Impact, Influence, and Identity in Latin Preaching. the Cases of Maximus of Turin and Peter Chrysologus of Ravenna

Impact, Influence, and Identity in Latin Preaching 135

Chapter 6 Impact, Influence, and Identity in Latin Preaching. The Cases of Maximus of Turin and Peter Chrysologus of Ravenna

Pauline Allen

1 Introduction

In this chapter I will be focusing on the preaching careers of two North Italian bishops, Maximus of Turin and Peter Chrysologus of Ravenna and drawing comparisons with other Latin homilists in Late Antiquity. First I situate Maximus and Peter in their contexts and try to determine their identities as preachers and the identity of their audiences. A consideration of the preacher- audience relationship follows, before some of the preaching strategies of the two bishops are assessed. Then we look at the influence and impact of their preaching, and their efforts to build community and form Christian identity in their congregations.

2 Identities of Preacher and Audience

Biographical details for Maximus, the first bishop of Turin, who was not a native of the area,1 are sparse: we can calculate that he was the first bishop of that city and died between 408 and 423.2 Before his diocese was created, Turin was dependent on the see of Vercelli, and consequently the Christian community had only been recently constituted and the area was not thoroughly evangelized. Over 100 sermons of Maximus have survived, from the contents of which it is clear that paganism and semi-paganism were rife in the largely agri- cultural area around Turin at the time. Among the congregation were Christian land-owners who had problems with the practices of their pagan tenants.3 In Boniface Ramsey’s words, this was “a rural church, at once superstitious and

1 Maximus of Turin, s. 33, ed. Mutzenbecher, p. 128. 2 See further Merkt, Maximus I., pp. 1-8. 3 See Merkt, Maximus I., pp. 69-144, on the progress of evangelisation in Turin and Piedmont in general.

© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2018 | doi 10.1163/9789004363564_008 136 Allen devout, which must have loved its bishop while it often frustrated him.”4 Maximus is acquainted with and freely uses Ambrose’s sermons,5 but in con- trast to the rich Milanese congregation depicted by Ambrose, the congregation in Turin appears to have lived in more modest circumstances.6 We turn now to Ravenna where in ca. 425 Peter was appointed bishop of a city which, from the early-5th century, was the political capital of the western empire, as well as an important port, allowing the assumption that the congregation was mixed, partly transient, and considerably more up-market than that of Turin. Peter was born at Imola (Emilia Romagna)7 and probably also died there in ca. 450. Like Maximus he was thus not a native of his diocese. The epithet “Chrysologus” is first found in the Life written by the 9th-century abbot of Ravenna, Agnellus.8 We have ca. 180 sermons from Peter, which are important testimonies to the liturgical life of Ravenna in the mid-5th century.9 Empress Galla Placidia was a generous patron of the city and worked towards achieving metropolitan status for Ravenna before 431. Peter preached in front of her and because of the new status of Ravenna was suitably deferential to her and the church of Rome. Possibly Peter’s first sermon as bishop, in which the empress is described as “the mother of the Christian, eternal and faithful Empire,”10 was delivered in the presence of Galla Placidia and the court. Peter appointed the first suffragans to the new metropolitan jurisdiction of Ravenna.11 It was not unusual for him not to preach for an extended period, as revealed, for example, in a sermon where he attributes his silence to the heat of the sea- son.12 As for the identity of Peter’s audience, apart from laity and the occasional

4 Ramsey, The Sermons of Saint Maximus of Turin, p. 11. 5 See the list in Mutzenbecher’s edition, p. 443. For the authenticity and transmission of Peter’s homilies see Olivar, Los sermones de san Pedro Crisólogo, with previous literature on Peter as homilist. 6 Devoti, “Massimo di Torino e il suo pubblico”, p. 164. On Ambrose’s audiences see McLynn, Ambrose of Milan, pp. 238-39; Graumann, “St Ambrose on the Art of Preaching”, pp. 587- 600. Notwithstanding the status of Milan, both these scholars of Ambrose believe that the Milanese audiences contained ordinary, rather than well-educated, people. 7 Peter Chrysologus, s. 165, ed. Olivar, vol. 3, p. 1017. 8 Deliyannis, Liber pontificalis ecclesiae Ravennatis, 24-27, pp. 170-75. 9 On which see in detail Sottocornola, L’anno liturgico nei sermoni di Pietro Crisologo, pas- sim. 10 Mater christiani perennis et fidelis imperii. Peter Chrysologus, s. 130, 3, ed. Olivar, vol. 3, p. 798, line 35; trans. Palardy, vol. 3, p. 197. Cf. s. 85B, 3. 11 Peter Chrysologus, s. 130A, ed. Olivar, vol. 3, pp. 801-02; s. 165, ed. Olivar, vol. 3, pp. 1017-18; s. 175, ed. Olivar, vol. 3, pp. 1065-67. 12 Peter Chrysologus, s. 51, 1, ed. Olivar, vol. 1, p. 284, line 3-5. On Peter’s down-times from preaching duties see Zangara, “I silenzi”, pp. 226-68.