THE CAMBRIDGE MEDIEVAL HISTORY I 061

The Neo-Pagan Priesthood

4-12. The Neo-Pagan Priesthood

The office of Pontifex Maximus was an Imperial prerogative and the one most prized by Julian. He was unwearied in the performance of all the duties it required and he used it in his attempt to create that Catholic Pagan State Church. The very conception is decisive proof that Julian aimed, not at the revival but at a thorough reconstruction of paganism. He had the thought of a great independent spiritual community, wide as the Empire — a community so holy and separated that men and women who abandoned Christianity could only be admitted into it after the performance of prescribed purifying rites. This community was to be ruled over by a priesthood set apart for the service and forming a graded hierarchy. At the head of all was the Pontifex Maximus; next came pagan metropolitans or the high-priests of provinces; under them were high-priests who had rule over the temples and priests within the districts assigned to them.

It is improbable that Julian had completed the hierarchical organisation of the Empire before his death, but large parts of the East had been put in order. We have some briefs which he, as supreme pontiff, sent down to his metropolitans in which he regulated many things from the dress and morals of the clergy to the training of temple choirs — so minute was the interference of the Pontifex Maximus. Now it is possible that one form of paganism, the Imperial cult, had been strictly organised in the West and its provincial priests may have had some jurisdiction over the ministers of other cults; Maximin Daza had attempted to do something similar in the East; but the attempt to gather every cult of polytheism into one organised communion was not merely new; it was a startling novelty. Julian's conception of a pagan priesthood entirely devoted to the service of religion was certainly not Hellenist; nor was it Roman; it was Oriental; the cults of Egypt, of Syria, and of Asia had separated priesthoods. It was a new thing to be introduced into a universal State Church whose religion called itself Hellenism.

Julian thought a great deal about this priesthood of his and recognised its supreme importance for the reformation he dreamt of making. As the priest, from the office he fills, ought to be an example to all men, he should be selected with care — if possible a man of good family, neither very rich, nor very poor; but the indispensable qualifications are that he loves God and his neighbour. Love to God may be tested by observing whether the members of his family attend the temple services with regularity (Julian was very indignant when he discovered that the wives and daughters of some pagan priests were actually Christians), and love to one's neighbour by charity to the poor. Julian further insisted that the priest must be careful about what he reads. He is to shun all lascivious writings such as the old comedies or the contemporary erotic novels. He is to be equally circumspect in his conduct. He must not go to the theatre, nor to spectacles, and is not to frequent wine-shops. He is not to consort with actors nor to admit them to his house, he is even recommended not to accept too many invitations to dinner.

On the other hand he is to see that he is master within his temple. He is to wear within it gorgeous vestments in honour of the gods whom he serves; but outside the sanctuary, when he mingles with men, he is to wear the ordinary dress. He is not to permit even the commander of the forces or the governor of the province to enter the temple with ostentation. He is to know the service thoroughly and to be able to repeat all the divine hymns. Occasionally he is to deliver addresses on philosophical subjects for the instruction of the multitude.

Julian also desired that the priests should organise schemes of charitable relief, more especially for the poor who attend the temple services. He thought that some such widely organised scheme might help to counteract the popularity of the Galilaeans. He seems also to have contemplated the institution of religious communities of men and women vowed to a life of chastity and meditation — another proof that his so-called Hellenism was based much more on Oriental religions than on those of Greece. The Emperor in all this legislation or advice was at pains to declare that he was acting, not as Emperor, but as “Pontifex Maximus of the religion of my country.”

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