Pope Miltiades

Pope Saint Miltiades
Pope miltiades.jpg
Papacy began 2 July 311
Papacy ended 10 January 314
Predecessor Eusebius
Successor Sylvester I
Personal details
Birth name Miltiades (or Melchiades)
Born (date unknown)
northern Africa
Died 10 January 314
Rome, Western Roman Empire
Sainthood
Feast day 10 January
Papal styles of
Pope Miltiades
Emblem of the Papacy SE.svg
Reference style His Holiness
Spoken style Your Holiness
Religious style Holy Father
Posthumous style Saint

Pope Miltiades, also called Melchiades (Μελχιάδης ὁ Ἀφρικανός in Greek; Italian: Milziade), was pope from 2 July 311 to 10 January 314.[1]

Origins

According to the Liber Pontificalis, Miltiades was African. He was possibly a North African native,[2] although McBrien states he was probably Roman.[3]

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Pontificate

His elections marked the end of a period sede vacante lasting from the death of Pope Eusebius on 17 August 310 or, according to others, 309, soon after the Emperor Maxentius had exiled Eusebius to Sicily.

During his pontificate, in October 312, Constantine defeated Maxentius and assumed control over Rome. Constantine presented the pope with the Lateran Palace, which became the papal residence and seat of Christian governance. Early in 313, Constantine and fellow Emperor Licinius reached an agreement at Milan that they would grant freedom of religion to the Christians and other religions and restore church property.

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Death

Later in 313, Miltiades presided over the Lateran Synod in Rome, which acquitted Caecilian of Carthage and condemned Donatus as a schismatic (see Donatism). He was then invited to the Council of Arles but died before it was held.

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Legacy

The Liber Pontificalis, compiled from the 5th century onwards, attributed the introduction of several later customs to Miltiades, including not fasting on Thursdays or Sundays, although subsequent scholarship now believes the customs probably pre-dated Miltiades.

In the 13th century, the feast of Saint Melchiades (as he was then called) was included, with the mistaken qualification of "martyr", in the Roman Calendar for celebration on 10 December. In 1969, it was removed from that calendar of obligatory liturgical celebrations,[4] and his feast was moved to the day of his death, 10 January, with his name given in the form "Miltiades" and without the indication "martyr".[5]

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References

  1. ^ Annuario Pontificio 2012 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana ISBN 978-88-209-8722-0), p. 8*
  2. ^  "Pope St. Miltiades". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. 
  3. ^ Richard P. McBrien, Lives of the Popes, (HarperCollins, 2000), 56.
  4. ^ Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1969), p. 148
  5. ^ Martyrologium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2001 ISBN 88-209-7210-7)
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External links

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Eusebius
Bishop of Rome
Pope

311–314
Succeeded by
Sylvester I
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Last modified on 22 April 2013, at 12:14