Chapter II: The Saints’ Days (3)

By this means the devotion gained a more definite meaning. The mere recitation of the prayers is closely connected with meditation, and each mystery has more or less reference to some feast of our Lord or of our Lady, and so is brought into relation with the different liturgical seasons. It can thus to a certain extent be connected with the whole cycle of festivals of which indeed it was a sort of summary.

In its completed form the Rosary became the favourite devotion of all, high and low, clerical and lay, and a special confraternity, favoured by the popes and endowed with indulgences, was formed for its spread and encouragement.[580] The Rosary was a source of innumerable graces not only to individual believers, but even Christendom as a whole had recourse to its assistance in times of general distress and danger, especially when pressed by the Turks. Remarkable answers to prayer, among which was numbered the victory of Lepanto (7th October 1571), first moved Pius V. to institute a feast in thanksgiving. Gregory XIII. gave stability to this feast by ordering in 1573 that in every church possessing a chapel, or at least an altar of the Rosary, it should be celebrated as “the Feast of the Holy Rosary” on the first Sunday in October. Clement X. granted the feast to the whole of Spain without this proviso. Clement XI. extended the feast to all Christendom in consequence of the victory gained at Peterwardein by Prince Eugene on the 5th August 1716.[581]

A commemoration much beloved by the people, is that of the Seven Dolors of Our Blessed Lady, which cannot be regarded as a festival in the usual sense of the term. It takes place on the Friday after Passion Sunday. Its introduction was prepared by the ascetic literature of the twelfth century, in which also its roots are to be sought. The pious monk Eadmer in his treatise “On the Excellencies of the Virgin Mary” chapter v. (see App. x., page 446) deals with the share taken by Our Lady in the sufferings of her Son. The writing of an unknown author (_De Passione Christi et Doloribus et Planctibus Matris Ejus_, MIGNE, _Patr. Lat._, clii.), attributed to St Bernard, while full of deep piety, is yet rather effeminate and sentimental. The third treatise belonging to this subject is composed by Amadeus, a disciple of St Bernard, Abbot and afterwards Bishop of Lausanne († 1159), whose fifth homily is entitled _De Mentis Dolore et Martyrio B.M.V._ (MIGNE, _Patr. Lat._, clxxxviii., 1325-1331). He deals with Our Lady’s share in her Son’s sufferings in a merely general way and in outline. At a later date, the matter was treated in more detail and with additions, so that the Seven Dolors of Our Lady were the result. In this form, the matter was taken up by the Servites, whose order came into existence in 1240, and to whom Innocent IX. in 1688 granted a second feast of the same name to be celebrated out of Lent on the third Sunday in September.

7. _The Feast of St Joseph.[582] The Cultus of SS. Joachim and Anne_

During the first centuries of the Church’s existence it was only the martyrs who, as we have said, enjoyed religious veneration. It was probably owing to this custom that no cultus was paid even to those personages who had been closely related to our Lord during His earthly life. St Joseph, our Lord’s foster-father, is a striking instance of this law. Although mentioned as a “just” man in Holy Scripture, and the object of occasional eulogies in patristic literature, he received universal public veneration only at a late date. While we possess much information concerning the tombs of the Apostles, and while even the graves of the Old Testament prophets have frequently had attention drawn to them, tradition has nothing to report concerning the death, burial, and relics of St Joseph.

The earliest traces of a direct cultus appears in one of the Coptic calendars[583] published by Seldenius. In this “Joseph the Carpenter” is entered on the 20th July, as also in the somewhat later _Synaxarium_ in Mai,[584] which at latest may belong to the ninth century. The date, 20th July, had no influence upon other churches. The menology of Constantinople does not contain St Joseph’s name, and even the _Basilianum_ only mentions him by the way on the 25th December, in the form of a commemoration. After the Nativity of our Lord, the Magi are first mentioned, and then St Joseph as spouse and protector of the Holy Virgin (ὁ μνήστωρ καὶ φύλαξ τῆς παρθένου). He has no special day of his own.

In the West, an Antiochene martyr called Joseph, otherwise unknown, appears in the so-called martyrology of St Jerome on the 20th March.[585] This cannot refer to the foster-father of Christ on account of the mention of Antioch and the absence of any indication of the saint’s condition, although this transformation has taken place in some martyrologies. With the unmistakeable title of foster-father of our Lord (_nutritor Domini_), St Joseph appears first in the martyrologies of the tenth century, as in one belonging to Fulda[586] and in others. As these are of private origin, and of merely local importance, it cannot be said that the cultus of St Joseph had therefore become universal. Throughout the whole Middle Ages it remained rather a private devotion, although numerous traces of the esteem in which St Joseph was held, and even of external veneration paid to him by individuals are to be found.[587]

It was through the private devotion of many important or holy members of the Church that the public cultus of St Joseph came into existence. Among these may be named St Bernard, St Gertrude, St Brigid of Sweden, and St Vincent Ferrer. Among the most enthusiastic and influential in this respect was the Chancellor John Gerson, following the lead of his master Peter d’Ailly, and, at a later date, the Abbot Trithemius. In 1400, Gerson composed an office in honour of the Espousals of Joseph with Mary, and urged the Council of Constance to take steps for the spread of the devotion. The way had been already prepared by the Franciscans, especially St Bernardine of Siena, and Bernardine de Bustis, who showed great zeal for the worship of St Joseph.[588]

These attempts resulted in the approval given to the cultus by Sixtus IV.,[589] who inserted St Joseph’s day in the Roman Breviary as a feast with one lection (_festum simplex_). Under Clement XI. it was changed into a feast with nine lections. Accordingly, at the end of the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth centuries, the 19th March began to be kept as St Joseph’s day in the Missals and Breviaries of many religious orders, _i.e._, the Carmelites, Hermits of St Augustine, Premonstratensians, Dominicans, Knights of St John; these were followed by the Benedictines and Jesuits, while the service-books of the Carthusians, Camaldules, Cistercians and Cluniacs of the same period remained without it.[590]

Owing to the fact that later on, several royal personages such as the Emperors Ferdinand III. and Leopold I. of the House of Habsburg, and King Charles II. of Spain, were devoted to the cultus of St Joseph, Gregory XV. raised his festival to the rank of a festival of obligation in 1621. Benedict XIII. inserted his name into the Litany of the Saints, and Pius IX., on the 8th December 1870, conferred upon him the office of Patron of the Universal Church.

Among the Greeks, the parents of Our Lady enjoyed a religious cultus from a comparatively early date, although all that was known of them was derived from the apocryphal _Proto-evangelium_ of James. Joachim and Anne already had their own commemoration on the 9th September in the menology of Constantinople, and Justinian I. is said to have built a church in honour of St Anne in Constantinople.[591] Their names are mentioned by Epiphanius[592] and appear in the oldest Neapolitan Calendar on the 9th September, a circumstance which shows Byzantine influence, for among the Syrians their festival is kept on the 25th July.

In the West, however, their legend was received with considerable reserve, and although Pope Leo III. had their pictures placed in the church of _Maria ad Præsepe_, no trace of any liturgical commemoration appears in calendars before the Middle Ages. It is no proof that any special cultus was paid to them, that we find them occasionally mentioned in writings and spoken of as saints. It was only in 1378 that Urban VI. authorised the worship of St Anne for the English at their own request. Sixtus IV. especially approved of it,[593] and Gregory XIII., in 1584, appointed the 26th July for her feast. In the fifteenth century she was venerated with special devotion in Germany, the town of Annaberg being named after her.

As regards Joachim, Julius II. is said to have approved of his being commemorated with a special office on the 22nd March. Gregory XII. introduced a new and improved office, and fixed the commemoration for the Sunday within the octave of the Assumption. Leo XIII. raised it to the rank of a feast of the second class.[594]

Baillet has some remarks concerning Our Lady’s parents which are worthy of notice. He thinks that Mary at the time of her espousals to Joseph was an orphan; consequently, since her parents died before the death of the Redeemer, they were considered as belonging to the Old Testament, and were not made the object of a cultus. Whether they were actually named Joachim and Anne is doubtful,[595] for Anna in Hebrew means “Grace,” and Joachim, “Preparation of God.” It is possible that owing to ignorance of their real names, these appellations were chosen for them. The names appear in Epiphanius only at the end of the fourth century.

8. _The Festivals of the Apostles in General_

The cultus of the apostles followed the same lines of development as that of other saints. At first it was merely local, but although the tendency to observe the festivals of the apostles throughout the whole Church was stronger than in the case of other saints, still their festivals did not attain earlier to universal observance than those of ordinary saints, that is to say, at the period of the compilation of universal martyrologies, though there were, of course, some exceptions.

The earliest calendars of particular churches have, on the average, only a few feasts of apostles, usually only one or two. It was only in course of time that the longing for completeness appeared, which in the tenth century was carried to such a pitch by the Greeks that they set down in their calendars not merely every personage who had received honourable mention in the New Testament, but even the Seventy Disciples, although there was but slender authority for their names.

From the first a difference was made between the apostles who had lived and worked within the existing boundaries of the Roman Empire, and those who had ended their lives in barbarian countries. In the far East, there was a second world-power similar to the Roman power in the West, _i.e._, the empire of the Parthians, or that earlier Persian Empire of the Achæmenides, which in its turn, again, had risen from the ruins of the ancient empires of Babylon and Assyria. The Jews had obviously numerous relations from old time with this Eastern Empire in consequence of their historical connection with it. After the return from exile, many Jews had remained there, and probably many others returned thither at a later time. In fine, the circumstances attending on the first Whitsunday show that many Jews were scattered throughout those provinces. The Eastern Empire consisted of a number of vassal states, which recognised a supreme sovereign, the King of Kings, but, in other respects, remained independent and sovereign, as for example, Armenia, whose inhabitants were moreover closely allied by blood with the Persians.

The Jews, as Semites, had naturally more sympathy with these Easterns, once their ancient grievances had been forgotten, than they had with the Greeks and Romans who, at the beginning of the Christian era, were their oppressors. This explains why some of the apostles, some for life and others only temporarily, betook themselves thither, and spent their lives there in mission work and even ended their days in those parts. This is also the reason why we have so little reliable information concerning their life and work, and why the days of their deaths were not celebrated for so long a period in the West. The apostles who devoted themselves to the Eastern Empire were probably Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, Simon Zelotes, and Jude. Thaddeus also laboured there for a time in Mesopotamia and Osrhoëne. No traces remain of the labours of Matthias who is said to have preached to the Ethiopians, and of whose life, a writer of the ninth century, Autpert, Abbot of Monte Cassino, confesses nothing is known.[596]

Several of the apostles have been commemorated from the first in the calendars, and always on the same day, while others, on the contrary, appear on different days in different parts of the Church, a circumstance which seems confusing to the historical investigator, but which can easily be explained when one has correctly grasped the principles which operate in liturgical matters. With regard to those who have everywhere been commemorated from the first on the same day, one can usually be certain that they died as martyrs in the Churches in question.

Although the only correct view is to maintain that the commemorations of the apostles were treated in the same way as the days devoted to the memory of the martyrs, and that their names appeared in the calendars on the day of their death (_dies natales_), still this is true of only a few indeed of their commemorations in the calendars actually in use. For the majority of the apostles died in barbarian countries with no one on the spot to collect information, and only much later a few floating pieces of information concerning them were collected from popular tradition. Another difficulty may have arisen from the different systems of chronology in use, and so even when the day of an apostle’s death was set down it was probably not understood by the Greeks and Romans, and so was forgotten. For these and other reasons it came to pass that, later on, when the commemoration of a certain apostle had to be fixed in the calendar, the date of the invention or translation of his relics was generally chosen, or finally the date was fixed simply by chance.

As absolutely trustworthy, I can, therefore, regard only the day of the death of St Peter, St Paul, and St Andrew, perhaps also the day of the death of St Mark and St Luke, since they ended their days in civilized countries, at a period when the hierarchy of the Church had already been established in those parts. With regard to St John, the question is open to doubt, first, because he did not die a martyr’s death, and secondly, because he did not preside as bishop over a particular congregation. Had he done so, the list of bishops for that particular city would have been careful to inform us of the fact.

Although the cultus of each apostle was originally local, yet there are early traces that the cultus became universal. Thus already in the fifth century a day within the octave of St Peter and St Paul seems to have been dedicated to the cultus of all the apostles in common. We find in the so-called Sacramentary of Leo I. the following prayer: _Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui nos omnium apostolorum merita sub una tribuisti celebritate venerari_, etc. The same prayer appears also in the Gelasianum, where it is found in _lib._ 2, No. 33.[597]

A mediæval liturgist, Beleth, gave expression to the view that the separate apostles had no special festivals in the primitive Church, but that all together were commemorated on the 1st May,[598] and that finally only St Philip and St James continued to be commemorated on this day. The facts, however, as far as we have been able to learn, do not bear out the opinion of this writer which he inferred from the greater calendars, but the festivals of each of the apostles came into existence one by one, from the ninth century onwards, until they reached their full number. The council of Erfurt in 932 raised all feasts of apostles to the rank of holy days of obligation for Germany. Pope Boniface VIII. in 1293 made them all _duplicia_.

Even before the meeting of the Nicene Council, Constantine had built a church in honour of all the apostles[599] in Constantinople, in which he was afterwards buried.[600] It was rebuilt under Justinian and re-dedicated on the 29th June 550, the feast of St Peter and St Paul.[601] This church had considerable influence upon the cultus of the apostles inasmuch as under Constantius attempts were made to provide it with their relics, obviously with the intention of resembling Rome as closely as possible. The relics of St Timothy were first translated thither from Ephesus on 1st July 356, which caused a great increase of devotion to this saint. He had lost his life in a popular uprising in Ephesus under Nerva on 22nd January 97, of which his successor, Polycrates, has given us an account.[602] The church became possessed of a still greater treasure in the following year when the relics of St Andrew and St Luke were placed in it.

As we should expect from what has been said above, there exists historical material for the feasts of only a certain number of the apostles, while others, as, for example, the feasts of St Matthew, St Matthias, St Bartholomew, and St Thomas, are of no further interest than to mark the translation of their relics.

In conclusion it may be useful to draw attention to the actual increase of the festivals of the apostles in the calendars. The _Leoninum_ has only two, the 29th June and the 30th November. The lectionary of Luxeuil in the seventh century has the same number, _i.e._, the 22nd February and the 29th June, that of Silos, about 650, has four (22nd February, 29th June, 30th November, 27th December), and, in addition, the feast of St Peter’s Chains. The calendar of St Geneviève (between 714-731) has the same number, omitting St Peter’s Chains. From this point the number of feasts of the Apostles increases rapidly; the calendar of Charlemagne of 781 has eight already, and subsequent calendars contain ten or more. A singular peculiarity appears in the calendar of Polemius Silvius (see below) where we find only one feast of apostles, the 22nd February, “Depositio SS. Petri et Pauli.” The ancient Neapolitan calendar brings the number up to sixteen days, giving two commemorations to some apostles and including the disciples Thaddeus and Barnabas.

9. _The Festivals of the Apostles and Evangelists in Particular_

(1) ST PETER AND ST PAUL

The 29th June, the commemoration of the martyrdom of the two chief apostles, is the only feast of apostles that is still observed as a public holiday. It can be regarded under two aspects as a universal and as a local festival. It is important as a local festival, because, since a constant tradition maintained that St Peter and St Paul were put to death in Rome under Nero on the same day, it is only natural that this day should be kept in Rome as the _dies natalis ss. apostolorum_, in the customary manner from the first, and so was never forgotten. But even in other localities, apart from Roman influence and tradition, we find efforts made in antiquity to devote a day to the commemoration of these same two apostles. This is proved by the fact that in the Arian martyrology in use in the East, it had already a place, on the 28th December, after St Stephen and the apostles St James and St John. This is by no means an isolated phenomenon, for in the Armenian calendar it has a corresponding place, _i.e._, on the 27th December, while in the Nestorian calendar it appears on the second Friday after Epiphany.[603] In Cappadocia, or at least in Nyssa, we find the Christmas season again considered to be the suitable time for a collective feast of the apostles, for the commemoration of the apostles Peter, James, John and Paul follows the Feast of St Stephen.[604] Even in the upper valley of the Rhone, it was felt necessary to observe the day of the death of the two chief apostles, for the calendar of Polemius Silvius, which belongs to this region, contains the entry: _depositio ss. Petri et Pauli_, but on the 22nd February, the day on which in other parts of Gaul the Feast of St Peter’s Chair was celebrated. That this calendar gives no feast of any sort on the 29th June, shows that in his choice of the day, Polemius was quite independent of the Roman tradition. The considerations which weighed with him in so doing will be explained further on.

In other parts of Italy, the true day of the apostle’s death was well known, and observed, as for example, at Milan in the time of St Ambrose.[605] Among the sermons of Maximus of Turin, belonging to the fifth century, we find no fewer than ten[606] for this feast. The sermons of St Augustine, among which are five for this festival, show that in North Africa the day was kept as a holy day; he speaks of it as a _dies festus_ and a _sollemnitas_.[607] Moreover St Augustine belongs to the number of those Fathers who expressly state that although both apostles died on the same day of the month, they died in different years,[608] a fact which the historical and biblical science of the day persistently overlooks, which naturally must cause serious misgivings as to the reliability of the principles on which its chronology is constructed.

Among the numerous sermons of St Peter Chrysologus there are none for this day. As regards St Chrysostom, while we have seven sermons of his in honour of the apostle Paul, we have only one “on Peter and the Prophet Elias” conjointly, in which St Peter is only briefly mentioned in the introduction and treated as of secondary importance. There is nothing to show that it was preached on the 29th June.[609] The fact that neither of these saints preached on this day, is an indication of the practice followed at Ravenna and Antioch.

With regard to Rome, the local tradition, which regarded the 29th June as the day on which both apostles were put to death, was committed to writing by the chronographer of 354, and all later chronographers. A western tradition, supported by many of the great Fathers of the Church, adds further that, though both apostles died on the same day of the month, they died in different years. This idea appears in St Augustine, in the _Leoninum_, Arator, Gregory of Tours, and in three Greek writers, but scholars have so far ignored it. It is further evident from the _Depositio Martyrum_ that the day of their death was specially chosen for a translation of their relics which took place in 258. The special festivities observed in Rome are described for us by Prudentius from what he had seen himself when he visited the city about 405. According to him the whole city was in commotion: the faithful visited the tombs of the apostles and in the two churches erected in their honour, pontifical mass was celebrated.[610] This is in complete agreement with the tradition according to which devotion to the martyrs was closely connected with the spot where they suffered and with the date on which they suffered, and the chief commemoration consisted in the offering up of the Holy Sacrifice over their tombs. Owing to the distance which separated the two churches of the apostles from one another, it was most fatiguing to celebrate mass at both places, and so in course of time the festival was divided into two parts, and the Mass in honour of St Paul took place on the 30th June. An examination of the earliest Roman missals shows that in the _Leoninum_ there is a number of masses for this day, all commemorating the two apostles together, but, in the _Gelasianum_, on the contrary, there is only one mass for the two apostles conjointly (_III. Kal. Jul. in Natali SS. Apostolorum Petri et Pauli_), and, in addition, one for each of them separately. It may be that the division of the feast was then customary, but the 29th June continued to be called _Natalis SS. Apostolorum Petri et Pauli_. As early as the fifth century the feast was kept at Rome with a vigil and octave.[611]

At an early date, the 29th June, which had hitherto been celebrated chiefly in the West, _i.e._, in Rome and the surrounding districts, began to be observed as a universal festival of the whole Church, inasmuch as it began to be celebrated in Constantinople. The Roman Senator Festus, who had been sent on matters of state to the new Emperor Anastasius, in 491, moved the emperor, according to Theodorus Lector, to celebrate this feast solemnly in Constantinople.[612] Although the feast may have been kept already in Constantinople before this time, it now began to be celebrated with greater pomp. The day must certainly have been known in Constantinople before this date, but can hardly have been kept as a festival.

After this the 29th June appears in all Calendars and martyrologies as the commemoration of the two chief apostles. In the West we find it first in the Calendar of Perpetuus of Tours. The Carthaginian Calendar is unfortunately defective, but that the day was kept there cannot be doubted on account of the evidence given by St Augustine’s sermons. It is also found in the later oriental Calendars, with the exception of a few belonging to Egypt.[613]

While this feast, like the festivals of all martyrs, was originally local, and was celebrated only in Rome and in the churches dependent upon Rome, the esteem in which the Roman Church and the apostles were held early gained for it the character of a universal feast.

(2) THE FEAST OF ST PETER’S CHAINS

The Roman breviary bases the foundation for this feast upon the following legend. Eudocia, wife of Theodosius II.[614] since 421, was presented with a chain at Jerusalem which was believed to have been that with which St Peter was bound while imprisoned, as recorded in Acts, chap. xii. She brought this chain to Rome, where another chain was already preserved in the Church of St Peter on the Esquiline.[615] This is said to have been the chain with which St Peter was confined during his Roman imprisonment. Both chains appeared to be of the same workmanship, and united themselves together of their own accord. Whereupon the church was rebuilt at the Empress’s expense, and received the name of _Eudoxiæ ad Vincula_. There is no trustworthy proof for the presentation of the second chain by Eudocia, although there is evidence that in Rome the faithful prided themselves on possessing a chain of St Peter before this supposed gift of the Empress.[616] Under Benedict XIV. it was proposed to suppress the lections in the breviary containing these legends.

The feast of St Peter’s chain is not in the _Gelasianum_, and appears only in Calendars of the eighth century, as, for example, in that of Bede, but not yet as a feast of obligation. The decree of the Emperor Manuel Comnenus raised it to this rank in 1166. The spread of the feast was undoubtedly facilitated by the circumstance that in 969 a courtier of the Emperor Otho I. was healed in Rome by touching the chain.[617] That the commemoration was fixed for the 1st August does not imply that this was the day on which the apostle was set free from imprisonment; but in this, as in other cases, the date of the Church’s dedication caused this day to be chosen.

(3) THE CONVERSION OF ST PAUL

The Conversion of St Paul was kept as a holiday of obligation in several dioceses of France and Germany, and especially in England. It is uncertain where and when it first became so. It is not in the _Gelasianum_ nor in the older editions of the _Gregorianum_, but appears in the later texts of more recent editions, as a later addition, for it is still frequently lacking in later MSS. and Calendars.[618] Nevertheless it appears in Ado and Usuardus. The 25th January seems originally to have had another signification; for in the recent critical edition of the _Hieronymianum_ of De Rossi and Duchesne, the two oldest recensions give on this day a translation of the relics of St Paul, which is said to have taken place in Rome (_Romæ_, _Translatio B. Pauli Apostoli_). The most recent of the ancient codices, that of Metz, now in Bern, belonging to the tenth century, has a translation and conversion of St Paul on the 25th January. The idea of the conversion soon replaced that of the translation, and fixed the character of the feast. As such it spread, and soon attained to universal acceptance. The translation which the feast originally commemorated is believed by De Waal to have taken place in the time of Constantine, when the basilica of St Paul was erected[619] (_Translatio et Conversio S. Pauli in Damaso_, the words _conversio_ and _in Damaso_ being added by a later hand).

(4) ST ANDREW AND ST LUKE THE EVANGELIST

We can deal with the festivals of these two saints together, for in the year 357, on the 3rd March, their relics were solemnly translated at the same time to the Church of the Apostles in Constantinople.[620] Until this date the tomb of St Andrew was in Patras, where he had suffered death. The previous burial place of St Luke is not specified, but it may have been either in Patras or somewhere in the neighbourhood. The possession of St Andrew’s relics was of great importance to Constantinople, because he was regarded as the apostolic founder of the Christian community there, and the catalogue of bishops, which, historically speaking, only begins with Metrophanes (315-325), has been carried back to him, inasmuch as it was maintained he had ordained Stachys as first bishop of the See. More certain, from an historical point of view, is his martyrdom at Patras, of which we have a trustworthy account.[621] Besides this, there is a well-known encyclical letter to the priests and deacons of Achaia, which in all essential points agrees with the account of the martyrdom, although in some other respects it is open to criticism.[622] The so-called martyrology of Jerome on 5th February commemorates St Andrew’s ordination as Bishop of Patras.

The date for St Luke’s death never varied and seems to be correct. Both dates, the 18th October and the 30th November, appear in the oldest Neapolitan Calendar, which contains no other festival of an apostle except St James the Less (27th December). From the fact that the relics of St Andrew and St Luke happened to be translated at the same time, many ancient and modern writers drew the hasty conclusion that St Luke had also died in Patras and been buried there. A document which, though certainly late, can yet be traced back to Philostorgius,[623] gives the true place of his death and burial as Thebes, which Paulinus of Nola confirms. His relics may well have been translated thence at the same time as those of St Andrew were brought from Patras. They were carried to Constantinople at the command of the Emperor Constantius by the official Artemius, who had also brought the relics of St Timothy to the capital.

(5) ST JAMES THE GREAT

James, the son of Zebedee and brother of St John the Evangelist, was a native of Galilee. His labours, after the Crucifixion, were not of long duration, for in the year 42 or 43 he was beheaded at the instigation of King Herod Agrippa I., who had enjoyed indeed the dignity of king of Judea since 37, but only during the last years of his reign did his power extend over Jerusalem. According to the usual custom he came to Jerusalem for the Passover, and then, in order to gain favour with the Jews, he had St James seized and made away with shortly before the feast; and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to take up Peter also, in order to make away with him too, after the feast. This happened not long before the death of Herod himself, which is narrated in the same chapter of the Acts (Acts xii. 1-4 and 23).

The day of St James’s death was shortly before Easter, or, as we should say, in Holy Week, and, in accordance with this circumstance, the Copts keep his commemoration on the 12th April,[624] and the Syrian lectionary of Antioch on the 30th of the same month. Although these do not exactly represent the actual day of his death, they are not far off from it. The observance of the actual day was, moreover, interfered with by the circumstance that it came at a season when the thought of our Lord’s passion prevented the celebration of a martyr’s feast. In the menologies he is mentioned only in the _Basilianum_ on the 9th October.

The bodily remains of St James, as well as those of St James the Less, were still in Jerusalem in the sixth century.[625] In the ninth century we find them in Spain, at Compostela, where they were an object of great veneration, as we learn from Notker Balbulus.[626] They must have been taken there some time between the seventh and ninth centuries. An account of the translation, such as we possess in other instances, is not extant; there is no information in any author to show when or by whom the translation was carried out. The translation itself can well be historically true, although the opinion that St James preached the gospel in Spain is only a legend.[627] One is led to think that the relics were secretly carried off by Christians from Jerusalem from fear of the Arabs, and finally found a second resting-place in Spain.

The Roman breviary and martyrology place his feast on the 25th July, which is marked as the day of a translation of his relics, without giving any further particulars. The _Gelasianum_ does not mention St James, and he appears in liturgical books only at the end of the eighth century. His name is entirely absent from the older liturgical books of the ancient Spanish Church, an inexplicable circumstance had he been the apostle of Spain. The veneration for him begins to show itself in Spain only from the ninth century. In Western Calendars he appears in that ascribed to Charlemagne of 781, published by Piper, and also in the later MSS. of the _Gregorianum_, but not in the sacramentary of Mainz dating from 840. The entries in the different recensions of the _Hieronymianum_ are noteworthy. The Weissenburg codex on the 25th July has simply a martyr James, with no other specification except _Portus Romanus_ as an indication of place; the Echternach codex describes this martyr as _apostolus_ and _frater Joannis Evang._,[628] and adds _Hierosolym_; the codex of Bern has briefly _Passio S. Jacobi_. It is not evident on what grounds the two later recensions have made James, the martyr of _Portus Romanus_, into the apostle. The _Neapolitanum_ does not mention an apostle James on the 25th July, although it does on the 15th November,[629] and, along with Philip, on 1st May. Although he is found in Bede, he is absent from the Calendar of St Geneviève, dating from 731-741.

(6) ST PHILIP AND ST JAMES THE LESS

It is well known that in early days lists were drawn up containing the names of those bishops at least who had presided over the chief sees, along with the duration of their episcopates. Since some apostles had acted as bishop in certain cities for a length of time, while others—as, for example, St Paul—never settled down for long in one place, the former, in addition to their martyrdom, had a yet further claim to be commemorated. This is the case with St Peter, St James the Less, and St Mark.

St James the Less, son of Alpheus or Clopas, immediately after Christ’s death was entrusted with the office of Bishop of Jerusalem by the other apostles, which he held for thirty years.[630] His death was caused by the High Priest Ananias II., who availed himself of the interregnum that intervened between the death of Porcius Festus and the arrival of the new procurator Albinus. Gessius Florus succeeded Albinus in A.D. 64. St James’s death, according to St Jerome’s precise statement, fell in the seventh year of Nero. According to St Jerome’s way of reckoning, which agrees with the official method, Nero reigned fourteen years and a half, and his seventh year corresponds with the sixtieth of the Christian era.[631]

St James was commemorated in the East on the 27th December. This is his date in the Arian martyrology, which is followed by the very ancient Carthaginian Calendar. Although the latter incorrectly adds that he was killed by Herod, it is evident that St James the Less is intended, for all the Eastern documentary sources place the commemoration of St James the Less in the Christmas season. They differ as to the day, some commemorating him on the 26th, some on the 28th, the Neapolitan and Mozarabic Calendars on the 29th, and the Syrian lectionary has his name both on the 28th December and on the 23rd October.

In accordance with these ancient witnesses we would willingly place his death on the 27th December, but there are strong reasons against this. First, in these documents he is coupled for the most part with St John the Evangelist, and it is unlikely that both of them died on the same day. Secondly, in the most ancient document of all, the Arian martyrology, immediately after St James and St John, on the 28th December, come St Peter and St Paul, who suffered death on a different date altogether; the compiler simply placed the chief personages connected with our Lord on the days after Christmas. Thirdly, the church built by Helena on the Mount of Olives, in which St James and St John received special veneration, was dedicated on the 27th December.[632] Here again, as in so many other cases, the date of the church’s consecration became the date of the festival of the saint specially connected with it. Of course it may be thought that the church was consecrated on the day of the saint’s death, but for this there is, at any rate, no proof concerning this particular church. And so we must give up the 27th December as the real day of St James’s death. It may have been the day of his appointment to the episcopate.[633]

That this is so is further confirmed by the accounts written by pilgrims, in which it is stated that St James was buried in the church on the Mount of Olives, and that he had owned a house in Jerusalem and a burial place, in which he had buried Zachary and Simeon.[634] It is true that later Latin authorities expressly give his _dies natalis_, _i.e._ the actual day of his death, on the 27th December,[635] but their evidence is not conclusive. In marked distinction from the Eastern tradition, the _Hieronymianum_ gives his death on the 25th March: “Hierosolyma passio Jacobi Justi,” or, as in the Bern codex, “fratris Domini.” This date coincides strikingly with the statement of Eusebius (_Hist. Eccl._, 2, 23, 11), that the death of St James happened during the season of Easter.

The Constantinopolitan authorities, like the Roman, take an independent line. The most ancient among the former do not mention St James the Less, but the _Basilianum_ names him on the 23rd October and the 30th April, both times with the title then only given to martyrs (ἄθλησις). We shall have occasion to refer elsewhere to the arbitrary and singular character of this work.

With regard to the Roman service-books and those derived from them, they agree, beginning with the _Gelasianum_, in placing St James along with St Philip on the 1st May. This is owing to the fact that in the sixth century a church was erected in honour of these two apostles in Rome, which is known at the present day as the Basilica of the Apostles. Pope Pelagius I. (556-561) commenced the erection of the church, which was completed by his successor John III.[636] It was dedicated on the 1st May, and so it came to pass that the commemoration of these two apostles is celebrated in the Roman rite on this day. Later on, the 1st May came incorrectly to be considered their _dies natalis_.

The commemoration of St Philip in the menology of Basil, and in the _Neapolitanum_, is on the 14th November. A monastery of St Philip existed in Constantinople as early as 511.

(7) ST JOHN

As regards St John the Apostle and Evangelist, we have seen his commemoration was joined with that of St James the Less, on the 27th December, although this was not the date of their deaths. In course of time St John gradually eclipsed St James and gained possession of this day for himself alone; yet in the _Hieronymianum_ and in the Gothico-Gallic missal, ascribed by Mabillon to the eighth century, St John and St James are still commemorated together (_Natalis Jacobi et Joannis_). In the _Gelasianum_, and also in later Roman and Frankish martyrologies, and in Bede, St John alone is commemorated, as at the present day.

St John died and was buried in Ephesus. When his grave was opened, probably under Constantine, who built a church in his honour in the part of Constantinople called Hebdomon, no remains of his body were found in it, but only powder, which was called manna. The intention evidently was to provide this church in Constantinople with relics of its titular saint. It is not surprising that the idea became prevalent among the Greeks that St John, like our Blessed Lady, had been taken up bodily into heaven. This opening of his grave must have taken place on the 8th May, for the menology of Constantinople makes mention on this day of the manna mentioned above.[637] The 26th September seems to have been regarded as the day of his death, for the same authority mentions the “Departure” of the apostle (μετάστασις τοῦ ἁγίου Ιοάννου τοῦ θεολόγου)[638] on this date. So, too, does the Calendar of Naples under the name of his Assumption (_Adsumptio Joannis Evangelistæ_). Among the Jacobites of Antioch also the 26th September was kept as the day of his departure (_decessus Joannis Evang. ex mundo_).[639] Where there is so much divergence, nothing certain can be determined. Most probably Morcelli is correct in supposing that the 26th September was the day on which St John died in Ephesus, and that on the 27th December some church or chapel, or, at least, an altar, was dedicated to his honour.[640]

The 6th May appears already as a festival of St John the Evangelist in the Gothico-Gallic missal, without any further specification, but simply with the rubric: _Missa S. Joannis Apostoli et Evangelistæ_. The Roman festival on this day, “Joannis ante Portam Latinam,” was introduced on the ground of Tertullian’s statement.[641] The oldest recensions of the _Hieronymianum_ do not mention it, nor yet the recension of Metz belonging to the ninth century.

(8) ST SIMON AND ST JUDE (THADDEUS)

The apostles Simon and Jude, like St Philip and St James, are constantly commemorated together in Western Calendars, but in their case there is an inner reason for this arrangement. According to a tradition, which appears in the pseudo-Abdias, the two apostles spent thirteen years together in Persia labouring for the spread of Christianity, and there suffered death at the same time in the city of Suanir.[642] The day of their death is here given as the 1st July, which is also given in some Western martyrologies—such as those of Naples and Toledo, which plainly derive their information from this source.

In the Roman Calendar, and in those dependent upon them, the two apostles are indeed constantly commemorated together, but on the 28th October. No reason has been discovered for the choice of this date. It does not seem to have been due either to the _Hieronymianum_ or to Bede. The former has “In Suana, a city of Persia, the birthday of the apostles Simon and Jude”[643] (_Cod. Epternac._). As far as Roman sacramentaries are concerned, St Simon and St Jude appear only in the later recensions of the _Gregorianum_.

The menology of Constantinople does not contain St Simon, but it has Thaddeus on the 20th August. The _Basilianum_ has an apostle Simon on the 29th April who is called Jude, and on the 10th May the apostle Simon Zelotes, and, further, an apostle Jude on the 22nd May and 19th June. All this is obscure and arbitrary. The fact that these apostles are not joined together, but have each their separate day, agrees with the Eastern service-books. The lectionary of the Syrians of the eleventh century has St Simon on the 10th May, Jude on the 16th May. The Coptic Calendar in Seldenius has Jude Thaddeus on the 20th May.

A remarkable proof of the obscurity hanging over the apostles is found in the circumstance that in some calendars which commemorate them together on the same day other saints of the same name are found in addition. Thus in the _Neapolitanum_ there is a Jude on the 26th May and a “passio S. Simonis Ap.” on the 10th September, as well as the commemoration of them both together on the 1st July. In the Parisian lectionary of St Geneviève, in the Calendar of Charlemagne, and in the _Gelasianum_, there is no mention of St Simon and St Jude.

(9) ST MARK THE EVANGELIST

According to a constant and universal tradition, he was the first Bishop of Alexandria, and his name appears first in all lists of the bishops of that See. However, as far as calendars and martyrologies go, his name does not appear in those of the West until the ninth century, nor in the _Constantinopolitanum_ until the same period. Unfortunately the most ancient Coptic Calendar in Mai is imperfect for the month of April. It is only in the _Synaxarium_ of the ninth century, published by Mai, that he appears. His name appears in all later Coptic Calendars, in the _Neapolitanum_, which mentions him a second time on the 17th May, and in the _Basilianum_. There is not much to be said in support of the 25th April as the day of St Mark’s death. Moreover, the _Hieronymianum_ gives the 23rd September as the date of his death, but the Paschal Chronicle puts it down on the 1st Phormathi, _i.e._ the 26th March.[644] St Jerome in his chronicle gives the year of his death as the eighth of Nero.

That the processional litanies take place on St Mark’s day is a mere accident, as is proved by the circumstance that in the oldest Latin Calendars—as, for example, in that of Fronteau, and in the Mainz edition of the _Gregorianum_—the _Litania major_ alone is put down on the 25th April without any mention of St Mark.

(10) THE FEASTS OF ST PETER’S CHAIR

(_18th January and 22nd February_)

The historical investigation of these two feasts necessitates the consideration of two questions which must be discussed separately—first, their name and significance, and, secondly, the dates on which they are celebrated.

_Cathedra_, when used in its literal sense by the oldest ecclesiastical writers, means the bishop’s seat in the apse of the church behind the altar, upon which he sat, when not otherwise engaged, during the performance of divine service. Figuratively, the _cathedra_ is the symbol of episcopal authority in general and of the bishop’s teaching authority in particular, just as the throne is the symbol of royal authority. _Cathedra Petri_, then, signifies especially the teaching authority of St Peter and his successors in the See of Rome, or, in other words, the Primacy. This can easily be proved from the writings of the Fathers, and the evidence for it has often been set forth in writings and treatises dealing specially with this question, and so it need not be repeated here.[645] That the feast was intended to celebrate the bestowal of the Primacy on St Peter is clear from the oldest liturgies, and will become sufficiently evident in the course of our remarks.[646]

But how came it to pass that the Feast of St Peter’s Chair—we are considering at present only the more ancient of the two commemorations—was fixed for the 22nd February? This question can only be answered by a critical investigation into the history of the feast. The two feasts present entirely different peculiarities. The second half of February among the heathen Romans was marked by popular festivities partly religious and partly secular in character; on the 13th February commenced the great festival of the dead, _Parentalia_, and lasted eight days, the concluding day being called _Feralia_. During this time no marriages were celebrated, the temples remained closed, and the magistrates laid aside the external insignia of their office. Upon the commemoration of the departed followed immediately, on the 22nd February, the festival of surviving relatives—the _Chari_—named in consequence _Charistia_ or _Cara Cognatio_. This celebration had no recognised place among the functions of the official worship of the State, and no public festivities presided over by the colleges of priests were provided for it.[647] Nevertheless, it was a very popular feast, and stuck its roots deeper into the life of the people than any of the official festivals. All ranks joined in celebrating it; the portraits of the ancestors of each family were adorned with garlands, a sacrificial meal was presented to the household gods, incense was burnt, and a pig was offered in sacrifice; where quarrels had broken out in a family, harmony was again restored, and the religious ceremonies were performed amid the rejoicings of all; the deeds of famous members of the family were recited, and the day concluded with a banquet, which lasted until a late hour.[648] In addition to this, the _Charistia_ was also a festival in the schools; the walls were hung with garlands, and presents were given to the teachers.[649]

Such a festival must have been highly popular. It seems to have been observed everywhere wherever Latin was spoken, in Africa as well as in Gaul. In Gaul the feasting customary on this occasion continued to take place long after it had been given up elsewhere.

These banquets are censured in two sermons, attributed to St Augustine, but not by him, though they are ancient, and date from about the sixth century. From these we see that the _Feralia_ and the _Charistia_ are no longer separate; the preacher speaks only of the meals and gifts which were offered on behalf of the departed.[650] These continued on into Christian times, and in Gaul took place on the 22nd February, although this was not the correct day for the _Feralia_.[651] It seems, then, that in many places the memory of both living and dead relatives was celebrated on one and the same day, and this was always the 22nd February. About 1198 an Englishman, who lived in the North of France, informed Beleth[652] of the feastings which took place on this day.

Accordingly it cannot be mere accident, when we find a Christian feast very early fixed for this day. Gregory the Great recognised that people must not be all at once deprived of the old customs; he ordered that in England, at the dedication of churches and on the feasts of the martyrs, the newly converted Christians might retain some of the heathen customs which had been usual on similar occasions.[653] Instances in which this principle was put into practice are, for example, the processional litanies and the customs observed at the New Year. It is clear that the appointment of a Christian feast on the _Charistia_ is another instance of the tendency to deprive the heathen festivals of their harmful character.

That this held good of the feast in question, and that a determined attempt was made to give it a Christian character, is shown by the fact that in other countries a different feast was appointed for this day. Polemius Silvius, Bishop of Sion, in the upper valley of the Rhone, composed a calendar for the year 448, the most ancient Christian calendar in existence, which he dedicated to Bishop Eucherius of Lyons.[654] In this document the heathen festivals are omitted, everything especially heathen has been removed, and only historical and meteorological notices remain; it contains some saints’ days, although very few in number. On the 22nd February we find the entry, _Depositio SS. Petri et Pauli_, along with a note on the _Charistia_, which shows that the intention of the writer was to supplant the heathen feast of the _Cara Cognatio_. Again, it is noteworthy that an event was chosen for this purpose which was commemorated in Rome, _i.e._ the burial of the two chief apostles. The 29th June was not then kept as a festival of the apostles in the upper valley of the Rhone, which belonged at that time to Gaul, and probably was not kept either in the whole province to which Sion (_Sedunum_) belonged.[655]