The Libellus precum of Faustinus and Marcellinus, a petition to the emperor Theodosius from two presbyters belonging to the schismatic group known as Luciferians, refers to the death in exile of *Maximus (bishop of Naples, ob. 355/362, S00427) as a martyrdom. Written in Latin, probably in Constantinople, 383/385.
Evidence ID
E05905
Type of Evidence
Literary - Letters
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Libellus precum Faustini et Marcellini 25
Maximus quoque de Neapoli Campaniae, eo quod esset inhabili stomacho et corpore delicatior, primum quidem, ut cederet, diu adflictus iniuriis, deinde ubi ob constantiam animi fideique uirtutem carnis infirmitate non uincitur, ductus est in exilium atque illic martyr in domini pace requieuit.
'Maximus too, from Naples in Campania, because he had a weak stomach and a feeble body, was first afflicted for a long time with injuries, so that he would yield; then, when, because of the constancy of his mind and the strength of his faith, he was not conquered by the weakness of the flesh, he was taken into exile and there was laid to rest a martyr in the peace of the Lord.'
Text: Günther 1895, 13, 23.
Translation: David Lambert.
Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Ecclesiastics - bishops
Source
The Libellus precum – 'pamphlet of requests', or 'petition of requests' – is a petition submitted to the emperor Theodosius by two presbyters named Faustinus and Marcellinus, sometime between the autumn of 383 and the spring of 385. The date range is established by the fact that it was written after the death of the emperor Gratian in August 383, but before that of Damasus bishop of Rome in December 384 (or before news of his death had reached the authors, which may not have been until early 385).Various passages in the Libellus show that Faustinus and Marcellinus were resident in Constantinople when they wrote it but were Italian by origin (see PCBE 2, 'Faustinus 2' and 'Marcellinus 3'). They belonged to the group known as 'Luciferians', after Lucifer of Cagliari (ob. 370; PCBE 2, 'Lucifer 1'). These were particularly intransigent opponents of the attempts by the emperor Constantius II (r. 337-361) to impose Homoian (or as his opponents put it, Arian) doctrines on the church. The Luciferians continued the controversy after Constantius' death by demanding that all those in the church who had compromised with him, or were willing to be in communion with those who had, should be removed from their positions. Since this included the majority of bishops in both East and West, their demands met general opposition and they quickly came to be regarded as schismatics themselves, though they were never formally condemned (for an overview, see Whiting 2019, 1-23).
The petition by Faustinus and Marcellinus complains that they are being treated as heretics, and asks the emperor to vouch for their orthodoxy. It is very long (39 pages in the CSEL edition of the Collectio Avellana), amounting to a short treatise. In effect it is a polemical church history of Constantius' reign and its aftermath from the point of view of his bitterest opponents (for more detailed discussions, see Canellis 2006, 40-65; Whiting 2019, 24-39). There is no reason to doubt that it is an actual petition submitted to the emperor: in several manuscripts it is followed by a rescript recognising Faustinus and Marcellinus as orthodox and instructing the Praetorian Prefect to ensure they were protected. However, the length and literary ambition of the text suggest that it was also intended for wider circulation as a pamphlet justifying the Luciferian position. A substantial proportion of the Libellus is devoted to stories of persecution, but there is an important difference between those from the period before the death of Constantius in 361 and the more recent incidents described later in the Libellus. For the earlier period the victims – figures like Paulinus of Trier, Maximus of Naples, or Gregory of Elvira – were regarded by all Nicene Christians as victims of persecution by a heretical regime. In the subsequent period, the victims are dissidents who rejected the position of the mainstream church (such as the Luciferian presbyter Macarius in E06240), and the persecutors are members of the ecclesiastical hierarchy such as Damasus of Rome. One of the purposes of the Libellus is to deny any distinction between the victims in the earlier and later periods.
In its surviving manuscripts, the Libellus precum is always transmitted as part of large collections of ecclesiastical documents such as the Collectio Avellana or the Collectio Corbeiensis (Canellis 2006, 66-83), but it is likely that in antiquity it circulated as an independent work. Faustinus has an entry in Gennadius of Marseille's De viris illustribus in which it is mentioned (Vir. ill. 16). Gennadius notes that one can tell that Faustinus and Marcellinus were Luciferians since they condemn figures in good standing with the church, such as Hilary of Poitiers and Damasus, as compromisers with the Arians.
Discussion
Maximus of Naples (PCBE 2, 'Maximus 4') was a pro-Nicene opponent of the religious policies of the emperor Constantius II, and was exiled from his see to an unknown location during the 350s, probably following the Council of Milan in 355. He died in exile, therefore no later than 362, when the emperor Julian allowed exiled bishops to return. He is repeatedly described as a martyr in the Libellus precum (see also E06239).The Libellus precum is the only contemporary literary source to mention him, but he received later cult in Naples. His epitaph in Naples (contemporary according to PCBE 2, p. 1466) describes him as a confessor (E08615). According to the 9th c. Acts of the Bishops of Naples he was buried in Naples in the basilica of Fortunatus, and later reburied in his own oratory in the church of St Stephen.
Bibliography
Editions and translations:Günther, O., Collectio Avellana, vol. 1 (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 35.1; Vienna, 1895), 5-44.
Simonetti, M., Faustini opera (Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 69; Turnhout: Brepols, 1967), 361-391.
Canellis, A., Supplique aux empereurs (Libellus precum et lex Augusta); Précédé de Faustin, confession de foi (Sources chrétiennes 504; Paris, 2006), with annotated French translation.
Whiting, C.M., Documents from the Luciferians: In Defense of the Nicene Creed (Writings from the Greco-Roman World 43; Atlanta: SBL Press, 2019), 62-169. Canellis' text with annotated English translation.
Further reading:
Pietri, C., and Pietri, L., Prosopographie chrétienne du Bas-empire, 2 Prosopographie de l'Italie chretienne (313-604) (Rome 2000: École française de Rome), vol. 1, 747-749, "Faustinus 2;" vol. 2, 1368-70, "Marcellinus 3."
Record Created By
David Lambert
Date of Entry
02/02/2026
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S02171 | Maximus, bishop of Naples, ob. 355/362 | Maximus | Certain |
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