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Lucifer, bishop of Cagliari, hence surnamed Calaritanus, first appears in ecclesiastical
history as joint legate with Eusebius of Vercelli from pope Liberius to the council
of Milan (A. D. 354), where, along with his colleague, he displayed such determined
firmness in withstanding the demands of the Arian emperor, that he was first cast
into prison, and then transported from place to place as an exile. every where
enduring hardships and cruelty. While residing at Eleutheropolis in Syria he composed
in vigorous but coarse and unpolished style his chief work, entitled Ad Constanetium
Augustum pro Saneto Athanasio Libri II., which, although containing forcible arguments
in favour of the truth, is characterised by such outrageous intemperance of expression,
that many passages bear more resemblance to the ravings of a furious madman than
to the calm reasoning which would become a Christian minister. Constantius, either
in anger or contempt, inquired of Lucifer, through Florentius, the magister officiorum,
whether he was really the author of this invective, but no immediate punishment
appears to have followed the bold acknowledgment, and any scheme of vengeance
which might have been meditated was frustrated by the death of the tyrant. The
violent and ungovernable temper of the Sardinian prelate, who was now restored
to freedom, along with other victims of religious persecution, soon began to introduce
confusion and discord among his own friends. He increased the disorders which
agitated the church at Antioch by interfering in their disputes, and ordaining
Paulinus bishop, in opposition to Meletius; and when his proceedings were censured
by Eusebius, who had been despatched to Antioch by the Alexandrian synod to quell
these tumults, he did not hesitate to anathematise his old tried friend, so long
the companion of his dangers and misfortunes. Finding that his extreme opinions
received no sanction from the ecclesiastical authorities either in the East or
West, and that he was disclaimed even by Athanasius, who at one time had spoken
of his writings in terms of the warmest admiration, he retired to his native island,
and there founded the small sect of the Luciferiani. The distinguishing tenet
of these schismatics was, that no Arian bishop, and no bishop who had in any measure
yielded to the Arians, even although he repented and confessed his errors, could
enter the bosom of the church without forfeiting his ecclesiastical rank, and
that all bishops and others who admitted the claims of such persons to a full
restoration of their privileges became themselves tainted and outcasts -- a doctrine
which, had it been acknowledged at this period in its full extent, would have
had the effect of excommunicating nearly the whole Christian world. Lucifer died
during the reign of Valentinian, pro-bably about A. D. 370.
The works of this fierce polemic, which, although all alike deformed
by the same unseemly harshness and passion, are extremely valuable, on account
of the numerous quotations from Scripture every where introduced, may be arranged
in the following order:
I. Epistola ad Eusebium, written in the month of March or April, 355.
II. De non conveniendo cum Haereticis, written between 356 and 358, at Germanica,
while suffering under the persecution of Eudoxius, the Arian. bishop of that place.
III. De Regibus Apostolicis, written at Eleutheropolis in 358. IV. Ad Constantium
Augustuum pro Sanclo Athanasio, Libri II., written at the same place, about 360.
V. De non parcendo in Deum delinquentibus, written about the same time with the
preceding. VI. Moriendum pro Filio Dei, written about the beginning of 361, on
being interrogated respecting the authorship of the tract Ad Conestantium. VII.
Epistola ad Florentium Magistirum Officiorum, written at the same time with the
preceding. An Epistola ad Catholicos, written while imprisoned at Milan, is lost.
The Editio Princeps of the works of Lucifer appeared at Paris, 8vo.
1568, superintended by Joannes Tillius, bishop of Meaux (Meldensis), and dedicated
to pope Pius the Fifth. Although in many respects very imperfect, it was reprinted
without alteration in the Magna Bibliotheca Patrum, fol. Colon. 1618, vol. iv.
p. 121, and also in the Paris collection. But even these are superior to the text
exhibited in the Biblioth. Patrum Max. fol. Lugdun. 1687, vol. iv. p. 181, since
here we find not only many changes introduced without MS. authority, but all the
scriptural quotations accommodated to the vulgate version. Much better than any
of the preceding is the edition contained in the Bibliotheca Patrum of Galland,
vol. vi. p. 115 (fol. Venet. 1770), but by far the best is that published by the
brothers Coleti (fol. Venet. 1778), whose labours presented this father for the
first time in a satisfactory form. (Hieronym. de Viris III. 95, Advers. Luciferian.
Dial.; Rufin. H. E. i. 30; Sulp. Sever. H. S. ii. 48; Socrat. H. E. iii. 5; Sozomen.
H. E. v. 12; Theodoret. H. E. iii. 4; Schenemann, Biblioth. Patr. Lat. i. Β§ 8,
where very full information concerning the different editions will be found.)
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2006 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
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