Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 7.djvu/535

 HOSIUS

475

HOSPITALITY

Biographen des Stanislatis Hosius (Braunsbers, 1879): Stein- HERZ, Die Nuntien Hosiris und Delfino 1560-1561 in Nuntialur- berichte a)/s Deutschlnnd nehst erqdnzrnden. Aktenstiicken 1560— 1572 (Vienna, 1S97 and 1903), second division, £ and III.

Michael Ott.

Hosius of Cordova, the foremost Western champion of orthodoxy in the early anti-Arian struggle ; b. about 256; d. about 35S, either at Sirmium or in Spain. In early life he was a confessor of the Faith in the perse- cution of Maximian (Morse) or of Diocletian (Hefele), and became Bishop of Cordova in Southern Spain about 29.5. His name is mentioned amongst the nine- teen bishops present at the provincial Council of El- vira (c. 300). Leclercq enumerates certain facts which show Hosius to have been in close personal rel.a- tions with the Emperor Constantine on several occa- sions between 313 and 324, and he is known to have been his chief adviser in dealing with the Donatists. We have nothing to explain the origin of the connexion between them. When the Arian troubles began, Constantine charged Hosius with the delivery of his letter to Arius and Alexander, in which he urged them to reconciliation. We know little of Hosius's action during this mission (323-324). When the Council of Nic;ea met, Hosius presided, together with the two Roman priests Vitus and Vincent. In what capacity he presided is a matter much discu.ssed: Gelasius of Cyziciis is categorical in declaritig that it was in the name of the pope (Hist. Nic. Cone, Bk. II, c. v). He- fele is of the same opinion. Chapman holds that he was nominated by Constantine. Leclercq inclines to the same opinion, but leaves the question open. After the council, Hosius probably returned to Spain. Con- stantine tlying, 22 May, 337, Athanasius was recalled from his first exile in 338, only to be expelled by the Arians in 340. After passing three years in Rome, Athanasius went in 343 into Gaul to confer with Ho- sius, and thence to S.ardica, where the council liegan in the summer, or, at latest, in the autumn of 343. Ho- sius presided, proposed the canons, and was the first to sign the Acts of the council.

In the letter of the Covmcil of Sardica, given in Athanasius, "Apologia contra Arianos'', e. xliv, Ho- sius is spoken of as " one who on account of his age, his confession, and the many labours he had undergone, is worthy of all reverence". The suggested explanation of the symbol of Nicsea did not meet the approval of the council (Hefele, p. 758). After Sardica we lose sight of him for ten years, until Pope Liberius's letter to him (c. 353), after the fall of Vincent of Capua. The prestige given to the orthodox cause by the support of the venerable Hosius led the Arians to bring pressure to bear upon Constantius II, who had him summoned to Milan (Gwatkin, p. 292). He declined to condemn Athanasius or to hold communion with Arians. He so impressed the emperor that he was authorized to return home. More Arian pressure led to Constantius writing a letter demanding whether he alone was going to remain obstinate. In reply Hosius sent his brave letter of protest against imperial meddling in Church affairs, preserved for us by St. Athanasius (Hist. Ari- anorum, 42-45, cf. Migne, P. L., VIII, 1327-1332), which led to his summons (end of 353) to Sirmium.

The facts relating to the end of his life are far from clear; under pressure, he signed the declaration known as the second Sirmi.an formula (the first being the profession of faith of 351), which was published as the formula of Hosius. The original Latin text is pre- served in St. Hilary's " De Synodis", c. XI (Migne, P. L., X, 598), the Greek, in A'thanasius: " De Syn.", 28. He refused, however, to renounce Athanasius, who speaks of him as lapsing "for a moment"; having served the purpo.se for which the Arians brought him to Sirmium, he was probably taken back to .Spain, and there died. A later addition to Athanasius declares that he recanted on his death-bed. The defenders of Hosius contend that the concession wrung from him

has been much magnified and misrepresented. But it

is contended that Athanasius cannot have had all the facts before him when he wrote, and that the second Sirmian formula is clearly heterodox.

TiLLEMONT, Mcmoires, etc. (Venice, 1732), VII, 300-321, 711-716, gives the references to the original sources; Maceda, Hosiwy vere Hosiuji,'0<TLo^ aATj^wy o<rio?, h.e., Hosius vere innocens i<ere sanctus, Dissertaliones Duo- (Bologna, 1790): Gams, Die Kirchengeschickte von Spanien (Ratisbon, 1864), II, 1-309: HI (1879), 384-490: Morse in Diet. Christ. Biog., s. v.; Dale, The t\ynnd of Elvira (London, 1882), 312 sqq. : Gwatkin, Stud- ies of Arianism (London, 1882); Seeck, Untersuehungeri zur Ge^rhichte des Nirnnisehen Konzils in Zeitschrift fiir Kirehenge- sehichte. XVII (1897), 1-71. 319-362: Del Castillo, Les VeH- tahlcs Grands d'Espagne: Osius H^eque de Cordove, Etude his- torigue (Namur, 1898): Leclercq, U Espagne Chretiejine (Paris, 190.51. 90-121; Chapman, The First Eight General Councils and Papal Infallibility (London, 1906), 11; Hefele, Histoire des Conciles, tr. Leclercq (Paris, 1907), I; Duchesne, Histoire Anciennedel'Eglise (Paris, 1908), II, 139, 261, 283, 290.

Edward Myers.

Hospice (Lat. hospitium, a guest-house). — During the early centuries of Christianity the hospice was a shelter for the sick, the poor, the orphans, the old, the travellers, and the needy of every kind. It dates back to the reign of Constantine. Originally all hospices were under the supervision of the bishops, who desig- nated priests to administer the spiritual and temporal affairs of these charitable institutions. The fourteenth statute of the so-called Fourth Coimcil of Carthage, held about 436, enjoins upon the bishops to have hos- pices in connexion with their churches : " Ut episcopus non longe ab ecclesiil hospitiolum habeat" (Mansi, III, 952). In course of time these hospices of general character ceased, and special establishments were erected for the particular needs of the people. The term ho.':pice began to be applied only to institutions in which travellers were harboured. Such hospices were erected in impassable and uninhabited regions and on mountain passes. They were generally in charge of hermits or monks. Their number greatly increased when it became customary to make pilgrimages to the Holy Land, to Rome, Compostela, Amalfi, and other sacred places. They were supported either by pious foundations or the liberality of the people, and gave food and shelter gratuitously, for a limited period of time. In many cities hospices were erected for the entertainment of pilgrims of particular nations. The most famous hospice in the world is that of the Great St. Bernard in Switzerland, which was foimded by St. Bernard of Menthon in 962. It is situated on the summit of the mountain of the same name, 8110 feet above the level of the sea, and harbours gratuitously 20,000 to 25,000 travellers every year. It is in charge of Canons Regular of St. Augustine, who are generally known as the Monks of St. Bernard. At present it is occupied by eighteen monks, eight being priests. On all the neighbouring mountains they have recently erected small huts, which are connected with the hos- pice by telephone or electric bells. At the risk of their lives these monks, accompanied by their famous dogs, tour the mountains, which during nine months of the year are covered with <leep snow, and search for travellers who may have lost their way or other- wise stand in need. Two canons regular, Contard and Glassey, together with six attendants, lost their lives on one of these tours on 19 November, 1874. The hospice which Napoleon founded on Mount Simplon in 1805 is also in charge of the monks of the Great St. Bernard. The hospice on the Little St. Bernard is since 1752 in charge of Italian monks.

Ratzingeh, Geschirhte der kirchlichen Armenpfiege (Freiburg im Br., 1884). l:i9-146: Luquet, Etudes historiques sur Veta- hlissement hosp. du Grand-St-Bcmard (Paris, 1847); DuRAND, Le vrai conquerant des Alpes: S. Bernard (Paris, 1905).

Michael Ott.

Hospitality. — The Council of Trent in its twenty- fifth session, cap. viii, De Ref., enjoins "all who hold any ecclesiastical benefices, whether secular or regular, to accustom themselves, as far as their revenues will allow, to exercise with alacrity and kindness the office