medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (at long last, with internet connection to her house restored)
is the feast day of:
Januarius (d. c. 305?) Januarius' blood has been liquefying in
Naples on this day ever since 1389. J. was a bishop who died
somewhere near Naples; he was venerated by the fifth century. His
vita, however, comes from the ninth century and isn't very useful
from a historical point of view (at least as far as fourth-century
history is concerned). It provides one of the many tales of a saint
thrown to the beasts only to have the beasts completely uninterested,
so J. was beheaded instead.
Peleus and companions (d. 310) A group of Christians condemned to
labor in the Palestinian mines. When the emperor found out that they
were building oratories and worshipping, he ordered it stopped, and
four of the ringleaders were burned alive. Peleus and Nilus were
Egyptian bishops; the other two named in accounts were a priest and a
layman.
Goericus of Metz (d. 647) Goericus, says his legend, was a court
official until he went blind. He made a pilgrimage to the church of
St. Stephen in Metz, where his sight was miraculously restored. He
stayed to become a priest, and was chosen as bishop the following
year.
Theodore of Tarsus (Canterbury) (d. 690) Theodore was born in
Tarsus and educated in Athens. He was appointed archbishop of
Canterbury at the age of about 65. He reached England in 669 and
started a very productive second career, organizing the English
church, creating new dioceses, settling jurisdictional issues, etc.
Mary of Cervellon (d. 1290) Maria de Socos (Mary of Help), as she is
called in Spain, was a native of Barcelona. She joined a group of
women working with the Mercedarian order and spent her life praying
and helping Christian slaves of the Muslims.
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