CHAPTER VIII. He is chosen bishop while Valerius is still living, and is ordained by the primate Megalius
But the blessed and aged Valerius rejoiced more than others on this account and gave thanks to God for the special blessing bestowed upon him. He began to fear, however, for such is human nature, that Augustine would be sought for the episcopal office and be taken from him by some other church which lacked a bishop. And this would have happened, had not the bishop himself, since he knew of it, taken care that he should remove to a secret place, and had thus hidden him so that he could not be found by those who sought him. But since the venerable old man still feared this and realized that he was aged and very infirm, he communicated by a secret |57 letter with the Bishop of Carthage, the episcopal Primate, mentioning the weakness of his body and the burden of his years, and beseeching that Augustine might be ordained bishop of the church of Hippo, because he would not in that case then succeed to his office, but would be associated with him as coadjutor-bishop. And what he thus sought and desired he obtained in a satisfactory answer. Later on, accordingly, when Megalius, Bishop of Calama, and at that time primate of Numidia, had come at his request to visit the church at Hippo, unexpectedly to all the bishop Valerius made his desire known to the bishops who happened at that time to be present, and to all the clergy of Hippo and to all the people. But while all who heard rejoiced and clamored most eagerly that this should be done and accomplished, the presbyter refused to accept the episcopate contrary to the custom of the Church, since his bishop was still living. However, when they had convinced him that this was generally done and had appealed to examples from the churches across the sea as well as in Africa, though he had been ignorant of it before, under compulsion and constraint he yielded and accepted the ordination to the higher office. Later he both said and wrote that this should not have been done in his case, namely to ordain him while his bishop was still living, because of the prohibition of the Ecumenical Council of which he learned after his ordination ; for that which he regretted to have had done in his case he did not wish to have done to others. Therefore he endeavored to have it decreed by the councils of the bishops that the rules governing all the priests should be made known by the ordaining bishops to those about to be ordained and to those already ordained. And so it was done. |59