Martirio di san Papa Marcellino, manoscritto francese, tratto dalla Legenda Aurea di Jacopo da Varazze.
Saint Marcellin
Pape (29 ème) de 296 à
304 et martyr (+ 304)
Son pontificat commença
dans une ère de paix pour s'achever dans la persécution de Dioclétien qui fit
détruire les églises déjà ouvertes et brûler les Livres Saints. Les fidèles
étaient privés de leurs charges. Selon les régions, la persécution fut plus ou
moins violente. La bibliothèque de l'Église romaine fut détruite et les
supplices commencèrent envers les chrétiens qui refusaient de sacrifier aux
dieux. Une tradition veut même que saint Marcellin aurait cédé à un moment
donné, mais l'évêque de Rome se reprit et mourut martyr par fidélité à sa foi
en Jésus-Christ.
Sur la nouvelle voie
Salarienne, au cimetière de Priscille, saint Marcellin, pape, qui subit le
martyre en 304, au temps où la persécution de Dioclétien fut si grande que le
siège de Rome demeura vacant pendant quatre ans.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1039/Saint-Marcellin.html
Saint Marcellin, Romain
d’origine, gouverna l’Église pendant huit ans, de 295 à 304. À cette époque, la
persécution de Dioclétien contre les Chrétiens fut si acharnée, qu’en un mois,
dix-sept mille Chrétiens de tout sexe et de tout âge furent immolés en diverses
provinces.
Un grand nombre de
Chrétiens se laissèrent gagner par les menaces ou les promesses ; un pape, même
eut la faiblesse de se laisser circonvenir, mais il répara ensuite sa faute en
s’offrant lui-même au martyre : ce fut saint Marcellin.
Urbain, le pontife païen
du Capitole, vint le trouver. La discussion s’engagea entre eux sur la question
de savoir si c’était un grand crime de brûler de l’encens en l’honneur des
dieux :
« —Votre Christ, dit le
païen, ne reçut-Il point à Son berceau l’encens des mages ? Brûler de l’encens
aux dieux est donc, même d’après vous, un hommage légitime.
« —Les mages, dit saint
Marcellin, n’offraient point l’encens à une idole vaine, mais au vrai Dieu.
« —Voulez-vous, reprit
Urbain, venir un de ces jours au palais de l’empereur ? En sa présence je
répondrai à vos objections sur ce point. »
Saint Marcellin y
consentit, et le jour venu, prenant la parole devant Dioclétien, il lui dit :
« —Pourquoi semer
l’univers de deuil et de carnage, et cela pour un culte faux et superstitieux
comme celui de vos idoles ? Pourquoi forcer les Chrétiens, sous peine de mort,
à brûler de l’encens devant des statues muettes ? »
Dioclétien espérant, par
une feinte douceur, gagner l’esprit de saint Marcellin, et, par lui, obtenir la
soumission de tous les Chrétiens de Rome, lui dit :
« —Je reconnais,
Marcellin, ta sagesse et ta prudence ; tu es peut-être destiné à changer en
amitié fidèle la haine que je portais jusqu’ici au nom chrétien. Viens, et que
tout le monde soit témoin de notre réconciliation. »
L’empereur se fit suivre
alors du souverain pontife au temple de Vesta ; mais les trois prêtres et les
deux diacres qui accompagnaient saint Marcellin refusèrent d’entrer et
coururent raconter au clergé romain le triste événement qui menaçait de se
produire. Une foule de Chrétiens, accourue au temple pour voir ce qui se
passait, vit saint Marcellin, trompé par les fausses paroles de Dioclétien,
jeter de l’encens sur le trépied de la déesse et recevoir les félicitations de
l’empereur. Mais cette faiblesse lui coûta bien des larmes.
Une fois libre, rentrant
en lui-même, nouveau Pierre, après avoir trahi son Maître, il résolut d’expier
grandement sa faute. Il parut, couvert d’un cilice, au concile de Sinuesse (en
Campanie), et reconnut que, sans avoir sacrifié aux dieux, il avait laissé
tomber quelques grains d’encens sur le trépied :
« —J’ai péché devant Dieu
et devant vous » s’écria-t-il en présence des évêques, et il signa lui-même sa
condamnation. Mais on vit, peu de jours après, saint Marcellin reparaître devant
l’empereur et lui reprocher sa perfidie. Pour toute réponse l’empereur le fit
décapiter.
C’était en l’an 304,
Dioclétien, Galère, Maximien et Constance Chlore étant empereurs (régnant en
tétrarchie).
Saint
Marcellin (296-304)
Né à Rome. Sous son
pontificat les persécutions de Dioclétien furent les plus sanglantes.
Ce fut aussi sous son
pontificat que l’évêque de Rome commença de s’appeler « Pape » (père).
Il fut martyrisé le jour
de Noël de l’an 304.
SOURCE : http://eglise.de.dieu.free.fr/liste_des_papes_02.htm
SAINT MARCELLIN, PAPE *
Marcellin gouverna
l’Eglise romaine neuf ans et quatre mois. II fut pris par l’ordre de Dioclétien
et de Maximien et conduit pour sacrifier. Comme il n'y voulait pas consentir et
qu'alors il avait à s'attendre de souffrir divers supplices, cédant à la peur
du tourment, il mit deux grains d'encens dans le sacrifice (Anastase le Bibl.,
Vit. Pont., XXX; — Bréviaire romain ; — Epître du pape Nicolas Ier à Michel, empereur
de C. P.). La joie des infidèles fut grande, mais une tristesse immense
s'empara des fidèles. Toutefois les membres sains reprennent de la vigueur sous
un chef affaibli et comptent pour rien les menaces des princes: Alors les
fidèles viennent trouver le souverain Pontife et lui; adressent de graves
reproches. Marcellin voyant celasse soumit au jugement d'un concile des évêques
(A Sessa en Campanie, ou Sinuesse). A Dieu ne plaise, dirent-ils, qu'un
souverain pontife soit jugé par personne; mais vous-même, instruisez votre
cause dans votre conscience, et jugez-vous de votre propre bouche (Ciaconius,
Notes sur Anastase, Vie de saint Marcellin). » Alors il se repentit beaucoup,
pleura et se déposa lui-même; cependant, toute la foule le réélut encore. Les Césars,
qui apprirent cela, firent saisir Marcellin une seconde fois, et comme il ne
voulait absolument pas sacrifier, ils commandèrent de le décapiter. La fureur
des ennemis se ralluma, en sorte que dans l’espace d'un mois, dix-sept mille
chrétiens furent mis à mort. Pour Marcellin qui devait être décapité, il
s'avoua indigne de la sépulture chrétienne ; en conséquence il excommunia tous
ceux qui auraient la présomption de l’ensevelir. C'est pourquoi son corps resta
35 jours sans sépulture. Après ce temps, saint Pierre, apôtre, apparut à
Marcel, son successeur (Idem, ibid.), et lui dit : « Frère Marcel, pourquoi ne
m’ensevelis-tu pas? » Seigneur, lui répondit Marcel, n'êtes-vous pas déjà
enseveli? » L'apôtre lui dit : « Je me répute non enseveli, tant que je verrai
Marcellin sans sépulture. » « Mais, Seigneur, lui répartit Marcel, est-ce que
vous ne savez pas qu'il a anathématisé tous ceux qui l’enseveliraient ? »
Pierre dit : « N'est-il pas écrit : celui qui s'humilie sera élevé? C'est à
cela qu'il fallait faire. attention; allez donc l’ensevelir à mes pieds. » Il y
alla aussitôt et accomplit honorablement les ordres de saint Pierre.
* « Voici l’interpretatiô
du nom, sait Marcellin, qui ne se trouve pas dans le texte latin :
« Marcellin vault autant
adire côme amaigrissant : car il amaigrit le fust dur de sa charnelete ou vault
autât adire côe amaigri par paour du fust du tirât. »
La Légende dorée de
Jacques de Voragine nouvellement traduite en français avec introduction,
notices, notes et recherches sur les sources par l'abbé J.-B. M. Roze, chanoine
honoraire de la Cathédrale d'Amiens, Édouard Rouveyre, éditeur, 76, rue de
Seine, 76, Paris mdcccci
SOURCE : http://www.abbaye-saint-benoit.ch/voragine/tome01/062.htm
Le cas du pape Marcellin.
vendredi 21 janvier 2011,
par Abbé Philippe Laguérie
Le pape Saint Marcellin
gouverna l’Eglise de 296 (22 décembre 295) à 304, en quelle date il fut
décapité sur l’ordre de Dioclétien. Son nom prestigieux est inscrit au canon de
la messe romaine.
Son histoire mérite
d’être méditée, surtout en ces temps d’agitation. Elle démontre qu’un homme a
pu faire de graves fautes et terminer sa vie en héros et en saint. La vie d’un
homme n’est pas toujours une ligne droite, un glaive rectiligne. L’Evangile
s’évertue à nous enseigner le contraire par tous les moyens (Marie-Madeleine,
le bon larron etc.) en positif comme en négatif. Un pieux chrétien peut aussi
finir dans la débauche, comme les deux réformateurs des franciscains (Branche
des capucins) qui défroquèrent tous les deux…
Bien des histoires
attestent cette vérité évangélique. L’homme est libre : il peut s’améliorer
jusqu’à l’héroïsme et déchoir jusqu’à la nausée, selon l’adage « corruptio optimi
pessima ». Voyez le grand Salomon.
En des temps plus
récents, on en rapporte de tout aussi spectaculaires. Je raconte souvent, au
catéchisme, l’histoire de saint Jacques l’ermite, passeur à gué du VIème siècle
en Palestine et pieux anachorète à ses temps libres. Un jour se présente à lui,
pour passer la rivière, une très belle jeune fille. Sur l’autre rive, envouté
et fou, Jacques la viole puis, horrifié par son premier forfait, l’assassine,
ainsi que son frère, témoin gênant. Le pieux Martyrologe Romain se contente de
dire pudiquement « après une très grave faute ». Ce violeur doublé d’un
assassin est canonisé par l’Eglise. Il est vrai qu’il fit rude pénitence : il
passa le reste de sa vie dans le sépulcre qu’il s’était déjà aménagé, non sans
faire de brillants miracles. Avis aux scrupuleux ou aux déprimés.
Tout aussi spectaculaire,
quoique dans le domaine doctrinal (moins croustillant, je vous le concède) est
le cas de saint Thomas-More. Le célèbre Chancelier du Royaume d’Angleterre sous
le débauché Henri VIII mourut martyr, décapité par son roi schismatique, pour
sa fidélité à l’Eglise Catholique. Mais pour ceux qui ont lu son
maître-ouvrage, la célèbre « Utopie » (qui porte si bien son nom !) on croit
rêver les yeux ouverts. Cette société sans foi ni loi, peace and love, New-Age
avancé, véritable abbaye de Thélème plus audacieuse que celle de François
Rabelais, démocratie plus lunaire que celle de Rousseau. Bref, un délire
soixante-huitard au 16ème siècle ! Lui aussi est canonisé et pas seulement béatifié.
La fin d’un homme ne blanchit pas ses turpitudes, certes, mais elle les rachète
dans la fidélité jusqu’à l’héroïsme.
Marcellin, pape, «
apostat » et martyre. Sans doute les sources historiques principales de son
funeste écart sont celles des donatistes. On le comprend aisément : les
catholiques de l’époque avaient peine à rapporter le parcours chaotique du
Pontife, avant son brillant retour. Tandis que les « Golias » de l’époque s’en
donnaient à cœur-joie. A toutes les époques, les hommes sont les hommes… Sa
présence depuis 17 siècles au canon de la messe suffit largement.
Son pontificat lui-même
est très peu connu par la raison que la plus terrible persécution contre les
chrétiens, la dernière et la plus cruelle, celle de Dioclétien, fait rage sur
l’Eglise. Rien qu’en Italie, 17 000 chrétiens ont déjà été immolés à la fureur
du culte des idoles. Le pape se terre, persuadé qu’à ce compte l’Eglise Romaine
va bientôt disparaître. Mathématiquement, il n’a pas tort. Sur les ordres de
Dioclétien, le préfet Urbain parvient néanmoins à s’emparer du chef des «
athées » (Ainsi appelait-on les chrétiens, qui refusaient le culte des idoles
de l’empire). Par ses flagorneries, ses menaces, mais surtout en lui suggérant
les avantages considérables pour la préservation du troupeau et la fin des
ravages, le préfet finit par convaincre le pape d’offrir trois petits grains
d’encens aux dieux de l’empire. Quand le monde parle à l’Eglise, elle doit se
méfier. Il l’emmène au temple de Vesta et le pontife y jette furtivement l’encens
de la honte…Prêtres et diacres qui l’accompagnent refusent d’entrer avec lui
dans le temple, en sortent pétrifiés. La persécution cesse, le massacre est
stoppé. Mais à quel prix, surtout pour le pauvre Marcellin, qui n’en dort plus.
Ce sont d’abord les fidèles qui viennent trouver le Pontife affaibli, les
clercs n’osant pas. Leurs reproches sont pleins de respect pour l’oint du
Seigneur. Ils parviennent cependant à le faire rentrer en lui-même. Le pape
accepte de se rendre au concile de Sinuesse en Campanie où nombre d’évêques
italiens l’attendent en tremblant, eux aussi. Ils lui expliquent qu’ils ne
peuvent en aucun cas le juger, qu’il doit être son propre juge et prononcer la
sentence de sa propre bouche. Quel singulier procès.
Le pape, alors, revenu à
lui-même, n’y va pas par quatre chemins : il ne démissionne pas, il se dépose
lui-même. Mais la foule l’acclame et les évêques le proclament pape. Le pape
revient à Rome, confesse face à Urbain qu’il n’y a qu’un seul Dieu, le Père de
Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ. La persécution reprend de plus bel, nouvelle
hécatombe de chrétiens en laquelle le pape lui-même trouve le salut éternel et
la palme du martyre.
Dans le bref temps qui le
sépare de son triomphe, le pape se déclare indigne de la sépulture, excommunie
à l’avance ceux qui auraient la présomption de l’ensevelir ! Son successeur, le
saint pape Marcel, n’ose enfreindre les ordres du pontife défunt. Cependant, 35
jours après le martyre, saint Pierre devra lui apparaître :
« Frère Marcel, pourquoi
ne m’ensevelis-tu pas ? ».
« Mais, Seigneur,
n’êtes-vous pas déjà enseveli ? ».
« Je me considère non
enseveli tant que je verrai Marcellin sans sépulture ».
« Mais Seigneur, ne
savez-vous pas qu’il a anathématisé tous ceux qui l’enseveliraient ? ».
« N’est-il pas écrit :
celui qui s’humilie sera élevé ? Allez donc l’ensevelir à mes pieds ! ».
Autres temps, autres
mœurs. Ces gens-là appelaient les choses par leur nom. Le sanguinaire coran
n’existait pas encore mais bruler trois grains d’encens aux faux dieux leur
était odieux. Dans le mal, ils se raidissaient, dans la souffrance, ils
offraient. Dans le péché, ils se taisaient, dans la conversion, ils
tressaillaient. Dans l’obscurité, ils éclairaient, dans la lumière ils
pardonnaient.
SOURCE : http://blog.institutdubonpasteur.org/spip.php?article164
Sts Clet et Marcellin,
papes et martyrs
Le Liber Pontificalis
indique le 26 avril comme jour martyr de Clet, il est repris en cela par les
martyrologes du IXe siècle. Malgré son inscription au Canon de la Messe, sa
fête n’eut pas de grande diffusion avant son inscription dans les calendriers
des basiliques romaines au XIIe siècle.
Le même jour, au Latran,
on célébrait la mémoire de saint Marcellin. Le Liber Pontificalis indique aussi
le 26 avril comme jour de sa déposition. Comme pour saint Clet, la réception de
la fête fut tardive.
Le catalogue libérien
contenu dans le Chronographe de 354 dédouble Clet et Anaclet (le 6 ou 13
juillet), chacun comme pape et martyr. C’est l’usage qui prévalut jusqu’en 1960
où Jean XXIII supprima la fête de juillet consacrée à Saint Anaclet.
Leçons des Matines avant
1960
Quatrième leçon. Clet,
fils d’Émilien, était de Rome, de la cinquième région et du quartier de
Patricius. Il gouverna l’Église sous les empereurs Vespasien et Titus.
Conformément au précepte du prince des Apôtres, il ordonna vingt-cinq Prêtres
pour la ville de Rome. Il est le premier qui, dans ses lettres, se servit de
ces mots : Salut et bénédiction apostolique. Il fit d’excellentes organisations
dans l’Église, et l’ayant administrée douze ans, sept mois et deux jours, il
reçut la couronne du martyre sous l’empereur Domitien, dans la persécution qui
est la seconde après celle de Néron ; il fut enseveli au Vatican, près du corps
du bienheureux Pierre.
Cinquième leçon.
Marcellin était romain, et gouverna l’Église, de l’an deux cent
quatre-vingt-seize à l’an trois cent quatre, pendant la terrible persécution de
l’empereur Dioclétien. Il eut à souffrir de nombreuses vexations, par suite de
l’injuste sévérité de ceux qui lui reprochaient sa grande indulgence envers les
fidèles tombés dans l’idolâtrie, et c’est à cause de cela qu’il fut
calomnieusement diffamé, comme ayant offert de l’encens aux idoles. Ce
bienheureux Pontife subit la peine capitale pour la confession de la foi avec
trois autres Chrétiens : Claudius, Cyrinus et Antoninus. Leurs corps, laissés
sans sépulture, devaient en être privés durant trente-six jours, par ordre de l’empereur
; mais le bienheureux Marcel, averti en songe par saint Pierre, prit soin de
les inhumer honorablement dans le cimetière de Priscille, sur la voie Salaria ;
il était accompagné de Prêtres et de Diacres qui portaient des flambeaux et
chantaient des hymnes. Saint Marcellin avait gouverné l’Église pendant sept
ans, onze mois et vingt-trois jours, et pendant ce temps, i ! fit au mois de
décembre deux ordinations, dans lesquelles il ordonna quatre Prêtres et sacra
cinq Évêques pour divers lieux.
Dom Guéranger, l’Année
Liturgique
Deux astres jumeaux se
lèvent aujourd’hui sur le Cycle, à la gloire de Jésus vainqueur de la mort.
Pour la seconde fois, ce sont deux Pontifes, et deux Pontifes martyrs. Clet,
disciple de Pierre, et son successeur presque immédiat sur la chaire romaine,
nous reporte à l’origine de l’Église ; Marcellin a vu les jours de la grande
persécution de Dioclétien, à la veille du triomphe de la Croix. Inclinons-nous
devant ces deux pères de la chrétienté qui l’ont nourrie de leur sang, et présentons
leurs mérites à Jésus qui les a soutenus par sa grâce, et leur a donné la
confiance qu’un jour ils auraient part à sa résurrection.
On trouve dans le récit
de la vie de saint Marcellin un fait qui a été rejeté comme une fable par de
savants critiques, et défendu par d’autres non moins érudits. Il est rapporté
que le saint Pape fléchit un moment devant les persécuteurs, et qu’il eut la
faiblesse d’offrir de l’encens aux idoles. Plus tard, il aurait réparé sa faute
dans une nouvelle et courageuse confession qui lui assura la couronne du
martyre. Notre plan ne comporte pas les discussions critiques ; nous ne
chercherons donc pas à éclaircir ce point d’histoire ; il nous suffit que tout
le monde soit d’accord sur le martyre du saint Pape. A l’époque où furent
rédigées les Légendes du Bréviaire, on ne doutait pas de la chute de Marcellin,
et elle ne fut point omise au récit de la vie du Pontife ; dans la suite, ce
fait a été attaqué par des arguments qui ne manquent pas de force ; l’Église
cependant n’a jugé que très tard à propos de modifier la rédaction première, et
avec d’autant plus de raison que les faits de cette nature n’intéressent en
rien la foi. Il n’est pas besoin, sans doute, d’avertir le lecteur que la chute
de Marcellin, si elle a eu lieu, ne compromet en rien l’infaillibilité du
Pontife romain. Le Pape ne peut enseigner l’erreur quand il s’adresse à
l’Église ; mais il n’est pas impeccable dans sa conduite personnelle.
Priez pour nous, saints
Pontifes, et jetez un regard paternel sur l’Église de la terre qui fut si
agitée en vos temps, et qui est si loin de jouir du calme en ceux où nous
vivons. Le culte des idoles a reparu, et si elles ne sont pas aujourd’hui de
pierre ou de métal, la violence de ceux qui les adorent n’est pas moindre que
celle dont étaient animés les païens des premiers siècles. Les dieux et les
déesses devant lesquels on veut voir le monde entier se prosterner, on les
appelle Liberté, Progrès, Civilisation moderne. Pour établir le culte de ces
nouvelles divinités, on décrète la persécution contre ceux qui refusent de les
adorer, on renverse la constitution chrétienne des États, on altère les
principes de l’éducation de l’enfance, on rompt l’équilibre des éléments
sociaux, et un grand nombre de fidèles sont entraînés par l’attrait de ces
nouveautés funestes. Préservez-nous de cette séduction, bienheureux martyrs !
Ce n’est pas en vainque Jésus a souffert ici-bas et qu’il est ressuscité
d’entre les morts. Sa royauté était à ce prix ; mais nul n’échappe à son
sceptre souverain. C’est afin de lui obéir que nous ne voulons d’autre Liberté
que celle qu’il a fondée par son Évangile, d’autre Progrès que celui qui
s’accomplit dans la voie qu’il a tracée, d’autre Civilisation que celle qui
résulte de l’accomplissement des devoirs qu’il a établis entre les hommes.
C’est lui qui a créé l’humanité, qui en a posé les lois et les conditions ;
c’est lui qui l’a rachetée et rétablie sur ses bases. Devant lui seul nous
fléchissons le genou ; ne permettez pas, bienheureux martyrs, que jamais nous ayons
le malheur de nous abaisser devant les rêves de l’orgueil humain, quand bien
même ceux qui les exploitent auraient la force matérielle à leur service.
Bhx Cardinal
Schuster, Liber Sacramentorum
Au témoignage de saint
Irénée, Clet ne ferait qu’un avec Anaclet qui gouverna l’Église après Lin et
avant Clément. De sa vie nous ne savons rien, sauf ce que nous dit la notice du
Liber Pontificalis : qu’il embellit les tombes des Princes des Apôtres, et
qu’il fut enseveli au Vatican. Le fait que Clet fut élevé au suprême pontificat
alors que des disciples immédiats de Pierre et de Paul vivaient encore,
témoigne de ses grands mérites, prophétisés par son nom même.
Plus obscure est
l’histoire du pape Marcellin, sur le compte duquel coururent dès l’antiquité
les plus bizarres légendes. Selon quelques écrits apocryphes de l’époque des
contestations qui suivirent l’élection du pape Symmaque, il aurait d’abord
offert de l’encens aux idoles, puis aurait expié comme Pierre cette apostasie,
en affrontant spontanément le martyre.
Dans la liste des
depositiones episcoporum son nom, il est vrai, est omis, mais cette absence,
qu’il ne faut pas se hâter d’expliquer par une damnatio memoriae, peut
simplement être attribuée au copiste du laterculum philocalien. En effet, le
pape Marcellin non seulement eut une honorable sépulture au cimetière de
Priscille près du martyr Crescention, mais sa tombe était pieusement visitée
par les pèlerins, si bien qu’il a le titre de Saint dans le livre De cotis
Sanctorum Martyrum. Les mêmes apocryphes qui lui attribuent le martyre
attestent indirectement la vénération dont au Ve siècle le pape Marcellin était
l’objet à Rome, car, dans l’intérêt de la cause du pape Symmaque, ils cherchent
à l’exploiter, en proposant le pontife Marcellin comme un premier exemple de la
chute d’un pape et de sa réhabilitation postérieure. Une certaine obscurité sur
le compte de Marcellin demeure toujours, mais l’antiquité de son culte est bien
démontrée par les itinéraires des Catacombes.
Une congrégation
religieuse née sous Célestin III vers 1197 et désormais éteinte depuis
plusieurs siècles, se vantait d’avoir été instituée par saint Clet ; ses
membres portaient une croix à la main à titre d’insigne. A Rome, ils habitaient
près de l’église de Sainte-Marie in Xenodochio ou in Trivio où, jusqu’au siècle
dernier, était un autel dédié à saint Clet. Aujourd’hui encore, la place
voisine s’appelle dei Crociferi.
Le nom de Clet fait
partie de la liste primitive des diptyques épiscopaux romains qu’on récite
toujours durant la prière de la grande intercession (Communicantes). Sa fête
n’apparaît en ce jour que dans le Calendrier de la basilique vaticane du XIIe
siècle ; Marcellin le suit, mais n’entre qu’un siècle plus tard environ dans le
Bréviaire de la Curie papale.
La tombe primitive de
Marcellin a été retrouvée dans le cimetière de Priscille in cubiculo claro,
selon l’expression du Liber Pontificalis, près de celle du martyr Crescention.
La crypte est ornée de peintures, parmi lesquelles on voit la scène, très
rarement représentée, des trois enfants de Babylone refusant d’adorer la statue
d’or de Nabuchodonosor. Les pèlerins y ont tracé de nombreux graffiti.
Marcellin est mentionné
aussi dans une inscription gravée sur la balustrade (transenna) de marbre d’une
crypte du cimetière de Callixte. Il s’agit d’un cubiculum duplex cum arcisoliis
et luminare iussu papae sui Marcellini diaconus iste Severus fecit mansionem in
pace quietam sibi suisque.
La messe est celle du
Commun des Martyrs au temps pascal : Sancti tui.
La secrète est la
suivante : « Accueillez, ô Dieu, les prières que nous vous adressons à
l’occasion de la fête de vos saints ; et puisque nous ne pouvons avoir aucune
confiance en nos mérites, que nous assistent au moins ceux des saints qui vous
furent agréables. ». Pour plaire à Dieu, la prière doit être humble, comme
celle du pauvre publicain dans le temple. A l’inverse du pharisien orgueilleux
qui mettait toute confiance dans ses mérites et méprisait son prochain,
l’humilité chrétienne ne connaît qu’un mépris : celui de soi-même. Elle ne voit
chez les autres que les dons de Dieu, et invoque les immenses mérites de la
Communion des Saints pour suppléer à ses propres insuffisances spirituelles.
Dieu garde et venge
jalousement la réputation de ses serviteurs, conformément à ce qui est écrit au
sujet de Joseph : Sapientia... mendaces ostendit qui maculaverunt illum. Ainsi
des personnes intéressées ont pu émettre les plus étranges jugements sur le
compte de Marcellin ; cependant sa tombe, au cimetière de Priscille, est en vénération
de toute antiquité, et l’Église, qui est certainement assistée par le
Saint-Esprit, se recommande aujourd’hui à ses pieuses prières en le proposant à
la vénération des fidèles.
Dom Pius Parsch,
le Guide dans l’année liturgique
L’Église nous crie : «
Filles de Jérusalem, venez et voyez les martyrs avec leurs couronnes ; le
Seigneur les en a couronnés dans un jour de solennité et de joie, Alléluia,
Alléluia. »
Saint Clet — Clet,
d’après saint Irénée, est le même que saint Anaclet qui fut pape entre saint
Lin et saint Clément (78-90). Il connut encore des disciples de saint Pierre et
de saint Paul. Nous savons à son sujet qu’il orna les tombeaux des princes des
Apôtres. Il aurait été le premier à se servir dans ses lettres de ces mots :
Salut et bénédiction Apostolique. Il reçut la couronne du martyre sous
l’empereur Domitien et fut enterré au Vatican près de saint Pierre.
Saint Marcellin gouverna
l’Église (260-304) pendant la persécution de Dioclétien. Avec une sage
prévoyance, il fit construire dans les catacombes de vastes chambres qui
servirent pour la célébration du culte pendant les persécutions. Une de ces
chambres dans le cimetière de saint Callixte a été conservée en souvenir du
saint pape. On affirmait autrefois (sans doute à tort) que ce pape, au temps de
la persécution, avait brûlé de l’encens devant les idoles, mais qu’il avait
racheté cette faiblesse par un glorieux martyre. Son tombeau se trouvait dans
la catacombe de Priscille où il était très honoré.
Pratique : Saint
Marcellin fit construire de vastes chambres pour la célébration du culte
liturgique, des salles cachées et souterraines. Cela nous fait penser aux
églises provisoires des missions. Transportons-nous par la pensée au milieu de
la communauté liturgique dans ces églises de fortune.
La messe (Si diligis). —
Messe du commun des Souverains Pontifes, avec les oraisons au pluriel.
SOURCE : http://www.introibo.fr/26-04-Sts-Clet-et-Marcellin-papes
Portait
of en:Pope Marcellinus in the en:Basilica of Saint Paul
Outside the Walls, Rome
Ritratto di it:Papa Marcellino nella it:Basilica di San Paolo fuori la Mura, Roma
Also
known as
Marcellino
26 April (Western
calendar)
7 June (Eastern
calendar)
Profile
Chosen 29th pope.
Enlarged the catacombs. Reigned at the start of the persecution of Diocletian,
and was himself martyred.
Legend says that he apostatized,
made sacrifice to pagan gods,
then repented, and was beheaded, but this story has been discredited.
Born
Papal Ascension
25 October 304 at Rome, Italy
interred in
the Priscillian catacomb on the Via Salaria
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Citation
“Pope Saint
Marcellinus“. CatholicSaints.Info. 2 August 2022. Web. 26 April 2023. <https://catholicsaints.info/pope-saint-marcellinus/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/pope-saint-marcellinus/
MARCELLINUS, POPE, ST.
Pontificate: June 30, 296
to Oct. 25, 304. The Libe pontificalis calls Marcellinus a Roman, the
son of Projectus, and places his pontificate during the persecution of
Diocletian. It repeats the story, circulated later by the Donatists (see donatism),
that the pope, when apprehended and ordered to sacrifice to the gods, complied
and handed over the sacred books to the persecuting authorities. Torn with
remorse, the pope is said to have repented and sought martyrdom several days
later. His body was buried by the priest Marcellus in the private cemetery of
Priscilla on the Via Salaria.
The accusations of
apostasy brought against Marcellinus and other Catholic bishops, including the
future popes Miltiades, Marcellus, and Silvester, are acknowledged and rejected
by St.
Augustine (Contra Litteram Petil. 2.92.202; De unico
baptismo 16; Brev. coll. 3.18) and repeated in the Acts (c. 500)
of the alleged Council of Sinuessa, which lays great stress on the pope's
repentance and martyrdom. Eusebius states that the pope "was overcome by
the persecution" and locates his grave in the cemetery of Priscilla (Ecclesiastical
History. 7.32); but Pope damasus i ignored him when he composed the
epitaphs of past Roman bishops, and neither the martyrology of st. jerome nor
the Gelasian Sacramentary mentions Marcellinus.
The Eastern bishop
Theodoret of Cyrus records that Marcellinus bore a distinguished role in the
persecution (Ecclesiastical History. 1.2), however, scholars consider the
Western evidence decisive and believe that somehow Marcellinus compromised
himself during the persecution, although they also take his repentance
seriously. The Depositio episcoporum names a "Marcellinus,"
but it is evident from the dates given that Pope marcellus i, not Marcellinus,
was meant. A late fifth–century passio and the seventh–century
itineraria credit him with martyrdom and witness to the veneration of his tomb.
While the Annuario Pontificio (2001) lists the dates of Marcellinus
as June 30, 296, to Oct. 25, 304, historians hesitate to distinguish him from
his successor Marcellus.
Feast: April 26.
Bibliography: A. Stuiber, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. J. Hofer and K. Rahner
(Freiberg 1957–65) 7:1. É. Amann, Dictionnaire de théologie
catholique, ed. A. Vacant et al. (Paris 1903–50) 9.2:1999–2001. Liber
pontificalis, ed. L. Duchesne (Paris 1886–92, 1958) 1: LXXIII–LXXV, 32–36, 72–73,
162–163. E. H. Röttges, Zeitschrift für katholische Theologie (Vienna
1877–) 78 (1956) 385–420. E. Ferguson, Encyclopedia of Early Christianity (New
York 1997) 2:713. J. N. D. Kelly, Oxford Dictionary of Popes (New
York 1986) 24–25.
[E G. Weltin]
New Catholic Encyclopedia
Marcellinus, Pope M (RM)
Born in Rome; died there on October 25, 304, his second feast day. Marcellinus was the son of Projectus. After his election to succeed Pope Saint Caius on June 30, 296, he witnessed the beginnings of Emperor Diocletian's persecution of Christians. According to an ancient legend that may have been Donatist-inspired and which was included in the Roman Breviary until 1883 (since discredited), Marcellinus seems to have apostatized and surrendered the sacred books and offered incense to pagan gods but later repented. He may have died a martyr's death by beheading, but this is still very uncertain; the Liberian calendar places him among those popes who were not put to death for the faith (Benedictines, Delaney, Husenbeth).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0426.shtml
April
26
SS. Cletus and Marcellinus, Popes and Martyrs
ST. CLETUS was the third bishop of Rome, and succeeded St. Linus, which
circumstance alone shows his eminent virtue among the first disciples of St.
Peter in the West. He sat twelve years, from 76 to 89. The canon of the Roman
mass, (which Bossuet 1 and
all others agree to be of primitive antiquity,) Bede, and other Martyrologists,
style him a martyr. He was buried near St. Linus, on the Vatican, and his
relics still remain in that church. 2
St. Marcellinus succeeded St. Caius in the bishopric of Rome, in 296,
about the time that Dioclesian set himself up for a deity, and impiously
claimed divine honours. Theodoret says, 3 that
in those stormy times of persecution, Marcellinus acquired great glory. He sat
in St. Peter’s chair eight years, three months, and twenty-five days, dying in
304, a year after the cruel persecution broke out, in which he gained much
honour. He has been styled a martyr, though his blood was not shed in the cause
of religion, as appears from the Liberian Calendar, which places him among
those popes that were not put to death for the faith. 4
It is a fundamental maxim of the Christian morality, and a truth which Christ
has established in the clearest terms, and in innumerable passages of the
gospel, 5 that
the cross, or sufferings and mortification, are the road to eternal bliss.
They, therefore, who lead not here a crucified and mortified life, are unworthy
ever to possess the unspeakable joys of his kingdom. Our Lord himself, our
model and our head, walked in this path, and his great apostle puts us in
mind 6 that
he entered into bliss only by his blood and by the cross. Nevertheless, this is
a truth which the world can never understand, how clearly soever it be preached
by Christ, and recommended by his powerful example, and that of his martyrs and
of all the saints. Christians still pretend, by the joys and pleasures of this
world, to attain to the bliss of heaven, and shudder at the very mention of
mortification, penance, or sufferings. So prevalent is this fatal error, which
self-love and the example and false maxims of the world strongly fortify in the
minds of many, that those who have given themselves to God with the greatest
fervour, are bound always to stand upon their guard against it, and daily to
renew their fervour in the love and practice of penance, and to arm themselves
with patience against sufferings, lest the weight of the corruption of our
nature, the pleasures of sense, and flattering blandishments of the world, draw
them aside, and make them leave the path of mortification, or lose courage
under its labours, and under the afflictions with which God is pleased to
purify them, and afford them means of sanctifying themselves.
Note 1. Espos. de la Messe. [back]
Note 2. Certain French critics think Cletus and Anacletus to have been one
and the same person; but Orsi (t. 1, l. 2, n. 29, p. 282,) shows them to have
been distinct popes. Eusebius, indeed, confounds them, as he did Novatus and
Novatian, and the popes Marcellus and Marcellinus; mistakes to which, from the
likeness of names, the Greeks were the most liable, as they wrote at so great a
distance. But the Latins who had authentic records by them, could not be
mistaken; especially the author of the first part of the Liberian Calendar,
which appears, in most particulars, to be copied from the public registers of
the Roman church: which authorities make it appear that Cletus sat the third,
and Anacletus the fifth bishop of Rome. The church sometimes honours the same
saint on several days; but the most authentic monuments distinguish these
saints. On St. Cletus, and that he is not the same person with St. Anacletus,
called by some Anencletus, see A. Sandini, in Dissert. 4, ad Hist. Pontif.
Berti. Chron. Hist. Eccl. primi. sæc. t. 1, Orsi, &c. Some modern
pontificals tell us that he divided the city of Rome into twenty-five parishes,
and first built St. Peter’s church. The faithful celebrated the divine
mysteries in the catacombs, or vault, where the remains of the apostles were
deposited, and over their tomb St. Cletus might add some embellishments, or
enlarge this sacred place. See Bianchini, Notes on Anastasius’s Pontifical, t.
2, p. 61. [back]
Note 3. Theodoret, b. 2, c. 2. [back]
Note 4. Petilian, the Donatist bishop, objected to the Catholics, that
Marcellinus had sacrificed to idols, and had delivered up the holy scriptures
to the persecutors; also that his priests, Melchiades, Marcellus, and
Sylvester, were guilty of the same apostacy; but St. Austin entirely denied the
charge, (l. de unico bapt. contra Petilian. c. 16, t. 9, p. 541,) which was a
mere calumny of the Donatists. Yet upon this slander some others built another
fictitious history of his repentance in a pretended council of Sinuessa. The
author discovers himself to have been a barbarous half-Latin Goth, says
Coutant. (Append. ad ep. decretales, p. 27.) His forgery contradicts the
histories, customs, and language of that age. See Pagi ad an. 303. Natalis
Alexander, Tillemont, t. 5; Orsi, t. 3, &c. [back]
Note 5. Matt. v. 5,
10, xvi.
24, x.
38, xi.
12; Luke vi.
25, ix.
23, &c. [back]
Note 6. Hebr. ix.
12. [back]
Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume IV: April. The Lives of
the Saints. 1866.
Pope Saint
Marcellinus
Date of birth
unknown; elected 30 June, 296; died 304. According to the "Liber
Pontificalis" he was a Roman, son of a certain Projectus.
The Liberian Catalogue of popes (ed.
Duchesne, "Lib. Pont." I, 6-7) gives 30 June as the day of
his election, and the years 296-304 as the time of his
pontificate. These dates, accepted by the author of the "Liber
Pontificalis", are verified by that ancient source. Nothing has been
handed down concerning the activities of this pope in
his reign of eight years. We learn from the Roman deacon Severus'sepitaph
in the Catacomb of Callistus (De
Rossi, "Roma Sotterranea", III, 46 tav. V) that at that time
newburial chambers were made in the chief cemetery of the Roman
Church. Severus says that he had laid out a
double cubiculum with luminare and arcosolium, "jussu
papæ sui Marcellini". This happened before the outbreak of the great Diocletian persecution;
for in this the Callistus Catacomb was
confiscated, like the other public meeting-places of
the Roman community. De
Rossi assumes that the Christians blocked
up the principal galleries of the catacomb at
this time, to protect from desecration the tombs of
the numerous martyrs buriedthere.
The Diocletian persecution,
whose severe edicts against the Christians were executed by Maximianus
Herculeus, caused the greatest confusion in the Roman
Church after 303. Marcellinus died in the second year of
the persecution and,
in all probability, a natural death. No trustworthy sources of the
fourth or fifth century mention him as a martyr.
His name does not occur either in the list of martyrs or
the bishops in
the Roman"Chronograph" of the year 354. Neither is he mentioned
in the "Martyrologium Hieronymianum". The "Marcellinus
episcopus" on 4 Oct. in "Codex Bernensis" (ed. De
Rossi-Duchesne, 129) is probably not identical with the pope.
In mentioning Marcellinus, Eusebius uses
an obscure expression; he merely says: "the persecution also
affected him" (‘òn kaì a’utòn kateílephon ‘o diogmòs Church
History VII.32). From this one must obviously conclude that the pope did
not suffer martyrdom,
otherwise Eusebius would
have distinctly stated it. There were even later reports in circulation that
accused him of having given up the sacred books after the first
edict, or even of having offered incense to
the gods, to protect himself from the persecution.
But the sources in which this reproach is clearly stated are very questionable.
The Donatist Bishop Petilianus of Constantine in Africa asserted,
in the letter he wrote in 400 and 410, thatMarcellinus and
the Roman priests Melchiades, Marcellus,
and Sylvester (his
three successors) had given up the sacred books, and
had offered incense.
But he could not adduce any proof.
In the Acts of confiscation of the church buildings
at Rome,
which at the great Carthaginian conference between Catholics and Donatists,
were brought forward by the latter, only two Roman deacons, Straton
and Cassius, were named as traitors. St.
Augustine, in his replies to Petilianus, disputes the truth of
the latter's report (Against
Petilian 2.202: "De quibus et nos solum respondemus: aut non
probatis et ad neminem pertinet, aut probatis et ad nos non pertinet";
"De unico baptismo contra Petilianum", cap. xvi: "Ipse scelestos
et sacrilegos fuisse dicit; egoinnocentes fuisse
respondeo"). One can only conclude from Petilianus's accusation that
such rumours againstMarcellinus and Roman priests were
circulated in Africa; but that they could not be proved,
otherwise St. Augustine would not have been able to assert the
innocence of the accused so decidedly, or safely to have referred to
the matter at the Carthaginian conference. But even
in Rome similar
stories were told ofMarcellinus in certain circles, so that in
two later legendary reports a formal apostasy was
attributed to thispope,
of course followed by repentance and penance. The biography
of Marcellinus in the "Liber
Pontificalis", which probably alludes to a lost "passio" of
his, relates that he was led to the sacrifice that he might scatter incense,
which he did. But after a few days he was seized with remorse, and was
condemned to death by Diocletian with
three other Christians,
and beheaded. It is clear that this report attempts to combine a rumour that
the pope had offered incense to
the gods, with the fact that, in other circles he was regarded as a martyrand
his tomb venerated.
At the beginning of the
sixth century, rather later than this "passio Marcellini", a
collection of forgeddocuments appeared, which were manufactured in the
dispute between Pope Symmachus and Laurentius. Among them are also
found apocryphal Acts of
an alleged synod of 300 bishops,
which took place in 303 at Sinuessa (between Rome and Capua)
in order to inquire into the accusation against Marcellinus that he
hadsacrificed at Diocletian's order.
On the first two days Marcellinus had denied everything, but on the
third day he admitted his lapse and repented; however
the synod passed no sentence on him "quia prima sedes
nonjudicatur a quoquam". When Diocletian learnt
of the occurrence, he had the pope and
several bishops of
thissynod executed (Hefele,
"Konziliengeschichte", I, 2 Aufl. 143-45). The spuriousness of
these acts is almostcertain. The forger has
made the most of the rumour of Marcellinus's lapse for his own
purposes in a different way from the author of the "passio", which
crept into the "Liber
Pontificalis". These apocryphal fragments
cannot by themselves be considered as historical proofs,
any more than the rumours in Donatist circles
inAfrica.
It is accepted as certain that the pope did
not comply with the imperial edict by any overt act, such as the surrender
of the sacred writings, or even the offering of incense before
the statue of
a god. Such anapostasy of a Roman bishop would
without a doubt have
been given the greatest prominence by contemporary authors. Eusebius has
not made use of the above mentioned idea.
And later, Theodoret was still less in a position to state in his
"Church History", that Marcellinus had been prominent in
the persecution ton
’en tôdiogmô diaprépsanta (Church
History I.2). And Augustine also would not have been able to
assert so curtly in answer to Petilian, that Marcellinus and
the priests accused
with him as traitors and "lapsi" were
innocent.
On the other hand it is
remarkable, that in the Roman "Chronograph" whose first
edition was in 336, the name of this pope alone
is missing, while all other popes from Lucius I
onwards are forthcoming. In the manuscript there
is indeed under 16 Jan. (XVIII kal. Feb.) the name Marcellinus, but this
is clearly a slip of the pen for "Marcellus"; for
the feast of this pope is
found both in the "Martyrologium Hieronymianum" and in the old liturgical Roman books
under this date, while in the "Liber
Pontificalis" and, in connection therewith, in
thehistorical martyrologies of
the ninth century, the feast of Marcellinus is transferred
to 26 April (Acta SS., June, VII, 185). By certain investigators
(Mommsen, de Smedt) the lack of Marcellinus's name was traced to
theomission of a copyist, owing to the similarity of the names, and in the
"Depositio Episcoporum" they claimed to supplement the
"Chronograph": XVII kal. Febr. Marcelli
in Priscillæ VI kal. Maii Marcellini
in Priscillæ (de Smedt, "Introductio in hist. eccl. critice tractandam",
512-13). But this hypothesis is not accepted. The datesof the death of
the popes,
as far as Sylvester in the list of successions, are identical with
the days of the month on which their feasts are celebrated.
Thus Marcellinus must come first after Gaius, whose name is
quoted under the date X kal. Maii. Then Marcellinus is
lacking not only in the "Chronograph", but also in the
"Martyrologium Hieronymianum", and in all fifth and sixth century
lists of popes. This omission is
therefore notaccidental, but intentional.
In connection with the
above mentioned rumours and the narratives of apocryphal fragments,
it must indeed be admitted that in certain circles at Rome the
conduct of the pope during
the Diocletian persecution was
not approved. In this persecution we know of
only two Roman clerics who
were martyred:
the priest Marcellinusand
the exorcist Petrus.
The Roman bishop and
the other members of the higher clergy,
except the aboveclerics,
were able to elude the persecutors.
How this happened we do not know.
It is possible that Pope Marcellinus was able to hide himself in a safe
place of concealment in due time, as many other bishops did.
But it is also possible that at the publication of the edict he secured his
own immunity; in Roman circles this would have been imputed to
him as weakness, so that his memory suffered thereunder, and he was
on that account omitted by the author of the "Depositio Episcoporum"
from the "Chronograph", while he found a place in the "Catalogus
Liberianus", which was almost contemporary. But his tomb was venerated by
the Christiansof Rome,
and he was afterwards recognized as a martyr,
as the "passio" shows. Marcellinus died in 304. The day of
his death is not certain; in the "Liber
Pontificalis" his burial is wrongly placed at 26 April,
and this dateis retained in the historical martyrologies of
the ninth century, and from them, in the later martyrologies.
But if we calculate the date of
his death from the duration of his office given in
the Liberian Catalogue, he would have died on 24 or 25 Oct., 304. His
body was interred in
the Catacomb of Priscilla on
the Via Salaria, near thecrypt where
the martyr Crescentius found
his resting-place. The Catacomb of Callistus,
the official burial place of the Roman
Church, where the predecessors
of Marcellinus were buried during several decades, was
evidently confiscated in the persecution,
while the Catacomb of Priscilla,
belonging to the Acilii Glabriones, was still at the disposal of
the Christians.
The tomb of Marcellinus was venerated at
a very early date by
the Christians of Rome.
The precise statements about its position, in the "Liber
Pontificalis", indicate this. In one of the seventh
century itineraries of the graves of the Roman martyrs,
in the "Epitome de locis ss. martyrum", it is expressly mentioned
among thesacred graves of the Catacomb of Priscilla (De
Rossi, "Roma sotteranea", I, 176). In the excavations at this catacomb the crypt of St.
Crescentius, beside which was the burial chamber of Marcellinus,
was satisfactorily identified. But no monument was discovered which had
reference to this pope.
The precise position of theburial chamber is therefore still uncertain.
The lost "passio" of Marcellinus written towards the end of
the fifth century, which was utilized by the author of the "Liber
Pontificalis", shows that he was honoured as
a martyrat
that time; nevertheless his name appears first in the "Martyrology"
of Bede,
who drew his account from the "Liber
Pontificalis" (Quentin, "Les martyrologes historiques",
103, sq.). This feast is on 26 April. The earlierBreviaries, which
follow the account of the "Liber
Pontificalis" concerning his lapse and his repentance, were
altered in 1883.
Sources
Liber Pontificalis, ed. DUCHESNE, I, 6, 7, 162-163; cf. Introduction, LXXIV sq. XCIX; Acta Sanct., April, III, 412-415, 999-1001; DE CASTRO, Difesa della causa di S. Marcellino, I, Pont. Rom. (Rome, 1819); LANGEN, Geschichte der römischen Kirche, I, 370-372; ALLARD, Histoire des persécutions, IV, 376-379; DUCHESNE, Histoire ancienne de l'Église, II, 92 sq.; MARUCCHI, Il sepolcro del papa Marcellino nel cimitero di Priscilla in Nuovo Bull. di archeol. crist. (1907), 115 sq.
Kirsch, Johann Peter. "Pope Saint Marcellinus." The
Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton
Company,1910. 25 Apr. 2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09637d.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by WGKofron. In memory of Fr. John
Hilkert, Akron, Ohio — Fidelis servus et prudens, quem constituit Dominus super
familiam suam.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2021 by Kevin Knight.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09637d.htm
Marcellinus, Pope M (RM)
Born in Rome; died there on October 25, 304, his second feast day. Marcellinus
was the son of Projectus. After his election to succeed Pope Saint Caius on
June 30, 296, he witnessed the beginnings of Emperor Diocletian's persecution
of Christians. According to an ancient legend that may have been
Donatist-inspired and which was included in the Roman Breviary until 1883
(since discredited), Marcellinus seems to have apostatized and surrendered the
sacred books and offered incense to pagan gods but later repented. He may have
died a martyr's death by beheading, but this is still very uncertain; the
Liberian calendar places him among those popes who were not put to death for
the faith (Benedictines, Delaney, Husenbeth).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0426.shtml
Pope Marcellinus, illustration from The Lives and Times of the Popes by Chevalier Artaud de Montor, New York: The Catholic Publication Society of America, 1911. It was originally published in 1842.
The Lives and Times of the Popes –
Saint Marcellinus – A.D. 296
Article
This saint, Marcellinus,
son of Projectus, a Roman, was, according to some, a Benedictine, and was
created pontiff on the 3d of May, A.D. 296.
The Church never suffered
more than at this terrible period. The vast edifice of idolatry, gradually
ruined by the Christians, and in some of its parts destroyed, was ready to
crumble to its very foundations. The heathen altars lacked flowers, and the
priests lacked victims; the aruspices no longer read in the entrails of
slaughtered animals the signs and tokens of the future; the oracles were dumb,
and the magicians were powerless. In such a state of things, it seemed as
though all the gods of darkness made a last effort against the God of light.
Diocletian, Maximianus, Galerius, and Maximinus, in succession, were the four
chiefs of that infernal enterprise. Galerius, the most furious of them all, had
taken from Diocletian the fatal sentence which ordered that cruel persecution,
at once atrocious and universal, without truce and without pity. The churches
were pulled down in most of the provinces; men and women, old men, children,
and virgins were alike given up to the executioners. Heaven was peopled with
martyrs, and earth, at the sight of such courage, warmed into a love for
Catholicism. The persecutor hoped to destroy the religion of Christ, and all
that fury only served to raise the throne of the faith upon the wreck and ruins
of paganism.
The States subject to
Rome, watered with the blood of the persecuted, only became the more productive
of Christian branches. Tortures tore the bodies of the martyrs, but their
souls, firmly embracing the faith, remained invulnerable and invincible.
Nevertheless, there were some weak spirits that yielded to threats, and with
whom self-love prevailed over religion; and it has even been said that among
those weak ones was Marcellinus himself. The falsehood which was circulated on
this head was adorned with all the circumstances which might give it an air of
probability. It was pretended that the pontiff, perceiving his fault, presented
himself as a suppliant before a council of three hundred bishops, assembled at
Sinuessa. There, ran the story, the culprit confessed his error, and, weeping,
demanded that he should be sentenced to the punishment he had incurred; and the
council replied: “Pronounce sentence on thyself; the chief see cannot be judged
but by itself.” But in this statement every particular is false; it is now
ascertained that the accusation is calumnious, and that the pontiff committed
no fault. Saint Augustine, speaking of Petilius, author of that fable, says:
“He calls Marcellinus a sacrilegious wretch; I declare him innocent. It is not
necessary for me to weary myself to support my defence by proofs; for Petilius
himself supports his accusation by no proof.” In our own days that accusation
has been repeated, and it has been said, with some foundation, too, that the
Roman Breviary seems to support the tale, under the date of the 26th of April.
Muratori writes that it is so, and every one can convince himself of it. But Lambertini,
before he was pope, speaking of the Breviary, or of its authority, says that
the fact is false. He says: “1. All the ancient writers of the lives of the
popes are silent on that head; 2. The Donatists could never prove the truth of
their assertion, and were guilty of useless impostures,” and he cites those
words of Saint Augustine which we quoted above.
Baronius warns us on the
subject that the Roman Church is not accustomed to have the acts of the saints
read as if they were a gospel. Each, says Novaes, after Gelasus, may examine
into things in conformity to the rule given by Saint Paul when he said: “Prove
all things; hold fast to that which is good.” The fall of that pontiff is
denied by Schelstrate, Roccaberti, Pierre de Marca, Pierre Constant, Papebrock,
Natalis Alexander, Pagi, Agiurre, Sangallo, and Xavier de Marco, a Jesuit. The
last-mentioned writer has put forth that denial in a very important work.
Thus, according to the
testimony of Theodoret, it is proved that Marcellinus was distinguished for the
firmness of his courage; and the imputation against him was sustained only by
Petilius and the sectarians of his time. The early Donatists never reproached
the Church with such a fall of her head, eager as they were to support their
own evil cause by collecting even the slightest errors of Catholic bishops, and
especially of pontiffs. Everything leads to the belief, after Tillemont, that
Marcellinus received the crown of martyrdom. He was interred in the cemetery of
Priscilla, on the Salarian Way, near the Salarian bridge. According to Novaes,
the Holy See was vacant only six months and twenty-four days; but, according to
the Diario, the vacancy lasted nearly four years. In two ordinations, in the
month of December, this pope created five bishops, four priests, and four or
five deacons. He governed the Church eight years and some months.
In the seventh year of
the pontificate of Saint Marcellinus, Diocletian passed the winter in
Nicomedia. Galerius Maximian visited him there, after having vanquished the
Persians, and wanted to persuade Diocletian to order a new persecution which
should everywhere cause paganism to triumph.
The old emperor for a
long time resisted Galerius, and pointed out how dangerous it was to disturb
the world and to shed so much blood. But Galerius was not to be overruled by
such arguments, and would have advice; for such was the malignity of his nature
that he wanted no advice when he would do good, but always required it when he
wanted to do evil – so that he might cast the blame on others. Diocletian,
finding that all around him were divided in opinion, sent an aruspice to Apollo
of Miletus. Apollo replied – not by the medium of a priestess, but from the
depth of a dark cave – that the just on earth prevented him from saying the
truth, and that that was the reason why the oracles he gave from the tripod
were false. The priestess of Apollo said the same, with her hair dishevelled,
and she lamented the misfortunes of the human race. Diocletian asked his
officers who were the just on earth. One of those who served at the sacrifices
answered: “They are the Christians, without doubt.”
The emperor was pleased
with that reply, and resolved upon the persecution, being unable to resist the
urgings of his friends, of Caesar and of Apollo.
Then commenced the
terrible persecution of Nicomedia, of Tyre, of Antioch, of Ancyra, and of
Arabia.
MLA
Citation
Alexis-François Artaud de
Montor. “Saint Marcellinus – A.D. 296”. The
Lives and Times of the Popes, 1911. CatholicSaints.Info.
2 August 2022. Web. 26 April 2023.
<https://catholicsaints.info/the-lives-and-times-of-the-popes-saint-marcellinus-a-d-296/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/the-lives-and-times-of-the-popes-saint-marcellinus-a-d-296/
Book of
Saints – Marcellinus – 26 April
Article
(Saint)
Pope, Martyr (April
26) (4th
century) A Roman by birth, Saint Marcellinus sat in the Chair of Saint
Peter from A.D. 296 to A.D. 304, during a period when the persecution of
Christianity was so unrelenting that no less than seventeen thousand of the
Faithful were put to death because of their religion. The Pope suffered with
three others in Rome, A.D. 304; and the four bodies are said to have been left
exposed in the Forum to intimidate their fellow-believers. The legend that
Saint Marcellinus had on one occasion yielded in the torture chamber and
offered incense to an idol, afterwards repenting of his weakness, is now
generally discredited.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Marcellinus”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info.
18 November 2014. Web. 26 April 2023.
<https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-marcellinus-26-april/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-marcellinus-26-april/
Golden Legend
– Life of Saint Marcelin
Here followeth of Saint
Marcelin the Pope.
Saint Marcelin was pope
of Rome by the space of nine years and four months. In his time reigned
Diocletian and Maximian, emperors of Rome. The which commanded that he should
be taken and brought into the temple for to do scarifice to the idols; and when
he would not assent, the ministers of the emperors menaced him that they would
make him die by diverse torments. And when he heard that, he had so great dread
that he put in their sacrifice two grams of incense only, whereof the paynims
had great joy, and the christian men had right great sorrow, and reprehended
him greatly of that he had such a thing done against the christian faith, and
anon he repented him and put himself to the judgment of the bishops. But the
bishops answered: God forbid that it never fall that the pope of the christian
people, which is sovereign, be judged of any man, but be he judged of himself,
and anon he deposed himself. And after, the christian men chose him again to be
pope as he was tofore. And when this came to the knowledge of the emperors,
then they did do take him and, because that he would in no wise do sacrifice to
the idols, they made to smite off his head. And then the persecution and
woodness was so great of the paynims against the christian people, that within
a month after were put to death for the name of Jesu Christ and for to sustain
the christian faith, well a seventeen thousand christian people. Marcelin, in
the hour that he should be beheaded, said tofore all the people that he was not
worthy to be buried among christian people, and therefore he commanded upon
pain of cursing that none should bury his body. And so the body of him abode
above the earth thirty-five days without burying.
After, Saint Peter the
apostle appeared to Marcel, which was pope after Marcelin, and said to him in
this manner: Marcel, fair father, why buriest thou not me? And he answered:
Sir, be ye not long sith buried? And Saint Peter said: I
hold me not buried as long as I see Marcelin not buried, and the pope answered:
How, sir! know ye not how he accursed all them that should bury him? And Saint
Peter said: Is it not written that he that meeketh himself shall be enhanced?
This shouldest thou have thought; go then and bury him at my feet. And anon the
pope did his commandment and buried the body of Saint Marcelin hastily, which
was martyred the year of our Lord two hundred and eighty. Then pray we to him
that he pray for us.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/golden-legend-life-of-saint-marcelin/
Münster
in Heilsbronn. Mauritius-Laurentius-Altar (1515): St.Mauritius wird von Papst
Marcellinus im Glauben bestärkt.
Pictorial
Lives of the Saints – Saints Cletus and Marcellinus, Popes, Martyrs
Article
Saint Cletus was the
third Bishop of Rome, and succeeded Saint Linus, which circumstance alone shows
his eminent virtue among the first disciples of Saint Peter in the West. He sat
twelve years, from 76 to 89. The canon of the Roman mass, Bede, and other martyrologists
style him a martyr. He was buried near Saint Linus, on the Vatican, and his
relics still remain in that church.
Saint Marcellinus
succeeded Saint Caius in the Bishopric of Rome in 296, about the time that
Diocletian set himself up for a deity, and impiously claimed divine honors. In
those stormy times of persecution, Marcellinus acquired great glory. He sat in
Saint Peter’s chair eight years, three months, and twenty-five days, dying in
304, a year after the cruel persecution broke out, in which he gained much
honor. He has been styled a martyr, though his blood was not shed in the cause
of religion.
Reflection – It is a
fundamental maxim of the Christian morality, and a truth which Christ has
established in the clearest terms, and in innumerable passages of the Gospel,
that the cross or sufferings and mortification are the road to eternal bliss.
They, therefore, who lead not here a crucified and mortified life, are unworthy
ever to possess the unspeakable joys of His kingdom. Our Lord himself, our
model and our head, walked in this path, and His great Apostle puts us in mind
that he entered into bliss only by his blood and by the cross.
MLA
Citation
John Dawson Gilmary Shea.
“Saints Cletus and Marcellinus, Popes, Martyrs”. Pictorial
Lives of the Saints, 1889. CatholicSaints.Info.
8 March 2014. Web. 26 April 2023.
<https://catholicsaints.info/pictorial-lives-of-the-saints-saints-cletus-and-marcellinus-popes-martyrs/>
Pope St. Marcellinus
Pope from 296-304 A.D.
Died: 304 A.D.
Pronounced: mar-sel-LINE-uss
Give me the scoop on Marcellinus.
St. Marcellinus was Roman by birth, though we’re unsure the year in which he
was born. His reign coincided with the beginning of the most brutal persecution
the Church has ever seen. The emperor Diocletian was initially sympathetic to
Christianity, given that his wife was a Christian. But a forceful encouragement
by his colleague, Galerius, caused Diocletian to reconsider, ushering in a
period where churches were seized or demolished, sacred vessels were
surrendered, and death was the punishment for any who refused to sacrifice to
the gods. Apparently, bad things happen when you don’t listen to your wife.
Just ask Pontius Pilate.
The persecution was in its second year when Marcellinus died, though it’s
unclear whether or not he died a martyr. His feast day is April 26.
What was he known for?
Sadly, St. Marcellinus is known best for being accused of heresy. Thankfully,
though, the “sources” were forgeries and falsehoods written at the hands of
(presumably) some frustrated heretics who were mad they didn’t get their way.
The Donatists, a sect that thought the validity of a sacrament depended on how
holy the minister was, accused St. Marcellinus and his three successors around
400 A.D. of having offered incense to the Roman gods and given up their sacred
books.
We know that the letter-writer, Petilianus, is full of baloney, because if a
pope had renounced his faith, it would most definitely have been recorded by a
contemporary author (like Eusebius, who wrote about Church History just a
couple decades later). The fact that every other author was silent and made no
mention of popes behaving badly is sufficient evidence to believe the
renunciation never happened.
Fun fact: During Marcellinus’ reign, Armenia became the first Christian
nation after its ruler, Tiridates III, made Christianity the state religion. In
fact, the Mother Church of Armenia, the Etchmiadzin Cathedral, is thought to be
the oldest cathedral in the world, being traditionally dated to 303 A.D., the
year before Marcellinus died.
What else was going on in the world at the time?
Around the year 300, the magnetic compass was invented in China.
Coming Monday....Pope St. Marcellus I
SOURCES (and further
reading)
John, E. (1964). The Popes: A concise biographical history. New York: Hawthorn Books.
Pope St. Marcellinus - http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09637d.htm
Pope Marcellinus - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Marcellinus
Armenia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenia
300s - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/300s_(decade)
SOURCE : https://projects.flocknote.com/note/2873418
San Marcellino Papa
m. 304
(Papa dal 30/06/296 al 25/10/304)
Marcellino governò la Chiesa tra il III e il IV secolo per otto anni e morì
verso i 305, durante la terribile persecuzione di Diocleziano. Fu sepolto nel
cimitero di Priscilla, presso il martire Crescenzione.
Etimologia: Marcellino,
diminutivo di Marco = nato in marzo, sacro a Marte, dal latino
Nato a Roma, figlio di "Proietto". Nella liturgia cattolica fu sempre ricordato come una persona molto devota, pia e casta.
La figura di Marcellino fu ampiamente lodata da sant'Agostino, anche se cronologicamente molto postuma (nda: questo però sta a significare una continua tramandazione degli atti, delle tradizioni di culto e soprattutto della continuità sia di fede che del potere temporale intrinseco al movimento cristiano.)
Sempre secondo la tradizione, Marcellino fu incoronato "rex cristianorum" e vescovo di Roma il 30 giugno 296.
Gli inizi del suo pontificato furono gratificati dalla "pax" instaurata con l'imperatore dal suo predecessore Caio
Marcellino potè dedicarsi alla comunità nella sua interezza avendo soprattutto cura delle famiglie più bisognose.
Indirizzò l'ecumenismo ed il proselitismo cristiano verso quegli approdi dettati dalla fede.
Nel mentre la questione politica imperiale stava assumendo una connotazione diversa dal punto di vista politico.
Diocleziano materialmente impossibilitato a governare l'impero per come era stato conquistato,
Attraverso il senato fu stabilita una "tretarchia" per la quale, gli aggravi di governo furono suddivisi in tre diverse funzioni di governo.
Diocleziano a capo dell'impero d'oriente, Galerio governatore di Roma e Massimiano governatore dell' impero nord occidentale.
Fu il tetrarca Galerio, anticristiano per antonomasia, ad iniziare la cosiddetta "nona persecuzione" anticristiana, con la scusa dell'invadenza cristiana sulle terre imperiali. Dopo l'incontro a Nicomedia (nda: cittadina situata nel mar di Marmara, nella ex provincia romana di Bitinia- odierna Izmit), Galerio riuscì a convincere Diocleziano a ritornare al paganesimo e perseguire tutti i dissidenti.
Il 23 febbraio 303 fu incendiata la chiesa di Nicomedia. I cristiani, in risposta incendiarono il palazzo imperiale ed in conseguenza il pugno di ferro.
Le milizie romane distrussero quasi tutto. I beni confiscati e migliaia di persone furono condannate a morte. Fu addirittura massacrata l'intera "legione tebea", formata esclusivamente da cristiani (nda: si pensi che all'epoca non vi erano miliardi di individui, ma solo poche centinaia di migliaia, nel mondo conosciuto).
Marcellino fu decapitato per ordine dello stesso imperatore Diocleziano, il 25 ottobre 304 e le sue spoglie deposte nel cimitero di Priscilla.
Autore: Franco Prevato
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/50850
Pope
St. Marcellinus statue on Saint Peter's Square colonnade
MARCELLINO, santo
di Angelo Di Berardino - Enciclopedia dei Papi (2000)
Le notizie antiche su M.
sono talvolta confuse e danno luogo a discussioni e divergenze. Secondo il
Catalogo Liberiano succede a Caio il 30 giugno del 296 (secondo il Liber
pontificalis il 1° luglio) e muore nel 304, durante la persecuzione di
Diocleziano, dopo un episcopato di otto anni, tre mesi e venticinque giorni
(dal 30 giugno 296 al 25 ottobre 304). Questa notizia viene modificata dal
Liber pontificalis, che assegna al suo episcopato la durata di otto anni,
quattro mesi e sedici giorni. La Depositio episcoporum (Chronica minora, p. 70)
colloca la sua morte al 15 gennaio, con la seguente espressione:
"Marcellini, in Priscillae". Ma la celebrazione del 15 gennaio deve
essere riferita a papa Marcello,
suo successore, ricordato il 16 gennaio.
Infatti il Martyrologium
Hieronymianum e altre testimonianze antiche, come i sacramentari e lo stesso
Liber pontificalis (I, p. 164) hanno la data del 16 gennaio per la depositio di
papa Marcello nel sepolcreto di Priscilla. Anzi, il Liber pontificalis, a proposito
di papa Marcello, mettendo insieme leggende posteriori e la tradizione romana,
precisa che la matrona Lucina aveva raccolto il suo corpo e lo aveva seppellito
il 16 gennaio ("XVII kal. feb.") a Priscilla.
Inoltre nel Liber
pontificalis vi è una evidente contraddizione di date: all'inizio della
biografia esso farebbe finire l'episcopato di M. alla metà di novembre, mentre
alla fine del testo la sua morte è collocata al 26 aprile, e questa data dal
Liber pontificalis è passata al Martyrologium Romanum e ad altri martirologi
(Beda, Usuardo, Adone). Per queste ragioni numerosi studiosi, come L. Duchesne,
J.-P. Kirsch e H. Delehaye, pensano che nella Depositio episcoporum si sia
introdotto un errore di trascrizione, e quindi bisogna leggere al 16 gennaio, e
non al 15, la deposizione di Marcello e non di M., in quanto indica la stessa
persona e la medesima commemorazione nel medesimo luogo. E.B. Schaefer analizza
le fonti di questa confusione, per cui si deve concludere che sia la Depositio
che il Martyrologium Hieronymianum indicano papa Marcello e non Marcellino.
Inoltre il Liber pontificalis aggiunge altre notizie attinte forse da qualche
Passio Marcellini, ora perduta: che era figlio di "Proiectus", e che
aveva subito il martirio il 31 marzo. Si dilunga poi a parlare dell'apostasia
di M. durante la persecuzione mediante l'offerta dell'incenso, senza però che
avesse sacrificato o consegnato le Scritture, e aggiunge quindi che si pentì
del suo gesto, per cui dovette subire il martirio con altri cristiani (Claudio,
Cirino e Antonino). Alcune redazioni del Liber pontificalis (I, p. CCIX)
aggiungono che il presbitero Marcello lo esortava a non eseguire i comandi di
Diocleziano. Il suo corpo, e quelli di altri cristiani uccisi con lui, per
ordine di Diocleziano erano stati lasciati insepolti per ventisei giorni (o
venticinque secondo alcuni codici), e poi, di notte, furono sepolti dal
presbitero Marcello nel cimitero di Priscilla, il 26 aprile, in un luogo scelto
in precedenza dallo stesso M. (ibid., pp. 72, 162).
La notizia del martirio è
ripresa dal Martyrologium Romanum, e viene collocata sotto l'imperatore
Massimiano al 26 aprile (Martyrologium Romanum [...] scholiis historicis
instructum, in Propylaeum ad Acta Sanctorum Decembris, Bruxellis 1940, p. 156),
mentre il Liber pontificalis fa svolgere la vicenda sotto Diocleziano. Non
sembra che M. abbia subito il martirio, in quanto la qualifica di martire gli
venne attribuita solo verso la fine del V secolo, quando fu forse scritta una
sua Passio: il Catalogo Liberiano non parla, infatti, del suo martirio e la
Depositio martyrum non lo colloca tra i martiri. Eusebio di Cesarea, suo
contemporaneo, usa una frase ambigua: "fu portato via dalla
persecuzione" (Historia ecclesiastica VII, 32, 1), espressione che potrebbe
indicare soltanto l'esilio. M. fu sepolto, come detto, nella catacomba di
Priscilla presso il martire Crescenzione (Le Liber pontificalis, I, pp. 72,
162): "In cymiterio Priscillae, in cubiculum qui patet usque in hodiernum
diem, quod ipse praeceperat poenitens dum traheretur ad occisionem, in crypta
iuxta corpus sancti Criscentionis". Pertanto al tempo della redazione
della prima edizione del Liber pontificalis la tomba di papa M. era ben
conosciuta: "cubiculum qui patet usque in hodiernum diem", espressione
riassunta in alcuni manoscritti in "cubiculo claro" (cfr. ibid., p.
CCIX). L'autore del Liber conosceva la tomba e la sua localizzazione precisa,
anche perché Crescenzione, morto durante la persecuzione di Diocleziano, era
molto venerato e la sua tomba molto frequentata: la sua cripta era conosciuta
anche dagli itinerari del VII secolo e ad essa si scendeva dalla basilica
superiore di S. Silvestro mediante una scala (Codice topografico, p. 77). Il De
locis sanctis martyrum, testo molto conciso e spesso confuso, colloca lì, tra
gli altri martiri e santi, Marcello e M. (Codice topografico, pp. 116 s.). Il
sepolcro di papa M. è stato individuato presso l'ipogeo degli Acilii, nella
cosiddetta regione di Crescenzione (catacomba di Priscilla), all'interno di un
cubicolo posto accanto a quello che ha ospitato la tomba del martire.
L'unica memoria
epigrafica di M. è costituita da una transenna marmorea, proveniente dal
cimitero di Callisto sulla via Appia, in cui si attesta che il diacono Severo
dovette chiedere l'autorizzazione a papa M. per poter realizzare un cubicolo
familiare (Inscriptiones Christianae urbis Romae, nr. 10183: "iussu
p[a]p[ae] sui Marcellini"). Questa iscrizione è particolarmente
significativa anche perché costituisce la prima attestazione epigrafica del
termine papa attribuito al vescovo di Roma. Vicino alla tomba di M. fu dipinta
una scena di grandi dimensioni, la quale rappresenta i tre fanciulli ebrei che
rifiutano di adorare il re Nabucodonosor, in segno di difesa del papa, accusato
di turificatio (offerta dell'incenso). Il successore di M., papa Marcello, fu
deposto invece nella basilica superiore vicino alla tomba di papa Silvestro.
Perché i due papi non furono seppelliti nella catacomba tradizionale, quella di
Callisto? Forse perché questo cimitero era stato sequestrato durante la
persecuzione di Diocleziano del 303 e non era ancora utilizzabile a quel tempo
(P. Styger, pp. 115-16).
La successione a papa M.
è molto discussa; Eusebio di Cesarea, nella lista dei vescovi delle sedi più
importanti, si è fermato a M.; Girolamo, nel suo Chronicon, scrive che "a
Roma viene eletto Eusebio, il ventinovesimo vescovo, che dura sei mesi"
(P.G., XIX, col. 583), e succede a Marcellino. Su tutta la questione v. Marcello
I, santo.
Si è già accennato alla
tradizione successiva, che talvolta accusa M. di apostasia, accusa che venne
sfruttata, ai loro fini ecclesiologici, dai donatisti. Si può ricostruire la
genesi probabile di questa accusa. I donatisti, dopo il 370, cercavano di
coinvolgere nell'accusa di traditio delle Scritture, durante la persecuzione di
Diocleziano, tutti coloro che avevano avuto in qualche modo a che fare con la
condanna dei donatisti nelle fasi iniziali dello scisma, in particolare Ossio
di Cordova, M. e i suoi presbiteri e futuri papi Marcello, Milziade e
Silvestro. Parmeniano, vescovo donatista di Cartagine (362-391/92), nella sua
prima opera, Adversus ecclesiam traditorum, non incolpa nessun papa in
particolare, ma accusa in generale i cattolici di essere traditores (cfr.
Ottato di Milevi, Contra Parmenianum Donatistam 1, 6, a cura di S. Lancel,
Paris 1995 [Sources Chrétiennes, 412], p. 184). Invece, nella sua Epistola ad
Tyconium, comincia a fare dei nomi e avanza l'accusa di traditores solo a danno
di Ossio e Milziade (Agostino, Contra epistolam Parmeniani I, 4, 7 [Ossio]; 1,
5, 10 [Milziade]), cioè i due personaggi che direttamente erano stati coinvolti
nella prima condanna dei donatisti. In questa lista di accusati per ora non
viene incluso il nome di Marcellino. Verso l'anno 400 invece compare nella
lista dei colpevoli anche il nome di M., che viene accusato da Petiliano,
vescovo di Costantina, nella sua Epistola ad presbyteros et diaconos, di essere
stato "il primo a bruciare i libri del Signore", quindi prima di
Mensurio e di Ceciliano (cfr. Agostino, Contra litteras Petiliani libri III II,
92, 202; De unico baptismo contra Petilianum liber 16, 27).
Agostino dà notizia
dell'accusa a M., ma non dà alcuna risposta, mentre si dilunga su altri
personaggi, come Ursacio e Macario (Contra litteras Petiliani libri III II, 92,
203-13). Qualche anno più tardi diventa più ampia la lista di coloro che a Roma
avrebbero consegnato le Scritture: non solo si nomina M., ma anche i suoi
presbiteri Marcello, Milziade e Silvestro, futuri papi (Agostino, De unico
baptismo contra Petilianum liber 16, 27, opera probabilmente scritta nel 410:
qui viene indicato esplicitamente per la prima volta anche Marcello). Agostino
risponde considerando calunnie prive di qualsiasi fondamento quelle rivolte a
"Marcellino e i suoi presbiteri Milziade, Marcello e Silvestro", in
quanto Petiliano non adduce la più piccola prova e pertanto essi sono da
considerare innocenti (ibid.). Grande aspirazione donatista era quella di avere
un vescovo della setta riconosciuto e accettato a Roma, con il quale avere la
comunione ecclesiale e giustificare la loro cattolicità. Per questo da una
parte tentavano di invalidare la successione apostolica romana mediante
l'accusa ad alcuni papi di averla interrotta con la loro apostasia, dall'altra
dimostravano che la vera successione a Roma veniva assicurata da vescovi
donatisti. A queste pretese risponde Agostino, facendo osservare che nessun
vescovo donatista è inserito nell'ordo successionis romano (ep. 53, 1, 3, cfr.
anche paragrafo 1, 2; Contra litteras Petiliani libri III II, 108, 247).
Agostino inoltre rimprovera ai donatisti di non avere avanzato queste accuse al
tempo dovuto, ma con molto ritardo (Contra epistolam Parmeniani I, 5, 10; De
unico baptismo contra Petilianum liber 16, 28). Nella conferenza di Cartagine
del 411 da parte donatista si vuole colpire specialmente M. e si sostiene che
bisogna staccarsi dai cattivi con una separazione fisica (cfr. Agostino, De
unico baptismo contra Petilianum liber 14, 23; Id., Breviculus collationis cum
Donatistis III, 18, 34-6, a cura di M. Petschenig, Vindobonae-Lipsiae 1910
[Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, 53], pp. 84-6). Anzi qui si
presenta un certo Felice come legittimo vescovo di Roma (Gesta Collationis
Carthaginiensis I, 157-63, a cura di S. Lancel, Paris 1972 [Sources
Chrétiennes, 195], pp. 804-6), mentre nello stesso tempo si asserisce che il
vescovo cattolico di Roma di allora non avrebbe avuto la legittima successione.
Anche il Liber genealogus, opera donatista (427-452), scrive che
"costretti [dagli imperatori Diocleziano e Massimiano] Marcellino a Roma e
Mensurio a Cartagine, Stratone e Cassiano diaconi di Roma e Ceciliano, mentre
erano diaconi della verità pubblicamente hanno bruciato i vangeli sul
Campidoglio" (Chronica minora, p. 196). Lo scopo ultimo dello scritto
donatista era di colpire Ceciliano ed anche, indirettamente, papa Milziade,
ordinato presbitero da M., il quale aveva assolto Ceciliano nel concilio romano
del 313. Poiché i donatisti ricorrevano sempre a sotterfugi e cavilli nella
polemica, un'accusa così grave, se avesse avuto qualche fondamento, sarebbe
stata addotta in precedenza, specialmente al tempo del concilio di Roma del 313
o di Arles del 314. Pertanto si deve pensare che essa sia stata inventata in
tempo successivo. Invece la tradizione orientale ha un alto concetto di M.:
Teodoreto di Ciro, che nella sua storia non nomina papa Marcello, dice di M.
che "si era nobilmente distinto durante la persecuzione" (Historia
ecclesiastica I, 3, 1).
Tuttavia anche a Roma, in
periodo posteriore, era nata una certa tradizione sfavorevole a M. (L.
Duchesne, Histoire, p. 95). Sembra che a fondamento della tradizione romana ci
sia una perduta Passio Marcellini (cfr. Le Liber pontificalis, I, p. LXXIV),
della fine del V secolo, e quindi di circa due secoli posteriore agli
avvenimenti contestati, così come le notizie su papa Marcello dipendono dagli
Acta del suo martirio: tutti e due gli scritti fanno parte di un gruppo di
narrazioni romanzesche che hanno al centro una certa matrona romana di nome
Lucina (E. Caspar, Geschichte, pp. 97-8; v. Marcello
I, santo). Inoltre, l'accusa a M. si ritrova in un altro testo romano del
periodo di papa Simmaco.
Quasi al tempo della Passio fu, infatti, composto anche un altro falso
riguardante il cedimento nella persecuzione di M., cioè gli atti del concilio
di Sinuessa (I.D. Mansi, Sacrorum conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, I,
Florentiae 1759, pp. 1249-57; P.L., VI, coll. 11-20), secondo i quali M.
riconobbe la sua colpa, ma per la sua autorità volutamente non fu condannato da
altri vescovi; di fronte tuttavia all'evidenza dei testimoni egli stesso fu
costretto a condannarsi davanti ad una riunione episcopale segreta composta di
trecento vescovi, che condannarono anche molti presbiteri e diaconi per la
stessa colpa. Secondo questo testo M. si sarebbe dimesso dall'episcopato il 23
agosto del 303, ma i due documenti non concordano sulla cronologia del
cedimento di M. e sul contenuto. Comunque il preteso concilio di Sinuessa
voleva stabilire il principio che prima sedes non iudicabitur a quoquam
("la prima sede non sarà giudicata da chicchessia") al tempo delle
lotte tra papa Simmaco, l'antipapa Lorenzo e
il re Teoderico. Pertanto il caso di un papa colpevole, che non viene deposto,
ma riconosce la sua colpa, era molto utile alla causa di papa Simmaco.
L'anonimo autore si limita solo a sfruttare la leggenda, oppure crede realmente
alla colpevolezza di M.? Il Binio nel 1600 (I.D. Mansi, Sacrorum conciliorum,
pp. 1257 ss.) e Mommsen, nel secolo scorso, considerano una falsificazione gli
atti del concilio di Sinuessa (M.G.H., Gesta Pontificum Romanorum, I, a cura di
Th. Mommsen, 1898, p. LIII), conclusione oggi accettata da tutti. Notizie simili,
riprese dalla perduta Passio, sono passate nel Liber pontificalis, secondo il
quale M., apostata durante la persecuzione ma paenitentia ductus, subisce la
decapitazione; tuttavia esso non riprende affatto la leggenda del concilio di
Sinuessa e neppure l'accusa donatista di avere consegnato i libri sacri. La
penitenza quasi immediata, la decapitazione e l'obbrobrio dell'esposizione
pubblica del suo corpo riscattano ampiamente, per l'autore del Liber, la
debolezza di Marcellino. Per questo dal presbitero Marcello, con altri
presbiteri e diaconi, di notte al canto di inni, egli viene seppellito nel
cimitero di Priscilla, "nella tomba che ancora oggi è visibile".
Poiché questi documenti sono molto tardi rispetto agli avvenimenti, essi
potrebbero essere una risposta alle insinuazioni diffuse da oltre un secolo dai
donatisti, che erano presenti anche a Roma ed intrigavano per avere un vescovo
nella Sede romana.
A M. vengono attribuite
due lettere (Regesta Pontificum Romanorum, a cura di Ph. Jaffé-G. Wattenbach-S.
Loewenfeld-F. Kaltenbrunner-P. Ewald, I, Lipsiae 1885, nrr. 157-58; I.D. Mansi,
Sacrorum conciliorum, pp. 1239-43), che sono però posteriori: la prima sostiene
la dottrina che il Padre non è maggiore del Figlio e pertanto è connessa con la
controversia ariana; la seconda, più interessante, riguarda i processi
ecclesiastici, ma soprattutto afferma che l'imperatore non può ordinare cose
contrarie ai comandamenti divini; anzi ogni giudizio emesso dai magistrati per
timore verso l'autorità è da considerarsi nullo.
fonti e bibliografia
Acta Sanctorum [...],
Aprilis, III, Venetiis 1738, pp. 412-14.
Le Liber pontificalis, a
cura di L. Duchesne, I, Paris 1886, pp. LXXIII ss., XCIX, CCIX, 1, 72, 162-63,
164; III, a cura di C. Vogel, ivi 1957, pp. 4-5, 75.
Chronica minora (saec.
IV, V, VI, VII), in M.G.H., Auctores antiquissimi, IX, 1, a cura di Th.
Mommsen, 1892, pp. 70, 75, 196.
Eusebio di Cesarea, Historia
ecclesiastica VII, 32, 1, a cura di E. Schwartz, Leipzig 1908 (Die Griechischen
Christlichen Schriftsteller. Eusebius Werke, II, 2), p. 717.
Teodoreto, Historia
ecclesiastica I, 3, 1, a cura di L. Parmentier, ivi 1911 (Die Griechischen
Christlichen Schriftsteller, 19), p. 7.
L. Duchesne, La
nouvelle édition du Liber Pontificalis, "Mélanges d'Archéologie et d'Histoire",
18, 1898, pp. 389-92 (su Marcello).
Bibliotheca Hagiographica
Latina [...], II, Bruxellis 1900-01, nrr. 5223b-5223f.
Epigrammata Damasiana, a
cura di A. Ferrua, Città del Vaticano 1942, nr. 28.
Bibliotheca Hagiographica
Latina [...], Novum Supplementum, a cura di H. Fros, Bruxellis 1986,
nrr. 5223b-5223g.
L. Duchesne, Histoire
ancienne de l'Église, II, Paris 1907.
J.-P. Kirsch, Die
römischen Titelkirchen im Altertum, Paderborn 1918, pp. 77-80.
O. Marucchi, Il
sepolcro di papa Marcellino, "Nuovo Bullettino di Archeologia
Cristiana", 12, 1907, p. 118.
Agostino, Contra
litteras Petiliani libri III, a cura di B. Quinot, [Paris] 1967 (Bibliothèque
augustinienne-Oeuvre de Saint Augustin, 30), p. 796.
E. Caspar, Kleine
Beiträge zur älteren Papstgeschichte, I, Die römischen Bischöfe der
diokletianischen Verfolgung, Marcellinus und Marcellus, "Zeit-schrift
für Kirchengeschichte", 46, 1927, pp. 321-33.
Id., Geschichte des
Papsttums, I, Tübingen 1930, pp. 97-9.
E.B. Schaefer, Die
Bedeutung der Epigramme des Papstes Damasus I. für die Geschichte der
Heiligenverehrung, Roma 1932, pp. 164-70.
P. Styger, Römische
Märtyrergrüfte, Berlin 1935, pp. I, 115-16.
Codice topografico della
città di Roma, a cura di R. Valentini-G. Zucchetti, II, Roma 1942 (Fonti per la
Storia d'Italia, 88), pp. 77, 116 s.
L.C. Mohlberg, Historisch-kritische
Bemerkungen zum Ursprung der sogenannten "Memoria Apostolorum" an der
Appianischen Strasse, in Colligere Fragmenta: Festschrift Alban Dold zum
70. Geburtstag, a cura di B. Fischer-V. Fiala, Beuron 1952, pp. 52-74.
E.H. Röttges, Marcellinus-Marcellus [...],
"Zeitschrift für Katholische Theologie", 78, 1956, pp. 385-420.
A. Amore, Il
preteso "Lapsus" di Papa Marcellino, "Antonianum", 32,
1957, pp. 411-26 (nega risolutamente la caduta di M.).
Id., È esistito Papa
Marcello?, ibid., pp. 57-75.
W. Schwarz, Marcellus
I, "Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte", 73, 1962, pp. 327-34.
A. Amore, Note
agiografiche sul calendario perpetuo della Chiesa universale,
"Antonianum", 39, 1964, p. 26.
J. Dubois, Le
martyrologe d'Usuard, Bruxelles 1965, p. 219.
Ch. Pietri, Roma
Christiana. Recherches sur l'Église de Rome, son organisation, sa politique,
son idéologie de Miltiade à Sixte III (311-440), I-II, Roma 1976: I, pp. 392
ss.; II, p. 1609.
W.H.C. Frend, The
Donatist Church, Oxford 1952, ad indicem.
J. Dubois-G. Renaud, Le
Martyrologe d'Adon. Ses deux familles. Ses trois recensions. Texte et
commentaire, Paris 1984, p. 134.
F. Tolotti, Le
cimetière de Priscille. Synthèse d'une recherche, "Revue d'Histoire
Ecclésiastique", 73, 1988, pp. 281-314.
T.D. Barnes, Constantine
and Eusebius, Cambrigde, Mass. 1981, pp. 38 s., 303 s.
G. Squittieri, Cristianesimo
e impero romano, Salerno 1981, pp. 278-81.
R.B. Eno, The
Significance of the List of Roman Bishops in the Anti-Donatist Polemic,
"Vigiliae Christianae", 47, 1993, pp. 158-69.
Per la documentazione
archeologica ed epigrafica v. inoltre:
Inscriptiones Christianae
urbis Romae. Nova series, IV, a cura di G.B. de Rossi-A. Ferrua, In Civitate
Vaticana 1964.
F. Tolotti, Il
cimitero di Priscilla. Studio di topografia e architettura, ivi 1971, pp.
291-301 (sul sepolcro di papa M.).
P. Testini, Archeologia
Cristiana, Bari 1980², pp. 384-85 (a proposito dell'iscrizione posta dal
diacono Severo nel cimitero di Callisto).
A Dictionary of Christian
Biography, III, London 1882, s.v., p. 804.
Dictionnaire
d'archéologie chrétienne et de liturgie, X, Paris 1932, s.v., coll. 1762-73.
E.C., VIII, s.v., coll.
10-1.
Lexikon der christlichen
Ikonographie, VII, Rom 1974, s.v., pp. 487-88.
Dizionario storico del
Papato, a cura di Ph. Levillain, II, Milano 1996, s.v., pp. 919-20.
SOURCE : https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/santo-marcellino_(Enciclopedia-dei-Papi)/
Voir aussi : http://orthodoxievco.net/ecrits/vies/synaxair/avril/marcellin3.pdf
