medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (23. October) is the feast day of:
Theodoret (d. 362) Theodoret was a priest of Antioch. The
prefect---who happened to be Julian the Apostate's uncle---ordered
him to turn over some church vessels (I wonder if they had originally
been plundered from a temple). When T refused, the prefect accused
him of destroying statues of the gods; T. responded by denouncing the
prefect as an apostate. T. was beheaded; the prefect soon died in
agony.
Severinus Boethius (d. 524) This is the famous Boethius, renowned
for his learning, translator of Aristotle, writer on music and
philosophy, etc. He was in the service of Theodoric the Ostrogoth,
but seems to have joined a conspiracy with the Byzantine emperor to
overthrow T's rule of Italy. He was arrested and imprisoned, using
the time well in writing *The Consolation of Philosophy*. Finally he
was tortured and executed. Oddly, he was formally canonized in 1883.
Romanus of Rouen (d. c. 640) Romanus was a Frank, raised at the
court of Clothar II and made bishop of Rouen in c. 630. He was an
active missionary among his largely non-Christian flock, aided by a
reputation as a miracle worker.
Ignatius of Constantinople (d. 877) Ignatius was originally named
Nicetas and was a son of Emperor Michael I. When his dad was deposed
in 813, I and his brother were both mutilated and consigned to a
monastery. I. made the best of a bad situation. He was ordained,
became abbot, and in 846 was named patriarch of Constantinople. He
made a specialty of denouncing secular immorality---which got him
deposed and exiled. A new patriarch was imposed, creating a long
period of faction fighting that ended in putting I. back in office.
I. also got into a fight with the pope over who had jurisdiction over
the Bulgars.
Allucio (d. 1134) A Tuscan shepherd, Allucio became director of an
almshouse and went on to build a series of shelters for travelers,
attracting followers who were known as the Brothers of St. Allucio.
He was credited with ending a war and also with performing many
miracles. His cult was approved by Pius IV.
John of Capistrano (d. 1456) John studied law and became governor of
Perugia. He underwent a religious conversion while imprisoned during
a war, abandoned his marriage, and publicly repented of his sins,
becoming a Franciscan. He was apparently a fantastic preacher and
also served the papacy as a diplomat. His last great task was
preaching a crusade after the fall of Constantinople in 1453; he had
success rousing the Magyars to resist the invading Turks, and
personally led the left wing of the Christian army at the Battle of
Belgrade in 1456. J. died soon afterwards of the plague. He was
canonized in 1690.
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|