Amasianus of Taranto

According to local tradition, Saint Amasianus was the first bishop of Taranto, in southern Italy. He is honoured as a saint of the early centuries of Christianity and appears in the tradition of the Catholic Church; we have no record of a formal Orthodox canonization.

According to tradition, the Holy Apostles Peter and Mark, on their way from Antioch to Rome, reached Taranto. There they met Amasianus, also called Amasius, an old man hunchbacked from birth, the keeper of the Eucandio garden near the Mar Piccolo. Mark healed him, and Amasianus became a Christian. Peter, before leaving for Rome, appointed him the first bishop of the newly born Christian community of Taranto.

Amasianus served the Church of Taranto for twenty months. Our sources say nothing of his death and give no day of commemoration.