The Presbyters Project

Letter 20*

The following scene takes place in Tegulata, where the episcopal tribunal gathered to judge Antoninus, the bishop of Fussala:

13. Tum petiuit episcopus Antoninus, ut ingrederetur presbyter quem miserant Fussalenses; quo ingresso recitatae sunt litterae presbyterorum et Fussalensium. Quas ubi uidit aduersum se miserabilium querelarum esse plenissimas,

propter quas eum episcopum recipere modis omnibus recusarent quo iuste recte<que> caruissent, ab eis missas esse non credidit et rogauit sanctum senem, ut ad loca ipsa cum aliquibus e numero episcoporum qui ei concessi fuerant dignaretur ipse accedere et presbyterorum ac populi animo explorare [...].

16. Itaque sub conspectu sex episcoporum frequenti alacritate concurrens plebs illa interrogata est et talis inuenta qualis ad ecclesiam Thegulatensem per presbyterum <cum> litteris miserat, immo etiam uehementior et acerbior.

(ed. Divjak 1981: 101-103)

Letter 20*

The following scene takes place in Tegulata, where the episcopal tribunal gathered to judge Antoninus, the bishop of Fussala:

13. Then Bishop Antoninus asked that the presbyter who had been sent from Fussala be brought in. When he entered, the letters of the presbyters and of the people of Fussala were read out. When he saw that it was full of pitiful complaints against him, on account of which they were refusing by every means to accept as bishop a man from whom they had been justly and rightly freed, he refused to believe that the letter was sent by them and asked the holy primate that, with some bishops from the number of those who had been granted him, he himself would deign to visit those places and explore the attitudes of the presbyters and the people [...].

16. And so, under the eyes of six bishops, that people, having assembled quickly and in large numbers, were questioned and were found to be of the same opnion as when they had sent a letter to the church of Tegulata by the presbyter, and in fact they were more vehement and bitter.

(trans. R. Teske, slightly altered)

Discussion:

The passage shows us the presbyters of Fussala acting together with their townfolk to prevent the return of bishop Antoninus (see [399], [400], and [401] for more information on the affair). Incidentally, it shows us also that there were at least four (and probably more) presbyters in a small place like Fussala: the envoy mentioned in this passage, at least two other presbyters in whose name the letter was written, and the presbyter ordained by Antoninus ([400], [401]), who certainly did not agree with the grievances against him.

Place of event:

Region

Latin North Africa

City

Tegulata
Fussala

About the source:

Author: Augustine of Hippo
Title: Letters, Epistulae
Origin: Hippo Regius (Latin North Africa)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

The letters of Augustine of Hippo cover a wide range of topics: Holy Scripture, dogma and liturgy, philosophy, religious practice and everyday life. They range from full-scale theological treatises to small notes asking someone for a favour. The preserved corpus includes 308 letters, 252 written by Augustine, 49 that others sent to him and seven exchanged between third parties. 29 letters have been discovered only in the 20th century and edited in 1981 by Johannes Divjak; they are distinguished by the asterisk (*) after their number.

The preserved letters of Augustine extend over the period from his stay at Cassiciacum in 386 to his death in Hippo in 430.

Edition:

J. Divjak ed., Sancti Aureli Augustini Epistolae ex duobus codicibus nuper in lucem prolatae, Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, v. 88, Wien, 1981.

J. Divjak ed., Saint Augustin. Lettres 1*-29*, Bibliothèque Augustinienne 46B. Paris 1987.

Translation:

Saint Augustine, Letters 211–270, 1*–29*, trans. R. Teske. New York 2005.

Categories:

Functions within the Church - Urban presbyter

Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος

Specific number of presbyters from the same church

Ecclesiastical administration - Participation in councils and ecclesiastical courts

Ecclesiastical administration - Ecclesiastical envoy

Conflict

Relation with - Bishop/Monastic superior

Relation with - Townsman

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: S. Adamiak, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER412, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=412