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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Today (4. April) is the feast day of: Agathopus and Theodulus (d. 303) A and T were a deacon and lector of Thessalonica. They refused to turn over their church's holy books to the authorities and were then martyred by being thrown into the sea with stones tied to their necks. Isidore (d. 636) Isidore's encyclopedic knowledge and writing was an important link between antiquity and the Middle Ages. He was also an important archbishop of Seville, succeeding his brother Leander and ruling for 36 years. He completed the job of converting the Arian Visigoths and organizing the church in Spain. Unlike most early saints, Isidore was formally canonized (in 1598), and he was named a doctor of the Church in 1722. Hildebert of Ghent (d. 752) Hildebert was abbot of St. Peter's, Ghent. He was killed by fanatics for defending holy images, and is thus regarded a martyr. (This is another case I'd like to know more about. I didn't know that iconoclasm made it to NW Europe.) Plato of Sakkudion (d. 813) Plato was a native of Constantinople to a wealthy noble family. He convinced his brothers to become monks, then freed the family slaves and sold the estates (leaving enough to dower his sisters), then retired himself to the monastery of Sakkudion on Mt. Olympus. After the emperor repudiated his wife and married a relative of Plato's, P published a writ of excommunication against him, for which he was imprisoned. After his release, P. retired from his abbacy and took to living as a recluse, chaining himself to the ground by an ankle. He got in trouble with the government a second time when he opposed the irregular appointment of a layman as patriar---for which he was exiled. Released, Plato returned to his role as highly respected holy figure. 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