medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (23. February) is the feast day of:
Polycarp (d. c. 155) Polycarp was bishop of Smyrna. In that position he
actively fought the heresies of Marcion and Valentinus and was very active
on issues of Christian practice. He even visited Bishop Anicetus of Rome
to discuss a uniform date for Easter (the two couldn't agree, but agreed
peaceably to differ, a model of fraternal charity that unfortunately later
ages failed to follow). P. is most famous for his martyrdom: when soldiers
came to arrest him, he invited them to dinner; when ordered to curse
Christ, he said he'd been a Christian for 86 years without Christ doing him
any wrong; then he was killed with the sword and his body burned. The
account of P's trial and death is the earliest example of its kind.
Alexander Akimetes (d. 430) Alexander was a Greek army officer who sold
his goods and became a monk. He proved to be a zealot, and was imprisoned
after he set fire to a pagan temple. When released, A. went to teh desert,
where he converted a band of robbers and assembled them into a monastery.
Then A went on and established a monastery on the Euphrates. Still not
willing to settle down, though, he then formed a traveling monastery,
starting with 150 monks (later 300) he wandered from place to place.
Milburga (d. 715) Milburga was a daughter of King Merewald of Mercia and
his wife Ermenburga (also a saint; in fact, Milburga's sisters Mildred and
Mildgyth are also saints). Milburga was second abbess of the nunnery of
Wenlock, founded by her parents. She was credited with miraculous healing
powers and a life of conspicuous sanctity. When her relics were
rediscovered in 1101 they worked impressive miracles, including healing
lepers and the blind, and making one poor sufferer vomit out an incredibly
long worm that had caused a wasting sickness.
Lazarus the Painter (d. c. 756) Lazarus was a monk of Constantinople. In
the reign of the iconoclast Theophilus (829-42), L. went around restoring
the images that had been defaced, for which he was tortured. With the
failure of the iconoclast movement, L was restored and even sent as an
ambassador to Rome.
Willigis (d. 1011) Willigis was of humble birth, but rose to become
archbishop of Mainz and archchancellor of Germany. He was active in
promoting Christianity in the border regions of the empire and organized
poor relief in his own territory. He showed his gratitude to the Ottonians
for their patronage by saving the child Otto III's throne for him. W's
cult rose immediately after his death.
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
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