Chromatius (died 406/407 AD) was a bishop of Aquileia. He was probably born at

Aquileia Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river Natiso (modern Natisone), the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times. Today, the city is small ( ...

, and grew up there.Kirsch, Johann Peter. "St. Chromatius." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 23 September 2021 His father died when Chromatius was an infant. He was raised by his mother and his large group of older siblings.

Career

He was ordained a priest of that church in 381 and participated in the small Synod of Aquileia organized by

Ambrose of Milan Ambrose of Milan (; 4 April 397), venerated as Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Roman Christianity against Ari ...

. After the death of Valerianus in 388, Chromatius became bishop of Aquileia. He was one of the most celebrated prelates of his time and was in active correspondence with contemporaries Ambrose,

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

, and Tyrannius Rufinus. He baptized Rufinus and became something of a mentor to him. As a scholarly

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

, he urged these friends to produce learned works. Ambrose was encouraged by him to write exegetical works; Jerome dedicated to him translations and commentaries, which he had written at his suggestion (translations of the Books of Paralipomenon, Tobit, the books of

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

, commentaries on the Prophecy of Habakkuk). Chromatius helped finance Jerome's work. In the bitter quarrel between Jerome and Rufinus concerning Origenism, Chromatius, while rejecting the doctrines of

Origen of Alexandria Origen of Alexandria (), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Alexandria. He was a prolific writer who wrote roughly 2,000 treatises i ...

, attempted to make peace between the disputants. He maintained ecclesiastical communion with Rufinus and induced him not to answer the last attack of St. Jerome, but to devote himself to new literary works, especially to the translation of the ''

Ecclesiastical History Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of the ...

'' of

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

."St. Chromatius ", FaithND
/ref> Chromatius opposed

Arianism Arianism (, ) is a Christology, Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is co ...

with much zeal and rooted it out in his diocese. He gave steadfast support to

John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (; ; – 14 September 407) was an important Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and p ...

, Archbishop of Constantinople, when he was unjustly oppressed, and wrote in his favour to

Honorius Honorius (; 9 September 384 – 15 August 423) was Roman emperor from 393 to 423. He was the younger son of emperor Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla. After the death of Theodosius in 395, Honorius, under the regency of Stilicho ...

, the Western emperor, who sent this letter to his brother,

Arcadius Arcadius ( ; 377 – 1 May 408) was Roman emperor from 383 to his death in 408. He was the eldest son of the ''Augustus'' Theodosius I () and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and the brother of Honorius (). Arcadius ruled the eastern half of ...

. This intervention, however, proved to be of no avail. Chromatius was also active as an

exegete Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...

. Until modern times only seventeen treatises were known to be authored by him on the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

according to Matthew (iii, 15–17; v-vi, 24), besides a fine

homily A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered ...

on the Eight Beatitudes (counted as an eighteenth treatise). In 1969 researcher Henri Lemarié discovered and published thirty-eight sermons.Chromace d'Aquilée, Sermons I-II, Paris 1969, 1971 ( Sources Chrétiennes 154, 164) His feast is celebrated on 2 December.

Editions and Translations

* ''Phoebadius, Chromatius Aquileiensis, Sulpicius Severus, Innocentius I, Zosimus, Bonifatius I, Gaudentius Brixiensis, Bachiarius'' (

Patrologia Latina The ''Patrologia Latina'' (Latin for ''The Latin Patrology'') is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques Paul Migne between 1841 and 1855, with indices published betwe ...

20.) Brepols Verlag; ISBN 978-2-503-10202-3. * Raymond Étaix, (edd.): ''Chromatius Aquileiensis Opera''. 2 vols., Brepols, Turnhout 1974–1977 ( CCSL IX A). * Joseph Lemarié (ed.), Henri Tardif (transl.). ''Sermons, tome I: 1–17'' ( SC 154). Éditions du Cerf, 1969. * Joseph Lemarié (ed.), Henri Tardif (transl.). ''Sermons, tome II: 18–41'' ( SC 164). Éditions du Cerf, 1976. *Chromatius of Aquileia. ''Sermons and Tractates on Matthew'', translated and introduced by Thomas P. Scheck, 2018 ( ACW 75).

References

External links

Patron Saints: Chromatius
of

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, his resignation on 28 Februar ...

about Chromatius {{Authority control Church Fathers Bishops of Aquileia 4th-century Italian bishops 5th-century Italian bishops 400s deaths 5th-century Christian saints Saints from Roman Italy Year of birth unknown 4th-century writers in Latin 4th-century Italian writers