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The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity


from its origins to circa AD 700, across the entire Christian world


Jerome, in his On illustrious men, states that *Cornelius (bishop and martyr of Rome, S00172) and *Cyprian (bishop and martyr of Carthage, S00411) died on the same day, although not the same year. Written in Latin in Bethlehem (Palestine), 392/393.

Evidence ID

E07905

Type of Evidence

Literary - Other

Major author/Major anonymous work

Jerome of Stridon

Jerome, On Illustrious Men (De viris inlustribus) 66 (Cornelius) and 67 (Cyprian)

66. Cornelius... cui ob Christi martyrium coronato successit Lucius.

'Cornelius... He received the crown of martyrdom for Christ, and was succeeded by Lucius.'


67. Cyprianus... passus est sub Valeriano et Gallieno principibus persecutione octaua, eo die quo Romae Cornelius, sed non eodem anno.

'Cyprian... He was put to death under the Emperors Valerian and Gallienus, in the eighth persecution, on the same day that Cornelius was put to death at Rome, but not in the same year.'


Text: Richardson, 1896.
Translation: Richardson, 1892.

Festivals

Saint’s feast

Source

Jerome wrote this collection of very short biographies of 135 Christian authors at the beginning of his stay in Bethlehem in 392/393. Amongst the authors commemorated were several who suffered martyrdom (which Jerome records at the end of their biographies) and others (such as Eusebius of Vercelli and Hilary of Poitiers) who would later attract cult, but Jerome's purpose in writing De viris inlustribus was to show how many learned men there had been, and still were within the Christian church (he closes with a rather longer biography of himself!), rather than to encourage saintly cult. We have therefore only created database entries from the De viris inlustribus in the very few cases (such as this one) where Jerome happens to provide information that sheds significant light on the cult of a saint.

Discussion

Cornelius and Cyprian exchanged several letters and Jerome also associates them in his other writings: in the Life of Paul of Thebes he dates the beginning of the story of his hero to the times when Cornelius shed his blood at Rome and Cyprian his at Carthage (Life of Paul 2), although in reality they died five years apart, Cornelius in 253 and Cyprian in 258.

Jerome is the first to say that their feasts occurred on the same day of the year. Although Cornelius is missing from the
Depositio martirum, the earliest surviving list of the feasts of martyrs (in the Chronography of 354), interestingly Cyprian is included: he was commemorated in Rome at the cemetery of Callixtus on 14 September (E01052). In the 6th century the feast of Cornelius is attested on the same day - see the Liber Pontificalis (E00344).


Bibliography

Text:
Richardson, E.C.,
De viris inlustribus (Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der Altchristlichen Literatur, vol. 14/1a, Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs'sche Buchhandlung, 1896), 1-56.

Translation:
Richardson, E.C., On Illustrious Men (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, vol. 3, Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1892). Revised and edited by K. Knight. <http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2708.htm>.


Record Created By

Robert Wiśniewski

Date of Entry

04/04/2020

Related Saint Records
IDNameName in SourceIdentity
S00172Cornelius, bishop and martyr of Rome, and companion martyrsCorneliusCertain
S00411Cyprian, bishop and martyr of CarthageCyprianusCertain


Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Robert Wiśniewski, Cult of Saints, E07905 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E07905