BEVAGNA

BEVAGNA. -

Ancient episcopal see of Umbria, in the province of Perugia, situated at the confluence of the Clitunno and the Topino. It is the ancient Mevania; conquered by the Romans around 308 B.C. and counted by them among the most flourishing municipalities, it remained so until the Lombard devastations of the 6th century.

As regards the origin of Christianity in B., a Christian inscription is preserved in the city (CIL, XI, 2, 5162), but its date is uncertain. A Passion of Saints Vincent and Benignus (BHL, 8776) celebrates the deeds of Vincent, bishop of B., who is said to have lived at the time of the persecutions together with his brother, a deacon named Benignus, both martyrs for the Christian faith. Of these two saints no records older than our Passio are known, and it should not be older than the 6th century. The existence of a St. Bricius, bishop of B., martyred in the 4th century together with other Umbrian colleagues, all celebrated in the famous Passio Proculi, composed after the middle of the 7th century and not before the 9th, has no firmer foundation.

The first bishop of B. whom we know from reliable documents is Innocent, who subscribed at the Roman Synods of 487, 499 and 501. In 591, following the Lombard devastations, St. Gregory the Great entrusted the care of the vacant diocese to a priest; in 597 he committed its visitation to Chrysanthus, bishop of Spoleto, who in 599 was charged with finding a suitable person to govern the bishopric. In 649 the church of B. was governed by Marcian, present at the Lateran Council of that year. The last bishop of B. is Fabius, consecrated around 844 by Sergius II. Subsequently, once the city was destroyed, the cathedral also disappeared, and the ancient diocese was incorporated into Spoleto (v.).

BIBL.: sources

Ughelli, X, coll. 137-39; P. B. Gams, Series episcoporum Ecclesiae catholicae quotquot innotuerunt a B. Petro apostolo, I, Ratisbona 1873, p. 729; Lanzoni, pp. 434-35; F. Bonnard, s. v. in DHG, VIII, coll. 1286-88. Benedetto Pesci

@incollection{ec2_bevagna,
  author    = {Pesci, Benedetto},
  title     = {Bevagna},
  booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
  volume    = {II},
  pages     = {1529--1530},
  note      = {Cited by column},
  publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
  address   = {Città del Vaticano},
  year      = {1949},
  url       = {https://azioneromana.com/article/bevagna}
}