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The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity


from its origins to circa AD 700, across the entire Christian world


The Liber Pontificalis, written in Latin in Rome in the 530s, and re-edited before 546, in its account of *Zosimus (bishop of Rome, ob. 418, S00764), states that he was buried on the via Tiburtina outside Rome, close to the body of *Laurence, (deacon and martyr of Rome, S00037), on 26 December [AD 418].

Evidence ID

E01277

Type of Evidence

Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)

Major author/Major anonymous work

Liber Pontificalis

Liber Pontificalis 43

First edition (as reconstructed by Duchesne)

Zosimus, natione Grecus, ex patre Abramio, sedit ann. I m. II d. XI...
Qui etiam sepultus est iuxta corpus beati Laurenti martyris, via Tiburtina , VII k. ian.

'Zosimus, born in Greece, son of Abramius, held the see 1 year 2 months 11 days...
He was buried on the via Tiburtina close to the body of the blessed Laurence the martyr on 26 December.'


Second edition

Zosimus, natione Grecus, ex patre Abramio, sedit ann. I m. III d. XI...
Qui etiam sepultus est via Tiburtina iuxta corpus beati Laurenti martyris, VII kal. ianuar.

'Zosimus, born in Greece, son of Abramius, held the see 1 year 3 months 11 days...
He was buried on the via Tiburtina close to the body of the blessed Laurence the martyr on 26 December.'


Text: Duchesne 1886, 87 and 225. Translation: Davis 2010, 32, lightly modified.

Festivals

Saint’s feast

Cult Places

Burial site of a saint - crypt/ crypt with relics

Non Liturgical Activity

Burial ad sanctos

Relics

Bodily relic - entire body

Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Ecclesiastics - bishops

Source

The Liber Pontificalis consists of a series of very short lives of popes. The preface attributes it to pope Damasus (366-384), but this attribution is obviously false. According to Louis Duchesne, the first modern editor of the Liber Pontificalis, the original series of lives was written in Rome by an anonymous author, probably a member of the lesser clergy, in the 530s, and contained the lives from *Peter the Apostle to Felix IV (ob. 530). Shortly after, before 546, the text was re-edited by another anonymous author and only this edition survives. The first edition, however, can be reconstituted on the basis of its two epitomes (and the second edition). The second edition started to be continued systematically from the time of pope Honorius (625–638). It should be noted that Theodor Mommsen dated both editions of the Liber Pontificalis to the 7th century, but his opinion is widely rejected and the commonly accepted dating is that of Duchesne.

For the pre-Constantinian period (before 312), the credibility of the
Liber Pontificalis is very low. The chronology is confused, and details concerning the personal lives, decisions and ordinations of the bishops of Rome at best reflect what people in the 6th century trusted to be true, at worst are a pure invention of the author. The situation changes with the later lives. Already the information of 4th-century papal foundations and offerings are generally trustworthy. The early 6th-century evidence, based on the author's first hand knowledge is even better, though still imperfect.

Bibliography

Edition:
Duchesne, L., Le Liber pontificalis. 2 vols (Paris: E. Thorin, 1886-1892) (with substantial introduction and commentary).

Translation:
Davis, R., The Book of Pontiffs (Liber Pontificalis) (Translated Texts for Historians 6; 3rd ed.; Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2010).


Record Created By

Robert Wiśniewski

Date of Entry

Related Saint Records
IDNameName in SourceIdentity
S00037Laurence/Laurentius, deacon and martyr of RomeLaurentiusCertain
S00764Zosimos, bishop of Rome, ob. 418ZosimusCertain


Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Robert Wiśniewski, Cult of Saints, E01277 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01277