Pope Pelagius I, in a letter of 558/9, sends relics of *Peter (the Apostle, S00036) to Eutychius, bishop of Constantinople: contact relics (sanctuaria), filings from Peter's chains, and a tunic which had been placed for three days in an 'inner part' of Peter's tomb. Written in Latin at Rome.
E08348
Documentary texts - Letter
Pope Pelagius I, Letter 20 (Gassó and Batlle) ('Vir illustris Theoctistus', JK 979/JH 1919)
PELAGIUS [PAPA] EUTICIO EPISCOPO CONSTANTINOPOLITANO
Vir illustris Theoctistus uerbo dixit, fraternitatem tuam aliqua sanctuaria a nobis beati Petri apostoli magnopere postulare; prout possibile fuit desiderio tuo nos satisfecisse signamus. Direximus siquidem tibi per praedictum illustrem uirum, limaturam de catenis beati Petri, ut a te, iam ubi uolueris inclusae, debita ueneratione seruentur. Sed et tunicam unam in interiori parte sepulchri beati Petri apostoli posuimus, et per continuum triduum ibi eam fecimus permanere et ad te pariter direximus, ut siue eam pro reliquiis uel pro benedictione habere uolueris habeas, siue etiam sacrae actionis tempore, utpote † tanti loci ueneranti[a] † sacratam indui uelis, habeas nihilominus potestatem, habiturus pariter et memoriam nominis nostri ad intercedendum semper pro nobis ad Dominum.
'POPE PELAGIUS TO BISHOP EUTICIUS OF CONSTANTINOPLE
The man of illustrious rank Theoctistus has mentioned that Your Fraternity wishes very greatly for some relics (sanctuaria) of the blessed apostle Peter from us; we confirm that we have satisfied your wish to the extent that was possible. We have accordingly sent to you, via the aforementioned illustrious man, filings from the chains of the blessed Peter, so that they may be preserved by you with proper reverence in whatever container you now wish. But we have also placed a tunic in the inner part of the tomb of the blessed apostle Peter, and we have caused it to remain there continuously for three days, and have also sent it to you, so that on the one hand you may wish to keep it to possess as relics or as a blessing, or on the other, at the time of the sacred action, in as much as you wish (in reverence for such a place) to put on the sanctified [tunic], you likewise have the ability, equally keeping the memory of our name to intercede for us with the Lord.'
Text: Gassó and Batlle 1956, 62-63.
Translation: David Lambert.
Burial site of a saint - tomb/grave
RelicsContact relic - cloth
Contact relic - other object closely associated with saint
Contact relic - other
Collections of multiple relics
Transfer/presence of relics from distant countries
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - Popes
Ecclesiastics - bishops
Source
This letter of Pope Pelagius I (556-561) is preserved in full in only one manuscript: Vienna, ÖNB Cod. 2153 (12th/13th c.), fol. 56. This is a codex of miscellaneous canon law materials, originally from the monastery of St. Pölten (Gassó and Batlle 1956, xlvi-xlviii). A truncated fragment, missing the beginning and ending of the letter, appears in British Library MS Add. 8873 (12th c.), fol. 24v, the canonical collection known as the Collectio Britannica, which contains a large number of letters by Pelagius.As is normal with papal letters preserved in canonical collections from the high middle ages, the letter in its surviving form is not dated. However, there is convincing evidence that the letters of Pelagius in the Collectio Britannica are ordered chronologically (Gassó and Batlle 1956, xxxiii-xxxv), and Gassó and Batlle therefore date it, on the basis of its position in the collection, to the period from December 558 to 2 February 559.
Discussion
Eutychius (Euticius) was patriarch of Constantinople from 552 to 565, and again from 577 to 582. Since Pelagius had been resident in Constantinople for several years as a deacon of Pope Vigilius before he became pope himself in 556, he and Eutychius would have known each other personally: it is evident from this letter that relations between them were cordial.The gift of relics to Eutychius goes beyond the papacy's normal practice in providing contact relics from the tombs of the apostles, as attested in numerous papal letters. Apart from filings from St Peter's chains, Eutychius is given as a relic not just a cloth but an entire tunic, which Pelagius says was placed in an 'inner part' of Peter's tomb for three days. Pelagius suggests not just that Eutychius might keep this as a relic (pro reliquiis uel pro benedictione), but, most unusually, that he might actually wear the tunic when conducting the mass (the evident meaning of 'at the time of the sacred action', sacrae actionis tempore). While the idea of wearing a sanctified piece of clothing is not totally without parallel (see e.g. E05101), there seem to be no direct parallels for this being done with an apostolic contact relic.
Bibliography
Edition:Gassó, P.M., and Batlle, C.M., Pelagii I Papae epistulae quae supersunt (556-561) (Montserrat, 1956).
David Lambert
26/09/2022
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00036 | Peter, the Apostle | Petrus | Certain |
|---|
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