Pelagia

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Pelagia (disambiguation).

Roman Catholic Church
  • Eastern Orthodox Church
  • Syriac Orthodox Church
  • Armenian Apostolic Church
    • Feast
    • 8 October
    • Tuesday after fourth Sunday of the Exaltation of the Cross (Armenian Apostolic Church)[1]

    Pelagia (

    feast day was celebrated on 8 October, originally in common with Saints Pelagia the Virgin and Pelagia of Tarsus.[2][3][n 1] Pelagia died as a result of extreme asceticism, which had emaciated her to the point she could no longer be recognized. According to Orthodox tradition, she was buried in her cell. Upon the discovery that the renowned monk had been a woman, the holy fathers tried to keep it a secret, but the gossip spread and her relics drew pilgrims from as far off as Jericho and the Jordan valley
    .

    Legend

    Pelagia's story is attributed to James

    gold cloth, pearls, and precious stones, which ran from her bare shoulders to her feet. Most of the fathers were shamed into looking away, but the bishop Nonnus stared openly and confessed himself "delighted".[5] Mocking his fellows, he condemned both them and himself for taking less care of their souls than she had of her body.[8]

    She appeared at his next Sunday sermon and Nonnus's sermon on hell and the goodness of paradise prompted her to repent. She had two of her slaves trail Nonnus to his residence and then wrote him on wax tablets, calling herself "sinful" and a "servant of the devil" but seeking mercy from God, who "came down to earth not for the sake of the righteous but to save sinners".[5] Nonnus replied to the anonymous request that God knew her and her past and that he would receive her, but only in the presence of the other bishops.

    She went to the

    baptismal gown. Nonnus took her confession and baptized "Margarita" under her birth name Pelagia, with Romana serving as her godmother.[5]

    The devil shortly afterward arrived to complain, but was driven off when Pelagia made the

    Sign of the Cross and breathed upon him. He returned the next night to renew his complaints and was driven off the same way. On the third day, Pelagia directed her steward to inventory her possessions. She then turned them over to Nonnus, who disbursed them to the widows, orphans, and poor of the city. She freed her slaves, male and female, "taking their golden torcs off with her own hands".[5] She then began living with Romana.[5]

    The night before it came time to remove her baptismal gown, she stole out in the dark wearing one of Nonnus's

    cell on the Mount of Olives. She lived there for three or four years, disguising herself as a male recluse and eunuch under the name Pelagius.[5] She then died, apparently as a result of extreme asceticism, which had emaciated her to the point she could no longer be recognized. According to Orthodox tradition, Pelagia was buried in her cell.[8] Upon the discovery that the renowned monk had been a woman, the "holy fathers" tried to keep it a secret, but the gossip spread and her relics drew pilgrims from as far off as Jericho and the Jordan valley.[5]

    The story appeared in the Greek Menaea.[9] It significantly omits dates and (on eight occasions) the name of the archbishop under whom Nonnus served.[10][n 2]

    History

    The

    pagan sacrifice during the Diocletianic Persecution. Chrysostom's c. 390 sermon also mentions an anonymous (but apparently famous) actress and prostitute "from a wicked city in Phoenice" (possibly Heliopolis) who seduced "the empress's brother" but converted "in our own day".[16] Constantius II's wife Eusebia had two brothers, Eusebius and Hypatius, joint consuls in 359, who both lived for many years in Antioch.[17] In his account, attempts were made to lure her back to her former life by the Roman prefect and some of his soldiers,[15] a role played by Satan in the hagiography.[18]

    Similar other accounts

    Saint Marina, the Latin equivalent of "Pelagia", was another bride who disguised herself as a monk, in her case to escape an unwanted marriage.[10][n 3] Aspects of their stories were apparently combined with apocryphal accounts of Mary Magdalene,[19] Biblical accounts of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba and of Jesus and various women in the New Testament.[20]

    See also

    Notes

    1. ^ The Roman Martyrology eventually distinguished the dates of the other Pelagias, removing them to other months.[3]
    2. Cameron dismisses its testimony.[12]
    3. ^ A third St Pelagia of Antioch was Saint Margaret, whose name derives from its earlier form "Margarita".

    References

    Citations

    1. ^ Domar: the calendrical and liturgical cycle of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church, Armenian Orthodox Theological Research Institute, 2002, p.516.
    2. Synaxarion
      .
    3. ^ a b Kirsch (1911).
    4. ^ Coon (1997), p. 78.
    5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j James the Deacon.
    6. ^ Cameron (2016), p. 85.
    7. ^ Bunson & al. (2003).
    8. ^ a b c "Venerable Pelagia the Penitent", Orthodox Church in America
    9. ^ Butler (1866).
    10. ^ a b Cameron (2016), p. 87.
    11. ^ BHG 1479g.
    12. ^ Cameron (2016), p. 88.
    13. ^ Ambrose, De Virg., III, 7, 33.
    14. ^ Ambrose, Ep. xxxvii. ad Simplic.
    15. ^
      Chrysostom, Hom. in Matth. lxvii.
      (in Latin)
    16. ^ Cameron (2016), p. 86–87.
    17. ^ Cameron (2016), p. 87–88.
    18. ^ Cameron (2016), p. 86.
    19. ^ Coon (1997), p. 77–78.
    20. ^ Coon (1997), pp. 80–82.

    Bibliography

    External links

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