MAXIMUS OF TURIN, Saint. - Father of the Church; the first bishop of Turin whose name is known.
I. LIFE
There is only scant and uncertain information about this great bishop of Turin, whose episcopate must be placed no earlier than 380 and no later, as seems more probable, than 423. He must have been a spiritual son of St. Eusebius of Vercelli. He was probably present at the Council of Turin in 398. From his discourses he appears wholly devoted to the good of his people and a speaker particularly captivating and effective.
II. WRITINGS AND DOCTRINE
A not inconsiderable literary output is attributed to him, divided, somewhat artificially, into homiliae, sermones, tractatus. A very notable part of it, however, is not so certainly his and another part is undoubtedly spurious. The writings of St. Maximus deserve the full attention both of the historian, for the precious indications 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 very precise, that he offers on the principal points of theological knowledge, especially regarding ecclesiological, christological and baptismal doctrine.
III. OPEN QUESTIONS
Besides questions of lesser importance: the time and place of his birth (Volterra, Trentino, Vercelli, Turin?), the time of his episcopal consecration and the like, the most serious questions still open concerning St. Maximus are the following: 1) the existence of one or two Maximi, that is, the existence or non-existence of another bishop of Turin, his namesake (Maximus II?), required, as it seems, to reconcile a notice of Gennadius with the presence of a "Maximus episcopus Taurinensis" signing at the Council of Milan of 451 and at the Council of Rome of 465. According to Gennadius, in fact, St. Maximus "moritur Honorio et Theodosio iuniore regnante" (some codices: "regnantibus"): now Honorius and Theodosius were not companions in rule except before 423. The supporters of a single Maximus, on the other hand, read "oritur," "floruit," "claruit" instead of "moritur," thereby postponing the date of his birth and managing to have his episcopate extend at least to the Roman Council of 465. 2) The critical question of the attribution of the works ascribed to him. A revision of the work of Bruno Bruni, the first critical editor of the writings of St. Maximus, has become indispensable after the studies of Benna, Colombo, Capelle, Moricca (v. bibl.). 3) The question of the biblical and patristic sources (it should be noted how a comparison between the biblical citations drawn from the writings that are certainly genuine and those contained in the doubtful writings could provide a useful criterion for further determination).
Bibliography11 works
Giovanni Maria Rolando