St. Chromatius of Aquileia

St. Chromatius of Aquileia was bishop of Aquileia, a great city of northeastern Italy, from about 388 until his death, and one of the notable churchmen and scholars of his age. He stood at the center of a distinguished circle of friends and correspondents that included St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, and Rufinus of Aquileia, and he actively encouraged and supported their labors of scholarship, urging Jerome in his work of translating and expounding the Scriptures.

A diligent pastor and preacher, he worked to root out the remnants of paganism and the Arian heresy in his region and to instruct his people in the faith. A number of his sermons and a substantial commentary on the Gospel of Matthew survive, valued for their clear exposition of Scripture and their witness to the liturgy and life of the northern Italian Church; much of this material was recovered by scholars only in the twentieth century. Like his friend Gaudentius, he supported the cause of the persecuted St. John Chrysostom. He died about 407, and is venerated as a saint, his memory kept on 2 December.