Fulgentius, bishop of Ruspe, in his treatise On the Truth of Predestination, refers to holy monks of Egypt, whom he knows most probably from monastic hagiography, as examples of saintly life. Contains references to *Paul (the First Anchorite, S00089), *Antony ('the Great', monk of Egypt, ob. 356, S00098), *Hilarion (anchorite in Palestine and Cyprus, ob. 371, S00099), *Makarios (probably Makarios 'the Egyptian', monastic founder in the Sketis, ob.391, S00863), and *Ioannes/John (probably of Lycopolis, anchorite of Egypt, S00102). Written in Latin in Ruspe (Byzacena, central North Africa), c. 523.
Evidence ID
E00217
Type of Evidence
Literary - Theological works
Major author/Major anonymous work
Fulgentius of Ruspe
Fulgentius of Ruspe, On the Truth of Predestination 2.43
Sed quis usque adeo sit diuinae fidei et caritatis inimicus, ut Paulum, Antonium, Iohannem, Hilarionem, Macarium, alios que similis uitae ac sanctitatis monachos, in quibus et rectae fidei ueritas et sanctae conuersationis refulsit integritas, uasa contumeliae non metuat appellare?
'But who would be such an enemy of the divine faith and love and would not fear to call "the vessel of dishonour" Paul, Antony, John, Hilarion, Macarius, and other monks resembling them in life and sanctity, who shone both by the truth of faith and the soundness of their holy customs?'
Text: Fraipont 1968.
Translation: Robert Wiśniewski.
Non Liturgical Activity
Transmission, copying and reading saint-related texts
Source
On the Truth of Predestination is a theological treatise which Fulgentius wrote in 523, in the context of the Semi-Pelagian controversy, when he returned to Ruspe after his second exile.Discussion
The men named in this passage are four famous monks from Egypt and one from Palestine: Antony the Great, Paul of Thebes, John of Lycopolis, Hilarion of Gaza, and either Makarios 'the Egyptian' or Makarios of Alexandria, all known from monastic hagiography and apophthegmata. The Life of Antony was written by Athanasius (see E00631) and had two Latin translations before 374 (see E00260 and E00930), the lives of Paul and Hilarion by Jerome (E00750 and E00694), John of Lycopolis and the two Makarioi had their short biographies in the anonymous History of the Monks in Egypt, translated into Latin by Rufinus of Aquileia (see E03558). Fulgentius does not promote their cult, he just presents them as examples of those whom God 'prepared for glory'. Yet, this passage bears testimony to the spread of monastic hagiography which later on and only in some cases ultimately gave rise to regular cults (Wiśniewski, .Bibliography
Edition:Fraipont, J., De ueritate praedestinationis et gratiae libri III, in: Fulgentius Ruspensis: Opera II (Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 91A; Turnhout: Brepols, 1968).
Further reading:
Wiśniewski, R., "Entre la popularité et le culte. Les histoires monastiques et la vénération des saints moines en Occident", in Culte des saints et littérature hagiographique. Accords et désaccords, ed. by V. Déroche, B. Ward-Perkins & R. Wiśniewski (Leuven: Peeters, 2020), 185-206.
Record Created By
Robert Wiśniewski
Date of Entry
26/11/2014
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00089 | Paul, the First Anchorite | Paulus | Certain | S00098 | Antony, 'the Great', monk of Egypt, d. 356 | Antonius | Certain | S00099 | Hilarion, anchorite in Palestine and Cyprus, d. 371 | Hilarion | Certain | S00101 | Makarios the Alexandrian, ascetic in Nitria, d. c. 395 | Macarius | Uncertain | S00863 | Makarios 'the Egyptian', monastic founder in the Sketis, ob. 391 | Iohannes | Uncertain |
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Robert Wiśniewski, Cult of Saints, E00217 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E00217