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The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity


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


The Paschal Chronicle records that in 406 the remains of *Samuel (Old Testament prophet, S01429) were brought to Constantinople, and in 411 were placed in a church dedicated to him, near the church of *John the Baptist (S00020) in the suburb of Hebdomon. Written in Greek at Constantinople, c. 630.

Evidence ID

E07958

Type of Evidence

Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)

Paschal Chronicle, s.a. 406

Καὶ αὐτῷ τῷ ἐνιαυτῷ ἐκομίσθη τὰ λείψανα τοῦ ἁγίου Σαμουὴλ ἐv Κωνσταντινουπόλει διὰ τῆς Χαλκηδονησίας σκάλας μηνὶ ἀρτεμισίῳ πρὸ ιδ' καλανδῶν ἰουνίων, προηγουμένου Ἀρκαδίου Αὐγούστου καὶ Ἀνθεμίου ἐπάρχου πραιτωρίων καὶ ἀπὸ ὑπάτων Αἰμιλιανοῦ ἐπάρχου πόλεως καὶ πάσης τῆς συγκλήτου· ἅπερ ἀπετέθη πρός τινα χρόνον ἐv τῇ ἁγιωτάτῃ μεγάλῃ ἐκκλησίᾳ.

'And in the same year the remains of St. Samuel were conveyed to Constantinople by way of the Chalcedonian jetty, in the month Artemisius, on day 14 before Kalends of June [19 May], with Arcadius Augustus leading the way, and Anthemius, praetorian prefect and former consul, Aemilianus, city prefect, and all the senate; these remains were laid to rest for a certain time in the most holy Great Church.'


Paschal Chronicle, s.a. 411

Καὶ αὐτῷ τῷ ἔτει τὰ λείψανα τοῦ ἁγίου προφήτου Σαμουἠλ ἀπετέθη ἐν τῷ προφητείῳ αὐτοῦ τῷ πλησίον τοῦ ἁγίου Ἰωάννου Ἰουκουνδιανῶν μηνὶ ὑπερβερεταίῳ πρὸ γ' νωνῶν ὀκτωβρίων.

'And in the same year the remains of the holy prophet Samuel were laid to rest in his sanctuary near St. John Jucundianae in the month Hyperberetaeus, on day 3 before Nones of October [5 Oct.].'


Text: Dindorf 1832, 569, 570-71.
Translation: Whitby and Whitby 1989, 60, 62.

Festivals

Anniversary of relic invention/translation

Cult Places

Cult building - independent (church)

Non Liturgical Activity

Construction of cult buildings

Relics

Bodily relic - unspecified
Transfer/presence of relics from distant countries
Transfer, translation and deposition of relics
Construction of cult building to contain relics

Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Monarchs and their family
Officials

Source

The Chronicon Paschale (paschal or Easter chronicle) is a chronicle compiled at Constantinople in the first half of the 7th century. It covers events from the creation of the world up to the anonymous author's own time. The Chronicle probably concluded with the year 630 (see Whitby and Whitby 1989, xi), though the surviving text breaks off slightly earlier, in the entry for 628. The traditional name for the Chronicle originates from its introductory section, which discusses methods for calculating the date of Easter. The Chronicle survives thanks to a single manuscript, Vatican, Gr. 1941 (10th c.), on which all other surviving manuscripts depend. The only critical edition remains that of Ludwig Dindorf (1832).

The chronicler uses multiple chronological systems to date events: Olympiads, consular years, indictions, and years from the Ascension, as well as using Roman, Greek, and sometimes Egyptian dates (see Whitby and Whitby 1989, x). Numerous literary sources are utilised for the period before the author's own time, including well-known historical sources such as Eusebius and John Malalas. We have not included entries for material in the
Paschal Chronicle which simply reproduces material in earlier sources already entered in our database.


Discussion

The translation of the relics of Samuel to Constantinople is mentioned by Jerome in his Against Vigilantius (E08340). As the two entries in the Chronicle point out, they arrived in Constantinople on 19 May 406 and were kept in the Great Church (Hagia Sophia) until they were eventually placed in a specially built church on 5 October 411. This is described as being near the church of John of Jucundianae, the church of John the Baptist founded by Theodosius in 391 (E07956), indicating that it was in the Hebdomon suburb, just to the south-west of Constantinople. On the church of Samuel, see Janin 1969, 449-450.


Bibliography

Edition:
Dindorf, L., Chronicon Paschale (Bonn, 1832).

Translation:
Whitby, M., and Whitby, M., Chronicon Paschale 284-628 AD (Translated Texts for Historians 7; Liverpool, 1989).

Further reading:
Janin, R., La géographie ecclésiastique de l'empire byzantin. I: Les églises et les monastères de la ville de Constantinople. (2nd ed.; Paris, 1969).


Record Created By

David Lambert

Date of Entry

01/09/2020

Related Saint Records
IDNameName in SourceIdentity
S00020John the BaptistἸωάννηςCertain
S01429Samuel, Old Testament prophetΣαμουὴλCertain


Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
David Lambert, Cult of Saints, E07958 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E07958