PL 5 · cols. 155–158

De sancto Eutychiano papa notitia historica

Editors' preface

PL 5:155

DE SANCTO EUTYCHIANO PAPA

CONCERNING SAINT EUTYCHIAN, POPE

NOTITIA HISTORICA.

HISTORICAL NOTICE.

Eutychianus ordinatur papa die v januarii 275, mortuus ann. 283.

Eutychian is ordained pope on 5 January 275, died in the year 283.

— Eutychianus Marini seu Martini filius, Etruscus, patria Lunensis, ultimis anni 274 diebus, vel primis sequentis anni 275, Felici successit; die quinta januarii ordinatus fuit feria tertia, quae eo anno cum die quinta januarii concurrit. Praefuit Ecclesiae romanae annis octo, mensibus undecim,

— Eutychian, son of Marinus or Martinus, a Tuscan, by birthplace of Luna, succeeded Felix in the last days of the year 274, or the first of the following year 275; he was ordained on the fifth of January, a Tuesday, which in that year coincided with the fifth of January. He presided over the Roman Church eight years, eleven months,

Editors' notes and page, col. 155

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: EPISTOLA IV (call in the full-width title of the preceding Epistle of Felix; note belongs to that Epistle)› · call in col 155

Hujus epistolae fragmentum extat in concilio Chalcedonensi, actione prima, et apud Cyrillum in sua Apologia. Doctissimis quibusdam viris auctoribus, a Felice II scriptam fuisse existimatum est, hac de causa, quod praedictum fragmentum utrobique post epistolam Julii papae attexatur. Verum argumentum et titulus epistolae eam sententiam firmissime refellunt. Nam si scriptum est, quod titulus indicat, ad Maximum Alexandrinum episcopum, Dionysii successorem, non secundus, sed primus Felix eam scripsisse potuit: eodem enim tempore Felix Dionysii romani pontificis successor, universae Ecclesiae praesedit, quo Maximus post Dionysium Alexandrinae Ecclesiae praefuit. Occasio scribendae hujus epistolae haec est: Cum a Paulo Samosateno catholicae veritati recens vulnus inflictum esset, et cicatrix de errore Sabellii nondum obducta fuisset, Felix pontifex de Filii Dei divinitate, ac pariter humanitate, naturisque duabus in una persona distinctis, ad Maximum Alexandrinum episcopum hanc epistolam scripsit, ut bellum adversus Sabellium et Samosatenum a duobus Dionysiis horum antecessoribus coeptum, utriusque successores ardentibus animis prosequerentur. Proinde hac epistola velut ancipiti gladio utramque haeresim uno ictu confodit; ut dum naturam divinam in Christo humanitati ejusdem indivise conjunctam ostendit, Pauli haeresim condemnet: dum vero humanam in eodem Christo a natura divina distinctam esse, et divinae substantiae in tribus personis subsistentiam demonstrat, Sabellium confutet. Quod autem in Chalcedonensi concilio, et apud Cyrillum praedictis locis post Julii epistolam recenseatur, ex eo accidit, quod in his recensendis nullam temporis rationem habuissent. Vincentius autem Lirinensis adversus haereses, cap. 42, probe intelligens tempore Felicis secundi nullum Alexandrinae Ecclesiae praefuisse episcopum, nomine Maximum, habita ratione temporis, primo loco Felicem, deinde Julium nominat. Addit idem Vincentius hanc eamdem epistolam Felicis papae et martyris inter alia patrum testimonia in concilio Ephesino lectam fuisse (Vide Baron., anno Christi 273, num. 11, 12 et 13). SEVER. BINIUS.

A fragment of this letter survives in the Council of Chalcedon, first session, and in Cyril in his Apology. On the authority of certain very learned men it has been thought to have been written by Felix II, for this reason: that the said fragment is in both places attached after the letter of Pope Julius. But the content and the title of the letter refute that opinion most firmly. For if it was written, as the title indicates, to Maximus, bishop of Alexandria, successor of Dionysius, it could have been written not by the second but by the first Felix: for Felix, successor of Dionysius the Roman pontiff, presided over the universal Church at the same time as Maximus, after Dionysius, presided over the Church of Alexandria. The occasion of writing this letter is this: when a fresh wound had been dealt to catholic truth by Paul of Samosata, and the scar from the error of Sabellius had not yet closed over, Felix the pontiff wrote this letter to Maximus, bishop of Alexandria, on the divinity and likewise the humanity of the Son of God, and on the two natures distinct in one person, so that the successors of both might pursue with ardent spirit the war against Sabellius and the Samosatene begun by the two Dionysii, their predecessors. Accordingly by this letter, as with a two-edged sword, he pierces both heresies with one stroke: so that while he shows the divine nature in Christ joined indivisibly to His humanity, he condemns the heresy of Paul; while he demonstrates that the human nature in the same Christ is distinct from the divine, and the subsistence of the divine substance in three persons, he refutes Sabellius. That it is listed in the Council of Chalcedon and in Cyril, at the places mentioned, after the letter of Julius, came about because in listing these they had taken no account of chronology. Vincent of Lérins, moreover, against the heresies, ch. 42, rightly understanding that in the time of Felix II no bishop named Maximus presided over the Church of Alexandria, names, taking chronology into account, Felix in first place and then Julius. The same Vincent adds that this very letter of Felix, pope and martyr, was read among other testimonies of the Fathers at the Council of Ephesus (see Baronius, year of Christ 273, nos. 11, 12 and 13). Severinus Binius.

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(a) [LECTIONES VARIANTES] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 155

Clerum Labb.

"Clerum" (the clergy) in Labbe.

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(1) ‹anchor: anno concurrit› · call in col 155

Pagius, in Critic., ad annum 274: Baronius 275, num. V, et ad annum 283, num. IX; Coustant., Epist. rom. pontif., tom. I, pag. 298.

Pagi, in the Critica, at the year 274; Baronius, 275, no. 5, and at the year 283, no. 9; Coustant, Epistolae Romanorum pontificum, vol. 1, p. 298.

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Page

running head: 155 DE SANCTO EUTYCHIANO PAPA N[...] (cut off at image edge)
marginal letters: A ‹ejus veritatem confundimur›; B ‹natum, quoniam ipse est›; C ‹Dionysii successorem› (in the footnote at the page foot); D ‹Eutychianus ordinatur papa›
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: a full-width band (DE SANCTO EUTYCHIANO PAPA / NOTITIA HISTORICA.) stands across cols 155/156 in mid-page; the text above it in both columns is the end of the preceding Epistle of Felix (another unit) and is not set here; the band itself (its title lines) is not set by the volunteer page: set it here, at the move, with full_width
other: the column opens with the end of the previous work (another unit); not set here: the unit begins at Eutychianus ordinatur papa die V januarii 275
running head: 155 DE SANCTO EUTYCHIANO PAPA NOTITIA HISTORICA. 156
marginal letters: A ‹ejus veritatem confundimur›; B ‹natum, quoniam ipse›; C ‹Dionysii successorem› (footnote); D ‹Eutychianus ordinatur papa›
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 5:156

diebus tribus, anno 283, vii idus decembris satis functus, ut in Catalogo Bucheriano legitur: A consulatu Aureliani III et Marcellini, ad consulatum Cari II et Carini, id est, a die quinta januarii anni 275, ad diem septimam decembris anni 283 vel octavam, qua die in indiculo depositionis episcoporum Eutychiani nomen legitur: Sexto idus decembris Eutychiani in Callisti, nempe in coemeterio Callisti. Quare corrigendus Eusebius, qui decem tantum mensibus romanum pontificatum Eutychianum tenuisse

three days, having died in the year 283, on the seventh day before the Ides of December, as is read in the Bucherian Catalogue: "From the consulship of Aurelian for the third time and Marcellinus, to the consulship of Carus for the second time and Carinus", that is, from the fifth day of January of the year 275 to the seventh day of December of the year 283, or the eighth, on which day the name of Eutychian is read in the little index of the burials of the bishops: "On the sixth day before the Ides of December, Eutychian, in Callistus's", namely in the cemetery of Callistus. Therefore Eusebius must be corrected, who [says] that Eutychian held the Roman pontificate for only ten months

Editors' notes and page, col. 156

Footnotes

(2) ‹anchor: not visible (note belongs to the preceding Epistle of Felix)› · call in col 156

Graecum textum exhibemus ex actione I concilii Ephesini, in qua lecta sunt a Petro presbytero Alexandriae et primicerio notariorum selecta ex sanctis Patribus testimonia de Incarnatione D. N. J. C. atque ex capite II partis III ejusdem concilii, sive Apologetico S. Cyrilli Alexandrini patriarchae pro duodecim capitibus adversus orientales episcopos. LABB.

We give the Greek text from session I of the Council of Ephesus, in which Peter, presbyter of Alexandria and chief of the notaries, read selected testimonies from the holy Fathers on the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, and from chapter II of part III of the same council, that is, the Apologeticus of St Cyril, patriarch of Alexandria, for the twelve chapters against the Eastern bishops. Labbe.

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Page

running head: [DE EUTYC]HIANO PAPA NOTITIA HISTORICA. 156 (left part cut off at image edge)
marginal letters: A ‹qua potestis, pro viribus›; B ‹τῆς παρθένου Μαρίας γεννηθέντα›; C ‹versus haereses, cap. 42› (in the footnotes, not set); D ‹diebus tribus, anno 283›
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: the 2 paragraph(s) of this column above the full-width band are set under col 155 (reading order, moved on receipt)
running head: 155 DE SANCTO EUTYCHIANO PAPA NOTITIA HISTORICA. 156
marginal letters: A ‹qua potestis, pro viribus›; B ‹τῆς παρθένου Μαρίας›; C ‹versus haereses, cap. 42› (footnote); D ‹diebus tribus, anno 283›
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: "satis functus" printed; the idiom requires "fato functus" (translated so); UNSURE whether misprint. Column ends mid-sentence ("tenuisse"); [says] supplied in English to carry the construction to the break.

PL 5:157

scribit : et uti annotat Valesius, annos octo, quos Sixto auxerat, Eutychiano detraxit. Turpius adhuc erravit auctor Pontificalis Damaso adscripti, qui Eutychiani pontificatum a consulatu Aureliani tertio, et Marcellini ad Carum II et Carinum extendit; annumque unum, mensem unum, diem unum sedisse prodit.

writes: and, as Valesius notes, the eight years which he had added to Sixtus he took away from Eutychian. More shamefully still did the author of the Pontifical ascribed to Damasus err, who extends Eutychian's pontificate from the third consulship of Aurelian and of Marcellinus to Carus II and Carinus; and reports that he sat one year, one month, one day.

De manichaeorum haeresi et Manete. — Sub pontificatu Eutychiani insana Manichaeorum haeresis, in commune humani generis malum exorta est; quae utut non minus infamis et ridicula fuit, inter omnes tamen haereses, quae tribus primis Ecclesiae saeculis extulerunt caput, celeberrima evasit, inque orbem terrarum latissime grassata est. Coriphaeus hujus sectae fuit mancipium natione Persa, qui nomen suum Cubricum in illud Manetis seu Manichaei permutavit; missus in carcerem ob acceleratam mortem filio Varananis, Persarum regis, quem per orationem se curaturum spoponderat; inde fuga elapsus, in Mesopotamiam venit, ibique errores somniaque sua disseminavit circa annum 277. Ab Archelao sapientissimo Mesopotamiae archiepiscopo habitis in omnium conventu disputationibus non semel superatus est. Hinc iterum in Persiam rediens a satellitibus Persis detectus, comprehensus, et ad regem adductus fuit, qui, exprobrata Maneti et filii caede, atque fuga e carcere ac vinculis, excoriari eum lege Persica ann. 278 mandavit, ac reliquum corpus bestiis devorandum tradi : cutem vero, qua tanta illius improbitas continebatur, tamquam utrem ante portas suspendi.

On the heresy of the Manichaeans and on Manes. — Under the pontificate of Eutychian the insane heresy of the Manichaeans arose, to the common evil of the human race; and although it was no less infamous than ridiculous, yet among all the heresies which raised their head in the first three centuries of the Church it became the most celebrated, and spread most widely over the world. The leader of this sect was a slave, a Persian by nation, who changed his name Cubricus into that of Manes or Manichaeus; he was thrown into prison for having hastened the death of the son of Varanes, king of the Persians, whom he had promised to cure by prayer; escaping thence by flight, he came into Mesopotamia, and there disseminated his errors and dreams about the year 277. He was defeated more than once by Archelaus, the most wise archbishop of Mesopotamia, in disputations held in an assembly of all. Then, returning again into Persia, he was detected by Persian guards, seized, and brought to the king, who, having reproached Manes with the murder of his son and with his flight from prison and chains, ordered him in the year 278 to be flayed according to Persian law, and the rest of his body to be given to beasts to be devoured: but his skin, in which such great wickedness of his had been contained, to be hung like a wineskin before the gates.

An Eutychianus martyribus sit accensendus? — Eutychianum martyrio obiisse Baronius cum in notis ad Martyrologium, tum in annalibus tradit atque post eum Blondellus. At inter confessores, ut ait Pagius, numerandus videtur; tum quia in Indiculo depositionis episcoporum, non vero martyrum a Bucheriani catalogi auctore inscriptus; tum etiam, quia illius obitus eo tempore contigit, quo, Eusebio teste, Ecclesia Christi altissima pace fruebatur.

Whether Eutychian is to be reckoned among the martyrs? — That Eutychian died by martyrdom Baronius relates both in his notes to the Martyrology and in the Annals, and after him Blondel. But, as Pagi says, he seems to be numbered among the confessors; both because he was entered by the author of the Bucherian catalogue in the list of the deposition of bishops, and not of martyrs; and also because his death occurred at a time when, on the testimony of Eusebius, the Church of Christ enjoyed the deepest peace.

Quid decreverit S. Eutychianus? — Commendandus

What did St Eutychian decree? — To be commended

hic sanctus pontifex ob singularem eam religionem, qua martyres prosecutus est. Suis enim manibus, teste auctore libri Pontificalis, duos et quadraginta supra trecentos tumulavit martyres, constituitque ne quis martyrem sine dalmatica aut colobio purpureo sepeliret. Consuetudinem, quae alioquin obtinuerat, novo decreto asseruit, ut fruges, fabae, et uvae super altari benedicerentur, eam forsan ob causam, ut impugnaret errorem manichaeorum, qui creaturas a malo principio ortas detestabantur.

this holy pontiff on account of that singular devotion with which he honoured the martyrs. For with his own hands, as the author of the Liber Pontificalis testifies, he buried three hundred and forty-two martyrs, and he decreed that no one should bury a martyr without a dalmatic or a purple colobium. By a new decree he confirmed the custom, which had in any case already prevailed, that crops, beans and grapes should be blessed upon the altar, perhaps for this reason, in order to combat the error of the Manichaeans, who abhorred created things as having arisen from an evil principle.

Eutychiani Epistolae subditae. — Nomine Eutychiani duas commentus est Isidorus Peccator vel Mercator epistolas. Prior ad Joannem et ad omnes episcopos Boeticae provinciae, de fide incarnationis Domini. Posterior ad episcopos per Siciliam constitutos, tria complectitur. 1° De modo recipiendi accusationem adversus clericos. 2° Qui non admittantur ad accusationem religiosorum. 3° De modo procedendi in negotiis ecclesiasticis, cum procedi non debeat modo saeculari. Notas tamen decretalibus suis apposuit auctor, quae vero Eutychiano non conveniunt. Epistola ad episcopos Boeticae data est II idus aprilis, Aureliano et Marcello viris clarissimis coss. Atqui verus Eutychianus Marcellinum scripsisset, non Marcellum notasque Aureliani consulatus numerales de more addidisset. Nil ad veteratoris impudentiam addi potest, qui integrum ex Hilario capitulum, quod extat, et Leonis Magni ad Leonem Augustum epistola 97, c. 3, decretali inseruit suae. Verba quoque, admonemus etiam vestram fraternitatem, etc., petuntur ex Gregorii Magni epistola 25, l. II. Posterior epistola Scripturam laudat ex versione mixta ex Italica et Hieronymiana. Adriani I decreta in gratiam Ingelrami metensis Episcopi interpolat, ut jam erudite observavit Blondellus. LUMPER.

Spurious letters of Eutychian. — Under the name of Eutychian, Isidore Peccator or Mercator fabricated two letters. The former is to John and to all the bishops of the province of Baetica, on faith in the incarnation of the Lord. The latter, to the bishops established throughout Sicily, comprises three things: 1. On the manner of receiving an accusation against clerics. 2. Who are not admitted to bring an accusation against religious. 3. On the manner of proceeding in ecclesiastical affairs, since one ought not to proceed in a secular manner. The author, however, attached to his decretals dating marks which do not in fact suit Eutychian. The letter to the bishops of Baetica is dated the second day before the Ides of April, in the consulship of Aurelian and Marcellus, most illustrious men. But the true Eutychian would have written Marcellinus, not Marcellus, and would have added, according to custom, the numerals of Aurelian's consulship. Nothing can be added to the impudence of the old trickster, who inserted into his decretal an entire chapter from Hilary, which is extant, and from the letter of Leo the Great to the Emperor Leo, letter 97, ch. 3. The words also, "we admonish also your fraternity", etc., are taken from Gregory the Great's letter 25, book 2. The latter letter cites Scripture from a version mixed from the Itala and Jerome's. It interpolates the decrees of Hadrian I in favour of Ingelram, Bishop of Metz, as Blondel has already learnedly observed. LUMPER.

Editors' notes and page, col. 157

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: exorta est› · call in col 157

Euseb., in Chronico, pag. 760, tom. VIII Hieronymi.

Eusebius, in the Chronicle, p. 760, vol. 8 of Jerome.

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(2) ‹anchor: ante portas suspendi› · call in col 157

Epiphan., haeres. 66; Cyrill. Hierosolym., Catechesi VI; Theodoret., Haeretic. fabular lib. I; Hieronym., de Script. Eccles. in Archelaum; Zacagni, Ecclesiae latinae et graecae monumenta; Vales., Not. in Socrat.; Ceillier, Biblioth.; Fabricii, Biblioth. Graec. tom. II: Walch., Historie der Ketzer, tom. I, p. 713.

Epiphanius, Heresies 66; Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechesis 6; Theodoret, Compendium of Heretical Fables, book 1; Jerome, On Ecclesiastical Writers, under Archelaus; Zacagni, Monuments of the Latin and Greek Church; Valesius, Notes on Socrates; Ceillier, Bibliothèque; Fabricius, Bibliotheca Graeca, vol. 2; Walch, History of the Heretics, vol. 1, p. 713.

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(3) ‹anchor: eum Blondellus› · call in col 157

Blondell., in Pseudo-Isidoro.

Blondel, on Pseudo-Isidore.

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(4) ‹anchor: ait Pagius› · call in col 157

Pagi. not. 10 in ann. 283.

Pagi, note 10 on the year 283.

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(5) ‹anchor: Eusebio teste› · call in col 157

Euseb., Hist. eccl., lib. VIII, cap. 1.

Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, book 8, ch. 1.

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Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: sepeliret (col 158 para 1, set under col 157)› · call in col 158

Blanchinus, in notis ad Anastasium bibliothecarium, tom. II, part. II, pag. 244, scribit: Vindicandorum martyrum curam promovens cautus pontifex providenter praecepit, ut adderentur judicia certa martyrii in eorum depositione. Adhiberi mandavit colobium aut dalmaticam non qualemcumque, sed purpuratam ad involvendos martyres, quos etiam purpuratos vocare consuevit Ecclesia in hymno omnium sanctorum: Vos purpurati martyres. Ante hoc decretum Eutychiani consueverunt christiani sacra martyrum corpora sepelire cum linteis ipsorum sanguine respersis. Permulti tamen martyres ante et post Eutychiani decretum candidis obvoluti linteis conditi fuere tumulo, uti cl. Laurentius Berti, Dissertat. I. de Rom. Episcopis, saec. III, tom. II, § 21, pag. 337, observat nostri forte Reparatoris exemplo.

Bianchini, in his notes on Anastasius the Librarian, vol. 2, part 2, p. 244, writes: "Furthering the care of vindicating the martyrs, the prudent pontiff providently ordered that sure proofs of martyrdom be added at their burial. He commanded that a colobium or dalmatic be used for wrapping the martyrs, not of any kind but a purple one, and the Church has also been accustomed to call them 'purpled' in the hymn of All Saints: 'You purpled martyrs.' Before this decree of Eutychian, Christians were accustomed to bury the sacred bodies of the martyrs with linen cloths sprinkled with their own blood." Yet very many martyrs, before and after Eutychian's decree, were laid in the tomb wrapped in white linen, as the celebrated Lorenzo Berti observes (Dissertation 1 on the Roman Bishops, 3rd century, vol. 2, § 21, p. 337), perhaps after the example of our Redeemer.

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