Heliodorus of Altino

Saint Heliodorus was the first bishop of Altinum (now Altino, near Venice), born in Dalmatia and a disciple of Valerian, bishop of Aquileia, like Saint Chromatius. He was a companion of Saint Jerome on the journey to the Holy Land and is mentioned in Jerome's letters. The Church remembers him on 3 July. Our sources do not agree on his death: one gives about 410, another 390, and our calendar 407.

Life

Heliodorus was born in Dalmatia and was, like Saint Chromatius, a disciple of Bishop Valerian of Aquileia. He accompanied Saint Jerome on the journey to the Holy Land. After his mother's death he went to Italy and was made bishop of Altino. He tried to resist Arianism in his diocese and took part in the anti-⁠Arian council of Aquileia in 381. He ordained his nephew Nepotian after he had left his post as an officer in the imperial guard.

The legend

According to a legend of the tenth century, which also contains elements from the lives of other saints, Heliodorus brought up Saint Liberalis in the Christian faith, whom the sources call of Treviso, of Ancona or of Altino. The legend says that, faced with growing opposition from Arianism and paganism in the diocese, Heliodorus left the episcopal throne and lived as a hermit on a desert island in the lagoons near Altino, entrusting the diocese to a man named Ambrose. Uneasy about Ambrose's ability to cope with the rise of Arianism, Liberalis decided to seek out Heliodorus and persuade him to return to his throne. One source adds that Heliodorus obeyed, but Liberalis died on the way and was later venerated as a saint.

Relics

The relics of Saint Heliodorus were carried to Altino during the barbarian invasions and then to Torcello, where they lie in a crypt of the cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God (Santa Maria Assunta).