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Pope St. Martin I |
Martyr,
born at Todi on the Tiber, son of Fabricius; elected Pope at Rome, 21
July, 649, to succeed Theodore I; died at Cherson in the present
peninsulas of Krym, 16 Sept., 655, after a reign of 6 years, one
month and twenty six days, having ordained eleven priests, five
deacons and thirty-three bishops. 5 July is the date commonly given
for his election, but 21 July (given by Lobkowitz, "Statistik
der Papste" Freiburg, 1905) seems to correspond better with the
date of his death and reign (Duchesne "Lib. Pont.", I,
336); his feast is on 12 November.The Greeks honor him on 13 April
and 15 September, the Muscovites on 14 April. In the hymns of the
Office the Greeks style him infallibilis
fidei magister because he
was the successor of St. Peter in the See of Rome (Nilles,
"Calendarium Manuale", Innsbruck, 1896, I, 336).
Martin, one of the
noblest figures in a long line of Roman pontiffs (Hodgkin, "Italy",
VI, 268) was, according to his biographer Theodore (Mai, "Spicil.
Rom.", IV 293) of noble birth, a great student, of commanding
intelligence, of profound learning, and of great charity to the poor.
Piazza, II 45 7 states that he belonged to the order of St. Basil. He
governed the Church at a time when the leaders of the Monothelite
heresy, supported by the emperor, were making most strenuous efforts
to spread their tenets in the East and West. Pope Theodore had sent
Martin as apocrysiary to Constantinople to make arrangements for
canonical deposition of the heretical patriarch, Pyrrhus. After his
election, Martin had himself consecrated without waiting for the
imperial confirmation, and soon called a council in the Lateran at
which one hundred and five bishops met. Five sessions were held on 5,
8, 17, 119 and 31 Oct., 649 (Hefele, "Conciliengeschichte",
III, 190). The "Ecthesis" of Heraclius and the "Typus"
of Constans II were rejected; nominal excommunication was passed
against Sergius, Pyrrus, and Paul of Constantinople, Cyrus of
Alexandria and Theodore of Phran in Arabia; twenty canons were
enacted defining the Catholic doctrine on the two wills of Christ.
The decrees signed by the pope and the assembled bishops were sent to
the other bishops and the faithful of the world together with an
encyclical of Martin. The Acts with a Greek translation were also
sent to the Emperor Constans II.
The pope appointed
John, Bishop of Philadelphia, as his vicar in the East with necessary
instructions and full authority . Bishop Paul of Thessalonica refused
to recall his heretical letters previously sent to Rome and added
others,—he was, therefore, formally excommunicated and deposed. The
Patriarch of Constantinople, Paul, had urged the emperor to use
drastic means to force the pope and the Western Bishops at least to
subscribe to the "Typus". The emperor sent Olympius as
exarch to Italy, where he arrived while the council was still in
session. Olympius tried to create a faction among the fathers to
favor the views of the emperor, but without success. Then upon
pretense of reconciliation he wished to receive Holy Communion from
the hands of the pontiff with the intention of slaying him. But
Divine Providence protected the pope, and Olympius left Rome to fight
against the Saracens in Sicily and died there. Constans II thwarted
in his plans, sent as exarch Theodore Calliopas with orders to bring
Martin to Constantinople. Calliopas arrived in Rome, 15 June, 653,
and, entering the Lateran Basilica two days later, informed the
clergy that Martin had been deposed as an unworthy intruder, that he
must be brought to Constantinople and that another was to be chosen
in his place. The pope, wishing to avoid the shedding of human blood,
forbade resistance and declared himself willing to be brought before
the emperor. The saintly prisoner, accompanied by only a few
attendants, and suffering much from bodily ailments and privations,
arrived at Constantinople on 17 Sept., 653 or 654, having landed
nowhere except the island of Naxos. The letters of the pope seem to
indicate he was kept at Naxos for a year. Jaffe, n. 1608, and Ewald,
n 2079, consider the annum
fecimus an interpolation
and would allow only a very short stop at Naxos, which granted the
pope an opportunity to enjoy a bath. Duchesne, "Lib. Pont.",
I, 336 can see no reason for abandoning the original account;
Hefele,"Conciliengeschichte" III, 212, held the same view
(see "Zeitschr. für Kath. Theol.", 1892, XVI, 375).
From Abydos
messengers were sent to the imperial city to announce the arrival of
the prisoner who was branded as a heretic and rebel, an enemy of God
and of the State. Upon his arrival in Constantinople Martin was left
for several hours on deck exposed to the jests and insults of a
curious crowd of spectators. Towards evening he was brought to a
prison called Prandearia and kept in close and cruel confinement for
ninety-three days, suffering from hunger, cold and thirst. All this
did not break his energy and on 19 December he was brought before the
assembled senate where the imperial treasurer acted as judge. Various
political charges were made, but the true and only charge was the
pope's refusal to sign the "Typus". He was then carried to
an open space in full view of the emperor and of a large crowd of
people. These were asked to pass anathema upon the pope to which but
few responded. Numberless indignities were heaped upon him, he was
stripped of nearly all his clothing, loaded with chains, dragged
through the streets of the city and then again thrown into the prison
of Diomede, where he remained for eighty five days. Perhaps
influenced by the death of Paul, Patriarch of Constantinople,
Constans did not sentence the pope to death, but to exile. He was put
on board a ship, 26 March, 654 (655) and arrived at his destination
on 15 May. Cherson was at the time suffering from a great famine. The
venerable pontiff here passed the remaining days of his life. He was
buried in the church of Our Lady, called Blachernæ, near Cherson,
and many miracles are related as wrought by St Martin in life and
after death. The greater part of his relics are said to have been
transferred to Rome, where they repose in the church of San Martino
ai Monti. Of his letters seventeen are extant in P.L., LXXXVII, 119.
MANN, Lives of the Popes, I (London, 1902), 385; Hist. Jahrbuch, X, 424; XII, 757; LECLERCQ, Les Martyrs, IX (Paris, 1905), 234; Civila Cattolica, III(1907), 272, 656.
Mershman, Francis. "Pope St. Martin I." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 12 Nov. 2011 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09723c.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by C.A. Montgomery.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
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