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# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Acephali

From volume 1 of the work.
​Acephali, a term applied to the Eutychians who withdrew from Peter Mongus, the Monophysite Patriarch of Alexandria, in 482. With the apparent purpose of bringing the orthodox and heretics into unity, Peter Mongus and Acacius of Constantinople had elaborated a new creed in which they condemned expressly Nestorius and Eutyches, but at the same time affected to pass over the decisions of the Council of Chalecdon and rejected them hypocritically. This ambiguous formula, though approved by the ​Emperor Zeno and imposed by him in his edict of union, or Henoticon, could only satisfy the indifferent. The condemnation of Eutyclies irritated the rigid Monophysites; the equivocal attitude taken towards the Council of Chalecdon appeared to them insufficient, and many of them, especially the monks, deserted Peter Mongus, preferring to be without a head (ἀκέφαλοι), rather than remain in communion with him. Later, they joined the partisans of the Monophysite Patriarch of Antioch, Severus. The Deacon Liberatus (Breviariuin. P. L., LVIII, 9.SS) supposes the name Acephali (Headless) to have been given to those at the Council of Ephesus who followed neither Cyril of Alexandria nor John of Antioch.
Leont. Byzant., De Sectis, in P.G., LXXXII 1230; Baronius, Annales, an. 482; Heffele, Hist. of Councils, II; Bardenhewer in Kirchenlex, (Freiburg, 1882), I.
John J. a' Becket.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Achard de Saint-Victor

From volume 13 of the work.
Canon regular, Abbot of St-Victor, Paris, and Bishop of Avranches, b. about 1100; d. 1172. By some authorities he is said to have been of English extraction, by others to be of the noble Norman family of de Pertins, of Domfront. He completed his studies at the school of St-Victor's and entered the cloister there. On the death (1155) of the first abbot, Gilduin, he was elected to fill the vacant post, at a time when the royal abbey was almost at the zenith of its glory and power. Two years later the Cathedral Chapter of Seez, composed of canons regular, elected Achard for their bishop, and the choice was duly confirmed by Adrian IV. But Henry II intervened and intruded his chaplain Frogier, or Roger. However, subsequent relations between Achard and the Plantagenet were quite cordial, and the abbot used his influence at the English Court to compel the royal treasurer, Richard of Ely, to disemburse for the benefit of the poor some moneys which he was unjustly detaining; his letter to Henry II on the matter is still extant. When, in 1162, Achard was raised to the vacant See of Avranches, henry made no objection to his consecration, and that same year Bishop Achard stood godfather to his daughter Elinor born at Domfront. But the French king, Louis VII, was by no means pleased to see such a shining light of the Parisian Church pass over into Norman territory, as is evident from a letter he then addressed to the prior of St-Victor's. In 1163 Achard was in England assisting at the solemn translation of Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey.
The chief monument of his ten years' episcopate was the Premonstratensian Abbey of the Holy Trinity, Lucerne, the foundation stone of which he laid 91164) and where at his own request he was buried, with this simple inscription: "Hic jacet Achardus episcopus cujus caritate ditata est paupertas nostra." His brethren of St-Victor's celebrated his memory in the following lines: "Huju oliva domus, Anglorum gloria cleri-Jam dignus celesti luce foveri-Felix Achardus florens etate senile-Presul Abrincensis ex hoc signature ovili". Not the least gem in Achard's crown is the memory of his unwavering friendship for St. Thomas a Becket through all the years of his persecution. In the chronicles of St-Victor's Achard is termed "Blessed". One treatise (Latin original and eighteenth-century French translation) of Achard's is extant in the Bibliotheque Nationale. Paris. It is a long commentary or sermon on the Temptation of Christ in the wilderness, and in it Achard discusses seven degrees of self-renunciation, which he calls the seven deserts of the soul. Haureau in his "Histoire literaire du maine", I, quotes several passages and terms the tract vrai morceau de style.
BUTLER, Lives of the Saints, 2 May; STANTON, Menology (London and New York, 1892); BONNARD, Histoire de l'Abbaye Royale de St. Victor de Paris (Paris, 1907); PENNOTTO, Hist. Cleric. Canon. (Rome, 1642).
Vincent Scully.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Achab

From volume 1 of the work.
​Achab ('A'ḥ'ābh, Ἀχαάβ in Jer., xxix, 22, 'Éḥābh, Ἀχιάβ), son of Amri and King of Israel, 918–897 b.c., according to III K., xvi, 29, but 875–854 according to the Assyrian documents. The original reading of III K., xvi, 29, may have been changed. The King was married to Jezabel, a Sidonian princess, and was misled by her into idolatry (III K., xvi, 31 sqq.), the persecution of the prophets (III K., xviii, 13 sqq.), and a most grievious injustice against Naboth (III K., xxi). He was twice victorious in his wars against Syria (III K., xx, 1328), and made an alliance with the Syrian King Benadad in spite of prophetic warning (III K., xx, 33). In the sixth year of Salmanassar II the allies were overcome by the Assyrians near Karkar, and their compact ceased. Achab now allied himself with Josaphat, King of Juda, and they began war against Syria in order to conquer Ramoth Galaad (III K., xxii, 3 sqq.). The false prophets foretold victory, while Micheas predicted defeat. The battle was begun in spite of this warning, and an arrow wounded Achab between the lungs and the stomach (III K., xxii, 34). He died in the evening, and when his chariot was washed in the pool of Samaria, the dogs licked up his blood (III K., xxii, 38).
Mechineau in Vig., Dict. de la Bible (Paris, 1895); Hagen, Lexicon Biblicum (Paris, 1905); Welte in Kirchenlex.
A.J. Maas.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Achaia

From volume 1 of the work.
​Achaia' (Ægialeia), the name, before the Roman conquest in 146 b. c. of a strip of land between the gulf of Corinth in the north and Elis and Arcadia in the south, embracing twelve cities leagued together. The Achæan League was prominent in the struggle of the Greeks against Roman domination. It is probably due to this fact that the name was afterwards extended to the whole country south of Macedonia and Illyricum, corresponding approximately to modern Greece. During the Roman period Achaia was usually governed as a senatorial province. The Governor was an ex-Prætor of Rome, and bore the title of Proconsul. Corinth was the capital. When St. Paul came into Achaia (Acts, xviii), Gallio, a brother of Seneca, was proconsul. His refusal to interfere in the religious affairs of the Jews and the tolerance of his administration favoured the spread of Christianity. In Corinth the Apostle founded a flourishing church. In his Second Epistle to the Corinthians, he salutes Christians "in all Achaia" (i, 1) and commends their charity (ix, 2).
Ramsay in Hastings, Dict. of the Bible; Mommsen, Provinces of the Roman Empire (Rom. Gesch.), V, vii.
W. S. Reilly.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Achaicus

From volume 1 of the work.
​Achaicus, a Corinthian Christian, who, together with Fortunatus and Stephanas, carried a letter from the Corinthians to St. Paul, and from St. Paul to the Corinthians (I Cor., xvi, 17; Cf. also xvi, 1,5).
A. J. Maas.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Achaz

From volume 1 of the work.
​Achaz (Ahaz, Ἄχαζ), King of Juda, placed variously, 741–726 b.c., 744–728, 748–727, 724–709, 734–728. It seems to be certain that Theglathphalasar's first expedition against Damascus mentioned in the life of Achaz fell in 733 b.c., and the second in 731. Owing to his idolatry (IV K., xvi, 3, 4, II Par., xxviii, 24), Achaz was conquered first by Rasin, King of Syria, and then by Phacee, King of Israel (II Par., xxviii, 5; IV K., xvi, 6). Now, Rasin and Phacee made an alliance in order to dethrone the house of David in Juda, and to make the son of Tabeel king (Is., vii, 26). The prophet Isaias offers to Achaz God's aid with the promise of safety in case of belief, but with the threat of punishment in case of unbelief (Is., vii, 1221). Achaz is unbelieving, seeks help from Theglathphalasar, offering at the same time rich presents from the temple treasury (IV K., xvi, 7, 8). The king of the Assyrians takes Damascus, afflicts Israel (IV K., xv, 29; xvi, 9), but reduces Juda to the necessity of buying its freedom (IV K., xvi, 17; II Par., xxviii, 20). Achaz was not improved by this affliction, but he introduced into the temple an altar modelled after that at Damascus (IV K., ​xvi, 14 sq.; II Par., xxviii, 2225). On account of the king's sin Juda was also oppressed by the Edomites and the Philistines (II Par., xxviii, 17 sq.).
Renard in Vig., Dict. de la Bible (Paris, 1895); Peake in Hastings, Dict. of the Bible (New York, 1903); Hagen, Lexicon Biblicum (Paris, 1905).
A.J. Maas.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Achille Desurmont

From volume 4 of the work.
Ascetical writer, b. at Tourcoing, France, 23 Dec., 1828; d. 23 July, 1898. He attended first the college of the Jesuits at Brugelette, Belgium, and afterwards (1848) the theological college of Cambrai. Drawn to the religious state, he was received into the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer in 1850, made his profession the following year, and was ordained priest 24 Sept., 1853. His talent was at once recognised and he was appointed prefect of students and professor of theology, which offices he retained till 1865, when he became superior of the French province. He was a man of surpassing energy and an excellent organiser, his kindness winning him the affection and confidence of his subjects, whom he directed with prudence and fatherly firmness. Under his care subjects and foundations multiplied; the congregation spread into Spain for a second time, and he made foundations in Peru, Ecuador, Chile, and Colombia in South America. Forced to transfer his numerous religious from France to Holland, he so communicated to others his own spirit of faith and confidence that in all their troubles not one of his subjects failed him. On his return to France he soon organized missions and retreats as before. In 1887, he was given the important work of Apostolic visitor to the Little Sisters of the Poor. As a preacher few surpassed him in the retreats he gave to priests and religious all over France. At the age of seventy he was again nominated provincial. Although in poor health, he set to work with his wonted activity, but the result was a complete break-down. He wrote much and well. He was the founder (1875) of the ascetical review, "La Sainte Famille", and a constant contributor to it. His works are edited in three series: 1. Vie Chrétienne. — "L'Art d' assurer son Salut"; "Le Credo et la Providence"; "Le Monde et l'Evangile"; "La Vie vraiment chrétienne"; "Dévotions de l'âme chrétienne"; "Le Vén. Passarat et les Rédemptoristes". 2. Vie Religieuse. - "Exercises Spirituels" (Retraites). - "Renouvellements spirituels" (Retraites); "Conversion quotidienne et retour continuel à Dieu" (Retraites); "Une Vertu pour chaque mois de l'année"; "La Vie vraiment religieuse"; "Manuel de méditations quotidiennes". 3. Vie Sacerdotale. - "Dieu et la parole de Dieu"; "Discours et plans de retraites ecclésiastiques"; "L'esprit Apostolique"; "L'art de sauver les âmes"; "La charité sacerdotale" (Paris, Libraire de la "Sainte Famille", 1907-8).
La Sainte Famille (1898), 450; Archives Congr. SS. R.
J. Magnier.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Achiacharus

From volume 1 of the work.
​Achiacharus is mentioned only once in the Vulgate version of Tobias (xi, 20, under the form Achior), but the name occurs four times in the Greek versions. He is represented as a nephew of Tobias, and an influential minister of the Assyrian King Esarhaddon (681–668 b.c.). On the relation, supposed by some critics, of this personage to Ahiakar the Wise, of eastern legend, see E. Cosquin, in Revue biblique Internationale, 1899, 50 sq.
W. S. Reilly.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Adam of Perseigne

From volume 1 of the work.
​Adam of Perseigne, a French Cistercian, Abbot of the monastery of Perseigne in the Diocese of Mans, b. about the middle of the twelfth century. He is thought to have been first a canon regular, later a Benedictine of Marmoutier and then a Cistercian. About the year 1180, he became Abbot of Perseigne, wither his reputation for holiness and wisdom drew the great personages of his time to seek his counsel. He had at Rome a conference with the celebrated mystic, Joachim, Abbot of Flora, (in Calabria, Italy), on the subject of the latter's revelations, and aided Foulques de Neuilly in preaching the Fourth Crusade. His letters and sermons were published at Rome in 1662 under the title "Adami Abbatis Perseniæ Ordinis Cisterciensis Mariale."
Mignon in Dict. de théol. cath., s. v.
Thomas Walsh.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Adam de Marisco

From volume 9 of the work.
(or ADAM MARSH)
A Franciscan who probably came from the county of Somerset, but the date of his birth is unknown; died at the end of 1257 or the beginning of 1258. He was educated at Oxford, where he acquired a great reputation. He had been for three years rector of Wearmouth, in Durham, when he joined the Friars Minor about 1237. He succeeded Robert Grosseteste as lecturer at the Franciscan house in Oxford, and soon became acquainted with many of the most distinguished men of the time. The extent and character of his correspondence shows how widespread was his personal influence, and is a striking illustration of the moral force exerted by the early Franciscans in England. Adam was intimate with Grosseteste and Archbishop Boniface, with Richard of Cornwall and Simon de Montfort. Always a reformer himself, he must have helped to give Earl Simon, who began his career in England as a foreign favourite, his deep patriotic and religious interest in the cause of reform. Over Henry III a no direct influence, but he had friends at Court and he was most anxious to combine peace and reform. Unfortunately he died just when the great political crisis of the reign was beginning. Before his death his name was proposed by Archbishop Boniface for the See of Ely, where there had been a disputed election, but he seems to have been opposed by the monastic interest. As a man of learning Adam had much to do with the organization of studies at Oxford, and as "Doctor Illustris" was known throughout Europe. Roger Bacon professed for him the same perhaps rather excessive admiration with which he regarded Grosseteste, calling them the "greatest clerks in the world". Among the works attributed to Adam are commentaries on the Master of the Sentences, on parts of Scripture, and on Dionysius the Areopagite.
The chief source of information is Adam's own correspondence published in BREWER, Monumenta Franciscana (Rolls Series). ECCLESTON, De Adventu Minorum, GROSSETESTE'S Letters and MATTHEW PARIS'S Chronicle should also be consulted. Modern works: BREWER, Preface to Monumenta; RASHDALL, Universities of the Middle Ages, II (Oxford, 1895); STEVENSON, Life of Grosseteste (London, 1899); CREIGHTON in Dict. Nat. Biog., s. v. Adam de Marisco.
F. F. URQUHART.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Adam of Saint Victor

From volume 1 of the work.
​Adam of Saint Victor, A prominent and prolific writer of Latin Hymns, born in the latter part of the twelfth century, probably at Paris; died in the Abbey of Saint Victor then in the suburbs of Paris but included in it subsequently through the city's growth, some time between 1172 and 1192. By those more nearly his contemporaries he is styled "Brito", a word which means "Briton", or "Breton". But as he was educated in Paris, and entered the Abbey of Saint Victor when quite young, he was presumably French. He lived in the abbey, which was somewhat of a theological center, until his death. Adam of Saint Victor is the most illustrious exponent of the revival of liturgical poetry which the twelfth century affords. Archbishop Trench characterizes him as "the foremost among the sacred Latin poets of the Middle Ages". Of his hymns and sequences some thirty-seven were published in the "Elucidatorium Ecclesiasticum" of Clichtoveus, a Catholic theologian of the sixteenth century. Nearly all of the remaining seventy were preserved in the Abbey of Saint Victor up to the time of its dissolution in the Revolution. They were then transferred to the Bibliothèque Nationale, where they were discovered by Léon Gautier, who edited the first complete edition of them (Paris, 1858). Besides these poetic works, some prose ones are attributed to Adam of Saint Victor, viz., "Summa Britonis, seu de difficilioribus verbis in Biblia contentis", a dictionary of all the difficult words in the Bible for the use of novices and beginners in the study of the Scriptures; and a sequel to this, "Expositio super omnes prologos", an historical commentary on the prologues of St. Jerome. Fabricius, Pits, and others deny his authorship of these prose works, saying they were written by Guillaume le Breton. Levesque advances some plausible reasons for believing them the work of Adam, while Abbé Lejay declares emphatically that none of the prose works ascribed to him can be regarded with any likelihood as his. Some of his best hymns are "Laudes crucis attolamus", "Verbi vere substantivi", and "Stola regni laureatus".
Gautier, Œuvres poétiques d'Adam de St. Victor (Paris 1858) with an Essai sur sa vie et ses ouvrages, tr. Wrangham (London, 1881); Julian, Dict. of Hymnology (New York, 1892), 14, 15; Levesque in Vig., Dict. de la Bible; Lejay in Dict. de théol. cath.
John J. a' Becket.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Adam Scotus

From volume 1 of the work.
​Adam Scotus (or The Premonsthatensian), a theologian and Church historian of the latter part of the twelfth century. He was born either in Scotland or England, and joined the newly-founded order of Saint Norbert. It is also believed that he became Abbot and Bishop of Candida Casa, or Whithorn in Scotland, and died after 1180. His works consist of "Sermones" (P. L., CXCVIII, 91–440); "Liber de Ordine, Habitu et Professione Canonicorum Ordinis Præmonstratensis" (Ibid., CXCVIII, 439–610), a work which is sometimes entitled the "Commentary on the Rule of St. Augustine"; "De Tripartito Tabernaculo" (CXCVIII, 609–792); "De Triplici Genere Contemplationis" (CXCVIII, 791–842); "Soliloquiorum de Instructione animae libri duo" (CXCVIII, 841–872). He was one of the most ​appreciated mystical authors of the Middle Ages; both in style and matter his works show unusual sweetness and spirituality. He is also known as Adam Anglicus and Anglo-Scotus.
Dict. of Nat. Biogr., s. v.; Wright, Biogr. Brit. Litt. (1846), II, 322; Bourgain, La chaire française au XII siècle (Paris, 1879), 135–130; Jerôme, in Dict de théol. cath., s. v.
Thomas Walsh.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Adam Tanner

From volume 14 of the work.
Controversialist, born at Innsbruck in 1571; died at Unken, 25 May, 1632. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1589, and taught at first Hebrew, apologetics, and moral theology. When in 1601 the religious debate between Catholics and Lutherans was arranged at Ratisbon, Tanner aided his fellow Jesuit Gretser in proving that the dead word of the Bible could not be the supreme arbiter in matters of faith. He himself published an account of the proceedings (Mainz, 1602) and in subsequent apologies hurled back the charges brought against the Catholics by the Reformers. In 1603, the Bavarian duke invited him to occupy the chair of Scholastic theology in the University of Ingolstadt. A stranger in no field of science and gifted with a keen intellect, Tanner now developed an increasing activity both in teaching and writing on theological subjects. In his "Anatomiæ confessionis augustanæ" (Ingolstadt, 1613), he points out the fallacies of the Augsburg Confession, both from Luther's own assertions and from the qualities essential to the true Church. Against the so-called Utraquists, he wrote several works, both in Latin and in German, defending the Church's practice of giving Communion under one species only, and the sacrifice of the Mass. Other pamphlets were issued by him to clear his order from the false accusations of its enemies. When the conflict between the Venetians and Pope Paul V (q. v.) broke out, an able defence from his pen, "Defensionis ecclesiæ libertatis libri duo" (Ingolstadt, 1607), vindicated the Church's freedom against the tyrannical aggressions of the State.
After fifteen years spent at Ingolstadt, he was called by the Emperor Matthias to the University of Vienna. While there he published his greatest work, the "Universa theologia scholastica" (Ingolstadt, 1626-27), which resembles the "Summa" of St.Thomas not only in its arrangement, but also in its solidity of doctrine and conciseness of diction. Ferdinand II, Matthias's successor on the throne of the Habsburgs, appointed him chancellor of the University of Prague. Fleeing from the Swedes, Tanner died at Unken, an insignificant village near Salzburg. There he still rests amid unlettered peasants in an unknown grave. But, as Cordara says, "his virtues, coupled with his eminent erudition, will ever be his most splendid epitaph and mausoleum."
CORDARA, Hist. Soc. Iesu, VI, 583; GUILHERMY, Ménologe, I, 470; THÖLEN, Menologium, 325; HURTER, Nomenclator, I, 254; SOMMERVOGEL, Bibliothéque VII, 1843, sqq.
A. C. Cotter.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Adam of Fulda

From volume 1 of the work.
​Adam of Fulda, b. about 1450, d. after 1537, one of the most learned musicians of his age. He was a monk of Franconia, deriving his name from the capital city of that country. At that time the contrapuntal music, of which Josquin was such a brilliant star, flourished above all in the Netherlands. Adam of Fulda, himself a disciple of the Dutch teachers, ultimately became their rival. He is best known for a famous treatise on music, written in 1490, and printed by Gerbert von Homan, in his "Scriptores eccles. de Mus. Sacra", III. This treatise is divided into forty-five chapters, some of which treat of the invention and the praise of music, of the voice, of sound, of tone, of keys, of measured and figured music, of tone relations, intervals, consonances, etc. A list of his compositions may be found in the "Quellen-Lexikon". As he called himself musicus ducalis, he was probably in the service of some prince, possibly of the Bishop of Würzburg.
Kornmüller, Lex. der kirchl. Tonkunst; Grove, Dict. of Music and Musicians.
J. A. Völker.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Adam of Murimuth

From volume 1 of the work.
​Adam of Murimuth, an English chronicler of about the middle of the fourteenth century. He was a canon of St. Paul's, London, and took an active part in the affairs of Church and State during the reigns of Edward II and Edward III. His history of his own times is entitled "Chronicon, sive res gestæ sui temporis quibus ipse interfuit, res Romanas et Gallicas Anglicanis intertexens, 1302–1343" (Cottonian Library MSS.). "Adam of Murimuth continues to be a principal witness for events up to the year 1346, after which the narrative is carried on by his unknown continuator to the year 1380. His statements are for the most part made on good authority, or as the result of personal observation, and the impression we derive is that of one who was an honest and veracious chronicler, although possessed of no descriptive literary power" [Gardiner and Mullinger, "English History for Students" (New York, 1881), 284].
Stubbs, Chron. Edward I–II (1882), I, lxx–xxiv; Gross, Sources and Literature of English History, etc. (New York, 1900), s. v.
Thomas Walsh.