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Biography

Anastasius of Pavia

Portrait of Anastasius of Pavia

About Anastasius of Pavia

Paul the Deacon places Anastasius in Ticinum, the Lombard-era name for Pavia. He says that while another bishop led the Catholic church there, Anastasius served as the Arian bishop at the basilica of St Eusebius. Paul records that Anastasius converted to the Catholic faith and thereafter governed the church. The account does not give a secure birth date or a detailed personal narrative.The Catholic Encyclopedia similarly identifies Anastasius as the last Arian bishop at Pavia before he became Catholic and sole bishop of the see. Treccani's biographical entry compares Paul's narrative with later episcopal lists and council records; it cautions that the chronology of Anastasius's episcopate is disputed and that his cult appears in later local evidence. Treccani places his death around the time of the council of 680–681 and notes a May 28 local feast, while the Roman Martyrology lists him on May 30. The earlier January 11 date does not match these sources and is corrected to the martyrology's May 30 commemoration.

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