Lawrence I (bishop of Milan)
Encyclopedia
Lawrence I was Archbishop of Milan from 490 to c. 511. He is honoured as a saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...

 in the Catholic Church and his feast day is July 25.

Life

Most of the information we have about this bishop are due to the writings of Ennodius
Magnus Felix Ennodius
Magnus Felix Ennodius was Bishop of Pavia in 514, and a Latin rhetorician and poet.He was one of four fifth to sixth-century Gallo-Roman aristocrats whose letters survive in quantity: the others are Sidonius Apollinaris, prefect of Rome in 468 and bishop of Clermont , Ruricius bishop of Limoges ...

, bishop of Pavia
Pavia
Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...

 (died 521), who was a relative of his and his secretary. Lawrence was elected bishop of Milan in about 490 (or 489) by both the Latins and the Heruli
Heruli
The Heruli were an East Germanic tribe who are famous for their naval exploits. Migrating from Northern Europe to the Black Sea in the third century They were part of the...

, who invaded Italy led by Odoacer
Odoacer
Flavius Odoacer , also known as Flavius Odovacer, was the first King of Italy. His reign is commonly seen as marking the end of the Western Roman Empire. Though the real power in Italy was in his hands, he represented himself as the client of Julius Nepos and, after Nepos' death in 480, of the...

.

In the frame of the war between Odoacer and Theodoric
Theodoric the Great
Theodoric the Great was king of the Ostrogoths , ruler of Italy , regent of the Visigoths , and a viceroy of the Eastern Roman Empire...

, leader of the Ostrogoths, Lawrence supported the latter, hoping that Theodoric could better preserve the Latin population, militarily overpowered by the invasions of the East Germanic tribes. However Lawrence did not directly intervened in the fight. Later he went to Ravenna
Ravenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...

 to plead Theodoric to forgive the Latins who had sided with Odoacrer.

In a year between 491 and 493, an East Germanic tribe, probably the Rugii, raided Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

 and devastated the town: also Lawrence was made prisoner. After this raid, Lawrence led the reconstruction of the town, and he renovated the Basilica of Saint Calimerius
Basilica di San Calimero
The Basilica di San Calimero is a church in Milan, northern Italy. Its name refers to Saint Calimerius , an early bishop of the city...

, the Basilica Sanctorum (not surely identified), a baptistery
Baptistery
In Christian architecture the baptistry or baptistery is the separate centrally-planned structure surrounding the baptismal font. The baptistry may be incorporated within the body of a church or cathedral and be provided with an altar as a chapel...

 (possibly San Giovanni alle Fonti) and the Church of Saint Nazarius and Celsus
San Nazaro in Brolo
The basilica of San Nazaro in Brolo or San Nazaro Maggiore is a church in Milan, northern Italy.-History:The church was built by St. Ambrose starting from 382 on the road that connected Milan to Rome...

 where he ordered to paint the figures of twelve bishops of Milan. He also built a house, probably as residence for the bishops, and added the chapel of Saint Sixtus
Pope Sixtus II
Pope Sixtus II or Pope Saint Sixtus II was Pope from August 30, 257 to August 6, 258. He died as a martyr during the persecution by Emperor Valerian....

 to the basilica of St. Lorenzo Maggiore. He further restored the Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio where he built the Ciborium
Ciborium (architecture)
In ecclesiastical architecture, a ciborium is a canopy or covering supported by columns, freestanding in the sanctuary, that stands over and covers the altar in a basilica or other church. It may also be known by the more general term of baldachin, though ciborium is often considered more correct...

which columns are still visible.

Lawrence took a stand in favor of the legitimacy of the election of Pope Symmachus
Pope Symmachus
Saint Symmachus was pope from 498 to 514. His tenure was marked by a serious schism over who was legitimately elected pope by the citizens of Rome....

 against the claims of the Antipope Laurentius
Antipope Laurentius
Laurentius was an antipope of the Roman Catholic Church, from 498 to 506.-Biography:Archpriest of Santa Prassede, Laurentius was elected pope on 22 November 498, in opposition to Symmachus, by a dissenting faction...

, the latter supported by the Miaphysite Byzantine Emperor and near to Monophysite
Monophysitism
Monophysitism , or Monophysiticism, is the Christological position that Jesus Christ has only one nature, his humanity being absorbed by his Deity...

 positions. Lawrence gave financial support to Symmachus, and in 502 he, along with Peter bishop of Ravenna, presided over a synod in Rome which confirmed Symmachus' right to the papacy. He participated also to the consecration of the Basilica Apostolorum in Novara
Novara
Novara is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With c. 105,000 inhabitants, it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is an important crossroads for commercial traffic along the routes from Milan to Turin...

.

Lawrence died after 22 years of episcopate, so in c. 511 AD, on the 25 July. His remains were interred on the 27 July in the chapel of Saint Hyppolytus aside the city’s basilica of St. Lorenzo Maggiore. His feast is celebrated on July 25 in such basilica and together all the saint bishops of Milan on 25 September. A late tradition, with no historical basis, associates Lawrence with the family of the Litta.
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