Henry Noris

Cardinal, b. at Verona, 29 August, 1631, of English ancestry; d. at Rome, 23 Feb., 1704. He studied under the Jesuits at Rimini, and there entered the novitiate of the Hermits of Saint Augustine. After his probation he was sent to Rome to study theology. He taught the sacred sciences at Pesaro, Perugia, and Padua, where he held the chair of church history in the university from 1674 to 1692. There he completed "The History of Pelagianism" and "Dissertations on the Fifth General Council", the two works which, before and after his death, occasioned much controversy. Together with the "Vindiciae Augustinianae" they were printed at Padua in 1673, having been approved by a special commission at Rome. Noris himself went to Rome to give an account of his orthodoxy before this commission; and Clement X named him one of the qualificators of the Holy Office, in recognition of his learning and sound doctrine. But, after the publication of these works, further charges were made against him of teaching the errors of Jansenius and Baius. In a brief to the prefect of the Spanish Inquisition, 31 July, 1748, ordering the name of Noris to be taken off the list of forbidden books, Benedict XIV says that these charges were never proved ; that they were rejected repeatedly by the Holy Office, and repudiated by the popes who had honoured him. In 1692 Noris was made assistant Librarian in the Vatican by Innocent XII. On 12 December, 1695, he was named Cardinal-Priest of the Title of S. Agostino. In 1700 he was given full charge of the Vatican Library. His works, apart from some minor controversial treatises, are highly valued for accuracy and thoroughness of research. In addition to those already named, the most important are: "Annus et Epochae Syro-Macedonum in Vetustis Urbium Syriae Expositae"; "Fasti Consulares Anonimi e Manuscripto Bibliothecae Caesareae Deprompti"; "Historia Controversiae de Uno ex Trinitate Passo"; "Apologia Monachorum Scythiae"; "Historia Donatistarum e Schedis Norisianis Excerptae"; "Storia delle Investiture delle Dignita Ecclesiastiche". Seleet portions of his works have been frequently reprinted, at Padua, 1673-1678, 1708; at Louvain, 1702; at Bassano, edited by Berti, 1769. The best is the edition of all the works, in five vols. folio by the Ballerini Brothers, Verona, 1729-1741.