Maximus of Turin in a sermon (Sermon 36) refers to the practice of keeping vigils at, and making morning visits to, places dedicated to unnamed martyrs during Lent. Delivered in Latin in Turin (northern Italy), between c. 397 and 408/423.
Evidence ID
E05326
Type of Evidence
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Major author/Major anonymous work
Maximus of Turin
Maximus of Turin, Sermon 36
An putatis illum ieiunare, fratres, qui primo diluculo non ad ecclesiam uigilat, non beatorum martyrum loca sancta perquirit, sed surgens congregat seruulos disponit retia canes producit saltus siluas que perlustrat?
‘Do you think that a person fasts, brethren, who is not keeping watch in church at the first light of dawn, who does not seek out the holy places of the blessed martyrs, but, upon arising, gathers his slaves together, gets his nets in order, leads out his dogs, and goes all through the woodlands and the forests?’
Text: Mutzenbacher 1962. Translation: Ramsey 1989.
Cult PlacesVisiting graves and shrines
Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Cult building - unspecified
Non Liturgical ActivityVisiting graves and shrines
Vigils
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Source
Maximus was bishop of late antique Turin, but the exact dates of his episcopate have been contested over the centuries. Gennadius of Marseille, writing in the late-fifth century, refers to a prominent bishop of Turin – called Maximus - who composed sermons on a variety of topics. According to Gennadius (De viris illustribus 41), this Maximus died in the reign of Honorius and the younger Theodosius, which would place Maximus’ death between 408 and 423.This was challenged in the early 17th century. Cardinal Baronius believed that the author of the sermons was the same Maximus who signed the acts of the Council of Milan in 451 and the Council of Rome in 465. He claimed that there was a mistake in Gennadius’ account: Maximus did not die, but instead ‘flourished’ (claruisse) between 408 and 423. Although this view was held until the end of the 19th century, it is now widely accepted that there were two bishops of Turin called Maximus, and that the author of the sermons did in fact die between 408 and 423. For a full overview of this argument, see Mutzenbecher’s preface to her critical edition of Maximus’ sermons.
Mutzenbecher’s edition contains 119 sermons, of which 106 are viewed as authentic. 89 of these apparently constituted the collection available to Gennadius in Marseille at the end of the fifth century. These sermons were preached to the congregation in Turin on a variety of different topics. Many of them were preached to celebrate the feast day of a specific saint.
Andreas Merkt has identified three main motivations guiding Maximus’ sermons on the saints. Firstly, he argues that Maximus preached on saints to provide examples for his congregation to follow. Secondly, that Maximus uses stories of martyrdom to communicate messages about the importance of Christ’s passion and the nature of the Eucharist to his congregation. Thirdly, Merkt argues that the saints Maximus focused on reflect his view on the ideal structure of the Church: he emphasises the primacy of Peter and Paul and the Roman church.
Bibliography
Edition:Mutzenbecher, A., Maximi episcopi Taurinensis Collectionem sermonum antiquam (Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 23; Turnhout: Brepols, 1962).
Translation:
Ramsey, B., The Sermons of Maximus of Turin (Ancient Christian Writers 50; Westminster MD: Newman Press, 1989).
Further Reading:
Lizzi, R., "Ambrose’s Contemporaries and the Christianisation of Northern Italy," Journal of Roman Studies 80 (1990), 156-173.
Merkt, A., Maximus I. von Turin. Die Verkündigung eines Bischofs der frühen Reichskirche im zeitgeschichtliche liturgischen Kontext (Leiden:Brill, 1997).
Record Created By
Frances Trzeciak
Date of Entry
12/04/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00060 | Martyrs, unnamed or name lost | Certain |
|---|
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