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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Today (26. August) is the feast day of: Zephyrinus (d. 217) Z's feast was abolished in 1969. Perhaps not surprising, since almost all that we know about him comes from St. Hippolytus, who describes Z as simple, uneducated, inexperienced in church matters, and avaricious. But Hippolytus was Z's rival for the papacy, which may suggest a certain bias. Zephyrinus became bishop of Rome in 198. He leaned heavily on his archdeacon (later Pope Callistus), but is at least known to have been a staunch supporter of the divinity of Christ against Adoptionism. Z's cult stems from a spurious tradition that he was martyred. Irenaeus and Abundius (d. c. 258) These two were drowned in the public sewers of Rome during the Valerian persecution. Gelasinus of Heliopolis (d. 297) Gelasinus may be the same person as Genesius (see the saints for 25. August). He was an actor, and is said to have been acting in an anti-christian farce that included his mock baptism. Gelasinus, however, got out of the onstage baptismal tub and declared himself to be indeed a Christian. The audience stoned him to death. Alexander (d. c. 300) Sometimes accounted a member of the Theban Legion, Alexander was a soldier who in the presence of Emperor Maximinian knocked over a cult statue and trampled it. Shocked bystanders stabbed him to death. Ulfilas (d. 383) I found Ulfilas on a list of "evangelisch" saints on a German web page. He doesn't make it into Catholic saints' books, doubtless because of his Arianism. Ulfilas was the apostle to the Goths, consecrated as missionary bishop in 341. He spent the rest of his life at this work, which included a translation of the Bible into Gothic. Ninian (5th cent.) Ninian was a British bishop and apostle to the Picts. The center of his efforts was the monastery of Whithorn (Candida Casa), which exerted a strong influence on the monasticism of Ireland and Scotland. Pandonia (d. c. 904) Pandonia, according to legend, was a virgin martyr. She is supposed to have been a Scottish princess who fled to Cambridgeshire to escape the threat of rape (or maybe marriage; my source isn't clear). Pandonia became a nun at Eltesley Victor of Cerezo (d. c. 950) Victor was a Spanish priest who went to Mauretania to preach. Caught in a wave of persecution, Victor was crucified in the city of Caesarea. Herluin of Bec (blessed) (d. 1078) Herluin was a Norman knight. He founded a monastery on his own estate (soon movedto a site on the River Bec) and became first abbot. Herluin and his disciples (most notably Lanfranc and Anselm) made Bec one of the great centers of learning of the eleventh century. Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice [log in to unmask] ********************************************************************** 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