medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (6. December) is the feast day of:
Dionysia, Majoricus, and companions (d. 484) Victims of the Vandal
persecution in northern Africa. Dionysia (beautiful, of course) was
a matron who was arrested and publicly flogged for her persistent
catholicity. Her young son Majoricus wept at the sight, and D.
encouraged him. Both of them, along with D's sister Dativa, were
burned alive; a cousin, a physician, and several others were flayed
at the same time.
Nicholas (Santa Claus) (d. c. 350) Good St. Nick was probably born
at Patara in Lycia (Asia Minor). He became bishop of Myra, where he
was soon famous for his piety and miracles. He was imprisoned during
Diocletian's persecution, attended the council of Nicaea, and died at
Myra. Legend goes on to make him much more interesting than these
bare facts, telling how he provided dowries for three poor girls
(whose father intended to put them to work as prostitutes) by
throwing bags of gold into their house, saved three innocent men from
an unjust death sentence, resurected three "pickled boys" (who had
been murdered and put in brine), etc.---he seems to have been
extremely trinitarian in his thinking. N's relics were brought to
Bari in 1087, where his shrine became one of the great pilgrimage
centers of the Middle Ages. He is the patron of storm-tossed sailors
(he miraculously saved some mariners from a storm---I wouldn't be
surprised if there were three of them) and of children. This year's
saint book adds that the modern figure of Santa Claus is really
non-Christian and is based on the god Thor. (Any comment?) Nick is
also the patron saint of Greece, Apulia, Sicily, Lorraine, and Russia.
Abraham of Kratia (d. c. 558) Abraham was born in Emesa (Syria). He
became a monk, and at the age of 26 abbot of Kratia. After a few
years of the abbatial life he escaped and went to Palestine to be a
hermit, but his bishop made him come back to Kratia. Soon afterward,
A. became bishop of the city. But he got fed up and fled to
Palestine again, where he spent the rest of his life in a monastery.
Peter Paschal (blessed) (d. 1300) The Spanish Peter Paschal or
Pascual got a doctorate at the University of Paris before entering
the Mercedarian order. He went on to serve as tutor to an Aragonese
prince and then became bishop of Jaen (in Moorish territory) in 1289.
PP was a zealous writer and preacher against Islam---the only thing
surprising about his eventual martyrdom is that it took so long. He
was ambushed by a group of Muslims in 1297, captured, and imprisoned
in Granada, where finally the emir ordered him decapitated in 1300.
PP was beatified in 1670.
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