II, pope from 8-14 to 847. He contributed materially to the exaltation of the papacy by daring to disregard the requirement of seeking the confirmation of his ac- cession and consecration by the civil power, and by maintaining his position in the face of the protest raised by the emperor Lothaire against this infraction of the law of the realm. The controversy of Paschasius Rad- bertus respecting the Lord's supper was begun in the reign of this pope.
III, pope from 904 to 911, who owed his elevation to the influence of the shameless Theodora and her no less shameless daughters Marozia and Theodora, the actual rulers of the time in Rome. He was grossly immoral, and lived in licentious relations with Marozia, who bore him several children, among them the future pope John XI, though the latter statement is denied by many re- spectable authorities. The only noteworthy events of his pontificate were his approval of the fourth marriage of the emperor Leo Philosophus, which a subsequent synod at Constantinople (920) condemned, and the re- newed introduction of the Benedictine rule at Clugny by the abbot Berno.
IV, pope from 1009 to 1012, previously bishop of Alba. With him began the custom tliat the popes should adopt a new name on assuming the tiara. The story has it that Sergius was formerly called Bocca di Porco, i. e. swine's snout. Being asliamed of the name, he assumed that of Sergius, and thus introduced a cus- tom which has been followed by all subsequent popes. — Herzog, Real-EncyUop. s. v,
Seripandi, (iinoLAMO, an Italian theologian, was born at Naples, May 6, 1493. On the death of his fa- ther, lie entered the order of the Augustines, in 1507, and made such rapid progress iu study that he was ap- pointed reader at Sienna in 1515, professor of theology at Bologna in 1517, and vicar-general in 1523. He then gave himself to preaching with great success; but in 1539 he was elected general of his order, and in 1547 was re-elected. He declined the bishopric of Aquilas in 1551 ; but was drawn from retirement In- a mission from the city of Naples to the emperor in 1554, where- upon he was appointed archbishop of S.alerno. In 1561 he was made cardinal, and designated as one of the pa- pal legates to the Council of Trent, where he died, March 17, 1563, worn out with toil. His character was one of
SERJEANTS
571
SERMON
singular piety, benevolence, and modesty. He wrote a number of ecclesiastical works and sermons, besides a commentary on Romans and Galatians. See Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generule, s. v.
Serjeants, servants in monastic offices : those of the church, the guest-house, refectory, and infirmary were subordinate officers. The tirst was the bell-ringer, except for high mass, vespers, matins, and obits. The candle-lighter, except round the high-altar (he also laid out the vestments for the celebrant at the high-altar), was the chandler, who made all the wax candles, and as- sisted the subsacrist in baking the hosts. The serjeant of the infirmary was the barber, and, with the clerk and cook, waited on the monks who were sick or aged. — Walcott, Sacred A rchceol. s. v.
Sermon (Lat. sermo, "a discourse"), a discourse de- livered in public religious services. In the early Church sermons Avere called tractates (expository), dispututiuns (argumentative and controversial), allocutions, and by the Greeks ciCanKciKiai (doctrinal), or homilies (famil- iar addresses). The ^^^(ce of the sermon in the service was immediately after the reading of the psalms and les- sons out of the Scriptures, before the catechumens were dismissed. The persoti whose duty it was to deliver the sermon was the bishop, when he was present, or one of his presbyters in any church from which he was ab- sent : then it was considered as the bishop preaching by proxy. In some cases a special commission was given to a la}'man to deliver a sermon, and then he might do it by the authority of the bishop's commission for that time. This applied to the public services in the churches, and was not necessary when laymen did it in a private way as catechists in their catechetic schools, as at Alexandria and elsewhere. Sometimes it hap- pened that two or three sermons would be preached in the same assembly, first by the presbyters and then by the bishop. Or, if more than one bishop were present, several of them would preach one after another, reserv- ing the last place for the most honorable person. In some places sermons were preached every day, especially in Lent and the festival-days of Easter. In larger towns and cities, it seems probable that two sermons were delivered on Sunday; but this custom did not prevail in the country parishes. The sermon was either, 1, an exposition of Scripture ; 2, a panegyrical discourse upon some saint or martyr; 3, a sermon upon some particular time, occasion, festival; or, 4, a sermon upon a particu- lar doctrine, against heresy, or to recommend the prac- tice of virtue. All of these have examples in the ser- mons of Chrysostom and Augustine. Origen appears to have been the first to deliver his sermons extempore, it having been the general practice to carefully compose and write them beforehand. It was customary to intro- duce the sermon with a short prayer for divine assistance for the preacher and his hearers; and sometimes, if occa- sion required, this prayer was said in the middle of the discourse. It was usual in many places, before beginning the sermon, for the preacher to use the common saluta- tion Pax vubis, " Peace be unto you," or -'The Lord be with you." There was no general rule as to the length of the sermon, that being doubtless determined bj' the circumstances of the occasion, e. g. whether one or more sermons were to be delivered. Scarcely any of them would take an hour in deliverj', and many of them not more than half that time. It was not considered, by many in the ancient Church, to be improper for the preacher to deliver a sermon prepared by another per- son, they holding that it is "lawful for a man to preach the compositions of more eloquent men, provided he compose his own life answerable to (Jod's Word." The sermon was always concluded with a doxology to the Holy Trinity. The posture of preacher and hearers was generally the reverse of that prevalent now, for then the preacher sat and his hearers stood. It was a pe- culiar custom in the African Church, when the preacher chanced to cite some remarkable text of Scripture in