medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (20. June) is also the feast day of:
John IV, bp. of Naples (d. 849). Today's lesser known saint from the Regno
was a trained calligrapher (his conventional sobriquet in Italian is "lo
Scriba" ["the Scribe"]) who had the misfortune to live in interesting
times, when the nominally East Roman duchy of Naples was at war with the
Lombard principality of Benevento. In 831 the duke of Naples, a military
tyrant named Bonus (his epitaph boasted about the many Lombards he had
slain), threw the city's then bishop, Tiberius, into prison and commanded
that John, who was now a deacon, take his place. John accepted on
condition that Tiberius, who had become quite ill, be freed; this was done
and John was able to manage things so that Tiberius effectively ran his
diocese through John. This arrangement outlasted Bonus' death in 834 and
when Tiberius finally died in 842 the then duke, Sergius I (a famous name
in the history of Naples), asked pope Gregory IV to formally consecrate
John as bishop. John had to undergo an examination concerning his previous
conduct in office but was finally consecrated, in Rome, and served until
his death in 849.
Also in 831 the then prince of Benevento, Sico (like Bonus, a usurper,
though a somewhat more successful one), had the body of Naples' patron
saint, Januarius, stolen from its resting place outside the city walls and
repatriated to Benevento (where J. had been bishop until his
martyrdom). This occurred during a Lombard show of force outside the city
and, indeed, for most of the first half of the ninth century it was risky
for Neapolitans to venture out to the extramural catacombs where a number
of their early sainted bishops were still interred. At some point in the
840s, when conditions had improved, John achieved the translation of these
bishops' remains back into the city, creating a cult area for them in the
Stefania, the predecessor of today's cathedral. He himself was originally
interred in the catacombs of St. Januarius but was later reburied in the
Stefania and then in the virtually adjacent basilica of St. Restituta,
which in turn became part of the present cathedral. His remains were found
here under the main altar in 1862 and remained in place until 1949 when
that altar was removed; people move around a lot in Naples' cathedral and
I'm not sure where he is now. Does anyone on this list know?
Our chief source for John's life and career is the Vita by the Neapolitan
hagiographer John the Deacon (BHL no. 4416).
Best,
John Dillon
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