medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (11. August) is the feast day of:
Alexander the Charcoal-Burner (d. c. 275) Alexander was a poor man,
chosen as bishop of Comana (Pontus) by St. Gregory of Neocaesarea.
It turned out that he was a man of good birth and education who had
given away his possessions and was living as a humble charcoal-burner
the better to follow Christ. He was eventually martyred---by burning.
Equitius (d. c. 560) Equitius became a hermit as a way to get rid of
sexual temptations as a young man. He founded several moansteries,
including one at Terni.
Gaugericus (d. c. 625) Gaugericus (Géry) was from the Ardennes. The
bishop discovered him as a young man and made him a deacon; in time
he became bishop of Cambrai. He spent his time as bishop stamping
out the old religion in his diocese.
Clare of Assisi (d. 1253) The patron saint of the television, Clare
was a native of Assisi who was inspired by Francis' preaching when
she was 18. She then refused to marry and soon ran away from home to
join Francis. The world being what it was at the time, though, she
couldn't become a wandering "brother." So, in what has always struck
me as a cruel twist to affairs, she was shut up in a particularly
strict home that became the mother house of the Poor Clares.
Basically a nun, but poorer and more ascetic. Clare's health soon
failed; she was ill the last 27 years of her life. She never left
her convent after becoming abbess in 1215, but had neat visions to
compensate. She was named patron saint of TV in 1958 because one
Christmas Eve when she was bedridden she saw the church service as if
she were there.
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