Rufinus of Aquileia, in his Church History (11.33), describes the Emperor Theodosius I's preparations for the war in the years 392-394, which included prayers at the tombs of the Apostles and martyrs. Written in Latin in Aquileia (northern Italy), c. 402.
E04544
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Rufinus of Aquileia
Rufinus of Aquileia, Church History 11.33
Rufinus describes the emperor Theodosius I's preparations for the war against Eugenius (AD 392-394). Theodosius is at Constantinople.
Igitur praeparatur ad bellum non tam armorum telorum que quam ieiuniorum orationum que subsidiis, nec tam excubiarum vigiliis quam obsecrationum pernoctatione munitus, circumibat cum sacerdotibus et populo omnia orationum loca, ante martyrum et apostolorum thecas iacebat cilicio prostratus et auxilia sibi fida sanctorum intercessione poscebat.
'He made ready then for war by arming himself not so much with weapons as with fasts and prayers; guarded not so much by the night watch as by nightly vigils in prayer, he would go around all the places of prayer with the priests and people, lie prostrate in sackcloth before the tombs (thecae) of the martyrs and apostles, and implore assistance through the faithful intercession of the saints.'
Text: Mommsen 1909, 1037.
Translation: Amidon 1997, 87.
Vigils
Saint as patron - of an individual
Prayer/supplication/invocation
MiraclesMiraculous protection - of communities, towns, armies
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Crowds
Monarchs and their family
Source
In 402-403, some time after his return to Italy from Palestine, Tyrannius Rufinus, or Rufinus of Aquileia, translated the Church History of Eusebius into Latin. He added a few passages in books 1-9 and wrote two entirely new books (10-11), which continued Eusebius' narrative down to AD 395. He described mostly contemporary events and his sources are difficult to identify.Discussion
The Apostles, whose tombs Theodosius frequented, can be safely identified as Andrew, Luke and Timothy, whose bodies were deposited in the imperial complex of the Holy Apostles (see e.g. E04195, E04570, E05132).Bibliography
Edition:Mommsen, Th., Eusebius Werke II/2. Historia ecclesiastica (Die Griechischen Christlichen Schriftsteller 9.2; Berlin, 1908), 957-1040.
Translation:
Amidon, P.R., The Church History of Rufinus of Aquileia: Books 10 and 11 (Oxford, 1997).
Further reading:
Thelamon, F., Païens et Chrétiens au IVe siècle. L'apport de l'«Histoire ecclésiastique» de Rufin d'Aquilée (Paris, 1981).
Robert Wiśniewski
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00060 | Martyrs, unnamed or name lost | Certain | S00288 | Andrew, the Apostle | Certain | S00442 | Luke, the Evangelist | Certain | S00466 | Timothy, the disciple of Paul the Apostle | Certain |
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