medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (3. July) is the feast day of:
Thomas (1st cent.) Thomas is best remembered as the doubting apostle who
refused to believe in the resurrection until he had touched Christ's wounds
(John 20: 25-8). Tradition reports that after Pentecost Thomas became a
missionary in India, where he was eventually martyred at Mylopore---one
tradition claims that he is still buried in India at San Tome.
Interestingly, the India connection was well established by the ninth
century, when Alfred the Great sent almost "to India to St. Thomas and St.
Bartholomew." There has been much disagreement on when to celebrate T's
feast. The latest Roman calendar adopted 3 July, the traditional date of
his translatio (although the Syrian churches always held that 3. July was
his death day), the Anglican communion has kept the older Roman date of 21.
December; the Greek Orthodox church celebrates T. on 6. October.
Germanus of Man (d. c. 475) Germanus has been thoroughly confused through
the centuries with the more famous Germanus of Auxerre. G. of Man was a
native of Brittany, born in c. 410. He lived for a time in Ireland, went
from there to Wales, and finally returned to Ireland where he became bishop
of Man in c. 466.
Leo II (d. 683) Leo was a Sicilian, noted for his eloquence in both Greek
and Latin. He was probably elected pope in January 681 but was consecrated
in 682 (after receiving imperial permission). Leo seems to have been a
peacemaker, restoring good relations between the papacy and the eastern
emperor, and a good church musician. He also restored several churches and
concerned himself with the poor of Rome.
Raymond Lull (blessed) (d. 1316) Raymond was born in c. 1232 in Palma de
Mallorca (Spain). He became famous as a missionary, phlosopher, poet, and
mystic with the nickname "doctor illuminatus." One of the first
missionaries to recognize that a knowledge of Arabic is useful when
attempting to convert Muslims, Raymond learned Arabic himself and founded
missionary colleges, starting in Palma de Mallorca in 1276. In 1292
Raymond became a Franciscan tertiary, and in that guise undertook massive
missionary journeys in Africa and Asia. On the last one, in North Africa,
he was stoned and died of his injuries.
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
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