Today, 8 January, is the feast of ...
* Apollinaris, bishop of Hierapolis (c. 179)
- he was such a great apologist, that he became known as 'the
Apologist'; unfortunately, his works have been lost (I am sure he would
apologise if he could!)
* Lucian of Beauvais, martyr (290?)
- he may have been a bishop, assisting Dionysius of Paris or
St Quentin of Meaux in preaching the gospel in Gaul
* Severinus of Noricum (c. 480)
- perhaps of Roman origin, he preached in several towns along
the Danube; worked many miracles, save one that would have
cured his disciple Bonosus's sore eyes; relics were
translated to Luculanum (near Naples), then to Naples itself,
in an abbey which bore his name
* Severinus, bishop of Septempeda (550?)
- brother of St Victorinus, this man's sanctity was such that
his episcopal see took his name after his death (i.e., San
Severino)
* Erhard (686?)
- was *chorepiscopus* (what is that?) of Ratisbon; his
episcopal staff of black buffalo-horn (?) is still preserved
(ah, but what about his comb?)
Four years ago Tom Izbicki informed us about the chorepiscopus:
There is an article on Chorbishop in the New Catholic Encyclopedia,
according to which: They have long history inthe Eastern churches as
bishops who cared for the people in the countryside. Their relationship
with the urban bishops could be contentious. The office has disappeared
in the Orthodox Churches, but not in certain of the other eastern
churches.
The use of chorbishops as auxiliaries who did pastoral care while the
bishop was absent was controversial in the West in Carolinlingian times,
but the institution declined in the 10th & 11th centuries - vanishing in
the 12th.
* Gudula, virgin (712?)
- daughter of St Amalberga, cousin of St Gertrude (sadly,
unlike Gertrude of Delft, without a weight problem), she led
an austere life, gave alms and worked miracles; because of
her most famous miracle, in which she lit an extinguished
lantern by her prayers, she is usually pictured as holding a
lantern
* Pega, virgin (c. 719)
- sister of St Guthlac, lived a solitary life on the edge of
the Peterborough Fen, in a place now called Peakirk (i.e.
Pega's church)
* Wulsin, bishop of Sherborne (1005)
- although he was a beloved discpile of St Dunstan, and
called 'saint' by many medieval English writers, his name
does not appear in medieval English calendars
* Thorfinn, bishop of Hamar (1285)
- having travelled from his native Norway, Thorfinn died at
the Cistercian monastery of Ter Doest (near Brugge), where he
was buried and forgotten for over fifty years, until in the
course of building operations his tomb was opened, giving out
a strong, pleasing smell
****************************
Dr Carolyn Muessig
Department of Theology and Religious Studies
University of Bristol
Bristol BS8 1TB
UK
phone: +44(0)117-928-8168
fax: +44(0)117-929-7850
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
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