Lorenzo Alessandro Zaccagni (1652 -1712) was an Italian librarian and Patristic scholar and author. His main contribution is a collection of texts relating to early controversies in Christianity, ''Collectanea monumentorum veterum Ecclesiæ græcæ et latinæ'', published by the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

in 1698 with the approval of the

Congregation of Propaganda Fide A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...

Biography

Born in Rome to a Florentine family, he studied classics and became a scholar of Greek and Latin in Rome. He came into the patronage first of Cardinal Girolamo Casanatta and then of Cardinal

Henry Noris Henry Noris (29 August 1631 – 23 February 1704), or Enrico Noris, was an Italian church historian, theologian and Cardinal. Biography Noris was born at Verona, and was baptized with the name Hieronymus (Girolamo). His ancestors were Irish. ...

. Cardinal Casanate had been named Bibliotecario di Santa Romana Chiesa (Librarian of the Vatican) and had directed various congregations for the Pope, including the Offices of the Inquisition. Henry Noris was made assistant Librarian in the Vatican by Pope

Innocent XII Pope Innocent XII ( la, Innocentius XII; it, Innocenzo XII; 13 March 1615 – 27 September 1700), born Antonio Pignatelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1691 to his death in September 1700. He ...

. In 1700, on the death of Cardinal Casanate, Noris was given full charge of the Vatican Library. Both fostered the work of Zaccagni, which would have been previously considered suspect because it elucidated works discussing

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

. As Prefect of the

Vatican Library The Vatican Apostolic Library ( la, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, it, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Formally es ...

, Zaccagni had access to a copy of the ''Atti di Archelao'' by

Hegemonius Hegemonius or Pseudo-Hegemonius was a 4th-century Christian who is known only from his presumed authorship of the ''Acta Archelai'', a work on Manichaeism preserved only in Latin. "Traditionally attributed to Hegemonius, the Acta Archelai is th ...

found at Monte Cassino with a version in the Vatican, as well as to the works of Euthalius. Such documents were among those included in his ''Collectanea''. Zaccagni was buried in the church of San Giovanni Decollato and his inscription on the pavement stated that he was a man of honorable parts and practice, his books were celebrated by both Italians and foreigners, and had raised the scholarship of the Papal states.Crescimbeni, page 53:''Patria Romano Florentia oriundo/ Bibliotheca Vatican Praefecto/ Viro et Partis et neglectis honoribus/ Librisque qua editis qua paratis/ Apud italas Gentes et exteras quoque celeberrimo/ qui insperato sublatus/ Tunc/ Cum maiora Litteratorum Reipublice promitteret/ et a summis Pontificibus expectoret/ Hic se humandum jussit/''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zaccagni, Lorenzo Alessandro 1652 births 1712 deaths 18th-century Italian people Italian librarians Bibliophiles 18th-century Italian writers 18th-century Italian male writers Patristic scholars