Eureka! The ARCHIVE is here again at your door step to bring to you yet another insight into the Church's history: The AGNES PALLIUM. This is one of the insignias of the office of the Metropolitan archbishops and Patriarchs.
The AGNES’ PALLIUM
June 29 every year marks the solemnity of two great Apostles – Peter and Paul. St. Peter was chosen by the Lord to be the leader of the Church and given the task to preach the Gospel especially among the Jewish communities; while Apostle Paul became the chosen instrument of God to bring the Good news to the whole world. In the process of conversion, both apostles experienced the gratuitous compassion and forgiveness of the Lord. Today, these great men are considered in the Christian history as ancestors in the faith. Besides the solemn celebration of these great men of faith in the Catholic Church globally, there is one particular event that takes place on this same day that has to be given a special mention.
It is on this fateful day that the Pope gives out Pallium (which is attributed to St. Agnes) to the Metropolitan Archbishops and Patriarchs appointed within the year. To some, this term ‘pallium’ sounds so strange in their ears, while others do not need an interpretation. But one thing is significant about “the Pallium,” that is the connection between the Pallium and St. Agnes. In a bit to explain the cordial relationship existing between this virtuous Virgin and Pallium, it is out of necessity to give an account of the life of St. Agnes. The little we know about St. Agnes is that she was only 13 years old when she dedicated her maidenhood to Christ, much to the outrage of her many suitors. When she refused to change her mind, Agnes was handed to the authorities. According to one story told about her, she was put in a brothel, but any man who made advances on her was blinded and paralyzed. They then tried to burn her at the stake, but the wood would not ignite. Finally, she was decapitated on the Via Nomentana outside of Rome. Agnes went to her execution, St. Ambrose tells us, “more cheerful than others go to their wedding” Later on in history, the Emperor Constantine erected a basilica over her tomb. The basilica is known today as St. Agnes Outside the Walls, where her mortal body is preserved, while her skull is in the side chapel in the Church of St. Agnes of Agony in Piazza Navonma in Rome.
Today, it is also noted that the Trappist monastery of Tre Fontane (Three fountains) on the outskirt of Rome has something in common with this virgin and martyr. The monastery has raised two lambs in her honour that are involved in a charming and ancient tradition, (recalling the fact that Agnes’ name is derived from agnus, the Latin word for Lamb, and it evokes the Greek word agnos, meaning pure). It is worthy to note that, on the day before her feast, the lambs are taken to the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, where they groomed and coddled. The next morning the lambs are decorated with roses and a mantle that reads S. A. V. (St. Agnes Virgin) and the other wears a red mantle that reads S. A. M. (St. Agnes Martyr). The sisters have had the privilege of tending these lambs since 1884AD, when they inherited it from neighbouring convent closed down.
Once the lambs are ready, they are picked up by members of the Order of Lateran Canons Regular, who serve Sant’ Agnese fuori le Mura, and taken to the basilica. A morning Mass is celebrated, and the abbot of the Order blesses the lambs on the altar. From there, they are taken to the Vatican, where the pope himself receives and blesses them. The lambs are later shorn on Tuesday of Holy week, and their wool used by the nuns of the Benedictine convent of St. Cecilia in Trastevere, Rome, to make Palliums. When they are ready, the Palliums are placed in a bronze urn next to the chair of St. Peter in St. Peter’s Basilica. There they stay until the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul on June 29, when it will be given out to the newly appointed Metropolitan Archbishops.
According to Dom Gueranger, this simple woolen ornament worn by the Supreme Pontiff and the Archbishops “carries to the very ends of the world the sublime union of… two sentiments – the vigour and power of the Prince of Apostles, and the gentleness of Agnes the Virgin.” (Quoted in Michael P. Foley’s Agnes’ Pallium, Messenger of St. Anthony, January 2012). It is now clear to an extent why and how this unique symbol of authority is called the ‘Agnes’ Pallium’.
However, the Pallium which Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI wore and now put on by the present Supreme Pontiff, Francis I has five crosses which symbolizes the five wounds of Christ and is fastened with three pins called aciculae signifying three nails of crucifixion. The wool, out of which the pallium is made, on the other hand, recalls the lost sheep that the Good Shepherd carried on His shoulders. When the pallium is worn by the pope, it is a symbol of his authority and jurisdiction; when it is given to the Patriarchs and Metropolitans it is a symbol of their authority and their union with the bishop of Rome. The modern pallium is a circular band about two inches wide, worn around the neck, breast, and shoulders, and having two pendants, one hanging down in front and one behind. The pendants are about two inches wide and twelve inches long, and are weighted with small pieces of lead covered with black silk. And this is worn over the chasuble.
There are many different opinions concerning the origin of the pallium. Some traced it to an investiture by Constantine the Great (or one of his successors); others consider it an imitation of the Hebrew ephod, the humeral garment of the high priest. Others again, declare that its origin is traceable to a mantle of St. Peter, which was symbolical of his office as supreme pastor. A fourth hypothesis finds its origin in a liturgical mantle, which, they assert, was used by the early popes, and which in the course of time was folded in the shape of a band; a fifth says its origin dates from the custom of folding the ordinary mantle-pallium, an outer garment in use in imperial times; a sixth declares that it was introduced immediately as a papal liturgical garment, which, however, was not at first a narrow strip of cloth, but, as the name suggests, a broad, oblong, and folded cloth. To trace it to an investiture of the emperor, to the ephod of the Jewish high-priest, or to a fabled mantle of St. Peter, is entirely inadmissible. The correct view may well be that the pallium was introduced as a liturgical badge of the pope, and it does not seem improbable that it was adopted in imitation of its counterpart, the pontifical omophorion, already in vogue in the Eastern Church.
The use of the pallium is reserved to the pope and the archbishops, but the latter may not use it until, on petition they have received the permission of the Holy See. Bishops sometimes receive the pallium as a mark of special favour, but it does not increase their powers or jurisdiction nor give them precedence. The pope may use the pallium at any time. Others, even archbishops, may use it only in their respective dioceses, and there only on the days and occasions designated in the "Pontificate" (Christmas, the Ascension, and other specified great feasts; during the conferring of Holy orders, the consecration of abbots, etc.), unless its use is extended by a special privilege. Worn by the pope, the pallium symbolizes the plenitudo pontificalis officii (i.e. the plenitude of pontifical office); worn by archbishops, it typifies their participation in the supreme pastoral power of the pope, who concedes it to them for their proper church provinces or Metropolitan Sees. An archbishop therefore, who has not received the pallium may not exercise any of his functions as metropolitan, nor any metropolitan prerogatives whatever; he is even forbidden to perform any Episcopal act until invested with the pallium. Similarly, after his resignation, he may not use the pallium, should he be transferred to another archdiocese. He must again request the Holy Father for the pallium. In the case of bishops, its use is purely ornamental. The new palliums are solemnly blessed after the Second Vespers on the feast of Ss. Peter and Paul. The pallium is conferred in Rome by a cardinal-deacon, and outside of Rome by a bishop; in both cases the ceremony takes place after the celebration of Mass and the administration of the oath of allegiance. (cf. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen).
As early as the sixth century the pallium was considered a liturgical vestment to be used only in the church, and indeed only during Mass, unless a special privilege determined otherwise. This is proved conclusively by the agreement between Gregory the Great and John of Ravenna concerning the use of the pallium. The rules regulating the original use of the pallium cannot be determined with certainty but its use, even before the sixth century, seems to have had a definite liturgical character. From the early times, more or less extensive restrictions limited the use of the pallium to certain days. Its indiscriminate use, permitted to Hincmar of Reims by Leo IV (851) and to Bruno of Cologne by Agapetus II (954) was contrary to the general custom. In the tenth and eleventh centuries, just as today, the general rule was to limit the use of the pallium to a few festivals and some other extraordinary occasions. The symbolic character now attached to the pallium dates back to the time when it was made an obligation for all metropolitans to request the Holy See for permission to use it. The evolution of this character was complete about the end of the eleventh century; hence the pallium is always designated in the papal Bulls as the symbol of plenitudo pontificalis officii (the plenitude of pontifical office). In the sixth century the pallium was the symbol of the papal office and the papal power, and for this reason Pope Felix transmitted his pallium to his archdeacon, when, contrary to custom, he nominated him his successor. On the other hand, when used by metropolitans, the pallium originally signified simply union with the Apostolic See, and was the symbol of the ornaments of virtue which should adorn the life of the wearer.
Finally, the Pallium in actual sense transcends a mere ornament as people may see it, and assumed a unique function of dignity of office and gentleness of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr.
Rev. Fr. PiusRalph EFFIONG, SMMM
piusralphe@gmail.com
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