Who's ready for a full week of madcap Saintly Sixteen action? Well, ready or not, it's coming your way as Lent Madness 2021 continues in earnest.
Today it's Egeria vs. Arnulf of Metz as they vie for a shot at the Elate Eight. To get here, Egeria made it past Tarcisius while Arnulf took down Vincent of Saragossa.
If you missed Friday's result, Catherine Booth marched past Constantine 70% to 30%. Go vote!
Egeria
Egeria—pilgrim, writer, journalist, and popularizer of the definite article—sent letters back to her community in Spain throughout her travels in the late 4th century.
Her writings are easily available today for our perusal and appreciation—so it might be surprising to learn that the fragments we have were not translated into English until 2005. (Earlier fragments were referenced in other works, and it was partially translated as early as the end of the 1800s, but by and large, the thoughts of a world-travelling religious woman were not widely considered important until relatively recently. Our loss.)
According to academics, her writing style was not polished: she misspells words and does not appear educated. But she wrote the way she talked, and so her writing gives us an insight into what a fourth century traveller thought and cared about—the way her mind worked. Recent translations work hard to preserve the loose, breezy way she wrote, and her voice. (The recently-released edition from Liturgical Press is very good.)
Egeria appears to be the subject of a letter written by a Spanish monk in the late 7th century named Valerius to his fellow monks. He seems to honestly be impressed with Egeria, though that can be hard to discern, amidst his general issues with women. Throughout the letter, he spells her name four different ways (bless his heart). He describes her as a virtuous, faithful Christian, even though she was in the form of a “weak woman”(!), and hopes all the monks back at home will emulate her. He proclaims that all the local saints in his region loved Egeria, and that he was sure that “she will return to that very place where in this life she walked as a pilgrim.”
It’s worth noting Egeria’s casual mention of armed escorts at various places in her letters. Pilgrimages were extremely dangerous in the late 4th century, and it wasn’t rare for thieves to waylay travelers on isolated roads. It is also remarkable that Egeria mentions, on the one hand, “helpful Roman soldiers who assist us in the name of public safety” and—on the other hand—meeting with confessor bishops while on her journeys. “Confessor” was a title used by local Christians to refer to someone who had been arrested and tortured, but not martyred, for their faith by Rome. In the 380s, those who had lived through the last Roman persecutions were still in church leadership—albeit fewer and fewer in number. Egeria is basically chronicling the change between a persecuted church and a church that can run the world.
Arnulf of Metz
While in this century, Arnulf (Arnold) of Metz is best known by his association with beer and breweries, in his own time he was renowned for his deep pastoral care and compassion for the people entrusted to his oversight.
Arnulf was born into wealth and privilege – a condition which can predispose one to a sense of entitlement. But Arnulf went in the other direction. At every opportunity he used what he had for the good of others.
His hometown of Metz became a destination for the poor, vulnerable, and destitute of the kingdom, who trusted so much in the Bishop’s generosity that they travelled great distances to be in his presence. And once they were, Arnulf would put his own clothes on these travelling beggars, give them food and water from his own table, and follow the Lord’s example by washing their feet.
Once, Arnulf is remembered as saying “Don’t drink the water, drink the beer.” This too was a pastoral concern. The brewing process meant that the beer was safer to drink than the local water supply. In a time of pandemic and disease, Arnulf relied on the wisdom of experience to direct his parishioners to the best practices to preserve their own health and the well-being of the community.
Similarly, Arnulf stood between the people of Metz and destruction when a fire broke out in the town. As a fire in the palace threatened to spread through the town, causing untold destruction, Arnulf said “If God wants me to be consumed, I am in His hands.” He stood in front of the fire, and making the sign of the cross commanded the fire to abate – and it did.
Beyond these powerful stories, Arnulf found ways to fight for the people even in the mundane work of ecclesial and political administration. Arnulf had his hand in the formation of the Edict of Paris (615), which has been compared to the Magna Carta. Among the laws enacted by the Edict was a change that demanded that bishops be elected by the people, rather than appointed by kings.
The legacy of Arnulf is of ecclesial and pastoral authority that is consistently working for the good of God’s people in all things.
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90 comments on “Egeria vs. Arnulf of Metz”
It's not the beer that swayed me in favor of Arnulf, but his standing before a fire and in the name of Christ commanding it to quell. We have started having to make hard choices and both are incredibly worthy, but that image of him standing ready to be consumed to save others - well, that's hitting home today because I have a friend today who is about to spend 24 hours helping others in palliative care, while suffering from depression herself. Please pray for all those who give end of life care to others.
Prayers for your friend and those she cares for, Ellen.
This vote is brought to you by the word "the." Megan Castellan (aka Megan the Castle Keeper) wrote on behalf of Egeria back in 2015 as well and eloquently pointed then and now to Egeria's importance as a chronicler of both the liturgies of Holy Week in Jerusalem and the historical changes the church was undergoing, from persecuted to empurpled imperial. May we, who are "virtual" pilgrims, all have the opportunity again one day to venture forth on embodied pilgrimages in the world. I know we're still in covid, but the beer guy just doesn't seem to be pointing to the most godly path this year. As a Washington Post journalist wrote, "People, get out of the butter and the bourbon!" Because this faithful company is still only halfway to Canterbury, I feel it's an opportune moment to re-up Megan's collect from six years ago, which speaks so aptly to our tenuous efforts to stay connected in these days: "Jesus, May our eyes see not only the stones that saw you but the people who walk with you now; may our feet tread not only the path of your pain but the streets of a living city; may our prayers embrace not only the memory of your presence but the flesh and blood who jostle us today." It's beautiful flesh-and-blood companions not beer for me this coming Holy Week. [We interrupt this vote to make a special public-service announcement: Do NOT try to bite off a piece of the cross during your Good Friday stations. The deacons will drag you out, and you will not be able to make an emergency dental appointment over Easter weekend!] Stay well, everyone; wear your masks and stay 6' apart.
This crowd doesn’t find saintliness in writers or contemplatives! It’s maddening!
I remind everyone of Egeria's goldfish, featured in the 2015 kitsch round, who provides a model of contemplation for us today: "because every trip around the bowl is a pilgrimage for a goldfish who can only remember 30 seconds worth of stuff!" Simply observing the world with attention is a meditative practice. And journaling is the interior highway to God.
Haha! Well, there you go!
I always appreciate your insightful comments. Thank you.
Very difficult choice. In the end I went with Arnulf of Metz because our Verger Emeritus' last name is Metz. I'll be happy with either choice.
I wish I had researched more about Egeria before voting for Arnulf. I change my vote even though it won’t count.
Both are deserving. I'm wondering how well commanding the fire to go out actually went -- shades of King Canute commanding the tide not to come in.
I give thanks for Egeria's documentation of early (4th century) liturgies, a primary source for the 1979 BCP Holy Week liturgies, which didn't exist in the 1928 BCP. I can't imagine celebrating Easter without participating in our "High Holy Days" first. I have her going all the way to the Faithful Four.
I'm so sorry to see Egeria running behind early in the day. I do wish her hagiographer had quoted this anecdote from the Good Friday veneration of the Holy Cross that captures the importance of relics to the faithful: " ... the bishop, remaining seated, grips the ends of the sacred wood with his hands, while the deacons, who are standing about keep watch over it. There is a reason why it is guarded in this manner. " She describes how the faithful come forward to kiss "the holy wood, and then move on. It is said that someone (I do not know when took a bite and stole a piece of the holy cross. Therefore, its is now guarded by the deacons ... lest there be anyone who would dare come and do that again."
Really! With such great story telling, how can anyone vote for Arnulf?
I heard this story in Patristics class in seminary, and as a result made "Egeria cookies" for a social gathering -- cross- shaped sugar cookies with a bite-shaped cut taken out. It's a sacrilege that she seems not to be making it into the kitsch round!
I've gone back and forth on this one several times just reading through the comments. Egeria's accomplishments as a chronicler of church history is important to us day, Arnulf's were more impactful on the people of his day. Egeria deserves accolades for all the journeys she walked; and I am sure Arnulf would have happily washed her feet and offered her a beer at the end of he day. I am a big believer in making footwashing a sacrament and Arnulf is a great cat name, so I ended up supporting him, but with a bit of guilt.
"I am a big believer in making footwashing a sacrament, and Arnulf is a great cat name." Good enough! Have a beer, and feel no guilt. Egeria will make another turn around the goldfish bowl in a future year, and when she wins the Golden Halo, we can all celebrate by "drinking like fish." Or perhaps just by radiating beauty like koi.
Sounds good to me. It's a date!
Richard, my next rescue cat thanks you for his new name!
Arnulf got my vote today for his pastoral care & the excellent beer I enjoyed Friday night. Our prayers were heard & we were blessed by our new rector Rev. Sonny just b4 this pandemic hit & without him our church would not have been able to survive on Zoom. (Sorry, Egeria, I know I usually vote for the lady but life & beer happen)
"Life and beer happen." This is a good round. Let's have another one; ha!
as one who is not a good speller or writer I went with Egeria. she is a real woman
Since we’re in our own pandemic I vote for the saint who was smart to drink beer instead of water and encourage others. From a public health standpoint he undoubtedly saved others from many illnesses including cholera. Not withstanding fires and urban planning.
Lent Madness is well named....having to choose between equally worthy candidates can drive one to madness. I could happily have voted for either of these two saints - and in fact, I did in Round One. However, today I cast my ballot for Arnulf, and I don't even drink beer! I voted for him because of his care for the poor and hungry, for his life lived in a powerful emulation of Christ...and for the Edict of Paris. Go, Arnulf!
The Edict of Paris banned Jews from royal office. One COULD compare it to the Magna Carta, I suppose, but one COULD also compare it to the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. One can make all kinds of comparisons, but The Edict of Paris in the seventh century helps to seal in anti-semitism as part of the mortar of church-state relations, a bitter heritage.
I wonder if David knew that when he wrote up Arnulf's entry today. I had never even heard of the Edict of Paris before. If I had know this, I might have changed my vote.
I liked both these saints but Arnulf did so much for the poor and his community.
I love the liturgical year.....the continuity regardless of whatever else is turned upside down in our lives,the festivity of it, the reminder, Thank you Egeria!
Ms Pedant feels compelled to comment that Canute/Knut did not expect the tide to turn. He expected it to keep coming in. He was tired of being surrounded by yes-men who were trying to butter him up and tell him he could do anything, and he went to the shore to prove them wrong and to get them to be honest with him.
But this leads me to wonder if Arnulf actually ordered the fire to stop, or if perhaps he was throwing buckets of water -- or beer! -- on it, and if people protested for his safety he then said "If God wishes me to be consumed, I am in his hands." And the story morphed over time.
A scion of the Forkbeards and Blueteeth would know better than to toss good craft beer onto an inferno. Consume it yourself, before you're consumed.
And alcohol would in no way quench a fire, just fuel it.
Depends on the proof. I'm pretty certain 5% - 8% alcohol wouldn't produce much in the way of pyrotechnics.
Now if Arnulf was the patron saint of tequila makers and Everclear alchemists, that would be a different story altogether.
Metz is my mother-in-Law's home town....So voted for him.
Another tough one. In the end, I voted for Arnulf. He could have lived the royal life but chose generosity and service. I especially liked the "value of a refreshing mug of beer."
This is the first year I recall anyone saying that they were related to a saint and someone else saying that something like a third of Europeans were related to Charlemagne. Right after that I was working on our family tree and sure enough...there was Arnulf of Metz We have had a great laugh about Arnulf and his wife St Doda. Of course...had to vote for the family saint.
Oh, it is more than a 1/3rd of Europeans. From what I've heard it is anyone with a fraction of European ancestry.
I VOTED FOR EGERIA.
I VOTED FOR EGERIA, A TRAVELER IN THE 4TH CENTURY, WHO EXERCISED COURAGE AND FAITHFULNESS, AND TOLD US OF CHURCH HISTORY.
I know what beer in all its distillations tastes like but I thirst to know more about early Christian travels by this lovely Egeria is what intrigues me as I quaff my favourite ale.
The people electing bishops? Or the king appointing bishops? I prefer the former, for (hopefully) independence of thought and leadership. Arnulf it is for me!
The people electing bishops?: As Megan Castellan said of Egeria, "involvement of the laity sent her over the moon!"
FOUL! Unfair advantage for Arnulf in this match held so close to St. Patrick's Day.
Beware the Ides of March.
“Don’t drink the water, drink the beer.”
Amen
Enlightening
Going multiple places, tender and
Ever walking, ever writing
Riding a bike would be easier, but
Instead she put one foot in front of the other:
Amazing!!!
(Friends & Members of St. Mark's, ABQ)
Oh, no! Egeria is down by over 1,000 votes. As one commented above, Arnulf helped people in his time, but Egeria's contributions to the faith have lasted centuries. She gets my vote even though I am a stickler for proper spelling and punctuation - neither of which existed when she did.
My vote goes to Egeria. All I ask is that you find another 1100 or so votes for her. Surely, there have been illegal ballots cast for Arnulf.
I can't believe this is even a contest! Here we are in the 21st century having spent the last 100 years (at least) trying to undo the sexism and injustice built into the worship traditions of the church and people are voting in favor of a privileged male saint whose claim to fame is providing political intrigue and beer instead the one female liturgical historian who provided a woman's-eye view of early Christian worship traditions. Egeria risked her life to become one of our earliest chroniclers of the diversity of Christian worship, only to have her voice stifled by "better-educated" and institutionalized men. During a time in which we are attempting to broaden our views of what constitutes worship, we should be carrying Egeria to the Golden Halo on our collective shoulders!
You all have a lot of theological depth and European history. Well done. I am just lamenting the definite article being slowing defeated by beer. Is that over simplifying?
A fella has to believe in something. I believe I'll have another beer.
or two.....
Sorry to see, at this late hour, that Egeria is losing. There’s nothing like a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to touch your faith in unexpected ways.