medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (27. July) is the feast day of:
Pantaleon (d. c. 305) It seems pretty certain that Pantaleon (or
Panteleimon) lived and was martyred in Diocletian's persecution. His
legend tells that P. was raised a Christian by his Christian mother.
He became Emperor Maximian's physician and enjoyed courtly decadence
so much that he mislaid his faith. But he was reconverted and after
that gave free medical services to the poor. His fellow physicians
were not amused, and denounced him as a Christian. After six more
flamboyant efforts to execute him, P. was finally finished off by
decapitation. He is one of the 14 Holy Helpers. My bothersome
saints' book adds the interesting fact that P's blood is supposed to
liquefy today---but doesn't tell where the blood is kept.
the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus (d. 362?) The legend of the Seven
Sleepers tells that they were young men of Ephesus, walled up in a
cave where they had taken refuge during the Decian persecution. They
were found there alive and very well rested in 362. This *is* an
authentic case of decanonization---the cult of the seven sleepers has
been suppressed as a fiction. (By the way, the cult of Simon of
Trent, supposed victim of Jewish ritual murder, was also suppressed
(1965).)
Aurelius, Natalia, and companions (d. c. 852) Aurelius was a
Spaniard, the son of a mixed Moorish/Spanish marriage. He was
orphaned when young and secretly raised as a Christian by his aunt,
eventually marrying the half Moorish Natalia (originally Sabigotho),
whom he converted to Christianity. They were both beheaded in Toledo
for apostasy from Islam.
Theobald of Marly (d. 1247) Theobald was a French noble who spent
time at the court of Philip Augustus but left to become a Cistercian
at Vaux-de-Cernay in 1220. He became abbot in 1235.
Nicholas Konchanov (d. 1392) Nicholas was born to a wealthy family
of Novogorod. He was a pious kid, and soon everyone was praising
him. This decided to follow a peculiarly Russian religious track and
become a "fool for Christ." He dressed in rags, acted like a
lunatic, and invited attacks and scorn. He and another Novgorodian
holy fool even pretended to be inveterate enemies, thus giving the
townspeople a lesson in the evils of strife---Nicholas got his
nickname (which means "cabbage") by hitting his pseudo-rival in the
head with a cabbage one time. N. was a miracle worker and
clairvoyant.
A modern saint: Andrew the Catechist (blessed) (d. 1644) One of JP
II's "new saints" (canonized in 2000), Andrew was the first
Vietnamese martyr. His mother was a Christian and he himself was
converted as a young man. He became a catechist, and vowed to serve
the church for life. Which wasn't long, since the king forbade
conversions to Christianity and, when A. refused to renounce his
faith, killed him.
**********************************************************************
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
|