Domnus (or Domnio) was the

metropolitan bishop In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis. Originally, the term referred to the b ...

Sirmium Sirmium was a city in the Roman province of Pannonia, located on the Sava river, on the site of modern Sremska Mitrovica in the Vojvodina autonomous provice of Serbia. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by Illyrians an ...

early in the fourth century. He probably succeeded

Irenaeus Irenaeus (; grc-gre, Εἰρηναῖος ''Eirēnaios''; c. 130 – c. 202 AD) was a Greek bishop noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, more widely, for the dev ...

, the first known bishop of Sirmium, who was martyred in 304. He was deposed after 325 and before 337.Jacques Zeiller
''Les origines chrétiennes dans les provinces danubiennes de l'Empire romain''
(Paris: E. de Boccard, 1918), pp. 143–45. By 343 he was dead.Yves-Marie Duval
"Aquilée et Sirmium durant la crise arienne"
''Antichità Altoadriatiche'' 26, 2 (1985): 345–54. Domnus was one of just five bishops from the Latin-speaking western half of the Roman empire known to have attended the

First Council of Nicaea The First Council of Nicaea (; grc, Νίκαια ) was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325. This ecumenical council was the first effort ...

in 325. He is mentioned in the lists of signatories to the canons and the

Nicene creed The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is a ...

as ''Domnus Pannoniae'' (Domnus of Pannonia), ''Domnus Pannoniensis'' (the Pannonian) or ''Domnus metropolitanus'' (the metropolitan), without mention of a see. Similarly, when Domnus' successor at Sirmium, Eutherius, attended the

Council of Serdica The Council of Serdica, or Synod of Serdica (also Sardica located in modern day Sofia, Bulgaria), was a synod convened in 343 at Serdica in the civil diocese of Dacia, by Emperors Constans I, augustus in the West, and Constantius II, augustus in ...

in 343, the lists named him only as ''a Pannoniis'' (from Pannonia). Since Sirmium was the capital of the province of

Pannonia Secunda Pannonia Secunda was one of the provinces of the Roman Empire. It was formed in the year 296, during the reign of emperor Diocletian. The capital of the province was Sirmium (today Sremska Mitrovica). Pannonia Secunda included parts of present-day ...

at the time and the largest and richest city in all of

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now wes ...

, it is likely that it was the metropolis of the church there and it was understood that the Domnus and Eutherius represented their entire province. Towards the end of the reign of

Constantine I Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...

around the time of the First Council of Tyre in 335, Domnus was the victim of the anti-Nicene reaction that took hold in Pannonia. According to

Athanasius of Alexandria Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲡⲓⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲓⲕⲟⲥ or Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲁ̅; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...

's ''History of the Arians'', Domnus was deposed, forced into exile and replaced because he "hated the

Arian Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God t ...

] heresy". It is only Athanasius' contemporary reference to ''Domnus Sirmii'' that allows the bishop of Sirmium and the Nicene bishop to be connected. It is possible, however, reconstruct a nearly complete list of Catholic and Arian bishops of Sirmium for the fourth century. Older works sometimes refer to Domnus of Pannonia as "Domnus of Stridon" (''Domnus Stridonensis''). This is an error. The village of

Stridon Stridon ( la, Strido Dalmatiae) was a town in the Roman province of Dalmatia. The town is known as the birthplace of Saint Jerome. From Stridon also came the priest Lupicinus of Stridon. Although Domnus of Pannonia, a bishop who took part in the ...

, birthplace of Saint

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...

, did not have bishops. Rather, in some lists of Nicene signatories the name preceding that of Domnus, ''Budius Stobiensis'' (bishop of

Stobi Stobi or Stoboi ( grc, Στόβοι, Stóboi; la, Stobi; mk, Стоби, Stobi), was an ancient town of Paeonia, later conquered by Macedon, and finally turned into the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia Salutaris. It is located near ...

), has been corrupted to ''Stribon''(''ensis'') and then mistakenly applied to Domnus, being hypercorrected in the process to ''Stridon''(''ensis''). This error appears in the '' Illyricum sacrum'' (1751) and in

Giovanni Domenico Mansi Gian (Giovanni) Domenico Mansi (16 February 1692 – 27 September 1769) was an Italian prelate, theologian, scholar and historian, known for his massive works on the Church councils. Biography He was born at Lucca, of a patrician family, and di ...

's ''Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio'' (1758–98).J. N. D. Kelly, ''Jerome: His Life, Writings, and Controversies'' (Duckworth, 1975), p. 3, n. 6.

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