Saint Donatus of Arezzo

Saint Donatus of Arezzo (Italian: San Donato di Arezzo) is the patron saint of Arezzo, and considered a bishop of the city. A Passio of Donatus' life was written by a bishop of Arezzo, Severinus; it is of questionable historicity. He calls Donatus a martyr, though Donatus is described as a bishop and confessor of the faith in ancient sources rather than as a martyr. An early hagiography of Donatus was already known to Gregory the Great. According to tradition, Donatus was martyred on August 7, 362 during the reign of Julian the Apostate and was a native of Nicomedia. According to Severinus’ account, as a child Donatus came to Rome with his family from Nicomedia. He was orphaned, in this early account, during a persecution, and named by the bishop of Arezzo. The Latin name Donatus translates into English as donated. By Severinus' narrative, Donatus was educated by a Christian priest named Pymenius (Pimenio); his friend and companion in these religious studies was a boy named Julian –who would later become Emperor Julian the Apostate. Julian rose to the position of subdeacon; Donatus became a lector. Saint Peter Damian would later write in his Sermones that "in the field of the Lord two sprigs, Donatus and Julian, grow together, but one will become a cedar of Paradise, the other coal for the eternal flames of Hell." On 4 February 362, Julian promulgated an edict to guarantee freedom of religion. This edict proclaimed that all the religions were equal before the law, and that the Roman Empire had to return to its original religious eclecticism, according to which the Roman State did not impose any religion on its provinces. Christian chroniclers considered that it had as its purpose the restoration of paganism at the expense of Christianity. Catholic tradition states that Julian also persecuted individual Christians, and that Donatus’ parents, as well as his teacher Pymenius, would die during these persecutions.