medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (24. January) is the feast day of:
Babylas (d. c. 250) Babylas was a bishop of Antioch. About the only fact
known about his life before his martyrdom is that, according to John
Chrysostom, he forced Emperor Philip the Arabian to perform penance by
forbidding him admission to church until he had done so. Babylas is the
first saint whose relics are known to have been translated. They were
moved from Antioch to Daphne, probably to compete with the shrine of Apollo
there.
Felician of Foligno and Messalina (d. 254) Felician was bishop of Foligno
for fifty years. At the age of 94 he was arrested, imprisoned, and
tortured. Messalina, a consecrated virgin of the city ministered to F's
needs in prison and was in turn arrested and clubbed to death. Felician
himself was sent to Rome to be executed, but died on the journey, not far
from Foligno
Macedonius Kritophagos (d. c. 430) Macedonius was a Syrian wandering
hermit. He wandered for 40 years, living on nothing but barley dampened
with water ("kritophagos" means "barley-eater"). When 90, though, he
switched over to eating bread as a concession to stay alive. M. healed the
mother of the church historian Theodoret, and appears as a prominent
miracle worker in the pages of Theodoret's history.
Suranus of Sora (d. c. 580) Gregory the Great tells of Suranus in his
Dialogues. S. was abbot of Sora and gave all his monastery's goods to aid
refugees from the Lombards---even the herbs in the garden. When the
Lombards came to loot the place and found nothing at all to take, they were
so mad that they killed S. on the spot.
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
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