medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
1) On Tuesday, June 21, 2005, at 7:26 pm, I wrote (Re: saints of 22.
June):
> "Santi beati" saints of today not included in this year's
> version of Phyllis' "column" are Gregory of Agrigento (on whom one is
> likely to find something in the Archives from last year) and ...
Er, wrong Gregory of Agrigento. The Gregory of Agrigento previously
discussed was bishop Gregory II (last heard of, 603; celebrated on 23.
November). Yesterday's saint of this name is/was bishop Gregory I
(after 262, supposedly), attested only in the probably eighth-century,
and largely fictional, Life of St. Agrippina (BHL 173). He appears no
longer to be celebrated liturgically. The Diocese of Agrigento's
treatment of him in its list of bishops is refreshingly sceptical:
"S. GREGORIO I. Sarebbe vissuto dopo il 262. Il suo nome fu ricavato
dalla Legenda di S. Agrippina. La festa si celebrava il 22 giugno."
For the entire list, see:
http://www.diocesiag.it/curia/elenco.htm
2) In all the excitement over St. Alban, an important early medieval
Neapolitan bishop-saint managed to escape notice. This is John IV (d.
849). This 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; 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. After
undergoing an examination in Rome concerning his previous conduct in
office, John was consecrated there 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'
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, a 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. In 1862 his remains were found under St.
Restituta's main altar.
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
(John IV lightly revised from last year's post)
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