Simplician ( la, Simplicianus; it, Simpliciano) was
Bishop of Milan
The Archdiocese of Milan ( it, Arcidiocesi di Milano; la, Archidioecesis Mediolanensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has lon ...
from 397 to 400 or 401 AD. He is honoured as a
Saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
in the
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
and
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
Churches and his feast day is August 14.
Life
Simplician was born about 320 probably in Rome and still young he became a churchman. He became expert in the
Holy Scripture
Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...
and very educated. In about 355 he took an active part in the conversion to Christianity of the philosopher
Marius Victorinus Gaius Marius Victorinus (also known as Victorinus Afer; fl. 4th century) was a Roman grammarian, rhetorician and Neoplatonic philosopher. Victorinus was African by birth and experienced the height of his career during the reign of Constantius II. H ...
. When in 374
Ambrose
Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promo ...
was elected bishop of Milan and
baptized
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
, Simplician became his teacher of doctrine. Ambrose used to call Simplician ''father'', as a sign of spiritual relationship. Probably in this period Simplician moved to
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 ...
where he remained.
Simplician took also an active part in the conversions of both
Alypius of Thagaste
Alypius of Thagaste was bishop of the see of Tagaste (in what is now Algeria) in 394. He was a lifelong friend of Augustine of Hippo and joined him in his conversion (in 386; ''Confessions'' 8.12.28) and life in Christianity. He is credited wit ...
and
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...
. The meeting between Augustine and Simplican occurred in Milan in 386 and it is recorded in Augustine's
Confessions. After his conversion, Augustine also called Simplician ''father'', and in 397 he dedicated to Simplician two books on the issue of
predestination
Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby G ...
, known as ''De Diversis Quaestionibus ad Simplicianum''.
On his deathbed, Ambrose supported Simplician as his own successor, stating that Simplician was ''"old but good"''. Thus in April 397, the aged Simplician was elected bishop of Milan, at that time capital of the
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...
. The most important act of his episcopate was the receipt in Milan of the relics of the three martyrs
Sisinnius, Martyrius and Alexander
Saint Vigilius of Trent ( it, San Vigilio di Trento, german: Vigilius von Trient; c. 353 – 26 June 405) is venerated as the patron saint and bishop of Trent. He should not be confused with the pope of the same name.
Life
According to tradi ...
, sent from
Trento
Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th centu ...
by the bishop
Vigilius.
Simplician was asked to judge some doctrinal statements by the
Council of Carthage (397)
The Councils of Carthage were church synods held during the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries in the city of Carthage in Africa. The most important of these are described below.
Synod of 251
In May 251 a synod, assembled under the presidency of Cyprian ...
and by the
First Council of Toledo
The First Council of Toledo was held at Toledo, Spain, in September of 400. The council was assembled under Archbishop Patronus with its primary purpose to condemn the Priscillian heresy, to receive back Priscillians, and uphold the Nicene Creed. ...
. He also consecrated
Gaudentius of Novara
Saint Gaudentius (fl. end of 4th century-early 5th century) was a bishop of Novara, considered the first of that city. Tradition states that he was born to a pagan family at Ivrea, and was then converted to Christianity by Eusebius of Vercelli. ...
a bishop, and according to the 13th-century writer Goffredo of Bussero, he organized the texts of the
Ambrosian liturgy
The Ambrosian Rite is a Catholic Western liturgical rite, named after Saint Ambrose, a bishop of Milan in the fourth century, which differs from the Roman Rite. It is used by some five million Catholics in the greater part of the Archdiocese of ...
.
Simplician's feast day was anciently set on 15 August, together with the feast of the
translation
Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...
to Milan of the relics of Sisinnius, Martyrius and Alexander; so his death was deemed to have been on 15 August 400; but probably Simplician died between the end of 400 and the first half of 401. Simplician's feast day was later moved to 16 August so as not to conflict with the
Assumption of Mary
The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows:
We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by Go ...
, and with the reform of the
Ambrosian Rite
The Ambrosian Rite is a Catholic Western liturgical rite, named after Saint Ambrose, a bishop of Milan in the fourth century, which differs from the Roman Rite. It is used by some five million Catholics in the greater part of the Archdiocese o ...
that occurred after the
Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...
his feast day was moved to 14 August.
Simplician was initially buried in the church of Saint
Nabor and Felix
Nabor and Felix ( ) were Christian martyrs thought to have been killed during the Great Persecution under the Roman emperor Diocletian. A tomb in Milan is believed to contain their relics.
Legend
In the apocryphal ''"Acts of Saints Nabor and Fe ...
in Milan and later translated, perhaps on 15 August, to the ''Basilica Virginum'' ("Basilica of the Virgins") which was renamed in his honor; now it is known as
Basilica of St. Simplician. In 1582 St
Carlo Borromeo
Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat ...
, the cardinal archbishop of Milan, ordered a canonical recognition of Simplicianus' remains who were tumulated under the
major altar and then his holy relics were translated during a solemn procession to the odiern temple.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simplician 01 Of Milan, Archbishop
Bishops of Milan
400 deaths
4th-century Christian saints
Italian saints
Year of birth unknown