Dionysius () was bishop of Milan from 349 to 355. He is honoured as a

Saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

in the

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and

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

churches and his feast day is 25 May.

Life

Almost nothing is known about the life of Dionysius before his election as bishop of Milan, which took place in 349. Dionysius was probably of

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

origin. He was a friend of the Roman Emperor

Constantius II Constantius II (; ; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic peoples, while internally the Roman Empire went through repeated civ ...

before being elected bishop of Milan. The historical period in which Dionysius lived was marked by clashes between Arians and the supporters of the faith of the Council of Nicaea. Even Emperor Constantius II favored Semi-Arian doctrines. In 355

Pope Liberius Pope Liberius (310 – 24 September 366) was the bishop of Rome from 17 May 352 until his death on 24 September 366. According to the '' Catalogus Liberianus'', he was consecrated on 22 May as the successor to Julius I. He is not mentione ...

requested the Emperor to convene a Synod in Milan, which was held in the newly erected Basilica Nova (or Basilica Maior or St. Tecla). The council however did not accomplish the hopes of the Pope due to the overwhelming number of Arian bishops present and the enforced absence of the champion of the Nicaean faith, Eusebius of Vercelli. Initially Dionysius seemed ready to follow the Arians in condemning the Nicaean

Athanasius of Alexandria Athanasius I of Alexandria ( – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, Athanasius the Confessor, or, among Coptic Christians, Athanasius the Apostolic, was a Christian theologian and the 20th patriarch of Alexandria (as Athanasius ...

, who was accused not of heresy but of lese-majesty against the Emperor. With the arrival of Eusebius the situation changed. Eusebius requested an immediate subscription of the Nicaean faith by the bishops. Eusebius, the

Papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...

Lucifer of Cagliari St. Lucifer of Cagliari (, ; died 20 May 370 or 371) was a bishop of Cagliari in Sardinia known for his passionate opposition to Arianism. He is venerated as a Saint in Sardinia. Life Lucifer first appears in history as an envoy from Pope Lib ...

and Dionysius signed, but the Arian bishop Valens of Mursia violently shredded the act of faith. Constantius, unaccustomed to independence on the part of the bishops, moved the synod to his palace, and grievously maltreated Eusebius, Lucifer and Dionysius, which were all three exiled (also Pope Liberius was shortly later exiled). Dionysius was exiled in Caesarea of Cappadocia and was substituted as bishop of Milan by the Arian Auxentius appointed by the Emperor. Dionysius died in exile between 360 and 362. A late tradition, historically unfounded, associates Dionysius with the Mariani, a Milanese family.

Veneration

Dionysius' feast is celebrated on 25 May. According to a late tradition, probably not historical,

Ambrose 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 ...

sent in 375 or 376 a delegation to recover the corpse of Dionysius and to translate it to Milan. Even if it is historically difficult to determine when exactly the relics of Dionysius were translated to Milan, a primary source states that the relics were already in Milan in 744. A shrine dedicated to Dionysius was erected in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

near Porta Venezia but it was destroyed in 1549, rebuild nearby and definitely knocked down in 1783 to leave space for the new gardens. The corpse of Dionysius was translated in the Cathedral of Milan in 1532. Nowadays three

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

es in

Lombardia The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

are entitled to Saint Dionysius: San Dionigi in Pratocentenaro in Milano, San Dionigi in Premana and San Dionigi in Carcano of Albavilla.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dionysius 01 Of Milan, Archbishop Bishops of Milan 360s deaths 4th-century Christian saints Saints from Roman Italy 4th-century Italian bishops Burials at Milan Cathedral Year of birth unknown