Hierarch
Hierarch Maximus of Turin
ок. 380 — ок. 465
Hierarch Maximus of Turin — the first well-documented bishop of Turin, author of over 230 surviving sermons, a pastor during the collapse of Roman authority and barbarian invasions.
IMPORTANT CORRECTION: the date previously stated in the Life text ("January 25/February 7") is not confirmed by any source — the correct feast date for this pre-Schism Western hierarch is June 25/July 8.
Hierarch Maximus was one of the first well-documented bishops of northern Italy, holding the see of Turin during the collapse of Roman authority and the onset of barbarian invasions. He left over 230 surviving sermons — an invaluable source on pastoral care and scriptural exegesis in an era of imperial collapse, addressed to a flock living under threat of invasion.
He is known to have attended the Synod of Milan in 451 and a Roman council in 465. Western iconography associates him with a legend in which he directed a thirsty cleric to a spot where he could obtain milk from a doe.
IMPORTANT NOTE: his exact dates of life and birthplace (variously given as Volterra or Vercelli) are not conclusively established — a typical uncertainty for a 4th-5th century Western bishop, about whom almost no independent evidence survives beyond his own body of sermons.
His feast is kept on June 25/July 8.