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Today, 27 March, is the feast of ... * John of Egypt (394) - perhaps the most famous desert hermit (except St Antony), he was known for his great humility: at the command of his spiritual father, for an entire year he daily watered a dry stick as though it had been a live plant * John Damascene (c. 749) - like his father before him, he served as Vizier to the Caliph in Damascus; however, he left his riches to the poor and made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, eventually settling in the laura of St Sabas; known for his theological treatises (and his eloquence, earning him the nickname 'Chrysorrhoes', or 'Golden Stream'), he was declared Doctor by pope Leo XIII * William Tempier, bishop of Poitiers (1197) - a great opponent of simony; his tomb behind the high altar of the church of St Cyprian in Poitiers became a place of pilgrimage and miraculous healings * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Carolyn Muessig Department of Theology and Religious Studies University of Bristol Bristol BS8 1TB UK [log in to unmask] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%