Dacius

Dacius (c. 530-552)

Dacius, also known by the Italian name Dazio and the Latin Datius, served as the Bishop of Milan from approximately 530 to 552 AD. He is venerated as a saint in both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. Dacius was a prominent figure in the ecclesiastical politics of his time, particularly noted for his staunch defense of Catholic orthodoxy against the heresies prevalent during his episcopate. His tenure coincided with tumultuous periods in Milanese history and significant theological disputes within the wider Church.

Life and Historical Context

Before his elevation to bishop, Dacius was a monk. His election to the see of Milan occurred around 530. Soon after, Milan faced a devastating famine in 535-536, during which Dacius secured grain from the praetorian prefect for Italy, Cassiodorus, for free distribution to the poor. Simultaneously, the Gothic War (535-554) erupted between the Ostrogoths and the Byzantine Empire. Dacius sided with the Byzantines and, in late 537 or early 538, traveled to Rome with Milanese representatives to request Byzantine general Belisarius to send troops to defend the city. Despite an initial success, Milan was besieged by the Goths under Uraias and surrendered in March 539. In retaliation for Milan's support of the Byzantines, Uraias destroyed the city, killed many male citizens, and sold the women into slavery. Dacius was in Rome during this catastrophe and never returned to Milan.

The Three-Chapter Controversy

In 544-545, Dacius was in Constantinople where Emperor Justinian I promulgated an edict anathematizing the "Three Chapters" – writings by Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyrus, and Ibas of Edessa. Justinian aimed to reconcile the Church with Non-Chalcedonian Christians, but many bishops perceived this as a potential deviation from the Chalcedonian Creed. While Eastern bishops eventually conceded, Latin-speaking bishops, including Dacius, remained steadfast in their resistance. Justinian summoned Pope Vigilius to Constantinople to secure his approval of the edict. Dacius briefly joined Vigilius in Sicily in November 545 while the Pope was attempting to delay his journey to Constantinople, where Vigilius was compelled to stay until he approved the edict. In 550, Dacius joined Vigilius in Constantinople and urged him not to reach an agreement with the Emperor. In August 551, both sought sanctuary in the Basilica of St. Peter in Constantinople, and later, on December 23, they escaped to the Church of St. Euphemia in Chalcedon. It was from Chalcedon that Pope Vigilius issued an Encyclical letter detailing his mistreatment. Dacius died, likely in Chalcedon, on February 5, 552.

Legacy

Dacius's remains were later translated from Chalcedon to Milan and interred in the Church of San Vittore al Corpo, where they are still venerated. A late tradition, lacking historical foundation, links Dacius to the Agliati family of Milan. Gregory the Great, in his Dialogues, recounts an episode where Dacius is depicted as an exorcist who bravely occupied a house reportedly haunted by a devil, driving it away through his faith.

A legendary history of the early bishops of Milan, known as the Datiana Historia Ecclesiae Mediolanensis, was incorrectly attributed to Dacius. This work is now believed to be by the 11th-century historian Landulf of Milan.