John Paul Nazarius or Giovanni Paolo Nazari (December 1556 – 14 February 1645) was an Italian Dominican

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Biography

He was born at

Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...

. He entered the order at an early age in his native town and from the beginning was noted for his spirituality and love of study. It is most probable that he studied philosophy and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

. He taught with great success in various schools of his order in Italy. In 1592 he was sent by

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...

and the General of the Dominicans,

Ippolito Maria Beccaria Ippolito Maria Beccaria (1550 – 3 August 1600) was the Master of the Order of Preachers from 1589 to 1600. Biography Ippolito Maria Beccaria was born in Mondovì in 1550, the son of Enrichetto Beccaria and his wife Caterina Donzelli. He join ...

, to accompany the Apostolic Nuncio to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

to combat the prevailing

heresies Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

. There he spent three years teaching in the Studium Generale of the province, lecturing on theology in the university, preaching and defending Catholicism against the innovators. Returning to Italy in 1596 he became

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of studies in the convent at

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. In 1597 the pope appointed him to defend in a public disputation at

Chiavenna Chiavenna ( lmo, Ciavèna ; la, Clavenna; rm, Clavenna or ''Claven''; archaic german: Cläven or ''Kleven'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sondrio in the northern Italian region of Lombardy. It is the centre of the Alpine ...

the Catholic doctrine of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass against

Calvinistic Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calv ...

preachers. The resulting victory put Nazarius in popular demand throughout the country. In 1620 the citizens of Milan chose him as ambassador to the Royal Court of Philip III of Spain to adjust certain matters of Importance to Milan; in May, 1622 he represented as definitor the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

at the Dominican

general chapter A chapter ( la, capitulum or ') is one of several bodies of clergy in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, Anglican, and Nordic Lutheran churches or their gatherings. Name The name derives from the habit of convening monks or canons for the read ...

held at Milan. He spent the close of his life at

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

where he occupied himself with teaching and writing, and died there in 1641.

Writings

Among Nazarius's major writings are: * (Bologna, 1620) * (Bologna, 1625) * (Bologna, 1630) * (Bologna, 1633)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nazarius, John Paul 1556 births 1645 deaths Italian Dominicans 17th-century Italian Roman Catholic theologians Date of death unknown Date of birth unknown Italian Roman Catholic saints 16th-century Italian Roman Catholic theologians