medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (3. December) is the feast day of:
Lucius (2nd cent.?) The Liber Pontificalis tells that Pope
Eleutherius received a letter from a British king named Lucius,
asking for missionaries. Bede copied this information. It has been
suggested that Lucius was not invented but misplaced. The only king
known to have become a Christian by c. 200 was Abgar IX of Edessa,
who was indeed king at about the same time that Eleutherius was
pontificating in Rome. Abgar's full name was Lucius Aelius Septimius
Megas Abgarus bar Ma'nu---and the fortress of Edessa was also known
as "Britum."
Birinus (d. c. 650) Birinus was a monk, sent to England on a mission
by Pope Honorius I. He settled down in Wessex and started preaching,
soon converting the royal family and receiving Dorchester as his see.
Francis Xavier (d. 1552) There's not much "medieval" about this guy,
but he's an awfully neat saint. Francis Xavier was a native of
Spanish Navarre. He became one of the first Jesuits and in 1541 was
sent off on a mission to the East Indies. Thus began an incredibly
successful decade of missionary activity in Goa, India, Malacca,
Indonesia, and Japan. He was planning to visit China at the time of
his death.
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