- Theonistus
:"For the martyr of Vercelli, see
Theonestus of Vercelli ."Infobox Saint
name=Saint Theonistus
birth_date=
death_date=4th or 5th centuries
feast_day=At Treviso, his feast day is celebrated on October 30 or October 23.
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imagesize=250px
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birth_place=
death_place= Roncade or Altino
titles=Martyr
beatified_date=
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major_shrine=Relics are in the cathedral ofTreviso and in San Lorenzo inVenice . [http://www.bbkl.de/t/theonest_v_a.shtml THEONEST (Theonistus, Thonistus, Onistus) von Altino ] ]
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issues= Saint Theonistus ("Theonist, Teonesto, Thaumastus, Thaumastos, Theonestus, Thonistus, Onistus, Teonisto, Tonisto") is a saint venerated by theCatholic Church . Theonistus is venerated with two companions, Tabra and Tabratha (also "Tabraham and Tubraham"). Medieval documents give accounts of his life, which are contradictory and confused.His legend is very confused and complex. He may have been a martyr of the end of the 4th or end of the
5th century . His legend is presented in a shorter, older version of the10th century , which calls him a bishop of an island called Namsia or Namsis, and a longer version of the11th century , which calls him a bishop ofPhilippi .According to the 11th century account, Theonistus, along with
Alban of Mainz , Tabra, Tabratha, and Ursus, attended a council inCarthage (the Council of Carthage of 670, but the chronology is confused [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90226 San Teonesto (o Teonisto o Tonisto) ] ] ), and then went on apilgrimage toRome . They then metSaint Ambrose atMilan , and were sent to serve as missionaries toGallia . Ursus was killed either atAosta (according to the older account) orAugsburg (according to the 11th century account). Albinus was beheaded by the Arians atMainz and was acephalophore . A miracle allowed Theonistus, Tabra, and Tabratha to escape from Mainz, and they managed to reach eitherGothia (10th century version) or Gallia (11th century version), and then reachedOtranto (10th century version) orSicily (11th century version). Finally, they were martyred atRoncade or Altino by beheading, and were also said to have been cephalophores.The chronological information in the sources is contradictory.
Bede dates their martyrdom to the time ofDiocletian (ca. 303), whileRabanus andNotker the Stammerer date their martyrdom to the time ofTheodosius II . However, their martyrdom may also date to the time ofHunneric (477-484).As evidenced by their African names, Tabra and Tabratha may have been African martyrs whose relics arrived at Altino or
Treviso during the persecutions of the ArianVandals . Theonistus' cultus in Italy is attested by the foundation of a monastery dedicated to him in 710 ("San Teonesto"); the monastery’s privileges were confirmed byConrad II .At Treviso, Theonistus and his companions are first mentioned in a local calendar of 1184; Theonistus is venerated and depicted in local towns such as
Possagno andTrevignano .Their association with Saint Alban may have come from confusion with Theonistus (or Theomastus, Thaumaustus), an early fifth century bishop of Mainz (feast day: January 1). [Gregory of Tours, "Glory of the Confessors". Translated by RaymondVan Dam (Liverpool University Press, 1988), 40n.] This figure is mentioned by
Gregory of Tours : "Theomastus was noted for his holiness in accordance with the meaning of his name, and he is said to have been bishop of Mainz. For some unknown reason, he was expelled from Mainz and went toPoitiers . There he ended his present life by remaining in a pure confession.” [Gregory of Tours, "Glory of the Confessors". Translated by RaymondVan Dam (Liverpool University Press, 1988), 39.] The grave of this Theonistus was attested to in 791 AD. According to one scholar, “Albanus of Mentz, martyred at Mentz no one knows when, according to Baeda under Diocletian also, according to Sigebert (in "Chron."), who says he had been driven from Philippi with Theonistus its bishop, in 425.”William George Smith; Henry Wace, "A Dictionary of Christian Biography, Literature, Sects and Doctrines" (J. Murray, 1877), 70.] This scholar goes on to write that Rabanus Maurus “goes so far abroad as to call [Alban] an African bishop flying from Hunneric...”There is another martyr by this name,
Theonistus of Vercelli (feast day: November 20) (Vercelli has a church named Santi Tommaso e Teonesto in S. Paolo). [ [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/92336 San Teonesto ] ] All three figures’ histories may have been confused.The relics of Theonistus and his two companions may also have been enshrined with those associated with
Liberalis of Treviso at the cathedral ofTorcello after 639 AD. [ [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/51000 San Liberale ] ]Theonistus' cultus remained strong. In the early 19th century, inhabitants of Trevignano hung a picture depicting
St. Jerome at the feet of St. Theonistus. Villagers of Falzé, whose patron saint was St. Jerome, protested to the bishop about this "insolent picture." [Owen Chadwick, "The Popes and European Revolution" (Oxford University Press, 1981), 586-7.]References
External links
*de icon [http://www.bbkl.de/t/theonest_v_a.shtml Theonest]
*it icon [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90226 San Teonesto (o Teonisto o Tonisto)]
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