medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (17. December) is the feast day of:
Lazarus of Bethany (d. 1st cent.) Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha,
was a friend of Jesus. He died suddenly, and after four days Jesus
resurrected him. According to legend, Lazarus later went to Cyprus and
became bishop of Lition. Another legend, however, reports that Lazarus and
his sisters made their way to marseille, where Lazarus was bishop.
Olympias (d. 408) Olympias was a noblewoman of Constantinople. She
married the prefect of the city; after his early death, she refused to
remarry and devoted herself to service of the Church. Olympias gave all
her goods for churches, monasteries, and the poor of Constantinople.
Finally she was consecrated as a deaconess, and converted her house into a
cloister for deaconesses. Olympias was exiled at the same time as her good
friend, Patriarch John Chrysostom, and died in Nicomedia.
Judicael (d. 658) Judicael was the rightful prince of Brittany, but was
supplanted by his younger brother, and Judicael became a monk. His brother
repented, however, and Judicael became ruler. He soon abdicated, however,
and returned to his monastery in 640.
Begga (d. 693 (or 692)) Begga was born in c. 620, a daughter of Pepin the
Elder. She married Ansegisel, the son of Arnulf of Metz, and in due course
became mother of Pepin the Middle. After her husband was killed, Begga
founded the nunnery of Andenne on the Maas in 691.
Sturmi (d. 779) Sturmi was a Bavarian, who became a companion of Boniface.
Boniface sent him in 735 to be educated at Fritzlar; after he had been
ordained, Sturmi was sent as a missionary to the region of Hesse. In 744
Boniface sent him off to found the monastery of Fulda, for which he went to
Monte Cassino to learn proper Benedictine practices, emplanting them in the
new community. After Boniface's death, Sturmi's enemy Lul of Mainz
arranged his exile to Jumieges, but he was rehabilitated in a couple of
years. For several years Sturmi was a missionary to the Saxons (under
Charlemagne's auspices). Surprisingly for an eighth-century saint, Sturmi
was formally canonized in 1139.
Vivina (d. 1176) Vivina is a beloved saint in Belgium, especially in the
archdiocese of Mecheln-Brussels. Vivina was born in 1109 (or 1103) in
Oisy, Belgium. After living for a time as a hermitess, in 1146 she founded
the Benedictine convent of Grand-Bigard near Brussels, leading the
community as abbess for the rest of her life.
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
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