Saint of the Day – 12 March – St Alphege [the Elder] (Died 951) Bishop of Winchester, monastic reformer, protector and supporter. Born in England and died in Winchester of natural causes. Also known as – Alphege of Winchester, Ælfheah… Elphege… Elfego… Elpigio… (Not to be confused with St Alphege [the Younger] also the Bishop of Winchester before becoming the Archbishop of Canterbury) https://anastpaul.com/2017/04/19/saint-of-the-day-19-april-st-alphege/
Despite Alphege’s important role in the 10th Century monastic revival, little is known of St Alphege’s life.
He began his career as a Monk and was appointed as the Bishop of Winchester in 934 or 935. He was a relative of the great St Dunstan, the Archbishop of Canterbury (Died 988) and who had taken Alphege as a young man into his service. St Dunstan later Ordained Alphege as a Priest.
Alphege was an instigater of the monastic reforms and was the tutor of St Aethelwold, who became his successor in the See of Winchester and a most zealous monaster reformer.
Alphege died on 12 March 951 and was buried in Old Minster in Winchester. He was immediately revered as a Saint. Following the Norman conquest, Archbishop Lanfranc downgraded a number of Anglo-Saxon Saints, including our St Alphege to bring the Liturgical calendar into line with that of existing elsewhere in the country. However, under St Anselm’s influence, he was subsequently re-instated.
Blessed Jerome of Recanati OSA (Died 1350) Priest, Friar of the Hermits of Saint Augustine, Peacemaker. He was Beatified in 1804 by Pope Pius VII. The Roman Martyrology reads : “In Recanati in the Marche, Blessed Girolamo Gherarducci, Priest of the Order of the Hermits of St Agustine, who worked for peace and harmony between peoples.” essed l Jerome the Peacemaker: https://anastpaul.com/2022/03/12/saint-of-the-day-12-march-blessed-jerome-of-recanati-osa-died-1350/
St Theophanes (c758-817) Abbot, Confessor, Founder of Monasteries, Defender of Sacred images, Writer and Historian. The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Constantinople, St Theophanes, who gave up great wealth to embrace poverty in the monastic state. By Leo the Armenian, he was kept in prison for two years for the worship of holy images, then, being exiled in Samothracia, where, overwhelmed with afflictions, he breathed his last and wrought many miracles.” Courageous and Brilliant St Theophanes: https://anastpaul.com/2024/03/12/saint-of-the-day-12-march-saint-theophanes-c758-817-abbot-confessor-defender-of-icons/
Martyrs of Nicomedia – 8 Beati: Christians who were Martyred in succession in a single incident during the persecutions of Diocletian. First there were the eight imprisoned Christians, Domna, Esmaragdus, Eugene, Hilary, Mardonius, Maximus, Mígdonus and Peter, about whom we know little more than their names. Each day for eight days one of them would be strangled to death in view of the others so that they would spend the night in dread, not knowing if they were next. Peter was the Chamberlain or Butler in the Palace of Diocletian. When he was overheard complaining about this cruelty, he was exposed as a Christian, arrested, tortured and executed by having the flesh torn from his bones, salt and vinegar poured on the wounds and then being roasted to death over a slow fire. Gorgonio was an army officer and member of the staff in the house of emperor Diocletian, Doroteo was a staff clerk. They were each exposed as Christians when they were overhead objecting to the torture and murder of Peter. This led to their own arrest, torture and executions. Died in 303 in Nicomedia, Bithynia (in modern Turkey) Additional Memorial – 28 December as part of the 20,000 Martyrs of Nicomedia. Beatified on 14 January 1891 by Pope Leo XIII (cultus confirmation).
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