medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (19. September) is the feast day of:
Januarius (d. c. 305) Today marks one of the highpoints of the year
for modern hagiophiles---the liquefaction of St. Januarius' blood in
Naples. Januarius was a Neapolitan (or maybe a Beneventan) and was
bishop of Benevento at the time of Diocletian's persecution. J. went
to visit a friend in prison and was arrested along with a deacon and
a lector. They were thrown to the beasts---who weren't
interested---and then beheaded. The vial of J's blood in Naples has
been reputed to liquefy for the past four centuries.
Peleus and companions (d. 310) Peleus and Nilus were Egyptian
bishops, burned to death with two others by the governor of
Palestine---they had been working in the quarries there, but Galerius
ordered their "dispersal."
Sequanus (Seine) (d. c. 580) Sequanus sounds suspiciously like a
pre-Christian river god, reduced to human status. He is reputed to
have been a Burgundian who lived as a hermit, attracted disciples,
and eventually founded a monastery that became Saint-Seine.
Theodore of Tarsus (d. 690) Theodore of Tarsus (or "of Canterbury")
enjoyed a very long life that took him over much of the known world
of his time. He was born in Cilicia, studied at Athens, and became a
monk at Rome. At the age of 66 he was named archbishop of
Canterbury. T. was an extremely active archbishop, organizing the
English church in so many ways that I'm too lazy to repeat them here.
Mary of Cerevellon (d. 1290) Mary was a native of Barcelona who was
inspired to spend her life aiding Christian slaves of the Muslims.
She formed a female branch of the Mercedarian order. Her cult was
confirmed in 1692.
Theodore, David, and Constantine (d. 1299) Theodore was duke of
Yaroslav and Smolensk (Russia). He seems to have been a very good
ruler, fighting Mongols, building churches, etc. He became a monk
shortly before his death. His sons David and Constantine have also
won saints' cults.
A modern saint: Emily de Rodat (d. 1852) The French Emily de Rodat
joined a series of religious congregations, none of which suited her,
before deciding that her real vocation was to teach poor children.
She wound up founding the Congregation of the Holy Family of
Villefranche, devoted to that purpose. The congregation had expanded
to 38 houses by the time of her death, and had taken on quite a few
extra functions, such as nursing and visiting prisoners. She was
canonized in 1950.
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