medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (21. January) is the feast day of:
Neophytos (d. c. 250) Celebrated only by the Orthodox Church, Neophytos'
story is quite wonderful. He was born to a Christian family of Bithynia,
and started working miracles at the age of nine (miraculously producing
food for his schoolmates). One day when he was in bed, a dove flew in and
spoke to N in human voice---N's mother was so shocked that she died, but
N's prayer soon resurrected her. N and the dove then went off to set up
housekeeping in a cave on Mt. Olympus, where N. was nourished by angels.
He returned home at the age of 11, where he gave all the family goods to
the poor. Then, led by an angel, N. went to Emperor Decius and professed
his Christian faith. After surviving all tortures unscathed, Neophytos was
finally killed with the sword.
Agnes (d. c. 305) Agnes' cult is early and important in both east and
west. According to her fifth-century Acta, Agnes was a thirteen-year-old
girl who refused to marry because of devotion to Christ. She was martyred
by having her throat cut. Legendary additions to her story include her
being put into a brothel, where a man who looked at her naked promptly went
blind. At least since the sixth century, Agnes' principal symbol has been
the lamb (agnus--Agnes). Thus on her feast day in Rome lambs are blessed
that produce the wool for archbishops' pallia---which are woven by the nuns
of St. Agnes in Rome (*something* that's not made of polyester!)
Epiphanius of Pavia (d. 497) Epiphanius became bishop of Pavia in 467,
where his charity, miracles, and eloquence won him the names "glory of
Italy" and "light of bishops." He was able to work well with both emperors
and German kings, besides doing usual pastoral tasks and rebuilding Pavia
after Odoacer destroyed it. E. died in Burgundy while on a journey to
ransom some of his flock. His relics were moved to Hildesheim in 963.
Meinrad (d. 861) Meinrad was born to a peasant family near Wurtemberg, and
became a monk at Reichenau. In 829 he moved to the site of Einsiedeln
("the hermitage"), where he lived as a hermit for 25 years. In 861 he was
attacked and killed by visitors who expected to find treasure in his cell.
The monastery of Einsiedeln was founded on the site in the tenth century.
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
|