Peter Chrysologus
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Saint Peter Chrysologus (Greek for golden-worded) (406–c. 450) was the Bishop of Ravenna from 433 to his death. He is revered as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, and was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XIII in 1729.
Peter was born in Imola, where he was ordained a deacon by Cornelius, Bishop of Imola. He was made an archdeacon through the influence of Emperor Valentinian III. Pope Sixtus III appointed Peter to be Bishop of Ravenna in 433, apparently rejecting the candidate elected by the people of the city. He was a counsellor of Pope Leo the Great. Eutyches appealed to Peter to intervene with the pope on his behalf after he was denounced at a synod held in Constantinople in 448. The text of Peter's letter in response to Eutyches has been preserved in the Acts of the Council of Chalcedon; in it, Peter admonishes Eutyches to accecpt the ruling of the synod and to give obedience to the Bishop of Rome as the successor of Saint Peter.
Known as The Doctor of Homilies, Peter was known for his short but inspired talks; he is said to have been afraid of boring his audience. After hearing his first homily as bishop, Galla Placidia is said to have given him the surname "Chrysologus" (Golden-Worded) by which he is known. She became the patron of many of Peter's projects. He spoke against the Arian and Monophysite teachings, condemning them as heresies, and explained topics such as the Apostles' Creed, John the Baptist, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the mystery of the Incarnation in simple and clear language. Peter advocated daily reception of Holy Communion.
Peter urged his listeners to have confidence to the forgiveness offered through Christ:
- Gain for yourself the pardon coming from faith, since he is his own worst enemy who does not believe that he is given what the very generous Bestower of mercy promises in all kindness.[1]
- Brothers, let us be sinners by our own admission, so that with Christ's forgiveness we may be sinners no more.[2]
- He receives sinners (Luke 15:2). They do not say: "He assumes" them. What was it that he who receives had lost? Whoever finds what he lost pardons faults, turns wrath into joy, and transforms grief into grace. He receives sinners. God receives sinners, but God does not allow those whom he receives to remain sinners. The approach of the sinner does no harm to God. God sanctifies the sinner who draws near to him. O Pharisee, Christ does not receive sins when he receives sinners, because God is the recipient not of the offense, but of the human being. So the Pharisee should not have been looking at the condition the sinners were in when they arrived, but at their condition upon their return. A case in point, let them see that Paul, whom they had sent as a persecutor, returned thereafter as a preacher.[3]
In the eighth century Bishop Felix of Ravenna preserved 176 of his homilies. Additional writings can be found in other collections.
Peter died in the year 450 or later, when on a visit to his birthplace. Older reference books say he died on 2 December, but a more recent interpretation of the ninth-century Liber Pontificalis Ecclesiae Ravennatis indicates that he died on a 31 July.[4] When in 1729 he was declared a Doctor of the Church, his feast day, which was not included in the Tridentine Calendar, was inserted in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints for celebration on 4 December. In 1969 it was moved to 30 July. (What is reckoned to be the day of his death, 31 July, is the feast of Saint Ignatius of Loyola.)
A contemporary portrait of Peter is found in the mosaics of the Church of San Giovanni Evangelista in Ravenna, where he is depicted among the members of the eastern and western imperial family, showing his extraordinary influence.
[edit] Quotes attributed to Peter Chrysologus
- "Anyone who wishes to frolic with the devil cannot rejoice with Christ." (attributed to Peter Chrysologus)[5]
- "He is the bread sown in the virgin, leavened in the flesh, moulded in his passion, baked in the furnace of the sepulchre, placed in the churches, and set upon the altars, which daily supplies heavenly food to the faithful."[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Sermon 58, On the Creed, par. 13
- ^ Sermon 30, on Matthew 9:9ff, par. 5
- ^ Sermon 168 par. 3
- ^ Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 98
- ^ Saints of 30 July 2005
- ^ Doctors of the Catholic Church: Saint Peter Chrysologus
[edit] Works cited
- The Online Catholic Encyclopedia
- Catholic Community Forum - Patron Saint Index
- Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Society
- Doctors of the Catholic Church
