medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (12. November) is the feast day of:
Nilus the Elder (d. c. 430) Nilus was an imperial official who
became a disciple of John Chrysostom and a monk on Mt. Sinai (taking
his son with him). But the son was captured in an Arab raid, and N.
finally tracked him down to Eleusa. The local bishop ended up
ordaining both of them.
Emilian Cucullatus (d. 574) Emilian was a shepherd of Navarre who
was a hermit for forty years before his bishop forced him to accept
ordination. E. then became a parish priest but was forced to leave
because of "excessive charity." So he went back to his hermitage,
which according to tradition became the site of the monastery of La
Cogolla.
Machar (6th cent.) Machar (or Mochumna) was an Irish monk who
accompanied Colum Cille to Scotland. He was a missionary on the
island of Mull, became a bishop, and worked with the Picts in
Aberdeenshire. He is believed to have founded the city of Aberdeen.
Lebuin (d. c. 773) Lebuin was an English monk (originally Liafwine)
who went off to Germany as a missionary. He preached to the Frisians
and Saxons.
The Five Brothers (d. 1003) Several of Romuald of Ravenna's monks
went to Poland to evangelize the Slavs. They settled down at
Kazimierz to study the language and wait for Bruno of Querfurt, who
was supposed to get papal permission for the mission and then join
them. But before he got there, robbers attacked and killed the
monks. As I think I've mentioned before, in my humble opinion
Bruno's Vita quinque fratrum is the most beautiful hagiographical
work ever written, especially since he was a close friend of Benedict
of Benevento, the leading monk, and seems to have felt so very guilty
that he wasn't there to be martyred with his brethren.
Astrik (Anastasius) (d. c. 1040) Astrik was probably a Croat or a
Czech monk who became a missionary among the Magyars. He was first
abbot of the first monastery in Hungary (St. Martin's, Pannonhalma),
and first archbishop of Hungary (with his see proably at Kalocsa.).
A modern saint: Josaphat (d. 1623) John Kunsevich was a Pole who
became a monk under the name Josaphat. He became a leading advocate
for a union of the Ukrainian Church with Rome. J. became bishop of
Vitebsk (Russia) in 1617 and soon thereafter archbishop of Polotsk.
He started reforming, annoying many people because he was trying to
impose RC practices, like an unmarried clergy. A mob ended up
beating J and then shooting him to death (they then threw his body
into a river). J. was canonized in 1867, the first eastern saint to
be formally canonized by Rome.
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