Elpidius of Atella

Elpidius of Atella, or Elpidio in Italian (died 452), is a Christian saint. He was a bishop of the city of Atella, from 432 for about 20 years.[1]

Elpidius of Atella
Born388
Carthage
Died452
Atella
Venerated inSant'Arpino, Casapulla
FeastMay 24

Life

Elpidius was born in 388 from a noble family. He had a brother named Canius and a nephew named Elpidius, both priests. In about 420, at the age of 30, he was consecrated bishop. Later, due to the vandalic persecution of Gaiseric, twelve bishops, including Elpidius, were sentenced to death. They were embarked on a ship without oars or sails, but the boat was wrecked near the coast of Castel Volturno, in Campania.[2][3][4]

In 432 he became bishop of Atella. Elpidius, informed of the death of bishop Canius, erected a small temple on the site to guard his venerated remains, and placed this couplet in front of the basilica: Elpidius praesul hoc templum condidit almum, o Canio martyr, ductus amore tuo.[5][6][7] On May 24, 452, he died.[8]

Veneration

On 11 January 460 his body was buried in the Cathedral of Atella, where it remained until 787, when, following the incursions of the Longobards, it was moved to the city of Salerno, where it still rests in the crypt of the Cathedral of St. Matthew.[9][10][11][12]

In 1958 archbishop Demetrio Moscato wanted to carry out a canonical exhhumation and reconnaissance of the mortal remains of the saints buried in the crypt of the Salerno cathedral, properly under the "Altar of the Holy Confessors".[13] Among the other relics were also found those of the three saints: Elpidius Bishop of Atella, Cionius presbyter and Elpicius deacon,[14] placed there by archbishop Alfano I in March 1081, as is clearly stated in a marble inscription.[15][16][17]

References
  1. A. Balducci e G. Lucchesi, Sant'Elpidio, in «Bibliotheca Sanctorum», Roma, 1964 (Vol. IV, Coll. 1146-1148).
  2. Francesco Lanzoni, Le diocesi d'Italia dalle origini al principio del secolo VII (an.604), Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1927
  3. Socii Bollandiani, Biblioteca Hagiographica Latina Antiquae et Mediae Aetatis, Bruxelles, 1898-1901 (pp. 231-249)
  4. Acta Sanctorum, m. maii - V. Palmé - Parisii et Romae, 1866 (Tom. V, pp. 285-286)
  5. Francesco Lanzoni, Le origini delle diocesi antiche d'Italia: studio critico, Volumi 35-36, Tip. Poliglotta Vaticana, 1923
  6. Francesco Lanzoni, Santi Africani, in «Scuola Cattolica», XLVI, 1918
  7. Antonio Balducci. "Sant' Elpidio di Atella (S. Arpino)". Santi e Beati.
  8. Lettera Giovanni Andrea, Compendio storico della vita di S. Elpidio vescovo di Atella, fondatore e patrono del comune di Sant'Arpino, Aversa, Fabozzi, 1904
  9. Francesco Antonio Ventimiglia, Prodromo alla sua opera: Memorie del principato di Salerno, Raimondi, 1795
  10. P. Maisto, Memorie storico-critiche sulla Vita di S. Elpidio, Napoli, 1884
  11. Felice Provvisto, Sant'Elpidio: vescovo di Atella confessore della fede, Patrono di Casapulla, 1998
  12. Franco Pezzella, Testimonianze storiche, artistiche e devozionali sul culto di Sant'Elpidio, vescovo di Atella, 2019
  13. Francesco Abbate, Percorsi di conoscenza e tutela: studi in onore di Michele D'Elia, Paparo, 2008
  14. Tobias Frese, Wilfried E. Keil, Kristina Krüger, Sacred Scripture / Sacred Space: The Interlacing of Real Places and Conceptual Spaces in Medieval Art and Architecture, Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 2019
  15. † HIC REC(ON)DITE SUNT R(ELIQUIAE) · S(AN)C(T)O/RU(M) · C(ON)FESSORUM EL/PI/DII · /CIO/NII / ELPI/TII/ ET AU/STERII
  16. Arturo Carucci, Le lapidi di Alfano I in Salerno, in "Benedictine", XXI (1974)
  17. Amalia Galdi, Santi, territori, poteri e uomini nella Campania medievale (secc. XI-XII), Laveglia, 2004

Sources
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