Difference between revisions of "Pope Miltiades" - New World Encyclopedia
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Also he was once thought to have been a martyr, the Roman Catholic calender has corrected this mistaken tradition. He is now commemorated as a saint on January 10 | Also he was once thought to have been a martyr, the Roman Catholic calender has corrected this mistaken tradition. He is now commemorated as a saint on January 10 | ||
==Biolgraphy== | ==Biolgraphy== | ||
| − | The year of | + | The year and place of Miltiades' birth is not known, nor do the sources indicate any other details about his background. After the banishment of Pope Eusebius, the Roman see was vacant for some time. Eusebius had been plagued with trouble arising from the faction of the church led by a certain Heraclius over the question of the terms under which apostates who had forsaken the church during the persecutions of Diocletian could be readmitted. Eusebius and his precessor, Marcellus I, had both take a middle path between the [[Novatianists]], who refused to grant absolution to these lapsed Christians, and a more liberal party who balked at the strict public penances demanded by the Catholic Church before being readmitted to communion. Eusebius had replaced Marcellus after the Emperor banished that pope for failing to bring the violent factional turmoil between the liberals and the Catholics under control, and when Eusebius proved equally incapable of ending the factional rioting, he, too, was banished. |
| − | Miltiades caused the remains of his predecessor, Eusebius, to be brought back from Sicily to Rome, and had them interred in a crypt in the | + | What happened during the vacancy in the Roman episcopacy is not clear, but on July 2, in either 310 or 311, Miltiades was elevated to the papacy. The ''[[Liberian Catalogue]] of the Popes'' makes the date 311, and despite some confusion in the sources about this date in relation to the date given for Miltiades' death, 311 is generally accepted. About this time, an edict of [[toleration]] signed by the co-emperors [[Galerius]], [[Licinius]], and [[Constantine I]] put an end to the long period of intermittent persecution of the Christians. They were now granted legal permission to live publicly as members of their churches and also to reconstruct their places of religious worship (Eusebius, ''Church History'' VIII.17). Only in those regions of the East which were under the sway of [[Maximinus Daia]] did the Christians continue to be persecuted. |
| + | |||
| + | In Rome, Pope Miltiades was given the right to receive back, through the [[governor|prefect]] of the city, all ecclesiastical buildings and possessions which had been confiscated during the recent persecutions. The two Roman [[deacons]], Strato and Cassianus, were delegated by the pope to discuss this matter with the prefect and to oversee the disposition church properties. It thus became possible to reorganize in Miltiades' down to begin the complete restoration and further development the ecclesiastical administration and the religious life of the Christians in Rome. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Miltiades caused the remains of his predecessor, Eusebius, to be brought back from Sicily to Rome, and had them interred in a crypt in the [[Catacomb of Callixtus]]. In the following year, after the defeat of [[Maxentius]] after the victory at the [[Milvian Bridge]] in October 312, and the entry into Rome of the emperor Constantine as a recent convert to [[Christianity]], Later the emperor presented the Roman Church with the Lateran Palace, which then became the residence of the pope, and consequently also the seat of the seat of the central administration of the Roman Church. The basilica which adjoined the palace or was afterwards built there became the principal church of Rome. In 313 the Donatists came to Constantine with a request to nominate bishops from Gaul as judges in the controversy of the African episcopate regarding the consecration in Carthage of the two bishops, Cæcilian and Majorinus. Constantine wrote about this to Miltiades, and also to Marcus, requesting the pope with three bishops from Gaul to give a hearing in Rome, to Cæcilian and his opponent, and to decide the case. On 2 October, 313, there assembled in the Lateran Palace, under the presidency of Miltiades, asynod of eighteen bishops from Gaul and Italy, which, after thoroughly considring the Donatist controversy for three days, decided in favor of Cæcilian, whose election and consecration as Bishop of Carthage was declared to be legitimate. In the biography of Miltiades, in the "Liber Pontificalis", it is stated that at the time Manichæans were found in Rome; this was quite possible as Manichæism began to be spread in the West in the fourth century. The same source attributes to this pope a decree which absolutely forbade the Christians to fast on Sundays or on Thursdays, "because these days were observed by the heathen as a holy fast". This reason is remarkable; it comes most likely from the author of the "Liber Pontificalis" who with this alleged decree traces back a Roman custom of his own time to an ordinance of Miltiades. The "Liber Pontificalis" is probably no less arbitrary in crediting this pope with a decree to the effect that the Oblation consecrated at the Solemn Mass of the pope (by which is meant the Eucharistic Bread) should be taken to the different churches in Rome. Such a custom actually existed in Rome (Duchesne, "Christian Worship," London, 1903, 185); but there is nothing definite to show that it was introduced byMiltiades, as the "Liber Pontificalis" asserts. | ||
After his death, on 10 or 11 January (the Liberian Catalogue" give it as III id. jan.; the "Depositio Episcoporum" as IIII id. jan.), 314, Miltiades was laid to rest in the Catacomb of St. Callistus and he was venerated as a saint. De Rossi regards as highly probably his [this] location of this pope's burial-chamber (Roma Sotterranea, II, 188 sq.). His feast was celebrated in the fourth century, on 10 January, according to the "Martyrologium Hieronymianum". In the present "Roman Martyrology" it occurs on 10 December. | After his death, on 10 or 11 January (the Liberian Catalogue" give it as III id. jan.; the "Depositio Episcoporum" as IIII id. jan.), 314, Miltiades was laid to rest in the Catacomb of St. Callistus and he was venerated as a saint. De Rossi regards as highly probably his [this] location of this pope's burial-chamber (Roma Sotterranea, II, 188 sq.). His feast was celebrated in the fourth century, on 10 January, according to the "Martyrologium Hieronymianum". In the present "Roman Martyrology" it occurs on 10 December. | ||
In the thirteenth century, the feast of Saint Melchiades was included, with the mistaken qualification of "martyr," in the [[Roman Catholic calendar of saints|Roman Calendar]] for celebration on 10 December. In 1969 it was removed from that calendar of obligatory liturgical celebrations,<ref>''Calendarium Romanum'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1969), p. 148.</ref> and his feast was moved to the day of his death, | In the thirteenth century, the feast of Saint Melchiades was included, with the mistaken qualification of "martyr," in the [[Roman Catholic calendar of saints|Roman Calendar]] for celebration on 10 December. In 1969 it was removed from that calendar of obligatory liturgical celebrations,<ref>''Calendarium Romanum'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1969), p. 148.</ref> and his feast was moved to the day of his death, | ||
| + | |||
==Legacy== | ==Legacy== | ||
Revision as of 05:40, 18 January 2009
| Saint Miltiades | |
|---|---|
| |
| Birth name | Miltiades (or Melchiades) |
| Papacy began | 2 July 311 |
| Papacy ended | 10 January 314 |
| Predecessor | Eusebius |
| Successor | Sylvester I |
| Born | (date unknown) northern Africa |
| Died | 10 January 314 Rome, Italy |
Pope Saint Miltiades, also called Melchiades (Μελχιάδης ὁ Ἀφρικανός in Greek), was the bishop of Rome from July 2, 311 to January 10, 314. His papacy marked the end of the church's period of persecution under the Roman emperors.
Miltiades appears to have been an African by birth, but of his personal history before becoming pope, nothing is known. He was elected after a period of during which the Roman see had been vacant following the banishment of his predecessor, Pope Eusebius, to Sicily.
Miltiades became pope after a period of violent internal factionalism within the Roman church which had cause Emperor Maxentius to banish both Esebius and the leader of the opposition Christian party, Heraclius, in order to bring an end to public disorders that had spread throughout Rome over the question of admitting formal apostate Christians back into the church. In the interim, Roman emperor Galerius had passed an edict of toleration officially ending the persecution of Christians.
During Maxentius' pontificate, the Edict of Milan was passed by the tetrarchs Constantine and Licinius in 313, declaring that they would be neutral with regard to religious worship and would restore church property confiscated by the state during the recent persecutions. Constantine presented the pope with the Lateran Palace, which became the papal residence and seat of Christian governance.
Miltiades soon presided over the first Lateran synod in Rome, at which Bishop Caecilian of Carthage was acquitted of the charges brought against him for opposing the intentional seeking of martyrdom, and Donatus Magnus, the founder of the rigorist sect later known as the Donatists, was condemned as a heretic.
Later tradition ascribes to Miltiades several church customs such as banning fasts on Thursdays.
Also he was once thought to have been a martyr, the Roman Catholic calender has corrected this mistaken tradition. He is now commemorated as a saint on January 10
Biolgraphy
The year and place of Miltiades' birth is not known, nor do the sources indicate any other details about his background. After the banishment of Pope Eusebius, the Roman see was vacant for some time. Eusebius had been plagued with trouble arising from the faction of the church led by a certain Heraclius over the question of the terms under which apostates who had forsaken the church during the persecutions of Diocletian could be readmitted. Eusebius and his precessor, Marcellus I, had both take a middle path between the Novatianists, who refused to grant absolution to these lapsed Christians, and a more liberal party who balked at the strict public penances demanded by the Catholic Church before being readmitted to communion. Eusebius had replaced Marcellus after the Emperor banished that pope for failing to bring the violent factional turmoil between the liberals and the Catholics under control, and when Eusebius proved equally incapable of ending the factional rioting, he, too, was banished.
What happened during the vacancy in the Roman episcopacy is not clear, but on July 2, in either 310 or 311, Miltiades was elevated to the papacy. The Liberian Catalogue of the Popes makes the date 311, and despite some confusion in the sources about this date in relation to the date given for Miltiades' death, 311 is generally accepted. About this time, an edict of toleration signed by the co-emperors Galerius, Licinius, and Constantine I put an end to the long period of intermittent persecution of the Christians. They were now granted legal permission to live publicly as members of their churches and also to reconstruct their places of religious worship (Eusebius, Church History VIII.17). Only in those regions of the East which were under the sway of Maximinus Daia did the Christians continue to be persecuted.
In Rome, Pope Miltiades was given the right to receive back, through the prefect of the city, all ecclesiastical buildings and possessions which had been confiscated during the recent persecutions. The two Roman deacons, Strato and Cassianus, were delegated by the pope to discuss this matter with the prefect and to oversee the disposition church properties. It thus became possible to reorganize in Miltiades' down to begin the complete restoration and further development the ecclesiastical administration and the religious life of the Christians in Rome.
Miltiades caused the remains of his predecessor, Eusebius, to be brought back from Sicily to Rome, and had them interred in a crypt in the Catacomb of Callixtus. In the following year, after the defeat of Maxentius after the victory at the Milvian Bridge in October 312, and the entry into Rome of the emperor Constantine as a recent convert to Christianity, Later the emperor presented the Roman Church with the Lateran Palace, which then became the residence of the pope, and consequently also the seat of the seat of the central administration of the Roman Church. The basilica which adjoined the palace or was afterwards built there became the principal church of Rome. In 313 the Donatists came to Constantine with a request to nominate bishops from Gaul as judges in the controversy of the African episcopate regarding the consecration in Carthage of the two bishops, Cæcilian and Majorinus. Constantine wrote about this to Miltiades, and also to Marcus, requesting the pope with three bishops from Gaul to give a hearing in Rome, to Cæcilian and his opponent, and to decide the case. On 2 October, 313, there assembled in the Lateran Palace, under the presidency of Miltiades, asynod of eighteen bishops from Gaul and Italy, which, after thoroughly considring the Donatist controversy for three days, decided in favor of Cæcilian, whose election and consecration as Bishop of Carthage was declared to be legitimate. In the biography of Miltiades, in the "Liber Pontificalis", it is stated that at the time Manichæans were found in Rome; this was quite possible as Manichæism began to be spread in the West in the fourth century. The same source attributes to this pope a decree which absolutely forbade the Christians to fast on Sundays or on Thursdays, "because these days were observed by the heathen as a holy fast". This reason is remarkable; it comes most likely from the author of the "Liber Pontificalis" who with this alleged decree traces back a Roman custom of his own time to an ordinance of Miltiades. The "Liber Pontificalis" is probably no less arbitrary in crediting this pope with a decree to the effect that the Oblation consecrated at the Solemn Mass of the pope (by which is meant the Eucharistic Bread) should be taken to the different churches in Rome. Such a custom actually existed in Rome (Duchesne, "Christian Worship," London, 1903, 185); but there is nothing definite to show that it was introduced byMiltiades, as the "Liber Pontificalis" asserts.
After his death, on 10 or 11 January (the Liberian Catalogue" give it as III id. jan.; the "Depositio Episcoporum" as IIII id. jan.), 314, Miltiades was laid to rest in the Catacomb of St. Callistus and he was venerated as a saint. De Rossi regards as highly probably his [this] location of this pope's burial-chamber (Roma Sotterranea, II, 188 sq.). His feast was celebrated in the fourth century, on 10 January, according to the "Martyrologium Hieronymianum". In the present "Roman Martyrology" it occurs on 10 December.
In the thirteenth century, the feast of Saint Melchiades was included, with the mistaken qualification of "martyr," in the Roman Calendar for celebration on 10 December. In 1969 it was removed from that calendar of obligatory liturgical celebrations,[1] and his feast was moved to the day of his death,
Legacy
| Roman Catholic Popes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Eusebius |
Bishop of Rome Pope 311–314 |
Succeeded by: Sylvester I |
Notes
- ↑ Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1969), p. 148.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
Annuario Pontificio 2008 Libreria Editrice Vaticana ISBN 9788820980214, p. 8*.
External links
"Pope St. Miltiades" in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia.- Historical "Gift of Constantine": Journal Article Concerning Miltiades and Constantine
- Opera Omnia
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