Herculane Brescia

In the lists of the heads of the Brescia diocese, St. Herculane is mentioned as the successor of Cyprian and the predecessor of Honorius . He was a bishop in the city of Brescia in the middle of the VI century. Although the writings of some authors cite more precise dates from 536 to 588, inclusive, they are not confirmed by the data of medieval historical sources . The enthronement of Herculane of Brescia to the episcopal office was carried out by his Metropolitan Vitaly of Milan ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]} .

Reliable information about Herculane was not preserved ^[7] . In some traditions, it was reported that before the accession to the episcopal department, he was consul ^[5] , in others that he was a Benedictine monk and even an abbot of in Leno . However, all these evidence are unreliable ^[1] .

It is likely that the Gothic Wars ended at Herculaneus, and Brescia, one of the last cities held by the Ostrogoths until 562, was included in Byzantium . However, in 569, the Byzantine Italy was invaded by the Lombards professing Arianism , led by King Alboin , and a few months later Brescia was subordinated to the conquerors. The invasion was accompanied by massacres of local residents and clergy. In particular, in 576, three inhabitants of Brescia, Areald and his sons Carill and Oderick, who later were counted as saints, were executed. In church traditions, the initiator of the persecution of Christians Brescia was called the Lombard ruler of the city Alahis I ^{[9] [10]} . The violence allegedly continued until the hermit Honorius, who later became the successor of Herculaneus in the bishop’s rank, healed the daughter of the from an incurable disease, after which he ordered to stop the murders ^[11] . However, in modern historical events, there is no mention of the persecution of Christians by Alahis I. Probably, the information of medieval lives should be correlated with the general tendency of persecution of Orthodox Christians by the Arabs of the Lombards. On these grounds, the medievalists consider all the evidence about the targeted anti-Christian activity of Alahis I unreliable ^[10] .

Hagiographic texts mention the great holiness of Herculaneus, thanks to which he could raise the dead and, in a word, control wild animals ^{[12] [13]} .

Shortly before his death, Herculaneus refused the episcopal dignity, became a hermit near the modern and died here ^{[2] [4]} . The day of his death is called 12 ^[12] or 13 August ^[4] . For unknown reasons, Herculane's body was not immediately buried: he was placed on a boat that was taken to Lake Garda . Soon the ship washed ashore near the village of Toscolano-Maderno , whose inhabitants, considering this event to be a divine sign, buried Herculane in their church, and from that time they revered him as a saint ^[1] .

As well as all the chapters of the Brescia diocese of the 3rd-7th centuries from Anatolia to Deusdedit , even in the Middle Ages Herculaneus was ranked among the locally revered saints ^{[14] [15]} . The first reliable information about the existence of the cult of St. Herculane of Brescia dates back to the 10th century ^[1] . Two saints are known: one of the 15th century, the other written in 1585 by Bartolomeo Vitali ^[7] . The relics of Herculaneus were acquired in 1282 in the church of Toscolano Maderno and the following year put up for general veneration. In 1486, their authenticity was recognized by the Bishop of Brescia, . In August 1580, the Archbishop of Milan Carlo Borromeo transferred the relics to the main altar of Brescia, and in 1587, Bishop solemnly placed them in a specially made marble crab ^{[2] [4]} . The last relics took place in 1863. Herculaneus became especially revered from the 19th century, when, supposedly through prayers to him, the inhabitants of Brescia were spared the plague epidemics that hit the city in 1836 and 1855 ^[1] . Herculane is also considered the patron saint of the city of Toscolano-Maderno. His name is included in the Roman Martyrology for veneration by all Catholics. The commemoration of St. Herculane of Brescia is celebrated on August 12 ^{[1] [2] [12] [16]} .