Pope Symmachus, in a letter of 507/512 (probably drafted for him by Ennodius of Pavia), replies positively to a request for relics of *Nazarius (martyr of Milan, S00281) and *Romanos (perhaps the deacon of Caesarea, martyred at Antioch, S00120) from African bishops exiled by the Vandal king to Sardinia. Written in Latin in Rome.
E06885
Literary - Letters
Pope Symmachus, Letter 11 (Thiel) ('Lucrum forsitan', JK 762/JH 1458)
In this letter, Symmachus consoles exiled African bishops on their plight. He ends the letter by responding to an earlier request for relics:
Quod tamen directis ad filium nostrum H. diaconum litteris sperastis, beatorum Nazarii et Romani benedictionem poscentes, fidelibus non negamus. Accipite veneranda patrocinia invictorum militum, et quia vestram iam piam fidem in proeliis imperator agnovit, feliciter confessionis munera consummate.
'What you have hoped for in the letter sent to our son the deacon H., asking for a relic of the blessed Nazarius and Romanus, we do not deny to your faithful selves. Accept the honoured protection of unconquered soldiers, and because the commander has recognised your pious faith in battle, happily bring to completion the gifts of confession.'
Text: Thiel 1867, 708-9.
Translation and Summary: Frances Trzeciak.
Unspecified relic
Transfer, translation and deposition of relics
Transfer/presence of relics from distant countries
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Source
This letter is not transmitted in any collection of papal letters, but among the letters of Ennodius of Pavia (Ennodius, Letters 2.14). The content of the letter shows that it was written by (or in the name of) a pope: the identification of that pope as Symmachus (498-514) is on the basis of his known links with Ennodius and of chronological indications in the letter. It is generally assumed that Ennodius, then a deacon, drafted the letter on Symmachus' behalf.Discussion
Nazarius is certainly the martyr of Milan. Romanus is harder to identify; the best known saint of this name was Romanos of Antioch, though why the African bishops would have asked Symmachus for relics of him (or, for that matter, of the Milanese Nazarius), rather than of martyrs of Rome, is not clear.Bibliography
Editions:Thiel, A., Epistolae Romanorum Pontificum Genuinae et quae ad eos scriptae sunt a S. Hilario usque ad Pelagium II, (Braunsberg, 1867), 708-9.
In editions of the works of Ennodius:
Hartel, W., Ennodius, Opera omnia (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 6; Vienna, 1882), 54-55.
Vogel, F., Magni Felicis Ennodii opera (Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi 7; Berlin, 1885), 68.
Gioanni, S., Ennode de Pavie, Lettres, vol. 1 (Paris, 2006), 67-68, with French translation.
Frances Trzeciak
20/10/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00120 | Romanos, deacon of Caesarea, martyred at Antioch | Romanus | Certain | S00281 | Nazarius and Celsus, companion martyrs of Milan | Nazarius | 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, E06885 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E06885