Lucifer, Bishop Of Cagliari

St. Lucifer of Cagliari (, ; died 20 May 370 or 371) was a bishop of Cagliari in Sardinia known for his passionate opposition to Arianism. He is venerated as a Saint in Sardinia.

Life

Lucifer first appears in history as an envoy from Pope Liberius to the Emperor Constantius II,
requesting the convening of a church council. At the Council of Milan in 355, he defended Athanasius 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. Along with Eusebius of Vercelli and Dionysius of Milan, Lucifer was exiled for his opposition to the imperial ecclesiastical policy.MC GUIRE, M.R.P. "Lucifer of Cagliari", ''New Catholic Encyclopedia'' (Volume 8, pp. 1058). McGraw-Hill Co., New York, 1967. Copyright by The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. He was banished first to Germanicia, the see of bishop Eudoxius, thereafter to Palestine and finally to the Thebais in Egypt. While in exile, he wrote fiery pamphlets to the Emperor in which he proclaimed himself to be ready to suffer martyrdom for his beliefs.

Disciple of St Eusebius of Rome, he became a scholar in Greek and Hebrew languages, and then was baptized by the Pope Eusebius. St Lucifer wrote a well documented ''Vita S. Eusebii Vercellensis'' (from Latin, "Life of Saint Eusebius of Vercelli").

After the death of Constantius and the accession of Julian the Apostate, Lucifer and other expatriated bishops were allowed to return from exile in 361 or 362. However, he would not be reconciled to former Arians.He opposed the Bishop Meletius, who came to accept the Nicene 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 the Eustathian party which had unflinchingly stood by the Nicene creed, and prolonged the schism between Meletians and Eustathians by consecrating without licence a Eustathian, Paulinus, as bishop. He subsequently returned to Cagliari where, according to Jerome, he died in 370.

He may have been excommunicated as is hinted in the writings of Ambrose of Milan and Augustine of Hippo, as well as Jerome, who refers to his followers as Luciferians. There is extant a work known as ''Libellus precum ad Imperatores'', written by two Luciferian clergy called Faustinus and . Jerome discusses Lucifer and his supporters in his polemic ''Altercatio Luciferiani et orthodoxi'' ("Altercation of a Luciferian and an Orthodox"), as well as describing the bishop's career in ''De Viris Illustribus'' (chapter 95).

Alban Butler writes, on the life of Athanasius 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 assisted St Eusebius of Vercelli, in his return from banishment from Thebais, and St Asterius 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.)Butler, Alban, ''Butler's Lives of The Saints'',
St Athanasius
, bartleby.com. Accessed 23 September 2022.

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 of Rimini, that in it the bishops were imposed upon."Butler, Alban, ''Butler's Lives of The Saints'',
St. Jerome
, bartleby.com. Accessed 23 September 2022. 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.T. Gilmartin, Manual of Church History, Vol.1, Ch XVII, 1890.

Works

Lucifer of Cagliari's surviving writings, all of which date from the period of his exile, are directed against Arianism and reconciliation with heresy. 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 the Vetus 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.

Textual tradition

The ''editio princeps'' of his writings was printed by bishop Jean du Tillet (lat. Ioannes Tilius; Paris, 1568). In modern times they were edited by Wilhelm von Hartel (CSEL, vol. 14, 1886) and Gerardus 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 the Sainte-Geneviève Library in Paris (Genouefensis 1351 = G), and only since 1921 have scholars paid attention to it, thanks to dom André Wilmart's article. There was also a third manuscript (Corbiensis deperditus), which is mentioned in a library catalogue of Corbie 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'').

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.Lambert Ferreres.
Sobre la relación entre el Ms. Genouefensis 1351 y el Vaticanus Reginensis Lat. 133
'. Revista Catalana de teologia, xvii, 1992. P. 193—199.

List of works

*''De non conveniendo cum haereticis'' (On not Coming Together with Heretics)
*''De regibus apostaticis'' (On Apostate Kings)
*''Quia absentem nemo debet iudicare nec damnare, sive De Athanasio'' (That No One Ought to be Judged or Condemned while Absent, or Concerning Athanasius), 2 books
*''De non parcendo in Deum delinquentibus'' (On not Sparing those who Commit Offences Against God)
*''Moriundum esse pro Dei filio'' (The Necessity of Dying for the Son of God)
*''Epistulae Luciferi et aliorum'' (Letters by Lucifer and Others)
*''Fides sancti Luciferi episcopi'' (Faith of Saint Bishop Lucifer), dubious

Veneration

Lucifer's status as a Saint had been a matter of controversy. According to John Henry Blunt's 1874 ''Dictionary of Sects, Heresies, Ecclesiastical Parties, and Schools of Religious Thought'',

A chapel in Cagliari's cathedral is dedicated to a Saint Lucifer. Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy, wife of Louis XVIII of France, is buried there.

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,"BENIGNI, U. "Cagliari, Archdiocese of." ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' (Volume III, pp. 139). Robert Appleton Company. New York, 1907. Available online <>. while others consider him to have been a religious fanatic who ferociously berated his opponents.

His optional memorial is observed in the Church of Cagliari on the 20th of May.

See also

*Athanasius of Alexandria

Notes

References

*Cross, F. L. ed. ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church.'' New York: Oxford UP, 1978.
*Englebert, Omer. ''The Lives of the Saints.'' Christopher and Anne Fremantle

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases