medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (22. October) is the feast day of:
Abercius of Hieropolis (d. c. 200) A.M. was a Phrygian bishop. At
the age of 72 he made a journey to Rome. He was so struck by the
many Christians he met along the way that he had an epitaph made for
his future tomb when he got home, describing the journey. In the
fourth century, a fictional vita of Abercius was inspired by the
epitaph, in which he was credited with a number of written works; the
vita also tells of his invitation to Rome to exorcise the demons from
the emperor's daughter. The original inscription was discovered in
the 1880s.
Philip of Heraclea and companions (d. 303) Bishop Philip, along with
his priest and deacon, were martyred in Diocletian's persecution.
The city authorities had closed his church, so he held services
outside. He turned over the church's altar vessels on demand, but
refused to turn over the sacred books. So the three were arrested,
tortured to try to encourage them to sacrifice to the state gods, and
imprisoned for seven months. Finally they were executed by burning.
Nunilo and Alodia (d. 851) These sisters were natives of Huesca
(Spain). Like many Spanish Christians who made it into the
martyrologies in the ninth century, they were products of a mixed
marriage---a Christian mom and a Muslim dad. When mom remarried
(another Muslim), he treated his step-daughters badly and pressured
them to marry (they took a vow of virginity). In 850 Abd-er-Rahman
II published an edict declaring that children of Muslim fathers had
to be Muslim. N and A were well known in the town, so were arrested.
They refused to give up their Christian beliefs, so were beheaded.
Donatus of Fiesole (d. c. 876) Donatus was an Irish monk. In the
early ninth century he went on a pilgrimage to Rome. He never made
it back to Ireland, stopping instead at Fiesole---just when the
election of a new bishop was going on (I have to say that this part
of the legend surprises me; I didn't think there were open elections
of bishops "by the clergy and people" by the ninth century). When he
stepped into the cathedral, the bells started to ring themselves and
the candles lit themselves (c. 829). So he was unanimously elected
bishop. D. had a reputation for learning, which included writing
poetry.
**********************************************************************
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
|