Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 10.djvu/368

 MILTIADES

318

MILTIZ

onesus was joined to it; on the other hand, in 1041, the Diocese of Milopotamos was united with Rhethymnos^ and after the conquest of the island l)y the Turks in 1(570, became nieivly tituhir. \\'e know the names of about twenty residential Latin bishops. Among the schismatic tireeks the .See of Aulopotamos is imited with that of Khethj-mnos. The ruins of the city may be seen along the sea-shore at Castel Mylopotaino, about twelve miles from Rhcthymnos.

Le QllKN. Oritns chriKlmjuis, III, 935-938; Cornelius. Creta sarra. 11 (Venice, 1755), ir3-lS0; G.\MS. Series episco- porum, 403; Eubel, Hierarchia catholica medii cevi, I, 357; II, 212; UI, 261.

S. Vailhe.

Miltiades, Saint, Pope. — The year of his birth is not known; he was elected pope in either 310 or .311; died 10 or 1 1 January, 314. After the banishment of Pope Eusebius (q. v.) the Roman See was vacant for some time, ])robably because of the complications which had arisen on accoimt of the apostates (lapsi), and which were not cleared up by the banishment of Eusebius and Heraclius. On 2 July, 310 or 311, Miltiades (the name is also written Melchiades), a native of Africa, was elevated to the papacy. There is some uncertainty as to the exact year, as the " Li- berian Catalogue of the Popes" (Duchesne, "Liber Pontificalis", I, 9) gives 2 July, 311, as the date of the consecration of the new pope (ex die VI non. iul. a cons. Maximiliano VIII solo, quod fuit mense septembri Volusiano et Rufino); but in contradiction to this the death of the pope is said to ha\e occurred on 2 Januarj', 314, and the duration of the pontificate is given as three years, six months and eight days; possibly owing to the mistake of a copyist, we ought to read "ann. II" instead of "ann. Ill"; and there- fore the year of his elevation to the papacy was most probably 311. About this time (311 or 310), an edict of toleration signed by the Emperors Galerius, Licinius, and Constantine, put an end to the great persecution of the Christians, and they were permitted to live as such, and also to reconstruct their places of religious worship (Eusebius, "Hist. Eccl.", VIII, xvii; Lactan- tius, "De mortibus persecutorum", xxxiv). Only in those countries of the Orient which were under the sway of Maxirainus Daia did the Christians continue to be persecuted. The emperor now gave Pope Mil- tiades in Rome the right to receive back, through the prefect of the city, all ecclesiastical buildings and pos- sessions which had been confiscated during the per- secutions. The two Roman deacons, Strato and Cassianus, were ordered by the pope to discuss this matter with the prefect, and to take over the church properties (Augustinus, " Breviculvis coUationis cum Donatistis", iii, 34); it thus became possible to re- organize thoroughly the ecclesiastical administration and the religious life of the Christians in Rome.

Miltiades caused the remains of his predecessor, Eusebius, to be brought back from Sicily to Rome, and had them interred in a crypt in the Catacombs of St. Callistus. In the following year the pope witne.s.sed the final triumph of the Cross, through the defeat of Maxentius, and the entry into Rome of the Emperor Constantine (now converted to Christianity), after the victory at the Milvian Bridge (27 October, 312). Later the emperor presented the Roman Church with the Lateran Palace, which then became the residence of the pope, an<l consequently also the seat of the central administration of the Roman Church. The basilica which adjoined the palace or was afterwards built there became the principal church of Rome. In 313 the Donatists (q. v.) came to Con.stantine with a request to nominate bishops from Oaul as judges in the controversy of the African episcopate regarding the consecration in Carthage of the two bishops, C;ecilian and Majorinus. Constan- tine wrote about this to Miltiades, anfl also to Marcus, requesting the pope with three bishops from (Saul to

give a hearing in Rome, to Cisecilian and his opponent, and to decide the case. On 2 October, 313, there as- sembled in the I>at,eran Palace, under the presidency of .Miltiades, a synod of eighteen bishops from Caul and Italy, which, after thoroughly considering the Donatisl controversy for three days, decided in favour of C;ecilian, whose election and consecration as Bishop of Carthage was declared to be legitimate. In the biography of Miltiades, in the "Lil)er Pontificalis", it is stated that at that time Manicha'ans were found in Rome; this was quite possible as Manicha>ism began to spread in the West in the fourth century. The same source attributes to this pope a decree which absolutely forbade the Christians to fast on Simdays or on Thursdays, "because these days were observed by the heathen as a holy fast". This reason is re- markable; it comes most likely from the author of the "Liber Pontificalis" who with this alleged decree traces back a Roman custom of his own time to an or- dinance of Miltiades. The "Liber Pontificalis" is probably no less arbit rary in crediting this pope with a decree to the effect that the Oblation consecrated at the Solemn Mass of the pope (by which is meant the Eucharistic Bread) should be taken to the different churches of Rome. Such a custom actually existed in Rome (Duchesne, "Christian Worship," London, 1903, 1S5); but there is nothing definite to show that it was introduced by Miltiades, as the "Liber Pontificalis" afsserts.

After his death, on 10 or 11 January (the "Liberian Catalogue" gives it as III id. Jan.; the "Depositio Episcoporimi " as IIII id. ian.),314, Miltiades was laid to rest in the Catacomb of St. Callistus and he was venerated as a saint. De Rossi regards as highly probable his location of this pope's burial-chamber (Roma Sotterranea, II, ISSsq.). His feast was cele- brated in the fourth century, on 10 January, according to the " Martyrologium Hieronymianum ". In the present "Roman Martyrology" it occurs on 10 December.

Liber Pontiftealis, ed. Duchesne, I, 168-196; Urbain. Ein Marti/rologium der christl. Gemeinde zu Rovi (Leipzig, 1901), 118-119; Langen, Gesehichte der rumischen Kirehe. I, 328 sqq,; Allard. Histoire despersecutions,\ ,20Q,20Z; Duchesne, Histoire ancienne de I'EgKse, II, 96, 97. 110-112.

J. P. KmscH.

Miltiz, Kael von, papal chamberlain and nuncio, b. about 14S0, the son of Sigismund von Miltiz, " Land- vogt" of Meissen, drowned in the Main near Gross .Steinheim, 20 November, 1529. He received his humanistic and theological education at Mainz, Trier, and Meissen and went to Rome in 1514 or 1515, where he was made papal chamberlain and notary, and acted as agent of Frederic. Elector of .Saxony, and of Duke George the Bearded. He obtained for the latter the permission to transport some of the earth of the Campo Santo in Rome, which orig- inally had been brought from Jerusalem, to ."^nna- berg, .Saxony, where it was used in the cemetery. After the endeavours of Cardinal Cajetan to silence Luther had failed, Miltiz appeared to be the person most suited to bring the negotiations to a successful ending. To have some pretence for the journey to Germany, he was to deliver to his elector the papal golden rose, which the latter had coveted in vain for three years. He went first to Altenburg where he had his firet conversation with Luther. Leaving aside all discussion of a promise of retraction, he and Luther agreed to remain silent for the present, and to let the learned .'Archbishop Richard of Trier conduct the examination. Luther even promised to write an humble letter to the pope. Miltiz then journeyed to Leipzig and covered Tetzel with mortifjang, wholly imnecessary reproaches. But the movement started and fanned by Luther, had progressed too far to be halted by mere conclaves and conversations, and for this reason two further meetings between Luther and Miltiz at Liebenwcrda (9 Oct., 1519) and Lichtenburg