum  tumbam 
consistimus,"  etc.  (S.  Greg.  Horn.  28). 
These  subterraneans  have  furnished  a 


I20 


FASTI   ArOSTOLICI:    THIRTV-SIXTH   YEAR, 


Gardens  and  circus  of  Ncro,-'^  the  scene  of  so  many  previous  martyr- 
doms, where  the  "living  torches,  men  on  fire,"-^  had  stood,  to  Hght 
up  the  scene  of  the  Emperor's  diversions. 

Nero  died  in  the  thirty-first  year  of  his  age,  and  fourteenth  of  his 
reign.  The  family  of  Caesar  Augustus  became  extinct  by  his  death, 
and  gave  place  to  the  P^lavian.  S.  Augustine  reckons  Nero  as  chief  on 
the  list  of  wicked  Emperors.  Many  of  the  Christians  held  him  to  be 
Antichrist,  and  believed  he  was  to  reappear  at  the  end  of  the  world.^^ 

The  disorders  in  the  Empire  consequent  on  Nero's  death,  the 
threatening  attitude  of  the  Galatai  and  Celtae,  the  prospect  of  an 
insurrection  of  the  Jews  "of  the  dispersion"  beyond  the  Euphrates, 
arc  enumerated  by  Josephus,-^  as  chief  causes  that  revived  the  hopes 
of  emancipation  in  those  Jews  who  dwelt  in  the  Holy  Land,  and  in 
Jerusalem. 

noble  thought  to  a  French  writer  :  "  La 

rehgion,    comma     son     Divin     Auteur, 

devait  passer  quelques  jours  au  sein  de 

la   terra   pour   en   sortir   plus   radieuse 

encore.  Les  persecutions,  les  catacombes 

et  le  martyre,  trois  mots  qui  rappellent 

les    commencements    et    la    gloire    de 

I'Eglise!"   {Cathedralcs  de  France,  par 
Bourassd,  p.  401).     Appendix  X. 

-*  Koifj.r)T-npiov,  "  sleeping-place,"  was 
an  essentially  Christian  word  (see  S. 
John  xi.  II  — 13,  Acts  vii.  59,  i  Cor.  vii. 
39,  XV.  20,  I  Thess.  iv.  12,  13,  2  S.  Pet. 
iii.  4),  and  took  the  place  of  "  columba- 
rium," the  pagan  term  which  implies 
that  the  bodies  of  the  dead  had  been 
reduced  to  ashes,  and  deposited  in  small 
urns  within  the  pigeon-holes  of  a  family 
vault.  ("The  heathen  expression  was 
situs,  positus,  or  coinpositus  ;  the  Chris- 
tian term,  dcpositus,  deposiiio,  implying 
a  different  shade  of  meaning  "). 
-•'•  Appendix  Y. 

-"  The  circus  must  have  been  coin- 
cident, or  nearly  so,  with  the  sweep  of 
the  double  colonnade  round  the  Piazza 
of  S.  Peter's.  Its  enlargement  was 
afterwards  contemplated,  according  to 
some  accounts,  by  Elagabalus. 


-''        Taeda  lucebis  in  ilia,  Sec. 

(Cf.  ad  A.D.  66  supra). 

2S  "  The  idea  that  Nero  still  survived, 
and  the  expectation  of  his  return  to 
power,  continued  long  to  linger  among 
[the  Romans].  More  than  one  pre- 
tender arose  to  claim  his  empire  ;  and 
twenty  years  later,  a  false  Nero  was 
protected  by  the  Parthians.  This  popu- 
lar anticipation  was  the  foundation, 
perhaps,  of  the  common  persuasion  of 
the  Christians,  when  the  death  of  the 
prince  was  no  longer  questioned,  that 
he  should  revisit  the  earth  in  the  char- 
acter of  Antichrist ;  and  both  Romans 
and  Christians  seem  to  have  combined 
in  believing  that  the  East,  and  possibly 
that  Jerusalem  itself,  would  be  the  scene 
of  his  reappearance  (Sueton.  Nei'o,  40, 
cf.  56;  and  Tacit.  Hist.  ii.  8).  There 
will  be  different  opinions  whether 
this  idea  sprang  originally  from  the 
Christians  or  the  Romans  ;  probably  it 
was  the  result  of  a  common  feeling, 
reacting  from  one  to  the  other"  (Meri- 
vale,  Hist,  of  the  Romans  under  the 
E?npire,  vol.  vii.  p.  50). 

'»  Joseph.  De  Bell.  Jud.  Praef.  2. 


A.D.    69   (64).      A.U.C.   820.      NERONIS    1 3.  121 

Vespasian,  having  heard  of  the  revolt  of  Vindex  in  Gaul,  deter- 
mines to  push  on  to  Jerusalem,  and  there  finish  the  war.  He 
concentrates  his  forces  at  Caesarea  for  that  purpose ;  when  the  news 
reaches  him  of  Nero's  death.  Hereupon,  Titus,  accompanied  by- 
Herod  Agrippa  H.,  sets  sail  for  Rome,  to  ask  directions  from  Galba 
about  the  Jewish  campaign.  On  the  coast  of  Achaia,  they  learn 
that  the  new  Emperor  also  had  been  slain,  after  a  reign  of  seven 
months  and  seven  days.  Agrippa  proceeds,  nevertheless,  on  his 
voyage ;  but  Titus  returns  with  all  speed  to  Vespasian  at  Caesarea.^*' 

The  army  at  Caesarea  proclaims  Vespasian,  Emperor.  To  secure 
the  purple,  he  sends  Titus  to  Alexandria,  on  the  ist  of  July,  with 
commission  to  receive  the  oaths  of  the  two  legions  there.  Vespasian 
pushes  on  to  Antioch,  whence  he  despatches  Mutianus,  Proconsul  of 
Syria,  to  Rome,  with  an  army. 

S.  Titus,  returning  from  his  Apostolate  in  Dalmatia,  goes  to  his 
Cretan  diocese,  and  probably  resided  chiefly  at  Gortyna,^^  where  he 
was  finally  buried,  aet.  94.^^ 

S.  Andrew,  brother  of  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles,  who  first  brought 
him  to  our  Lord,^^  suffered  later  than  S.  Peter,  though  the  time  is 
uncertain.  Some  refer  it  to  the  reign  of  Domitian.  His  crucifixion 
took  place  at  Patrae,  in  Achaia,  under  the  Proconsul  .^geas,^*  and  is 
described  in  an  Epistle  of  the  Achaian  clergy,^^  which  was  publicly 
read  in  the  churches.^*^ 

^^  De  Bell.  Jiid.  book  iv.  c.  ix.  sacrifice  to   the  idols.      He  answered  : 

21  About  six  miles  from  the  spurs  of  "  I  sacrifice  every  day  to  Almighty  God 

Mount  Ida.  — the  One  and  True — not  the  flesh  of 

^^  His  body  was  preserved  with  great  bulls,  nor  the  blood  of  goats,  but  the 

veneration  in  the  Cathedral  ;  his  head  Spotless    Lamb   on    the   altar  ;    whose 

was   conveyed  to  Venice,  where  it  was  Flesh  when  all  the  multitude  of  believers 

venerated  in  S.  Mark's.     His  successor  hath   eaten,  the    Lamb   who   has   been 

was  S.  Philip  {Marlyrol.  Rotn.  Apr.  11).  sacrificed  remaineth  whole,  and  liveth 

The    See   was    afterwards   removed   to  still."    For  an  account  of  the  translation 

Candia.     The  island  was  not  taken  by  of  the  Apostle's   head   from  Patras  to 

the  Turks  till   1669  {Oriens  Christ,  ii.  Rome,  see  Appendix  Z. 

257,  &c.  iii.  908,  &c.     Fl.  Coener,  Creta  ^^  This  encyclical  epistle,  addressed 

Sacra,  t.  i.  et  ii.).  "  to  all  the  Churches  in  the  East  and 

33  S.  John  i.  40 — 42.  West,  in  the  North  and  South,  estab- 

34  When  brought  before  ^geas,  the  lished  in  the  Name  of  Christ,"  concludes 
Apostle  was  bidden,  as  was  usual,  to  with   the  words  :    "  These  things  were 


122 


FASTI   Al'OSTOLICI  :    TIIIRTV-SIXTII   YEAR. 


S.  Peter  was  succeeded  in  the  Supreme  Pontificate  by  S.  Linus,^^ 
whom  he  had  previously  ordained  his  coadjutor^^  (together  with 
S.  Cletus)  to  supply  his  place  during  his  absences  from  Rome. 
S.  Linus  had  a  Pontificate  of  eleven  years,  and  was  martyred  in  the 
ninth  year  of  Vespasian,  being  succeeded  by  S.  Cletus  ;  he,  again,  by 
S.  Clement,  and  he,  by  S.  Anacletus, 

S.  Philip  the  Apostle  survived  at  least  until  A.u.  8i,  and  perhaps 
some  time  after.^'^ 

Vespasian,  in  Juda:a,  executes  his  task  of  repression  with  great 


done  in  the  province  of  Achaia,  in  the 
city  of  Patras,  the  day  before  the 
Calends  of  December,  where  even  now 
[his]  benefits  are  dispensed,  to  the  glory 
and  praise  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to 
whom  be  glory  for  ever  and  ever. 
Amen."  Another  version  gives :  "In 
the  reign  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to 
whom,"  &c. 

^^  His  body,  as  we  learn  from  the 
Achaian  epistle,  was  taken  down  by  a 
devout  lady  of  senatorian  rank,  named 
Maximilla,  embalmed,  and  laid  in  the 
most  honourable  place  at  her  disposal. 
"Maximilla  Christo  amabilis,  tulit  corpus 
Apostoli,  Optimo  loco  cum  aromatibus 
sepelivit."  She  was  following  in  this 
respect  the  example  of  the  two  SS. 
Lucina,  and  of  others,  who  devoted 
special  places  on  their  estates  to  the 
burial  of  martyrs.  Many  of  these  were 
afterwards  transferred  to  the  catacombs. 
The  expression,  ajvinatibns  sepelivit,  is 
supposed  by  De  Rossi  to  have  a  techni- 
cal force,  equivalent  to  saying,  "  buried 
with  the  honours  due  to  a  Saint "  (Sec 
F.  MuUooly's  6".  Clement,  &c.  p.  xv. 
note). 

37  «  Peter  first  filled  that  one  sole  Chair 
(Cathedram  unicam),  which  is  the  first 
of  the  [Church's]  gifts  ;  to  him  succeeded 
Linus  ;  to  Linus,  Clement  ;  to  Clement, 
Anacletus,"  i&c.  (S.  Optatus  Milev.  De 
Schism.  Donat.  1.  ii.  n.  2 — 4). 

2*  Johannes  Papa  III.  Epist.  adEpisc. 
Germ,  and  Leo  II.  Epist.  {apud  Marian, 


Scot,  in  Clem.)  affirm  this.  S.  Epiph. 
{Ha^res.  27)  and  Ruffinus  {Prcef.  lib. 
Recognita  add,  that  S.  Clement  also 
was  ordained  by  S.  Peter  himself,  but 
declined  the  Episcopate  until  the  two 
coadjutors  had  succeeded  in  turn.  He 
is  known  to  have  been  martyred  in  the 
third  year  of  Trajan.  His  ordination 
by  S.  Peter  is  also  affirmed  by  Tertul- 
lian  {De  Pra:scr.  Haret.  n.  32).  Not 
only  by  many  of  the  Fathers,  but  in  the 
Sacred  Canon  of  the  Mass,  S.  Linus  is 
named  first,  S.  Clement  third.  The 
second  was  S.  Cletus,  the  fourth  S.  Ana- 
cletus, though  these  two  have  been 
frequently  confounded  ;  e.g.  by  Fleury 
{H.  E.  ii.  xxvi.).  Tertullian  is  mistaken 
in  placing  S.  Clement /(7//;-//i,  viz.,  after 
S.  Anacletus.  S.  Irenxus,  in  a  well- 
known  passage  {Adv.  Hccrcs.  iii.  3,  2,  3), 
reckons  S.  Peter's  three  successors  as 
Linus,  Anacletus,  Clement  ;  apparently 
taking  Anacletus  for  Cletus. 

^'J  Tillemont,  t.  i.  pt.  iii.  p.  956.  This 
very  cautious,  perhaps  over-cautious, 
writer  rejects  as  false  the  accounts  which 
make  S.  Philip  die  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
seven,  under  Domitian  or  Trajan.  He 
even  doubts  whether  the  holy  Apostle 
was  a  martyr,  though  the  Roman  Bre- 
viary expressly  affirms  that  he  was  at 
once  crucified  and  stoned  to  death  at 
Hierapolis  in  Phrygia.  But  Tillemont 
may  be  entitled  the  Niebuhr  of  sacred 
and  ecclesiastical  history. 


A.D.   69   (64).      A.U.C.   820.      NERONIS    1 3. 


123 


vigour  and  cruelty.^'^  In  Galilee,  one  hundred  thousand  Jews  perish, 
and  forty  thousand  captives  are  led  away,  or  sold  into  slavery.*^ 
Many  of  these  were  afterwards  compelled  to  build  the  Colos- 
seum''- in  Rome. 

A  great  massacre  of  the  Samaritans  takes  place  at  Mount 
Gerizim,^^  by  Cerealis,  commander  of  the  Fifth  Legion.  On  their 
refusal  of  his  terms,  he  fell  upon  them  and  slew  them  all ;  being 
eleven  thousand  six  hundred  men.'** 

Josephus,  the  Jewish  leader  and  subsequent  historian,  is  taken 
prisoner  on  the  capture  of  Jotapata,  the  siege  of  which  he  has 
minutely  described.*^ 


■**^  Though  a  good  prince,  by  com- 
parison with  others  who  preceded  and 
followed  him,  and  therefore  the  only- 
one  of  the  Twelve  Caesars  who  died  a 
natural  death,  or  was  succeeded  by  his 
son,  Vespasian  seems  to  have  been 
severe  to  the  Christians  as  well  as  to 
the  Jews.  The  Roma  Siibterranea  (of 
Bosio  ?)  quoted  by  Rohrbacher,  Hist,  de 
PEgltse,  vol.  i.  p.  663,  gives  an  inscrip- 
tion from  a  slab  found  in  the  Cata- 
combs :  "  Christ  hath  given  thee  all 
things,  and  thou  dost  reply  by  the  death 
of  Gaudentius.  Thus,  O  cruel  Ves- 
pasian, dost  thou  show  thy  gratitude  : 
but  Christ  hath  prepared  for  him  another 
sphere  (theatrum)  in  Heaven." 

''I  Tacitus  reports  the  number  of  those 
who  were  afterwards  besieged  in  Jeru- 
salem itself,  as  six  hundred  thousand 
{Hist.  V.  13).  Josephus  gives  the  total 
number  slain  during  the  whole  war,  as 
1,356.460,  and  of  prisoners,  101,700, 

■*^  So  called,  it  is  said,  from  a  colossal 
statue  of  Nero,  that  stood  there.  Gibbon, 
however,  perhaps  with  greater  probabi- 
lity, derives  the  name  simply  from  the 
vast  dimensions  of  the  building.  See 
Appendix  AA.  The  immense  grottoes, 
existing  beneath  the  Passionist  convent 
of  SS.  John  and  Paul  on  the  Cffilian, 
were  "hewn  perhaps  by  the  Jewish 
prisoners  of  Titus,  who  were  employed 


in  the  excavation  of  the  materials  used 
in  the  erection  of  the  Coliseum"  {Edinb. 
Rev.  ut  supra.  Thus,  after  a  period  of 
fifteen  hundred  years,  the  once  chosen 
people  had  to  serve  under  task-masters 
more  cruel,  and  in  a  harder  toil,  than  in 
their  ancient  Egyptian  bondage.  The 
Christians  became  involved  in  a  similar 
fate.  Thus,  under  Trajan,  S.  Clement, 
Pope,  was  banished  to  the  Crimea,  and 
shared  with  his  flock  the  labour  of 
hewing  marble  from  the  quarries  there. 

'•3  Deut.  xi.  29,  xxvii.  12  ;  Jos,  viii.  33; 
Jud.  ix.  7  ;  Cf.  ad  a.d.  38,  note  4. 

"  Joseph.  De  Bell.  Jud.  iii.  vii. 

^5  De  Bell.  Jud.  iii,  vii.  Under  his 
leadership,  the  place  made  a  resistance 
of  twenty-seven  days.  It  was  perhaps 
in  consequence  of  his  literary  ability, 
as  well  as  his  military  skill,  that  his  life 
was  spared,  and  that  he  was  taken  into 
favour  by  Titus,  whom  he  thenceforward 
accompanied  on  the  Jewish  expedition. 
In  this  capacity,  he  constantly  employed 
his  influence  with  his  countrymen  to 
yield  to  the  Roman  power.  Josephus 
assumed  the  preenomen  Flavius,  in 
homage  to  the  Emperor,  and  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  life  in  Rome,  engaged 
in  literary  pursuits.  Whiston  gives 
A.D.  75,  or  thereabouts,  for  the  publica- 
tion of  the  first  book,  "  The  Jewish 
War,"  when  Josephus  was   thirty-eight 


124  FASTI   APOSTOLIC!  :    TIIIRTV-SIXTII   YEAR. 

This  is  tlic  first  great  instalment  of  the  destruction  predicted  by 
our  Lord,  which  cuhninatcd  in  the  siege  and  capture  of  Jerusalem, 
the  destruction  of  the  Temple,  and  dispersion  of  the  once-chosen 
people,  "because  they  knew  not  the  time  of  their  visitation."*'' 

Thus  was  fulfilled  the  prophecy  of  Balaam,*^  uttered  fourteen 
hundred  years  before:  "They  shall  come  in  galleys  from  Italy,  and 
shall  waste  the  Hebrews."  More  than  four  centuries  were  still  to 
run,  before  the  fulfilment  of  the  last  clause  of  it — "And  at  the  last 
they  themselves  also  shall  perish  " — when,  in  476,  the  Roman  Empire, 
which  may  be  said  to  have  begun  with  Augustus,  perished  with 
Augustulus.  *^ 

S.  John,  who  survived  the  rest  of  the  Apostles  by  many  years,  is 
said  by  S.  Irenaeus  to  have  resided  at  Ephesus  after  the  martyrdom 
of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul,  and  to  have  written  his  Gospel  there.  He  is 
probably  about  this  time  returning  from  his  missions  to  the  Parthians, 
and  those  on  the  shores  of  the  Persian  Gulf.  His  residence  in 
Ephesus  was  either  commenced,  or  resumed,  after  his  "  martyrdom 
of  will "  outside  the  Latin  Gate  of  Rome,  his  banishment  to  Patmos,*'^ 
and  the  martyrdom  of  S.  Timotheus,  a.d.  97.  While  S.  Timothy 
remained  in  his  local  diocese  of  Ephesus,  the  Beloved  Disciple  would 
seem  to  have  had  "the  solicitude  of  all  the  Churches"  of  Asia 
Minor.50 

SS.  Polycarp,  Ignatius,  and  Pacian,  were  instructed  by  S.  John : 
the  first   named   of  the   three  being    made   Bishop   of  Smyrna   by 

years  of  age,  and  eighteen  years  later,  memory  of  their  Apostle  and  his  stay 

A.D.  93,  or  the  13th  of  Domitian,  for  among  them,  and  dwell  with  pleasure 

that  of  his  "  Antiquities."  on  the  story  of  his  exile  and  the  circum- 

*"  St.  Luke  xix.  44.  stances  that  preceded  it'"  (Alzogjvol.  L 

"  Numb.  xxiv.  24.  p.  227). 

**  See   Apoc.  i.  9  ;    Euseb.  J7.  E.  iii.  ^'^  After  a  duration  of  522  years,  says 

18,  20;     Tertull.    De  Prccscrip.  c.  36;  Procopius,  reckoning  from  the  victory  of 

Epiphan.  Hares,  i.  33.    "Von  Schubert,  Julius  Cassar  at  Pharsalia.    In  that  year, 

Travels  in  the  East,  Erlang.  1838,  sq.  476,  Odoacer,  chief  of  the  Heruli,  think- 

vol.  iii.  pp.  427,  seq.,  writes  :  'Even  at  ing,  with  great  reason,  that  the  title  of 

this  day,  all  the  inhabitants  of  Patmos  Emperor  had   fallen    into   vile  esteem, 

are   Christians  ;    a   fact  which   reflects  abolished  it,  and  banished  Augustulus 

great  credit  on  them,  when  compared  to  the  promontory  of  Misenum. 
with  other  Christian  communities  ;  and  '•'^  See  Clement  of  Alexandria,  quoted 

they  still  cherish  with   filial   love  the  in  Appendix  BB. 


A.D.   69   (64).      A.U.C.    820.      NERONIS    1 3. 


125 


the  Apostle  himself.  He  was  afterwards  martyred  by  fire  in  the 
amphitheatre  of  that  city,  together  with  twelve  brethren  brought  in 
chains  from  Philadelphia,  A.D.  169,  the  ninth  of  Marcus  Aurelius.^^ 

S.  Polycarp,  "the  Angel  of  the  Church  of  Smyrna"  is  addressed 
in  the  Apocalypse;^^  as  is  also  S.  Timothy,  "the  Angel  of  the 
Church  of  Ephesus,"  who  is  reproved  for  some  apparent  want^^ 
of  zeal  in  his  office.^^  S.  Polycarp,  who  "  was  taught  by  the  Apostles, 
and    conversed  with   many  of  those  who    had    seen    our    Lord,"^^ 


has  transmitted,  through  his  own  disciple,  S.  Irenaeus,^*^  an  engaging 


account  of  the  demeanour  and  teaching  of 
loved." 


the  Disciple  whom  Jesus 


''^  See  the  encyclical  letter  of  the 
Church  in  Smyrna,  primarily  addressed 
to  the  faithful  at  Philomelium,  in  Phrygia. 

^'  C.  ii.  8,  &c. 

^3  /dtW.  ii.  I,  &c. 

^*  "It  seems  that  S.  Timothy,  who  had 
now  been  Bishop  of  Ephesus  for  forty 
years — [consecrated  by  S.  Paul,  A.D.  52 
of  the  common  reckoning,  martyred  in 
97] — had  grown  somewhat  lukewarm  in 
preaching  the  word  of  God,  and  in 
labouring  for  the  conversion  of  the 
Ephesians  ;  as  seeing  that  both  the 
Jews,  and  the  Gentile  worshippers  of 
*  Diana  of  the  Ephesians,'  obstinately 
withstood  him.  Hence,  partly  from 
discouragement  and  tepidity,  partly  from 
the  suggestion  of  human  prudence  .  .  he 
had  slackened  in  some  degree  his  first 
ardour  in  preaching  the  Gospel ;  and 
this  in  him  was  a  venial,  though  not  a 
mortal  sin.  For  prelates  often  sin  more 
through  remissness,  which  comes  upon 
them  under  guise  of  prudence,  than  by 
imprudence  under  guise  of  zeal.  Yet 
either  of  these  is  a  fault ;  and  both  are 
here  reproved  by  Christ — the  former  in 
the  Bishop  of  Ephesus,  the  latter  in  the 


Bishop  of  Thyatira "  (Corn,  a  Lap.  m 
Apoc.  ii.  I — 5). 

^°  S.  Irenasus  {Hcer.  iii.  3,  4).  He 
had  conversed,  among  others,  with  S. 
Philip  the  Apostle,  and  that  for  some 
time  (Tillemont,  t.  i.  p.  384).  S.  Polycarp 
was  not  converted  till  A.D.  80  ;  the 
Apostle  therefore  must  have  lived  to  a 
great  age.  Theodoret  and  Eusebius 
assign  "the  two  Phrygias"as  the  sphere 
of  his  Apostolate.  The  latter  {H.E.  lib. 
iii.  c.  31)  quotes  Polycrates  to  the  effect 
that  he  was  buried  at  Hierapolis  in 
Phrygia  (Cf.  sup.  ad  A.D.  39,  note  19), 
"  which  city  was  indebted  to  his  rehcs 
for  its  preservation  by  continual  miracles; 
as  is  averred  by  the  author  of  the  sermon 
on  the  Twelve  Apostles,  attributed  to 
S.^Chrysostom.  .  His  body  is  said  to  be 
in  the  church  of  SS.  Philip  and  James 
in  Rome,  which  was  dedicated  to  God 
under  their  name,  in  560.  The  Emperor 
Theodosius,  in  a  vision,  received  from 
S.  John  the  Evangelist,  and  S.  Philip, 
the  assurance  of  victory  over  the  tyrant 
Eugenius,  .  in  394,  as  Theodoret  (lib.  v. 
c.  24)  relates  "  (Alban  Butler). 

s"  See  Appendix  BB. 


APPENDIX. 


A  {p.  I). 

DIFFICULTIES    IN    ANCIENT   CHRONOLOGY. 

The  doubt  attaching  to  any  particular  year  is  increased  by  possible  diflerences 
in  reckoning  its  commencement.  Five  points  especially  are  here  to  be 
considered,  (i)  The  divergence  between  the  Roman  or  Julian^  reckoning, 
i.e.,  the  commencement  of  January,  and  the  Jewish  paschal  date,  which  began 
the  year  with  Nisan,-  a  month  answering  to  our  March,  and  so  with  the 
original  Roman  new-year,  the  Greek  Xanthicus,  and  the  Egyptian  Pharmuth. 
(2)  Errors  which  might  arise  from  the  seemingly  irrational  method  of  reckon- 
ing backward  by  the  kalends  of  the  Roman  month,  in  which  the  days  of  each 
month  are  denoted  from  a  point  midway  in  the  succeeding;  so  that  the 
omission  or  faulty  transcription  of  the  word  kal.  in  any  MS.  might  substitute 
one  month  for  another,  and  thus,  in  questions  between  December  and 
January,  render  even  the  year  doubtful.  {3)  The  variations  between  the 
lunar  and  solar  month ;  and  again,  between  these  and  months  reckoned  from 
harvests  and  the  fruits  of  the  earth.  (4)  The  insertion  of  the  intercalary 
month  in  the  Jewish  calendar,  about  every  third  year.  (5)  The  fact  that  the 
Jews  had  a  sacred  and  a  secular  commencement  for  their  year :  the  Paschal, 
in  the  middle  of  Nisan,  and  that  for  ordinary  business,  and  for  the  calculation 
of  the  Jubilee  (Levit.  xxv.  9,  10),  which  fell  in  the  seventh  month,  or  Tisri, 
corresponding  with  September. 

"  La  maniere  de  compter  par  kalendes,  nones,  et  ides,  que  les  remains 

observoient,  est  si  contraire  a  la  notre,  qui  approche  bien  plus  de  la  nature 

et  de  la  raison,  que  les  sgavans  memes  s'y  trompent  quelquefois,  h.  cause  que 

le  calcul  remain  se  fait  en  retrogradant,  et  en  donnant  le  nom  du  mois  qui 

*  Solinus  Polyhist.  De  Diebus  bito'cal.  c.  l.  *  Exod.  xii.  2. 


128  FASTI   APOSTOLICI. 

suit  ^  la  moiti^  des  jours  du  mois  precedent.  C'est  pourquoi  le  P.  Labbe 
dans  son  histoire  chronologique,  avertit  que  pour  entendre  les  dates  qui  se 
trouvent  dans  les  historiens,  ct  autres  auteurs  latins  .  .  le  plus  sflr  est  d'avoir 
recours  ^  un  calendrier  Julien  ou  Gregorien  "  (Moreri,  iti  voc.  Kalende. 
Taken  from  Aubriot,  Nouvcau  prhicipe  de  compter  les  calendcs,  &c.). 

"  Les  premiers  Chretiens  se  scrvirent  aussi,  dans  la  division  des  tems,  des 
manieres  des  romains,  h,  la  puissance  desquels  ils  etoient  soumis,  \  la  reserve 
des  coutumes  qui  .  .  se  ressentoient  de  I'idolatrie.  Ils  garderent  done  les 
memes  noms  des  mois,  la  meme  quantite  de  leurs  jours,  la  meme  distribution 
de  ces  jours  en  Kalendes,  Nones,  et  Ides,"  &c.  (Id.  in  voc.  Kalendrier). 

"The  identification  of  the  Jewish  months  with  our  own  cannot  be  effected 
with  precision,  on  account  of  the  variations  that  must  inevitably  exist  between 
the  lunar  and  the  solar  month ;  each  of  the  former  ranging  over  portions  of 
two  of  the  latter.  It  must  therefore  be  understood  that  the  following  remarks 
apply  to  the  general  identity  on  an  average  of  years.  .  .  At  present,  Nisan 
answers  to  March,  but  in  early  times  it  coincided  with  April ;  for  the  barley 
harvest,  the  firstfruits  of  which  were  to  be  presented  on  the  15th  of  that  month 
(Lev.  xxiii.  10)  does  not  take  place  even  in  the  warm  district  about  Jericho 
until  the  middle  of  April,  and  in  the  upland  districts  not  before  the  end  of 
that  month  (Robinson's  Researches,  i.  551 ;  iii,  102,  145).  To  the  same  effect 
Josephus  {Atitiq.  ii.  14,  §  6)  synchronizes  Nisan  with  the  Egyptian  Pharmuth, 
which  commenced  on  the  27th  of  March  (Wilkinson,  /.  c.)  and  with  the 
Iklacedonian  Xanthicus,  which  answers  generally  to  the  early  part  of  April, 
though  considerable  variation  occurs  in  the  local  calendars  as  to  its  place 
(comp.  Ideler,  i.  435,  442).  He  further  informs  us  (iii.  10,  §  5)  that  the 
Passover  took  place  when  the  sun  was  in  Aries,  which  it  does  not  enter  until 
near  the  end  of  March  "  (Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  art.  "  Month."  See 
also  the  article  "  Year,"  by  the  same  hand). 


B  {p.  2). 

OUR  lord's  appearances  after  his  resurrection. 

On  Easter  Day. 

(i)  To  His  Ever-Blessed  Mother.  S.  Ambrose,  lib.  De  Virgin,  s.  init 
S.  Anselm,  De  Excellentia  Virginis,  lib.  vi.  Rupert,  Divin.  Offic. 
vii.   25.   S.   Bonaventure,    Vita    Christ i,  c.   87.      "Estque   hie 


APPENDIX. 


129 


communis  Doctorum  et  fidelium  sensus,"  C.  a  Lap.  in  Matt. 
xxviii.  10.  ''Primo,  apparuit  Virgini  Marice;  quod  licet  non 
dicatur  in  Scriptura,  habetur  pro  dicto,  cum  dicat  Eum  appa- 
ruisse  tam  multis  aliis  ;  quia  Scriptura  supponit  nos  habere  in- 
tellectum,  sicut  scriptum  est:  Adhuc  et  vos  sine  intellcctu  estisV 
S.  Ignat.  Exere.  Spirit,  p.  245,  ed.  1S76. 

(2)  To  S.  Mary  Magdalene,  at  the  Sepulchre.     S.  Mark  xvi.  9,  S.  John 

XX.  16. 

(3)  To  her,  in  company  with  the  other  holy  women,  as  they  were 

returning  from  the  sepulchre  to  Jerusalem.     S.  Matt,  xxviii.  9. 

(4)  To  S.  Peter.     S.  Luke  xxiv.  34 ;  i  Cor,  xv.  5. 

(5)  To   the    two    disciples   (S.   Cleophas,   and    perhaps    Simeon   or 

NathanaeP)  going  to  Emmaus  ;  S.  Luke  xxiv.  13 — 35. 

(6)  To  the  "  Eleven "  in  Jerusalem  ;    so   called,  as  constituting  the 

College  of  the  Apostles,  (S.  Matt,  xxviii.  16;  S.  Mark  xvi.  14; 
S.  Luke  xxiv.  9,  ^T)  '>  Acts  i.  26,  and  especially  ii.  14),  though 
S.  Thomas  was  absent : — as  there  may  be  a  meeting  of  triumviri 
or  septemviri,  without  the  presence  of  every  member  (Corn, 
a  Lap.'  in  S.  Luke  xxiv.  t^i).  Cf.  S.  Aug.  De  Consensu  Ezmi- 
gelist.  iii.  25.  This  seems  to  be  the  appearance  mentioned, 
S.  Mark  xvi  14 ;  though  Maldonatus  supposes  it  to  have  been 
that  on  the  octave  day  of  the  Resurrection,  when  S.  Thomas 
was  with  the  rest.  S.  Cleophas  and  the  other  disciple  were  also 
present,  S.  Luke  xxiv.  33 — 36  :  and  others  also,  v.  33. 

II.  After  Easter  Day. 

(7)  On  the  octave  day,  to  the  Eleven,  including  S.  Thomas  (S.  John 

XX.  26 — 29).  He  then  renewed  the  manifestation  of  the  spiritual 
qualities  (i  Cor.  xv.  44 — 49)  of  His  Risen  Body;  passing,  by 
the  gift  of  subtility,  through  the  closed  doors  (v.  26;  cf.  v.  19), 
as  He  had  passed  through  the  stone  laid  at  the  mouth  of  the 
sepulchre.2  See  the  authorities  quoted  by  Corn.  ^  Lap.  in 
Matt,  xxviii.  2. 

^  S.  Ambrose  supposes  his  name  to  be  Amaon,  derived  from  Emmaus.  Origen,  Comtiunt. 
in  Johaiin.  s.  init.  calls  him  Simeon.  S.  Epiphanius,  H^er.  xxiii.  says,  Nathanael  (S.  John 
i.  45—51) ;  Theophylact,  S.  Gregory  (Prref.  in  Job.  c.  ii.)  and  others,  suppose  him  to  have 
been  S.  Luke,  which  seems  the  least  probable  opinion  (Cf.  S.  Luke  i.  2,  3). 

-  "Quomodo  de  sepulchre  exire  non  posset,  qui  ex  incorruptis  matris  visceribus  salva 
virginitate  processit  ?  Fefellit  custodes,  exilivit  de  sepulchre,  apparuit  discipulis  januis  non 
apertis  :  inde  clausus  exiit,  hue  exclusus  intravit  "  (S.  Aug.  Serin.  138  De  Tevip.). 


130  FASTI   APOSTOLICI. 

(8)  To  seven  Apostles  and  disciples  (S.  John  xxi.  i,  Szc),  as  they  were 

fishing  in  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  or  of  Tiberias.  These  were, 
SS.  Peter,  Thomas,  Nathanael,  James  and  John  the  sons  of 
Zebedce,  and  two  others.  Then  occurred  the  miraculous 
draught  of  fishes,  the  threefold  penance  of  S.  Peter,  and  the 
thrice  repeated  committal  of  the  universal  Church  into  his 
hands.  S.  John  (v.  14)  speaks  of  it  as  "the  third  time  that 
Jesus  was  manifested  to  His  disciples,  after  He  was  risen  from 
the  dead ;"  i.e.,  the  third  time  when  He  appeared  to  any  number 
of  them  together. 

(9)  "To  more  than  five  hundred  brethren  at  once,"  (i  Cor.  xv.  6)  on 

a  mountain  in  Galilee,  supposed  to  be  Mount  Tabor,^  the  scene 
of  His  former  transfiguration  (S.  Matt.  xvii.  i,  &c. ;  S.  Mark 
ix.  I,  &c. ;  S.  Luke  ix.  28,  Szc).  This  was  by  His  own  especial 
appointment  and  command  (S.  Matt.  xxvi.  32;  xxviii.  7,  16; 
S.  Mark  xiv.  2S ;  xvi.  7;  cf.  Acts  i.  11).  Many  of  these  wit- 
nesses were  still  living  in  the  first  year  of  Nero,  a.d.  57,  when 
S.  Paul  wrote  his  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  (c.  xv.  v.  6). 

(10)  To  S.  James  the  Less,  son  of  Alphoeus  or  Cleophas,  and  of  Mary 

(S.  Matt,  xxvii.  56;  S.  Mark  xv.  40),  sister  to  the  Blessed 
Virgin.  This  is  mentioned,  i  Cor.  xv.  7.  S.  Jerome,  {jDe 
Scriptor.  Ecclcs.  in  Jacobiim)  adds  some  details  regarding  this 
appearance,  taken  from  the  apocryphal  "  Gospel  according  to 
the  Hebrews,"  but  without  in  any  way  approving  them  :  to  the 
effect  that,  whereas  S.  James  had  remained  fasting  from  the 
time  of  the  Crucifixion,  our  risen  Lord  appeared  to  him,  took 
bread,  blessed  it,  and  gave  it  to  him,  saying :  "  My  brother,  eat 
thy  bread ;  for  the  Son  of  man  has  risen  from  the  dead." 

(11)  "To  all  the  Apostles"  (i  Cor.  xv.  7)  and  disciples,  when  "He 

led  them  out  as  far  as  Bethania"  (S.  Luke  xxiv.  50),  probably 
that  S.  Lazarus  and  his  sisters  might  join  their  company,  and 
proceed  with  them  to  the  Mount  of  Olives.  There,  "  they  who 
were  come  together"  {Acts  i.  6),  asked  Him,  about  the  resto- 
ration of  the  kingdom  of  Israel :  but  He  promised  them  "  the 

2  Tliis  manifestation  on  Tabor  might  be  in  further  fulfihnent  of  the  promise  (S.  Matt. 
xvi.  28  ;  S.  Mark  viii.  39  ;  S.  Luke  viii.  27),  the  first  reference  of  which  was  to  the 
Transfiguration. 


APPENDIX.  131 

power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  to  extend  His  true  Catholic  kingdom 
"even  to  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth"  {Ibid.)  "  While  they 
looked  on,"  "  lifting  up  His  hands,  He  blessed  them  :  and  .  . 
while  He  blessed  them"  "He  was  raised  up,  and  a  cloud 
received  Him  out  of  their  sight,"  and  He  "  was  carried  up  to 
Heaven"  (S.  Luke  xxiv.  51),  with  the  same  glory,  apparently^ 
with  which  He  shall  come  again  to  judgment,  (compare  Acts 
i.  II  with  S.  Matt.  xxv.  31,  S.  Luke  ix.  26,  Apoc.  i.  7). 

(12)  Other  personal   appearances   of  our   Lord,  more  or  fewer,  are 

included  under  the  general  announcement,  Acts  i.  3,  that  "  He 
showed  Himself  alive  after  His  Passion,  to  the  Apostles  whom' 
He  had  chosen  .  .  for  forty  days  appearing  to  them,  and 
speaking  of  the  Kingdom  of  God;"  instructing  them  in  the 
glory  and  happiness  of  the  Church  triumphant,  and  the  insti- 
tution and  ordinances  of  the  Church  militant ;  the  authority  of 
prelates,  the  functions  of  holy  Orders,  the  number,  matter,  form,. 
and  rites  of  the  holy  Sacraments,  and  all  other  "Apostolical 
traditions." 

III.  After  His  Ascensio7i. 

(13)  To  S.  Stephen  the  Protomartyr,  as  he  stood  before  the  Council 

(Acts  vii.  55).  His  sight  was  supernaturally  strengthened  to 
pierce  through  the  intermediate  Heavens  into  the  Empyrean, 
where  he  "  saw  the  glory  of  God,  and  Jesus  standing  on  the 
Right  Hand  of  God.  And  he  said  :  Behold,  I  see  the  heavens 
opened,  and  the  Son  of  man  standing  on  the  Right  Hand  of 
God."     Cf.  Corn,  a  Lap.  in  loc. 

(14)  To  Saul  the  Pharisee  and  persecutor,  on  the  road  to  Damascus,, 

and  near  the  city ;  which  caused  his  immediate  conversion) 
(Acts  ix.  I — 22;  xxii.  3 — 21;  xxvi.  9 — 20;  i  Cor.  xv.  8 — 10;; 
Gal.  i.  13 — 27;  Eph.  iii.  i — 8;  Phil.  iii.  4 — 14;  i  Tim.  i, 
12— 16). 

In  this  and  the  following  appearance,  our  Divine  Lord 
caused  His  sacred  risen  Body  to  bilocate ;  inasmuch  as,  once 
ascended  to  Heaven,  He  departed  no  more  thence  (Acts  iii.  21),, 
nor  intermitted  His  perpetual  session  at  the  Right  Hand  of  the 
Father  (Symbol.  App,  et  Nicsen.)  in  the  Empyrean,  and  yet 


132  FASTI   ArOSTOLICI. 

appeared  to  Saul  in  the  air  above  him.  Even  so  does  He 
multilocate  in  the  Holy  Eucharist,  and  enable  the  bodies  of 
His  Saints  to  bilocate  also. 
(15)  To  S.  Peter,  on  the  eve  of  the  Apostle's  crucifixion,  at  the  spot 
in  Rome  named  Domuie,  quo  vadisl  See  "Fasti,"  p.  117,  with 
the  authorities  there  quoted. 

These  personal  Divine  appearances  are  to  be  distinguished 
from  visions  and  ecstasies  with  which  He  favoured  S.  Paul 
(Acts  xviii.  9,  10,  xxii.  18,  xxiii,  11). 

The  celebrated  description  of  our  Lord  by  Josephus  may  be  here  intro- 
duced ;  though  he  inserts  it  in  his  Antiquities,  with  no  very  accurate 
chronology,  after  the  sedition  of  the  Jews  against  Pilate,  which  Whiston 
assigns  to  a.d.  27. 

"About  this  time  lived  Jesus,  a  man  of  wisdom,  if  He  may  be  called 
man.  For  He  wrought  mighty  works  ;  a  teacher  of  such  as  willingly  received 
the  truth.  He  drew  many  to  Himself,  both  of  Jews  and  Gentiles.  He  was 
[the]  Christ.  And  when  Pilate,  at  the  instance  of  the  principal  men  among 
us,  had  condemned  Him  to  the  cross,  they  who  loved  Him  at  the  first,  did 
not  forsake  Him.  For  He  appeared  to  them  alive  again,  the  third  day,  as 
the  divine  prophets  had  foretold  these  and  ten  thousand  other  wonderful 
things  concerning  Him.  And  the  tribe  of  Christians,  so  named  from  Himself, 
is  not  extinct  at  this  day."     Aitiiq.  xviii.  3,  3. 


C  (/.  2). 

THE    LOCALITY   OF   THE   ASCENSION. 

"  Concerning  the  place  of  our  Lord's  Ascension,  the  aforesaid  author 
[Adamnan,  De  Locis  Sanciis\  writes  thus  : 

" '  Mount  Olivet  is  equal  in  height  to  Mount  Sion,  but  exceeds  it  in 
breadth  and  length.  .  .  On  the  very  top  of  it,  where  our  Lord  ascended  into 
Heaven,  is  a  large  round  church,  having  about  it  three  vaulted  porches.  For 
the  inner  house  was  not  to  be  vaulted  and  covered,  because  of  the  passage 
of  our  Lord's  Body;  but  it  has  an  altar  on  the  east  side,  covered  with  a 
narrow  roof.  In  the  middle  of  it  are  to  be  seen  the  last  prints  of  our  Lord's 
Feet,  the  sky  appearing  open  above,  where  He  ascended ;   and  though  the 


ArPENDIX.  133 

earth  is  daily  carried  away  by  believers,  yet  still  it  remains  as  before,  and 
retains  the  same  impression  of  the  Feet.  In  the  western  part  of  the  same 
church  are  eight  windows ;  and  eight  lamps,  hanging  opposite  to  them  by 
cords,  cast  their  light  through  the  glass  as  far  as  Jerusalem ;  this  light  is  said 
to  strike  the  hearts  of  beholders  with  a  certain  joy  and  humility.  Every  year, 
on  the  day  of  the  Ascension,  when  Mass  is  ended,  a  strong  blast  of  wind  is 
said  to  come  down,  and  to  cast  to  the  ground  all  that  are  in  the  church." 
(S.  Bede's  Eccles.  Hist.  lib.  v.  c.  17.) 


D  {p.  3). 

MAXIMS    ATTRIBUTED    TO    SAINT    MATTHIAS. 

Clement  of  Alexandria  {Sh-oni.  lib.  ii.  c.  9),  says  :  "  The  beginning  of  truth 
is  ©av/xdaac  ra  Trpajfiara,  as  Plato  says  in  his  Thecetetus ;  and  as  Matthias 
exhorts  in  his  "Traditions" — @avfida-ov  to,  irapovTU — laying  down  this  as 
the  first  step  to  subsequent  knowledge." 

On  this,  Petavius  comments  : 

"  Oav/xdcraL  is  not  only  to  admire,  but  also  to  learn,  and  become  the 
disciple  of.  The  Apostle  would  have  us  conduct  ourselves  in  this  visible 
universe,  as  in  a  school  of  divine  contemplation.  S.  Antony  was  accustomed 
to  say  that  this  world  is  a  great  book,  in  which  the  attributes  of  its  Author 
are  written  in  beautiful  characters,  as  by  the  hand  of  a  skilful  scribe.  The 
author  of  the  Epistle  to  Demetrias,  attributed  to  S.  Ambrose,  says :  "  The 
heavens  and  the  earth,  in  their  beauty,  furnish  as  it  were  so  many  pages,  lying 
ever  open  to  the  inspection  of  all,  and  unceasingly  proclaiming  their  Author : 
a  proclamation  in  harmony  with  [following  upon  the  lines  of]  the  teaching  of 
doctors  and  the  eloquent  utterance  of  the  Scriptures."  Facundus,  Bishop  of 
Hermianum,  says,  in  his  twelfth  book  :  "  As  words  are  given  us,  to  signify 
things,  so  Almighty  God,  to  whose  power  all  is  subject,  and  whose  wisdom 
knows  how,  in  marvellous  ways,  to  harmonize  even  the  voluntary  movements 
of  His  creatures  so  as  fitly  to  conduce  to  the  purpose  of  instruction,  gives 
expression,  by  their  acts,  to  whatsoever  lesson  He  will."  Thus  also  S. 
Augustine  :  "  As,  when  we  examine  some  beautiful  manuscript,  we  should 
not  feel  content  with  praising  the  skill  of  the  writer,  how  uniform  he  has 
made  the  letters,  how  even,  how  shapely,  unless  we  could  also  read  what  he 
has  signified  thereby ;  so,  he  who  merely  gazes  on  God's  works,  is  delighted 


134  FASTI   APOSTOLICI. 

with  their  beauty,  ancP  thus  admires  the  Divine  Artificer;  but  he  who  under- 
stands [them]  is  as  thougli  lie  read  tliem." 

"This  is  ©av/xd^eip  ra  irapovra',  not  to  be  an  idle  spectator  and 
.admirer  of  what  we  see,  but  a  docile  and  intelligent  disciple  "  (Petav.  T/ieol. 
Dogma f.  t.  iii;  Dc  Officio  VI.  Diei:  p.  221). 

.    ^"-^ 
Id.  Strom,  lib.  iii.  c.  4 :  "  Matthias  is  reported  to  have  taught  thus :  '  We 

must  fight  against  the  flesh,  and  treat  it  hardly  (maltreat,  'Kapayjpr)(T6aL)  by 

no  means  yielding  to  it  for  intemperate  pleasure  :  but  increase  the  [growth 

of  the]  soul  by  faith  and  knowledge.'"^ 


E  {/.  10). 

TARSUS. 

Tarsus,  the  metropolis  of  Cilicia,  was  rightly  described  by  S.  Paul  as 
"no  mean  city"  (he  was  ovk.  aai'^fiov  7roXe&)9  7ro\iTT]<;,  Acts  xxi.  39).  "Even 
in  the  flourishing  period  of  Greek  history,  it  was  a  city  of  some  considerable 
consequence  (Xen.  Anab.  i.  2,  §  23).  After  Alexander's  conquests  had  swept 
this  way  (Quint.  Curt.  iii.  5),  and  the  Seleucid  kingdom  was  established  at 
Antioch,  Tarsus  usually  belonged  to  that  kingdom,  though  for  a  time  it  was 
under  the  Ptolemies.  In  the  civil  wars  of  Rome,  it  took  Caesar's  side ;  and, 
on  the  occasion  of  a  visit  from  him,  had  its  name  changed  to  Juliopolis 
(Cses.  Bell.  Alex.  66,  Dion  Cass,  xlvii.  26)." 

Tarsus  suffered  severely  in  the  contest  between  Octavius  and  Antony  on 
the  one  side,  and  Brutus  and  Cassius  on  the  other.  Compelled  to  submit 
(B.C.  43)  to  the  latter,  most  of  its  inhabitants  were  sold  into  slavery.  But  on 
the  triumph  of  the  former  at  Philippi,  a  general  edict  restored  them  to  their 
liberty;  and  Augustus  made  it  a  "free  city,"  or  miinicipium,  a  higher  title  than 
that  of  colonia.  It  was  not  from  this,  however,  that  S.  Paul  derived  his  Roman 
citizenship,  though  Fleury  asserts  it  {H.  E.  i.  Ivii.).  It  is  to  be  remarked  that 
the  opposition  to  S.  Stephen,  and  subsequent  persecution,  arose  from  the 
libe/'ii/ii,  or  freedmen,  and  men  of  Cilicia  (Acts  v.  9),  which  would  tend  to 
draw  Saul  into  it,  besides  his  personal  hatred  against  Christianity. 
^  Cf.  Rom.  xiii.  14;  i  Cor.  ix.  26,  27;  Gal.  v.  16,  17. 


APPENDIX.  135 

Tarsus  became  one  of  the  three  great  universities  of  the  Pagan  world,  and 
Strabo  (xiv.  5)  ranks  it  even  above  Alexandria  and  Athens.  It  was  here,  then, 
that  S.  Paul  gained  his  early  acquaintance  with  Greek  as  well  as  Hebrew 
literature.  See  Acts  xvii.  28,  where  he  quotes  from  Aratus  and  Cleanthes; 
I  Cor.  XV.  :^:^,  from  Menander,  Tit.  i.  12,  from  Epimenides.  His  after  and 
more  important  studies  were  pursued  in  Jerusalem,  under  Gamaliel  (Acts 
xxii.  3),  who,  beside  his  profound  knowledge  of  the  Jewish  law,  is  said  to 
have  had  a  great  acquaintance  with  general  literature.  The  similarity  of 
thought  and  phrase  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  and  in  the  writings 
of  Philo  has  been  observed ;  as  also  the  points  of  resemblance  between  the 
Apostle's  language  and  that  of  Seneca.  "  The  education  of  S.  Paul  was  that 
of  a  Roman  gentleman  and  a  Jewish  rabbi ;  his  father  being  thus  provi- 
dentially guided  to  prepare  his  son  in  a  strikingly  appropriate  manner  for  his 
future  work,  and  qualifying  him  to  address  with  equal  effect  an  audience  of 
well-informed  Hebrews,  or  one  of  polished  Athenians." 

The  Tharsis  of  the  Old  Testament  (Gen.  x.  4,  I.  Paralip.  i.  7,  Is.  ii.  16, 
Jon.  i.  3,  iv.  2,  &c.,  &c.)  is  probably  Tartessus  in  Spain,  a  city  and  emporium 
of  the  Phoenicians,  and  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  Tarsus. 

Though  it  is  not  stated  in  the  Acts,  there  seems  little  doubt  that  S.  Paul, 
who  returned  to  his  native  place  after  his  conversion  (Acts  ix.  30),  visited  it 
again  both  on  his  Second  and  Third  Apostolic  journeys  (Acts  xv.  40). 

Tarsus  was  the  birth-place  of  the  learned  and  vigorous  monk,  Theodore, 
whom  Pope  Vitalian,  in  668,  made  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  primate 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  province.  He  held  the  Councils  of  Hereford  in  673,  of 
Hatfield  in  680,  and  of  Twyford  in  684  ;  and  it  was  mainly  to  him  that  the 
parochial  division  of  England  is  said  to  be  due.  He  also  brought  into  the 
island  great  wealth  (for  those  times)  of  Greek  and  Latin  MSS. 


F  (/.  26). 

DISPERSION    OF   THE   APOSTLES. 

I. — It  is  highly  probable  that  the  Apostles,  having  preached,  especially  to 
**  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel "  (S.  Matt.  x.  6,  xv.  24)  throughout 
Judaea,  Samaria,  and  as  far  as  Antioch,  assembled  at  Jerusalem,  before 
proceeding  on  their  several  missions  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  S.  Justin 
Martyr  writes   to   Antoninus :    "  Twelve   men   went    forth    from   Jerusalem 


136  FASTI   APOSTOLICI. 

throughout  the  world  ;  and  tlicse,  unlearned  and  without  eloquence  :  but  in 
the  power  of  God  they  proclaimed  to  the  whole  human  race  that  they  were 
sent  by  Christ  to  teach  all  men  the  word  of  God."  Rufinus  {Comvicnt.  in 
Symb.  init.)  and  Hincmar  {Episf.  adv.  Ep.  Laudun.)  assert  that,  before 
separating,  they  composed  the  Syinlwhnn — so  called  from  each  contributing 
an  article.  This  was  to  be  the  watchword  of  the  faith,  a  touchstone  by  which 
the  teaching  of  the  Eccksia  docens,  and  the  belief  of  the  Ecdesia  disccns,  were 
to  be  always  tested.  Baronius  defends  the  common  opinion,  that  each  Apostle 
contributed  his  several  article  to  this  creed.  Tillemont,  on  no  sufficient 
ground,  controverts  it.  The  Symbol  was  not  written,  but  handed  down  by 
tradition  ;  among  other  reasons,  to  preserve  the  disciplina  arcani.  "  Idcirco 
hasc  non  scribi  chartis  atque  membranis,  sed  cordibus  retineri  tradiderunt,  ut 
certum  esset,  neminem  h?ec  ex  lectione,  qu?e  interdum  pervenire  etiam  ad 
infideles  solet,  sed  ex  Apostolorum  traditione  didicisse "  (Ruf.  ut  sup.). 
Socrates  {H.  E.  i.  19)  asserts  that  the  Apostles  decided  their  respective 
provinces  by  lot.  This  is  strenuously  opposed  by  Baronius  {ad  aivi.  44) ; 
but  it  may  be  admitted  in  the  sense  of  Acts  i.  22 — 26  ;  though  Baronius 
quotes  with  much  force  Acts  viii.  26,  xiii.  2—4.  Cf.  Is.  xxxiv.  17,  and 
Hieron,  ///  loc. 

The  fifteenth  of  July  {Id.  Julii)  is  the  day  on  which  the  Feast  of  "  the 
Division  of  the  Apostles"  has  been  kept  from  early  times.  It  is  mentioned, 
as  on  tliat  day,  in  the  appendix  to  the  Martyrology  of  Ado,  found  in  Rosweyd, 
and  also  by  Usuard ;  these  imply  that  the  feast  was  observed  at  least  before 
the  twelfth  century.  In  France,  its  observance  probably  dates  long  before  the 
ancient  breviary  printed  in  1509  for  the  dioceses  of  Auxerre,  Verdun,  and 
Besan^on,  which  gives  the  feast  for  the  same  date,  July  15.  A  missal  printed 
for  the  diocese  of  Liege,  and  a  breviary  for  that  of  Tongres,  both  also  of  1509, 
give  the  following  collect  for  the  feast :  "  O  God,  Who  didst  foreordain  the 
division  of  'i'hy  Apostles  to  take  place  on  this  day,  that  the  dispersion  of  the 
Gentiles  should  be  called  as  a  Church  in  one  and  the  same  grace  of  faith ; 
grant  us  to  merit  the  pardon  of  our  sins  by  their  intercession,  by  whose 
preaching  of  the  truth  we  have  attained  to  the  knowledge  of  Thy  Name. 
Through  our  Lord."  Later  breviaries  might  be  quoted  to  the  same  effect,  as 
in  use  in  Isola,  Mechlin,  Antwerp,  Poland,  Silesia,  and  Denmark. 

II.  The  date  of  this  dispersion. — Baronius  {Anual.  ad  arm.  44,  n.  13) 
confesses  that,  after  long  research,  he  had  been  unable  to  find  any  safe  guide 
on  this  point,  either  among  Greek  or  Latin  authors. 


APPENDIX.  137 

(i)  Some  Spanish  writers,  especially  Sanctius  {Comment,  in  Act.),  are  of 
opinion  that  it  took  place  immediately  after  the  Pentecostal  gift  had  been 
bestowed  on  the  Apostles.  This  opinion  rests  mainly  on  apocryphal  and 
ill-founded  testimonies,  e.g.,  that  of  the  so-named  Pseudo  Dexter  {Chron.  ad 
A.D.  34).     It  seems,  moreover,  directly  opposed  to  Acts  viii.  i,  14,  25. 

(2)  Others,  resting  on  the  authority  of  a  certain  Melito,  bishop  of  Sardis, 
assign  it  to  the  second  year  after  our  Lord's  Ascension.  This,  however,  is 
refuted  by  S.  Bede  {Retract,  in  Act.  viii.  t.  6),  and  by  Baronius. 

(3)  A  more  probable  opinion  would  have  it  to  have  been  before  S.  Paul's 
visit  to  Jerusalem,  which  took  place  three  years  after  his  conversion.  Compare 
Gal.  i.  18,  19.  But  the  rest  of  the  Apostles  may,  during  S.  Paul's  brief  visit, 
have  been  evangelizing  places  comparatively  near  Jerusalem  (Cf.  Acts  viii. 
14,  25),  and  the  notice  of  this  might  well  be  omitted  by  S.  Luke,  who  chiefly 
directs  attention  to  the  actions  of  S.  Peter,  as  afterwards  to  those  of  S.  Paul. 
It  is  certain  that  the  Apostles  were  still  in  Judaea  when  S.  Peter  baptized 
Cornelius  and  others  in  Csesarea  (Cf.  Acts  xi.  i — 18).  S.  Chrysostom 
(Hom.  70  in  Matt,  xxii.)  says  that  "the  Apostles  preached  first  to  the  Jews, 
and  remained  a  long  time  in  Judsa,  being  beaten  and  scourged  ;  and  finally, 
being  expelled  by  them,  went  forth  to  the  Gentiles."  The  holy  doctor  extends, 
indeed,  this  period  to  a  date  much  too  late,  asserting  (Hom.  25  in  Act.)  that 
they  remained  in  Jerusalem  until  S.  Paul's  arrival  in  Rome. 

(4)  Some,  again,  place  the  dispersion  as  late  as  after  the  Council  of 
Jerusalem,  which  was  held  in  the  i8th  or  19th  year  after  our  Lord's  Ascension. 
This  error  has  arisen  from  a  misapprehension  of  Acts  xv.  4,  6  ;  whereas,  it 
would  appear  from  Gal.  ii.  9  that  only  SS.  Peter,  James  the  Less,  and  John 
were  in  Jerusalem  when  SS.  Paul  and  Barnabas  arrived  there.  The 
"  Apostolical  Constitutions,"  indeed,  assert  that  all  the  Twelve  were  inspired 
to  assemble  at  this  Council  from  their  various  regions  ;  but  this  document,  if 
not  altogether  apocryphal,  as  Baronius,  Bellarmine,  and  others  hold,  is  at 
least  corrupt  and  interpolated.  S.  James  the  Greater  was  at  that  time  already 
martyred. 

(5)  The  true  opinion,  according  to  Henschenius  and  the  Bollandist 
{ad  Jul.  15),  supported  by  Usuard,  who  quotes  S.  Bede,  and  by  Peter  de 
Natalibus,  seems  to  be,  that  the  Apostles  dispersed  in  a.d.  40  {vulg.),  i.e.,  the 
twelfth  year  after  our  Lord's  Ascension.  Then  S.  Peter  went  to  Rome,  and 
S.  James  the  Greater  to  Spain;  both  returning,  of  course,  to  Jerusalem,  for  the 
events  narrated.  Acts  xii.    i — 24.     Clement  of  Alexandria  {Strom,  lib.   vi.) 


138  FASTI   APOSTOLICI. 

represents  S.  Peter  as  reporting  our  Lord's  command  to  tlic  Apostles,  not  to 
"  go  forth  into  the  whole  world  "  beyond  the  limits  of  Palestine,  until  during 
twelve  years  they  had  given  the  Jews  every  chance  of  conversion.  Tillemont 
records  that  he  had  been  unable  to  discover  this  passage,  which  is,  however, 
contained  both  in  the  Greek  and  Latin  of  three  several  editions.  Corn,  k 
Lapide  appears  also  to  be  in  error,  in  saying  (ad  Act.  xii.)  that  Pope  Gelasius 
had  classed  this  work  of  Clement  of  Alexandria  among  apocryphal  and 
interpolated  writings.  That  condemnation  refers  to  another  writer  of  the 
same  name  and  place.  S.  Jerome  twice  {E/>.  83  al.  84  ad  Magn.,  and  Lib.  de 
Scriptor.  Ecd.  c.  38)  bears  testimony  in  favour  of  this  work  of  Clement's. 
Apollonius  also,  an  ecclesiastical  writer  of  the  same  age,  mentioned  by 
Eusebius  {H.  E.  1.  v.  c.  18)  as  writing  against  the  Cataphrygians,  endorses  it. 

(6)  The  dispersion  of  the  holy  Apostles  must  certainly  have  been  before 
S.  Mark  wrote  his  Gospel,  i.e.,  before  the  end  of  the  twelfth  year  after  the 
Ascension.  See  S.  Mark  xvi.  20.  Unless  the  iravTaxov  of  that  text  be  taken 
to  refer  to  their  preaching  throughout  Juda;a  and  Syria,  which  seems  an 
inadequate  interpretation. 


G  (/.  30). 

GENERAL   TOLERATION    OF   RELIGIONS    IN    ROME. 

"The  various  modes  of  worship  w^hich  prevailed  in  the  Roman  world,  were 
all  considered  by  the  people  as  equally  true,  by  the  philosophers  as  equally 
false,  and  by  the  magistrate  as  equally  useful.  And  thus  toleration  produced 
not  only  mutual  indulgence,  but  even  religious  concord.  The  superstition 
of  the  people  was  not  embittered  by  any  mixture  of  theological  rancour ;  nor 
was  it  confined  by  the  chains  of  any  speculative  system.  The  devout  poly- 
theist,  though  fondly  attached  to  his  national  rites,  admitted,  with  implicit 
faith,  the  different  religions  of  the  earth.  The  thin  texture  of  the  pagan 
mythology  was  interwoven  witli  various  but  not  discordant  materials.  .  .  The 
deities  of  a  thousand  groves  and  a  thousand  streams  possessed,  in  peace,  their 
local  and  respective  influence;  nor  could  the  Roman  who  deprecated  the 
wrath  of  the  Tiber,  deride  the  Egyptian  who  presented  his  offering  to  the 
beneficent  genius  of  the  Nile.  .  .  Such  was  the  mild  spirit  of  antiquity,  that 
the  nations  were  less  attentive  to  the  difterence  than  to  the  resemblance  of 
their  religious  worship.     The  Greek,  the  Roman,  and  the  barbarian,  as  they 


APPENDIX.  139 

met  before  their  respective  altars,  easily  persuaded  themselves  that  under 
various  names,  and  with  various  ceremonies,  they  adored  the  same  deities. 
The  elegant  mythology  of  Homer  gave  a  beautiful  and  almost  a  regular  form 
to  the  polytheism  of  the  ancient  world.  .  .  Notwithstanding  the  fashionable 
irreligion  which  prevailed  in  the  age  of  the  Antonines,  both  the  interests  of 
the  priests  and  the  credulity  of  the  people  were  sufficiently  respected.  In 
their  writings  and  conversation,  the  philosophers  of  antiquity  asserted  the 
independent  dignity  of  reason ;  but  they  resigned  their  actions  to  the  com- 
mands of  law  and  custom.  Viewing,  with  a  smile  of  pity  and  indulgence, 
the  various  errors  of  the  vulgar,  they  diligently  practised  the  ceremonies  of 
their  fathers,  devoutly  frequented  the  temples  of  the  gods,  and  sometimes, 
condescending  to  act  a  part  on  the  theatre  of  superstition,  they  concealed 
the  sentiments  of  an  atheist  under  the  sacerdotal  robes.  Reasoners  of  such 
a  temper  were  scarcely  inclined  to  wrangle  about  their  respective  modes  of 
faith,  or  of  worship.  It  was  indifferent  to  them  what  shape  the  folly  of  the 
multitude  might  choose  to  assume;  and  they  approached,  with  the  same 
inward  contempt,  and  the  same  outward  reverence,  the  altars  of  the  Lybian, 
the  Olympian,  or  the  Capitoline  Jupiter.  .  .  It  is  not  easy  to  conceive  from 
what  motives  a  spirit  of  persecution  could  introduce  itself  into  the  Roman 
councils.  The  magistrates  could  not  be  actuated  by  a  blind  though  honest 
bigotr}^,  since  the  magistrates  were  themselves  philosophers ;  and  the  school 
of  Athens  had  given  laws  to  the  Senate.  They  could  not  be  impelled  by 
ambition  or  avarice ;  as  the  temporal  and  ecclesiastical  powers  were  united  in 
the  same  hands.  The  pontiffs  were  chosen  among  the  most  illustrious  of 
the  senators ;  and  the  office  of  supreme  pontiff  was  constantly  exercised  by 
the  Emperors  themselves.  They  knew  and  valued  the  advantages  of  religion, 
as  it  is  connected  with  civil  government.  They  encouraged  the  public 
festivals,  which  humanize  the  manners  of  the  people.  They  managed  the 
arts  of  divination,  as  a  convenient  instrument  of  policy;  and  they  respected, 
as  the  firmest  bond  of  society,  the  useful  persuasion,  that  either  in  this  or  in 
a  future  life,  the  crime  of  perjury  is  most  assuredly  punished  by  the  avenging 
gods  (Polyb.  vi.  53,  54).  Juvenal,  Sat.  xiii.,  laments  that  in  his  time  this 
apprehension  had  lost  much  of  its  effect.  But  whilst  they  acknowledged 
the  general  advantages  of  religion,  they  were  convinced  that  the  various  modes 
of  worship  contributed  alike  to  the  same  salutary  purposes  ;  and  that  in  every 
country,  the  form  of  superstition,  which  had  received  the  sanction  of  time 
and  experience,  was  the  best  adapted  to  the  climate,  and  to  its  inhabitants." 
{Gibbon's  Decline  atid  Fall,  vol.  i.  c.  2.  pp.  46 — 51). 


I40  FASTI   ArOSTOLICT. 

Tliis  specious  and  grandiloquent  writer  liere  intends  to  contrast  the  con- 
temptuous indifferentism  of  pagan  Rome  with  the  "earnest  contending  for 
the  faitli "  disi)layed  by  tlie  primitive  martyrs  :  and,  of  course,  in  disparage- 
ment of  the  latter.  A  truth,  recognized  as  infallible  in  virtue  of  the  Divine 
veracity,  is  alone  incapable  of  admixture  or  compromise  with  error,  of  eclecti- 
cism or  syncretism  ;  and  is  therefore,  so  far,  intolerant.  Marcus  Aurelius  is 
said  to  have  intended  to  place  a  bust  of  our  Lord  side  by  side  with  that  of 
Socrates  in  his  philosophical  Pantheon  ;  but  Christianity  was  unable  to  do  as 
much  for  the  Athenian  sage.  It  would  have  been  equalizing  a  part  with  the 
whole,  and  tentative  opinion  with  truth.  Hence  the  reproach  against  the 
Gospel  in  every  age,  alike  from  pagans  and  modern  freethinkers,  as  narrowly 
contending  for  the  whole,  when  a  portion  would  sufifice  : 

NTjirtoi,  ouK  "laacnv  oacf  ttKIov  'i]fj.iav  iravros. 


H  (A  40). 

ABGAR,    KING    OF    EDESSA   IN    MESOPOTAMIA. 

l.—T/ie  History. 

Abgar,  Acbar,  Agbar,  Abagar,  or  Augar,  was  the  name  or  rather  title  of 
several  Arabian  Kings  of  Osroene,  reigning  in  Edessa :  the  third  form  of  the 
name  is  the  most  probable,  as  signifying  "  Very  powerful "  in  Arabic.  One 
of  these  Abgares,  by  treachery,  had  caused  the  defeat  of  Crassus,  in  his 
expedition  against  the  Parthians,  B.C.  52  (Plutarch  /«  Crasso;  Sext.  Ruf.  iti 
Brei'iario;  Dio,  lib.  40;  Appian.  in  Parthic;  Procop.  Bell.  Persic,  lib.  2). 
Three  others  of  the  name  had  reigned  before  him  who  was  surnamed  Uc/iaffW, 
or  the  "  Black,"  from  the  leprous  disease  under  which  he  suffered  (Dionys. 
Telmaris,  a  Syrian  patriarch  of  the  eighth  century,  quoted  by  Assemani, 
Biblioth.  Orient,  t.  i.  p.  402).  He  is,  says  Moreri,  perhaps  the  same  who  is 
called  Abia  by  Josephus,  and  without  doubt  the  same  whom  Procopius  men- 
tions as  having  been  received  into  great  favour  by  Augustus,  and  retained  at 
his  Court.  It  must  have  been  after  his  return  to  Edessa,  at  least  twenty 
years  later  than  his  sojourn  in  Rome  (for  Augustus  died  a.d.  13),  that  Abgar 
Uchamo  wrote  this  Epistle  to  our  Lord  : 

"  Abgar,  King  of  Edessa,  to  Jesus  the  Saviour  full  of  goodness,  who  hath 
appeared  in  Jerusalem, 


APPENDIX.  141 

"  I  have  heard  the  report  of  those  wondrous  things  and  admirable  cures 
which  Thou  dost  work ;  healing  the  sick  without  herbs  or  medicines.  It  is 
reported  that  Thou  restorest  sight  to  the  blind,  makest  the  lame  and  the 
maimed  to  walk  upright,  cleansest  the  lepers,  puttest  to  flight  demons  and 
evil  spirits,  givest  health  to  such  as  had  sicknesses  long  and  incurable,  and 
restorest  the  dead  to  life.  Hearing  such  things  of  Thee,  I  believe  that  Thou 
art  God,  who  hast  willed  to  come  down  from  Heaven ;  or  the  Son  of  God, 
who  dost  work  these  wonderful  things.  Therefore  have  I  been  bold  to  write 
Thee  this  letter,  and  to  intreat  Thee  with  my  whole  heart  to  deign  to  come 
and  see  me,  to  heal  me  of  pains  that  grievously  afflict  me.  I  have  heard  that 
the  Jews  persecute  Thee,  and  murmur  against  Thy  miracles,  and  seek  to  kill 
Thee.  Here  I  have  a  city  fair  and  commodious,  though  it  be  little ;  it  will 
furnish  sufficient  of  all  Thou  needest." 

The  reported  answer  of  our  Lord  to  this  epistle  is  given  above  {Fasfi, 

P-  ii)- 

Moreri  {Didionnaire,  Szc,  art.  "Abgare)  thus  gives  the  sequel  of  the 
narration,  and  then  proceeds  to  criticize  it : 

"  Abgare  ne  fut  pas  long-temps  sans  voir  I'accomplissement  de  la  promesse 
que  Jesus-Christ  lui  avoit  faite.  Saint  Thomas  lui  envoya  Saint  Thade'e,  non 
celui  des  douze-apotres,  qui  est  aussi  appelle  Jude,  mais  I'un  des  septante 
disciples.  Des  qu'il  fut  arrive  a  Edesse,  il  se  logea  chez  un  particulier 
nomme  Tobie,  ou  sa  reputation  eclata  bientot,  par  un  si  grand  nombre  de 
miracles,  qu'elle  parvint  jusqu'  aux  oreilles  du  roi,  qui  lui  demanda  s'il  etoit 
le  disciple  promis.  Thadee  lui  repondit  que  oiii,  et  lui  dit  qu'il  venoit 
pour  recompenser  la  foi  que  ce  prince  avoit  eue  en  Jesus-Christ;  a  quoi 
le  roi  rdpliqua  dans  les  premiers  mouvemens  de  son  zele,  qu'il  croyoil  telle- 
ment  an  Sauveur,  que  sans  les  Romains  il  eut  voulu  tailler  en  pieces  les 
Juifs  qui  I'avoient  crucifie.  Apres  cette  profession  de  foi,  saint  Thadee 
guerit  le  prince,  en  lui  imposant  les  mains ;  et  ce  miracle,  aussi  bien  que 
les  autres  qu'il  opera  disposa  tellement  les  habitants  d'Edesse  a  recevoir  la 
doctrine  de  Jesus-Christ,  qu'ils  I'embrasserent  des  qu'elle  leur  eut  ete  an- 
nonce'e  par  saint  Thadee,  et  qu'ils  la  retinrent  depuis  tres  constamment. 

"  Voila  les  principales  circonstances  de  la  conversion  d' Abgare,  qu'  Eusebe 
de  Cesarde  dit  etre  tirees  des  archives  de  I'eglise  d'Edesse,  et  dont  il  a 
cru  devoir  enrichir  son  histoire  ecclesiastique. 

"  Quoique  I'autorite  d'Eusebe  soit  d'un  grand  poids,  et  que  saint  Ephrem 
ait  regu  cette  histoire  apres  lui,  en  quoi  ils  ont  ete  suivis  par  le  comte  Darius 


142  FASTI   APOSTOLIC!. 

dans  line  cpitre  a  saint  Augustin,  par  Theodore  Studitc,  dans  une  autre  au 
pape  Pascal,  par  Cedrcne,  Procope,  S.  Jean  de  Damas,  Evagre,  et  par  le 
pape  Adrien  dans  une  ^pitre  ^  Charlemagne ;  quelqucs  modernes  n'ont  pas 
laisse  d'attaquer  la  reponse  de  Jesus-Christ  a  Abgare,  et  I'histoire  de  sa 
conversion.  Tels  sont  Casaubon,  auquel  Gretser  h.  repondu;  et  apres  lui 
le  pere  Alexandre  et  M.  du  Pin,  que  M.  de  Tillemont  a  refute's. 

"  L'flutorite  d'Eusebe  n'est  pas  h  considerer  sur  cette  histoire,  car  il  est 
visible  qu'il  ne  rapporte  ce  fait  que  sur  la  foi  de  quelques  archives  pretendues 
de  I'Eglise  d'Edesse;  on  fgait  combien  ces  sortes  de  monumens  sont  sujets 
h.  caution  dans  des  histoires  de  cette  nature.  II  est  visible  que  ce  qui  est 
dit  dans  la  lettre  attribuee  h.  Jesus-Christ,  est  une  allusion  aux  paroles  de 
Jesus-Christ  h.  saint  Thomas :  Heuraix  ccitx  qui  ji'ofit  point  vft,  et  qui  ont 
crii;  et  il  n'y  a  rien  de  semblable  dans  les  deux  passages  d'Isaie  cites  par 
M.  de  Tillemont ;  au  contraire  il  y  est  marque  que  ceux  qui  ne  connoissoient 
pas  le  Seigneur,  et  qui  ne  le  cherchaient  pas,  I'ont  vu  et  I'ont  trouve.  La 
reforme  de  M.  de  Tillemont  de  la  date  de  Tan  340  n'est  fondee  sur  aucune 
autorite,  et  le  texte  d'Eusebe  porte  expressement  340.  Ce  ne  pent  etre  que 
pour  accorder  cette  histoire  avec  I'evangile,  que  les  traducteurs  ont  change 
340  en  43.  Quelque  bon  chronologiste  qu'ait  ete  Eusebe,  il  se  peut  faire 
qu'il  n'ait  pas  fait  d'attention  a  I'anachronisme  du  memoire  qui  lui  avoit  €\.6 
fourni.  Ce  que  Ton  fait  ecrire  par  Abgare  a  Jesus-Christ  sur  le  simple  recit 
qu'on  lui  avait  fait  des  miracles  de  Jesus-Christ :  '  Je  suis  persuade  que  vous 
etres  Dieu  on  Fils  de  Dieu,'  marque  visiblement  qu  c'est  un  Chretien  qui  fait 
parler  Abgare  ^  peu  pres  comme  il  parlerait  lui  meme;  et  il  n'y  a  point 
d'apparence  qu'un  prince  qui  n'avoit  point  la  connaissance  du  vrai  Dieu,  ait 
eu  ces  sentiments,  et  se  soit  servi  de  ces  expressions.  Quelque  zele  que  put 
avoir  Abgare  quand  Thadee  le  vint  trouver,  on  ne  peut  nier  qu'il  n'y  ait 
beaucoup  d'affectation  dans  les  paroles  qu'on  lui  met  en  bouche,  et  qu'elles 
ne  soient  plutot  de  I'invention  d'un  conteur  de  fables,  que  I'expression 
naturalle  d'un  prince." 

This  last  argument  may  well  raise  a  smile.  It  is  that  of  a  man  living  in 
Paris  before  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  when  the  splendour  of  the  throne 
and  court  of  the  Grand  Monarque  had  introduced  into  men's  minds  far 
different  ideas  of  the  "  natural  expression  of  a  prince "  from  what  would 
prevail  in  a  small  city  of  Mesopotamia,  eighteen  hundred  years  ago.  The 
reported  words  of  Abgar  are  at  least  congenial  with  those  of  Clovis,  who,  on 
hearing  a  sermon  upon  the  Passion,  drew  his  sword,  and  cried :  *•  Where  then 
was  I,  and  my  brave  Franks?" 


APPENDIX. 


H3 


The  writer  in  Wetzer  and  Welte's  Ejicydopedie  (Fr.  transl.)  in  verb.  Abgar, 
is  equally  unfavourable  to  the  truth  of  the  tradition. 

Pope  Gelasius,  in  a  synod  held  in  Rome  in  494,  declared  both  Abgar's 
epistle  and  our  Lord's  answer  apocryphal ;  i.e.  not  to  be  placed  on  the  Canon 
of  Scripture.  It  has  always  been  an  argument  strongly  urged  against  the 
genuineness  of  the  latter,  that  any  written  word  of  our  Lord  would  have 
been  included  in  the  Canon. 

Wouters  {Disseriat.  in  Selecta  Hist.  Eccl.  Capita)  having  placed  side  by 
side  the  arguments  for  and  against,  comes  to  the  conclusion : 

"Ejusmodi  sunt  in  hac  re,  de  qua  disputamus,  auctorum  gravissimorum 
a  se  invicem  dissentientium  argumenta,  ut  dirimi  controversia  non  posse 
videatur.  Pr^ecipuos  utriusque  sententiae  patronos  atque  principaliores  eorum 
rationes  indicavimus,  ut  quisquis,  illis  mature  ponderatis,  seligat  earn  opinio- 
nem  quse  sibi  verisimilior  apparebit.  Pace  eorum  qui  aliter  sentiant,  dixerim, 
me  magis  posterioris  [sc.  negativae]  quam  prioris  sententiae  monumentis  et 
rationibus  moveri." 


I  (/.  43). 

THE   ROMAN   ARMS    IN    BRITAIN. 

"The  only  accession  which  the  Roman  Empire  received,  during  the  first 
century  of  the  Christian  era,  was  the  province  of  Britain.  In  this  single 
instance,  the  successors  of  Caesar  and  Augustus  were  persuaded  to  follow  the 
example  of  the  former,  rather  than  the  precept  of  the  latter.  The  proximity 
of  its  situation  to  the  coast  of  Gaul  seemed  to  invite  their  arms ;  the  pleasing 
though  doubtful  intelligence  of  a  pearl-fishery  attracted  their  avarice ;  and, 
as  Britain  was  viewed  in  the  light  of  a  distinct  and  insulated  world,  the 
conquest  scarcely  formed  any  exception  to  the  general  system  of  continental 
measures.  After  a  war  of  about  forty  years,  undertaken  by  the  most  stupid, 
maintained  by  the  most  dissolute,  and  terminated  by  the  most  timid  of  all 
the  Emperors,  Claudius,  Nero,  and  Domitian,  the  far  greater  part  of  the 
island  submitted  to  the  Roman  yoke.  The  various  tribes  of  Britons  possessed 
valour  without  conduct,  and  the  love  of  freedom  without  the  spirit  of  union. 
They  took  up  arms  with  savage  fierceness ;  they  laid  them  down,  or  turned 
them  against  each  other,  with  wild  inconstancy ;  and  while  they  fought  singly, 
they  were  successively  subdued.      Neither  the  fortitude  of  Caractacus,  nor 


144  FASTI   ArOSTOLICI. 

the  despair  of  Boadlcea,  nor  the  fanaticism  of  the  Druids,  could  avert  tlie 
slavery  of  their  country,  or  resist  the  steady  progress  of  the  imperial  generals, 
who  maintained  the  national  glory  when  the  throne  was  disgraced  by  the 
weakest  or  the  most  vicious  of  mankind.  At  the  very  time  when  Domitian, 
confined  to  his  palace,  felt  the  terrors  which  he  inspired,  his  legions,  under 
the  command  of  the  virtuous  Agricola,  defeated  the  collected  force  of  the 
Caledonians  at  the  foot  of  the  Grampian  hills ;  and  his  fleets,  venturing  to 
explore  an  unknown  and  dangerous  navigation,  displayed  the  Roman  arms 
round  every  part  of  the  island"  {Gibbotis  Decline  and  Fall,  c.  i.  pp.  5,  6). 


J  (/•  49)- 


Cicero  {Tiisc.  Qncesf.  V.  37,  and  more  fully  De  Oratore  II.  xlvi.  193)  and 
Horace  {Oil.  I.  vii.  21)  report  the  legend  that  Salamis  in  Cyprus  was  founded 
by  Teucer,  when  expelled  by  his  father  Telamon  from  the  Greek  island  of 
that  name,  for  not  avenging  the  death  of  his  nephew  Ajax. 

Porto  Costanzo  seems  to  have  been  the  same  as  Famagosta  (Arsinoe). 
It  was  the  only  real  port  in  the  island ;  other  havens  being  merely  open 
roadsteads.  Richard  Cxiir  de  Lion,  returning  from  the  Crusades,  transferred 
the  metropolitan  see  from  Salamis  (Constantia)  to  Nicosia ;  at  the  same 
time  giving  the  sovereignty  of  Cyprus  to  the  family  of  Lusignan,  in  exchange 
for  that  of  Jerusalem,  which  they  had  lost.  This  was  in  1191.  In  12 18, 
the  Greek  archbishop  was  made  subject  to  the  Latin  metropolitan,  and  so 
remained,  until  Cyprus  was  taken  by  the  Turks  in  15  71,  after  an  eleven 
months'  siege  of  Famagosta,  where  they  lost  eighty  thousand  men.  Then, 
the  conquered  Venetians  quitting  the  island,  the  Greeks,  under  Turkish 
auspices,  elected  their  own  schismatic  metropolitan.  Cyprus  had  been  inde- 
pendent of  the  Patriarch  of  Antioch  from  a.d.  431,  probably  in  honour  of 
S.  Barnabas  (cf.  ad  a.d.  d^,  note  i).  Gams,  Scries  Episcop.  {id  sup.)  pp.  438, 
439.  Thomassinus,  De  Not',  et  Vet.  Eccl.  discipl.  I.  i.  c.  60,  ?i.g.  asserts  that 
the  Latin  metropolitan  of  Cyprus  was  the  first  who,  in  152 1,  used  the  style 
"  Apostolicse  Sedis  gratia;"  but  it  had  been  in  use  by  every  bishop  from  the 
twelfth  century,  except  in  some  few  cases,  where  it  had  been  prohibited  by 
the  temporal  power. 


APPENDIX.  145 

K  {/.  52). 

SAINT    THECLA. 

The  spurious  character  of  the  "TrepioSot  Paitli et  Thechz"  is  evident  at 
first  sight.  This  undoubtedly  ancient  work  abounded  in  extravagant  fables 
and  fictions,  which  were  quoted,  very  early,  against  the  discipline  of  the 
Church.  Tertullian  {De  Bapt.  ii.  17)  gives  its  history.  It  was  composed 
by  a  priest  in  Asia,  desirous,  with  a  zeal  not  according  to  knowledge,  to 
glorify  the  Apostle  S.  Paul  by  writing  a  romance  with  the  great  Apostle  as 
its  principal  figure.  He  was  tried  for  this  offence  (by  S.  John  himself,  adds 
S.  Jerome,  Catal.  c.  7),  and  deposed  from  the  priesthood.  Pope  Gelasius, 
in  a  well-known  decree,  numbers  the  work  among  the  apocryphal  writings  of 
the  New  Testament.  It  is  now  lost.  Grabe,  in  his  Spicilegium,  gives  a 
Greek  treatise  entitled  :  "  The  martyrdom  of  the  holy  and  glorious  protomartyr 
and  apostle  Thecla,"  printed  from  a  MS.  in  the  Bodleian  Library.  This,  say 
the  Bollandists,  is  not  the  ireplohoL,  though  apparently  founded  on  it.  In 
the  fifth  century,  Basil,  bishop  of  Seleucia,  wrote  a  history  of  S.  Thecla, 
drawing  his  materials  chiefly  from  the  vrepLoSot:  as  did  also  the  "Acts  "of 
Simeon  Metaphrastes,  and  Nicetas  David  "the  Paphlagonian "  in  his  pane- 
gyric of  the  Saint  (Combefis,  Aiidicarium,  p.  445). 

The  most  authoritative  testimony  to  the  genuine  acts  of  S.  Thecla's  life 
is,  undoubtedly,  the  Church's  Office  in  assisting  the  dying.  For  the  lex  oraridi 
and  the  lex  credendi  are  so  intimately  allied  as  to  be  really  identical.  In  that 
Office,  after  rehearsing  some  of  the  chief  deliverances  granted  to  holy  persons, 
and  recorded  in  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  the  priest  is  instructed  to  pray : 

"  As  Thou  didst  deliver  the  most  blessed  Thecla,  Thy  virgin  and  martyr, 
from  three  most  dreadful  torments,  so  vouchsafe  to  deliver  the  soul  of  this 
Thy  servant,"  &c. 

A  sermon,  attributed  to  8.  Chrysostom,  but  probably  only  coeval  with 
him,  enumerates  these  three  conflicts  as  being  fought  with  pleasures,  the  wild 
beasts,  and  fire. 

The  Roman  Marty rology  for  September  23  enumerates  two  out  of  the 
three  great  torments  which  S.  Thecla's  faith  enabled  her  to  evercome : 

"  At  Iconium  in  Lystra  [the  birthday]  of  S.  Thecla,  virgin  and  martyr, 
who,  having  been  brought  to  the  faith  by  S.  Paul,  in  the  days  of  the  Emperor 
Nero,  overcame  fire  and  the  wild  beasts  in  confessing  Christ ;  and,  having 

K 


146  FASTI   ArOSTOLICI. 

been  victorious  in  numerous  conflicts  for  the  instruction  of  many,  came  to 
Scleucia,  and  there  rested  in  peace  : — whom  the  holy  Fathers  have  celebrated 
with  highest  praise." 

Baronius,  in  his  edition  of  the  Martyrology,  appends  to  this  a  long  note, 
showing  that  S.  Thecla  not  being  mentioned  in  the  Acts  does  not  militate 
against  the  genuineness  of  her  history;  inasmuch  as  many  things  are  omitted 
by  S.  Luke,  even  of  those  which  more  immediately  related  to  S.  Paul.  He 
quotes  a  notice  of  the  Saint  from  S.  Gregory  of  Nyssa's  fourteenth  Homily  on 
the  Canticles  (c.  v.  13).  After  stating  that  myrrh  in  the  Scriptures  signifies 
death,  or  mortification,  S.  Gregory  proceeds :  "  Their  lips  distil  myrrh  who 
are  pure,  and  whose  virtues  possess  a  certain  fragrance ;  they  whose  lips 
distil  a  myrrh  that  fully  replenishes  the  souls  of  those  who  receive  it.  This 
myrrh  is  the  contempt  of  the  material  corporeal  life,  when  all  that  men  are 
zealous  for,  here  below,  becomes  powerless  and  dead,  by  reason  of  the  desire 
of  supernal  goods.  Even  such  myrrh  did  Paul  of  old  time  pour  from  his 
lips,  mingled  with  the  pure  lily  of  holy  chastity,  into  the  attentive  ears  of  the 
holy  virgin  Thecla  :  and  the  virginal  Thecla,  having  received  into  her  noble 
soul  those  limpid  droppings,  mortified  and  slew  [in  herself]  the  outer  man, 
and  extinguished  every  fleshly  thought  and  desire.  In  consequence  of  that 
excellent  doctrine,  dead  became  her  youth,  dead  that  beauty  which  met  the 
eye ;  deadened  each  corporeal  sense — while  there  lived  in  her  only  that  word, 
whereby  the  whole  world  had  died  to  her,  and  the  virgin  herself  had  died 
to  the  world."  A  more  ancient  authority,  S.  Epiphanius,  says  that  (excepting 
the  name  of  the  Ever-blessed  Virgin),  S.  Thecla  ranks  with  Elias  and  S.  John 
Baptist,  those  votaries  of  perpetual  virginity,  among  the  most  illustrious  of 
virgins  {Hccr.  78,  and  79,  5). 

S.  Gregory  Nazianzen,  in  his  first  oration  against  Julian,  thus  rebukes 
him  :  "  Hast  thou  no  fear  of  the  victims  who  have  been  slain  for  Christ  ? 
dost  thou  not  dread  those  great  athletes,  as  John,  Peter,  Paul,  James, 
Stephen,  Luke,  Andrew,  Thecla  .  .  who  contended  against  fire,  the  sword, 
and  wild  beasts,  and  human  tyrants ;  against  ills  at  hand,  and  threatened 
ills — and  that,  with  cheerful  soul,  as  though  in  others'  bodies,  yea,  as  though 
released  from  the  body  ? "  S.  Ambrose,  in  three  places  (lib.  2,  De  Virg.  ad 
Simplician.  and  Epist.  iii.  25,  ed.  Rom.  ad  Vercell.  Eccles.)  commemorates 
her  being  exposed  to  the  lions,  who  fawned  and  licked  her  feet ;  and  in 
his  treatise.  Ad  Lapsam  Virginem  c.  3,  asks  :  "  How  wilt  thou  appear  before 
Mary,  Thecla,  and  Agnes,  and  the  spotless  choir  of  purity?" 


APPENDIX.  147 

Finally,  S.Jerome  {Chron.  ad  ann.  377)  says  that  Melania,  a  noble  matron, 
went  to  Jerusalem,  and  there  acquired  such  repute  for  sanctity,  that  the  name 
Thecla  was  bestowed  upon  her. 


L  (/.  55). 

SLOWNESS    OF   THE   DECAY   OF    PAGANISM. 

An  article  in  the  Dublin  Review  for  August,  1843,  most  probably  from 
the  pen  of  Cardinal  Wiseman,  quotes  Dr.  Miley's  Ro7ne  mider  Paganism  and 
the  Popes,  to  refute  the  error  of  imagining  "  that  with  the  triumph  of  Constan- 
tine,  the  downfall  of  Paganism  followed  without  a  struggle." 

"  It  is  well  nigh  a  century  since  the  triumph  of  the  Labarum,  and  still 
Rome  wears  the  aspect  of  a  pagan  city.  One  hundred  and  fifty-two  temples, 
and  one  hundred  and  eighty  smaller  shrines  or  chapels,  are  still  sacred  to 
the  heathen  gods,  and  used  for  their  public  worship.  Above  all,  still  towers 
the  Capitol,  with  its  fifty  temples,  bearing  the  titles  of  the  dii  majores  and 
of  the  deities  and  heroes  tutelary  of  Rome,  and  of  the  Empire — the  temples 
of  Jove,  of  Juno,  and  Minerva ;  of  Mars,  Janus,  and  Romulus ;  of  Caesar, 
and  of  Victory. 

"  Nor  was  it  alone  the  ancient  legalized  religion  of  Numa  that  was  still 
upheld ;  Rome  had  become  the  rallying  point,  a  city  of  refuge,  for  everything 
that  was  pagan  in  the  whole  Empire :  there  was  no  form  of  superstition  that 
had  fallen  into  contempt  or  been  banished  from  other  quarters,  that  did  not 
flourish  there,  and  celebrate  its  rites  with  publicity. ^  The  prefect  of  the 
City,  who  wielded  a  sovereign  authority  in  the  absence  of  the  Emperors,  was 
invariably  a  pagan.  The  nobility,  with  very  few  exceptions,  were  devoted  to 
paganism  to  the  last ;  and  for  the  rabble,  .  .  its  sanguinary  shows  had  lost 
nothing  of  their  fascination. 

"Fifteen  Pontiffs  exercised  their  supreme  jurisdiction  [over]  all  things 
consecrated  to  the  service  of  the  gods.  Fifteen  augurs  observed  the  face 
of  the  heavens,  and  took  the  omens  by  which  the  State  was  to  be  governed, 
from  the  flight  of  birds.  Fifteen  sages  guarded  the  Sibylline  books,  and 
in  junctures  of  public  peril  and  perplexity  gave  utterance  to  the  oracles  which 
they  contained." 

1  Compare  Tacit.  Annul,  xv.  44,  who  adverts  to  the  fact  in  order  to  account  for  the 
introduction  of  the  Christian  faith  into  the  City. 


1 48  TASTI   APOSTOLICI. 

He  goes  llirougli  an  account  of  the  various  other  observations  of  pagan 
Rome,  still  continued  after  the  conversion  of  tlie  Empire.  Then  the  reviewer 
proceeds  : 

"  l"'or  many  a  year  did  Rome  cling  to  the  old  superstition,  with  which  all 
her  usages  and  institutions  were  associated.  The  edict  of  Milan  gave  nothing 
to  Christianity,  beyond  the  toleration  which,  in  common  with  all  other 
religions,  it  was  permitted  to  enjoy.  Ten  'years  after  the  publication  of  this 
edict,  while  Constantino  still  threw  his  shield  over  the  Church,  an  attempt 
was  made  at  Rome  to  compel  all,  even  Christians,  to-  join  in  the  public 
sacrifices.  Even  the  Emperor  incurred  the  hatred  of  the  people,  by  refusing 
to  sacrifice  at  the  Capitol  with  his  troops.  And,  indeed,  the  pagan  historian 
Zosimus  attributes  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  Empire  to  Byzantium,  to  the 
desire  of  freeing  himself  from  the  unpopularity  which,  at  Rome,  still  attached 
to  the  profession  of  the  Christian  name. 

"  The  transfer  of  the  seat  of  the  Empire  confirmed  the  Pagan  character 
of  Rome,  which  became  emphatically  the  pagan,  as  Byzantium  was  the 
Christian,  capital  of  the  Empire.  The  accession  of  Julian,  for  a  time,  gave 
power  to  the  party  thus  obstinately  wedded  to  the  old  superstition,  and,  even 
after  his  overthrow,  the  Senate  still  retained  the  same  character.  When 
Gratian  refused  to  be  invested  with  the  sacerdotal  robe  of  pontifex,  the 
Senate  threatened  to  transfer  their  allegiance  to  his  rival  Maximus;  at  the 
inauguration  of  Tertullus  as  consul  under  Attalus,  all  the  pagan  ceremonial 
was  rigidly  observed ;  when  Alaric  hung  over  the  doomed  city,  a  public  edict 
commanded  that  the  offended  gods  should  be  appeased  by  sacrifice  in  the 
Capitol.  Many  of  the  festivals  continued  for  a  long  time  to  be  regularly  kept 
up ;  and  [the  worst  of  them]  all,  the  Lupercatia,  was  not  abolished  till  the 
end  of  the  fifth  century,  under  Pope  Gelasius. 

"  Meanwhile,  the  fatal  hour  of  Rome  was  drawing  nigh,"  &c. 

It  is  not  surprising,  after  these  extracts,  to  reflect  that  the  barbarous  and 
sanguinary  shows  of  the  gladiators  in  the  amphitheatres  of  the  Empire,  also 
lasted  into  the  fifth  century;  until  they  terminated  in  the  self-sacrifice  of  the 
hermit  S.  Almachus  or  Telemachus,  on  New-Year's  day  in  the  year  404. 


APPENDIX.  149 

M  (/.  61). 

PERSONAL  APPEARANCE  OF  SS.  PETER  AND  PAUL. 

Conybeare  and  Howson,  quoting  from  Malalas  {C/iroiiogr.  x.  p.  257,  ed. 
Bonn.,  and  Nicephorus  H.  E.  ii.  3),  and  summing  up  the  representations  ot 
early  artists,  report  as  follows  : 

"  S.  Paul  is  set  before  us  as  having  the  strongly  marked  and  prominent 
features  of  a  Jew,  yet  not  without  some  of  the  finer  lines  indicative  of  Greek 
thought.  His  stature  was  diminutive,  and  his  body  disfigured  by  some  lame- 
ness or  distortion  (?),  which  may  have  provoked  the  contemptuous  expressions 
of  his  enemies  (2  Cor.  x.  i,  10:  of.  Acts  xiv.  11).  His  beard  was  long  and 
thin.  His  head  was  bald.  The  characteristics  of  his  face  were,  a  transparent 
complexion,  which  visibly  betrayed  the  quick  changes  of  his  feelings,  a  bright 
grey  eye  under  thickly  overhanging  united  eyebrows,  a  cheerful  and  winning 
expression  of  countenance,  which  invited  the  approach  and  inspired  the 
confidence  of  strangers.  It  would  be  natural  to  infer,  from  his  continual 
journeys  and  manual  labours,  that  he  was  possessed  of  great  strength  of 
constitution.  But  men  of  delicate  health  have  often  gone  through  the  greatest 
exertions  ;i  and  his  own  words  on  more  than  one  occasion  show  that  he 
suffered  much  from  bodily  infirmity. 

"  S.  Peter  is  represented  to  us  as  a  man  of  larger  and  stronger  form,  as 
his  character  was  harsher  (?)  and  more  abrupt.  The  quick  impulses  of  his 
soul  revealed  themselves  in  the  flashes  of  a  dark  eye.  The  complexion  of 
his  face  was  pale  and  sallow  :  and  the  short  hair,  which  is  described  as 
entirely  grey  at  the  time  of  his  death,  curled  black  and  thick  around  his 
temples  and  his  chin,  when  the  two  Apostles  stood  together  at  Antioch, 
twenty  years  before  their  martyrdom." 

In  accordance  with  these  notices,  S.  Paul  is  described  in  the  Acta  Paidl 
et  ThedcB  as  [jiLKpo<^  tm  fiejedei,  'v/rtXo?  rrjv  Ke(j)a\r]v,  a.'yKvko^  ral<;  Kvi'-jfiaL<;, 
crvpo(})pv^.  eiTippivo'^,  ')(^dpiro'i  irXt^pr]^  (Grabe,  p.  95);  and  so  the  TaXi\alo<; 
69  rpiTov  ovpavov  akpa  ^aWjaa^  in  Lucian's  "  Philopatris  "  is  said  to  have 
been  dva(pa\avTla<i   koI  eTrippcvo^.     Ed  I'auc/in.  iv.  318. 

1  Compare  what  is  said  in  the  Breviary  of  S.  Gregory  the  Great :  {in  ejus  fest.  Mart.  12) 
•"  Admirabilia  sunt  quoe  dixit,  fecit,  scripsit,  decrevit,  pr^esertim  infirma  semper  ct  aigra 
valetudine."  ' 


ISO  FASTI   APOSTOLICI. 

Again ;  with  reference  to  the  period  of  their  martyrdom  : 

"  S.  Peter  is  a  robust  old  man,  with  a  broad  forehead,  and  rather  coarse 
features,  an  open  undaunted  countenance,  short  grey  hair,  and  short  thick 
beard,  curled,  and  of  a  silvery  white.  [S.]  Paul  was  a  man  of  small  and 
meagre  stature,  with  an  aquiline  nose,  and  sparkling  eyes :  in  the  Greek  type 
the  face  is  long  and  oval,  the  forehead  high  and  bald,  the  hair  brown,  the 
beard  long,  flowing,  and  pointed.  .  .  These  traditional  characteristic  types 
of  the  features  and  persons  of  the  two  greatest  Apostles  were  long  adhered 
to.  We  find  them  most  strictly  followed  in  the  old  Greek  mosaics,  in  the 
early  Christian  sculpture,  and  the  early  pictures  :  in  all  of  which  the  sturdy 
dignity  and  broad  rustic  features  of  S.  Peter,  and  the  elegant  contemplative 
head  of  S.  Paul,  who  looks  like  a  Greek  philosopher,  form  a  most  interesting 
and  suggestive  contrast." 

No  mention  is  here  made  of  the  same  tradititional  types,  as  they  are 
represented  in  the  small  glass  vessels,  whether  eucharistic  or  used  at  the 
<^a'^A>  ^^d  found  in  the  catacombs.  Yet  these  remarkably  continue  the 
catena  of  proof.  Speaking  of  a  bronze  medal  of  the  two  Apostles  extracted 
by  Boldetti  from  the  catacomb  of  Domitilla,  Messrs.  Northcote  and  Brownlow 
speak  as  follows,  in  their  Rofna  Sotterranea: 

"The  portraits  on  this  bronze  are  very  lifelike  and  natural,  bearing  a 
strong  impress  of  individual  character.  One  of  the  heads  is  covered  with 
short  curly  hair,  the  beard  clipped  short  and  also  curled,  the  features  some- 
what rough  and  commonplace.  The  features  of  the  other  are  more  noble, 
graceful,  and  strongly  marked ;  the  head  is  bald,  and  the  beard  is  thick  and 
long.  This  valuable  medal  confirms  the  tradition  preserved  by  Nicephorus- 
of  the  personal  appearance  of  the  two  Apostles  ;  the  first  being  that  of  S.  Peter, 
and  the  latter  that  of  S.  Paul ;  and,  as  we  have  said,  these  characteristics  are 
in  the  main  retained  in  most  of  the  glasses,  excepting  a  few  which  are  of  very 
inferior  execution"  {Roma  Sott.  ii.  pp.  310,  311). 

-  See  also  S.Jerome,  Comment,  in  Ep.  ad  Galat.  i.  18.  It  is  a  curious  coincidence,  that 
in  the  apocr}'phal  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  edited  by  Tischendorf,  it  is  said  of  Dioscorus  the 
shipmaster,  who  had  followed  S.  Paul  to  Rome,  and  was  mistaken  for  the  Apostle,  and 
beheaded  in  his  stead,  that  he  was  bald  :  /col  aurbs  h.va.(pa\a.vT)i$  inrdpxoiv  (p.  4,  AVw.  Soi/. 
ut  sup). 


APPENDIX.  151 


N  {p.  62). 

THE    EPISTLE   ASCRIBED    TO    S.  BARNABAS. 

All  the  ancient  Church  writers,  together  with  those  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
undoubtingly  received  this  Epistle  as  the  genuine  production  of  S.  Barnabas. 
Clement  of  Alexandria,  in  no  fewer  than  seven  places  of  his  StrotJiata,  attri- 
butes it  to  him.  Origen  mentions  it  in  four  places :  and  we  may  add  the 
testimonies  of  S.  Justin  martyr,  Tertullian,  SS.  Ireneeus  and  Ignatius,  and  the 
author  of  "Pastor."  Eusebius,  though  {H.  E.  iii.  25,  4)  he  calls  it  spurious^ 
appears  only  to  mean  that  it  was  among  the  avTike^oiieva,  subject  to 
doubtfulness  and  dispute.  S.  Jerome's  testimony  is  distinct.  "  Barnabas  of 
Cyprus,  who  is  also  Joseph  the  Levite,  [and]  ordained,  together  with  Paul, 
an  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  wrote  a  single  epistle  [on  matters]  pertaining  to 
the  edification  of  the  Church,  which  is  read  among  the  apocryphal  writings" 
{Catal.  c.  6).  He  speaks  of  it  again  with  commendation  {Ibid.  5,  9).  Also  in 
his  commentary  on  Ezechiel,  xliii.  1 9.  Once  more,  in  his  treatise  -De  Nomin. 
Hebr.  he  places  it  after  the  books  of  the  New  Testament,  apparently  as  an 
ecclesiastical  writing,  which  might  be  read  in  the  churches  after  the  Scriptures. 
A  little  before  S.  Jerome's  day,  the  first  part  of  this  epistle  had  been  translated 
into  Latin  by  an  unknown  hand  :  and  in  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century, 
the  whole  was  transcribed  at  the  end  of  the  canonical  Scriptures,  in  the  codex 
of  the  Sinaitic  Bible. 

Notwithstanding  this  catena  of  authorities,  Hefele,  and  his  editor  and 
continuator,  a  professor  of  Tubingen,  whose  name  may  be  latinized  into 
Timoratus,  or  Timor,  denies  the  authenticity  of  this  epistle,  assigning  it  to 
some  Christian  writer  of  Alexandria,  at  the  end  of  the  first  century.     He  says  : 

(i).  It  is  not  S.  Barnabas:  because  {a)  the  author  says  expressly  that 
Jerusalem  and  the  Temple  were  destroyed  when  he  wrote  ;  which  could 
hardly  have  been  during  the  Apostle's  lifetime :  {b)  he  says  (ix.  6),  that  all 
the  Syrians  practised  circumcision;  whereas  Josephus  {Antiq.  viii.  10,  3) 
declares  that,  at  that  time,  the  Jews  were  the  only  people  in  Palestine  who- 
observed  the  rite — a  circumstance  which  could  not  have  been  unknown  tO' 
S.  Barnabas  during  his  long  residence  at  Antioch  :  {c)  he  asserts  (c.  xvi.)  a 
terrestrial  millennium,  and  besides,  "pronounces  so  unworthy  a  judgment  of 
the  old  law,  that  he  could  hardly  be  supposed  to  be  a  companion  of  S.  Paul " 
(see  chapters  ii.  ix.  x.  xiv.  xv).  __ . , 


152  FASTI   ArOSTOLICr. 

(2).  It  is  a  writer  of  Alexandria;  as  is  shown  by  the  allegorical  interpre- 
tation of  the  Old  Testament,  according  to  the  method  of  that  school,  and 
by  the  cordial  reception  the  epistle  met  with  from  the  Alexandrians. 

(3).  Its  date  is  the  end  of  the  first  century;  from  its  mention  (c.  iv.)  of 
the  prophecy  of  Daniel  (c.  vii.  24)  as  though  it  were  then  on  the  point  of  its 
accomplishment  in  the  eleventh  King:  this  would  be  Domitian,  reckoning 
Augustus  as  the  first.  The  critic,  however,  adds  that  the  majority  of  recent 
authors  assign  the  epistle  to  the  beginning  of  the  second  century. 

"  Many  writings,  not  enumerated  in  the  Canon  of  the  New  Testament,  said 
to  have  been  written  by  the  Apostles,  and  containing  many  references  to  them, 
Jiave  come  to  light  since  their  day.  They  are  evidently  based  on  rumour ;  and, 
by  a  species  of  fraiis  pia,  ascribed  to  the  Apostles,  that  they  might  acquire 
a  greater  influence  and  a  more  extended  circulation.  The  so-called  Canoncs 
(85)  Constitutioues  (libri  viii.)  and  Symbolum  Apostolorutn  have  each  a  specific 
value.  The  first  two  works  were  evidently  written,  probably  in  Syria,  between 
the  second  and  the  fourth  century,  and  contain  important  information  relative 
to  the  constitution,  worship,  and  discipline  of  the  Church.  Cf.  Tillemont, 
t.  ii.  pp.  164 — 166;  Natal.  Alex.  H.  E.  ssec.  i,  diss.  18,  t.  iv.  p.  407,  seq." 
(Alzog.  t.  i.  p.  234.) 


O  (/.  68). 

S.  DIONVSIUS   THE   AREOPAGITE. 

Few  questions  regarding  writers  of  Christian  antiquity  have  been  agitated 
with  greater  learning  on  either  side,  than  the  two  following : 

(i).  Was  S.  Dionysius  the  Areopagite,  (S.  Paul's  convert,  Acts  xvii.  34,  and 
■consecrated  by  him  bishop  of  Athens,)  the  same  who  was  sent  by  S.  Clement, 
Pope,  into  Gaul  in  the  first  century,  established  his  see  at  Paris,  and  suffered 
martyrdom  with  his  companions,  SS.  Rusticus  and  Eleutherius,  on  the  Mons 
Martyrutn  near  that  city? 

For  the  affirmative  appear,  the  abbot  Hildainus,  in  his  Arcopagiiica ; 
Germ.  Millet,  a  Benedictine  monk  of  S.  Denis,  who  wrote  especially  against 
Father  Sirmond's  objections  to  the  work  of  Hilduin,  and  asserted  the  imme- 
morial tradition  of  the  Church  of  Paris  (Par.  1642);  Father  Halloix,  S.J.  of 
Liege,  in  his  Illiistrium  Ecdesice  Orienialis  Scriptoncm,  qui  Primo  a  Christo 
ScBCulo  vixcrunt,  Vitce  et Doni7iiaita  (DnOiC'i,  1633 — 1636);  Father  Corderius,  S.J. 


APFENDIX.  153 

in  his  edition  of  the  works  of  S.  Dionysius  the  Areopagite,  1634;   Father 

Martin    Delrio,   S.J.   in   his    Vijidicice   Areopagdicce,  against   Scaliger   (Antw. 

1608);  Father  Lansellius,  S.J.  in  his  edition  of  the  Saint's  works  (Gravel. 

1615),  and  Natahs  Alexander,  O.S.D.,  who  has  summarized  all  the  arguments 

on  the  subject  in  his  Selcda  Historice  Ecdesiasticce  Capita,  ssec.  ii.  disput.  xv. 

Venantius  Fortunatus,  to  whom  Father  Halloix  gives  the  character  of  a 

very  accurate  writer,  thus  speaks  in  his  hymn  on  the  Saint : 

Clemente  Roma  prresule 
Ab  Urbe  missus  adfuit : 
Verbi  superni  seminis 
Ut  fructus  esset  Gallioe. 

For  the  negative  side  :  Father  Sirmond  {znde  supra)  in  an  express  disser- 
tation, In  qua  Dionysii  Parisiensis  d  Dionysil  Areopagitce  discrlmcn  0  staid  it  ur 
(Par.  1 641);  Joh.  Launoy,  Doctor  of  the  Sorbonne,  described  by  Bossuet  as 
"both  a  semi-Pelagian  and  a  Jansenist,"  De  duobus  Dionysiis  (Par.  1642): 
also,  Albert  Mire',  in  his  Belgian  Annals;  Petavius,  ///  suis  Theologids  Dog- 
matibus,  et  alibi,  with  several  others. 

(2).  Are  the  works  commonly  attributed  to  S.  Dionysius  the  Areopagite, 
really  his? 

Bellarmine,  Be  Scriptoribiis  Ecdesiasticis,  ad  Ann.  (p.  27),  after  excluding 
from  the  Saint's  genuine  works  a  supposed  epistle  to  S.  Paul,  which  "ab 
omnibus  merito  relicta  {qu.  rejecta)  est,"  says  of  the  rest,  both  the  mystical 
treatises  and  the  epistles,  "De  casteris  operibus  viri  docti  et  Catholici  nihil 
dubitant.  Soli  hgeretici  Lutherani,  et  quidam  scioli,  Erasmus,  Valla,  et  pauci 
alii  opera  sua  numerata  negant  esse  Si.  Di.  Areopag."  The  proofs  he  adduces 
are:  (i)  A  citation  from  the  "Celestial  Hierarchy,"  by  S.  Gregory  the  Great 
{Homil.  in  Evafig.  xxxiv.  12)  who  calls  the  author  "antiquus  et  venerabilis 
Pater  ;"i  (2)  S.  Martin,  Pope  and  martyr,  in  a  Council  at  Rome,  also  quoted 
these  works  as  genuine ;  (3)  as  also  did  Pope  S.  Agatho,  in  an  epistle  to 
Constantine  Pogonatus ;  (4)  and  Pope  Nicolas  I.,  writing  to  the  Emperor 
Michael.  Moreover,  (5)  so  did  the  Sixth  General  Council,  Act  iv.  and  the 
Seventh,  Act  ii.  S.  Maximus  the  monk,  S.  Thomas,  and  others,  have  written 
commentaries  on  these  books,  as  being  the  authentic  writings  of  the  Saint 
whose    name   they  bear.      The   apparent   reason  (continues    Bellarmine)  of 

1  Migne's  reprint  of  the  Benedictine  edition  of  S.  Gregory,  however,  points  out  that 
the  holy  Pope  and  Doctor  expresses  some  doubtfulness,  in  the  words  ''/ertur  Dionysius 
Areopagita  dicere."  This  uncertainty  could  not  fall  on  the  works  themselves,  which  were 
already  in  every  one's  hands  ;  but  on  their  authenticity. 


154  FASTI   APOSTOLICI. 

S.  Gregory  the  Great  being  the  first  writer  to  quote  them,  was,  that,  Hke  so 
many  other  treatises,  they  had  lain  hid,  and  were  only  discovered  in  his  day. 

Corderius,  in  his  Prolegomena,  gives  a  long  list  of  passages  quoted  by 
S.  Thomas  from  S.  Dionysius ;  and  concludes  by  saying  :  Ex  his  aliisque 
locis  quoe  me  eftugerunt,  facile  patet  Angelicum  Doctorem  totam  fere 
doctrinam  theologicam  ex  purissimis  Dionysii  fontibus  hausisse  :  cum  vix 
ulla  sit  periodus  e  qua  non  ipse  tanquam  apis  argumentosa  theologicum 
succum  extraxerit,  et  in  Summam,  veluti  quoddam  alveare,  pluribus  qucestioni- 
bus  articulisque,  ceu  cellulis,  theologica  melle  servando,  distinctum  redegerit." 

The  affirmative  and  negative  sides  of  this  question  are  respectively  main- 
tained by  the  authors  above  enumerated,  whose  arguments  will  be  found 
summarized  by  Natalis  Alexander  (///  sup.)  Dissert.  XXI.  To  those  who 
have  asserted  it,  must  be  added  Father  B.  De  Rubeis,  O.P.  in  a  Dissertation 
against  Lequien ;  and  John  de  Chaumont,  in  a  treatise  translated  from  the 
French,  and  printed  in  Migne's  edition.  But  especially,  there  are  two 
affirmative  decrees  of  the  Theological  Faculty  of  Paris;  one,  at  the  conclusion 
of  its  censure  of  Luther,  and  a  second,  still  more  explicit,  in  the  later  censure 
which  it  directed  against  Erasmus.  These  two  assertions  certainly  seem  to 
give  a  very  considerable  preponderance  to  the  affirmative  side. 

They  who  deny  or  doubt  the  authenticity  of  the  mystical  works  in  question 
(viz.  De  Divinis  Noyriinibus,  De  Coelesti  aiqiie  Ecdesiastica  Hierarchia,  De 
Mystica  Theologia,  &c.),  attribute  them  to  an  ancient  author  of  the  same  name, 
of  the  end  of  the  fourth  or  beginning  of  the  fifth  century. 


P  (A  78). 

TEMPLE    OF    DIANA    AT    EPHESUS. 

This  temple  of  Diana  was  reckoned  as  one  of  the  Seven  Wonders  of  the 
world.  It  was  the  third  edifice  ;  the  second  having  been  burnt  by  Eratrostratus 
on  the  night  when  Alexander  the  Great  was  born,  B.C.  356,  It  was  the  largest 
Greek  temple  ever  built:  measuring  three  hundred  and  forty-two  feet  in  length, 
by  one  hundred  and  sixty-three  feet  in  width.  Gibbon  says  it  was  four 
hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  in  length,  meaning  perhaps  the  exterior.  The 
workmen  were  employed  on  it  for  two  centuries.  It  was  said  to  have 
contained  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  Ionic  columns  of  precious  jasper, 
each  sixty  feet  high,  and  each  the  gift  of  a  king.      Eight  of  these,  of  green 


APPENDIX.  155 

jasper,  are  in  the  church  of  S.  Sophia  in  Constantinople ;  and  two  more  in 
the  Cathedral  at  Pisa.  The  altar  of  Diana  at  Ephesus  was  adorned  with 
master-pieces  of  sculpture  by  Praxiteles ;  while  Apelles  was  employed  on  the 
paintings.  About  one  hundred  large  marble  columns  adorned  the  exterior. 
Each  of  the  Greek  cities  sent  its  donation  towards  the  building.  The 
image  worshipped  in  it,  supposed  to  have  "fallen  down  from  Jupiter" 
(Acts  xix.  35),  was  of  cedar-wood,  very  rudely  carved,  but  overlaid  with  gold, 
having  its  face  covered  with  vermilion  (Pausan.  Cor.  ii.  2).  Cf.  Wisdom  xiii. 
13,  14;  XV.  4.  This  temple  was  destroyed  by  the  Goths,  in  their  third  naval 
invasion,  about  a.d.  250.  Gibbon  adds  to  his  description,  that  the  length  of 
the  temple  was  no  more  than  two  thirds  of  that  of  S.  Peter's ;  and  that  "  in 
the  other  dimensions,  it  was  still  more  inferior  to  that  sublime  production  of 
modern  architecture.  The  spreading  arms  of  a  Christian  cross  require  a  much 
greater  breadth  than  the  oblong  temples  of  the  pagans ;  and  the  boldest  artists 
of  antiquity  would  have  been  startled  at  the  proposal  of  raising  in  the  air  a 
dome  of  the  size  and  proportions  of  the  Pantheon"  {Decline,  &c.  vol.  i.  c.  x. 
P-  433)-  Col.  Leake  says  that  the  very  site  of  this  once-famous  temple  cannot 
now  be  ascertained.  The  theatre  at  Ephesus,  also,  the  scene  of  the  disturb- 
ance, is  said  to  have  been  the  largest  of  the  ancient  world. 


Q  (/.  85). 
herod's  temple,  and  the  tower  antonia. 

The  following  passage  from  Josephus  is  so  illustrative  of  Acts  xxi.  30 — 40, 
as  well  as  of  other  passages  in  the  New  Testament,  that  it  is  here  inserted, 
notwithstanding  its  length.     The  translation  is  that  of  Whiston. 

"  Herod  took  away  the  old  foundations,  and  laid  others,  and  erected  the 
temple  upon  them ;  being  in  length  a  hundred  cubits,  and  in  height  twenty 
additional  cubits,  which  (twenty)  upon  the  sinking  of  their  foundations,  fell 
down;  and  this  part  it  was,  that  we  resolved  to  raise  again  in  the  days  of 
Nero.  Now  the  Temple  was  built  of  stones  that  were  white  and  strong,  and 
each  of  their  length  was  twenty-five  cubits,  their  height  was  eight,  and  their 
breadth  about  twelve ;  and  the  whole  structure,  as  also  the  structure  of  the 
royal  cloister,  was  on  each  side  much  lower,  but  the  middle  was  much  higher, 
till  they  were  visible  to  those  that  dwelt  in  the  country  for  a  great  many 
furlongs,  but   chiefly  to   such   as   lived   over   against  them,  and  those  that 


15^5  FASTI   AI'OSTOLICI. 

approached  to  them.  The  Temple  had  doors  also  at  the  entrance,  and  lintels 
over  them,  of  the  same  height  with  the  temple  itself.  They  were  adorned 
with  embroidered  veils  with  their  flowers  of  purple,  and  pillars  interwoven  : 
and  over  these,  but  under  the  crown-work,  was  spread  out  a  golden  vine, 
with  its  branches  hanging  down  from  a  great  height,  the  largeness  and  fine 
workmanship  of  which  was  a  surprising  sight  to  the  spectators,  to  see  what 
vast  materials  there  were,  and  with  what  great  skill  the  workmanship  was 
done.  He  also  encompassed  the  entire  Temple  with  very  large  cloisters, 
contriving  them  to  be  in  a  due  proportion  thereto ;  and  he  laid  out  larger 
sums  of  money  upon  them  than  had  been  done  before  him,  till  it  seemed  that 
no  one  else  had  so  greatly  adorned  the  Temple  as  he  had  done.  There  was 
a  large  wall  to  both  the  cloisters,  which  wall  was  itself  the  most  prodigious 
work  that  was  ever  heard  of  by  man.  The  hill  was  a  rocky  ascent,  that 
declined  by  degrees  towards  the  east  parts  of  the  city,  till  it  came  to  an 
elevated  level.  This  hill  it  was  which  Solomon,  who  was  the  first  of  our 
kings  by  Divine  revelation,  encompassed  with  a  wall ;  it  was  of  excellent 
workmanship  upwards  and  round  the  top  of  it.  He  also  built  a  wall  below, 
beginning  at  the  bottom,  which  was  encompassed  by  a  deep  valley ;  and  at 
the  south  side  he  laid  rocks  together,  and  bound  them  one  to  another  with 
lead,  and  included  some  of  the  inner  parts,  till  it  proceeded  to  a  great  height, 
and  till  both  the  largeness  of  the  square  edifice,  and  its  altitude,  were 
immense,  and  till  the  vastness  of  the  stones  in  the  front  were  plainly  visible 
on  the  outside,  yet  so  that  the  inward  parts  were  fastened  together  with  iron, 
and  preserved  the  joints  immoveable  for  all  future  times.  When  this  work 
[for  the  foundation]  was  done  in  this  manner,  and  joined  together  as  part 
of  the  hill  itself  to  the  very  top  of  it,  he  wrought  it  all  up  into  one 
outward  surface,  and  filled  up  the  hollow  places  which  were  about  the 
wall,  and  made  it  a  level  on  the  external  upper  surface,  and  a  smooth  level 
also.  This  hill  was  walled  all  round,  and  in  compass  four  furlongs,  [the 
distance  of]  each  angle  containing  in  length  a  furlong :  but  within  this  wall 
and  on  the  very  top  of  all,  there  ran  another  wall  of  stone  also,  having,  on 
the  east  quarter,  a  double  cloister  of  the  same  length  with  the  wall ;  in  the 
midst  of  which  was  the  Temple  itself.  This  cloister  looked  to  the  gates  of 
the  Temple ;  and  it  had  been  adorned  by  many  kings  in  former  times  :  and 
round  about  the  entire  Temple  were  fixed  the  spoils  taken  from  barbarous 
nations ;  all  these  had  been  dedicated  to  the  Temple  by  Herod,  with  the 
addition  of  those  he  had  taken  from  the  Arabians. 


APPENDIX.  157 

''  Now  on  the  north  side  [of  the  Temple]  was  built  a  citadel,  whose  walls 
were  square  and  strong,  and  of  extraordinary  firmness.  This  citadel  was  built 
by  the  kings  of  the  Asamonean  race,  who  were  also  high-priests  before  Herod ; 
and  they  called  it  the  Tower,  in  which  were  reposited  the  vestments  of  the 
high-priest,  which  the  high  priest  only  put  on  at  the  time  when  he  was  to  offer 
sacrifice.  These  vestments  King  Herod  kept  in  that  place;  and  after  his 
death  they  were  under  the  power  of  the  Romans,  until  the  time  of  Tiberius 
Caesar ;  under  whose  reign  Vitellius,  the  president  of  Syria,  when  he  once 
came  to  Jerusalem,  and  had  been  most  magnificently  received  by  the  multi- 
tude, had  a  mind  to  make  them  some  requital  for  the  kindness  they  had 
showed  him ;  so,  upon  their  petition  to  have  those  holy  vestments  in  their 
own  power,  he  wrote  about  them  to  Tiberius  Caesar,  who  granted  his 
request :  and  thus  their  power  over  the  sacerdotal  vestments  continued 
with  the  Jews  till  the  death  of  King  Agrippa ;  but  after  that,  Cassius 
Longinus,  who  was  president  of  Syria,  and  Cuspius  Fadus,  who  was 
procurator  of  Judea,  enjoined  the  Jews  to  reposit  those  vestments  in  the 
tower  of  Antonia,  for  that  they  ought  to  have  them  in  their  power,  as  they 
formerly  had.  However,  the  Jews  sent  ambassadors  to  Claudius  Caesar,  to 
intercede  with  him  for  them;  upon  whose  coming.  King  Agrippa  junior, 
being  then  at  Rome,  asked  for  and  obtained  the  power  over  them  from  the 
Emperor,  who  gave  command  to  Vitellius,  who  was  then  commander  in  Syria, 
to  give  it  them  accordingly.  Before  that  time,  they  were  kept  under  the  seal 
of  the  high-priest,  and  of  the  treasurers  of  the  Temple ;  which  treasurers,  the 
day  before  a  festival,  went  up  to  the  Roman  captain  of  the  temple-guards, 
and  viewed  their  own  seal,  and  received  the  vestments ;  and  again,  when  the 
festival  was  over,  they  brought  it  to  the  same  place,  and  showed  the  captain 
of  the  temple-guards  their  seal,  which  corresponded  with  his  seal,  and  reposited 
them  there.  And  that  these  things  were  so,  the  afflictions  that  happened  to 
us  afterward  [about  them]  are  sufficient  evidence.  But  for  the  tower  itself, 
when  Herod  the  King  of  the  Jews  had  fortified  it  more  firmly  than  before, 
in  order  to  secure  and  guard  the  Temple,  he  gratified  Antonius,  who  was  his 
friend  and  the  Roman  ruler,  and  then  gave  it  the  name  of  the  Tower  of 
Antonia. 

"  Now  in  the  western  quarters  of  the  enclosure  of  the  Temple  there  were 
four  gates.  The  first  led  to  the  King's  palace,  and  went  to  a  passage  over  the 
intermediate  valley;  two  more  led  to  the  suburbs  of  the  City;  and  the  last  led 
to  the  other  City,  where  the  road  descended  down  into  the  valley  by  a  great 


158  FASTI   ArOSTOLICI. 

number  of  steps,  and  thence  up  again  by  the  ascent ;  for  the  City  lay  over 
against  the  Temple  in  the  manner  of  a  theatre,  and  was  encompassed  with  a 
deep  valley  along  the  entire  south  quarter;  but  the  fourth  front  of  the  Temple, 
which  was  southward,  had  indeed  itself  gates  in  its  middle,  as  also  it  had  the 
royal  cloisters,  with  three  walks  which  reached  in  length  from  the  east  valley 
unto  that  on  the  west,  for  it  was  impossible  it  should  reach  any  farther :  and 
this  cloister  deserves  to  be  mentioned  better  than  any  other  under  the  sun ; 
for  while  the  valley  was  very  deep,  and  its  bottom  could  not  be  seen,  if  you 
looked  from  above  into  the  depth,  this  farther  vastly  high  elevation  of  the 
cloister  stood  upon  that  height,  insomuch  that  if  any  one  looked  down  from 
the  top  of  the  battlements,  or  down  both  those  altitudes,  he  would  be  giddy, 
while  his  sight  could  not  reach  to  such  an  immense  depth.  This  cloister 
had  pillars  that  stood  in  four  rows,  over  against  the  other  all  along ;  for  the 
fourth  row  was  interwoven  into  the  wall,  which  [also  was  built  of  stone] ;  and 
the  thickness  of  each  pillar  was  such,  that  three  men  might,  with  their  arms 
extended,  fathom  it  round,  and  join  their  hands  again,  while  its  length  was 
twenty-seven  feet,  with  a  double  spiral  at  its  basis ;  and  the  number  of  all 
the  pillars  [in  that  court]  was  a  hundred  and  sixty-two.  Their  chapiters  were 
made  with  sculptures  after  the  Corinthian  order,  and  caused  an  amazement 
[to  the  spectators],  by  reason  of  the  grandeur  of  the  whole.  These  four  rows 
of  pillars  included  three  intervals  for  walking  in  the  middle  of  this  cloister; 
two  of  which  walks  were  made  parallel  to  each  other,  and  were  contrived  after 
the  same  manner;  the  breadth  of  each  of  them  was  thirty  feet,  the  length 
was  a  furlong,  and  the  height  fifty  feet :  but  the  breadth  of  the  middle  part 
of  the  cloister  was  one  and  a  half  of  the  other,  and  the  height  was  double, 
for  it  was  much  higher  than  those  on  each  side ;  but  the  roofs  were  adorned 
with  deep  sculptures  in  wood,  representing  many  sorts  of  figures  :  the  middle 
was  much  higher  than  the  rest,  and  the  wall  of  the  front  was  adorned  with 
beams,  resting  upon  pillars,  that  were  interwoven  into  it :  and  that  front  was 
all  of  polished  stone,  insomuch  that  its  fineness,  to  such  as  had  not  seen  it, 
was  incredible,  and  to  such  as  had  seen  it,  was  greatly  amazing.  Thus  was 
the  first  enclosure.  In  the  midst  of  which,  and  not  far  from  it,  was  the 
second,  to  be  gone  up  to  by  a  few  steps  :  this  was  encompassed  by  a  stone 
wall  for  a  partition,  with  an  inscription,  which  forbade  any  foreigner  to  go  in 
under  pain  of  death.  Now  this  inner  enclosure  had  on  its  southern  and 
northern  quarters  three  gates  (equally)  distant  one  from  another ;  but  on  the 
east  quarter,  towards  the  sun  rising,  there  was  one  large  gate,  through  which 


APPENDIX.  .  159 

such  as  were  pure  came  in,  together  with  their  wives,  but  the  temple  farther 
inward  in  that  gate  was  not  allowed  to  the  women ;  but  still  more  inward  was 
there  a  third  (court)  of  the  temple,  whereinto  it  was  not  lawful  for  any  but 
the  priests  alone  to  enter.  The  temple  itself  was  within  this;  and  before 
that  temple  was  the  altar,  upon  which  we  offer  our  sacrifices  and  burnt- 
offerings  to  God.  Into  none  of  these  three  did  King  Herod  enter;  for  he 
was  forbidden,  because  he  was  not  a  priest.  However,  he  took  care  of  the 
cloisters,  and  the  outer  enclosures,  and  these  he  built  in  eight  years  "  (Joseph. 
Antiq.  XV.  11.  3 — 5.  See  this  description  vividly  summarized  in  Milman's 
History  of  t/ie  /ezvs,  pp.  14 — 24). 


R  (/.  90). 

ASSUMPTION    OF   THE    BLESSED    VIRGIN. 

See  Suarez,  T/ieoL  p.  iii.  q.  37,  a.  4,  disput.  21 ;  Thomassinus,  Tmctat.  de 
Festis,  1.  ii.  c.  20;  Benedict  XIV.  De  Festis  D.N.J.C.  et  B.M.V.  pt.  ii.  ; 
Baron.  Annal.  ad  ann.  48,  et  Annot.  in  Martyrol.  XV.  August. 

Wouters  says:  "Quamvis  de  corporea  Mariae  assumptione  sileant  Patres 
priomm  Ecclesis  SKCulorum,  piam  tamen  de  ea  sententiam  jam  inde  a 
saeculo  VI.  in  utraque  Ecclesia  grseca  et  latina,  fuisse  receptam  et  deinceps 
constanter  traditam,  testantur  Patres  mediae  et  sequentis  aetatis,  graeci  et 
latini.  Accedit  utriusque  Ecclesias  praxis,  in  qua  jam  inde  ab  annis  1200 
et  amplius  festum  Assumptionis  celebratur.  Accedit  communis  omnium 
insignium  theologorum  doctrina.  Accedunt  etiam  rationes  congruentia.  His 
aliisque  credibilitatis  motivis  persuasus  omnis  catholicus  orbis  corpoream 
B,  V.  Mariae  assumptionem  amplexus  est"  {Hist.  Eccl.  CompeJid.  vol  i.  p.  41). 

S.  Epiphanius,  considering  the  singular  excellency  of  the  Ever-Blessed 
Virgin,  and  the  silence  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  did  not  venture  to  define 
whether  she  died  and  was  buried,  or  was  preserved  from  death  (Zfer.  78). 
Baronius  declares  that  the  Catholic  Church  admits  no  doubtfulness  as  to  her 
decease  :  "  Sed  quam  novit  humanae  naturae  consortem,  humanam  pariter 
moriendi  necessitatem  expertam  affirmat "  {Ad  Ann.  48). 

The  feast  of  the  Assumption  is  celebrated  with  great  solemnity  both  in 
the  East  and  West.  Some  doctors  have  given  it  the  name  of ''  the  great 
feast "  of  our  Blessed  Lady.  Its  institution  dates  from  the  sixth  century :  a 
period  that  witnessed  a  great  increase  of  devotion  to  the  Mother  of  God,  in 


l6o  FASTI   APOSTOLIC  r. 

consequence  of  the  solemn  condemnation  of  the  Nestorian  heresy  by  the 
Council  of  Ephesus  in  431.  Thomassinus  (///  sup.)  says  that  after  that 
Council,  the  mind  of  the  Church  turned  towards  the  mystery  of  the  Assump- 
tion, and  that  the  festival  was  instituted  in  memory  of  the  Ephesine  decree 
which  saluted  Mary  as  QeoroKo^;.  Pope  Sergius,  who  was  elected  in  68 7, 
ordained  that  the  solemn  processions  which  on  the  feasts  of  the  Annunciation 
and  Nativity  of  our  Lady  used  to  issue  forth  from  the  church  of  S.  Adrian 
and  proceed  with  the  chanting  of  the  litanies  to  the  Liberian  basilica  (the 
church  of  Santa  Maria  Maggiore),  should  be  held  in  like  manner  on  the  feast 
of  the  Assumption.  The  festival  must  therefore  have  been  instituted  before 
his  time.  For  some  time,  it  was  celebrated  on  the  i8th  of  January.  The 
Emperor  jNIaurice  obtained  the  translation  of  it  [probably  for  Constantinople] 
to  the  15  th  of  August;  which  was  afterwards  adopted  by  the  whole  Church 
(Niceph.  lib.  xvii.  c,  28 ;  Baron.  Mariyrol.  August  15  ;  Mabillon,  Liturg.  Gall. 
lib.  ii.  ;  Martene,  De  Antiq.  Ecdes.  Discipl.  t.  iii.  c.  t^t^^  ".  28). 

The  festival  was  preceded  by  a  fast.  Nicolas  I.  mentions  it,  and  affirms 
its  observance  to  have  been  long  observed  before  his  time :  quae  jejunia 
sancta  Romana  suscepit  antiquitus  et  tenet  Ecclesia  (Labbe,  Concilia,  t.  viii.). 
In  some  parts  of  the  East,  this  fast  was  held  from  the  beginning  of  August, 
and  only  intermitted  during  the  six  days  of  the  celebration  of  the  Trans- 
figuration (Assemani,  Biblioth.  Orient,  t.  ii.). 

The  octave  was  instituted  by  Leo  IV.  about  the  year  847,  but  was  not 
extended  to  the  whole  Church  until  a  later  period  (Sigibert,  ad  Ann.  847 ; 
Benedict  XIV.  De  Festis  B.M.  V.  c.  viii.  §  5  ;  Moroni,  Dizionario  Storico- 
Ecclesiast.  in  voc.). 


S  (/.  100). 

WEALTH    AND    IMPORTANCE    OF   ASIA    MINOR. 

"  The  provinces  of  the  East  present  the  contrast  of  Roman  magnificence 
with  Turkish  barbarism.  The  ruins  of  antiquity,  scattered  over  cultivated 
fields,  and  ascribed  by  ignorance  to  the  power  of'  magic,  scarcely  afford  a 
shelter  to  the  oppressed  peasant  or  wandering  Arab.  Under  the  reign  of  the 
Caesars,  the  proper  Asia  alone  contained  five  hundred  populous  cities  [Joseph. 
B.J.  ii.  16  ;  Philostrat.  /;/  Vit.  Soph.  ii.  p.  548,  ed.  Olear.),  enriched  with  all 
the  gifts  of  nature,  and  adorned  with  all  the  refinements  of  art.     Eleven  cities 


APPENDIX.  l6l 

of  Asia  had  once  disputed  the  honour  of  dedicating  a  temple  to  Tiberius, 
and  their  respective  merits  were  examined  by  the  Senate  {Tacit.  Ann.  iv.  55). 
Four  of  them  were  immediately  rejected,  as  unequal  to  the  burden;  and 
among  these  was  Laodicea,  whose  splendour  is  still  displayed  in  its  ruins. 
Laodicea  collected  a  very  considerable  revenue  from  its  flocks  of  sheep,  cele- 
brated for  the  fineness  of  their  wool ;  and  had  received,  a  little  before  the 
contest,  a  legacy  of  above  four  thousand  pounds,  by  the  testament  of  a 
generous  citizen.  If  such  was  the  poverty  of  Laodicea,  what  must  have  been 
the  wealth  of  those  cities  whose  claim  appeared  preferable,  and  particularly 
of  Pergamus,  of  Smyrna,  and  of  Ephesus,  who  so  long  disputed  with  each 
other  the  titular  primacy  of  Asia?"  (Gibbon's  Decline  and  Fall,  vol.  i.  c.  ii. 
p.  80,  ed.  1815). 


T  (/.  103). 

PRIMinVE    CHRISTIANITY   IN    BRITAIN. 

Lingard,  in  the  cold  and  cautious  spirit  which  was  perhaps  natural  to  him, 
or  adopted  also  to  gain  credence  for  more  important  facts  in  an  unpopular 
cause,  would  seem  to  relegate  to  the  reign  of  fable  the  testimonies  adduced  in 
the  foregoing  pages,  for  the  presence  of  Apostles  in  our  island.  "At  the 
distance  of  so  many  ages,"  he  says,  "  it  is  impossible  to  discover  by  whom 
Christianity  was  first  preached  in  the  island.  Some  writers  have  ascribed 
that  province  to  S.  Peter ;  others  have  preferred  the  rival  claim  of  S.  Paul : 
but  both  opinions,  improbable  as  they  are  in  themselves,  rest  on  the  most 
slender  evidence  ;  on  testimonies,  which  are  many  of  them  irrelevant,  all 
ambiguous  and  unsatisfactory."  ^ 

One  circumstance  is  specially  to  be  observed,  in  estimating  the  scattered 
notices  that  have  come  down  to  us,  and  the  amount  of  probability  they 
furnish.  This  is,  the  general  destruction  of  ecclesiastical  documents  during 
three  successive  periods : — viz.  the  persecution  of  Diocletian,  the  subsequent 
invasion  of  Picts  and  Scots,  and  the  occupation  of  the  greater  part  of  Britain 
by  the  heathen  Saxons.  We  may  learn  the  state  of  things  in  the  island  from 
the  piteous  "Groans  of  the  Britons," — the  embassy  they  sent  to  Rome  in 
their  distress,  to  petition  for  the  return  of  those  legions  which  Honorius  had 
been  compelled  to  withdraw.  "  On  the  one  hand,  the  barbarians  chase  us 
1  History  of  England,  vol.  i.  pp.  51,  52,  ed.  1S49. 


l62  FASTI   ArOSTOIJCI. 

into  the  sea;  on  the  other,  tlie  sea  casts  us  back  on  the  barbarians;  we  have 
only  the  cruel  alternative  left  us,  to  perish  by  the  sword  or  by  the  waves."- 
Under  such  circumstances,  the  wonder  surely  is,  not  that  documents  and 
even  traditions  are  so  few,  but  that  any  have  come  down  to  us. 

(i.)  The  traditionary  coming  of  S.  Joseph  of  Arimathrea  to  Avalon,  or 
Iniswitryn,  afterwards  Glastonbury,  has  been  the  subject  of  much  controversy 
among  Catholic  and  non-Catholic  writers.^  (a)  The  narrative  is  of  imme- 
morial antiquity,  (d)  The  place,  in  itself  unattractive  and  marshy,  had  always 
been  esteemed  the  fo/is  et  origo  totius  religionis  in  Britaiuiia.  (r)  The  small 
church  built  there,  afterwards  named  by  the  Saxons  the  "  ealde  cirche,"  has 
always  been  reported  as  built  by  S.  Joseph  and  his  companions,  though 
consecrated  supernaturally.  {d)  No  rival  claim  has  ever  been  advanced, 
nor  any  other  name  reported  as  founder  of  the  sacred  place  :  it  is  aid  Joseph 
aiit  nuUus.  {e)  S.  Marcellus,  a  primitive  British  Christian,  mentioned  in  the 
English  Martyrology  (September  4),  is  there  said  to  have  "gathered  into  a 
flock  the  remainder  of  those  who  had  been  converted  by  S.  Joseph  of  Arima- 
thaea  and  his  companions,  confirming  them  in  the  same  faith "  (see  Fasti  ad 
A.D.  51,  note  3).  (/)  S.  Elwan,  one  of  the  two  legates  sent  to  Rome  by  King 
Lucius,  to  beg  of  S.  Eleutherius  missioners  to  convert  his  people,  was  one 
of  the  hermits  of  Avalon,  who  had  succeeded  to  the  original  twelve ;  and  his 
first  visit,  on  returning  to  the  island  Avith  his  companion  S.  Medwin,  bringing 
with  them  SS.  Fugatius  and  Damianus  from  Rome,  was  to  the  spot.  They 
petitioned  Lucius  to  renew  in  their  favour  the  original  grant  made  by 
Arviragus.  {g)  The  twelve  "  hides  "  of  Glastonbury,  which  remained  always 
in  possession  of  the  monastery,  as  the  original  donation  of  Arviragus  to 
S.  Joseph  and  his  eleven  companions,  afford  surely  a  strong  corroborative 
proof  (//)  In  530,  S.  David,  bishop  of  Menevia,  with  seven  of  his  suffragans, 
came  out  of  Wales  to  Glastonbury,  added  to  the  buildings,  and  offered  a 
valuable  gem,*  always  known  thenceforward  as  "  the  great  sapphire/'  which 
remained  among  the  treasures  of  the  house  until  its  spoliation  by  Henry  VIII. 
who  had  the  stone  set  in  a  thumb-ring  for  himself.     (/)  On  the  arrival  of 

2  S.  Gildas,  De  Excidio  Brilaimicr,  quoted  by  S.  Bede,  Hist.  Ecc.  I.  13.  See  Hume, 
vol.  i.  p.  14. 

3  For  the  tradition,  see  Baronius,  ad  ann.  35.  Parsons,  De  Trihis  Aiiglia  Conversiotiibits, 
Alford,  Ann.  Eccl.  Brit,  ad  ann.  53,  "aliosque  coniplures  Britannicos  archteologos,"  says 
Selvagio,  Antiq.  Christian.  Instiintiones,  lib.  i.  c.  4.  p.  29. 

*  It  is  stated  to  have  been  "a  super-altar;"  rather,  perhaps  a  large  gem  placed  there — 
and  to  have  been  of  very  great  value.  It  occurs  in  the  list  of  valuables  delivered  to  the  King, 
May  15,  ann.  xxxi.     See  Dugdale,  Monasticon,  in  Glast.  Append,  n.  140. 


APPENDIX.  163 

S.  Augustine  from  Rome,  one  of  his  first  measures,  after  his  mission  was 
estabhshed,  was  to  erect  the  house  at  Glastonbury  into  a  more  regularly  con- 
stituted society.  {J)  Ina,  king  of  the  West  Saxons,  is  the  first  on  a  list  of 
crowned  heads,  bishops  and  nobles,  who  became  benefactors  to  the  abbey, 
rehearsing  the  aforesaid  reasons  for  its  especial  sanctity.  Their  names, 
charters,  and  benefactions,  fill  many  pages  in  Dugdale.  {k)  After  the  sack 
of  so  many  places  in  England  by  the  Danes,  King  Edmund  raises  it  again 
from  its  ruins.  (/)  Under  S.  Dunstan,  it  becomes  a  Benedictine  abbey,  of 
such  repute  that  the  heads  of  the  chief  Benedictine  houses  in  England  were 
chosen  from  it.  (;;/)  William  the  Conqueror,  on  taking  possession  of  the 
kingdom,  vi'sis  et  cognitis  cha?iis  ecdesice  Glastoju'ce,  grants  to  it  certain  lands 
in  perpetuity.  («)  Thenceforward,  as  also  before,  it  took  a  precedence  among 
the  other  religious  houses  in  the  country,  on  the  ground  of  its  being  the  first 
in  point  of  time,  and  of  the  miraculous  consecration  always  assigned  to  it. 
{0)  At  the  Council  of  Pisa  in  1409,  of  Constance  in  141 7,  of  Siena  in  1424, 
and  of  Basle  in  1434,  the  English  ambassadors  claimed  precedence  over  the 
French  by  appealing  to  the  Glastonbury  tradition,  as  against  the  French  claim, 
which  rested  on  S.  Dionysius  the  Areopagite. 

(2.)  Tertullian  expressly  says  that  Christianity  was  introduced  very  early 
into  Britain.  Britanmnim  inaccessa  Romanis  loca,  Christo  vera  suhdiia.  Euse- 
bius  {DeJiionstmtio  Evangelica,  lib.  iv.)  says,  that  while  some  preached  the 
Name  of  our  Lord  in  Persia,  others  crossed  the  ocean  to  those  islands  that 
are  named  British.  S.  Chrysostom  {Orat.  Quod  Chrishis  Dens,  t.  i.  p.  575), 
says  that  the  action  of  the  Church  had  extended  "  even  beyond  our  habitable 
world  here,"  viz.  "  to  the  British  isles,  which  are  beyond  this  sea,  and  in  the 
very  Ocean  itself"  Cf  De  Incompreh.  Dei  Nat.  ii.  4.  They  are  all  speaking 
of  the  labours  of  the  Apostles  themselves.  Cf.  S.  Clem,  Rom.  i  C07:  n.  5, 
quoted  in  Fasti,  ad  aim.  44  and  61  :  where  observe  the  probability  of  SS. 
Peter  and  Paul  having  evangelized  our  island.  As  to  S.  Paul's  coming,  add 
the  statement  of  Theodoret,  i?i  Tim.  iv.  :  ''  Quando  appellatione  usus  Romana 
Festo  missus  est,  defensione  audita  fuit  absolutus,  et  in  Hispaniam  profectus 
est,  et  ad  alias  gentes  excurrens  eis  doctrine  lucem  attulit."  Also,  Venantius 
Fortunatus,  in  the  sixth  century,  says  of  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  : 

Transiit  Oceanum,  vel  qua  facit  insula  portum, 
Quasque  Britannus  habet  terras,  quasque  ultima  Thule. 

(Lib.  iii.  De  Vita  S.  Martini.) 

(3.)  Nicephonis  states  that  S.  Simon  Zelotes  brought  the  doctrine  of  the 

Gospel  "  to  the  western  ocean,  and  the  British  islands." 


l64  FASTI   APOSTOLICI. 

V(A  113). 

ArOLLONlUS    OF   TYANA. 

I. 

A  writer  {in  h.  iiom.)  in  Goschler's  French  translation  of  the  Diet.  Encycl. 
de  la  Thcol.  CatJioUque  gives  an  account  of  this  remarkable  pseudo-prophet, 
freed  from  much  of  the  romance  thrown  around  him  by  Philostratus,  and 
others. 

"  From  his  first  biographer,  Flavins  Philostratus,  to  Dr.  Bauer  ^  of  Tubingen, 
we  have  but  vague  information  on  his  doctrine,  life,  and  writings.  Leaving 
xiside  the  fabulous  in  these  accounts,  we  may  with  tolerable  certainty  lay  down 
the  following  particulars  as  the  real  history  of  this  pretended  wonder- worker. 

"Apollonius,  a  cotemporary  of  Christ,  travelled  extensively  both  in  the 
East  and  West,  especially  in  India.  After  making  himself  acquainted  with 
most  of  the  philosophical  systems  of  the  day,  he  finally  embraced  the  neo- 
pythagorean ;  foreseeing,  as  he  safely  might,  that  during  a  period  of  such 
empiric  uncertainty  and  intellectual  commotion,  the  fantastic  character  of 
that  abnormal  teaching  would  secure  to  him  the  favour  of  the  many.  A  man 
formed  by  study,  and  with  the  power  of  calculation,  his  vivid  imagination 
■enabled  him  to  make  forecasts  which  passed  for  oracles,  and  effect  cures  that 
were  reputed  miracles ;  while  his  life,  always  austere,  presented  such  a  contrast 
to  the  all-absorbing  sensuality  of  the  time,  as  to  gain  him  confidence  and 
repute  among  his  cotemporaries. 

"  During  his  travels,  he  contrived  to  interest  in  his  favour  the  priests  of 

the  most  celebrated  temples,  and  of  the  most  famous  oracles.     From  Greece 

he  went  to  the  island  of  Crete,  and  thence  to  Rome  in  the  time  of  Nero ; 

this  has  caused  him  to  be  confounded  with  Simon  Magus.     Perceiving  that 

his  credit  was  on  the  wane,  he  left  Rome,"  whither  he  afterwards  returned, 

to  clear  himself  of  having  taken  part  in  a  conspiracy  against  Domitian.     He 

there  spoke  out  with  boldness,  says  the  legend ;  he  was  thrown  into  prison, 

and  suddenly  disappeared.      Accounts  of  the  place,  the  time  and  mode  of 

his  death,  greatly  vary.     Anyhow,  he  seems  to  have  attained  the  age  of  at 

least  eighty  years  ;  some  say,  of  an  hundred  and  seventeen.      Philostratus 

derived  the  particulars  he  gives  us,  in  his  eight  books  on  the  life  of  Apollonius, 

'  In  his  work  entitled  Christ  and  Apollonius  of  Tyana. 

-  But  see  ad  A,D.  68  for  the  motive  of  his  departure  from  the  City. 


APPENDIX.  165 

from  notes  written  by  Julia,  wife  of  the  emperor  Alexander  Severus ;  these, 
consequently,  were  only  put  together  in  the  third  century.  ApoUonius  united 
with  the  neo-pythagorean  doctrine,  astrology,  wonder-workings,  magic,  and 
necromancy.  According  to  Dio  Cassius,  the  emperor  Caracalla  placed  him 
among  the  gods,  and  dedicated  a  temple  to  him.  Alexander  Severus  also 
admitted  him  among  his  household  deities,  Abraham,  Orpheus,  and  Christ. 
The  eight  books  of  Philostratus  are  full  of  manifest  fables,  and  have  no 
pretensions  to  discrimination ;  his  whole  history  is  simply  a  parody  of  the 
life  of  our  Lord,  and  of  His  gospel.  This  is  evidenced,  for  example,  by  the 
miraculous  birth,  the  reform  of  the  world,  the  miracles  wrought,  the  demons 
expelled,  the  ascension  into  heaven  :  all  which  are  attributed  to  this  pretended 
thawnaiurgus.  Before  [Philostratus],  Hierocles  of  Nicomedia  in  Bithynia,  as 
early  as  the  days  of  Diocletian,  had  used  against  our  Lord  the  legends  con- 
cerning ApoUonius,  and  had  drawn  upon  himself  a  refutation  from  Eusebius 
of  Cffisarea.  Some  ten  writings  have  been  attributed  to  ApoUonius,  none  of 
which  have  as  yet  been  shown  to  be  genuine." 

IL 

"  Charles  Blount,  who  lived  in  the  seventeenth  'century  .  ,  translated 
the  life  of  the  celebrated  impostor,  ApoUonius  of  Tyana,  written  by  Philo- 
stratus, and  added  to  his  translation  a  quantity  of  notes,  mostly  taken  from 
the  manuscripts  of  Lord  Herbert,^  a  notorious  Deist  in  his  day.  The  only 
tendency  of  these  notes  was  to  ruin  religion,  and  bring  the  Sacred  Scriptures 
into  contempt ;  not  by  reasons  gravely  and  seriously  adduced,  but  almost 
always  by  profane  raillery  and  petty  quibbles.  This  impious  book,  printed 
in  London  in  1680,  \yas  only  condemned  in  1693.  In  that  same  year  1693, 
the  author  published  a  treatise  entitled  Reason's  Doubts,  together  with  some 
other  works  of  the  same  kind.  The  same  year,  he  had  a  tragical  end.  He 
had  become  attached  to  his  brother's  widow,  and  maintained  that  it  would 
not  be  incestuous  to  marry  her ;  in  proof  of  which,  he  composed  a  treatise. 
But,  rendered  desperate  at  seeing  no  prospect  of  gaining  the  consent  of  the 
Anglican  Church  to  this,  he  committed  suicide  "  (Moreri's  Grand  Didionnairey 
in  voc.  Blount,  quoting  Bayle's  Critical  Dictionary,  in  the  notes  on  ApoUonius 
of  Tyana. 

^  Lord  Herbert  of  Cherbury. 


1 66  FASTI  ArOSTOLICI. 


III. 

"  In  order  to  counteract  the  influence  exercised  by  the  simple  yet  won- 
derful and  prepossessing  life  of  Jesus,  Flavius  Philostratus,  a  neo-Pythagorean, 
opposed  to  it  the  life  of  the  philosoi)hcr,  Apollonius  of  Tyana,  a  theosophist 
and  sorcerer,  who  lived  in  the  first  century.  Apollonius,  though  he  seems 
— by  embracing  an  ascetic  life,  and  professing  voluntary  celibacy,  according  to 
the  philosophy  and  discipline  of  Pythagoras — to  rise  superior  to  paganism,  is 
nevertheless  in  every  sense  thoroughly  imbued  with  its  spirit.  He  is  repre- 
sented as  a  man  of  great  piety  and  of  unknown  origin,  a  benefactor  and 
teacher  of  mankind,  a  worker  of  wonders,  a  prophet,  and  the  restorer  of 
paganism.  Many  incidents  of  his  life  bear  a  striking  similarity  to  those  in 
the  life  of  Jesus,  and  are  evidently  borrowed  from  the  gospels  [added  in  a 
note].  Dr.  Rieckher'*  .  .  has  also  shown  that  the  biography  written  by  Philo- 
stratus, in  eight  volumes,  is  a  travesty  on  the  Hfe  of  Christ  and  on  the  New 
Testament  gospels,  fabricated  under  the  influence  of  Julia,  wife  of  the  emperor 
Alexander  Severus.  In  this  way,  the  surprising  parallelism  of  Apollonius' 
birth,  the  plan  of  his  improvement  of  the  world,  his  miracles,  expulsion  of 
demons,  ascension  into  heaven,  &c.,  are  explained"  (Alzog,  Utiiv.  Church 
Hist,  vol.  i.  pp.  290,  291  :  Cincinn,  1874). 


W(/.  115). 

WAS    SAINT   THOMAS    IN    MEXICO? 

This  opinion,  starding  at  first  from  its  novelty,  is  ably  maintained,  in  the 
face  of  however  great  improbabilities,  by  the  writer  of  a  short  article  in  the 
New  York  Catholic  World,  for  December,  i8Sx.  It  is  here  partly  given, 
partly  summarized. 

I. 

Remains  of  an  ancic7it  Christianity  in  the  South  A?nerican  continent.  The 
localities  chiefly  specified  are.  Lower  California,  Cozumel  about  Yutacan, 
Nicaragua,  and  Peru.  The  authors  quoted  are,  Prescott,  History  of  Mexico, 
Veytia,  Ancient  History  of  Mexico,  and  Father  Gleason,  History  of  the  Catholic 
Church  in  California. 

*  Studies  of  the  Clergy  of  IVurtzbiirg,  yea?-  1847,  in  refutation  of  Dr.  T'.auer'.s  Christ  and 
Apollonius  of  Tyana:  Tub.  1832. 


APPENDIX.  167 

The  Spanish  discoverers  of  the  country  found  among  the  Aztecs  many 
rehgious  observances,  strikingly  resembUng  the  rites  of  the  Church. 

(i.)  An  extensive  cultus  of  the  Cross;  a  certain  temple  was  called  "The 
Temple  of  the  Holy  Cross,"  and  was  considered  to  be  the  oldest  place  of 
worship  in  the  country. 

(11.)  Monastic  establishments  for  both  men  and  women,  the  inmates  of 
which  lived  in  great  purity  and  austerity,  passing  their  days  in  fasting,  prayer, 
psalmody,  and  tending  a  perpetual  sacred  fire ;  vowed  to  their  life,  and  living 
under  obedience. 

(iij).  A  solonii  baptism  by  immersion,  at  which  a  name  was  given  to  the 
baptized.  "  It  was  considered  as  a  new  disposition  to  become  good,  the 
means  of  escaping  damnation,  and  of  gaining  an  imperishable  glory."  This 
sacred  ablution  was  called  by  the  people  "a  new  birth,"  by  means  of  which 
they  hoped  to  gain  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,  and  to  wash  away  the  sins  they 
had  carried  since  their  mother's  womb.  "  I  pray,"  said  the  baptismal  formula, 
"  that  these  heavenly  waters  may  destroy,  and  separate  from  thee,  all  the  evil 
of  sin  which  has  been  given  to  thee  before  the  beginning  of  the  world ;  foras- 
much as  we  are  all  under  its  power,  being  all  the  sons  of  Calchiritlycuc." 

(iv.)  Auricular  confession.  "  Not  less  worthy  of  remark,"  says  Veytia, 
''  was  the  custom  they  had  established  [in  the  Mexican  dominions]  of  con- 
fessing their  sins  to  the  priests,  relating  all  that  they  considered  as  faults, 
and  accepting  the  penance  which  was  imposed."  "  It  is  worthy  of  notice," 
observes  Prescott,  "  that  the  priests  administered  the  rites  of  confession  and 
absolution.    The  secrets  of  the  confessional  were  looked  upon  as  inviolable." 

(v.)  The  consecration  of  bread  and  wine.  Father  Sahagun  says  :  "Exactly 
at  the  same  time  at  which  we  celebrate  the  Pasch,  the  Mexicans  celebrated 
theirs,  after  a  fast  of  forty  days,  during  which  they  abstained  from  flesh-meat 
,  .  A  public  penance  preceded  the  celebration  of  the  feast.  .  .  The  water  was 
blessed  solemnly,  as  we  Catholics  are  accustomed  to  do  on  Holy  Saturday." 
"  Nothing  is  better  known,"  says  Veytia,  "  than  that  the  offerings  are  made 
of  bread  and  wine— that  is,  bread  from  flour  without  fermentation,  and  that 
what  was  drunk  was  wine."  He  also  relates  that  the  Mexicans  celebrated  a 
solemn  feast  in  honour  of  the  god  of  wheat,  by  forming  the  body  of  that 
god  into  the  shape  of  a  human  countenance,  with  a  pedestal  made  of  flour 
unleavened,  mixed  with  certain  herbs.  Having  baked  it,  on  the  day  of  the 
feast  they  carried  it  in  procession.  Around  the  statue  of  this  deity  they 
placed  a  great  quantity  of  particles  of  the  same  composition,  which  being 


1 68  FASTI   ArOSTOLICI. 

blessed  by  all  the  priests  wiih  certain  formulas  and  ceremonies,  they  believed 
to  be  changed  into  the  flesh  of  that  god.  At  the  end  of  the  ceremony,  the 
bread  was  distributed  to  the  people.  All,  children  and  adults,  men  and 
women,  rich  and  poor,  came  to  it,  receiving  with  great  veneration,  humility, 
and  tears,  saying  that  they  were  eating  the  flesh  of  their  god. 

(vi.)  The  stale  of  souls  in  the  other  world.  Torquemada,  Prescott,  and 
Father  Gleason  concur  in  representing  the  Mexican  belief  to  be  in  great 
measure  in  harmony  with  the  teaching  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

II. 
rrobability  that  S.  Thomas  7c>as  the  Apostle  of  those  regio)is.  This 
minor  premiss,  it  must  be  said,  appears  to  rest  upon  much  weaker  grounds 
than  the  primitive  Christianity  evidenced  above.  It  is  chiefly  supported  on 
the  coincidence,  a  remarkable  one,  no  doubt,  that  the  traditional  evangelizer 
of  these  countries  had  a  name  (Quetzalcohuatl)  which  in  one  dialect  found 
there — the  Nahuatl — signifies  "the  illustrious  or  glorious  Twin."  The  "Twin" 
{i.e.,  Didymus),  seems  to  have  been  the  name  by  which  this  great  and  holy 
personage  has  always  been  remembered  throughout  the  extensive  sphere  of 
his  ministrations.  Thus,  wlien  persecuted  by  an  apostate  king,  Huemac,  he 
retired  from  Nahuatl  to  Cholula,  and  thence  passed  into  Yucatan  and  the 
neighbouring  islands,  which  latter  are  known  as  "  The  islands  where  the  Twin 
hid  himself."  He  is  said  to  have  been  "a  white  man,  with  a  flowing  beard, 
a  large  mantle  adorned  with  crosses  spread  over  his  shoulders,  with  his  head 
uncovered,  his  feet  bare,  and  carrying  a  staff  in  his  hand."  He  came  from 
the  north,  some  years  after  a  great  solar  eclipse  and  a  terrific  earthquake, 
which  seem  to  have  coincided  pretty  nearly  with  the  prodigies  occurring  at 
the  Crucifixion.  "According  to  the  universal  tradition  of  the  country,  he 
was  a  holy  and  venerable  man,  who  taught  the  people  an  admirable  doctrine  : 
the  abolition  of  incontinence  and  the  love  of  virtue,  the  worship  of  an  only 
God,  the  mysteries  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  the  incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God, 
His  birth  of  a  virgin  and  His  death  upon  a  cross,  the  practice  of  confession, 
the  annual  fast  of  forty  days,  religious  continence,  with  all  the  religious 
observances  mentioned  above.  Some  Catholic  historians  have  pronounced 
Quetzalcohuatl  an  impostor,  because  the  Spaniards  found  in  Mexico  his  name 
mixed  with  some  idolatrous  customs.  But  this  judgment,  in  our  opinion,  is 
too  severe.  There  is  nothing  strange  that  in  the  lapse  of  many  centuries 
his  doctrine  might  have  been  adulterated  and  confounded  amidst  idolatrous 


APPENDIX.  169 

practices.  It  is  rather  to  be  wondered  at,  that  so  many  true  dogmas  have 
been  preserved.  We  must  remark  also  that  these  traditions  were  not  confined 
to  Mexico  alone,  but  were  greatly  spread  over  all  that  part  of  the  two 
American  continents  where  his  name  became  known,  and  which  it  is  probable 
he  visited ;  in  which  places  both  the  man,  and  the  doctrine  which  he  taught, 
preserved  a  most  admirable  sameness. 

"  In  the  national  histories  of  Mexico  it  was  alifirmed  that  Quetzalcohuatl 
had  promised  that  his  followers,  also  wliUe  meii,  would  come  to  that  country, 
and  would  venerate  the  Cross.  Shortly  before  the  arrival  of  Cortez,  there 
existed  throughout  the  empire  of  Mexico  a  common  belief  that  the  time  had 
come,  when  '  the  followers  of  Quetzalcohuatl  should  arrive  in  the  country.' 

"  Sahagun,  who  wrote  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest  .  .  assures  us,  that  at 
the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards  on  the  coast,  the  natives  went  out  to  meet  them 
in  canoes,  and  prostrated  themselves  before  them,  believing  that  the  god 
Quetzalcohuatl,  along  with  his  followers,  whom  they  expected  every  day,  had 
come  to  visit  them.  Boturini  says  that  the  year  ceacatl  was  the  one  announced 
by  Quetzalcohuatl,  and  that  in  that  very  year  the  Spaniards  landed  in  Mexico." 

III. 

It  is  an  instance  of  the  uncertainty  of  opinion,  that  after  the  above  very 
remarkable  facts,  or  from  unacquaintance  with  the  authors  detailing  them, 
Moreri,  publishing  in  1725  his  learned  and  generally  accurate  Grand  Dic- 
tion?iaire,  should  write  thus  {in  voc.  Apotre)  :  "  Entre  toutes  ces  missions 
apostoliques,  il  n'est  point  parle  de  I'Amerique,  qui  est  le  nouveau  monde ; 
et  il  n'y  a  point  d'apparence,  que  si  les  Apotres  ou  leurs  disciples  y  avoient 
annoncee  I'evangile,  les  auteurs  n'en  eussent  rien  dit.  Les  historiens  qui 
ont  ecrit  de  la  decouverte  de  ce  pays  par  les  Espagnols,  assurent  qu'ils  n'y 
trouverent  aucun  vestige  de  la  religion  Chretienne,  comme  les  Portugais  en 
avoient  trouve  dans  les  Indes  Orientales."  He  cites  Godeau,  Hist,  de  VEglise, 
lib.  i. 

On  the  facilities  existing  in  early  times  for  penetrating  to  the  great  Western 
continent,  and  the  possibility  of  the  lost  Atlantis  as  a  stepping-stone  on  the 
way,  see  an  interesting  article  in  the  Dublin  Ra'ietu  for  November,  1841,  on 
"  The  successive  Discoveries  of  America." 


[/O  FASTI   APOSTOLICI. 


X(A  119). 
CONSTRUCTION    OF   THE    ROMAN    CATACOMBS. 

The  following  passages  from  the  Edinburgh  Rcvinu  for  January,  1859, 
are  so  accurate  in  archroological  details,  and  written  in  so  fair  a  spirit,  as  to 
deserve  reproduction, 

"The  first  condition  to  be  considered  in  the  structure  of  the  subterranean 
cemeteries,  is  the  nature  of  the  rock  in  which  they  are  perforated.  Recent 
geological  observations  on  the  soil  of  the  Agro  Romano,  and  the  site  of 
Rome  itself,  have  determined  the  fact  that  the  vast  amphitheatre  destined 
to  witness  so  many  of  the  greatest  events  in  human  history,  and  the  most 
violent  revolutions  of  political  power,  was  itself  formed  by  the  action  of 
volcanic  fire,  commencing  before  the  Sabine  or  the  Latin  hills  had  risen 
above  the  plain,  before  the  Tiber  and  the  Anio  had  found  their  way  to  the 
sea.  These  igneous  rocks  bear  indisputable  traces  of  the  different  periods 
at  which  they  were  projected  to  the  earth's  surface,  and  still  retain  an  entirely 
distinct  character.  The  earliest  of  the  series,  which  is  found  in  the  more 
immediate  vicinity  of  Rome,  consists  of  a  red  volcanic  tufa ;  and  it  is  suffi- 
ciently hard  to  be  employed — as  it  has  constantly  been  employed  from  the 
earliest  ages — in  the  buildings  of  the  city.  The  massive  blocks  of  the  Cloaca 
IMaxima,  of  the  Tabularium  of  the  Capitol,  and  of  the  recently  discovered 
wall  of  Romulus  which  encircles  the  base  of  the  Palatine,  attest  the  durability 
of  this  tufa  Hi/wide,  as  it  is  termed  by  the  Romans ;  and  geology  traces  its 
origin  to  the  action  of  submarine  craters,  every  vestige  of  which  has  dis- 
appeared. At  a  far  later  period,  fresh  currents  of  lava,  mingled  with  ashes 
and  pumice,  forced  their  way  over  the  plain,  and  these  proceeded  from  the 
comparatively  modern  craters  still  visible  in  the  Alban  hills ;  but  this  sub- 
stance is  far  less  compact  than  the  primitive  tufa ;  it  is  distinguished  by  the 
name  of  tufa  granolare,  and  though  it  has  just  consistency  enough  to  retain 
the  form  given  to  it  by  the  excavators,  it  cannot  be  hewn  or  extracted  in 
blocks ;  and  in  the  lower  strata  it  degenerates  into  the  friable  volcanic  ashes 
known  ^%  pozzolaiia,  which  have  been  extensively  used  in  all  ages  for  mortar 
or  Roman  cement. 

"The  history  of  these  volcanic  formations  has  a  direct  bearing  on  the 
structure  of  the  Catacombs.     They  arc  never  hewn  in  the  tufa  Uihoidc  or 


APPENDIX.  171 

more  compact  tufa,  though  tliat  stone  was  largely  quarried  by  the  old  Romans 
for  building  purposes. 

"  The  Christian  architects  carefully  avoided  these  massive  strata ;  and  we 
believe  it  is  ascertained  that  all  the  known  catacombs  are  driven  exclusively 
along  the  courses  of  the  tufa  granolare.  With  equal  care  these  subterranean 
engineers  avoided  the  layers  of  pozzolana,  which  would  have  rendered  their 
work  insecure,  and  in  which  no  permanent  rock  tomb  could  have  been 
constructed.  Thus  we  arrive  at  the  curious  fact,  that  in  making  the  Cata- 
combs, the  excavators  carefully  avoided  the  strata  of  hard  stone  and  the  strata 
of  soft  stone,  used  respectively  for  building  and  for  mortar,  and  selected  that 
course  of  medium  hardness  which  was  best  adapted  to  their  peculiar  purpose. 
The  Romans,  no  doubt,  had  their  arcnarice;  and  probably  we  are  to  under- 
stand by  that  term,  the  sand-pits  from  which  pozzolana  was  dug.  Cicero 
mentions  {Orat.  pro  Chientio)  that  the  young  patrician  Asinius  had  been 
enticed  into  these  dark  abodes,  and  murdered ;  and  when  Nero,  in  the  last 
frightful  night  of  his  life,  took  refuge  in  the  villa  of  his  freedman  Phaon, 
between  the  Nomentane  and  Salarian  roads,  he  was  advised  to  hide  himself 
in  the  adjacent  sand-pit ;  but  he  vowed  he  would  not  go  alive  underground, 
and  remained  trembling  beneath  the  wall.  But  these  arenaricz  were  totally 
unlike  the  Christian  cemeteries,  and  the  comparison  may  be  the  more  easily 
made,  as  in  some  instances,  as  at  S.  Agnese,  the  shaft  which  gave  admission  to 
the  Catacombs  has  been  sunk  from  the  floor  of  one  of  the  Pagan  excavations 
above ;  so  that  on  the  higher  level  the  broad  and  lofty  quarry  still  remains, 
with  such  supports  as  were  necessary  to  sustain  the  vault,  whilst  beneath,  in 
a  lower  stratum,  the  Christians  gradually  formed  one  of  the  most  extensive 
cemeteries  known  to  exist  in  the  vicinity  of  Rome.  Possibly  this  contrivance 
served  more  effectually  to  mask  the  entrance  to  the  lower  passages,  by  con- 
cealing them  altogether  from  external  observation ;  whilst  it  afforded  an  easy 
means  of  removing  the  broken  stuff  from  the  deepest  excavations.  In  the 
Roman  arenarm  there  are  no  vestiges  of  tombs,  and  not  the  slightest  indica- 
tion that  they  were  ever  used  for  purposes  of  sepulture.  In  the  Christian 
Catacombs  not  a  yard  seems  to  have  been  excavated  except  for  the  purpose 
of  making  tombs  :  they  line  the  walls  throughout,  as  close  to  one  another  as 
the  berths  in  the  side  of  a  ship,  only  divided  by  an  intervening  shelf  of  rock. 
Each  tomb  appears  to  have  been  made  exactly  of  the  proper  size  for  the  body 
which  was  to  occupy  it.  Myriads  are  to  be  found  adapted  for  infants  only. 
In  some  instances  they  were  enlarged  to  contain  two  bodies,  the  tomb  being 


1/2  FASTI   ArOSTOLICI. 

then  called  a  hisomuin ;  or  even  more — husband  and  wife,  or  other  members 

of  one  Christian  family.      Every  grave  was  closed,  when  filled,  with  tiles  or 

with  a  marble  slab.     In  one  of  the  Catacombs  visited  by  Padre  Marchi,  he 

found  the  gallery  of  Christian  tombs  abruptly  terminated   by  a  wall.      On 

further  examination,  it  was  discovered  that  the  fossores,  or  excavators,  had 

come  upon  a  sunken  pagan  colunilniriuin,  such  as  was  used  for  sepulture  by 

the  Roman  families.     The  Christians  instantly  closed  the  gallery  and  walled 

it  up,  leaving  the  columhariuju  outside  :  a  remarkable  proof  of  their  repugnance 

to  suffer  the  presence  of  the  unconverted  heathen  in  their  cemeteries. 

"There  is  no  evidence  that  the  Romans  ever  regarded  this  mode  of 

sepulture  with  any  feelings  but  those  of  abhorrence  and  contempt.     To  use 

the  vituperative  language  applied  by  Horace  to  the  site  of  Maecenas'  palace 

on  the  Esquiline,  where,  by  the  way,  there  is  no  catacomb — 

Hue  priiis  angustis  ejecta  cadavera  cellis 
Conservus  vili  portanda  locabat  in  area. 
Hoc  niisercE  plebi  stabat  commune  sepulchrum. 

^^The  pulicoli,  into  which  the  carrion  of  the  Roman  slaves  might  be  flung, 
had  not  the  slightest  analogy  with  the  decorous,  careful,  and  expensive  pro- 
visions made  by  the  early  Christians  for  the  conservation  of  their  dead. 
Throughout  the  whole  extent  of  the  Christian  cemeteries,  no  trace  has  been 
found  of  any  admixture  of  the  pagan  population.  Every  inscription,  however 
humble,  attests  the  Christian  faith  of  him  who  was  "deposited" — to  use  the 
peculiar  and  appropriate  expression — within  that  narrow  cell.  The  curt  or 
desponding  tone  of  the  heathen  mortuary  inscription  disappears.  The 
Christian  "sleeps,"  and  sleeps  "in  peace."  No  badge  of  slavery  or  of 
freedom  is  to  be  seen  amongst  his  fellows ;  for,  in  the  sublime  language  which 
S.  Paul  himself  had  addressed  to  these  very  Romans,  '  the  creature  also  shall 
be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  corruption,  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the 
children  of  God.' 

"  It  is  impossible  to  survey  the  half-obliterated  memorials  of  this  extinct 
race  of  men,  and  to  compare  them  with  the  remains  of  Pagan  Rome,  without 
feeling  that  every  broken  fragment  of  a  grave,  every  pinch  of  human  dust 
and  ashes  scattered  round,  belongs  altogether  to  a  different  faith,  a  different 
era  of  the  world's  history  ;  and  that  Imperial  Rome  had  no  hand  in  the 
mysterious  structures  which  thus  encompassed  her  walls,  except  when  she 
peopled  them  with  the  victims  of  persecution." 

The  sources   from  which  the   above  extracts  derive  their   facts   are,  of 


APPENDIX.  173 

course,  the  standard  works  of  Bosio,  Boldetti,  Arringlii,  de  Rossi,  and 
Garucci ;  to  which  the  late  Padre  Marchi  has  added  his  vakiable  contribution. 
The  history  and  exploration  of  "  Subterranean  Rome  "  form  a  subject  of  the 
greatest  interest,  as  well  as  of  very  wide  extent.  It  is  given,  with  very  careful 
detail,  in  Northcote  and  Brownlow's  Roma  Sotterranea ;  a  work  which  cannot 
be  too  strongly  recommended  to  the  reader. 


Y  (/.  III). 

THE   VATICAN    CEMETERY. 

This  small  cemetery  on  the  Vatican  has  for  centuries  become  the  most 
celebrated  spot  in  the  world,  except  the  Sacred  Places  themselves.  It 
possesses  the  following  successive  stages  of  interest : 

(i.)  After  the  martyrdom  of  the  holy  Apostles,  the  body  of  S.  Peter  was 
brought  down  from  the  Janiculum,  the  place  of  his  crucifixion,  which  is  now 
occupied  by  the  small  church  of  San  Pietro  in  Montorio,  and  was  carried 
to  the  neighbouring  hill  of  the  Vatican.  This  hill,  mentioned  by  Horace 
{Od.  i.  20,  8),  was  then  probably  a  wooded  slope,  looking  down  on  the  Tiber, 
which  was  crossed  by  the  Milvian  bridge,  two  or  three  miles  below.  It  was 
also  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  gardens  and  circus  of  Nero, 
where,  under  the  same  persecution  that  had  sent  the  Apostles  to  heaven,  so 
many  Christians  preceded  or  followed  them  by  the  agonizing  death  of  fire  (see 
ad  A.D.  66,  67,  69).  Meanwhile,  S.  Paul's  body  was  laid  by  S.  Lucina  in 
her  cemetery  on  the  Ostian  Way,  near  the  place  where  he  was  decapitated 
{Ad  Aquas  Salvias). 

(2.)  Later  on,  when  tidings  of  the  double  martyrdom  had  reached  the 
East,  some  Oriental,  probably  Israelite,  Christians,  appear  to  have  set  out 
for  Rome,  with  the  intention  of  appropriating  the  holy  relics  for  their  native 
country.  Unable  to  persuade  the  Roman  Christians  to  resign  their  treasure, 
they  succeeded  in  exhuming  them  secretly,  each  from  the  separate  place  of 
burial,  and  set  out  on  their  return,  along  the  Appian  Way,  making  for  Brun- 
dusium,  as  their  nearest  route  homewards.  They  had  reached  the  second 
milestone,  not  far  beyond  the  point  where  roads  leading  from  the  Vatican  and 
from  the  cemetery  of  S.  Lucina  would  unite.  Here  they  were  delayed  by  a 
tempest :  and  meanwhile  the  Romans,  having  discovered  the  theft,  pursued 


174 


FASTI   ArOSTOLICI. 


them,  recovered  the  sacred  bodies,  and  placed  tliem  for  tlie  time  in  a  deserted 
building,  of  pagan  construction,  near  the  spot. 
These  focts  have  several  distinct  attestations. 

a.  S.  Damasus,  Pope,  in  the  fifth  century.  Anastasius,  the  Byzantine 
historian,  says  of  him,  that  "  he  built  a  platonia,  where  the  bodies  of  the 
Apostles,  SS.  Peter  and  Paul,  lay,  and  embellished  it  with  verses."  Another 
reading  gives  :  "  He  built  a  basilica  /;/  catacianbis,  where  the  bodies  of  S.  Peter 
and  S.  Paul  lay,  in  which  he  adorned  with  verses  the  platonia  where  the  holy 
bodies  reposed."  Platonia,  placoma,  or  placoion,  is  interpreted  by  Baronius 
{His.t.  ad  Ann.  384)  to  mean  "  a  church-pavement  ornately  laid  with  slabs 
of  marble  in  various  designs."^     The  verses  of  S.  Damasus  are  as  follows: 

Hie  habitasse  prius  sanctos  cognoscere  debes, 
Nomina  quisque  Petri  pariter  Paulique  requiris. 
Discipulos  Oriens  misit,  quod  sponte  fatemur  ; 
Sanguinis  ob  meritum,  Cliristum  per  astra  secuti, 
^tlierios  peliere  sinus,  rcgnaquc  pioruni : 
Roma  tamen  potius  meruit  defenderc  civcs  ; 
Hcec  Damasus  vestras  referat  nova  sidera  laudcs. 

b.  S.  Gregory  the  Great  wrote  in  the  year  594  to  the  Empress  Constantina, 
in  answer  to  her  request  that  he  would  send  her  some  relic  of  S.  Paul,  for 
the  church  then  recently  completed  in  the  imperial  palace  at  Constantinople. 
He  declines  the  request,  alleging  that  attempts  made  in  the  time  of  his 
predecessor  to  translate  the  bodies  of  the  Apostles,  as  also  that  of  S.  Laurence, 
had  been  followed  by  signal  tokens  of  the  Divine  displeasure.  The  relics 
of  the  Saints,  he  continues,  which  it  was  then  the  custom  of  the  Roman 
Church  to  bestow,  consisted  of  silken  or  linen  cloths  {brandea"^),  which  had 
been  let  down  through  an  aperture,  to  touch  their  tombs.  These  were  care- 
fully preserved  in  churches;  "and  thereby  as  mighty  works  are  there  wrought, 

1  Cassiodorus,  Vanar.  iii.  9.  Compare  AidSa-rpuros,  or  "the  Pavement,"  S.  John  xix.  13. 

-  '■^  Brandcum,  nom  usite  dans  les  auteurs  de  la  basse  latinite,  pour  signifier  un  lincciiil. 
dc  soic  OH  de  lift,  dont  on  enveloppoit  les  corps  des  saints  et  leurs  reliques.  On  donnoit  le 
meme  nom  aux  linges  que  Ton  faisoit  toucher  aux  reliques  des  saints.  Du  tems  de  saint 
Gregoire  le  Grand,  qui  tenoit  le  siege"de  Rome  I'an  600,  et  avant  lui,  on  ne  touchoit  point 
aux  corps  des  saints ;  et  au  lieu  de  leurs  os,  on  se  contentoit  d'envoyer  dans  une  boite  un 
morceau  de  ce  drap  ou  de  ce  corporal.  Le  pape  saint  Gregoire  parle  de  cette  coutume,  et 
ajoiite  qu'on  la  croyoit  par  tradition  du  tems  du  pape  saint  Leon,  vers  I'an  450.  Quelques 
Grecs  ayant  doute  si  Ton  devoit  tenir  ces  reliques  pour  bonnes,  ce  saint  pontife,  pour  les 
convaincrc,  se  fit  apporter  des  ciseaux,  et  coupa  en  leur  presence  un  de  ces  brandcum,  c'est- 
a-dire,  une  de  ces  pieces  de  drap,  d'ou  il  sortit  du  sang,  comme  si  c'eiit  ete  le  corps  du  menie 
saint  {Greg.  Turon.  de  Gloria  Cotif.  c.  37  ;  Pet.  Damian,  Epist.  1.  iv ;  Bede,  Hist.  Augl.  i.  3 ; 
Du  Cange,  Glossar.;  Moreri,  Diet.  i7i  zvrl>). 


APPENDIX.  175 

as  if  their  very  bodies  had  been  transported  thither."  He  then  goes  on  to 
give  an  account  of  the  theft  of  the  Orientals,  and  the  recovery  of  the  Apostles' 
relics,  almost  in  the  words  given  above.^ 

c.  In  the  Acts  af  the  martyrdom  of  S.  Quirinus,  \\\q.  platouia  of  S.  Damasus 
is  mentioned  as  "  the  basilica  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul,  where  they  lay  for  some 
time  .  .  in  the  place  which  is  called  "Ad  catacumbas."  From  this  spot, 
with  its  title  of  debased  and  mongrel  latinity,^  all  the  Roman  cemeteries 
were,  in  process  of  time,  denominated  catacombs. 

d.  In  the  portico  of  the  ancient  basilica  of  S.  Peter's  were  two  remarkable 
paintings,  delineated  in  Bosio's  Roma  Si/bferranea ;  one  of  them  representing 
the  Orientals  surprised  in  their  flight  by  the  Roman  Christians,  and  compelled 
to  restore  the  sacred  bodies ;  the  other,  the  solemn  extraction  of  the  relics 
from  their  temporary  resting-place  by  S.  Linus  and  the  Roman  clergy. 

(3.)  In  this  "  deserted  building  on  the  Appian  Way,"  the  Apostles'  relics 
remained  for  a  year  and  seven  months :  a  duration  assigned  to  their  stay 
there,  by  a  very  ancient  account  of  the  martyrdom,  which  Mabillon  says  was 
read  in  the  French  churches  on  their  festival,  before  the  time  of  Charlemagne. 
It  is  corroborated  by  a  MS.  of  the  fourteenth  century,  in  the  collection  of 
De  Rossi,  which  adds,  that  when  suitable  places  of  sepulture  had  been  pre- 
pared for  them,  they  were  reverently  interred  [of  course,  by  S.  Linus], 
S.  Peter's  body  on  the  Vatican,  and  that  of  S.  Paul  by  the  second  milestone 
on  the  Ostian  Way:^  "where  their  benefits  are  dispensed  to  those  who  ask 
with  perseverance,  to  the  praise  and  glory  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who 
liveth  and  reigneth  for  ever  and  ever."  S.  Linus  himself,  who  was  martyred, 
A.D,  76,  is  expressly  s^rud,  in  his  Acts,  to  have  been  interred  "on  the  Vatican 
hill,  near  the  body  of  S.  Peter  the  Apostle."^     The  Liber  Pontificalis,  or 

"  S.  Greg.  Epist.  IV.  30.     Compare  Cardinal  S.  Borgia's  Vaticana  Confessio,  p.  ix. 

^  Originally,  perhaps,  Kara,  iiimbas,  the  word  employed  by  S.  Gregory  in  a  sermon  preached 
in  the  basilica  of  SS.  Nereus  and  Achilleus  : — "Sancti  isti,  ad  quorum  tumbam  consistimus" 
(Horn.  28).      Or,  cumha  from  cumbo,  with  an  analogous  meaning  to  Koi/xyirripiov. 

^  "From  S.  Peter's  on  the  Vatican,  the  mind  passes  naturally  to  the  resting-place  of  the 
Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  and  of  Rome.  But  here,  too,  the  hill 
has  been  cut  away  to  make  room  for  the  magnificent  basilica  of  S.  Paul  exi>-a  7miros ;  and 
hence  the  greater  part  of  the  catacomb  of  Lucina  (or  of  Commodilla,  for  both  these  names 
occur  in  ancient  records)  has  been  destroyed,  and  what  galleries  yet  remain  are  so  choked 
with  earth  and  ruins  of  various  kinds,  as  to  be  almost  impassable.  .  .  Boldetti  read  within 
this  catacomb  the  most  ancient  inscription  with  a  consular  date  that  has  come  down  to  us" 
(Northcote  and  Brownlow's  Roma  Sottcrraiiea,  i.  p.  1 14). 

^  "  Early  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Urban  VIII.  made  extensive  excavations  round  the 
'  confession '  of  S.  Peter,  in  the  course  of  which,  several  marble  sarcophagi  came  to  light.  .  . 
Another,  as  we  learn  from  an  eye-witness  (Torrigio,  La  Sacre  Grotte  Vaticane,  p.  61),  was 


176  l-ASTI   APOSTOLICI. 

Catalogue  of  the  Popes,  agrees  with  an  ancient  list  of  their  burial-places 
appended  to  Vignoli's  edition,  in  saying  that  eleven  out  of  the  fifteen"  first 
Pontiffs  were  buried  "on  the  Vatican,  near  the  body  of  S.  Peter."  It  also 
states  that  S.  Anacletus  built  the  sepulchral  monument — construxit  inevioriam 
— of  blessed  Peter,  by  whom  he  had  been  ordained  priest;  "and  the  other 
burial-places  where  the  bishops  might  be  laid." 

(4.)  The  relics  of  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles,  thus  re-interred  on  the 
Vatican,  continued  long  undisturbed  in  the  small  cemetery,  which  thence 
became,  to  the  infant  Church,  a  place  of  resort  for  private  devotion,  for 
celebrating  the  Adorable  Sacrifice,  and  for  holding  the  "stations;"  especially, 
it  would  seem,  the  Saturday  vigil  of  the  Four  Seasons.^  The  proximity  of 
Nero's  gardens  and  circus,  in  which  so  many  Christians  had  been  martyred, 
must  already  have  increased  the  number  of  martyrs'  bodies  interred  round 
the  tomb  of  the  Apostle.'-* 

(5.)  In  the  year  218,  under  the  pontificate  of  S.  Callistus,  a  freak  of  the 
emperor  Elagabulus  occasioned  a  fresh  removal.  Not  content  with  the 
dimensions  of  Nero's  circus,  which  was  only  adapted  to  horse-races,  he 
determined  to  witness  a  race  of  elephants,  harnessed  four  abreast :  and  gave 
orders  that  the  circus  should  be  enlarged.^"  The  workmen  encroached  on 
the  slope  of  the  Vatican  hill;  and,  after  demolishing  some  pagan  tombs  within 
the  line  drawn  for  the  new  work,  approached  S.  Peter's  cemetery.  S.  Callis- 
tus, fearing  a  profanation  of  the  Apostle's  tomb,  transported  the  body  back 
to  the  spot  Ad  catacinnhas,  near  which  he  had  made  or  enlarged  a  cemetery 

inscribed  with  the  single  word  LINUS,  a  name  of  extremely  rare  occurrence  on  Christian 
monuments  ;  and,  considering  where  it  was  found,  it  does  not  seem  rash  to  believe  with 
De  Rossi  that  this  was  the  sepulchre  of  the  immediate  successor  of  S.  Peter,  of  whom  we 
read  :  Sepullus  est  jiixta  corpus  Bead  PctrV  (Northcote  and  Brownlow,  ut  sup.). 

^  The  list  given,  however,  seems  only  to  include  nine,  from  S.  Linus  to  S.  Victor.  It 
excludes,  of  course,  S.  Clement,  plunged  into  the  sea  and  entombed  miraculously  in  Cher- 
sonesus ;  and  .S.  Alexander,  whose  remains,  gathered  immediately  after  his  martyrdom  by 
a  pious  Roman  lady,  were  buried  in  her  estate  on  the  Via  Nomentana. 

8  "Let  us  fast  the  Wednesday  and  Friday;  and  on  Saturday,  let  us  keep  our  vigil  by 
Blessed  Peter"  (S.  Leo,  Serm.   Vll.  De Jejun.  7  vicns). 

"  A  stone  is  still  preserved  in  the  subterranean  church  in  .S.  Peter's,  once  called  by  the 
pagans  the  accursed,  and  by  the  Christians  the  holy,  stone.  The  inscription  over  it  is:  buper 
isto  lapide  multa  corpora  sanctorum  martyrio  cccsa  sunt. 

1"  Onophr.  Panvinus,  Dc  Septem.  Urbis  Eccles.  p.  34 ;  Papebrocke,  Acta  Saint,  t.  v. 
p.  436;  P^aronius,  Ad  Ann.  221,  discredits  this  account  of  the  second  translation  of  the 
relics,  and  quotes  against  it  the  passage  of  S.  Gregoiy,  quoted  above.  The  only  satisfactory 
way  of  reconciling  the  two  statements,  seems  to  be  that  of  Padre  Marchi,  which  is  here 
followed. 


APPENDIX. 


177 


afterwards  called  by  his  name.  Here  S.  Peter's  body  reposed,  for  the  second 
time,  during  forty  years ;  and  the  bodies  of  sixteen  of  the  early  Pontiffs  were 
also  deposited  around  him.  The  Index  Vaticanus  (ed.  Vignoli)  and  the  Liber 
Pontificalis  enumerate  them,  from  S.  Anicetus  to  S.  Dionysius,  inclusive. 
The  place  is  a  crypt  of  semicircular  form,  to  which  a  passage  in  S.  Sebastian's 
Beyond  the  Walls  opens.  An  ancient  solid  altar  is  in  the  centre,  and  the 
Pontiffs  repose  in  rude  arcisolia,  or  arched  recesses,  pierced  in  the  surround- 
ing walls.  The  altar  covers  a  square  vault,  ten  or  twelve  feet  below  the 
pavement,  divided  into  two  compartments,  and  Hned  with  Parian  marble  to 
the  height  of  three  or  four  feet.  An  ancient  fresco  painting  was  traceable, 
representing  our  Lord  with  S.  Peter  on  His  right,  S.  Paul  on  the  left,  and 
the  rest  of  the  Apostles  less  distinctly  delineated.  Opposite  to  the  altar 
once  stood  the  pontifical  chair,  in  which  S.  Stephen  I.  was  martyred  :  this, 
sprinkled  with  his  blood,  was  buried  with  him,  as  his  Acts  relate.^^  It  was 
removed  to  Pisa,  by  Cosmo  III.  of  Tuscany. 

(6.)  After  forty  years,  i.e.  a.d.  258,  S.  Sixtus  II.  transported  the  body  of 
S.  Peter  to  the  Vatican  once  more.  The  crypt  Ad  Cataaimbas,  however, 
from  which  the  sixty  Christian  cemeteries  around  Rome  received  the  generic 
name  of  catacombs,  remained  a  place  of  concealment  as  well  as  of  devotion 
for  the  Pontiffs  and  the  faithful,  while  persecution  lasted.  "  In  those  ceme- 
teries," says  De  Rossi,  "  to  which  history  or  tradition  assigns  an  apostolic 
origin,  I  see,  in  the  light  of  the  most  searching  archaeological  criticism,  the 
cradle  alike  of  Christian  underground  sepulchres,  of  Christian  art,  and  of 
Christian  inscriptions.  There  I  find  memorials  of  persons  who  appear  to 
belong  to  the  times  of  the  Flavii  and  of  Trajan ;  and  lastly,  I  discover  the 
exact  dates  of  those  times."  Besides  the  martyrdom  of  S.  Stephen  I.,  just 
mentioned,  S.  Sixtus  II.  himself  was  seized  here  as  he  was  celebrating  the 
Holy  Mysteries,  and  slain  with  five  of  his  deacons.  S.  Caius,  Pope,  escaped 
the  emissaries  of  Diocletian  for  eight  years,  by  hiding  "in  the  Catacombs," 
probably  at  or  near  this  spot.  S.  Urban  was  concealed  here,  when  S.  Caecilia 
sent  Valerian  to  him  for  baptism.  "  Go,"  she  said  to  him,  to  the  third  mile- 
stone^^ from  the  City,  on  the  way  which  is  called  the  Appian ;  thou  wilt 
there  find  the  poor.  ,  Give  them  a  benediction,  saying, '  Ctecilia  hath  sent  me 
to  you,  that  you  may  show  me  the  holy  aged  man  Urban,'"  &c. 

"  "  Sepelicrunt  corpus  ejus  cum  ipsa  sede  sanguine  ejus  aspersa,  in  eadem  ciypta,  in 
loco  qui  dicitur  coemeterium  Callisti"  [Acta  S.  Slcph.),  Tlie  very  same  detail  attended  the 
martyrdom  of  S,  Sixtus  II. 

M 


178  FASTI  APOSTOLICI. 

(7.)  On  the  conversion  of  Constantine,  S.  Silvester,  aided  by  the  Emperor's 
zeal  and  munificence,  erected  the  earliest  basilica  on  the  spot,  a.d.  323, 
placing  the  high  altar  over  the  place  where  S.  Peter's  body  rested.  A  small 
aperture,  somewhat  after  the  model  of  the  crypt  on  the  Appian  Way,  enabled 
the  suppliant  to  look  down  and  pray  above  the  relics,  and  also  to  let  down 
the  brandea  to  touch  the  Apostle's  tomb,  in  the  manner  described  by 
S.  Gregory  (§  (2)  b).  The  first  Pope  buried  in  the  new  church  was  S.  Leo 
the  Great,  in  461 ;  who  thus  had  the  same  marks  of  devotion  given  on 
Ember  Saturdays  to  his  tomb,  which  he  had  inculcated  for  that  of  the 
Apostles  (cf.  (4)  supra).  This  holy  Pontiff  had  previously  built  a  monastery 
near  the  basilica  of  S.  Peter,  and  had  appointed  special  custodians  for  "  the 
tombs  of  the  Apostles;"  probably,  therefore,  for  the  spot  where  S.  Paul  was 
buried  on  the  Ostian  Way,  Ad  Aquas  Salvias,  as  well  as  for  the  Vatican. 
These  officers  were  named  aebicu/arii,  a  title  of  analagous  meaning  to  the 
word  cemetery — KOLinjT-qpLov — or  sleeping  place  (on  this  term,  see  ad  A.D. 
69,  sub  1/ied.). 

(8.)  The  crypt  Ad  Catacumbas  must  have  continued  to  be  a  place  of  pious 
resort  and  devotion  to  the  faithful,  long  after  the  bodies  of  the  Apostles  had 
been  withdrawn  thence :  it  was  a  constant  memorial  of  the  days  of  persecu- 
tion, and  sixteen  of  the  early  Popes  still  remained  in  the  arcisolia  round 
the  Apostles'  tomb.  This  excited  the  zeal  of  S.  Damasus  to  adorn  the  crypt 
with  marble  slabs  and  verses,  and  thus  convert  it  into  Vi platonia  {sup.  (i)  a). 
The  same  Pope  restored  the  adjoining  church  of  S.  Sebastian,  enriched  it  with 
a  marble  colonnade,  and  sumptuously  adorned  the  tombs  of  other  martyrs, 
specially  those  of  SS.  Chrysanthus  and  Daria,  SS.  Felix  and  Adauctus,  and 
SS.  Protus  and  Hyacinthus. 


AA  (/.  123). 

THE   COLOSSEUM. 

"  Posterity  admires,  and  will  long  admire,  the  awful  remains  of  the  amphi- 
theatre of  Titus,  which  so  well  deserved  the  epithet  of  colossal.  It  was  a 
building  of  an  elliptical  figure,  564  feet  in  length,  and  467  in  breadth, 
founded  on  fourscore  arches,  and  rising  with  four  successive  orders  of  archi- 
tecture, to  the  height  of  140  feet.  The  outside  of  the  edifice  was  encrusted 
with  marble,  and  decorated  with  statues.     The  slopes  of  the  vast  concave, 


APPENDIX. 


179 


which  formed  the  inside,  were  filled  and  surrounded  with  sixty  or  eighty  rows 
of  seats  of  marble,  likewise  covered  with  cushions,  and  capable  of  receiving 
with  ease  above  fourscore  thousand  spectators.  Sixty-four  vomitories  (for  by 
that  name  the  doors  were  very  aptly  distinguished)  poured  forth  the  immense 
multitude  ;  and  the  entrances,  passages,  and  staircases  w^ere  contrived  with 
such  exquisite  skill,  that  each  person,  whether  of  the  senatorial,  the  equestrian, 
or  the  plebeian  order,  arrived  at  his  destined  place  without  trouble  or  confusion. 
Nothing  was  omitted  which,  in  any  respect,  could  be  subservient  to  the  con- 
venience and  pleasure  of  the  spectators.  They  were  protected  from  the  sun 
and  rain  by  an  ample  canopy,  occasionally  drawn  over  their  heads.  The  air 
was  continually  refreshed  by  the  playing  of  fountains,  and  profusely  impreg- 
nated by  the  grateful  scent  of  aromatics.  In  the  centre  of  the  edifice,  the 
arena^  was  strewed  with  the  finest  sand,  and  successively  assumed  the  most 
different  forms.  At  one  time,  it  seemed  to  rise  out  of  the  earth,  like  the 
garden  of  the  Hesperides,  and  was  afterwards  broken  into  the  rocks  and 
caverns  of  Thrace.  The  subterraneous  pipes  conveyed  an  inexhaustible 
supply  of  water ;  and  what  had  just  before  appeared  a  level  plain  might  be 
suddenly  converted  into  a  wide  lake,  covered  wdth  armed  vessels,  and  re- 
plenished with  the  monsters  of  the  deep.  .  .  We  read,  on  various  occasions, 
that  the  whole  furniture  of  the  amphitheatre  consisted  either  of  silver,  or  qf 
gold,  or  of  amber.  The  nets  designed  as  a  defence  against  the  wild  beasts 
were  of  gold  wire;  the  porticoes  were  gilded,  and  the  belt  or  circle  which 
divided  the  several  ranks  of  spectators  from  each  other,  was  studded  with  ft 
beautiful  mosaic  of  precious  stones"  {Decline  and  Fall,  vol.  ii.  c.  xii,  pp.  103 
— 105)- 


BB  (/.  125). 

LATER   YEARS   OF   SAINT  JOHN. 
I. 

Saint  Irenosus,  from  his  see  of  Lyons,  wrote  an  epistle  to  Florinus,  of 
which  a  precious  fragment  remains.  Florinus  and  Valentinus  had  both  been 
his  fellow-disciples  under  S.  Polycarp.  They  both  afterwards  fell  into  the 
Gnostic  heresy ;  Florinus  going  so  far  into  those  errors,  as  to  affirm  that  God 

^  Gibbon  adds  the  words,  "or  stage,''  which  is  surely  a  strange  misnomer,  by  way  of 
explanation. 


180  FASTI  ArOSTOLICI. 

is  the  author  of  sin.     The  following  passage  is  extant  from  S.  Irenecus'  letter 
to  him  : 

"  These  doctrines,  Florinus,  (to  speak  gently,  and  to  spare  thee),  are  not 
those  of  sound  opinion ;  they  are  out  of  harmony  with  the  Church,  and  cast 
their  disciples  into  the  extreme  of  impiety;  not  even  heretics  outside  the  Church 
have  ever  ventured  to  utter  them ;  the  priests  who  were  before  us,  who  con- 
sorted with  the  Apostles  themselves,  have  not  delivered  such  to  thee.  For  I  saw 
thee,  when  I  was  still  a  boy  with  Polycarp,  in  Lower  Asia,  while  thou  heldest 
a  brilliant  position  at  the  Emperor's  court,  and  wert  aiming  at  his  favour. 
What  occurred  at  that  time,  I  remember  better  than  more  recent  events ;  for 
our  boyish  impressions  grow  with  the  mind's  growth,  and  become  one  with  it : 
so  that  I  could  describe  the  very  spot  where  the  blessed  Polycarp  sat  and 
discoursed ;  how  he  moved  out  and  in,  from  place  to  place ;  his  rule  of  life 
and  personal  appearance,  the  discourses  he  made  to  the  people,  and  how  he 
related  his  converse  with  John  and  with  others  who  had  seen  the  Lord  :  how 
he  recorded  their  words,  and  what  he  had  heard  from  them  concerning  the 
Lord,  His  miracles  and  His  teaching :  how  Polycarp  had  received  from  those 
eye-witnesses,  details  of  the  life  of  the  Word,  and  narrated  everything  in 
accordance  with  the  Scriptures.  All  this,  by  the  mercy  of  God  that  was  upon 
me,  I  diligently  hearkened  to,  laying  it  up  for  remembrance,  not  on  paper, 
but  in  my  heart ;  and  by  God's  grace  I  ever  ruminate  upon  it  in  detail.  And 
I  can  testify  before  God,  that  if  that  blessed  and  apostolic  presbyter  had 
heard  anything  like  [thy  doctrines],  he  would  have  cried  out  and  stopped  his 
ears,  and  would  have  said,  as  he  was  wont  to  do :  '  O  good  God,  to  what 
times  hast  Thou  reserved  me,  that  I  should  endure  this  !'  and  he  would  have 
fled  from  the  place  where  he  was  sitting  or  standing  when  he  heard  such 
words.  This  may  be  proved,  moreover,  by  the  epistles  which  he  sent,  both 
to  the  neighbouring  Churches,  to  confirm  them,  and  to  certain  brethren,  to 
admonish  and  exhort  them."^ 

IL 

The  attributes  of  the  Beloved  Disciple  are  so  beautiful  and  engnging,  that 
any  authentic  incident  in  his  life  must  nteds  be  of  great  interest.  One  special 
anecdote  is  preserved  for  us  by  Clement  of  Alexandria,^  who  writes  in  the 
second  century.     It  belongs  to  the  latter  days  of  S.  John's  life,  and  reveals 

^  S.  Irenreus,  Fragm.  p.  1227,  ed.  Migne. 
\  Clem,  Alex.  Serni.  xlii.     Quis  dircs. 


APPENDIX.  l8l 

to  us  him  to  whom  was  committed,  as  a  "daily  anxiety,  the  sohcitude"^  of 
the  Seven  Chuvches  of  Asia,  and  the  neighbourhood,  mailing  his  apostolic 
rounds,  "as  he  passed  through,  visiting  all."'*  We  see,  also,  his  daily  anxiety 
and  solicitude  not  only  spread  over  the  mass  of  the  faithful,  but  individualized 
on  particular  persons,  as  on  Caius,  on  the  lady  Electa,^  and  on  the  youth  who 
forms  the  subject  of  this  narrative. 

"  Hear  now  §.  tale,"  writes  Clement ;  "  or  rather,  not  a  tale,  but  a  true 
narration,  handed  down  and  preserved,  concerning  the  Apostle  S.  John. 
Upon  the  death  of  the  tyrant  [Domitian],  he  returned  from  the  island  of 
Patmos  to  Ephesus ;  and,  on  their  invitation,  visited  the  neighbouring  regions. 
On  coming  to  a  certain  city,  the  name  of  which  is  by  some  reported,  he 
refreshed  in  manifold  ways  the  spirit  of  the  brethren.  Finally,  observing  a 
youth  of  noble  bearing,  engaging  countenance,  and  ardent  spirit,  he  turned 
to  the  bishop  of  the  place,  and  said  :  '  With  all  earnestness,  in  the  presence 
of  the  Church,  and  of  Christ,  who  is  witness  to  the  trust,  I  commend  this 
youth  to  your  care.'  The  bishop  made  every  promise  ;  and  John,  after 
having  again  pressed  this  charge  upon  him,  and  conjured  him  duly  to  fulfil 
it,  set  out  on  his  return  to  Ephesus.  The  priest"^  took  the  youth,  thus  com- 
mitted to  him,  unto  his  own  home.  He  expended  much  pains  upon  him ; 
he  instructed  him,  restrained  him  from  evil,  treated  him  with  all  kindness, 
and  at  length  baptized  him.  Afterv/ards,  however,  he  relaxed  somewhat  of 
tliat  extreme  spiritual  care  and  guardianship  of  the  young  man ;  as  having 
set  upon  him  the  seal  of  the  Lord,  which  Avould  be  his  ample  safeguard  But 
evil  soon  followed  this  premature  liberty ;  for  some  idle  and  dissolute  com- 
panions, of  the  young  man's  own  age,  already  far  advanced  in  evil,  took 
advantage  of  it  to  corrupt  him. 

"  First,  they  enticed  him  by  repeated  clandestine  banquetings.  Then  they 
sallied  forth  at  night,  for  plunder  and  highway  robbery ;  taking  him  with  them 
on  these  nocturnal  expeditions.  At  length,  they  persuade  him  to  unite  with 
them,  and  to  participate  in  things  even  worse.  He,  too,  by  degrees,  became 
inured  to  iniquity ;  and,  having  started  aside  from  the  right  track,  like  a 
powerful,  hardmouthed  steed,  seizing  the  bit  with  his  teeth,  was  hurried  by 
the  energy  of  his  character,  all  the  more  veheraenily,  down  the  abyss.     At 

^  2  Cor.  xi.  2S.  ■*  Acts  ix.  32.  ^  2  and  3  S.  John. 

•'  That  is,  the  Bishop.  The  terms  were  interchanged  in  primitive  times,  though  it  is  more 
frequent  to  find  the  priest  called  cpiscof>tts,  than  vice  versa.  The  episcopate  is  in  truth,  the 
fulness  of  the  priesthood. 


1 82  FASTI  APOSTOLIC  I. 

length,  convinced  that  he  had  lost  all  hope  of  Divine  salvation,  he  formed 
designs  of  no  common  wickedness ;  and,  being  given  over  to  perdition, 
thought  to  perpetrate  some  great  enormity,  and  so  to  bring  on  his  own  head 
the  same  fate  as  his  companions.  He  therefore  gathered  and  attached  himself 
to  a  band  of  robbers,  of  whom  he  became  foremost  and  leader;  the  most 
violent,  fierce,  and  bloodthirsty  of  them  all. 

"  Some  time  after,  John  was  sent  for  to  this  city,  on  some  urgent  occasion. 
After  setting  in  order  what  he  had  undertaken  his  journey  for,  he  said  :  'Now, 

0  bishop,  restore  to  me  the  pledge  which  I,  together  with  our  Lord,  intrusted 
to  your  charge,  in  presence  of  the  Church  over  which  you  preside.'  At  first, 
the  bishop  was  astonished  at  these  words ;  imagining  some  false  accusation 
laid  to  his  charge,  of  having  detained  monies  which  he  had  never  received. 
While,  on  the  one  hand,  he  could  not  persuade  himself  that  he  had  what  he 
had  not,  so,  on  the  other  hand,  he  could  not  disbelieve  John.  On  this,  the 
latter  said:  'I  claim  again  that  youth,  and  the  soul  of  our  brother!'  The 
old  man,  with  a  sigh,  and  shedding  many  tears,  exclaimed:  'He  is  dead!' 
'  How  ? '  said  John  :  '  what  death  did  he  die  ? '  '  He  is  dead  to  God,'  was  the 
answer;  'for  he  has  turned  out  ill,  a  reprobate,  and  in  one  word,  a  robber. 
Now,  instead  of  frequenting  the  Church,  he  frequents  the  mountain,  with  a 
band  of  robbers  like  himself.'  On  this,  the  Apostle,  rending  his  garments, 
with  groans,  and  smiting  his  head,  exclaimed:  'An  excellent  guardian  have 

1  left,  of  a  brother's  soul !  Let  me  at  once  have  a  horse,  and  let  some  one 
be  my  guide  ! '  He  then  rode  straightway  from  the  Church,  even  as  he  was, 
and  made  all  speed  upon  his  journey.  On  arriving  at  the  place,  he  was  cap- 
tured by  those  who  occupied  the  outposts  for  the  robber-band.  He  neither 
sought  to  escape,  nor  used  any  intreaty;  but  cried  aloud:  'For  this  am  I 
come;  lead  me  to  your  chief.'  He,  meanwhile,  was  waiting  for  his  captive, 
ready  armed.  When  he  recognized  John  approaching  him,  he  was  so  over- 
whelmed with  confusion,  that  he  immediately  took  to  flight.  But  John 
hastened  after  him,  with  all  speed,  forgetful  of  his  age;  and  cried  out:  'Why 
dost  thou  fly  from  me,  my  son — unarmed,  and  aged,  as  I  am  ?  Have  com- 
passion on  me,  my  son  : — fear  not !'  Thou  mayest  still  hope  for  life.  I  will 
render  an  account  for  thee  to  Christ.  If  needful,  I  will  most  willingly  bear 
thy  death,  as  the  Lord  bore  ours :  I  will  give  my  life  for  thine.  Stay  ! 
Believe  !     Christ  hath  sent  me.' 

"  On  hearing  this,  the  young  robber  at  first  stood  still,  and  cast  his  eyes 
on  the  ground.     He  flung  away  his  weapons ;  he  trembled,  and  wept  bitterly. 


APPENDIX.  183 

Then,  as  the  aged  man  drew  near,  he  embraced  him,  and,  pleading  for  himself 
as  best  he  might,  with  many  groanings  he  was  baptized  in  his  tears,^  hiding 
all  the  while  his  right  hand.  Then  the  Apostle,  pledging  and  assuring  him, 
that  on  his  knees  he  had  obtained  pardon  for  him  through  the  Saviour,  and 
kissing  that  right  hand  that  had  been  cleansed  through  repentance,  brought 
him  back  to  the  Church.  Thenceforward,  deprecating  the  Divine  wrath  by 
frequent  supplications,  and  also  wrestling  for  him  by  continual  fasts  which 
they  observed  together,  comforting  moreover  his  soul  with  frequent  discourses, 
he  desisted  not  (it  is  said)  until  he  had  restored  him  to  the  Church ;  thus 
affording  in  his  example  a  great  testimony  to  the  new  birth,  and  a  trophy  of 
the  resurrection  as  an  object  of  hope." 


Z  (/.  121). 

TRANSLATION    OF   THE    HEAD    OF    SAINT   ANDREW   THE   APOSTLE    FROM    GREECE 

TO   ROME. 

"Thomas  Paleologus,  king  of  the  Peloponnesus,^  had  bestowed  [this 
sacred  relic]  on  Pope  Pius  II.,  to  preserve  it  from  the  invasion  of  the  Turks. 
It  had  been  first  deposited  at  Ancona,  then  in  the  citadel  of  Narni.  The 
Pope  sent  thither  the  Greek  Cardinal  Bessarion,  with  two  other  Cardinals, 
to  accompany  the  relic  to  Rome,  and  to  arrange  for  its  receiving  all  due 
honour  on  the  transit.  The  Cardinals  returned  to  Ponte  MoUe  on  the  13th 
of  April,  1462,  which  was  Palm  Sunday;  and  the  relic  was  temporarily  placed 
in  the  tower  which  defended  the  entrance  of  the  bridge.  Next  day,  the 
Pontiff  came  forth  in  cavalcade  by  the  Flaminian  Gate,  accompanied  by  the 
Sacred  College,  the  ambassadors,  and  the  Roman  princes.  All  places  adjacent 
to  the  road,  the  fields  and  vineyards,  were  covered  with  spectators ;  the  crowd 
was  so  great,  that  the  Pope  directed  the  Cardinals  and  prelates  to  dismount, 
and  follow  him  on  foot,  having  first  robed  themselves  in  sacred  vestments. 
He  bore  a  palm  in  his  hand;  the  Cardinals  and  prelates  carried  those  they 
had  received  from  the  Pope  the  day  before ;  all  the  other  ecclesiastics  bore 

''  Not  meaning,  of  course,  that  he  received  the  sacrament  of  Baptism  again,  which  is 
impossible  ;  but  tliat  his  tears  of  sincere  repentance,  through  the  merits  of  our  Lord's  Most 
Precious  Blood,  washed  his  soul,  as  a  preparation  for  the  ecclesiastical  penance  he  would 
receive  at  the  hands  of  the  Apostle,  who  "  brought  him  back  to  the  Church." 

^  S.  Andrew,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  crucified  at  Patras  in  Achaia. 


1 84  FASTI   APOSTOLICI. 

each  his  palm,  and  this  long  suite  of  bishops  and  priests  walked  with  slow 
step,  two  and  two ;  every  mitre  and  ornament  being  of  white,  and  looking 
all  tlie  whiter  upon  the  green  meadow-land.  The  procession  took  its  way 
towards  a  platform  that  had  been  coustructed  near  the  bridge  [Ponte  Mollc], 
having  two  flights  of  stairs,  with  gentle  and  easy  steps  ;  one  towards  the 
Tiber,  the  other  towards  the  City.  While  the  Pope  ascended  the  nearest, 
Cardinal  Bessarion  and  the  two  other  Cardinals  came  by  the  other  one, 
carrying  the  shrine  that  contained  the  relic,  which  he  placed  on  an  altar, 
amid  the  sound  of  sacred  chants.  There  was  a  reverential  silence,  while  the 
keys  of  the  shrine  were  presented  to  the  Pontiff.  After  he  had  verified  the 
seils,  it  was  opened,  and  Cardinal  Bessarion,  taking  the  head  of  the  Apostle 
in  his  hands,  gave  it,  weeping,  to  the  Pope,  who  also  wept.  »  But  the  Holy 
Father  would  not  at  first  touch  the  relic;  he  placed  himself  on  his  knees 
before  the  altar.  His  head  was  bowed ;  his  countenance  pale  with  emotion  ; 
and  with  a  trembling  voice  he  thus  spoke:" 

The  noble  and  touching  address  of  the  Pope  is  then  given  in  full  from 
the  authority  quoted.  It  was  a  reverential  welcome  offered  to  S.  Andrew, 
on  the  entrance  of  the  great  relic  into  the  City  consecrated  by  the  martyrdom 
of  his  brother,  the  Chief  of  the  Apostles.  Upon  that  head  had  visibly 
descended  the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  Pious  Christians  under- 
take a  pilgrimage  as  far  as  to  Jerusalem,  to  venerate  the  sacred  spots  where 
the  feet  of  the  Saviour  had  rested ;  here  is  the  place  where  the  Holy  Ghost 
had  reposed ;  the  throne  of  the  Divinity.  The  eyes  that  here  once  occupied 
their  places,  had  often  seen  the  Word  manifest  in  the  flesh ;  that  mouth  had 
often  spoken  to  Him ;  those  cheeks,  it  is  not  to  be  doubted,  had  often 
received  His  Divine  Kiss;  this  head  is  a  glorious  tabernacle,  in  which  abo'Se 
charity,  piety,  gentleness,  and  all  spiritual  consolation.  Divine  Apostle,  we 
are  transported  with  joy  and  triumph  at  thy  coming;  for  assuredly  thou 
thyself  dost  indeed  come,  accompanying  this  relic,  and,  with  it,  art  now 
entering  the  City.  The  Turks  are  hateful,  as  the  enemies  of  our  religion ; 
yet  not  wholly  so,  since  they  are  the  cause  of  thy  coming  among  us,  &c. 
(Gerbet,  Rome  Chretienne,  vol.  i.  p.  55,  &c.) 


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