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E05316: Maximus of Turin composes four Latin sermons in Turin, northern Italy, between c. 390 and 408/423 in honour of the feast day of the Apostles *Peter (S00036) and *Paul (S00008).

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posted on 2018-04-12, 00:00 authored by frances
Maximus of Turin, Sermons 1, 2, 9, 110

Summary:

Each sermon opens with a statement that Maximus is preaching in honour of Peter and Paul’s feast day (natalis).

Sermon 1
Peter and Paul stand out above all other Christians, but are equal to one another: they both suffered equally and are equal in their merits. Maximus links both men to Rome. They are offered as examples to imitate. He then narrates how Peter cast down the magician, Simon Magus.

Sermon 2
Maximus describes how people prepare and eat several different dishes on this feast day. This is not necessary: instead they should focus on consuming spiritual food.

Sermon 9
The power of renown of Peter’s miracles and Paul’s epistles has travelled to the ends of the earth. Maximus recounts how Peter cured a man who could not walk. He then describes Peter and Paul’s martyrdoms. Peter was crucified like Christ. Paul was beheaded and milk flowed forth instead of blood.

Sermon 110
This sermon follows the reading of Luke 5.10. Maximus explains that the boat Peter sails is the Church. The fish he catches are Christians brought to the faith.

Summary: Frances Trzeciak.

History

Evidence ID

E05316

Saint Name

Paul, the Apostle : S00008 Peter the Apostle : S00036

Saint Name in Source

Paulus Petrus

Related Saint Records

Type of Evidence

Literary - Sermons/Homilies

Language

  • Latin

Evidence not before

390

Evidence not after

423

Activity not before

390

Activity not after

423

Place of Evidence - Region

Italy north of Rome with Corsica and Sardinia

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Turin

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

Turin Sardinia Sardinia Sardegna Sardinia

Major author/Major anonymous work

Maximus of Turin

Cult activities - Liturgical Activity

  • Sermon/homily

Cult activities - Festivals

  • Saint’s feast

Cult activities - Activities Accompanying Cult

  • Feasting (eating, drinking, dancing, singing, bathing)

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Composing and translating saint-related texts

Cult Activities - Miracles

Miracle during lifetime Other specified miracle Healing diseases and disabilities

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Ecclesiastics - bishops

Source

Maximus was bishop of late antique Turin, but the exact dates of his episcopate has been contested over the centuries. Gennadius of Marseille, writing in the late-fifth century, refers to a prominent bishop of Turin – called Maximus - who composed sermons on a variety of topics. According to Gennadius (De viris illustribus 41), this Maximus died in the reign of Honorius and the younger Theodosius, which would place Maximus’ death between 408 and 423. This was challenged in the early 17th century. Cardinal Baronius believed that the author of the sermons was the same Maximus who signed the acts of the Council of Milan in 451 and the Council of Rome in 465. He claimed that there was a mistake in Gennadius’ account: Maximus did not die, but instead ‘flourished’ (claruisse) between 408 and 423. Although this view was held until the end of the 19th century, it is now widely accepted that there were two bishops of Turin called Maximus, and that the author of the sermons did in fact die between 408 and 423. For a full overview of this argument, see Mutzenbecher’s preface to her critical edition of Maximus’ sermons. Mutzenbecher’s edition contains 119 sermons, of which 106 are viewed as authentic. 89 of these apparently constituted the collection available to Gennadius in Marseille at the end of the fifth century. Sermons 1, 2, and 9 were probably in Gennadius’ collection of sermons. Although Sermon 110 was very probably composed by Maximus, it was not in Gennadius' collection. These sermons were preached to the congregation in Turin on a variety of different topics. Many of them were preached to celebrate the feast day of a specific saint. Andreas Merkt has identified three main motivations guiding Maximus’ sermons on the saints. Firstly, he argues that Maximus preached on saints to provide examples for his congregation to follow. Secondly, that Maximus uses stories of martyrdom to communicate messages about the importance of Christ’s passion and the nature of the Eucharist to his congregation. Thirdly, Merkt argues that the saints Maximus focused on reflect his view on the ideal structure of the Church: he emphasises the primacy of Peter and Paul and the Roman church.

Bibliography

Edition: Mutzenbecher, A., Maximi episcopi Taurinensis Collectionem sermonum antiquam (Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 23; Turnhout: Brepols, 1962). Translation: Ramsey, B., The Sermons of Maximus of Turin (Ancient Christian Writers 50; Westminster MD: Newman Press, 1989). Further Reading: Lizzi, R., "Ambrose’s Contemporaries and the Christianisation of Northern Italy," Journal of Roman Studies 80 (1990), 156-173. Merkt, A., Maximus I. von Turin. Die Verkündigung eines Bischofs der frühen Reichskirche im zeitgeschichtliche liturgischen Kontext (Leiden:Brill, 1997).

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    Evidence - The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

    Categories

    Keywords

    S00008S00036History

    Licence

    CC0

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