medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (12. April) is the feast day of:
Sabas the Goth (d. 372) Sabas was born in c. 333 in the region of modern
Rumania. He was a Christian and became a missionary among his fellow
Goths. When the Visigothic king Athanarich began his persecution of
Christians, Sabas supported the believers, especially encouraging them not
to give in and eat sacrificial meat. When Sabas himself was ordered to
partake he refused, was imprisoned, tortured, and finally drowned in a
tributary of the Danube. His body was hidden, and later carried to
Caesarea (in Cappadocia).
Zeno (d. c. 372) Zeno was possibly born in Mauretania, and in the second
half of the fourth century served as bishop of Verona. He was a great
preacher, a powerful opponent of heresty, and one of the most important
religious authors of his time (93 tractates are still extant). He is
sometimes depicted in art holding a fish, because, according to Gregory the
Great, the church of St. Zeno in Verona was miraculously saved in a flood,
so Zeno became a patron to invoke in cases of watery danger.
Alferius (d. 1050) Alferius was born at the end of the tenth century in
Salerno, and entered the monastery of Cluny in c. 1006. In c. 1011 he
returned to his native city and became a hermit in a nearby valley. His
hermitage developed into the Benedictine monastery of La Cava, with
Alferius as the first abbot. His cult became official in 1911.
Henry of Grunenworth (blessed) (d. 1396) Henry was a hermit in Switzerland
before moving to the region of Strassburg, where he apparently became a
laybrother. He was a mystic, and is supposed to have lived for over 15
years with no source of nourishment except the eucharist.
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
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