S. Stephanus I papa et martyr, prooemium ex libro Pontificali Damasi papae

<!-- Two series on this page: (i) the last note of the preceding piece (decreta attributed to Clement), under the rule above the Stephanus heading; (ii) under the Stephanus notitia, "Variae Lectiones" (superscript numerals) and "Variorum notae" (parenthesised numerals). --> (printed under page 559)

(1) ‹intercessio fuerit› · call in col 1015

Hoc est Clementis epist. 2, ad Jacobum, fratrem Domini. HARDUINUS.

This is Clement's second letter, to James, the brother of the Lord. HARDOUIN.

<!-- Variae Lectiones --> ¹ ‹ex patre Julio› · call in col 1015 Jobio quinque.

"Jobio"; "five" [variant readings: "Jobius" for "Julius" as the father's name, and "five" (years)].

<!-- Variorum notae --> (printed under page 559)

(1) ‹Stephanus› · call in col 1015

Stephanus. Stephanus patria Romanus, postquam 35 diebus Sedes pontificia pastore destituta fuisset, nona Aprilis, anno Christi 257, qui est quartus Galli et Volusiani, Valeriani et Gallieni tertius, in sede pontificia collocatur. Initio hujus pontificatus, duobus praedictis imperatoribus Gallo et Volusiano, prout a Cypriano praedictum fuerat, occisis, Ecclesia pace et quadam tranquillitate fruitur, usque ad annum Valeriani imperatoris quintum, et Christi 259, quo imperator Valerianus principio imperii sui erga Christianos benevolentissimus, optime affectus, a quodam mago Aegyptio in eosdem vicissim concitatur, atque ad resumendum contra eos arma inducitur. Dionysius Alexand. apud Euseb. lib. VII, cap. 9; Baron. anno 257, numero 6 et 7. Cum igitur pax reddita diuturna non esset futura, Cyprianus ac reliqui Africanae Ecclesiae episcopi, multis conciliis in Africa habitis convenientes, summo conatu laborarunt, ut id, quod a fide catholica et bonis moribus alienum in Ecclesiam irrepserat, (continues)

Stephanus. Stephen, a Roman by birth, after the pontifical See had been without a shepherd for 35 days, was installed in the pontifical see on the ninth of April, in the year of Christ 257, which is the fourth of Gallus and Volusianus, the third of Valerian and Gallienus. At the beginning of this pontificate, the two aforesaid emperors Gallus and Volusianus having been killed, as had been foretold by Cyprian, the Church enjoyed peace and a certain tranquillity until the fifth year of the emperor Valerian, the year of Christ 259, in which the emperor Valerian, who at the beginning of his reign was most benevolent and very well disposed towards the Christians, was stirred up against them in turn by a certain Egyptian magician, and was induced to take up arms against them again. Dionysius of Alexandria in Eusebius, book VII, chapter 9; Baronius, year 257, numbers 6 and 7. Since, therefore, the peace restored was not to be lasting, Cyprian and the other bishops of the African Church, coming together in many councils held in Africa, laboured with the utmost effort that whatever had crept into the Church foreign to the Catholic faith and to good morals, (continues)

(printed under page 559)

(2) ‹sedit annos septem› · call in col 1016

Sedit annos septem, menses quinque, dies duos. Annos tres, menses tres, dies 22, sub quarto consulatu Valeriani, qui in fastis apponitur anno Christi 260, martyrio coronatum esse Stephanum, Liber pontificalis et Acta Stephani testantur. Itaque repetito sedis ejus exordio, dicto temporis spatio, eum sedisse oportuit. Baron, anno 260, num. 2. SEVER. BINIUS.

He sat seven years, five months, two days. Three years, three months, 22 days [is right]: that Stephen was crowned with martyrdom under the fourth consulship of Valerian, which is set down in the fasti at the year of Christ 260, the Liber pontificalis and the Acts of Stephen testify. So, reckoning again from the beginning of his see, he must have sat for the stated span of time. Baronius, year 260, no. 2. SEVERINUS BINIUS.

(printed under page 559)

<!-- Q2: the gap left by the foot images (the opening lines of the continued note (1) at the head of the left column, and the head of the right column) is filled from the column images c1017_1 and c1018_1. The word "Hiero-nymo", split between the two columns of the foot, is set whole. In the right column's first line, the first letter of "contra" looks like an e (probably broken type for c); set as contra, UNSURE. --> (printed under page 560) <!-- Variae lectiones --> ² ‹et Gallicanum tertio› · call in col 1017 Gallieni Coss.

Gallienus, consuls [variant reading for "Gallicanus"].

<!-- Variorum notae -->

(1) (continued) ‹Stephanus› · call on p. 559, col 1015

emendarent, haereses exstirparent, vitia corrigerent, ac demum orthodoxae fidei dogmata confirmarent. Aquariorum haeresin aquam duntaxat in sacrificio offerentium, Cyprianus epistola 63, ad Coelium scripta, refutat, dicens, hos persecutione vigente summo mane, seu potius nocturno tempore, ad sacram synaxin convenientes, loco vini aquam obtulisse, ne scilicet Christi sanguinem in specie vini bibentes odore vini velut quodam Christianitatis indicio proderentur. Baron. anno 257, num. 9, 10 et 11. Cum Martianus Arelatensis episcopus in Gallia hoc tempore Novatiano plurimum studeret, multos etiam in ejusdem errorem induxisset, Faustinus Lugdunensis episcopus cum Cypriano et reliquis coepiscopis Galliae, per litteras ad Stephanum scriptas (Cypriani infra exstant) sollicite petivit, ut is ex officio et munere Martianum Novatiani sectarium e sede deponeret, et alium in ejus locum substitueret. Baron. anno 258, num 8. 9 et 10. Sub hoc pontifice apud catholicae Ecclesiae episcopos et doctores gravissima controversia moveri ac disputari coepta est, haec: An Baptismus quem minister haereticus secundum legitimam Ecclesiae catholicae formam, ac debitam ministri intentionem, scilicet, in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus sancti, contulisset, invalidus sit, ideoque iterandus, quod a ministro haeretico administratus sit? Cyprianus cum Firmiliano Asiae, aliisque plurimis Orientalibus episcopis, id non modo affirmavit, verum etiam habitis hac de re plurimis in Africa conciliis idem aliquoties confirmavit, unum esse Baptismum, qui extra unam Ecclesiam catholicam non inveniatur. Stephanus vero Romanae Ecclesiae pontifex, docens antiquam apostolicam traditionem esse, qua baptizati ab haereticis, sola manuum impositione recipiebantur, ideoque, ut inquit Vincentius Lirinensis, contra haeres. cap. 9, nihil hac in re innovandum, sed omnino id quod ab Apostolis traditum est tenendum esse docens; Apostolicam traditionem velut quemdam murum inexpugnabilem, eorum sententiis opposuit, eaque fere sola fretus, illum Baptismum ratum, validum, et nequaquam reiterandum esse definivit, quem minister haereticus juxta formam a Christo praescriptam, et ab Ecclesia usurpatam, contulisset. Ad hanc sententiam Stephani pontificis non modo omnes fere Patres Africani, verum etiam ii qui propugnatores erant contrarii dogmatis Firmilianus, Dionysius, et Cyprianus accesserunt, quod ex Augustino, epist. 48, ad Vincent, et de Baptism. contra Donat. 5, cap. 2, item ex Hieronymo contra Luciferianos aliisque rationibus probat Baronius anno Christi 258, num. 49, 50, 51. De hac controversia legantur Cypriani epistolae 70, cum septem sequentibus, Augustinus de Baptism. contra Donatistas, Hieronymus contra Luciferianos, Baronius, praeced. anno numero 2 et sequentibus. Notetur etiam quanta vis traditionum Apostolicarum, quantaque Petri successori insit auctoritas, qui, nullis aliis ferme armis quam majorum traditione vallatus, omnem Orientalium et Occidentalium episcoporum impetum sustinuerit, eorumque tela, ex divinis Scripturis confertim petita, unico traditionum clypeo excepta retorserit. SEVER BINIUS.

should correct, root out heresies, amend vices, and at length confirm the dogmas of the orthodox faith. The heresy of the Aquarians, who offered water alone in the sacrifice, Cyprian refutes in letter 63, written to Caecilius, saying that these, meeting for the sacred synaxis very early in the morning, or rather at night, while persecution raged, had offered water in place of wine, so that, drinking the blood of Christ under the species of wine, they should not be betrayed by the smell of the wine as by some sign of their Christianity. Baronius, year 257, nos. 9, 10 and 11. When Marcian, bishop of Arles in Gaul, was at this time a strong partisan of Novatian and had led many into the same error, Faustinus, bishop of Lyons, together with Cyprian and the other fellow-bishops of Gaul, in letters written to Stephen (Cyprian's are extant below), earnestly asked that he, by his office and charge, depose Marcian, the follower of Novatian, from his see, and put another in his place. Baronius, year 258, nos. 8, 9 and 10. Under this pontiff a most grave controversy began to be stirred and disputed among the bishops and doctors of the Catholic Church, namely this: Whether a Baptism which a heretical minister had conferred according to the lawful form of the Catholic Church and with the due intention of the minister, that is, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, is invalid, and therefore to be repeated, because it was administered by a heretical minister? Cyprian, with Firmilian of Asia and very many other Eastern bishops, not only affirmed this, but also, very many councils having been held on the matter in Africa, confirmed several times the same thing: that there is one Baptism, which is not found outside the one Catholic Church. But Stephen, pontiff of the Roman Church, teaching that it was the ancient apostolic tradition that those baptized by heretics were received by the imposition of hands alone, and therefore, as Vincent of Lérins says (Against Heresies, ch. 9), teaching that nothing was to be innovated in this matter, but that what had been handed down by the Apostles was to be held entirely, set the Apostolic tradition against their opinions like an impregnable wall, and, relying almost on it alone, defined that that Baptism is ratified, valid, and by no means to be repeated, which a heretical minister had conferred according to the form prescribed by Christ and used by the Church. To this judgement of the pontiff Stephen not only almost all the African Fathers, but even those who had been the champions of the contrary doctrine, Firmilian, Dionysius, and Cyprian, came over, as Baronius (year of Christ 258, nos. 49, 50, 51) proves from Augustine, letter 48, to Vincent, and On Baptism against the Donatists 5, ch. 2, likewise from Jerome against the Luciferians, and by other arguments. On this controversy let there be read Cyprian's letters 70 with the seven following, Augustine, On Baptism against the Donatists, Jerome, Against the Luciferians, Baronius, preceding year, number 2 and following. Let it be noted also how great is the force of the Apostolic traditions, and how great the authority residing in the successor of Peter, who, fortified with scarcely any other arms than the tradition of the forefathers, withstood the whole onslaught of the Eastern and Western bishops, and, catching their darts, gathered thickly from the divine Scriptures, on the single shield of the traditions, hurled them back. SEVERINUS BINIUS.

(—) ‹unnumbered paragraph› · follows note (1); call not visible (probably Coustant's addition to note (2), on Stephen's years) Stephano, ut Eusebius, lib. VII. c. 2, loquitur, Lucius moriens episcopale officium dereliquit, et quidem prout ejusdem Eusebii Chronicon et Bucherianus catalogus docent, Volusiano et Maximino, seu potius Maximo, consulibus, hoc est anno Christi 263. Ille laudato Eusebio teste lib. VII, c. 5, cui et Hieronymus concinit in Chronico, Ecclesiam biennio administravit. Bucherinus, catalogus, licet ei sedis annos IX, menses II, dies XXI, attribuat, ad Eusebianum tamen calculum accedit, quatenus ejus obitum Valeriano III et Gallieno II consulibus, hoc est anno Christi 255, consignat. In fronte Kalendarii, quod praedictus Bucherius vulgavit, S. Stephani depositio IV Nonas Augustini in Callisti coemeterio notatur. Eodem die festivitatem ejus, fit nunc, ita et olim celebratam esse vetera monumenta fidem faciunt. Si tamen concilium Carthaginiense III, de iis qui ab haeresi ad Ecclesiam veniunt, quod epistolam Stephani ad Cyprianum proxime excepit, anno 256, ut vulgo eruditi putant, habitum est, Stephani mors non Valeriano III et Gallieno II, uti Bucherianus catalogus prae se fert, sed Valeriano IV et Gallieno III, ut in Pontificali Libro exstat, hoc est anno 257, consignanda erit. Et cum hac quidem epocha facilius componuntur tum qui Papae huic Bucheriano in catalogo tribuuntur quatuor pontificatus anni, tum quod de illius martyrio traditur. Anno quippe 255, Ecclesia, ut Dionysius Alexandrinus auctor est, summa pace fruebatur. Quocirca Antonius Pagius, Tillemontius aliique Stephani mortem in annum 257 differunt. COUSTANT.

To Stephen, as Eusebius says (book VII, ch. 2), Lucius at his death left the episcopal office, and indeed, as the Chronicle of the same Eusebius and the Bucherian catalogue teach, in the consulship of Volusianus and Maximinus, or rather Maximus, that is, in the year of Christ 263 [sic]. He, on the witness of the said Eusebius (book VII, ch. 5), with whom Jerome also agrees in his Chronicle, governed the Church for two years. The Bucherian catalogue, though it assigns him nine years, two months, twenty-one days of see, yet comes close to Eusebius's reckoning, inasmuch as it records his death in the consulship of Valerian (third time) and Gallienus (second time), that is, in the year of Christ 255. At the head of the Calendar which the aforesaid Bucherius published, the deposition of St Stephen is noted on the fourth day before the Nones of August [sic: "Augustini"] in the cemetery of Callistus. That his feast, as now, so also of old was celebrated on the same day, ancient monuments bear witness. If, however, the third council of Carthage, on those who come to the Church from heresy, which came next after Stephen's letter to Cyprian, was held in the year 256, as scholars commonly think, Stephen's death is to be assigned not to the consulship of Valerian III and Gallienus II, as the Bucherian catalogue shows, but to that of Valerian IV and Gallienus III, as stands in the Pontifical Book, that is, to the year 257. And with this date are more easily reconciled both the four years of pontificate assigned to this Pope in the Bucherian catalogue and what is handed down about his martyrdom. For in the year 255 the Church, as Dionysius of Alexandria attests, enjoyed the greatest peace. Accordingly Antoine Pagi, Tillemont and others put off Stephen's death to the year 257. COUSTANT.

(printed under page 560)

(3) ‹Valerianum quarto› · call in col 1017

Valerianam quarto, etc. Eodem quarto consulatu Valeriani, acta sancti Stephani emendatiora consignata sunt. Quod autem in quibusdam ponatur Valeriani consulatus tertius, Gallieni secundus, mendosum esse probat Baronius anno Christi 260, num. 2. SEVER. BINIUS.

Valerian the fourth time, etc. Under the same fourth consulship of Valerian the more correct acts of Saint Stephen are dated. That in some [copies] the third consulship of Valerian and the second of Gallienus is given, Baronius proves to be faulty, year of Christ 260, no. 2. SEVERINUS BINIUS.

(printed under page 560) <!-- Q2: the lemma of note (3) prints "Valerianam" (misprint for the text's "Valerianum"; kept as printed; the letter may be broken type, UNSURE). --> <!-- Q3: further misprints kept as printed in the unnumbered Coustant paragraph: "Bucherinus, catalogus" (for Bucherianus catalogus), "Nonas Augustini" (for Augusti), "fit nunc" (for ut nunc). UNSURE: in "Ille laudato Eusebio teste" the lean image shows an initial like H ("Husebio"), probably broken E; left as Eusebio pending a sharper image. -->