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# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Peter Mongus

From volume 11 of the work.
(μογγός, "stammerer", or "hoarse".)
Intruded Monophysite patriarch of Alexandria (d. 490). Under Timothy Ailuros, who was made patriarch by the Egyptian Monophysites after Chalcedon (454-460), Peter Mongus was an ardent adherent of that party. As Timothy's deacon he took part in the persecution of the Melchites. Timothy Ailuros was expelled from the patriarchal throne in 460 and the orthodox Timothy Salophakiolos was set up by the government instead (460-75). In 475 another revolution recalled Ailuros, who held his place till death (477). His party thereupon elected Peter Mongus to succeed him. The Emperor Zeno (474-91) sentenced Mongus to death; he escaped by flight. Meanwhile Salophakiolos returned and reigned till his death (481). The Melchites chose John Talaia to succeed (481-82; see JOHN TALAIA). Peter Mongus, always claiming to be patriarch, now comes forward again. John had quarrelled with Acacius, patriarch of Constantinople, and refused to sign Zeno's Henoticon (482); so he was expelled, the emperor changed his attitude, and supported Mongus (482). Talaia fled to Rome, Mongus took possession of the see, and sent notice of his succession to Rome, Antioch, and Constantinople. He had signed the Henoticon and was therefore inserted in Acacius's diptychs as Patriarch of Alexandria. But the pope (Felix II or III, 483-92) defended Talaia's rights in two letters to Acacius.
From this time Mongus became the chief champion of all Monophysites. He held a synod to condemn Chalcedon, and desecrated the tombs of Proterios and Salophakiolos, his Melchite predecessors. He was excommunicated repeatedly by the pope. It was communion with Mongus and the acceptance of the Henoticon that caused the Acacian schism of Constantinople (484-519). When Acacius died and was succeeded by Flavitas (or Fravitas, 489-90) Mongus wrote to the new patriarch again condemning Chalcedon and encouraging him in his schism with Rome. He died in 490 and was succeeded by another Monophysite, Athanasius II (490-96). For a long time after his death the name of Peter Mongus was still a party word. To read it in the diptychs (of the dead) was a kind of profession of Monophystism; the first condition of reunion with Rome and the Catholic world generally was to erase it, with that of Dioscurus and the other great champions of the heresy. In the line of Alexandrine patriarchs Mongus is counted as Peter III. He is said to have written many books, of which however nothing remains. A pretended correspondence between him and Acacius (in Coptic) is proved to be spurious by Amelineau in the "Memoires publiés par les membres de la mission archéologique française au Caire", IV (Paris, 1888), 196-228.
Mongus takes an important place in any history of Monophysitism, as EVAGRIUS, Chronicon Pascale in P.G., XCII; LIBERATUS. See also GUTSCHMID, Verzeichniss der Patriarchen von Alexandrien in Kleine Schriften, II (Leipzig, 1890), 395-525; HEFELE-LECLERCQ, Histoire des Conciles, II (Paris, 1908), 916-26; NEALE, History of the Holy Eastern Church, II (London, 1847), 21-24.
ADRIAN FORTESCUE
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/St. Silvia

From volume 13 of the work.
(Also spelled "Sylvia").
Mother of Pope St. Gregory the Great, born about 515 (525?); died about 592.
There is unfortunately no life of Silvia and a few scanty notices are all that is extant concerning her. Her native place is sometimes given as Sicily, sometimes as Rome. Apparently she was of as distinguished family as her husband, the Roman regionarius, Gordianus. She had, besides Gregory, a second son. Silvia was noted for her great piety, and she gave her sons an excellent education. After the death of her husband she devoted herself entirely to religion in the "new cell by the gate of blessed Paul" (cella nova juxta portam beati Pauli). Gregory the Great had a mosaic portrait of his parents executed at the monastery of St. Andrew; it is minutely described by Johannes Diaconus (P.L., LXXV, 229-30). Silvia was portrayed sitting with the face, in which the wrinkles of age could not extinguish the beauty, in full view; the eyes were large and blue, and the expression was gracious and animated. The veneration of St. Silvia is of early date. In the ninth century an oratory was erected over her former dwelling, near the Basilica of San Saba. Pope Clement VIII (1592-1605) inserted her name under 3 November in the Roman Martyrology. She is invoked by pregnant women for a safe delivery.
Klemens Löffler.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/St. Simon the Apostle

From volume 13 of the work.
The name of Simon occurs in all the passages of the Gospel and Acts, in which a list of the Apostles is given. To distinguish him from St. Peter he is called (Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:18) Kananaios, or Kananites, and Zelotes (Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13). Both surnames have the same signification and are a translation of the Hebrew qana (the Zealous). The name does not signify that he belonged to the party of Zealots, but that he had zeal for the Jewish law, which he practised before his call. Jerome and others wrongly assumed that Kana was his native place; were this so, he should have been called Kanaios. The Greeks, Copts, and Ethiopians identify him with Nathanael of Cana; the first-mentioned also identify him with the bridegroom of the marriage of Cana, while in the "Chronicon paschale" and elsewhere he is identified with Simon Clopas.
The Abyssinians accordingly relate that he suffered crucifixion as the Bishop of Jerusalem, after he had preached the Gospel in Samaria. Where he actually preached the Gospel is uncertain. Almost all the lands of the then known world, even as far as Britain, have been mentioned; according to the Greeks, he preached on the Black Sea, in Egypt, Northern Africa, and Britain, while, according to the Latin "Passio Simonis et Judae" — the author of which was (Lipsius maintains) sufficiently familiar with the history of the Parthian Empire in the first century — Simon laboured in Persia, and was there martyred at Suanir. However, Suanir is probably to be sought in Colchis. According to Moses of Chorene, Simon met his death in Weriosphora in Iberia; according to the Georgians, he preached in Colchis. His place of burial is unknown.
Concerning his relics our information is as uncertain as concerning his preaching. From Babylon to Rome and Toulouse we find traces of them; at Rome they are venerated under the Altar of the Crucifixion in the Vatican. His usual attribute is the saw, since his body was said to have been sawed to pieces, and more rarely the lance. He is regarded as the patron of tanners. In the Western Church he is venerated together with Jude (Thaddaeus); in the East separately. The Western Church keeps his feast on 28 October; the Greeks and Copts on 10 May.
Klemens Löffler.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/St. Sophronius

From volume 14 of the work.
Sophronius, Saint, Patriarch of Jerusalem and Greek ecclesiastical writer, b. about 560 at Damascus of noble parentage; d. probably March 11, 638, at Jerusalem. In company with John Moschus he traveled extensively through the East and also went to Rome. He probably became a monk in Egypt about 580 and later removed to Palestine. From the year 633 until his death he was the principal opponent of Monothelitism. Conspicuous for his learning and piety he became in 634 Patriarch of Jerusalem, and sorrowfully witnessed during his reign the conquest of Palestine by the Arabs and their capture of Jerusalem. He must very probably be identified with the Sophronius known as the rhetorician (Greek: sophists), and was the author of biographies, homilies, and hymns. Among the first named are: his Life of John the Almoner, written in collaboration with J. Moschus and only partly preserved in Symeon Metaphrastes; the lives of Sts. Cyrus and John; and probably a Life of St. Mary of Egypt. Ten homilies which have been preserved deal chiefly with ecclesiastical festivals, and are remarkable for their dogmatic contents and oratorical style. Numerous anacreontic odes entitle him to a place among Greek ecclesiastical poets. A large work in which he collected 600 testimonies of the Fathers in favor of the two wills of Christ has perished.
N. A. WEBER
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/St. Seraphin of Montegranaro

From volume 13 of the work.
Born at Montegranaro, 1540; died at Ascoli, 12 October 1604. Felix de Nicola was born of a poor, pious family, and in his youth was employed as a shepherd, an occupation which gave him much leisure for prayer and other pious exercises. Upon the death of his parents, he was subjected to harsh and cruel treatment by his eldest brother. At the age of sixteen, he entered the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and received the name Seraphin. He was distinguished from the first by his unaffected simplicity, mortification, and obedience as well as charity which towards the poor knew no bounds. He had a special devotion to the Blessed Eucharist and to Our Lady. Seraphin was endowed with the gift of reading the secrets of hearts, and with that of miracles and prophecy. Although unlettered, his advice was sought by secular and ecclesiastical dignitaries, and was a fruitful source of virtue to souls. His tomb is in the Capuchin friary at Ascoli. He was canonized by Clement XIII, 16 July, 1767. His feast is celebrated in the Franciscan Order on 12 October.
Clary: Lives of the Saints and Blessed of the Three Orders of St. Francis, III (Taunton, 1886), 292- 296; Acta SS. Oct., VI 128-60; Lechner, Leben der heiligen aus dem Kapuzinerorden, I (1863), 229- 72; Svampa, Vita di S. Serafino da Montegranaro Laico Cappucino (Bologna, 1904).
Ferdinand Heckman.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/St. Sigebert

From volume 13 of the work.
Sigebert, Saint, king and martyr, date of birth unknown; d. about 637, was the stepbrother of Earpwald, king of the East Angles. During the reign of Redwald he lived an exile in Gaul where he received baptism and became an ardent Christian. Earpwald died about 627, and East Anglia seems to have relapsed into anarchy and heathenism for some three years until Sigebert returned thither, about 631, and became king. He at once set about the conversion of his people, being greatly assisted by St. Felix, who seems to have come over from Gaul with him, and for whom a see was established at Dunwich in Suffolk. Another prominent figure in Sigebert's revival was the Irish monk, St. Fursey, or Fursa, for whom he built a monastery at Burghcastle in Suffolk. With the aid of St. Felix, Sigebert also established a school for boys on the model of the monastic schools in Gaul, the masters for it are said to have been supplied from Canterbury, The prospects of Christianity now seemed so bright that Sigebert felt justified in carrying out his long-cherished design of retiring to a monastery. He therefore resigned the kingdom to his kinsman, Egric, received the tonsure, and entered a monastery, said to have been Bedrichsworth, which later became Bury St. Edmunds. Not long after this, however, Penda the pagan King of Mercia, invaded East Anglia, and Egric, finding himself unable to repel the invasion, joined with his subjects in begging Sigebert to lead them, as he had formerly been a most brave warrior. In spite of his great unwillingness, Sigebert was dragged from his cloister and compelled to march at the head of the army; but, to indicate his profession as a monk, he refused absolutely to carry any weapons of war and instead bore only a rod. In the ensuing battle his army was totally defeated, he and Egric both perishing in the fight. In the "Acta Sanctorum" his life is given under date of October 29, but the feast is not now observed even in England.
Bede, Hist. eccles., ed. Giles (London, 1843), II, xx, III, xviii, also in P. L.; Acta SS., Oct. XII, 892–904; William of Malmesbury, Gesta Regum, I, xcvii; Idem, Gesta pontificum, 147, both in Rolls Series (London, 1870–1887); Liber Eliensis, ed. Stewart, I (London, 1848), i; Dugdale, Monasticon anglicanum, III (London, 1846), 98; Pits, De illustribus Angliæ script. (Paris, 1619), 108; Stanton, Menology of England and Wales, (London, 1887), 35.
G. Roger Hudleston
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/St. Sexburga

From volume 13 of the work.
Died about 699. Her sisters, Sts. Ethelburga and Saethrid, were both Abbesses of Faremontier in Brie, St. Withburga was a nun at Ely, and St. Etheldreda became Abbess of Ely. Sexburga was the daughter of Anna, King of the East Angles, and was married about 640 to Earconbert, King of Kent. She lived with her husband for twenty-four years, and by him had two sons, Egbert and Lothar, both successively Kings of Kent, and two daughters, both of whom became nuns and saints: St. Earcongota, a nun of Faremontier, and St. Ermenhild, who married Wulfhere, King of Mercia, and after his death took the veil and became Abbess of Ely. After the death of her husband in 664, Sexburga founded the Abbey of Minster in Sheppey; after a few years there she removed to Ely and placed herself under her sister Etheldreda, then abbess. The "Liber Eliensis" contains the farewell speech made by Sexburga to her nuns at Minster, and an account of her reception at Ely. St. Etheldreda died, probably in 679, and Sexburga was elected abbess. She was still alive and acting as abbess in 695, when she presided at the translation of St. Etheldreda's relics to a new shrine she had erected for her at Ely, which included a sarcophagus of white marble from the ruined city of Grantchester. Sexburga was buried at Ely, near her sister St. Etheldreda and her feast is kept on 6 July. There are several lives of St. Sexburga extant. The one printed in Capgrave, "Nova, Legenda" and used by the Bollandists seems to be taken from the Cotton manuscript (Tib. E. 1) in the British Museum. There is another Latin life in the same collection (Cotton MS., Calig. A. 8), but it is so damaged by fire that it is useless. At Lambeth there are fragments of an Anglo-Saxon life (MS. 427).
BEDE, Hist. Eccl., iii, c. 8; IV, cc. 19, 21; Liber Eliensis in Anglo. Chr. Soc.; Acta SS., July, II, 346-9; MONTALEMBERT, Monks of the West, ed. GASQUET, iv, 401; HARDY, Cat. Mat. in R. S., I, 36O-2; BUTLER, Lives of the Saints. 6 July.
S. BARNES
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/American Federation of Catholic Societies

From volume 14 of the work.
An organization of the Catholic laity, parishes, and societies under the guidance of the hierarchy, to protect and advance their religious, civil, and social interests. It does not destroy the autonomy of any society or interfere with its activities, but seeks to unite all of them for purposes of co-operation and economy of forces. It is not a political organization, neither does it ask any privileges or favours for Catholics. The principal object of the Federation is to encourage (1) the Christian education of youth; (2) the correction of error and exposure of falsehood and injustice; the destruction of bigotry; the placing of Catholics and the Church in their true light, thus removing the obstacles that have hitherto impeded their progress; (3) the infusion of Christian principles into public and social life, by combatting the errors threatening to undermine the foundations of civil society, notably socialism, divorce, dishonesty in business, and corruption in politics and positions of public trust. The first organization to inaugurate the movement for a concerted action of the societies of Catholic laymen was the Knights of St. John. At their annual meeting held at Cleveland in 1899 they resolved to unite the efforts of their local commanderies. In 1900 at Philadelphia they discussed the question of a federation of all the Catholic societies. As a result a convention was held on 10 Dec., 1901, at Cincinnati, under the presidency of Mr. H.J. Fries. Two hundred and fifty delegates were present under the guidance of Bishop McFaul of Trenton, Bishop Messmer of Green Bay, now Archbishop of Milwaukee, the principal factors in the organization of the movement, Archbishop Elder of Cincinnati, Bishop Horstmann of Cleveland, and Bishop Maes of Covington. A charter bond was framed and the Federation formally established, with Mr. T.B. Minahan as its first president. Since then annual conventions have been held. The Federation represents close to two million Catholics. It has been approved by Popes Leo XIII and Pius X, and practically all the hierarchy of the country. The fruits of the labours of the organization have been manifold; among other things it has helped to obtain a fair settlement of the disputes concerning the church property in the Philippines, permission for the celebration of Mass in the navy-yards, prisons, reform schools; assistance for the Catholic Indian schools and negro missions; the withdrawal and prohibition of indecent plays and post-cards. It has prevented the enactment of laws inimical to Catholic interests in several state legislatures. One of its chief works has been the uniting of the Catholics of different nationalities, and harmonizing their efforts for self-protection and improvement. It publishes a monthly Bulletin, which contains valuable social studies. The national secretary is Mr. Anthony Matré, Victoria Building, St. Louis, Missouri.
MATRE, Hist. of the Feder. of Cath. Soc. in The Catholic Columbian (Columbus, Ohio, 18 Aug., 1911); MCFAUL, The Amer. Feder. of Cath. Soc. (Cincinnati, 1911).
A. A. MacErlean.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Amiel Weeks Whipple

From volume 15 of the work.
Military engineer and soldier, born at Greenwich, Massachusetts, 1818; died at Washington, D.C., 7 May, 1863. He was the son of David and Abigail Pepper Whipple. After studying at Amherst College, he made the course at West Point, graduating 1 July, 1841. His early years of service were spent in surveying the Patapsco River, sounding and mapping the approaches of New Orleans, and in surveying Portsmouth Harbour. Later he helped to determine portions of the Canadian and the Mexican boundaries of the United States. In 1853 he had charge of the explorations for a railroad route near the 35th parallel of latitude to the Pacific Ocean. He became a Catholic around 1857, when he was in Detroit in charge of the lighthouse districts from Lake Superior to the St. Lawrence. In the war, after engineering under Gen. McDowell, he became chief topographical engineer under McClellan. His maps were used on many Virginian battlefields. In 1862, as brigadier-general of volunteers, he had charge of the defense of Washington on the Virginia side. After great gallantry at Antietam and Fredericksburg, with his division in General Sickles's corps, he was much exposed at Chancellorsville. In a skirmish at the close of the battle he was severely wounded in the neck by a sharpshooter, and received the last rites of the Church on the battlefield. Taken to Washington he was breveted brigadier-general on 4 May, major general of volunteers on 6 May, and major-general by brevet on 7 May, only a few hours before his death.
LAMB, Encyclopedia of American Biography; CULLUM, Biographical Register of U.S.A. Military Academy (Boston and New York, 1891).
Regina Randolph Jenkins.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Amisus

From volume 1 of the work.
A titular see of Pontus in Asia Minor. It was a rich commercial centre under the kings of Pontus, a royal residence and fortress of Mithridates, and included in its territory the dwelling place of the fabled Amazons.
LEQUIEN, Oriens Christianus (1740), I, 533-536; SMITH, Dict. of Greek and Roman Geogr., I, 122.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Ammon

From volume 1 of the work.
(Egyptian Amun or Amen, "the hidden one". Hebrew 'Āmôn, Greek Άμμών).
The supreme divinity of the Egyptian pantheon. He was originally only the chief god of the city of Thebes, but later his worship became predominant in Egypt and extended even to Lybia and Ethiopia. Thebes, however, always remained the centre of his worship, whence it was called Ne amun, "the city of Amun", Hebrew Nō'-'Āmôn (Nahum 3:8, Hebrew text), and the god himself is designated by Jeremias (46:25, Hebrew text) as 'Āmôn min Nō' (Ammon of No, i.e. Thebes). Ammon was worshipped under several names with different attributes. As Ammon-Ra, he was the sun god, with his chief temple at Thebes; as Khem or Min, he was the god of reproduction; as Khnum, he was the creator of all things, "the maker of gods and men". In the latter character he was represented with the head of a ram, the animal sacred to him, or simply with ram's horns; under this form Ammon was best known to classical writers, who always attribute horns to him. The chief temple of Khnum was in the oasis of Ammon (now Siwah), where Alexander the Great worshipped him. The Greeks and Romans identified Ammon with Zeus or Jupiter (Zeus Ammon, Jupiter Ammon), whence the name Diospolis, City of Zeus, given to Thebes by the Greeks.
Wiedemann, Religion of the Ancient Egyptians (London, 1897); Vigouroux, La Bible et les découv. mod. 6th ed. (Paris, 1897), II, 513 sqq.; Pierret, Dict. d'archéologie. 35, 270, 519.
F. BECHTEL
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Gratian

From volume 6 of the work.
Roman Emperor; son of Valentinian I; born at Sirmium, 359; died at Lyons, 383. Before he had attained his ninth year he received the purple robe and diadem, with the title of Augustus; and on the death of his father (375) he became Emperor of the West. His half-brother, Valentinian II, an infant, was associated with him in the title. He fixed his residence at Trier, and devoted himself to opposing the advance of the Alamanni, whom he routed in the great battle of Colmar (378). His colleague in the east, Valens, was, however, defeated and slain by the Goths in the same year at the battle of Adrianople. Gratian, feeling himself unequal to the task of governing the whole empire alone, assigned the eastern portion to Theodosius I. Up to this time he had shown himself to be a wise ruler and a brave and skilful general, but now he began to neglect his duties and to devote himself to hunting and other sports. A rebellion which arose in Britain under Maximus, one of his generals, spread into Gaul. Gratian, who was residing at Paris, fled to Lyons, and was there treacherously slain (25 Aug., 383). Gratian's reign marks a distinct epoch in the transition of the empire from paganism to Christianity. At the time of his accession (375) he refused the insignia of pontifex maximus, which even Constantine and the other Christian emperors had always accepted. At the instance of St. Ambrose, who became his chief adviser, he caused the statue of Victory to be removed from the senate house at Rome (382). In this same year he abolished all the privileges of the pagan pontiffs and the grants for the support of pagan worship. Deprived of the assistance of the State, paganism rapidly lost influence. Gratian did not go so far as to confer upon the Church the privileges and emoluments which he took from the pagans, but he gave proof of his zeal by undoing the effects of Valens's persecution, and by taking measures for the suppression of various forms of heresy. Though in general his policy was one of toleration, he made apostasy a crime punishable by the State (383). It was for Gratian that St. Ambrose wrote his great treatise "De Fide".
ALLARD, Le Christianisme et l'Empire Romain (Paris, 1898); DE BROGLIE, Saint Ambroise (Paris, 1899); GIBBON, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (London, 1815), xxv-xxvii; RICHTER, Das weströmische Reich, besonders unter den Kaisern Gratian, Valentinian II. und Maximus (Berlin, 1865); TILLEMONT, Hist. des Empereurs (Paris, 1701), V, 136-88, 705-26; BEUGNOT, Hist. de la destruction du paganisme en Occident (Paris, 1835); BOISSIER, La fin du paganisme (Paris, 1891).
T. B. Scannell.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Gratianopolis

From volume 6 of the work.
A titular see in Caesarea Mauretania, Africa. This city does not figure in a list of the bishoprics of the province preserved in a document of the sixth and seventh centuries, unless it be disguised under the native name (see "Byzantinische Zeitschrift", 1892, II, 26, 31). Its history, location, and present condition are unknown. Three of its bishops are known: Publicius (Catholic), Deuterius (Donatist), both at the Conference of Carthage in 411; and Thalassius, present at the Conference of 480.
S. VAILHÉ