Maximus of Turin, Saint

MASSIMO di TORINO, saint. – Father of the Church; the first bishop of Torino whose name is known.

I. LIFE

Only sparse and uncertain information is available about this great bishop of Turin, whose episcopate must be placed no earlier than 380 and no later than, as seems more probable, 423. He was probably the spiritual son of s. Eusebio di Vercelli. He was probably present at the Council of Turin in 398. From his discourses, he appears wholly devoted to the welfare of his people and possessed of an especially compelling and effective eloquence.

II. WRITINGS AND DOCTRINE

He is credited with a considerable literary production, divided, somewhat artificially, into homiliae, sermones, and tractatus. A very substantial portion of it, however, is not so certainly his, while another part is undoubtedly spurious. The writings of s. M. deserve the full attention both of the historian, for their valuable information on the social, religious, and moral conditions of the populations of northern Italy in the 5th century, and of the theologian, for the dogmatic elements, always highly precise, that he offers on the principal points of theological knowledge, especially with regard to ecclesiological, Christological, and baptismal doctrine.

III. OPEN QUESTIONS

Besides questions of lesser importance—time and place of birth (Volterra, Trentino, Vercelli, Turin?), time of episcopal consecration, and the like—the most serious questions still open concerning St. M. are the following: 1) the existence of one or two Massimi, that is, whether or not there was another bishop of Turin bearing the same name (M. II?), apparently required in order to reconcile a notice by Gennadius with the presence of a “Maximus episcopus Taurinensis” who signed the Council of Milan of 451 and the Council of Rome of 465. According to Gennadius, in fact, St. M. “moritur Honorio et Theodosio iuniore regnante” (some codices: “regnantibus”): now Honorius and Theodosius were joint rulers only before 423. Those who maintain that there was only one M., instead of “moritur” read “oritur,” “floruit,” or “claruit,” consequently moving the period of his birth later and managing to extend his episcopate at least as far as the Roman Council of 465. 2) The critical question of the attribution to him of the works ascribed to him. A revision of the work of Bruno Bruni, the first critical editor of the writings of St. M., became indispensable after the studies of Benna, Colombo, Capelle, and Moricca (v. BIBLICA). 3) The question of the biblical and patristic sources (it should be noted that a comparison between the biblical citations drawn from the certainly authentic writings and those contained in the doubtful writings could provide a useful criterion for further determination).