medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today, January 24, is the feast day of:
Felician/Felicianus of Foligno/-of Forum Flaminii, and Messalina (d. c250)
Felician is the legendary protobishop of the Umbrian city of Foligno.
According to his Passio, he was born at Forum Flaminii, now the Foligno
suburb of San Giovanni Profiamma, and from there exercised from the time of
pope St. Victor I (189-99) onward the only archiepiscopal authority that
then existed in Italy in north of Rome. The earliest trace of the use of the
pallium is found in the description of his consecration. Felician is said to
have preached widely in Umbria, to have consecrated the first bishop of
Terni, and as a very old man to have died a martyr at Foligno during the
Decian persecution. Legend says he was 94 when he died. Messalina, a
consecrated virgin of the city, ministered to Felician's needs in prison and
was in turn arrested and clubbed to death.
Foligno's frequently reworked cathedral of San Feliciano is built over
that part of an early Christian cemetery where, it is claimed, Felician was
buried.
Felician seems to have had two transalpine translations: one in 965 to
Minden in today's Nordrhein-Westfalen and one in 969 to Metz, the latter as
part of the well known collecting activity of its bishop Theodoric (Thierry;
Dietrich) I. A bit from Felician's putative remains at Metz was given to
Foligno in 1673. He is presumably the titular of the now Lutheran
Felicianus-Kirche in Weyhe (Lkr. Diepholz) in Niedersachsen; despite its
proximity to Bremen, in the Middle Ages this area was part of the diocese of
Minden.
A portrait of him in glass from 1488 now at Assisi in the Museo-Tesoro
del Sacro convento della cattedrale di Foligno: http://tinyurl.com/24c2m6
Vera (2nd or 5th century) There are two accounts of a saint named Vera. One
was a woman of Clermont in the fifth century, who was a great doer of good
deeds. The other Vera appears in legend as a twelve-year-old girl who, with
her mother and two sisters, was martyred in the reign of Hadrian, because
they refused to sacrifice to the gods of the state. The second legend is
especially popular in Russia, where Vera's cult is still alive and well
today.
Sabinianus/Savinien (French) of Troyes/-of Samos (d. c273, supposedly) is a
poorly attested martyr of the diocese of Troyes. His first mention in any
source comes in the probably early eighth-century legendary Passio of his
supposed sister St. Sabina (Savine) of Troyes (BHL 7408), in
contradistinction to Sabina he is not recorded in any martyrology prior to
that of Usuard in the later ninth century, and his own legendary Passio (BHL
7438), whose earliest witnesses are of the tenth century, is calqued on that
of St. Sidronius of Sens (BHL 7702).
According to that text, Savinien was young pagan nobleman on Samos when
the truth of Christ was revealed to him by an angel. He traveled to Gaul,
was there baptized, and through his miracle-accompanied preaching made many
converts. Savinien was brought before the emperor Aurelian (270-75) at
Troyes, refused to abjure his faith, was sentenced to death by fire but
emerged unscathed, and was then shot at with arrows, none of which struck
him but one of which injured Aurelian in an eye. Savinien escaped briefly,
crossing the Seine on dry feet, but was recaptured and was then decapitated
on this day at a place called Rilliacum.
Savinien then carried his head for forty paces to the place where he was
buried (cephalophory seems to have been as common among the martyrs of
Bourgogne as it was among the apostles of France). At his recommendation, a
cloth soaked in his blood was used to heal Aurelian. Later, the blind Syra
(Sainte Syre) with God's help found Savinien's grave, miraculously recovered
her sight, and erected a church over his tomb. Thus far his Passio.
Usuard, followed by cardinal Baronio in the early RM, entered Savinien
under January 29 (which is still Sabina's feast day). In 2001 the RM moved
this commemoration to Savinien's dies natalis as given in the Passio (a
change probably founded on the not unreasonable assumption that this was
Savinien's feast day at the time of its writing).
Savinien's putative remains are said to now repose in the cathedral of
Troyes, where scenes from his Passio are depicted in one of the
thirteenth-century upper windows of the choir (no. 209):
http://tinyurl.com/d345wv
Artemius of Clermont (d. after 400) lived in Trier, but at the end of the
fourth century was sent to Spain, apparently on a political mission. He fell
ill on his journey and had to stop at Clermont, where he stayed and became a
priest. In c400 he became bishop of Clermont. The cult that developed soon
after his death apparently from an early age especially valued Artemius as a
protector against the danger of fire.
Macedonius Kritophagos (d. c430) was a Syrian wandering hermit. He wandered
for 40 years, living on nothing but barley dampened with water
("kritophagos" means "barley-eater"). When 90, though, he switched over to
eating bread as a concession to stay alive. Macedonius healed the mother of
the church historian Theodoret, and appears as a prominent miracle worker in
the pages of Theodoret's history.
Suranus of Sora (d. c580) Gregory the Great tells of Suranus in his
Dialogues. Suranus was abbot of Sora and gave all his monastery's goods to
aid refugees from the Lombards - even the herbs in the garden. When the
Lombards came to loot the place and found nothing at all to take, they were
so mad that they killed Suranus on the spot.
Cadoc/Cathwy (6th century) Not to be mistaken with Cadoc of Wales, whose
feast is celebrated on September 25. This Cadoc was from Scotland. He
abandoned his inheritance and made pilgrimages to Jerusalem and Rome. Later
he founded numerous churches and monasteries in Wales, including Llancarfan.
It's really not clear where he ends and Cadoc of Wales begins.
Arno of Salzburg (d. 821) was one of the leading churchmen of his time. He
was born in Bavaria in c746, and became a monk and then abbot of
St-Amand-les-Eaux (Belgium). In 785 Arno was named bishop of Salzburg, and
was raised to archiepiscopal status in 798. Arno was especially notable as
a mediator and advisor in the service of Charlemagne.
Marcolino da Forli' (1397) spent so much time in prayer that his knees
developed calluses; he was very withdrawn, but his funeral was attended by
throngs of people who had been informed of his death by an angel in the
guise of a child.
happy reading,
Terri Morgan
--
"Nobility depends not on parentage or place of birth, but on breadth of
compassion and depth of loving kindness. If we would be noble, let us be
greathearted." - anon [log in to unmask]
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