Donatus of Evorea

The altar of the Cathedral of SS. Maria e Donato in Murano with the relic of the saint in a glass shrine, above a reclining sculpture of the bishop

Donatus von Evorea ( Albanian Shën Donati , Greek Άγιος Δονάτος Agios Donatos , also called the Thaumaturge ; † 387) was a bishop in Epirus and is a saint of the Catholic and Orthodox Church, whose cult was widespread in the Middle Ages and which is particularly popular in Albania today and Greece is worshiped. His holiday is April 30th .

Life

Donatus was born in Butrint in what is now Albania and lived during the reign of Emperor Theodosius I. According to the Greek church historian Sozomenos , he was Bishop of Evorea ( ancient Greek Εὔροια Euroia , Italian Eurea ), which is often equated with Paramythia in Greek Epirus (which at times Agios Donatos), whose location has also been suspected in the southern villages of Glyki and Choika. Numerous miracles are ascribed to the saint, he is said to have successfully defeated a dragon, cleaned well water, saved the emperor's daughter and survived his execution.

After his death, his relic was brought to Kassiopi on Corfu in 602 to protect it from barbarian invasions. However, this led to a canonical problem regarding the care of the relics, which was only solved by Pope Gregory the Great . In the 12th century it was located on Kefalonia . From there the Venetian Doge Domenico Michiel took it on the return journey from the Holy Land to Murano , where it was brought to the main church Basilica di Santi Maria e Donato on August 7, 1125 or 1126 , which has since been the patron of the saint. In addition to the bones of Donatus, the alleged bones of the dragon he killed are shown here; in fact, they are whale bones . Part of the relic was solemnly brought to the Metropolitan Church of Paramythia on September 29, 2000, where it has been venerated ever since.

The Umbriatico Cathedral in Calabria , southern Italy, is also dedicated to the saint: after the conquest by Nikephoros Phocas the Elder in the 9th century, the area was occupied by Epirotic troops who brought their saints to Italy.

Web links

Portrait of the saint on an information portal on Paramythia (Greek)
Portrait of the saint on an information page about Murano (ital.)

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b ^c Robert Elsie: The Christian Saints of Albania . In: American Association for South Slavic Studies (Ed.): Balkanistica13 . 2000, p. 36.
↑ SAINT METROPOLIS AG.DONATOU Website of the Prefecture of Thesprotia: “A building of the 20th century that rises majestically in the center of Paramythia. It contains part of the remains of St. Donatou, the patron saint of Thesprotia. His name day is celebrated on April 30th and September 29th. "
↑ Illustration and description of the bones ( Memento of the original from August 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on one Provaten page @1@ 2
↑ Entry on Saint Donatus on saint.gr
↑ Templaridirossano.it San Donato Vescovo d'Euria (ital.)

Remarks

↑ August 7th is the feast day of St. Donatus of Arezzo . Therefore, the relic in Murano is also assigned to this saint, who, however, came to rest in Arezzo Cathedral.

personal data
SURNAME	Donatus of Evorea
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Shën Donati (Albanian); Agios Donatos (Greek); Άγιος Δονάτος (Greek); the thaumaturge
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Bishop in Epirus, saint of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches
DATE OF BIRTH	4th century
PLACE OF BIRTH	Butrint today Albania
DATE OF DEATH	387

[Elsie-1] A ^b ^c Robert Elsie: The Christian Saints of Albania . In: American Association for South Slavic Studies (Ed.): Balkanistica13 . 2000, p. 36.

[2] SAINT METROPOLIS AG.DONATOU Website of the Prefecture of Thesprotia: “A building of the 20th century that rises majestically in the center of Paramythia. It contains part of the remains of St. Donatou, the patron saint of Thesprotia. His name day is celebrated on April 30th and September 29th. "

[4] Illustration and description of the bones ( Memento of the original from August 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on one Provaten page @1@ 2

[5] Entry on Saint Donatus on saint.gr

[6] Templaridirossano.it San Donato Vescovo d'Euria (ital.)

[3] August 7th is the feast day of St. Donatus of Arezzo . Therefore, the relic in Murano is also assigned to this saint, who, however, came to rest in Arezzo Cathedral.