Subj : September 11th - Saint Paphnutius To : All From : rich Date : Tue Sep 10 2019 08:32:56 From: rich September 11th - Saint Paphnutius, Bishop in Egypt The holy confessor Paphnutius was an Egyptian who, after having spent several years in the desert under the direction of the great St. Antony, was made bishop in the Upper Thebaid. He was one of those confessors who under the Emperor Maximinus 305-313 lost the right eye, were hamstrung in one leg, and were afterwards sent to work in the mines. Peace being restored to the Church, Paphnutius returned to his flock, bearing all the rest of his life the glorious marks of his sufferings for the name of his Crucified Master. He was one of the most zealous in defending the Catholic faith against the Arian heresy and for his holiness. As one who had confessed the Faith before persecutors and under torments, he was an outstanding figure of the first General Council of the Church, held at Nicaea in the year 325. Paphnutius, a man who had observed the strictest continence all his life, is said to have distinguished himself at the Council by his opposition to clerical celibacy. Paphnutius said that it was enough to conform to the ancient tradition of the Church, which forbade the clergy marrying after their ordination. To this day it is the law of the Eastern Churches, whether Catholic or dissident, that married men may receive all Holy Orders below the episcopate, and continue to live freely with their wives. St. Paphnutius is sometimes called "the Great" to distinguish him from other saints of the same name; the year of his death is not known. =C2 The most celebrated personage of this name was bishop of a city in the Upper Thebaid in the early fourth century, and one of the most interesting members of the Council of Nic=C3=A6a (325). He suffered mutilation of the left knee and the loss of his right eye for the Faith under the Emperor Maximinus (308-13), and was subsequently condemned to the mines. At Nic=C3=A6a he was greatly honoured by Constantine the Great, who, according to Socrates (H. E., I, 11), used often to send for the good old confessor and kiss the place whence the eye had been torn out. =C2 He took a prominent, perhaps a decisive, part in the debate at the First =C5'cumenical Council on the subject of the celibacy of the clergy. It seems that most of the bishops present were disposed to follow the precedent of the Council of Elvira (can. xxxiii) prohibiting conjugal relations to those bishops, priests, deacons, and, according to Sozomen, sub-deacons, who were married before ordination. Paphnutius earnestly entreated his fellow-bishops not to impose this obligation on the orders of the clergy concerned. He proposed, in accordance "with the ancient tradition of the Church", that only those who were celibates at the time of ordination should continue to observe continence, but, on the other hand, that "none should be separated from her, to whom, while yet unordained, he had been united". =C2 The great veneration in which he was held, and the well known fact that he had himself observed the strictest chastity all his life, gave weight to his proposal, which was unanimously adopted. The council left it to the discretion of the married clergy to continue or discontinue their marital relations. Paphnutius was present at the Synod of Tyre (335). Saint Quote: =C2 We ought not, as soon as we leave church, to plunge into business unsuited to church, but as soon as we get home, we should take the Scriptures into our hands, and call our wife and children to join us in putting together what we have heard in church. --John Chrysostom Bible Quote: Bear ye one another's burdens: and so you shall fulfil the law of Christ. For if any man think himself to be some thing, whereas he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.=C2 [Galatians 6:2-3] DRB <><><><> PRAYER OF ST. FRANCIS DE SALES Lord, I am yours, and I must belong to no one but you. My soul is yours, and must live only by you. My will is yours, and must love only for you. I must love you as my first cause, since I am from you. I must love you as my end and rest, since I am for you. I must love you more than my own being, since my being subsists by you. I must love you more than myself, since I am all yours and all in you. Amen. --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .