Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 13.djvu/844

 SICILY

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SICILY

Rome, while others called upon Carthage. Both an- swered the appeal, but wished to act alone. In 264 Api)ius Claudius landed an army and defeated the Carthaginian and Syracusan forces which had united to oppose him. Some sixty-seven cities yielded to the Romans; and even Hiero became their tributary (263). In 262 Girgenti, then the centre of the Car- thaginian mihtary power in the island, was captured. The victories of Myh^ (260) and Panormus (254), and the capture of the Egadi (241), secured to Rome the possession of the island, but the cities which volun- tarily surrendered remained federated.

In the Second Punic War, Syracuse was allied with Hannibal, but was retaken by Alarcellus (212). Sicily became a Roman province and acquired very great importance as the granary of Rome. It was divided into two qua'storships, Syracuse and Lilybaeum. The latinizing of the island continued, though the Greek element never entirely disappeared, so that in the Byzantine epoch the hellenization of Sicily progressed easily. In proportion as the pohtical greatness of the Greek cities in the island increased, their artistic and literary fame diminished. The greed and cupidity of the praetors and other Roman officials (Verres, for in- stance) impoverished private individuals as well as the temples. The land fell into the hands of a few great landholders, who cultivated the rich soil by the labour of immense bands of slaves. These slaves re- belled in 135, proclaiming Eunus, one of their num- ber, king. Eunus defeated the Roman army several times, but in 133 he was vanquished by Rufilius near Messina; the war ended with the capture of Tauro- menium and Enna (132), and about 20,000 of the un- fortunate slaves were crucified. A second furious re- volt occurred between 103 and 100 under "King Trypho" and the leadership of Athenio. During the last triumvirate Sicily was the scene of a war between the triumvirs and Sextus Pompey, who, victorious at first, was finally defeated by Agrippa in the naval fight at Myla; (36 b. c).

Another rebellion of the slaves took place under Valerian, and in a. d. 278 the island was devastated by a Prankish horde. From 440 on the Vandals re- peatedly devastated the island, but they never ob- tained complete control of it. In 476 they abandoned it to Odoaccr in return for an annual tribute, retaining, however, the region about Lilybaium (Marsala). Theodoric recaptured Lilybaum and ceased paying tribute. At the beginning of the Gothic War (535) Sicily was seized by Belisarius for the Byzantines; Totiia regained it (5.50), but not for long. Mean- while Christianity had been established in the island. A few cities boasted of having been evangelized by St. Peter and St. Paul or by the immediate disciples of the Apostles (Catania, Messina, Palermo, Girgenti, Taormina). St. Paul stayed three days at Syracuse, without St. Luke's making any mention of his visiting the brethren, as he does at Puteoli. That St. Paul preached in Sicily, is recorded by St. Chrysostom. The "Pra;destinatus" mentions bishops of Palermo and Jyilybaeum in the first quarter of the se(!ond cen- tury; if is certain that in the latter part of that cen- tury Christianity was flourishing in the island. Pan- tieneus, the teacher of St. Clement of Alexandria and director of the famous Alexandrian school was a Sicil- ian; Clement himself, in the voyages he made to in- crease his knowledge of Christianity, visited Sicily. From the letters of St. Cyprian we h-arn that the Church in Sicily was in frequent relations with the Church in Rome and in Carthage, and that the ques- tions discussed at those centres were followed with interest in the island. Through the efTf)rts of Hera- cleon, the Gnostics made some progress there. Some Christians were martyred at Catania (St. Agatha, St. Eunlus) and Syracuse (St. Lucy, St. Marcianus).

Christian cemeteries have been diseovered at Ca- tania, Girgenti (2), Lcntini, Marsala, Mazzara, Mes-

sina, Palermo (5), Ragusa, Selinunte, Syracuse, and its environs (Valley of the Molinello, Canicatti, the Valleys of Priolo, Pantalica, S. Alfano, etc.). Chris- tian inscriptions, excepting those at Syracuse, are generally in Latin. As in all Italy south of the Po, the bishops of Sicily were immediately subject to the Bishop of Rome, by whom ordination was conferred, and to whom a visit was to be made every five years at least. For the election of bishops, at least in the sixth century, the pope was accustomed to appoint a visitor, who was charged with the administration dur- ing the vacancy, and presided at the election, which was afterwards confirmed by the pope, when the bishop-elect presented himself for ordination. At the commencement of the Saracen invasion there were the following sees: Syracuse, Palermo, Cefalia, Lily- baeum, Drepanum (?), Messina, Lipari, Girgenti, Taormina, Catani, Leontini, Therma; (Sciacca?), Al- esa, Cronion, Camarina, Tindari (Patti), Malta. Till after the time of St. Gregory, and probably down to the eighth century, the Roman Rite was observed in the island, and the liturgical language was Latin. In the dogmatic controversies, the Sicilian bishops were always among the defenders of orthodoxy, ex- cept that in the fifth century Pelagianism (through the personal efforts of Pelagius and Celestius) and Arianism (one Maximinus their chief was aided by the Vandals) obtained a foothold. Ecclesiastical affairs were thrown into disorder by the Vandal incursions, as is shown by the measures which Pope Gelasius was obliged to take. St. Leo the Great introduced into Sicily the obligation of celibacy even for subdeacons.

Sicily was of great importance from the point of view of the Roman Church on account of the great amount of ecclesiastical property there, which was divided into two -patrimonia {Paler mitanum and Syra- cusarum). Each palrimoniurn had a rector, with in- ferior oflScers, defensores, notarii, actionarii, etc. The rector was generally a subdeacon of the Church of Rome, and was empowered to intervene in the eccle- siastical questions of the various dioceses. The Churches of Milan and of Melitene in Armenia also had property in the island. Monasticism was first introduced into Sicily by St. Hilarion. It was greatly increased by the large number of bishops or monks who were expelled from Africa or forced to emigrate to escape the Vandal persecution. St. Ben- edict sent a colony of his monks to Messina, under St. Placidus; the monastery was destroyed later by pagan (perhaps Slavic) pirates. St. Gregory the Great personally founded six monasteries, among them that of St. Hermes at Palermo. The lumiber of monks was increased by the bands that flocked from Palestine, Syria, and Egypt, when Islainisni began its triumphant march, and the Monothelites and Icono- clasts drove them from the Orient. Thus a strong hellenizing element, which was certainly encouraged by the Byzantine Government, settled in the island: Greek replaced Latin in the liturgy in many of the Churches. Leo the Isaurian (718-41) afterwards de- tached Sicily and Southern Italy from the metropoli- tan jurisdiction of Rome, but it is to be noted that, 100 years later, Nicholas I protested against this abuse. In the ninth century Syracuse was raised by the Patriarch of Constantinojjle to the rank of me- tropolis of Sicilv and the adjacent islands.

Concerning the state of the Sicilian Church during the Saracen domination we have no information: not the name of a single bishop is known. In the eleventh century the hierarchy seems to liave been extinct, so that Cardinal Humbertus (later of Silva Candida) was appointed by Leo IX as Bishop of Sicily, though he could not enter the island. The Saracen attempt to invade Sicily was in 669, after the assassination of the Emperor Constans II at Syra- cuse. The Arabs subsequently made several de- scents and raids on the island, "but occupied it only