Heliodorus of Catania ( it, Eliodoro, ; died Catania, 778) is a semi-legendary personage accused by his contemporaries of being a

necromancer Necromancy () is the practice of magic or black magic involving communication with the dead by summoning their spirits as apparitions or visions, or by resurrection for the purpose of divination; imparting the means to foretell future events ...

practicing

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...

. Son of a noble Sicilian family, he was originally a Christian, and was even a candidate to assume the diocese of Catania. In that period the ''Etnean City'' came under the jurisdiction of the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

governed by then-Emperor

Leo III the Isaurian Leo III the Isaurian ( gr, Λέων ὁ Ἴσαυρος, Leōn ho Isauros; la, Leo Isaurus; 685 – 18 June 741), also known as the Syrian, was Byzantine Emperor from 717 until his death in 741 and founder of the Isaurian dynasty. He put an e ...

. Having failed to attain the office of bishop, conferred instead on an archdeacon from

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the ca ...

named Leo, he apostatized from the faith and began to practice

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

and sorcery. Besides the accusation of necromancy, Heliodorus was pointed to as an idolmaker and "a disciple of the

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

". He remained a vocal opponent of Saint Leo Thaumaturgus, who led the church of Catania as bishop from A.D. 765 to 785.

References

* *

Portrayals

''Giuseppe Platania (Palermo 1780-1852) - Saint Leo and the burning Heliodorus (Museum of Castello Ursino - Catania)''
* ''Matteo Desiderato (XVIII-XIX) - Saint Leo overcomes Heliodorus (Mother Church of Santa Maria di Licodìa - Province of Catania)''
''Painting with Saint Leo and Heliodorus (Parishional Church of Saint Leo - Saracena - Province of Cosenza)''

''Mural artistic creation - Saint Leo, Heliodorus and the pyre & the Unscathed Saint Leo (Parishional Church of Saint Leo - Saracena - Province of Cosenza)''
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305180113/http://www.uvip.it/Fotografie/Chiesa%20San%20Leone/Oriz%20(W700)/_MG_6947.jpg , date=2012-03-05 Catania People from Catania 778 deaths