The Pastors of the 5th Century The Pastors of the 5th Century A Comparative Study of the Pastoral Works of St. Peter Chrysologus and Salvian of Marseilles Dariusz Kasprzak OFMCap. Kraków 2017 Proofreading Ewa Popielarz Technical editor Jadwiga Malik The publication was financed by the subsidy for the maintaining of research potential of the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, granted by the Minister of Science and Higher Education in the year 2016. Publikacja finansowana z dotacji na utrzymanie potencjału badawczego Uni wer sy tetu Papieskiego Jana Pawła II w Krakowie przyznanej przez Ministra Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego w roku 2016. Copyright © 2017 by The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow ISBN 978-83-7438-577-0 (print) ISBN 978-83-7438-578-7 (online) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15633/9788374385787 The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow Press Poland, 30-348 Kraków, ul. Bobrzyńskiego 10 tel. (12) 422 60 40, e­‑mail: [email protected] www.ksiegarnia.upjp2.edu.pl Introduction Missionary work of the Church solely involves showing God’s plan, that is Epiphany and fulfilling this mission in the world and in history, in which God fulfills the history of salvation.1 All Catholics should strive for Christian perfection2 through repentance and development of spiritual life according to the Gospel.3 As they head towards their meeting with God, they should part take in the redemptive mystery of Christ, to be “holy and unblemished as they appear before Him”.4 Evangelical lessons and spiritual life take place in a specific historical context. The clergymen and the faith- ful ask themselves a double question; how to teach the Gospel and how to develop the spirituality in yourself at the same time? The answer to this double question is of course very individual. It depends on our own per- sonal way of experiencing faith. But it also depends on the historical times, in which the given person experiences his or her earthly life. 1 The Second Vatican Council, An Edict on the Missionary Work of the Church Ad gentes divinus I, 9: The Second Vatican Council, Constitutions, edicts, declarations, polish text J. Groblicki, E. Florkowski (academic ed.), Poznań 19863, p. 445. 2 The Second Vatican Council, an edict on ecumenism 1,4: “All Catholics should strive for Christian perfection. Everyone depending on their status should make every effort for the Church to clear itself and become full of glory and flawless,” The Second Vatican Council, Constitutions, edicts, declarations, op. cit., p. 208. 3 Katechizm Kościoła katolickiego, 1427–1433, Warszawa 1994, p. 342–343. 4 Eph 1:4; compare: Katechizm Kościoła katolickiego, op. cit., 2807–2815, p. 629–631. 5 The Pastors of the 5th Century. A Comparative Study… Thefirst half of the th5 century was typically a test of faith for the Western Church. On one hand the Church had reached organization- al stability, rural parishes existed side by side with urban bishoprics and the preaching of the Gospel was done mostly during the Holy Mass on Sundays. The Church settled into the Western Roman Empire.5 On the other hand, more than a half of the citizens of Imperium Romanum re- mained pagan, a part of the faithful lived their faith superficially. Many of the conversions were done opportunistically, thus faith was often su- perficial and weak. The 50’s of the 5th century was a time of struggles for the Emperor’s throne, lack of political stability within the state itself and persistent inva- sions from the West were a moment of test for the faithful. All these had also led to the end of the relative organizational stability of the Church, while the faithful who were faced with consecutive wars and invasions had to make important lifetime decisions. For the pastors and the faithful of the Church the effectiveness of the teaching of the Gospel and living of the faith in times of political change proved vital. By formulating the topic of my dissertation Pastors of the fifth century. A comparative study of the pas- toral works of St. Peter Chrysologus and Salvian of Marseilles, I tried to ana- lyze the manner by which two pastors who had both lived in the Western Roman Empire and who had preached the Gospel in the same times but varied social and Ecclesiastical conditions. The former of the two preachers was a venerable bishop, while the latter was a convert from Lerins and a presbyter in Marseilles. Both represent- ed different spiritualities within the same Christian spirit. They preached the same kind of faith but lived in completely different surroundings: Chrysologus spent his entire adult life as a bishop in the rather safe im- perial Ravenna, while Salvian having abandoned his birth town in the 5 It is important to notice that the usual and legal term, describes the Catholic Church as the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church refers not so much to rituals but to the doctrinal and organizational unity with the Pope as the Bishop of Rome. The term “Roman Catholic Church” is also used in legal matters. The Church describes itself as the Ro- man Catholic Church as opposed to the Eastern Churches. Compare: M. Wojciechowski, ka- tolicki Kościół, właśc. Kościół rzymskokatolicki, [in:] Religia. Encyklopedia PWN, t. 5, red. T. Ga- dacz, B. Milerski, Warszawa 2002, p. 408. 6 Introduction South- Eastern Roman province of Gaul (either Germania I or II) moved to the Southern Gallic Province of Viennensis which was occupied by Burgundians and Alans. By analyzing the pastoral approaches one can identify two different pastoral models, shaped by external circumstances: 1. One which developed in conditions owing to rulers who favored local and internal peace, as well as, 2. In territory which was gradually occupied by new administrators, who were not necessarily liked and welcomed and who were not too friendly towards Catholic pastors. Did the two mentioned pastors possess a similar vision of communi- ty, among whom they preached the Word of God? How did the manner by which the Bishop Chrysologus and presbyter Salvian preach the same Gospel differ? How did they perceive the community of the Church in the 5th century? What moral behavior did they encourage and what did they condemn? How did they perceive the faithful’s acquisition of material goods and how did they encourage personal conversions and personal as- ceticism? The Pastoral issues undertaken by both 5th century pastors remain val- id today, fortunately no longer times of wars or barbaric invasions. The problems, however, remain relevant in our times of laicism and rapid so- cial and economic change in Europe of the 21st century. Thus the attempt to find an answer to the questions raised earlier in the works of these two pastors seems justified. There are no books or publications complexly investigating the pasto- ral works of Peter Chrysologus and Salvian of Marseilles. There are only some academic articles discussing chosen theological and pastoral aspects of the above mentioned authors.6 6 Aenea Paganotto tried to describe the subject matter of Peter Chrysologus in his doctor- al thesis, L’apporto dei Sermoni di San Pier Crisologo alla storia della cura pastorale a Ravenna nel secolo V, PUG, Roma 1969. Out of the five chapters written by the author (I. L’organizzazione del clero a Ravenna; II. La iniziazione cristiana a Ravenna; III. L’organizzazione del culto; IV. La predicazione; V. Il matrimonio cristino e la prassi penitenziale a Ravenna), only chapter IV (as an extract) was allowed for publication by the thesis supervisors (prof. V. Monachino SJ and prof. F. Kempf SJ). Chapter IV La predicazione, [in:] Ae. Paganotto, L’apporto dei Sermoni…, op. cit., p. 19–54, is largely derivative and repeats the thesis of Alessandro Olivar and his works published between 1949–1962. 7 The Pastors of the 5th Century. A Comparative Study… J. H. Baxter discusses the general themes of the homilies of St. Peter Chrysologus.7 A. Benelli deals with issues concerning the episcopate of Chrysologus8 while F. J. Dolger discusses in his article the importance of baptism and further progress of sacramental development of Christians as descrived by Chrysologus by use of military expressions by which the Bishop of Ravenna describes the lack of spiritual struggle and fasting.9 By discussing the theology of the mystery of Incarnation of God M. Herz notices that Chrysologus employs concepts of strict relation to commer- cium between God and man.10 F. Michalcik discusses the themes of vir- tues according to Chrysologus in the Neothomistic spirit of H. Noldin or A. Prumer. However, Michalcik’s interpretation of Chrysologus’ theol- ogy is nonexistent in the 5th century.11 A. Olivar and A. M. Argemi dis- cuss Chrysologus, sermons on the Eucharist.12 A. Olivar also deals with the topic of preparing sermons and elements of improvisation during ser- mons13 and the duration of Chrysologus’ sermons.14 F. J. Peters15 defines Chrysologus as a homilist. Whereas, F. Sottocornal analizes various top- ics of the liturgic year, on the basis of the existing Chrysologus’ sermons.16 Polish works include J. Wojtczak (a linguistic approach to the Church un- derstood as grex ( flock).17 But following Blaise- Chirat’s interpretation, we 7 J. H. Baxter, The homilies of saint Peter Chrysologus, “The Journal of Theological Studies” 22 (1921), p. 250–258. 8 A. Benelli, Note sulla vita e l’episcopato di Pietro Crisologo, [in:] In verbis verum amare, a cura di P. Serra Zanetti, Firenze 1980, p. 63–79. 9 F. J. Dölger, “Militiae sacramenta” bei Petrus Chrysologus, [in:] F. J. Dölger, Antike und Christentum. Kultur und religionsgeschichtliche Studien, Bd.