![Claudius of Turin (circa 780–827), renowned for his steadfastness in doctrine and rigor in pastoral care, served as bishop of Turin during the Carolingian era. Born in Hispania, Claudius entered the service of Emperor Louis the Pious, who, discerning his theological aptitude and zeal for reform, appointed him bishop circa 817. Claudius distinguished himself by his unwavering opposition to the veneration of images, relics, and the adoration of crosses, which he denounced as idolatrous accretions incompatible with the purity of apostolic faith. His literary corpus, though not extensive, reveals a mind trained in scriptural exegesis and an abiding commitment to sola Scriptura. His Commentaries on the Pauline Epistles and other biblical texts manifest an exegetical sobriety and rejection of allegorical extravagance, favoring instead the literal and moral senses of Holy Writ. Claudius’s Excerpta from his commentaries served as instructive guides for clergy and laity alike, stressing the sufficiency of Scripture for salvation and the necessity of personal holiness. He was not without controversy; his rigorous iconoclasm provoked censure from contemporaries such as Jonas of Orléans and Wala of Corbie, who accused him of novel doctrine. Nevertheless, Claudius remained resolute, articulating his views in numerous treatises and sermons. His episcopate, marked by vigilance against superstition and ardent pastoral labor, stands as a testament to the reforming spirit of the early ninth-century Church. Claudius of Turin’s legacy endures as a paradigm of biblical fidelity and reformative zeal in the Latin West. [Image is not Claudius]](attachment:3990c789-f89a-40b7-ade0-0af2abaf12d2:image.png)
[Excerpta ex Commentariis ejus in Epistolas Pauli]
Claudius of Turin (circa 780–827), renowned for his steadfastness in doctrine and rigor in pastoral care, served as bishop of Turin during the Carolingian era. Born in Hispania, Claudius entered the service of Emperor Louis the Pious, who, discerning his theological aptitude and zeal for reform, appointed him bishop circa 817. Claudius distinguished himself by his unwavering opposition to the veneration of images, relics, and the adoration of crosses, which he denounced as idolatrous accretions incompatible with the purity of apostolic faith. His literary corpus, though not extensive, reveals a mind trained in scriptural exegesis and an abiding commitment to sola Scriptura. His Commentaries on the Pauline Epistles and other biblical texts manifest an exegetical sobriety and rejection of allegorical extravagance, favoring instead the literal and moral senses of Holy Writ. Claudius’s Excerpta from his commentaries served as instructive guides for clergy and laity alike, stressing the sufficiency of Scripture for salvation and the necessity of personal holiness. He was not without controversy; his rigorous iconoclasm provoked censure from contemporaries such as Jonas of Orléans and Wala of Corbie, who accused him of novel doctrine. Nevertheless, Claudius remained resolute, articulating his views in numerous treatises and sermons. His episcopate, marked by vigilance against superstition and ardent pastoral labor, stands as a testament to the reforming spirit of the early ninth-century Church. Claudius of Turin’s legacy endures as a paradigm of biblical fidelity and reformative zeal in the Latin West. [Image is not Claudius]
Table of Contents:
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Who, when he was in the form of God. In the form of God, equal to the Father, in the form of a servant the mediator of God and men the man Christ Jesus . . . Not therefore undeservedly doth Scripture say both things, both the Son equal to the Father and the Father greater than the Son. For that indeed by reason of the form of God: but this by reason of the form of a servant is understood without any confusion . . .
Thought it not robbery, etc. Neither was that usurpation which he possessed naturally, that it should be called robbery; but it was inherent in his nature, that he should be equal.
The winter season treading the palace ways going and returning, it is less permitted to fulfill the aforesaid love; after the middle of spring proceeding armed with parchment together with bearing arms, I go forth to the maritime watches with fear keeping watch against the Agarenes and Moors, by night holding the sword, and by day books and pen, endeavoring to fulfill the begun desire . . . . . .
I confess that I came unwillingly at first both to this work and to the Pentateuch which thou dost demand, by the command of the brethren established in the school, to whom I was delivering the scriptures by living voice, at the bidding of the pious prince Louis the emperor, compelled also by the aforesaid prince, that I should not only deliver words wandering through forgetfulness, but should also write with the pen things remaining long, that what I brought forth by mouth I should write down with the pen.
Who is over all, God, etc. For Christ our Lord and Saviour, the true Son of God according to divinity, and the true son of man according to the flesh. Not from that which is God over all blessed for ever was he born of the seed of David, but from that infirmity which he took upon him from us.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Lest he should seem to have been silent concerning either the name or the gift of the Father, and should perhaps give suspicion or occasion of union, he teacheth that Christ indeed is rightly to be invoked, but that all grace is of the Father, that he might show the two who are one through divinity, and might prefer the authority of the Father . . . . . . .
God was in Christ. For the Son is naturally the legate of God the Father . . . For the Father is understood to be in the Son through this, that their substance is one. For there is unity where there is no mistress, and through this they are mutually equal.