medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (24. January) is the feast day of:
Babylas (d. c. 250) Babylas became bishop of Antioch in c. 240.
Little is known about his life except an anecdote that B. refused to
let Emperor Philip the Arabian into church on Easter 244 until he had
done penance for murdering his predecessor. When the Decian
persecution began, B. was arrested. Eusebius tells that he died in
prison, but John Chrysostom says B. was beheaded along with three
boys. B. has the odd distinction of being the first martyr whose
relics are known to have been "translated." A few years after his
death, Emperor Trebonius Gallus had B's remains moved to Daphne,
apparently to fight the influence of the priests of Apollo there.
Julian the Apostate had B moved back to Antioch.
Other than Babylas, the premodern saints commemorated today seem to
be a pretty obscure bunch (it's also the feast day of Francis de
Sales, but he's after our time). They include:
Artemius of Clermont (an imperial legate who fell ill in
Clermont-Ferrand while travelling to Spain and ended up as bishop)
Bertrand of St. Quentin (a disciple of St. Bertin and abbot of St. Quentin)
Exuperantius of Cingoli (a bishop)
Felician of Foligno (a rhetorician who evangelized Umbria and who
died in the Decian persecution)
Guasacht O'Maelchu (the son of St. Patrick's Irish owner; legend
tells that he was one of P's first converts and became a bishop)
Macedonius Kritophagos (a Syrian hermit who wandered around for 40
years without sleeping under a roof and lived entirely on barley)
Marcolino Ammani (a model Dominican)
Suranus (an Umbrian abbot killed by invading Lombards)
Zama (the first recorded bishop of Bologna)
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