Barbatianus, sometimes anglicized Barbatian, was a Syrian hermit, monk and healer who served as the confessor of the Empress Galla Placidia, who lived in Ravenna between 417 and 450. [1]
Barbatianus, sometimes anglicized Barbatian, was a Syrian hermit, monk and healer who served as the confessor of the Empress Galla Placidia, who lived in Ravenna between 417 and 450. [1]
According to the standard hagiography, Barbatianus was from Antioch. He came to Rome with a companion around 418, shortly after the election of Pope Boniface I. There he was identified as a wonderworker by Galla Placidia, who had him heal a servant of hers. He performed many miracles in Rome before returning with the empress to Ravenna. In Ravenna, he helped her acquire a relic of John the Evangelist for her new church and performed many more miracles. When he died, under the orders of Bishop Peter Chrysologus (r. 431–450), his body was embalmed with aromatics and entombed beside the altar of John the Baptist. [2] [3] [4]
The earliest source to mention Barbatianus is the ninth-century Book of Pontiffs of the Church of Ravenna by Andreas Agnellus. In the tenth century, he became the subject of an anonymous Latin biography, the Vita Barbatiani, inspired by the brief mention by Agnellus and the existence of a church dedicated to him in Ravenna. [5] According to Agnellus:
In the time of the Empress Galla Placidia, as we have found written, the same Peter Chrysologus with the above-mentioned empress preserved the body of blessed Barbatian with aromatics and buried him with great honor not far from the Ovilian gate. And he consecrated the church of Sts. John and Barbatian, which Baduarius built. [6]
It is possible that Agnellus misinterpreted an inscription referring to Bishop Peter III and the general Baduarius, misidentifying the consecrating bishop with Barbatianus' contemporary. [7]
The Vita Barbatiani was crafted from a variety of sources to give its account historical authenticity. These include an account of miraculous healings composed by Sophronius of Jerusalem, elements from the Liber Pontificalis and a biography of Pope Sylvester I. [5] Although the creative reworking of tradition leaves "facts concerning the actual life of a man living in the fifth century ... ultimately unreachable", the work is not a mere forgery. [8] By the fifteenth century, there existed a vernacular Italian translation. [9] There is a modern English translation from the Latin. [10]
Barbatianus came to be venerated as a saint. His feast was celebrated on December 31 in the Roman calendar [11] and on January 2 in Ravenna. [12] Early on his feast was included in the calendars kept at the abbeys of Cluny and Anchin. [13]
The church (actually a monastery) dedicated to Barbatianus and the Baptist was acquired by the archbishopric at some point and in 1040 by Pomposa Abbey. Around that time, his relics were transferred to the cathedral of Ravenna, where a mosaic image of Barbatianus was added to the apse in the twelfth century. [11]
Galla Placidia, daughter of the Roman emperor Theodosius I, was a mother, tutor, and advisor to emperor Valentinian III. She was queen consort to Ataulf, king of the Visigoths from 414 until his death in 415, briefly empress consort to Constantius III in 421, and managed the government administration as a regent during the early reign of Valentinian III until her death.
Pope Boniface I was the bishop of Rome from 28 December 418 to his death on 4 September 422. His election was disputed by the supporters of Eulalius until the dispute was settled by Emperor Honorius. Boniface was active in maintaining church discipline, and he restored certain privileges to the metropolitical sees of Narbonne and Vienne, exempting them from any subjection to the primacy of Arles. He was a contemporary of Augustine of Hippo, who dedicated to him some of his works.
Year 414 (CDXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Constans. The denomination 414 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years
Year 450 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar, the 450th Year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD designations, the 450th year of the 1st millennium, the 50th year of the half of 5th century, and the 1st year of the 450s decade. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valentinianus and Avienus. The denomination 450 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Antipope Eulalius was antipope from December 418 to April 419. Elected in a dual election with Pope Boniface I, he eventually lost out to Boniface and became bishop of Napete.
Peter Chrysologus was Bishop of Ravenna from about 433 until his death. He is known as the "Doctor of Homilies" for the concise but theologically rich reflections he delivered during his time as the Bishop of Ravenna.
The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia is a Late Antique Roman building in Ravenna, Italy, built between 425 and 450. It was added to the World Heritage List together with seven other structures in Ravenna in 1996. Despite its common name, the empress Galla Placidia was not buried in the building, a misconception dating from the thirteenth century; she died in Rome and was buried there, probably alongside Honorius in the Mausoleum of Honorius at Old Saint Peter's Basilica.
Placidia was a daughter of Valentinian III, Roman emperor of the West from 425 to 455, and from 454/455 the wife of Olybrius, who became western Roman emperor in 472. She was one of the last imperial spouses in the Roman west, during the Fall of the Western Roman Empire during Late Antiquity.
The Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe is a church in Classe, Ravenna, Italy, consecrated on 9 May 549 by the bishop Maximian and dedicated to Saint Apollinaris, the first bishop of Ravenna and Classe.
Andreas Agnellus of Ravenna was a historian of the bishops in his city. The date of his death is not recorded, although his history mentions the death of archbishop George of Ravenna in 846; Oswald Holder-Egger cites a papyrus charter dated to either 854 or 869 that contains the name of a priest named Andreas of the Church of Ravenna, but there is no evidence to connect him with Andreas Agnellus.
This page is a list of Catholic bishops and archbishops of Ravenna and, from 1947 of the Archdiocese of Ravenna and Cervia, which in 1985 became styled the Archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia. The earlier bishops were frequently tied to the Exarchate of Ravenna.
Maximianus of Ravenna, or Maximian was bishop of Ravenna in Italy. Ravenna was then the capital of the Byzantine Empire's territories in Italy, and Maximianus's role may have included secular political functions.
San Giovanni Evangelista is a church in Ravenna, Italy.
Eleuchadius is a 2nd-century Christian saint venerated by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. He served as the third bishop of Ravenna from 100 to 112.
Adheritus was Bishop of Ravenna during the 2nd-century and successor to Saint Apollinaris, the first bishop of Ravenna. He was of Greek origin and was a follower of Apollinaris Adheritus died on 27 September at the port of Classe, and his remains are venerated in the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe near Ravenna, Italy
Dathus or Datus was Bishop of Ravenna during the late 2nd century. He was elected to succeed the previous bishop Probus I when miraculously, a dove appeared above his head.
Rufius Antonius Agrypnius Volusianus was a fifth-century Roman aristocrat who held at least two important posts during the reign of the emperor Honorius. He is best known for his exchange of letters with St. Augustine.
Ravenna Cathedral or Metropolitan Cathedral of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ is a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ in the city of Ravenna, Italy. Formerly the archiepiscopal seat of the Archdiocese of Ravenna, it is now the seat of the archbishops of Ravenna-Cervia.
Ursus was bishop of Ravenna during the late 4th century.
Ecclesius was bishop of Ravenna from AD 521 to 532. He is best known as the founder of the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna.