 |
|
| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
Martyr; died 10 August, 258.
St. Lawrence, one of thedeacons of theRoman Church, was one of the victims of thepersecution ofValerian in 258, likePope Sixtus II and many other members of the Romanclergy. At the beginning of the month of August, 258, the emperor issued an edict, commanding that allbishops,priests, anddeacons should immediately beput to death ("episcopi et presbyteriet diacones incontinenti animadvertantur" —Cyprian, Epist. lxxx, 1). This imperial command was immediately carried out inRome. On 6 AugustPope Sixtus II was apprehended in one of thecatacombs, and executed forthwith ("Xistum in cimiterio animadversum sciatis VIII id. Augusti et cum eo diacones quattuor."Cyprian, ep. lxxx, 1). Two otherdeacons, Felicissimus and Agapitus, wereput to death the same day. In theRomanCalendar of feasts of the fourth century theirfeast day is on the samedate. Four days later, on the 10th of August of that same year, Lawrence, the last of the sevendeacons, also suffered amartyr's death. The anniversary of thisholymartyr falls on that day, according to the Almanac of Philocalus for the year 354, the inventory of which contains the principal feasts of the Romanmartyrs of the middle of the fourth century; it also mentions the street where his grave is to be found, the Via Tiburtina ("III id. Aug. Laurentii in Tibertina"; Ruinart, "Acta sincera", Ratisbon, 1859, 632). The itineraries of the graves of the Romanmartyrs, as given in the seventh century, mention the burial-place of this celebratedmartyr in theCatacomb of Cyriacain agro Verano (De Rossi, "Roma Sott.", I, 178).
Since the fourth century St. Lawrence has been one of the mosthonouredmartyrs of theRoman Church.Constantine the Great was the first to erect a little oratory over his burial-place, which was enlarged and beautified byPope Pelagius II (579-90).Pope Sixtus III (432-40) built a large basilica with threenaves, theapse leaning against the older church, on the summit of the hill where he was buried. In the thirteenth centuryHonorius III made the two buildings into one, and so the basilica of San Lorenzo remains to this day. Pope St. Damasus (366-84) wrote a panegyric in verse, which was engraved in marble and placed over histomb. Two contemporaries of the last-namedpope,St. Ambrose of Milan and the poet Prudentius, give particular details about St. Lawrence's death. Ambrose relates (De officiis min. xxviii) that when St. Lawrence was asked for the treasures of theChurch he brought forward thepoor, among whom he had divided the treasure, in place ofalms; also that whenPope Sixtus II was led away to his death he comforted Lawrence, who wished to share hismartyrdom, by saying that he would follow him in three days. The saintlyBishop ofMilan also states that St. Lawrence was burned to death on a gridiron (De offic., xli). In like manner, but with more poetical detail, Prudentius describes themartyrdom of the Romandeacon in hishymn on St. Lawrence ("Peristephanon", Hymnus II).
The meeting between St. Lawrence andPope Sixtus II, when the latter was being led to execution, related bySt. Ambrose, is not compatible with the contemporaneous reports about thepersecution ofValerian. The manner of hisexecution--burning on a red-hot gridiron--also gives rise to gravedoubts. The narrations of Ambrose and Prudentius are founded rather on oral tradition than on written accounts. It is quite possible that between the year 258 and the end of the fourth century popular legends may have grown up about this highlyvenerated Romandeacon, and some of these legends have been preserved by these two authors. We have, in any case, no means of verifying from earlier sources the details derived from St. Ambrose and Prudentius, or of ascertaining to what extent such details are supported by earlier historical tradition. Fuller accounts of themartyrdom of St. Lawrence were composed, probably, early in the sixth century, and in these narratives a number of themartyrs of the Via Tiburtina and of the twoCatacombs of St. Cyriacain agro Verano andSt. Hippolytius were connected in a romantic and wholly legendary fashion. The details given in these Acts concerning themartyrdom of St. Lawrence and his activity before his death cannot claim any credibility. However, in spite of this criticism of the later accounts of themartyrdom, there can be no question that St. Lawrence was a real historical personage, nor anydoubt as to themartyrdom of thatvenerated Romandeacon, the place of its occurrence, and thedate of his burial.Pope Damasus built abasilica inRome which he dedicated to St. Lawrence; this is the church now known as that of San Lorenzo in Damaso. The church of San Lorenzo in Lucina, also dedicated to thissaint, still exists. Thefeast day of St. Lawrence is kept on 10 August. He is pictured in art with the gridiron on which he is supposed to have been roasted to death.
APA citation.Kirsch, J.P.(1910).St. Lawrence. InThe Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09089a.htm
MLA citation.Kirsch, Johann Peter."St. Lawrence."The Catholic Encyclopedia.Vol. 9.New York: Robert Appleton Company,1910.<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09089a.htm>.
Transcription.This article was transcribed for New Advent by Paul T. Crowley.Dedicated to Mr. Larry Cope.
Ecclesiastical approbation.Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, Censor.Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmasterat newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.