Lucifer | |
|---|---|
%2c_cappella_sx_di_san_saturnino%2c_nicchiette_03_lucifero_di_cagliari.jpg) | |
| Born | Early 4th century |
| Died | 20 May 370 |
| Title | Bishop of Cagliari |
St. Lucifer of Cagliari (Latin:Lucifer Calaritanus,Italian:Lucifero da Cagliari; died 20 May 370 or 371) was abishop of Cagliari inSardinia known for his passionate opposition toArianism. He is venerated as a Saint in Sardinia.
Lucifer first appears in history as an envoy fromPope Liberius to the EmperorConstantius II,requesting the convening of a church council.[1] At theCouncil of Milan in 355, he defendedAthanasius of Alexandria against Arian attempts to secure his condemnation by Western bishops. It was reported that Constantius II, a supporter of Arian theology, confined Lucifer for three days in the Imperial Palace, where Lucifer continued to argue vehemently on behalf of Athanasius.[2] Along withEusebius of Vercelli andDionysius of Milan, Lucifer was exiled for his opposition to the imperial ecclesiastical policy.[3] He was banished first toGermanicia, the see of bishopEudoxius, thereafter toPalestine and finally to theThebais in Egypt. While in exile, he wrote fiery pamphlets to the Emperor in which he proclaimed himself to be ready to suffermartyrdom for his beliefs.[citation needed]
Disciple of StEusebius of Rome, he became a scholar in Greek and Hebrew languages, and then was baptized by thePope Eusebius. St Lucifer wrote a well documentedVita S. Eusebii Vercellensis (fromLatin, "Life of Saint Eusebius of Vercelli").[4]
After the death of Constantius and the accession ofJulian the Apostate, Lucifer and other expatriated bishops were allowed to return from exile in 361 or 362.[5] However, he would not be reconciled to former Arians.[6]
He opposed the BishopMeletius, who came to accept theNicene Creed (and for that was driven out by Arians). Although Meletius had the support of many proponents of Nicene theology at Antioch, Lucifer put his support behind theEustathian party which had unflinchingly stood by the Nicene creed, and prolonged theschism between Meletians and Eustathians by consecrating without licence a Eustathian,Paulinus, as bishop. He subsequently returned to Cagliari where, according toJerome, he died in 370.[7]
He may have beenexcommunicated as is hinted in the writings ofAmbrose of Milan andAugustine of Hippo, as well as Jerome, who refers to his followers as Luciferians. There is extant a work known asLibellus precum ad Imperatores, written by two Luciferian clergy calledFaustinus andMarcellinus [ru]. Jerome discusses Lucifer and his supporters in his polemicAltercatio Luciferiani et orthodoxi ("Altercation of a Luciferian and an Orthodox"),[8] as well as describing the bishop's career inDe Viris Illustribus (chapter 95).
Alban Butler writes, on the life ofAthanasius of Alexandria, that Lucifer of Cagliari and some other bishops refused to accept back the bishops who accepted the Arian position. The lapsed, notwithstanding their repentance, could no longer be admitted in the rank of bishop or priest. St. Athanasius condemned this excessive severity; and in 362 assembled the Council of Alexandria, at which assistedSt Eusebius of Vercelli, in his return from banishment fromThebais, and StAsterius of Petra. This synod condemned those who denied the divinity of the Holy Ghost, and decreed that the authors of the Arian heresy should be deposed, and upon their repentance received only to the lay-communion; but those prelates who had fallen into it only by compulsion, and for a short time, should, upon their repentance, retain their sees. (Conc. t. vii. pp. 73 and 680.)[9]
Alban Butler writes of the life of Saint Jerome as he reflects on the history of the Council of Alexandria in 362: "This indulgence of forgiveness, offered to the repentant Bishops, displeased Lucifer, Bishop of Cagliari, a person famous for his zeal and writings against the Arians, in the reign of Constantius. St Jerome composed a dialogue against the Luciferians, in which he plainly demonstrates, by the acts of the Council ofRimini, that in it the bishops were imposed upon."[10] Constantius, for the purpose of wearying out the orthodox bishops (Sulpitius Severus says: E.H.., ii, 41), delayed allowing the bishops home, keeping them there for several months until they finally accepted the Sirmian Creed.[11]
Lucifer of Cagliari's surviving writings, all of which date from the period of his exile, are directed against Arianism and reconciliation withheresy. His works are written in the form of speeches delivered directly to Constantius and repeatedly address the emperor in the second person throughout. His texts quote extensively from the Bible and so are useful as sources for theVetus Latina. Also extant is a pair of letters which are allegedly correspondence between Lucifer and the emperor's secretary Florentius on the subject of some of Lucifer's inflammatory works that he had sent to Constantius.[citation needed]
Theeditio princeps of his writings was printed by bishopJean du Tillet (lat. Ioannes Tilius; Paris, 1568). In modern times they were edited byWilhelm von Hartel (CSEL, vol. 14, 1886) andGerardus Frederik Diercks (Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina, vol. 8, 1978). When Hartel prepared his edition, only one manuscript with Lucifer's works (Vaticanus Reginensis 133 = V) was known. But in 1893 another one was found in theSainte-Geneviève Library in Paris (Genouefensis 1351 = G), and only since 1921 have scholars paid attention to it, thanks todom André Wilmart's article.[12] There was also a third manuscript (Corbiensis deperditus), which is mentioned in a library catalogue ofCorbie Abbey. Moreover, there is a note in G indicating that it was transcribed from a very old book in Corbie (ad exemplar vetustissimum abbatie antique corbye in dyocesi Ambianensi).[13]
Diercks in his edition concludes that G is an indirect copy of V, through a lost Corbie intermediary. However, Lambert Ferreres showed that some good readings are transmitted only in G, which is difficult to explain if it depends on V.[13]
Lucifer's status as a Saint had been a matter of controversy. According to John Henry Blunt's 1874Dictionary of Sects, Heresies, Ecclesiastical Parties, and Schools of Religious Thought,
The Church ofCagliari celebrated the feast of a Saint Lucifer on the 20th of May. Two Archbishops of Sardinia wrote for and against the sanctity of Lucifer. TheCongregation of the Inquisition imposed silence on both parties, and decreed that the veneration of Lucifer should stand as it was. TheBollandists defend this decree of the Congregation ... contending that the Lucifer in question is not the author of the schism, but another Lucifer who suffered martyrdom in the persecution of theVandals."[14]
A chapel in Cagliari's cathedral is dedicated to a Saint Lucifer.Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy, wife ofLouis XVIII, is buried there.[citation needed]
Opinions about Lucifer vary among Catholics who know of him; some consider him to have been "the champion of correct belief against Arianism and friend of St. Athanasius,"[15] while others consider him to have been a religious fanatic who ferociously berated his opponents.[3]
His optional memorial is observed in theChurch of Cagliari on the 20th of May.
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