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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Today (10. April) is the feast day of: Ezekiel (6th cent. BCE) One of the major prophets of Hebrew Scripture, legend reports that Ezekiel was martyred in Babylon by a Jewish judge who had apostacized. E. was then buried in the tomb of Shem in that city. It was a pilgrimage attraction for early Christians. Bademus of Persia (d. c. 380) My vote for saint story of the week. Bademus was the founding abbot of Bethlapeta in Persia, where he won fame for his austerity and saintliness. B. was minding his own business, but apparently his existence annoyed the Persian king Shapur II. So, when a Christian noble was arrested and apostacized under torture, he was promised full forgiveness and reinstatement if he would go and murder Bademus. The noble did so, although to B's misfortune the guy was so upset at having to kill the saint that he could hardly use his sword and had to work at it for a while. Macarius of Ghent (d. 1012) Macarius was born in Antioch (Pisidia) and was apparently a bishop somewhere in the East. He went to the West as a pilgrim, and died in the hospice of St. Bavo's, Ghent, of an epidemic that was raging at the time. Fulbert of Chartres (d. 1029) Fulbert was an Italian . He went to study at the cathedral school of Rheims, spent some time in the service of Pope Sylvester II, then returned to France to become first chancellor and then bishop of Chartres. F. made the cathedral school of Chartres a great center of learning, fought against simony, and promoted the cult of the Virgin Mary. Paternus of Abdinghof (d. 1058) Paternus was probably Irish, but made his way to Westphalia, where he became one of the first monks at St. Meinwerk's new foundation of Abdinghof in Paderborn. P. then became a recluse. He prophesied that a fire would destroy the city, but was laughed at. But he was proven right: fire broke out on the day he had foretold, and devastated Paderborn. Paternus, who refused to break his vow of reclusion, was burned to death. Antony Neyrot (blessed) (d. 1460) Antony was born in Rivoli (Piedmont). He became a Dominican, serving for a time under St. Antoninus. While on a ship between Sicily and Naples, though, he was taken captive by African pirates and, although treated well at first, soon found himself in a prison. Antony's faith then crumbled; he apostacized in return for his freedom, started to translate the Qur'an, was adopted by the king of Tunis, and married. He seemed to have settled down quite happily as a Muslim until word reached him that St. Antoninus had died. A. then had a change of heart, put on his Dominican habit, and publicly professed his faith. He was then stoned to death. His body was bought from the authorities and taken to Rivoli, where there were many miracles and until recently an annual procession in A's honor. 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