medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today, February 16, is the feast day of:
Onesimus (1st cent.) Onesimus was a slave who figures in Paul's letter to
Philemon. Onesimus had run away from Philemon, and Paul had sent him back
asking for good treatment. Jerome tells that Onesimus became a preacher,
then St. Timothy's successor as bishop of Ephesus, and finally martyred.
Elias, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Samuel and Daniel; Pamphilus, Valens, Paul,
Seleucus, Porphyrius, Julian, Theodulus (d. ca. 309). We know about these
martyrs' suffering under Galerius from Eusebius' _De martyribus Palaestinae_
11. 1-28. E., Je., I., Sa., and D. were Egyptian Christians; Pamphilus was
a learned priest of Caesarea in Paestine, Valens was an elderly deacon in
the church of Aelia, and the others were Palestinian laypersons of various
stations in life. All were brought before the same magistrate, who
interrogated the Egyptians first. These perplexed him by giving the names
of Old Testament prophets rather than their birth names and by asserting
that Jerusalem was their homeland; when after various tortures he was unable
extract from them the anti-Roman secrets they were suspected of harboring he
had them executed. Following this the official interrogated the
Palestinians singly or in small groups and had them tortured and executed.
Pamphilus (whom Eusebius, himself a bishop of Caesarea, mentions at
_Mart. Pal._, 5. 4 as the age's most glorious martyr) was clearly the most
prominent of the group. In Eastern martyrologies and calendars, starting
with the later fourth-century Syrian Martyrology, he usually leads the list,
itself somewhat variable, of these martyrs. Relics of Pamphilus and of some
of the other Palestinians were among those placed in the first Hagia Sophia
in Constantinople at the time of its consecration. In the Latin West, the
entry for the group in the (pseudo-)Hieronymian Martyrology, where Pamphilus
also leads the list, is badly garbled (including, among other developments,
the transmogrifications of Caesareae into Fissinari and Porphyrius into
Perfidus or Perfidius [!] and an increase in the number of the Egyptians
from five to five thousand).
The earlier ninth-century martyrologist Florus of Lyon, followed in these
respects by St. Ado and by Usuard, enters only Julian and the Egyptians
under today and enters Pamphilus under 1. June.
Pamphilus as depicted in the late fourteenth-century (later 1380s?)
frescoes of the church of the Holy Ascension at the Ravanica monastery near
Ĉuprija in central Serbia: http://tinyurl.com/ybpnrdl
Maruthas (d. c. 415) Maruthas was bishop of Maiferkhat (Syria), near the
Persian border at the time. He tried to get imperial protection from Persian
attacks - without success. So Maruthas went to the court of King Yezdigerd
to try to win some goodwill for the Christians. He does indeed seem to have
won some tolerance, and was thus able to rebuild churches that had been
destroyed in King Sapor's persecution. Maruthas also compiled the acta of
the martyrs of the great Persian persecution.
Eustochium Calafato (d. 1468) Eustochium was a noblewoman of Messina. Her
mother, a Countess, gave birth to her in a stable, on account of advice
given to her by a stranger. The child was beautiful and pious. She became a
Poor Clare as a child in 1446. In 1457 she received permission to found a
Franciscan Observant nunnery at Montevergine. She was canonized in 1988.
Bernard Scammacca (blessed) (d. 1486) Bernard was a native of Sicily, the
scion of a wealthy family. He had a good education and then had a frivolous
life until he was badly wounded in a duel. During his long convalescence,
Bernard converted and entered the Order of Preachers. Bernard wasn't a great
preacher, but was famous for his goodness in the confessional and the care
of souls. He had a close rapport with animals; birds liked to flutter around
him, but would hush so they didn't disturb the saint when he was in ecstasy.
Bernard was also known for his prophecies, including one of his own death.
After his death he appeared to his prior, telling him that he deserved to be
buried in a more honourable resting place. When translated, his remains were
found to be incorrupt. Later, when thieves tried to steal the body, they
were incapable of lifting it from the ground. His cult was approved in 1825.
happy reading,
Terri
--
"What good is an email list, if one cannot picque knits?" - Christopher
Crockett
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