medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
I apologise for this being so late.
Apollonia (d. 249) This patron of people suffering from toothaches and of
dentists was an elderly deaconess of Alexandria. She was caught by an
anti-Christian mob during the Decian persecution and tortured by having her
teeth yanked out one by one, her jaw broken (and perhaps her tongue ripped
out too). Apollonia was then threatened with burning alive but leaped into
the fire before the mob could throw her in, praying all the while. Many
churches in Europe have one of her teeth. She was (modernly) downgraded to
local calendar status.
Nicephorus/Nikephoros of Antioch (d. c. 250) The tale of Nikephoros, which
may be fully legendary, tells that Nikephoros was a friend of the priest
Sapricius, but quarreled with him. Nikephoros repeatedly attempted a
reconciliation, only to be rebuffed by his erstwhile friend. When Sapricius
was condemned as a Christian in Antioch under Valerian, Nikephoros followed
him to the place of execution, begging once again for reconciliation, then
offering himself in place of Sapricius', who at the last minute had
apostatized to save his life. The executioner accepted the exchange:
Sapricius was released and Nikephoros was beheaded.
Cyril of Alexandria (444) - archbishop and doctor of the Church, nicknamed
the 'Doctor of the Incarnation'. He said that "by Holy Communion, people are
made co-corporeal with Christ". Upon becoming bishop, he destroyed the
Novatian heresy in his see, then banished Jews from his city.
Sabinus of Abellinum (d. early 6th cent.) Abellinum was the Roman
predecessor of today's Avellino (Campania), which kept the name when it
changed location in the early Middle Ages. Outside late antique Abellinum
was a necropolis, some of whose Christian burials were honored in a hypogeum
called "the martyrs' grotto" (_specus martyrum_). A small church was built
on the site and around this there grew the settlement that became medieval
and modern Atripalda (first attested to in 1086). Located in the grotto, now
incorporated in the crypt under Atripalda's 12th-century church of St.
Hippolystus (S. Ippolisto), are the graves of Sabinus, bishop of Abellinum,
and of his associate, the deacon Romulus, who outlived him. We know nothing
about either other than what their funerary inscriptions tell us: these data
include Sabinus' date of death, 9 February, and that he followed a bishop
Timotheus (documented as being still in office in 499).
Teilo/Eliud (6th cent.) Teilo was an important monk and bishop of Wales.
Born near Penally in Pembrokeshire, a son of a local royal family. He was
trained under St Dyfrig and was a companion of both David and Samson. He
founded the monastery of Llandeilo Fawr (Great St Teilo's) near Carmarthen,
fled with his followers to Brittany when yellow fever broke out in Wales,
but eventually returned. According to tradition he finally settled at
Llandaff near Cardiff, where he died in 566 AD and where his relics were
said to rest. Geary tells in Furta Sacra a tale of how three communities
fought over Teilo's relics, and Teilo miraculously triplicated his remains
to end the dispute. He was reputed to have made it to Jerusalem.
Alto (d. c760) Alto was a wandering hermit, perhaps an Irishman. Around 743
he settled in a forest near Augsburg, Bavaria, granted to him by Pepin the
Short. He won a reputation as a spiritual advisor. He built a church and
after his death a monastery was erected near his cell, later called
Altomunster.
Marianus Scotus (Muirdach MacRobartaigh) (d. 1088) Marianus was from Donegal
(Ireland). He went on a pilgrimage to Rome but made a detour and became a
monk at Michelsberg near Bamberg, winning fame as a scribe. In 1067 he moved
to Regensburg, where he was the founding abbot of the "Scottish" monastery
of St. Peter, the first of this congregation in south Germany.
Alvarez of Cordoba (blessed) (d. c. 1430) Alvarez was a monk or a friar who
lived a very active life serving as spiritual advisor to the queen of
Castile, preaching crusade, advocating war against the Moors of Spain, etc.
He was also a very active builder of churches and convents - with the
frequent help of angels, who tended to shift building supplies during the
night so they would be convenient to the workers.
happy reading,
Terri
--
"Be gentle to all and stern with yourself." - St. Teresa of Avila
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