fore, O Lord; disperse your enemies in your mighty strength, and you will reign in me, because you are my king and my God."

The custom of one priest celebrating several masses on the same day, prevailed in many places on great festivals (48). Prudentius, in his twelfth hymn On the Crowns of Martyrs, mentions, that on the feast of SS. Peter and Paul, the 29th of June, the pope said massfirst at the Vatican, and afterward in the church of St Paul, without the city. The popes on Christmas-day formerly said three masses, the first in the Liberian basilic, the second in the church of St Anastasia, the third in the Vatican, as Benedict XIV. proves from ancient Roman Orders, or Missals. St Gregory the Great speaks of saying three masses on this day (49). This custom of the popes was universally imitated, and is every where retained, though not of precept. Pouget (50) says, that these three masses are celebrated to honour the triple birth of Christ; the first, by which he proceeds from his Father before all ages; the second, from the Blessed Virgin Mary; and the third, by which he is spiritually born in our souls by faith and charity. That Christ was born on the 25th of December, pope Benedict XIV. proves by the authority of St Chrysostom, St Gregory of Nyssa, St Austin, &c. and answers the objections of Scaliger and Samuel Basnage (51). He doubts not but the Greek church originally kept this festival on the same day (52): and he takes notice, that among the principal feasts of the year, it holds the next place after Easter and Whitsunday (53).

ON THE SAME DAY.

-St ANASTASIA, M. Her name is mentioned in the canon of the mass, in the sacramentary of St Gregory, and in other ancient catalogues of martyrs. There

(48) See Bona Rer. Liturg. 1. 1. c. 18. n. 6. Joseph. Vicecomes, De antiquis misse ritibus, 1. 3. c. 28, &c. (49) S. Greg. hom. 8. in Evang. (50) Instit. Cathol. T. 1. p. 814. (51) De Festis Christi D. c. 17. n. 45. P. 411. See F. Honoré, Regles de Crit. 1. 3. diss. 2. art. 1. and Tillemont, note 4. (52) n. 67. loco cit. p. 422. (53) n. 57. P. 417.

stands in Rome an ancient church, which is dedicated to God in her memory. In the acts of St Chrysogonus we are told, that she was of an illustrious descent at Rome, had St Chrysogonus for her tutor and director in the faith, and when that holy martyr was apprehended at Aquileia in the persecution of Dioclesian, went thither to comfort him in his chains. It is farther related, that, after suffering exquisite tortures, she was sentenced by the prefect of Illyricum to be burnt alive in 304. Her body was removed to Rome, and laid in the church which still bears her name. In this church the popes anciently said their second mass on Christmasnight, or rather that of the morning, whence a commemoration of her is made in the second mass. The relicks of St Anastasia were translated to Constantinople in the time of the emperor Leo, and deposited first in the church of Anastasia, or the Resurrection, afterward in the patriarchal church of St Sophia: but were lost when that city was taken by the Turks. The Greek menologies and the Muscovite calendars commemorate our saint on the 22d of December, the Roman missal on the 25th. See on her also Nicephorus, Suidas, and Jos. Assemani ad 22. Dec. p. 489.

Another St ANASTASIA, called the Elder, was crowned with martyrdom in the persecution of Valerian; others think of Nero. See the Acts of St Chrysogonus, though of small authority; her Acts in Metaphrastes are of no better stamp.

St EUGENIA, V. M. She suffered at Rome under Valerian about the year 257, and is mentioned by St Avitus (1), though we have no authentic acts of her sufferings, those recited by Metaphrastes and Surius deserving no notice. She is also mentioned in the lives of SS. Protus and Hyacinthus, MM. on the 11th of September, p. 116.

(1) St Avitus, de Virgin. 1. 6. p. 1312

DECEMBER XXVI.

ST STEPHEN, THE FIRST MARTYR.

See Act. vi. vii, and Tillemont, T. 2. p. 1. Cave, &c.

THAT St STEPHEN was a Jew is unquestionable, himself owning that relation in his apology to the people. But whether he was of Hebrew extraction, and descended of the stock of Abraham, or whether he was of foreign parents, incorporated and brought into that nation by the gate of proselytism, is uncertain. The name Stephen, which signifies a crown, is evidently Greek; but the priest Lucian, in the history of the discovery of his relicks, and Basil of Seleucia (1) inform. us, that the name Cheliel, which in modern Hebrew signifies a crown, was engraved on his tomb at Ca-. phragamala (a). It is generally allowed that he was one of the seventy-two disciples of our Lord for immediately after the descent of the Holy Ghost, we find him. perfectly instructed in the law of the gospel, endowed with extraordinary measures, both of the interior and exterior gifts of that divine spirit which was but lately shed upon the church, and incomparably furnished with miraculous powers. The church of Christ then increased daily, and was illustrious for the spirit and practice of all virtues, but especially for charity. The faithful lived and loved one another as brethren, and were of one heart and one soul. Love and charity were the common soul that animated the whole body of believers. The rich sold their estates to relieve the necessities of the poor, and deposited the money in one common,treasury, the care whereof was committed to the apostles, to see the distribution made as every body's necessity required. Heaven alone is free from all occasions of of

(1) Basil Seleuc. Or. de S. Stephano.

(a) This name is not properly Hebrew, but Syriac, in which language Chelil signifies a crown, and Chelilael the Crown of God, See Jos. Assemani, p. 509.

VOL, KII.

Z

Dec. 26. fence, and the number of converts being very great, the Greeks (that is, the Christians of foreign countries who were born and brought up in countries which spoke chiefly Greek, or at least were Gentiles by descent, though proselytes to the Jewish religion before they came over to the faith of Christ) murmured against the Hebrews, complaining that their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. The apostles, to provide a speedy remedy, assembled the faithful, and observed to them, that they could not relinquish the duties of preaching, and other spiritual functions of the ministry, to attend to the care of tables; and recommended to them the choice of seven men of an unblemished character, full of the Holy Ghost and of wisdom, who might superintend that affair, that so themselves might be freed from distractions and incumbrances, the more freely to devote themselves without interruption to prayer and preaching the gospel. This proposal was perfectly agreeable to the whole assembly, who immediately pitched on Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas, a proselyte of Antioch. All these names are Greek; whence some think they were chosen among the Greeks, in order to appease the murmurs that had been raised. But it frequently happened that Hebrews changed their names into Greek words of a like import, when they conversed with Greeks and Romans, to whom several names in the Oriental languages sounded harsh, and were difficult to pronounce. Stephen is named the first of the deacons, as Peter is of the apostles, says St Austin (2). Hence he is styled by Lucian (3) archdeacon. These seven were presented to the apostles, who praying, imposed hands upon them, by which rite they received the Holy Ghost, to qualify them to become ministers of God's holy mysteries (b). Their ordination was made

(2) S. Aug. Serm. 316 ol. 94. de div.

tione et Translat. S. Stephani, c. 8, 9, &c.

(3) Lucian. De Inven

(b) Some have imagined, that the institution of deacons was at first only intended for the dispensation of temporals, though that of the sacred mysteries was soon after committed to them. But the ge

neral

by virtue of a commission, either general or particular, given by Christ to his apostles for the establishment of inferior ministers or Levites for the service of the altar. Whence St Paul requires almost the same conditions in deacons as in bishops and priests, (4) and speaks of their sacred ministry. St Ignatius, the disciple of the apostles, orders the faithful" to reverence deacons as the command of God," (5) and calls them, "ministers of the myteries of Jesus Christ." And again: "Ministers, not of meat and drink, but of the church of God." (6)

St Stephen had the primacy and precedence among the deacons newly elected by the apostles, as St Chrysostom observes, and, being filled with the holy Ghost, preached and pleaded the cause of christianity with undaunted courage, confirming his doctrine by many public and unquestionable miracles. The number of believers were multiplied in Jerusalem, and a great multitude even of the priests obeyed the faith. The distinguished zeal and success of our holy deacon stirred up the malice and envy of the enemies of the gospel, who bent their whole force and all their malice against him. The conspiracy was formed by the Libertines, (or such as had been carried captives to Rome by Pompey, and

(4) 1 Tim. iii. 8.

(5) S. Igo ep. ad Smyrn. n. 7. p. 37 (6) ep. ad Tralian. n. 2. p. 62

neral opinion of the church, fathers, and commentators, is, that the very institution regarded the ministry of the altar in the first place, and is clear from the prayer and imposition of hands used in their initiation. The hoiy Eucharist was then received after supper, 1 Cor. xi. 18. Acts xx. 7. See Baron. (ad an. 34.) Pearson, (Annal. Pauli, p. 53, 54.) Bingham, (Origines Eccles. B. 2. c. 20. p. 262. T. 1.) In the primitive ages we find that deacons not only had care of the utensils and sacred vessels of the altar, and of the treasury, and the oblations of the faithful, but also read the gospel in some churches, St Jerom, ep. 57. ad Sabin. and Constit. A post. 1. 2. c. 57. St Cypr. ep. 34. al. 39,) and often administered the holy Eucharist to the people, especially the cup, (St Cypr. de Lapsis, P. 132. S Justin, M. ap. 1. ol. 2. p. 97.) though never in the presence of a priest, unless by his order. (Conc. Carthag. 4 can. 38.) They were allowed solemnly to baptize, by the bishop's leave and authority, never without it, (l'ert. de Bapt. c. 17. St Jerom, Dial. contra Lucifer. c. 4.) &c.