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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Today (5. August) is the feast day of: Addai and Mari (2nd cent.) Unfortunately little is known about these two, the apostles of Persia. Addai was probably a missionary bishop of Edessa; the latter may have founded a church near Ctesiphon, which was the first church in the Persian Empire. The Chaldean liturgy is named after the pair. Afra of Augsburg (d. c. 304) The cult of Afra at Augsburg dates back to ancient times; she probably died during Diocletian's persecution. Much more dubious (aka "extremely unlikely") is that she was a Cypriot prostitute, although it makes a good story. Cassian of Autun (d. c. 350) According to a ninth-century vita, Cassian was a native of Egypt and a famous miracle worker. He became bishop of Autun in 314. Eusignius (d. 362) The 110-year old (!) Eusignius, who had served in the Roman army for 60 years (!!) was beheaded at Antioch in the reign of Julian for refusing sacrifice. Nonna (d. 374) Nonna seems to have been a model of appropriate female sanctity. She was the wife of St. Gregory Nazianzen the Elder, whom she converted to Christianity, and was the mother of Sts. Gorgonia, Gregory, and Caesarius. Oswald of Northumbria (d. 642) Oswald became king of Northumbria after Edwin (who had seized the throne from Oswald's dad) was killed in battle. Oswald strongly encouraged the conversion of his kingdom, calling in St. Aidan and even acting as his translator. In 642 Oswald in turn was killed in battle, and the fact that his enemy Penda wasn't a Christian led to Oswald's veneration as a martyr. Penda also conveniently subdivided Oswald's corpse, so his popular cult was able to spread to several areas. His head, by the way, is sitll in St. Cuthbert's coffin at Durham. Abel of Lobbes (d. c. 751) Abel was either English or Irish. He accompanied Boniface to Francia, where he was elected archbishop of Rheims. But the archbishopric was taken over by an intruder, so Abel went to Lobbes and became its abbot. Dr. Phyllis Jestice __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com ********************************************************************** 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