Above: Pope St. Siricius
Image in the Public Domain
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SAINT SIRICIUS (DIED NOVEMBER 26, 399)
Bishop of Rome
St. Siricius of Rome comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses: An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via the Roman Catholic Church.
St. Siricius, Bishop of Rome, was a man of whom a range of opinions existed during his lifetime. St. Paulinus of Nola (c. 354-431) considered St. Siricius haughty. Yet the querulous St. Jerome (347-419) initially detected no guile in St. Siricius. Later, when Sts. Jerome and Siricius were on opposite sides of the Origenist dispute, St. Jerome lambasted (with his characteristic invective) Sts. Rufinus of Aquileia (344/345-411) and John II of Jerusalem (c. 356-417). Yet St. Siricius defended those two saints. In that context, St. Jerome laid into the Pope, too, in the middle 390s.
St. Siricius, born in Rome, had been a reader under Pope Liberius (reigned May 17, 352-September 24, 366), as well as a deacon under Popes Liberius and St. Damasus I (reigned October 1, 366-December 384). Antipope Ursinus, who had lost the papal election to St. Damasus I, tried again in December 384. He lost again. St. Siricius won the election unanimously. Emperor Valentinian II (reigned 375-392) approved, too. He even provided funds for the restoration and enlargement of (old) St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome.
Above: The Interior of St. Peter’s Basilica, 300s
Image in the Public Domain
St. Siricius was a consequential Pope. He was the first one to issue decrees in the style and with the force of imperial decrees. He also insisted that the Holy See approve of all episcopal consecrations, and that more than consecrator be present. Our saint flexed his papal muscle by intervening in the schism (381-417) at Antioch. He respected the counsel of the Council of Caesarea (the one in Palestine) and recognized St. Flavian I (not Evagrius) as the rightful Patriarch of Antioch in 399.
Above: The Roman Imperial Prefecture of Illyricum, 318-379 C.E.
Image in the Public Domain
St. Siricius laid the foundation for the papal vicariate in 385. He granted the Bishop of Thessalonica the privilege to authorize all episcopal appointments in the Balkans (parts of present-day Greece, North Macedonia, and Albania, as well as what used to be Yugoslavia, to be precise). As of 378, the Prefecture of Illyricum consisted of the Roman imperial dioceses of Pannonia, Dacia, and Macedonia. The Diocese of Pannonia became part of the Prefecture of Italy (as the Diocese of Illyricum) in 379. Dacia (north of Macedonia) and Macedonia were also part of the Prefecture of Italy (384-388, 391-395). In 395, Thessalonica became the capital of the reconstituted Prefecture of Illyricum, consisting of the Dioceses of Macedonia and Dacia. In the 390s, Bonosus, Bishop of Naissus (now Niš, Serbia) from c. 380 to c. 391, argued against the perpetual virginity of St. Mary of Nazareth. St. Siricius condemned that opinion but not the bishop. He left judgment of the Bishop of Naissus to other bishops in the region. They deposed him.
St. Siricius was, by the standards of the late fourth century C.E., an orthodox Roman Catholic. In 392/393, for example, he excommunicated Jovinian, a monk who denounced fasting and celibacy. The Pope maintained order yet refrained from being harsh. His treatment of the heresy of Priscillianism and of Priscillian himself was consistent with this summary.
Priscillianism was a form of Gnosticism with a modalistic Trinitarian theology, mixed with vegetarianism. Priscillian was a Spanish layman. The heresy may have developed beyond his statements. Anyhow, Priscillianism was austere (to a point). According to this heresy:
- Satan was an evil principle, not a rebellious angel.
- Bodies were creations of Satan, therefore, evil. (This nixed the Incarnation, therefore the Atonement.)
- Human souls were emanations from the Godhead.
- The union a soul with a human body was punishment for that soul’s sins. (One may wonder what sins those were.)
- Procreation was a sin. (After all, the human body was evil.)
- Marriage was a sin.
- Eating meat was a sin. (Animal bodies were apparently evil, too.)
- Free love was permissible. (This was not an example of austerity. It was, however, consistent with Gnostic attitudes about how to treat supposedly evil bodies.)
- Fasting on Sundays and during the three weeks prior to the Feast of the Epiphany was standard practice.
- Abstaining from attending church during Lent was standard practice.
- Christ did not exist prior to the conception and birth of Jesus.
The Synod of Saragossa (380) denounced Priscillianism. Yet this official condemnation did not prevent Priscillian from briefly serving as the Bishop of Avila after that synod. Priscillian and his supporters, exiled in 381, wandered in the Roman Empire. In Italy, they sought audiences with St. Ambrose of Milan (337-397) and St. Damasus I. Neither bishop gave them so much as the time of day. After imperial officials revoked the Priscillians’ exile, the heretics returned to Spain.
Yet rival Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus (reigned 383-388), an Arian, had a different perspective. In 386, he had Priscillian and some followers thereof tried, convicted, and executed. St. Martin of Tours (c. 330-397) had pleaded in vain with Magnus Maximus not to execute them. St. Siricius condemned these executions, too.
St. Siricius died in Rome on November 26, 399.
Priscillianism thrived as a schismatic sect, complete with its own bishops, in Galicia (north of modern-day Portugal, in Spain) until the Council of Braga (563).
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 26, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM COWPER, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT ADELARD OF CORBIE, FRANKISH ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK AND ABBOT; AND HIS PROTÉGÉ, SAINT PASCHASIUS RADBERTUS, FRANKISH ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, ABBOT, AND THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF ROBERT HUNT, FIRST ANGLICAN CHAPLAIN AT JAMESTOWN, VIRGINIA
THE FEAST OF RUTH BYLLESBY, EPISCOPAL DEACONESS IN GEORGIA
THE FEAST OF SAINT STANISLAW KUBISTA, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1940; AND SAINT WLADYSLAW GORAL, POLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP AND MARTYR, 1945
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O God our heavenly Father, who raised up your faithful servant Saint Siricius of Rome
to be a bishop in your Church and to feed your flock:
Give abundantly to all bishops the gifts of your Holy Spirit,
that they may minister in your household as true servants
of Christ and stewards of your divine mysteries;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Acts 20:17-35
Psalm 84 or 84:7-11
Ephesians 3:14-21
Matthew 24:42-47
–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), 719
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Above: The Eastern Roman Empire
Scanned by Kenneth Randolph Taylor from Hammond’s World Atlas–Classics Edition (1957)
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SAINT PAMBO OF NITRIA (DIED CIRCA 375)
Desert Father
Also known as Saint Pambo of the Nitrian Desert
His feast transferred from July 18
mentor of
SAINT AMMONIUS OF SKETE (DIED CIRCA 403)
Desert Father
His feast = November 8
teacher of
EVAGRIUS OF PONTUS (345-399)
Monk, Theologian, and Deacon
Also known as Evagrius Ponticus and Evagrius the Solitary
teacher of
PALLADIUS OF GALATIA (363/364-420/430)
Monk, and Bishop of Helenopolis
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SAINT DIDYMUS THE BLIND (CIRCA 313-398)
Biblical Scholar
His feast transferred from October 18
teacher of
SAINT RUFINUS OF AQUILEIA (344/345-411)
Monk and Priest
His feast transferred from October 1
ordained by
SAINT JOHN II (CIRCA 356-JANUARY 10, 417)
Bishop of Jerusalem
His feast transferred from January 10
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SAINT MACARIUS OF EGYPT (CIRCA 300-391)
Desert Father
Also known as Saint Macarius the Great and Saint Macarius the Elder
His feast transferred from January 15, January 19, and April 4
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SAINT MACARIUS OF ALEXANDRIA (CIRCA 300-395)
Desert Father
Also known as Saint Macarius the Younger
His feast transferred from January 19 and May 1
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SAINT PISHOY (320-JULY 15, 417)
Desert Father
Also known as Saint Bishoy
His feast transferred from June 19
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SAINT MELANIA THE ELDER (325-410/417)
Desert Mother
Her feast transferred from June 8
grandmother of
SAINT MELANIA THE YOUNGER (CIRCA 383-DECEMBER 31, 439)
Desert Mother
Her feast transferred from December 31
wife of
SAINT PINIAN (DIED IN 420)
Monk
His feast transferred from December 31
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The genesis of this post was the listing of St. Ammonius (of Skete) [feast day = November 8] in Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018. One connection led to another until I had thirteen saints, not including some I had added to my Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days already.
Above: St. Pambo of Nitria
Image in the Public Domain
St. Pambo of Nitria (died circa 375) was an influential spiritual figure. He, a disciple of St. Antony of Egypt (d. 356), founded a monastery in the Nitrian Desert of Egypt. St. Pambo advised, among others, St. Rufinus of Aquileia, St. Athanasius of Alexandria (c. 295-373), St. Melania the Elder, St. Pishoy, St. John the Dwarf (c. 339-c. 405), and St. Ammonius of Skete and his brothers. St. Pambo died in the company of St. Melania the Elder.
St. Ammonius of Skete (died circa 403), one of a host of saints named “Ammonius,” was one of four brothers who became hermits under St. Pambo in the Nitrian Desert. Prior to becoming a hermit, St. Ammonius had memorized much of the Old and New Testaments and mastered much of the work of early Christian theologians. Our saint, a popular spiritual director, taught Evagrius of Pontus, befriended St. John Chrysostom, and knew St. Melania the Elder. Two of the brothers of St. Ammonius became priests. A third brother, Dioscorus, became the Bishop of Hermopolis. St. Ammonius, nearly drafted into the episcopate, protested so vehemently that he remained a monk. He died circa 403, while visiting Chrysostom.
Evagrius of Pontus, born in Ibora, Asia Minor, in 345, struggled with vanity and lust. He grew up in a Christian family and studied in Neocaesarea. His teachers over time included Origen, St. Macarius of Alexandria, St. Macarius of Egypt, St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory of Nazianzus the Younger, St. Melania the Elder, and St. Ammonius of Skete. St. Basil the Great ordained Evagrius a lector. In Constantinople, in 380, St. Gregory of Nazainzus the Younger ordained our saint to the diaconate. The following year, Evagrious participated in the First Council of Constantinople, which revised the Nicene Creed. Evagrius, struggling with vanity and lust, visited St. Rufinus of Aquileia and St. Melania the Elder in Jerusalem; she advised him to become a monk. He did, in Jerusalem in 383. Two years later, Evagrius moved to the Nitrian Desert. Eventually he relocated to Kellia. Our saint, who taught St. John Cassian and Palladius of Galatia, created a list of eight evils–the antecedent of the Seven Deadly Sins. He died in Kellia, Egypt, in 399.
Palladius of Galatia (363/364-420/430) wrote of the Desert Fathers. His Lausaic History (419-420), the archive of the Desert Fathers, has preserved their wisdom for posterity. Palladius, a disciple of St. John Chrysostom, sided with his teacher in imperial disputes. Our saint, a monk from 386, was a monk with Evagrius of Pontus and St. Macarius of Alexandria for nine years. Later, for health-related reasons, Palladius moved to Palestine. In 400 he became the Bishop of Helenopolis. Political exile filled 406-412, but our saint returned to his see in 412/413.
St. Didymus the Blind (circa 313-398) was of the school of Origen in Alexandria, Egypt. St. Didymus, orthodox (at least according tot he standards of his time; human theological orthodoxy shifts sometimes) wrote commentaries on the Bible and on the theology of his teacher, Origen. The blind ascetic taught St. Rufinus of Aquileia and St. Jerome, who later had harsh words for Origen and Origenists. St. Didymus also developed a system to help blind people read.
St. Rufinus of Aquileia, born near Aquileia in 344/345, became a monk. He, raised in Christian family, was a monk in Aquileia in 370, wheen he met St. Jerome. St. Rufinus studied under St. Didymus the Blind in Alexandria from 373 to 380. St. Rufinus followed St. Melania the Elder to Jerusalem in 380. She financed the founding of his new monastery, located on the Mount of Olives. St. Rufinus studied Greek theology in that monastery. He resumed his friendship with St. Jerome in 386. Four years later, St. John II (circa 356-January 10, 417), the Bishop of Jerusalem, ordained St. Rufinus to the priesthood.
The renewed friendship with St. Jerome ended due to the Origenist dispute. Origen was orthodox, according to the theological standards of his time, but theologians subsequently redefined orthodoxy. This process made him a heretic ex post facto. St. Jerome, an argumentative individual, lambasted Origen, Origenists, and Origenism. Two of his targets were St. Rufinus of Alexandria and St. John II of Jerusalem, starting in 394.
St. Rufinus, marginalized in ecclesiastical circles because of his defense of Origen, resided in Italy from 397 to 408. He, St. Melania the Younger, and St. Pinian fled to Sicily, due to the invasion of Alaric, as the Western Roman Empire crumbled. St. Rufinus died in Sicily in 411.
Above: St. Macarius of Egypt
Image in the Public Domain
The two St. Macariuses were a team. St. Macarius of Egypt/the Great/the Elder, born in Shabshear, Lower Egypt, circa 300, eventually found his vocation. The erstwhile saltpeter smuggler had married because his parents wanted him to do so. The union was brief; his wife died. Then our saint’s parents died. St. Macarius the Elder gave his money to the poor and became a priest. Later he visited St. Antony the Great in the desert, and became a monk. At the age of 40 years, St. Macarius became the abbot at Skete.
St. Macarius the Younger/of Alexandria, born in Alexandria, Egypt, circa 300, found his vocation in mid-life. He, a merchant until he was 40 years old, accepted baptism and became an ascetic in the desert. He, ordained to the priesthood became the prior of a monastery between Nitria and Skete. One influence on St. Macarius the Younger was St. Pachomius the Great (292-346/348), the Founder of Christian Communal Monasticism.
In the fourth century C.E., Roman imperial politics was, for a time, inseparable from the conflict between Arians and orthodox Christians. The Emperor Valens (reigned 364-378), an Arian, exiled the two St. Macariuses to an island in the Nile River. They evangelized the inhabitants. Our saints returned to the Nitrian Desert when the political situation changed. Two of the people who greeted them were St. John the Dwarf and St. Pishoy.
St. Macarius the Elder died in 391.
St. Macarius the Younger in 395.
St. Pishoy, born in Shansa, Egypt, in 320, was another disciple of St. Pambo of Nitria. St. Pishoy, raised in a Christian home, became a monk under St. Pambo at the age of 20 years. St. John the Dwarf ordained St. Pishoy, who became a hermit in 375, after St. Pambo died. St. Pishoy, known for his wisdom, kindness, and orthodoxy, founded a monastery at Skete. The Berber invasion forced him to move in 408. St. Pishoy founded a new monastery on the Mountains of Ansena, in Egypt. He died there on July 15, 417.
Above: St. Melania the Elder
Image in the Public Domain
St. Melania the Elder (born in 325), whose life intersected with many other lives, came from an extremely wealthy family. They owned estates throughout the Roman Empire. Her father, Marcellinus, married her off when she was 14 years old. St. Melania the Elder’s husband was Valerius Maximus Basilius (circa 330-after 364), the Proconsul of Achaea (361-363). He and two of their three children died when St. Melania the Elder was 22 years old. She and her remaining son, Valerius Publicola, moved to Rome. St. Melania the Elder converted to Christianity and raised her son as a Christian.
St. Melania the Elder, aged 32 years, left her son in the care of a guardian and took servants with her to Nitria, where she visited for a few months. She became a traveling student of theology and patron of monasticism. In 373, for example, St. Melania the Elder provided financial support for the orthodox monks exiled to Diocaesarea. She and St. Rufinus of Aquileia settled in Jerusalem in 380. There St. Melania the Elder financed a convent, where she lived, as well as a monastery, for St. Rufinus.
St. Melania the Elder, a cousin of St. Paulinus of Nola, was also an Origenist. St. Jerome did not spare her from his poison pen.
Above: St. Melania the Younger
Image in the Public Domain
Valerius Publicus (died in 406) grew up and had a family in Rome. He married Caeionia Albinus, daughter of a consul. They had a daughter, St. Melania the Younger, born in 383. At the age of 14 years she married a cousin, Valerius Pinanus, a.k.a. St. Pinian (died in 420). They were an extremely wealthy couple. After their two children died young, Sts. Melania the Younger and Pinian embarked on lives of celibacy.
St. Melania the Elder, visiting her family in Rome circa 400, influenced her granddaughter to follow her back to Jerusalem. Sts. Melania the Younger and Pinian moved, donated generously to the Church and the poor, and eventually became monastics in Messina, Sicily, starting in 408. As Sts. Melania the Younger, Pinian, and Rufinus of Aquileia had fled Itlay because of the invasion of Alaric, as the Western Roman Empire crumbled. Sts. Melania the Younger and Pinian were on Sicily until 410. That year they met and befriended St. Augustine of Hippo, and mutually founded a convent in northern Africa, with St. Melania the Younger serving as the Mother Superior.
After St. Melania the Elder died in 410/417, Sts. Melania the Younger and Pinian relocated to Palestine, where they founded another convent. St. Pinian died in 420. Afterward, St. Melania the Younger founded another monastery and church in Jerusalem.
She died in that city on December 31, 439.
Thank you, O reader, for taking his multi-saint journey through holiness with me.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
FEBRUARY 2, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE PRESENTATION OF JESUS IN THE TEMPLE
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O God, by whose grace your servants
Saint Pambo of Nitria,
Saint Ammonius of Skete,
Evagrius of Pontus,
Palladius of Galatia,
Saint Didymus the Blind,
Saint Rufinus of Aquileia,
Saint John II of Jerusalem,
Saint Macarius the Elder,
Saint Macarius the Younger,
Saint Pishoy,
Saint Melania the Elder,
Saint Melania the Younger,
and Saint Pinian,
became burning and shining lights in your Church:
Grant that we also may be aflame with the spirit of love and discipline,
and walk before you as children of light, through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Acts 2:42-47a
Psalm 133 or 34:1-8 or 119:161-168
2 Corinthians 6:1-10
Matthew 6:24-33
–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), 723
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Above: St. Paulinus of Nola
Image in the Public Domain
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SAINT MEROPIUS PONTIUS ANACIUS PAULINUS (CIRCA 354-JUNE 22, 431)
Roman Catholic Bishop of Nola
St. Paulinus of Nola and his wife Therasia did much to help the poor, especially of Nola, Italy.
St. Paulinus and his wife were initially pagans. Our saint, born in Buridigala, Gaul (now Bordeaux, France), circa 354, came from a prominent and wealthy family. He became a lawyer and a Roman imperial official. After he left public service the couple retired to Buridigala. Later they moved to Therasia’s estate at Alcala de Henares, Spain. There they welcomed their only son into the world. There they also grieved after he died about a week after his birth.
In the wake of their son’s death St. Paulinus and Therasia converted to Christianity and dedicated their lives to God. St. Ambrose of Milan and St. Delphinus of Bordeaux (d. 403), the Bishop of Buridigala, facilitated the conversions and baptisms in 392. St. Paulinus and Therasia sold or gave away most of their wealth and embarked on their new lives.
St. Paulinus became a clergyman. He, ordained a priest in Barcelona in 394, moved to Nola, Italy, where he and Therasia helped poor people. In 409 our saint, by then a widower, became the Bishop of Nola by popular demand; he served for the rest of his life. He lived as a monk at home.
St. Paulinus, a prolific writer, composed one of the oldest surviving Christian wedding songs.
St. Paulinus had a group of prominent friends. They included Emperor Theodosius I “the Great” (reigned 379-395), Pope St. Anastasius I (in office 399-401), St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Nicetas of Remesiana, St. Martin of Tours, and St. Jerome. The glue of Christian faith held them together.
St. Paulinus died at Nola on June 22, 431.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 28, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF SAINT ALBERT THE GREAT AND HIS PUPIL, SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS, ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGIANS
THE FEAST OF CHARLES KINGSLEY, ANGLICAN PRIEST, NOVELIST, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOSEPH BARNBY, ANGLICAN CHURCH MUSICIAN AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF RICHARD FREDERICK LITTLEDALE, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND TRANSLATOR OF HYMNS
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Heavenly Gather, Shepherd of your people, we thank you for your servant Saint Paulinus of Nola,
who was faithful in the care and nurture of your flock;
and we pray that, following his example and the teaching of his holy life,
we may by your grace grow into the stature of the fullness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Ezekiel 34:11-16
Psalm 23
1 Peter 5:1-4
John 21:15-17
–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 718
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Above: The Balkans in the Roman Empire, 395 Common Era
SAINT NICETAS OF REMESIANA (CIRCA 335-CIRCA 414)
Roman Catholic Bishop
It is easy to take some things, especially old ones–for granted. They have always existed, right? Wrong! They were new once, and somebody originated them. With that introductory thought I turn to St. Nicetas of Remesiana (circa 335-circa 414). He was Bishop of Remesiana in Dacia, in present-day Serbia, and a successful missionary. The saint also wrote dissertations on the Trinity (he rejected Arianism), liturgical singing, and the creed. In his writings we have the earliest known use of the term “the communion of saints.” And he might have composed the great Te Deum Laudamus. So, with great enthusiasm (understated enthusiasm, given my sedate ways), I add St. Nicetas to my Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, where he joins his good friend, St. Paulinus of Nola.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 20, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR C
THE FEAST OF SAINT ALCUIN OF YORK, DEACON AND ABBOT
THE FEAST OF SAINT HELENA, MOTHER OF EMPEROR CONSTANTINE I
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O Almighty God, you gave to your servant
Saint Nicetas of Remesiana
special gifts of grace to understand teach the truch
as it is in Christ Jesus:
Grant that by this teaching we may know you,
the one true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one god, for ever and ever. Amen.
Proverbs 3:1-7
Psalm 119:89-96
1 Corinthians 3:5-11
Matthew 13:47-52
—Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 721
SUNDRY THOUGHTS 
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