In the 7th century, a Veronese notary named Coronatus wrote a biography of Zeno,
Sermo de vita Zenonis. He claimed that Zeno was a native of
Mauretania who taught children of Africa about the Catholic religion and also helped them with their education. Another claim was that Zeno was a follower of
Athanasius,
patriarch of Alexandria, and accompanied his master when the latter visited
Verona in 340. The literary style of the more than 90
Sermones attributed to Zeno is also considered evidence of his African origins, since Christian African writers of the time frequently used neologisms and wordplay. Many of the
Sermones concern
Old Testament exegesis and are said to "have a definite
anti-Semitic element in them". This interpretation is not shared by Giuseppe Laiti, expert on San Zeno's work. Staying in Verona, Zeno entered the monastic life, living as a
monk until around 362, when he was elected successor to the See of Verona after the death of Bishop . Zeno had "received a good
classical education". As bishop he
baptized many people and won converts back from
Arianism. He lived a life of poverty. He trained priests to work in the diocese and set up a
convent for women. In addition, he reformed how the
Agape feast was celebrated and forbade that
funeral masses be accompanied by attendees' loud groans and wailing. Zeno's other reforms included instructions concerning
adult baptism, which occurred by
complete immersion. He instituted the issuing of medals to people newly baptized in the Catholic faith. Zeno's episcopate lasted for about ten years; the date of his death is sometimes given as 12 April 371. Zeno is described as a
confessor of the faith in early
martyrologies.
Saint Gregory the Great calls him a martyr in his
Dialogues, though
Saint Ambrose, a contemporary of Zeno, does not.
Ambrose speaks of Zeno's "happy death", although as a confessor, Zeno may have suffered
persecution (but not execution) during the reigns of
Constantius II and
Julian the Apostate. The entry in the modern
Roman Martyrology lists his death date as 12 April, but makes no mention of martyrdom. The first evidence for his existence was found in a letter written by Saint Ambrose to in which Ambrose referred to the holiness of Zeno. Later, Bishop Saint (r. 412–429) wrote of Zeno's virtues and also confirmed the existence of a cult dedicated to Saint Zeno. A poem written between 781 and 810, called the
Versus de Verona, an
elegy to the city in verse, states that Zeno was the eighth bishop of Verona. ==Veneration==