Pacian
{{Short description|Bishop of Barcelona}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2012}}
{{Infobox saint
|honorific_prefix = Saint
|name= Pacian
|birth_date=c. 310 AD
|death_date=c. 391 AD
|feast_day= March 9
|venerated_in= Catholic Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
|image= San Paciano de Barcelona (cropped).jpg
|imagesize= 250px
|caption= Pacian of Barcelona by Joan Roig - Cathedral of Barcelona.
|birth_place=
|death_place=Barcelona
|titles= Church Father
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Saint Pacian (Pacianus) ({{langx|ca|Sant Pacià}}) ({{circa}} 310–391 AD) was an early Spanish Christian prelate.
Biography
Pacian served as Bishop of Barcelona from about 365 AD to 391 AD. He succeeded Praetextatus.
Considered a Father of the Church,{{Cite book |last=Craig L. |first=Hanson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X5hkltq6rrMC&pg=PP4 |title=Iberian Fathers, Volume 3 |last2= |first2= |date=1999 |publisher=CUA Press |isbn=978-0-8132-0099-6 |pages=ii |language=en}} Pacian is eulogized in Jerome's De viris illustribus, in which Jerome praises his eloquence, learning, chastity, and holiness of life.
His writings are extant only in part in three letters and a short treatise, Paraenesis ad Poenitentiam.[http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=5193 St. Pacian – Catholic Online] In his writings, he discussed ecclesiastical discipline, baptism, papal primacy, and teachings on penance against Novatianism, which was then flourishing in Spain. He is also remembered from a phrase from one of his letters: Christianus mihi nomen est, catholicus vero cognomen ("My name is Christian, my surname is Catholic.").[http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintp2x.htm Patron Saints Index: Saint Pacian of Barcelona]
Personal life
Pacian was married and had a son, Nummius Aemilianus Dexter, who served under Theodosius I as proconsul and praetorian prefect.{{cite book |author1=A. H. M. Jones |title=Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire|author2=J. R. Martindale |author3=J. Morris |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1971 |isbn=978-0-521-20159-9 |volume=1 |page=251 |chapter=Nummius Aemilianus Dexter 3 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/prosopography-later-roman-empire/PLRE-I/page/250}} Jerome did not know Pacian personally, but knew Pacian's son, to whom De Viris Illustribus is dedicated.[http://www.stthomasirondequoit.com/SaintsAlive/id693.htm Irondequoit Catholic Communities – - Pacian] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071028043122/http://www.stthomasirondequoit.com/SaintsAlive/id693.htm |date=October 28, 2007 }}
Legacy
In 2023, a study by Jesús Alturo i Perucho and Tània Alaix i Gimbert has seen the first hunches of Catalan in the writings of Pacian when he uses terms such as ceruulus 'cèrvol' or subinde 'sovint' or uses the expression si te placet for 'si us plau', among many others.{{cite book |last1=Alturo |first1=Jesús |last2=Alaix |first2=Tània |title=Lletres que parlen: viatge als orígens del català |date=2023 |publisher=La Magrana |location=Barcelona |isbn=9788419334053 |pages=55-56}}{{cite web |last1=Camps |first1=Magí |title=El catalán escrito, dos siglos más antiguo de lo que se creía |url=https://www.lavanguardia.com/cultura/20230227/8788288/catalan-escrito-dos-siglos-mas-antiguo-creia.html |website=La Vanguardia |access-date=27 May 2023 |date=27 February 2023}}
Notes
External links
{{commons category|Saint Pacianus}}
- [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/pacian_1_letter1.htm The Extant Works of S. Pacian]
- [http://www.arqbcn.org/episcopologi.html Episcopologi de la catedral] {{in lang|ca}}
- {{Librivox author |id=15686}}
{{Subject bar |portal1= Biography |portal2= Catholicism |portal3= Spain}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Catalan Roman Catholic saints
Category:4th-century bishops in Hispania
Category:4th-century writers in Latin
Category:Letter writers in Latin