The Libellus precum of Faustinus and Marcellinus, a petition to the emperor Theodosius from two presbyters belonging to the schismatic group known as Luciferians, attributes numerous miracles to *Lucifer (bishop of Cagliari and confessor, ob. 370, S02316) and *Gregory (bishop of Elvira, ob. c. 392, S02264). Written in Latin, probably in Constantinople, 383/385.
E08616
Literary - Letters
Libellus precum Faustini et Marcellini 89-91
This is part of a passage (§§ 86-91) in which the authors object to the use of the term 'Luciferian', insisting that Lucifer of Cagliari did not introduce any new doctrines, and that he and his followers are simply carrying out the commandments of Christ.
(89) Sed Lucifer ignarus licet artificiosae eloquentiae, tamen ut prophetico et euangelico atque apostolico more scriberet, quod super omnem humanam eloquentiam est, habuit gratiam sancti spiritus ex merito rectae fidei et sincerissimae conscientiae. Per quem etiam diuinas uirtutes operatus est non solum in Sardinia sed in ipsis quoque quatuor exiliis usque adeo, ut eum aduersarii magum dicerent, cum apostolicas uirtutes per eum fieri negare non possent. (90) Venit ad hunc et sanctus Gregorius et admiratus est in illo tantam doctrinam scripturarum diuinarum et ipsam uitam eius uere quasi in caelis constitutam. Iam quantus uir Lucifer fuerit, cum illum admiretur et Gregorius, qui apud cunctos admirabilis est non solum ex conlisione illa Osii sed etiam ex diuinis uirtutibus, quas habens in se gratiam sancti spiritus exsequitur? (91) Quid ergo? Et in hoc impii sunt, <quod> cum Lucifer secundum scripturas diuinas et crediderit et docuerit et uixerit et in nomine Christi sit uirtutes operatus, ad opprimendos uerae fidei uindices Luciferi nomen imponant, nescientes miseri summum se committere sacrilegium, cum doctrinam Christi sub hominis appellatione designant, sicut et in hoc impii sunt, quando sacrilegas institutiones pro arbitrio hominum editas sub Christiani nominis auctoritate defendunt. [...]
'(89) But while Lucifer was ignorant of artificial eloquence, however, since he wrote in the prophetic and evangelical and apostolic manner which is higher than all human eloquence, he possessed the grace of the holy spirit as the reward of correct faith and the purest conscience. Through this indeed he performed divine miracles not only in Sardinia but in his four exiles, to the extent that his adversaries said he was a magician, since they were unable to deny that apostolic miracles took place through him. (90) The holy Gregory [of Elvira] also came to him, and admired in him such great learning in the holy scriptures and his very life, which was truly as if in heaven. How great a man was Lucifer, since even Gregory admired him, who is worthy of admiration by all not only for his clash with Osius but also from the divine miracles which he carried out, having in himself the grace of the holy spirit? (91) What therefore? In this too they [those who call people 'Luciferians'] are impious, that when Lucifer believed and taught and lived according to the divine scriptures and in the name of Christ carried out miracles, they impose the name of Lucifer to oppress the defenders of the true faith, being miserably ignorant that they commit the highest sacrilege when they designate the teaching of Christ under the name of a man, just as in this too they are impious, when they defend under the authority of the Christian name sacrilegious teachings issued on behalf of the judgement of men. ...'
Text: Günther 1895, 31-2.
Translation: David Lambert.
Miracle during lifetime
Unspecified miracle
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - 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
While the authors of the Libellus precum have commonly been referred to as 'Luciferians' (Luciferiani) both by their contemporaries and in modern scholarship, they themselves objected to the term, on the grounds that it implied that they were followers of doctrinal innovations introduced by Lucifer (§ 86), while they insisted that neither he nor they differed from the church in doctrine but only opposed its failure – as they saw it – to reject those who were tainted by compromise with heresy. Their claims for Lucifer's holiness, for which miracles acted as proof, are made in the course of this defence of his orthodoxy.The details of their claims about Lucifer – that he performed miracles in his see of Cagliari in Sardinia and in his 'four exiles' (only three are known from other sources), and that his opponents claimed that he was a magician – are unattested elsewhere, but may reflect traditions within the Luciferian community (for full details on Lucifer's career and his exiles, see PCBE 2, 'Lucifer 1'). Gregory's miracles (also unattested elsewhere) in turn support his role as a witness to Lucifer's holiness.
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;' vol. 2, 1324-28, "Lucifer 1."
David Lambert
18/02/2026
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S02264 | Gregory, bishop of Elvira, ob. c. 392 | Gregorius | Certain | S02316 | Lucifer, bishop of Cagliari and confessor, ob. 370 | Lucifer | Certain |
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