The Oldest Place of Veneration of St. Agnes in the Light of the "Liber Pontificalis"
Piotr Szczur
John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin , Polandhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3011-3404
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to show the history of the oldest place of veneration of St. Agnes, in light of the accounts contained in the Liber Pontificalis. Firstly, the
depiction of St. Agnes from ancient sources, particularly the writings of St. Ambrose and Prudentius, is examined. A thorough analysis and critical assessment of these accounts
led to the conclusion that little is known about her life prior to her martyrdom. However, the sources unanimously affirm her status as a virgin and martyr, emphasizing her youth at the time of her death. Beyond this, details about St. Agnes remain uncertain. Subsequently, the accounts of St. Agnes’s veneration in Rome, as recorded in the biographies of four popes, were meticulously analyzed and critically evaluated: Sylvester I (314-335), Liberius (352-366), Innocent I (401-417), and Symmachus (498-514). This analysis and critique of the narratives yielded significant insights. While the information regarding the location of St. Agnes’s worship provided by the compiler of the Liber Pontificalis is largely inaccurate, it does hint at certain themes present in the transmission: the association
of St. Agnes with Constantina, a member of the imperial family, who bestowed imperial patronage upon the entire complex of St. Agnes (comprising the basilica and mausoleum) and contributed to the growth of her cult; the profound importance of St. Agnes’s cult to the popes, who, in their efforts to foster its development, sought to exert influence over the shrine of St. Agnes (as seen in the actions of Innocent I) and personally participated in festivities held in her honor (as evidenced by the involvement of Gregory the Great).
Keywords:
St. Agnes, cult of saints, Constantina, Basilica of ST. Agnes Outside the Walls, Santa Costanza, Liber PontificalisReferences
Ambrosius, Agnes beatae virginis, red. G. Barterle, SAEMO 22, Milano – Roma 1994, s. 72-74, tł. anonimowe, w: Liturgia godzin, t. 3, Poznań 1987, s. 1058.
Ambrosius, De officiis ministrorum, red. G. Banterle, SAEMO 13, Milano – Roma 1977.
Święty Ambroży z Mediolanu, Obowiązki duchownych, tł. K. Abgarowicz, Warszawa 1967.
Ambrosius, De virginibus, red. F. Gori, SAEMO 14/1, Milano – Roma 1989, s. 100-240.
Św. Ambroży, O dziewicach, tł. W. Szołdrski – K. Obrycki, w: Św. Ambroży, Wybór pism, cz. 2, PSP 35, Warszawa 1986, s. 178-228.
Ambrosius, Epistula 7 (Ad Simplicianum), red. G. Banterle, SAEMO 19, Milano – Roma 1988, s. 72-98.
Św. Ambroży z Mediolanu, Listy, t. 1, tł. P. Nowak, BOK 9, Kraków 1997, s. 67-84.
Ammianus Marcellinus, Rerum gestarum libri, red. J.C. Rolfe, Ammianus Marcellinus, History, t. 2, LCL 315, Cambridge (Massachusetts) – London 1950.
Ammianus Marcellinus, Dzieje Rzymskie, t. 1, tł. I. Lewandowski, Biblioteka antyczna, Warszawa 2002.
Augustinus, Sermo 273, red. V. Paronetto – A.M. Quartiroli, NBA 33, Roma 1986, s. 2-10.
Augustinus, Sermo 286, red. V. Paronetto – A.M. Quartiroli, NBA 33, Roma 1986, s. 144-152.
Augustinus, Sermo 354, red. V. Paronetto – A.M. Quartiroli, NBA 34, Roma 1989, s. 230-240.
Concilium Romanum (499), w: Acta synodalia ab anno 431 ad annum 504 = Dokumenty synodów od 431 do 504 roku, układ i oprac. A. Baron – H. Pietras, ŹMT 62 = SCL 6, Kraków 2011, s. 338-347.
Concilium Romanum (595), w: Acta synodalia ab anno 553 ad annum 600 = Dokumenty synodów od 553 do 600 roku, układ i oprac. H. Pietras, ŹMT 83 = SCL 12, Kraków 2020, s. 229-334.
Concilium Romanum (598), w: Acta synodalia ab anno 553 ad annum 600 = Dokumenty synodów od 553 do 600 roku, układ i oprac. H. Pietras, ŹMT 83 = SCL 12, Kraków 2020, s. 248-251.
Depositio martyrum, tł. P. Szewczyk, w: Liber Pontificalis I-XCVI (usque ad annum 772), red. M. Ożóg – H. Pietras, SCL 9 = ŹMT 74, Kraków 2014, s. 7-10.
Digesta Iustiniani, red. i tł. pod red. T. Palmirskiego, Digesta Iustiniani = Digesta Justyniańskie, t. 4, Kraków 2014.
Epigrammata Damasiana, red. A. Ferrua, Sussidi allo studio delle antichità cristiane 2, Roma 1942.
Gregorius Magnus, Homiliarum XL in evangelia, red. R. Étaix, CCL 141, Turnhout 1999, tł. W. Szołdrski, PSP 3, Warszawa 1969.
Hieronymus, Epistula 130 (Ad Demetriadem), tł. J. Czuj – M. Ożóg, w: Hieronim ze Strydonu, Listy, t. IV (116-130), ŹMT 63, Kraków 2011, s. 191-209.
Liber Pontificalis I-XCVI (usque ad annum 772), tł. P. Szewczyk – M. Jesiotr, red. M. Ożóg – H. Pietras, SCL 9 = ŹMT 74, Kraków 2014; Liber Pontificalis XCVII-CXII (ann. 772-891), tł. M. Jesiotr – B. Frontczak – A. Caba, red. M. Ożóg – H. Pietras, SCL 10 = ŹMT 75, Kraków 2015.
Martyrologium Hieronymianum, w: Acta Sanctorum, Novembris, t. 2/1, red. J.B. de Rossi – L. Duchesne, Bruxellis 1894, s. 1-156.
Maximus Taurinensis, Sermo 56 (In natali S. Agnetis), PL 57, 643-648.
Nicetas Remesianensis, De lapsu virginis consecratae, PL 16, 367-384.
Prudentius, Peristefanon, red. M.P. Cunningham, CCL 126, Turnholti 1966, s. 251-389, tł. M. Brożek, ŹMT 40, Kraków 2006, s. 147-348.
Sulpicius Severus, Dialogorum libri, red. C. Halm, CSEL 1, Vindobonae 1866, s. 152-216, tł. P. Nowak, Sulpicjusz Sewer, Dialogi, w: Sulpicjusz Sewer, Pisma o św. Marcinie z Tours, ŹM 8, Kraków – Tyniec 1995, s. 109-187.
Tertullianus, De virginibus velandis, PL 2, 887-914, tł. K. Obrycki, Tertulian, O noszeniu zasłony przez dziewice, w: Tertulian, Wybór pism, t. 3, PSP 65, Warszawa 2007, s. 85-103.
Amadio A.A., I mosaici di S. Costanza: disegni, incisioni e documenti dal XV al XIX secolo, Xenia. Quaderni 7, Roma 1986.
Arjava A., Women and Law in Late Antiquity, Oxford 1996. (Crossref)
Armellini A., Il cimitero di S. Agnese sulla via Nomentana, Roma 1880.
Aulbach L.F. – Gorski L.C., The Circiform Basilicas of Rome, „The Journal Houston Archeological Society” 140 (2019) s. 99-121.
Barbini P.M. – Severini F., Risultati archeologici del nuovo saggio di scavo 1999 nella basilica cimiteriale di S. Agnese, w: Ecclesiae Urbis. Atti del Congresso Internazionale di Studi sulle Chiese di Roma (IV-X secolo), Roma 4-10 settembre 2000, red. F. Guidobaldi – A.G. Guidobaldi, Città del Vaticano 2002, s. 757-770.
Barbini P.M., S. Agnetis Basilica, Coemeterium, w: Lexicon Topographicum Urbis Romae. Suburbium, t. 1, Rome 2001, s. 33-36.
Bardy G., Agnès, w: Catholicisme. Hier – aujourd’hui – demain, vol. 1, Paris 1948, kol. 216-217.
Barterle G., Introduzione, w: SAEMO 22, Milano – Roma 1994, s. 11-18.
Beattie M., St. Agnes (Virgin and Martyr A.D. 303), Dublin 1944.
Bernard J.-F. – Ciancio Rossetto P., Le stade de Domitien. Situation topographique, étude architecturale et réflexions concernant la localisation de l’église Sainte Agnès, w: Piazza Navona, ou Place Navone, la plus belle & la plus grande. Du stade de Domitien à la place moderne, histoire d’une évolution urbaine, red. J.-F. Bernard, Collection de l’École française de Rome 493, Rome 2014, s. 75-92. (Crossref)
Bernard J.-F. – Ciancio Rossetto P., Lo stadio di Domiziano. Novi dati sull’architettura a del monumento, w: Piazza Navona, ou Place Navone, la plus belle & la plus grande. Du stade de Domitien à la place moderne, histoire d’une évolution urbaine, red. J.-F. Bernard, Collection de l’École française de Rome 493, Rome 2014, s. 135-157.
Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca, red. F. Halkin, t. 1, Subsidia Hagiographica 8a, Bruxelles 1957.
Bibliotheca Hagiographica Latina. Antiquae et Mediae Aetatis. Novum Supplementum, red. H. Fros, Subsidia Hagiographica 70, Bruxelles 1986.
Bleckmann B., Constantina, Vetranio und Gallus Caesar, „Chiron” 24 (1994) s. 29-68.
Brandenburg H., Constantiae ecclesia, mauzoleum, w: Lexicon Topographicum Urbis Romae. Suburbium, t. 2A, red. A. La Regina – V. Fiocchi Nicolai – M.G. Granino Cecere – Z. Mari, Rome 2004, s. 140-147.
Brandenburg H., Le prime chiese di Roma IV-VII secolo. L’inizio dell’architettura ecclesiastica occidentale, trad. A. Costa, Milano 2004.
Burrus V., Reading Agnes: The Rhetoric of Gender in Ambrose and Prudentius, „Journal of Early Christian Studies” 3 (1995) s. 25-46. (Crossref)
Butler J.E., St. Agnes, London 1912.
Cecchelli C., S. Agnese fuori le mura e S. Costanza, Le chiese di Roma illustrate 10, Roma 1924.
Clavis Patrum Latinorum, red. E. Dekkers, Steenbrugge 1995.
Colini A.M., Stadium Domitiani, Roma 1943, 19982.
Courtney E., Greek and Latin Acrostichs, „Philologus” 134 (1990) s. 3-13. (Crossref)
Curran J., Pagan City and Christian Capital. Rome in the Fourth Century, Oxford Classical Monographs, Oxford 2002. (Crossref)
Davis R., Introduction, w: The Book of Pontiffs (Liber Pontificalis): The Ancient Biographies of First Ninety Roman Bishops to AD 715, translated with an introduction and notes by R. Davis, Translated Texts for Historians 6, Liverpool 2010, s. II-LVII.
Diefenbach S., Römische Erinnerungsräume. Heiligenmemoria und kollektive Identitäten in Rom des 3. bis 5. Jahrhundert n. Chr., Millennium-Studien 11, Berlin 2007. (Crossref)
Dirschlmayer M., Kirchenstiftungen römischer Kaiserinnen vom 4. bis zum 6. Jahrhundert. Die Erschließung neuer Handlungsspielräume, Jahrbuch für Antike und Christentum. Ergänzungsband. Kleine Reihe 13, Münster 2015.
Étaix R. – Morel Ch. – Judic B., Introduction, w: Grégoire le Grand, Homélies sur l’Évangile, SCh 485, Paris 2005, s. 13-88.
Étaix R., Introduction, w: Aurelii Prudentii Clementis Carmina, CCL 141, Turnhout 1999, s. V-LXXI.
Fasola U.M., La „regio IV” nel cimitero di S. Agnese sotto l’atrio della basilica constantiniana, „Rivista di Archeologia Cristiana” 50 (1974) s. 175-205.
Ferraù G., Sant’Agnese fuori le mura: il complesso monumentale sulla via Nomentana, Castiglione di Sicilia 2020.
Ferrua A., Scoperta di una nuova regione nella catacomba di Commodilla, „Rivista di Archeologia Cristiana” 34 (1958) s. 5-56.
Fiocchi Nicolai V. – Bisconti F.– Mazzoleni D., The Christian Catacombs of Rome: History, Decoration, Inscriptions, trans. C.C. Stella – L.-A. Touchette, Regensburg 1999.
Fiocchi Nicolai V., I cimiteri paleocristiani del Lazio, t. 2: Sabina, Monumenti di antichità cristiana, 2. ser. t. 20, Città del Vaticano 2009.
Franchi de’Cavalieri P., S. Agnese nella tradizione e nella leggenda, Römische Quartalschrift für christliche Altertumskunde und Kirchengeschichte. Supplementheft 10, Roma 1899.
Frutaz A.P., Il complesso monumentale di Sant’Agnese e di Santa Costanza, Roma 1960.
Fusco U., Considerazioni sul rinvenimento di sculture antiche da S. Agnese fuori le mura, „Archeologia Classica” 55 (2004) s. 399-411.
Fusco U., Sant’Agnese nel quadro delle basiliche circiformi di età costantiniana a Roma e nel suo contesto topografico: lo stato degli studi, w: La Basilica Costantiniana di Sant’Agnese. Lavori archeologici e di restauro, red. M. Magnani Cianetti – C. Pavolini, Milano 2004, s. 10-28.
Gacia T., Analiza hymnu „Agnes beatae virginis” św. Ambrożego, VoxP 19 (1999) t. 36-37, s. 259-270. (Crossref)
Galli P.A.C. – Molin D., Beyond the Damage Threshold: The Historic Earthquakes of Rome, „Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering” 10/6 (2012) [file:///C:/Users/acer/Desktop/Beyond_the_damage_threshold_the_historic.pdf [dostęp: 01.02.2024].
Hellström M., On the Form and Function of Constantine’s Circiform Funerary Basilicas in Rome, w: Pagans and Christians in Late Antique Rome. Conflict, Competition, and Coexistence in the Fourth Century, red. M. Salzman – M. Sághy – R. Lizzi Testa, Cambridge 2015, s. 291-313. (Crossref)
Hillner J., A Woman’s Place: Imperial Women in Late Antique Rome, „Antiquité Tardive” 25 (2017) s. 75-94. (Crossref)
Johnson M.J., The Roman Imperial Mausoleum in Late Antiquity, Cambridge – New York 2009.
Jones H., Agnes and Constantia: Domesticity and Cult Patronage in the „Passion of Agnes”, w: Religion, Dynasty and Patronage in Early Christian Rome, 300-900, red. K. Cooper – J. Hillner, Cambridge 2007, s. 115-139. (Crossref)
Josi E., Agnese, santa, martire di Roma, w: Bibliotheca Sanctorum, red. F. Caraffa – G. Morelli, vol. 1, Roma 1961, kol. 382-407.
Jubaru F., Sainte Agnès, vierge et martyre de la Voie Nomentane: d’après de nouvelles recherches, Paris 1907.
Kleinbauer W.E., Antioch, Jerusalem, and Rome: the patronage of Emperor Constantius II and architectural invention, „Gesta” 45 (2006) s. 125-145. (Crossref)
Kleinbauer W.E., Santa Costanza at Rome and the House of Constantine, „Acta ad archaeologiam et artium historiam pertinentia” 18/4 N.S. (2004) s. 55-70. (Crossref)
Krautheimer R., Corpus Basilicarum Christinarum Romae. The Early Christian Basilicas of Rome (IV-IX cent.), vol. 1, Città del Vaticano 1937.
Krauthemier R., The Building Inscriptions and the Dates of Construction of Old St. Peter’s: A Reconsideration, „Römisches Jahrbuch der Bibliotheca Hertziana” 25 (1989) s. 3-23.
La basilica costantiniana di Sant’Agnese. Lavori archeologici e di restauro, red. M. Magnani Cianetti – C. Pavolini, Milano 2004.
Lanéry C., Ambroise de Milan hagiographe, Collection des Études Augustiniennes. Série Antiquité 183, Paris – Turnhout 2008.
Ludewicz M., „Pontifices et eae”. Wizerunki kobiet na kartach „Liber Pontificalis”, w: My, Wy, Oni: co i jak Starożytni myśleli o sobie i innych, red. W. Kopek – M. Nowak – Ł. Libowski, Kraków 2020, s. 55-80.
Ludewicz M., „There was a Great Mortality in Rome, more Serious than is Recalled in the Time of any other Pontiff”. Plagues and Diseases in the „Liber Pontificalis”, "Vox Patrum" 78 (2021) s. 347-364. (Crossref)
Mackie G., A New Look at the Patronage of Santa Costanza, Rome, „Byzantion” 67/2 (1997) s. 383-406.
Mackie G., Early Christian Chapels in the West: Decoration, Function, and Patronage, Toronto 2003. (Crossref)
Mancinelli F., Katakumby rzymskie, tł. P. Gazda – A. Boniecki, Firenze 1987.
Materiali e tecniche dell’edilizia Paleocristiana a Roma, red. M. Cecchelli, Rome 2001.
Morey C.R., The Gold-Glass Collection of the Vatican Library, with Additional Catalogues of other Gold-Glass Collections, red. G. Ferrari, Catalogo del Museo Sacro della Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana 4, Città del Vaticano 1959.
O’Brien C., St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, Halifax 1887, 2021.
Odahl Ch.M., Constantine and the Christian Empire, Roman Imperial Biographies, London 2004. (Crossref)
Ożóg M. – Pietras H., Baptysteria w titulusach oraz innych bazylikach papieskich w relacji „Liber Pontificalis”, w: Miejsca chrztów, urządzenia baptyzmalne i ceremoniał chrzcielny od starożytności chrześcijańskiej do Soboru Trydenckiego, red. A.M. Wyrwa, Poznań – Dziekanowice 2016, s. 25-40.
Ożóg M. – Pietras H., Wprowadzenie, w: Liber Pontificalis I-XCVI (usque ad annum 772), red. M. Ożóg – H. Pietras, SCL 9 = ŹMT 74, Kraków 2014, s. V-XIII.
Patrologia, vol. 3: Dal Concilio di Nicea (325) al Concilio di Calcedonia (451). I Padri latini, red. A. di Berardino, Genova 1992.
Pawłowska B., In memoriam sanctorum martyrium. Epigramaty Damazjańskie w rzymskich katakumbach, "Vox Patrum" 46-47 (2004) s. 489-497. (Crossref)
Rasch J.J. – Arbeiter A. – Deichmann F.W. – Rohmann J., Das Mausoleum der Constantina in Rom, Spätantike Zentralbauten in Rom und Latium 4, Mainz 2007.
Ringbom Å., Dolphins and Mortar Dating – Santa Costanza Reconsidered, w: In Songs of Ossian: Festschrift in Honour of Professor Bo Ossian Lindberg, Taidehistoriallisia Tutkimuksia 27, Helsinki 2003, s. 22-42.
Saxer V. – Berardino di A., Tecla, w: Nuovo dizionario patristico e di antichità cristiane, vol. 3, red. A. di Berardino, Genova – Milano 2008, kol. 5211-5212.
Saxer V. – Heid S., Depositio episcoporum – depositio martyrum, w: Nuovo dizionario patristico e di antichità cristiane, vol. 1, red. A. di Berardino, Genova – Milano 2006, kol. 1370-1372.
Saxer V. – Heid S., Pelagia, w: Nuovo dizionario patristico e di antichità cristiane, vol. 3, red. A. di Berardino, Genova – Milano 2008, kol. 3994.
Saxer V., Agnese, w: Nuovo dizionario patristico e di antichità cristiane, vol. 1, red. A. di Berardino, Genova – Milano 2006, kol. 134-135.
Schmidt M., Epigrammata Damasiana. Propaganda z rzymskich podziemi, tł. A. Mrozewicz, Xenia Posnaniensia. Series Altera wykład 30, Poznań 2007.
Smith A.J., Life of St. Agnes: Virgin and Martyr, London 1906.
Starowieyski M., Męczeństwo Agnieszki, w: Aureliusz Prudencjusz Klemens, Wieńce męczeńskie (Peristephanon), ŹMT 40, Kraków 2006, s. 337-339.
Starowieyski M., Tecla (Atti di), w: Nuovo dizionario patristico e di antichità cristiane, vol. 3, red. A. di Berardino, Genova – Milano 2008, kol. 512-513.
Stróż A., Narodziny kultu relikwii męczenników na Zachodzie, „U schyłku starożytności. Studia źródłoznawcze” 13 (2014) s. 55-84.
Thacker A., The Origin and Early Developmentof Rome’s Intramural Cults. A Context for the Cult of Sant’Agnese in Agone, „Mélanges de l École française de Rome. Moyen Âge” 126/1 (2014) s. 137-146. (Crossref)
Thacker A.T., Rome of the Martyrs: Saints, Cults and Relics, Fourth to Seventh Centuries, w: Roma Felix. Formations and Reflections of Medieval Rome, red. É.Ó Carragáin – C. Neuman de Vegvar, Church, Faith and Culture in the Medieval West, Aldershot 2007, s. 13-49.
Trout D., ‘Being Female’: Verse Commemoration at the Coemeterium S. Agnetis (Via Nomentana), w: Being Christian in Late Antiquity. A Festschrift for Gillian Clark, red. C. Harrison – C. Humfress – I. Sandwell, Oxford 2014, s. 215-234. (Crossref)
Trout D., Damascus and the Christian Epigram in the West, w: A Companion to Ancient Epigram, red. Ch. Henriksén, Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World, Hobokan (NY) 2019, s. 615-631. (Crossref)
Trout D., Vergil and Ovid at the Tomb of Agnes: Constantina, Epigraphy, and the Genesis of Christian Poetry, w: Ancient Documents and their Contexts. First North American Congress of Greek and Latin Epigraphy (2011), red. J. Bodel – N. Dimitrova, Brill Studies in Greek and Roman Epigraphy 5, Leiden – Boston 2014, s. 263-282. (Crossref)
Wąsowicz H., Najstarszy rzymski kalendarz świąt, „Roczniki Humanistyczne” 52 (2004) z. 4, s. 9-30.
Wirbelauer E., Agnès et les évêques de Rome jusqu’au VIIe siècle: un plaidoyer pour une relecture historico-critique du „Liber pontificalis”, „Mélanges de l École française de Rome. Moyen Âge” 126/1 (2014) s. 125-136. (Crossref)
John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3011-3404
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Papers published in Vox Patrum are covered by the Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) licence. Authors and users can use published works licensed under the CC-BY-ND since 2018. For earlier publications, copyrights are available under fair use rights in accordance with the Act of February 4, 1994 on copyrights and related rights.
