medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (12. October) is the feast day of:
Maximilian of Lorch (d. c. 284) Maximilian was a native of Styria.
He gave his inheritance to the poor, and legend says that he then
went on pilgrimage to Rome, whereupon the pope sent him as a
missionary to Noricum. M. became bishop of Lorch where he was a
successful evangelist for twenty years before being killed by order
of the local prefect after he refused to sacrifice to the state gods.
Felix, Cyprian, and companions (d. c. 484) Felix and Cyprian were
North African bishops at the time of the Vandal king Huneric's
persecution of catholic Christians. The two were driven (along with
nearly 5,000 other Christians, says tradition) into the Libyan
desert, tortured, and finally executed.
Edwin (d. 633) Edwin was the son of King Aella of Deira, but was
only three years old when his dad died and the kingdom was seized by
a neighbor. So Edwin grew up in Mercia, but after thirty years he
was placed on the Deiran throne by the East Anglian king. Despite
his late start, E. ruled well, and took as his second wife the
Christian Kentish princess Ethelburga. E. soon converted, and many
Northumbrians followed his example. But his big plans for
Christianity (including the planned construction of a *stone* church
in York) were interrupted by a Mercian and Welsh invasion. Edwin was
defeated in battle and killed. Since the attacking king was not a
Christian, E. was hailed as a martyr.
Wilfrid (d. 709) Wilfrid was probably the most controversial member
of the early Anglo-Saxon episcopate. He was a Northumbrian, educated
at Lindisfarne, Canterbury, and Rome. When he returned to England he
was the noisiest supporter of Roman rather than Celtic rites, leading
the pro-Roman delegation at the Synod of Whitby (664). W. was named
bishop of York, but ambled off to Francia for several years (he
didn't want to be consecrated by "schismatic" northern bishops) and
found that St. Chad had been appointed in his place by the time he
got back. In 669 Theodore of Canterbury deposed Chad and put Wilfrid
into possession of York. But in 678 Theodore deposed W. because of
W's strong objections to his ecclesiastical reorganization. W.
appealed to Rome; the first time an English bishop is known to have
done so. W had a higher notion of the pope's authority than the
Northumbrian king did; when W returned, the king imprisoned him. On
release, W went and evangelized Sussex. The struggle over the
episcopate went back and forth; finally a comprise was reached in
705, naming W. bishop of Hexham.
A modern saint: Seraphinus de Nicola (d. 1604) Seraphinus was an
Italian shepherd who became a Capuchin lay brother at Ascoli Piceno
in 1556. He was widely known as a miracle worker, and his
semi-legendary account tells that he became spiritual director to
many important people (despite being completely uneducated). S. was
canonized in 1767.
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