Galla Placidia describes in two letters her veneration at the altar of *Peter (the Apostle S00036) in Rome. Written in Latin at Rome, c. 449.
Evidence ID
E05485
Type of Evidence
Literary - Letters
Letter from Galla Placidia Augusta to Theodosius II (= Leo the Great, Letter 56)
Summary:
Galla Placidia describes how she was venerating the Apostle Peter at his altar in Rome when Leo stopped her and asked her to intervene with Theodosius to oppose the conclusions of the Council of Ephesus.
Letter from Galla Placidia Augusta to Pulcheria (= Leo the Great, Letter 58)
Galla Placidia describes the same scene again, stating she had travelled to Rome to show devotion to Peter. She encourages Pulcheria to oppose the conclusions of the Council of Ephesus and instead intervene in support of the pope, who sits in the see of Peter, the holder of the keys of the kingdom of heaven.
Summary: Frances Trzeciak.
Cult PlacesVisiting graves and shrines
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Altar
Non Liturgical ActivityVisiting graves and shrines
Vigils
Ceremonies at burial of a saint
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Monarchs and their family
Source
Two letters from Galla Placidia to Theodosius II and Pulcheria in 449, transmitted as Letters 56 and 58 of Leo the Great's letter collection.Discussion
The second council of Ephesus took place in 449. At this council, the delegates absolved Eutyches – an advocate of the docetist theory that the body of Christ was not made of human flesh – from heresy, and deposed Flavian, the bishop of Constantinople. Leo was a strong opponent of Eutyches and supporter of Flavian (see e.g. E05480). He petitioned the imperial family for a second council, which was convened in Chalcedon in 451 (see E05462).Bibliography
Text:Leo the Great, Epistolae, Patrologia Latina 54.
Translation:
Lett Feltoe, C., Leo the Great. Gregory the Great (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers 12; New York, 1895).
Further Reading:
Salzman, M.R., "Leo’s Liturgical Topography: Contestations for Space in Fifth-Century Rome," Journal of Roman Studies 103 (2013), 208-232.
Thacker, A., "Patrons of Rome: The cult of Sts Peter and Paul at court and in the city in the fourth and fifth centuries," Early Medieval Europe 20:4 (2012), 380-406.
Wessel, S., Leo the Great and the Spiritual Rebuilding of Rome (Leiden, 2008).
Record Created By
Frances Trzeciak
Date of Entry
ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00036 | Peter, the Apostle | Petrus | Certain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Frances Trzeciak, Cult of Saints, E05485 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E05485