A undefiled, adorning the holy bridal chamber of Christ the Lord, have been preserved.
3. Therefore, when Pilate granted the requested guard B for the watch of the tomb of the only-begotten Son of God, Longinus was their chief; for he himself, along with the soldiers under him, had guarded the cross of Christ. But when Christ's resurrection had taken place, just as the Scriptures of the divine Gospels have handed down to us, and the soldiers reported to the rulers and elders of the Jewish faction the wonders that had occurred, they, ashamed before the people and wishing to quench the miracle, gave sufficient money to the soldiers so that they might slander the resurrection of Christ, and in this way they also persuaded Pilate with much money to accept the slander. Yet Longinus did not prefer before the word of truth, nor did he take gold against Christ, nor did he endure to prefer mammon to God, nor, enslaved by greed, did he slip into its deadly abyss, nor did he consent to slanders of falsehood against Christ, who raised Adam, slew death, and brought mortals to life.
4. At this, Pilate and the rulers of the Jews, being stung, C sought an intrigue against the blessed Longinus, but they had no opportunity; for Longinus was the most distinguished of the whole military cohort. But since he wished to belong entirely to Christ, he removed the belt of Caesar's service and henceforth remained in his own home with the two soldiers who had also become partners with him in the blessed contest, having become heralds of the fearful wonders they had seen and heard. Then, leaving Jerusalem, he returned with them and became an excellent herald in the region of Cappadocia; just as Thomas to the Indians, Peter to the Romans, John to the Asians, Paul from Jerusalem to Illyricum, and others to others, preaching Christ and the mysteries that were performed by him and for his sake.
5. But the wicked Jews, burning with zeal and stung by anger, could not endure the witness of the blessed Longinus, which had already spread widely through all parts of the earth. D Then they persuade Pilate to write false things against the blessed Longinus to Caesar, that he thinks things alien to the Roman empire, and having neglected his military weapons, he preaches Christ as King to the nations, and has already filled his own fatherland and region with arguments about this.
A Furthermore, they sent along with these letters money and demanded the death of Longinus, having snatched the ears of Caesar. And indeed, imperial letters were brought into Judea to Pilate against Longinus and those with him, stating that we command those who have neglected their military weapons to have their heads removed by the sword. Wherefore, with great haste, Pilate entrusted the letters of Caesar to the ministers of murders. They, having crossed over quickly, reached the land of the Cappadocians; and having learned that Longinus was philosophizing in his paternal field and practicing stillness, having freed himself from all political affairs, they immediately reached the field, wishing to carry out the command of Pilate and Caesar quietly, so that Longinus might not turn to flight. Wherefore, suddenly they stood before the man, having crossed over as if for some other reason, and they dared not disclose to anyone what they had in their hands; then, having entered and encountered Longinus, not knowing that he was the one being sought by both them and Pilate, they began to ask where Longinus might be.
B 6. But the blessed one, the divine Spirit having revealed the vision to him, says: "Follow, and I will show him to you." Then the holy Longinus, as was fitting, rejoicing within himself and hastening toward the sacrifice of martyrdom, said to himself: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach peace, of those who preach good things." Now I shall see the heavens opened, now I shall gaze upon the glory of the Father, now I shall behold the ineffable radiance of the Father, [of the Son, and of the Holy] Spirit. Now I shall say, "Lord Jesus Christ, receive my spirit," just as Stephen, the first of the martyrs, whose most brilliant voice I have heard. Now I shall enter Jerusalem, the city on high with golden towers, the fatherland of the angels, and the metropolis of the whole choir of saints, with applause, triumphal songs, and royal trophies. Now I cast off the earthen tunic and lay aside the many-groaning bonds of the flesh, and I am released from corruption; for I am drawn toward incorruption, and I am departing for that harbor of life where the saints dwell. Exult, therefore, O soul, departing to your Creator and Master; show a bright face now that the occasion calls, and let us hospitably entertain the bringers of such great good things to us, rejoicing, and let us prepare a luxurious table for those who invite us to the royal supper.
7. Having said these things to himself, Longinus took those who had come against him into his own house, and having entertained them splendidly, and with a bright and very joyful countenance, he reclined to eat with them at the table he had set.
A And as He began to ask them after the meal what they required, they, having taken an oath from him that he would not divulge their conversation nor reveal the secret entrusted to him, said to him that Caesar had written to Pilate that he should have the head of Longinus, along with those of two other soldiers, cut off. B The holy man said, "And who might these be who are with Longinus?" And having learned that these were indeed the ones who had preferred the Christ of the Jewish bigotry, he wrote to them most diligently that they should come to him with all haste, as those who were to be participants in great blessings. And so, having entertained them as guests for one day and then a second with great kindness, on the third day he took them out into a field, awaiting there those who had been sent to find him. When he learned that they were near, he declared to them that he himself was that Longinus whom they were seeking.
8. They at first refused to believe it, but when they were subsequently convinced, they wept, tearing their own hair, and uttering piteous cries to Longinus, saying: "What reason, O friend, did you have for such an undertaking? Why did you receive into your house those who had come for your destruction? Why, for the sake of those who had arrived to slaughter you, did you prepare a sumptuous meal and set a table, not for one day only, but for a second and a third? Did you not see your wine being mixed with that blood of yours which we were seeking? C But now, what are we to say? what are we to do? or what counsel can we take regarding you? Go in peace, receiving as the reward for your hospitality the remission of that death which would otherwise be brought upon you by our hands; for we dare not draw the sword against you, revering the salt, blushing before the table, and fearing God, the arbiter of hospitality; it is better for us to suffer danger from Pilate than to sever the head of Longinus. For how could our conscience waste away through our whole life, and how could we bear to see ourselves as bloodthirsty demons because we had supped with you? D How could we lay hands upon you? For not only our hands are numbed, but our feet, and our whole body, if we should do this, if we should become the murderers of our benefactor and host."
9. These things they said themselves to the blessed Longinus; yet they could not persuade the willing and courageous athlete to decline the contest for the sake of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but he answered them with a bold spirit, saying: "Do not wish to see me as a betrayer of life, so that I appear to have brought the grace given to me into jeopardy. I shall not be separated from the sheep by becoming a wolf, nor shall I deny Him whom I once confessed. I shall not obscure the glory of Him at whose sight I saw the elements shaken, nor shall the whole company of creation become my accuser, because I have fallen away from Him for whom the heaven hid its face, and the sun dissolved the chariots of its light; when the day withdrew from its course, and the night was brought in by force, not even it being able to bear the heavy cross—
nor could it pass over the crime of the Jewish war against God. I myself witnessed these things with my own eyes and personal sight; how, then, shall I scatter the treasure of so many good things that have come to me, nor shall I endure the reproaches of the angels? B
10. While the blessed Longinus was still saying these things, the pair of soldiers with him, who had received the sentence of death from Caesar, arrived. The blessed Longinus met them with a cheerful face and a very joyful spirit, kissing their eyes and necks, and said to them: "Rejoice, O fellow-soldiers of Christ and victors of the divine contests, and most happy heirs of the kingdom of heaven; rejoice, I say: for the gate of paradise is opened to us, and the angels of God are already standing ready to receive our souls and offer them to the only-begotten Son of God. Behold, I see the lamps and I contemplate the crowns, and I discern the prizes, with which we shall be led into the chamber of the heavenly Bridegroom." And having said this, he said to the executioners: "If you have been commanded anything, perform it quickly." He also told the steward of his house to bring him a clean robe, as if he were called to a wedding and a nuptial chamber. When it had come, he put it on, and with his hand pointing out the tomb in which he wished his blessed body to be laid, having thus bent his knee joyfully, and having composed himself with his companions who had entered into the same victorious contest with him, he was beheaded on the sixteenth day of the month of October; and both were C inscribed in the choirs of both apostles and martyrs, because they had shown the fortitude of the former and the noble zeal of the latter.
11. Then the executioners, taking the head of the holy Longinus, brought it to Pilate; for he had done this to please the Jews, for which he had received money. And when the executioners brought the head of the saint to Jerusalem, Pilate ordered it to be shown to the Jews who were thirsting for his death, selling for much gold the drama to those accustomed to buying the blood of the righteous for money. And thereupon Pilate ordered the precious head of the holy Longinus to be thrown outside before the gate of the city, which is fearful to demons, but beloved by the angels, and admired by all the elements. It lay, therefore, before the gate like some inviolable treasure; and although there was much dung there, the most precious pearl of Christ was kept unharmed, and the dung was for him for a time a tomb, or rather an ark, while the philanthropic God was long-suffering and in this also, for the sake of D economy, arranging that, by revealing it at an opportune time, He might more clearly manifest His love for men.
12. For a certain widow woman of the same Cappadocian region, mother of an only child, having lost the sight of her bodily eyes—
A having overcome her suffering through faith, she reached Jerusalem with her only child, hoping to recover her lost sight by worshipping at the holy places. As she was being led by her own child, she gathered dust from the earth, and began to apply it to her own eyes, hoping that perhaps she might find in it a collyrium for her sight, that she might recover her vision; but suddenly a disease unexpectedly assailed the boy, and snatched him from his mother's hands. Then a double darkness came upon her eyes, and she was completely extinguished by the bitter grief of this calamity. Wailing miserable cries, she said to God: "How long, O Lord, wilt Thou forget me unto the end? How long dost Thou turn Thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrows in my heart by day and by night? Look upon me, hear me, have mercy on me, O Lord my God, and enlighten my eyes, lest at any time I be swallowed up unto death by excessive grief and pain. O Lord, am I the only sinner upon the earth, that I should be brought into such bitter judgments? Master, I am not worse than the harlot whom Thou didst accept when she brought ointments to Thee, yet me, most wretched, Thou hast deprived both of the light of my eyes and of my only son, and there is no hope of salvation for me from anywhere."
13. As she was in great affliction and inconsolable grief, the blessed Longinus appeared to her in her sleep, and explained everything to her regarding his own situation. "I am," he said, "Longinus the Centurion, who confessed under the cross that our Lord Jesus Christ is truly the Son of God. Therefore I reveal to you that Pilate, accusing me of a false crime, has stirred up Caesar against me, and he beheaded me, and brought my head here and threw it outside the city, and the children of the Jews C collected money to pay for this very act. A great deal of dung was therefore heaped upon it, so that this portion might be preserved for you for healing; for as soon as you uncover it, you will receive your eyes, and then I will present to you also your child alive and in glory, that he may comfort your mourning in no small measure."
14. Comforted by these words, the woman, simultaneously emboldened, as she was courageous and faithful, hastened to the task; and having been led to the place where she learned from those guiding her (who were themselves faithful) that the dung had been heaped, once they had reached the site, she began to dig with her own hands. Through the providence of God, she quickly found the head, venerable to God, and immediately beheld the rays of the sun. Having embraced and washed it with all diligence, and having anointed it with precious ointments, she returned to the city, carrying with her the priceless pearl to the place where she was staying. And on the following night, the blessed [Longinus] again stood by her...
A wearing his bridal garment, and said: "Woman, behold, whom you loved; this is your only begotten son, whom you thought had been snatched from your hands. God, having freed him from this fleeting and perishing life, has enrolled him into the kingdom of heaven. And now I have him with me, for I received him from the Savior, and he shall never depart from my right hand. Therefore, take my head and the body of your child and place them in one coffin, and weep no more for your only-begotten son; for great glory has been bestowed upon him with me by the philanthropic God, and a holy altar, and mystical sacrifices, and highly-praised chorus, and public solemnities, and many other things besides these, which it is impossible to be performed upon the earth. But what God prepared for us in heaven, which eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and which has not ascended into the heart of man, B by deed and word, showing His love toward us, He has prepared."
20. The mother of the youth, having received these words as the commands of a holy prophet, immediately arose and hastened to her homeland. She took the most precious and holy head of Saint Longinus—a relic—and laid it to rest with brightness and great joy, just as Saint Longinus had commanded her, in a village called Sandralis (for from there was Saint Longinus), saying to herself in her heart, and preaching with her tongue: "I know, indeed, that to those who love God, all things work together for good. I sought the eyes of flesh, and with them I also received the spiritual sight of the soul. The loss of my son grieved me, C but behold, I have an heir standing before God with royal glory; I gaze upon the youth clothed in purple, and I behold the lad of great beauty. Star-faced is the boy, and smiling at his mother, and shining beside the side of Longinus, as the morning star beside the sun's ray, appearing often by night and often by day, and not in dreams only, but he reveals himself to me openly in the manner of the martyrs. His lot is with the prophets, even though he did not live the life of the prophets; and with Longinus he bears the cross, and carries the venerable trophy of the kingdom of the heavens, and amidst the angels he preaches, and in the middle of the choir of archangels he cries out, as a true disciple of Longinus: 'Truly this was the Son of God.' D And as much as the Seraphim permit Longinus to glorify God (for neither do the Cherubim and Seraphim hinder them from singing divine praises), so much does he too utter a holy, hymn-singing, triumphant, mystical, victory-song: 'Truly this is the Son of God'; and He is and shall be; for what He had before the ages, He shall also have for all coming ages. He Himself is before the ages, and He remains...
for his kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and his dominion shall not fail for ever and ever.
16. I, Hesychius, a priest of Jerusalem, after much searching, was able with great labor to find the testimony of the holy Longinus the Centurion, who at the cross of Christ said: *Truly this was the Son of God.* I found his martyrdom written in a booklet in the library of the Holy Resurrection, and I composed his confession together with a panegyric. Therefore, let all who fear the Lord be assured that this is truly holy Longinus the Centurion, who confessed Him beneath the cross of Christ; may all who read and hear this be protected by his intercession and patronage, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom is the glory and the power, and the kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and always, and for ever and ever. Amen.
ANNO DOMINI DCXX.
LEONTIUS NEAPOLITANUS BISHOP
NOTITIA. (FABRIC. Biblioth. Græca, t. VIII, 320.)
Leontius, Bishop of Neapolis (or Hagiopolis) on the island of Cyprus, flourished at the beginning of the seventh century, during the reign of Emperor Maurice. A *Sermon on Simeon, when he received the Lord into his arms*. In Greek from the Seguierian codex, with the Latin version of Combefisius, in vol. I of the *Auctarium novum Bibliothecae Patrum*, Paris, 1648, p. 681. *On the festival day of Mid-Pentecost*. In Greek and Latin, ibid., p. 701. *On the same festival, and on the man born blind, and also on that which is written: "Judge not according to appearance"* (John 7:24), in Greek and Latin, with the version and notes of Combefisius, ibid., p. 719; also in Latin in the *Bibliotheca concionatoria* of Combefisius and in vol. IX of the *Bibl. patrum Lugd.*, p. 718. In the seventh synod, act 4, it is recorded that Leontius, Bishop of Cyprus, wrote many panegyrics.
NOTES
Regarding the date 594, Constantia of Cyprus. Regarding other codices in which the minor works of this Leontius are said to be found, it is difficult to provide information. They are not always distinguished. In the catalogue of the codices of England, etc. I, p. 32, n. 234, at the end, and p. 34, n. 241, in the Baroccian codex, there are requested Homilies of Leontius the priest on Mid-Pentecost, p. 28; among the Baroccian codices n. 199, Homilies of Leontius the priest on the feast of Palms; on Job; on the betrayal of the Lord, and on Mid-Pentecost, and the three former ones in vol. II, p. 435, n. 5859, among the Gale codices, where he is called Leontius of Constantinople. In vol. I, p. 150, among the Bodleian codices n. 2877, 28, is a short *Apology* of Leontius, Archbishop of Cyprus, demonstrating [something] regarding the painting of images of Christ and the saints. Among the Gale codices, vol. II, Cat. n. 5959, is Leontius, *On Images*. In the Vatican Library are the *Minor Works* of Leontius, Bishop of Cyprus (Montfauc. Bibl. mss.-1, p. 134. B.). In the Escorial codex, a sermon on Mid-Pentecost, on the man born blind, and on that which is written, "Judge not according to appearance," according to Pluerus in *Itin. per Hisp.*, p. 180. The Moscow codex in the synodal library, cod. 5, contains works of Leontius, priest of Constantinople, on Mid-Pentecost, on the man born blind, and on Peter delivered from prison by Herod: beginning "To those who love," etc., and at the end of the same volume a *Logos* on Pentecost: beginning... [Matthæi Notit. cod. Mosq. p. 8]. Read this among the *Opera* of Leontius the Byzantine in vol. LXXXVI of this Patrologia.
A and festive orations and a sermon *On the Transfiguration of our Savior*. In the Allatian index, the *Laudatio S. Jobi* is attributed to Leontius (it is twofold under the name of Leontius, but it is by a Constantinopolitan presbyter, a homily on Job in MS in the Vienna library; see Lambecius, vol. IV, pp. 68, 69). FABR. In codex 116, n. 6, of Leontius, CPolit. presbyter, an *Oratio on Job*, delivered on the second day of Holy and Great Week; and again n. 10, an *Oratio on Job*, delivered on the Wednesday of the same week; n. 10, another *Oratio on the Betrayal of Christ and on the Wife of Job*, delivered on the fifth day of Holy Week; and n. 13, another *Oratio on the Passion of Christ and on Job*, delivered on Great Friday; Kollar believes these four orations have not yet been published in note B, p. 160, and n. 19, a homily *On Pentecost and on the Man Born Blind*; where Lambecius, p. 164 seq., inveighs bitterly against Combefis, and complains that he published it in vol. I of the *Auctarium Bibl. Patrum*, etc., pp. 719-798, of Paris, with various inane conjectures and harmful and entirely unnecessary emendations, and he asserts that the whole of that edition by Combefis should be diligently and carefully collated with this very ancient Imperial codex; and he brings forward certain examples: but regarding the spirit and the pen, he is unfair and biting toward Combefis. V. Kollar, note p. 169. — In codex Coislin. 105, of Leontius, bishop of Neapolis, in Cyprus, a *Sermon on Simeon* (V. Montfauc. Bibl. Coislin. p. 180, n. 34). HARL. *On Great Friday and on the Passion of Christ*. (Lambec. ibid. page 69 seq.) [p. 162, ed. Kollar.] *On Peter*. *On the Betrayal of Christ and the Wife of Job*. (Lambec. p. 69.) [p. 162, Koll.] *On the Resurrection of the Lord*. *On the Prophotismata, on the Palms, and on the Raising of Lazarus*. This is the one which is read among the Homilies of Saint Chrysostom, vol. VII, edited by Savile, p. 334. It begins: *Hon the pneumatikos panegyros*. (4*) FABR. In Milan in the Ambrosian Library, of Leontius of Constantinople, an *Oratio on Lazarus and an Encomium on the Synaxis of the Blessed Virgin Mary*. V. Montfauc. B. biblioth. mss. 1, p. 500, D. HARL. B In the same Seventh Synod, vol. III of Binnius, page 560, Leontius, bishop of Cyprus, is affirmed to have written the *Life of John the Almsgiver, Archbishop of Alexandria*, who died in the year of Christ 616 (See Pagius for the year of Christ 620), which exists in Greek MS in the Imperial library, as Nessel testifies in part V, page 16 (5), and in the Colbertine codex 505, which Du Cange consulted. It is cited by Allatius, *Book on Purgatory*, p. 732; it exists interpolated and only in Latin in Rosweyd, Book I, *On the Lives of the Fathers*; and Surius and Bollandus, January 23. And the *Life of Simeon the Holy Fool or Simple One*, which is likewise available in Greek in the Imperial library, as the same Nessel testifies, part V, p. 43 (6). It is in Latin in Surius, July 1. But the *Life of Saint Gregory, Bishop of Agrigentum*, has as its author Leontius, presbyter and abbot of the monastery, *Life and Miracles of our Holy Father Gregory of Agrigentum* (7). It exists in Greek in the Colbertine codex 1677, and in Latin and interpolated, without the author's name, it is found in the same Surius, Nov. 22. FABR. In the Colbertine codex, 1677, according to Montfaucon, *B. Bibl. mss.* t. II, p. 952 A, another book is contained, written in French. In Montfaucon's *Bibl. Coislin.* I did not find it: for the things said on p. 186 about codex 112, or the *Collection of Moral Matters*, do not pertain here. But to inquire further, there is no leisure. It is in the Parisian codices, of which above, and in the Escorial codex, as Pluerus testifies in his *Itinerary through Spain*, p. 180, and as Montfaucon testifies in *Bibl. bibl. mss.* I, p. 143 A; in the Vatican codex 4767. — In Rome in the Basilian library, codex 701 (I, page 199 A). HARL. A fragment is also brought forward in the aforementioned Seventh Synod, from the *Logos of Leontius, the Cypriot, Against the Jews, in Defense of the Christian Apology*, in Greek and Latin, in vol. VII of the *Concilia*, edited by Labbe, page 236; vol. III of Binnius, page 556. The same fragment is in the MS codex of the library.
1563 LEONTII NEAPOLITANI EPISCOPI 1564 a Greek version exists, as Lambecius testifies, vol. V, p. 137. You also have it in James Gretser's *Hortus Crucis*. Another version in Latin is found at the beginning of the second supplement of the Morellian *Bibliotheca Patrum*, Paris 1639, from Canisius' *Antiquæ Lectiones*, vol. V, part 1, pp. 200–202. John of Damascus A also mentions this work of Leontius against the Jews in his *Oration on Images*, as does Euthymius in the *Panoplia*. Two books of these *Commonplaces* or theological *Loca communia* of Leontius of Cyprus, one of divine things, another of human things, have not yet been brought to light, although the one on divine things was in the possession of Francisco Torres, as he himself testifies in book I, *On the Hierarchical Ordinations of the Ministers of the Church*, c. 12; and in book V of his *Defense of the Epistles of the Popes*, cap. 20, a fact observed by the most learned Colomiès in his *Paralipomena on Ecclesiastical Writers*, who also thinks that John of Damascus made use of these *Commonplaces* of Leontius in his *Parallels*, which Michael Le Quien brought to light in his distinguished edition of Damascenus, which he published. Sirmond praises Leontius in his *Commonplaces* concerning the origin of souls, vol. II, *Opera*, p. 456. Besides Leontius and Damascenus, Saint Maximus and Antonius, called Melissa, wrote *Commonplaces* gleaned from the Holy Scripture and the ancient doctors of the Church. Among the Latins, Bede (vol. VII, pp. 370–458, and the Anglo-Saxon codex in the Bodleian Library) as well as a certain Defensor in his *Scintillae*, written and printed for the sake of his nourisher Ursinius at Antwerp in 1550, Venice 1552, and thence at Cologne. Then John, an abbot, whom John Mabillon relates he B transcribed from a codex in the library of Monte Cassino in his *Museum Italicum*, p. 123. I omit Thomas Hibernicus and other more recent ones. Maldonatus mentions Leontius’ manuscript *Commentaries on John* at John VII, where he reports that the history of the adulteress was in that codex, but marked with an obelus. The *Oration in Praise of Saint Epiphanius* is mentioned by Theodore the Studite in his second *Antirrheticus*, p. 130, vol. V of Sirmond’s *Opera*.
OBSERVATION BY JAMES BASNAGE ON LEONTIUS
(Canisius, *Antiq. Lection.*, vol. I, p. 793.)Although Leontius of Cyprus should have been most famous for his many works, learned men have nevertheless erred concerning the episcopal see he held, the time in which he lived, and the works he brought to light. Both Baronius and Possevinus first make him the bishop of Salamis, which is the metropolis of the entire island; but these most erudite men had not observed Sigebert of Gembloux nor the Second Council of Nicaea; for the legates of Pope Adrian say in the Council of Nicaea that they themselves have at hand the book of Leontius, prelate of Neapolis in Cyprus, and they ask that it be read: "We have in our hands the book of the blessed Leontius, bishop of Neapolis in Cyprus, and we request that it be read." Sigebert, however, confirms him as bishop of the Neapolis of the Cypriots, by testimony which it is not permitted to refute. The error was given room because the episcopal see of that writer is frequently indicated only by the ambiguous phrase "in one of the cities of Cyprus"; but from this, Critics should rather have concluded that a see other than Salamis was indicated, since the prelate of the latter held the primacy of the island. The time in which he lived is incorrectly referred by many to the Emperor Maurice, or to the end of the sixth century; for he reached as far as Heraclius, and therefore to the year 630, or thereabouts. Scholars have erred much worse concerning his works. In the first place, although Sigebert was silent about the *Life of Salus the Fool*, which Leontius had written, and which makes the Council of Nicaea indubitable, wonder at this: Anastasius, librarian of the Roman Church, not understanding the word *salou*, which he rendered variously from Greek into Latin, interpreted it as *Turbatio* (Disturbance), and what is much worse, he asserts that Leontius wrote *Disturbances in the Church* which had occurred in the Church around that time; add that Baronius lamented the lost work; for who else could have tracked the events under Maurice, as you have in the acts of the Council of Nicaea? But until now the work unknown to us either lies hidden or has perished unknown. I regret that so many blunders have escaped the famous annalist; for first he makes one bishop of Salamis and primate of the island who was only bishop of Neapolis in Cyprus; second, he wished to defend his opinion by the authority of the Council of Nicaea, in which Leontius is expressly called bishop of Neapolis; finally, because he lamented as lost a *History of the Calamities of the Church* under Maurice, which never existed; for the *Life of the Fool* or *Insane One*, which Leontius described, is quite different from a *History of the Calamities of the Church*. Secondly, Leontius wrote the *Life of John the Almsgiver*, prelate of Alexandria. Concerning this *Life*, two things are to be observed: first, that it is preserved in codex 19 of the Imperial Library not only in the Latin idiom...
[1565] On the twelfth day of the same month, the work of Leontius, Archbishop of Neapolis in the island of Cyprus, on the remaining life of our Father among the saints and Archbishop of Alexandria, John the Almsgiver. Our purpose in this narrative regarding the life of this celebrated man is one: that a god-pleasing imitation and profit may be obtained by all, and that glory and majesty may be rendered to the holy and adorable Trinity. Of Leontius of Neapolis in Cyprus, from the discourse against the Jews regarding the adoration of the cross of Christ, and the icons of the saints, and regarding the relics of the saints. “If you reproach me again, O Jew, by saying that I worship the wood of the cross as God…”
OF LEONTIUS, BISHOP OF NEAPOLIS IN CYPRUS, SERMONS.
A Leontius, Bishop of Neapolis in Cyprus, Sermon on Symeon, when he received the Lord into his arms.
“Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth exult.” It is fitting, indeed, in this divine and Lordly solemnity, to take our starting point from the Davidic words, or rather divine ones; since the prophet David, not moved by himself, but by the Holy Spirit, spoke the words of the sweet canticle. David invites us to joy and spiritual exultation: by saying “heavens,” he signifies the angelic and heavenly powers; by the “earth,” he signifies men scattered throughout the whole compass of the earth. The following words declare this: “The fields shall rejoice, and all that is in them.” Therefore, we must altogether understand these fields also in a spiritual and anagogical sense. For what joy can senseless earth bring forth, and furthermore that which is contained in it, such as trees of every kind and the many species of herbs? Or, it might be better to say now that he calls “fields” the [human] races that are, as it were, more gentle B and adapted to the spiritual seed, or even those from Israel, because of the…