. History of Rome and the Popes in the Middle Ages . o almost every Popebefore Constantine. All who visit the Catacomb of Callistus mayreverently inspect there the few fragmentary epitaphs which re-main of the old Bishops of Rome (Ills. 72 and 73). The onslaught of that world-power which fancied its existencethreatened by the new faith had been directed with cruel instinctagainst the Metropolitan of Rome, especially since the Emperor 1 On Pope Dionysius, see Basil, Ep. 70 (Migne, , XXXII., 433). On Soter,Dionysius in Eusebius, IV., c. 23; cp. VII., c. 5. 2 On Pope Marcellus, see DUCHESNE,
. History of Rome and the Popes in the Middle Ages . o almost every Popebefore Constantine. All who visit the Catacomb of Callistus mayreverently inspect there the few fragmentary epitaphs which re-main of the old Bishops of Rome (Ills. 72 and 73). The onslaught of that world-power which fancied its existencethreatened by the new faith had been directed with cruel instinctagainst the Metropolitan of Rome, especially since the Emperor 1 On Pope Dionysius, see Basil, Ep. 70 (Migne, , XXXII., 433). On Soter,Dionysius in Eusebius, IV., c. 23; cp. VII., c. 5. 2 On Pope Marcellus, see DUCHESNE, Melanges cParcheologie et dhistoire (1898),p. 382, against MOMMSEN, who, in his Erolegomena in the Liberpout., wrongly excludesMarcellus from the list of Popes. On the period of the persecutions, see Linsenmayer,bekampfung des Christenthums darch den rbmischcn Staat bis zum Tode der KaisersJulian, 1905. 3H ROME AND THE POPES [No. 196 Decius, that champion of ancient imperialism. After Fabiansmartyrdom, when the Holy See was vacant, Decius issued an. 111. ji.—Epitaphs of Popes Anterus, Fabian, Lucius, and Eutychianin the Papal Crypt of the Catacomb of Callistus. order to prevent the election of a successor. Of course this wasto no purpose, and a priest was found ready to offer himself as aj no. i97] THE ROMAN PRIMACY 315 victim. It was at that time that Cyprian voiced his view of thedangers of the situation: It would be more tolerable to Deciusfor a usurper to raise the standard against him at the head of hislegions than for the Roman Church to elect herself a new decades later, when the worst storm had subsided, during aperiod of peace for the Church, a decision of the Emperor Aure-lian proved in a very different manner how well the Governmentunderstood the rank and importance of the Roman Popes and ofthe bishops of Italy. The Empire condescended to reckon withthe Popes in order to settle a point in dispute. The occasion forthis was the doubt which then existed as
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