Hymn to St. Rufinus
Lokrantz identifies this meter as acattaletic iambic dimeter.
Rufinus was responsible for converting Assisi to Christianity. He and his son came from Anatolia to preach the Gospel. The Roman proconsul, Aspasius, had him arrested, tortured, and drowned in the Chiasco River near Costano. His body was recovered and buried nearby. A church was built on that spot from whence, his relics were translated to Assisi in the 8th century.
He is unknown to the older martyrologists, so Peter Damian is a primary source. The hymn is rich in details on the end of the martyr: despite the hail of blows, he continues his testimony; he is beaten until he is left for dead; later, seeing that he is still alive, he is thrown into a fiery furnace, where however the angel sent by the Lord puts out the flames; finally, thrown into the river with a badger hanging around his neck, he drowns. This last detail is at odds with other passions which state that the martyr was beheaded.
In a sermon Peter Damian report some miracles performed by him, during the transport of his burial urn, which occurred during the episcopate of Hugh (1028 to 1052). Sermon XXXVI narrates that a dispute arose between the people and the bishop because of a stone sarcophagus that once had kept the relics of the martyr. The bishop wanted to bury him in the city inside the cathedral church of Santa Maria itself, but, following the people’s pressing requests, he had him placed in the small basicilica. Here, Peter Damian says, the miracles occurred, because the will of the people was in agreement with the will of God. So while sixty men, who wanted to ensure that the bishop’s will was respected, were unable to move the urn, seven men of the people succeeded in carrying the heavy stone sarcophagus into the small basilica, with such speed that it seemed as if they had carried a bundle of straw rather than a heavy stone. The bishop himself, impressed by the miraculous events, had a large basilica built on the site of that small church, which later became the cathedral of Assisi (at least since 1035). The sermon (not in verse and so not reproduced here) given by Damian provides us with the most important news regarding the memory of the martyr; until these events it was celebrated on an unknown day, in which the dedication of the parva basilica was remembered, but, on the day in which the sarcophagus was brought back to the city and the body of the martyr returned to rest in his original tomb, his authentic passion was discovered with the date of the martyrdom: 11 August 78.
1.
Magnum Ruphini meritum
Turba canat fidelium,
Quo mundi victor exstitit
Et liber astra petiit.
Let the crowd of the faithful
Sing the great merit of Rufinus,
Through whom emerged the conquerer of the world
And then he freely sought the stars.
2.
Bellator invictissimus
Praebet ora lapidibus,
Sed verbis grando verberum
Non indidit silentium.
Most unconquerable warrior
Offers his face to stones,
But a hailstorm of stones
Did not impose silence on his words.
3.
Plumbatis inde caeditur,
Iamiam obisse creditur
Sed qui putatur mortuus,
Surgit in arma promptius.
With lead weights then he is killed,
Already he is believed to have died
But he who is believed to be dead
Rises up more readily in arms.
4.
Detruditur in clibanum
Furentem flammis ignium,
Caminus sed incendii
Fit nemus refrigerii.
He is pushed into the raging furnace
With flames of fire,
But the furnace of fire
Becomes a grove of consolation.
5.
Nam flammis crepitantibus
Clarus immersit angelus,
Ad cuius mox imperium
Perdit vires incendium.
For the bright angel plunged
Into the crackling flames,
At whose command
The fire soon loses its strength.
6.
Certat martyr egregius
Ut leo vinci nescius;
Cuncta poenarum genera
Mente calcat intrepida.
The extraordinary martyr fights
Like a lion unaware of how to be defeated;
He tramples with his fearless mind
All types of punishments.
7.
Saxum collo suspenditur,
Sic fluctibus immergitur;
[Quem aqua Christo genuit],
Per hanc ad ipsum pervenit.
A rock is hung on his neck,
In this way he is plunged into the waves;
He to whom water gave birth in Christ [baptism]
He [Ruphinus] arrived to him [Christ, safety] through water.
8.
Nunc carnis liber onere
Rubro vestitur podere,
Corona plexus capite
De pretioso lapide.
Now free of the burden of the flesh
He is dressed with a red robe,
Having been plaited with a crown of precious stone
Around his head.
9.
Te, martyr alme, petimus
Mentis pronae visceribus:
Nos tua solvant merita,
Quos nostra gravant debita.
We beseech you, benevolent martyr,
From the depths of our humble prone minds:
May your merits save us,
Whom our sins oppress.
10.
Sit patri laus ingenito…
May there be praise to the unbegotten father…
