E01429: The short Life of Boniface IV (bishop of Rome, ob. 615, S00841) in the Liber Pontificalis, written in Latin in Rome, early in the 7th c., mentions his conversion of the Pantheon into the church of the blessed Mary, 'ever-virgin' (S00033), and of All Martyrs (S02818), and Boniface's burial in the church of *Peter (the Apostle, S00036), all in Rome.

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posted on 2016-06-02, 00:00 authored by robert

Liber Pontificalis 69

Bonifatius, natione Marsorum, de civitate Valeria, ex patre Iohanne medico, sedit ann. VI mens. VIII dies XIII.
Huius temporibus famis, pestilentiae et inundationes aquarum gravissime fuerunt. Eodem tempore petiit a Focate principe templum qui appellatur Pantheum, in quo fecit ecclesiam beatae Mariae semper virginis et omnium martyrum; in qua ecclesia Focas princeps dona multa optulit. Hic domum suam monasterium fecit, quem et ditavit.Quo defuncto sepultus est ad beatum Petrum apostolum.

'Boniface, born among the Marsi, from the city of Valeria, son of Iohannes, a physician, held the see 6 years 8 months 13 days. In his time there were a very serious famine, plagues, and floods. At that time he asked the emperor Phocas for the temple called the Pantheon, and in it he made the church of the blessed Mary ever-virgin and all martyrs; in this church the emperor presented many gifts. He made his own house into a monastery and enriched it. On his death he was buried at the blessed Peter the apostle.'

Text: Duchesne 1886, 317. Translation: Davis 2010, 61.

History

Evidence ID

E01429

Saint Name

Mary, Mother of Christ : S00033 Peter the Apostle : S00036 Boniface, IV, bishop of Rome, ob. 615 : S00841 Martyrs, unnamed or name lost : S00060 All martyrs : S02818

Saint Name in Source

Maria Petrus Bonifatius omnes martyres omnes martyres

Related Saint Records

Type of Evidence

Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)

Language

Latin

Evidence not before

615

Evidence not after

625

Activity not before

608

Activity not after

615

Place of Evidence - Region

Rome and region

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Rome

Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)

Rome Rome Rome Roma Ῥώμη Rhōmē

Major author/Major anonymous work

Liber Pontificalis

Cult activities - Places

Cult building - independent (church)

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Burial ad sanctos

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Ecclesiastics - bishops Monarchs and their family

Cult Activities - Relics

Bodily relic - entire body

Source

The Liber Pontificalis consists of a series of very short lives of popes. The preface attributes it to pope Damasus (366-384), but this attribution is obviously false. According to Louis Duchesne, the first modern editor of the Liber Pontificalis, the original series of lives was written in Rome by an anonymous author, probably a member of the lesser clergy, in the 530s, and contained the lives from *Peter the Apostle to Felix IV (ob. 530). Shortly after, before 546, the text was re-edited by another anonymous author and only this edition survives. The first edition, however, can be reconstituted on the basis of its two epitomes (and the second edition). The second edition started to be continued systematically from the time of pope Honorius (625–638). It should be noted that Theodor Mommsen dated both editions of the Liber Pontificalis to the 7th century, but his opinion is widely rejected and the commonly accepted dating is that of Duchesne. For the pre-Constantinian period (before 312), the credibility of the Liber Pontificalis is very low. The chronology is confused, and details concerning the personal lives, decisions and ordinations of the bishops of Rome at best reflect what people in the 6th century trusted to be true, at worst are a pure invention of the author. The situation changes with the later lives. Already the information of 4th-century papal foundations and offerings are generally trustworthy. The early 6th-century evidence, based on the author's first hand knowledge is even better, though still imperfect.

Discussion

The Pantheon was one of the first pagan temple converted into a church in the West, see Wiśniewski (2015).

Bibliography

Edition: Duchesne, L., Le Liber pontificalis. 2 vols (Paris: E. Thorin, 1886-1892) (with substantial introduction and commentary). Translation: Davis, R., The Book of Pontiffs (Liber Pontificalis) (Translated Texts for Historians 6; 3rd ed.; Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2010). Further reading: Wiśniewski, R., "Pagan temples, Christians, and demons in the late antique East and West”, Sacris Erudiri 54 (2015), 111-128.