Month: November 2020

Pope and Patriarch Peter of Alexandria (d. 311) may have been brought up by his teacher, mentor, and predecessor Theonas. We do know that he (Peter) ran the Catechetical School of Alexandria (mascot: the Fighting Sphinxes), and succeeded his predecessor, which is how succession usually works. When the Diocletian persecutions hit Egypt, Peter fled the… Continue reading November 25 – Peter of Alexandria →

Catherine of Alexandria (ca. 282–ca. 305) was the daughter of the governor of Alexandria (later traditions make him a king), and given a top-notch education in the pagan philosophy of the day. What she knew about Aristotle would make Thomas Aquinas (Jan 28) blush, and she knew her Plato, too. Her parents were determined to… Continue reading November 24 – Catherine of Alexandria →

Alexander Nevsky (1220–1263) was the grandson of Vsevolod “Big Nest” Yuryevich, so called because he had fourteen children (one hoped for some less prosaic reason, but history isn’t always as glamorous as one might like), one of which was Alex’s dad Prince Yaroslav II of Vladimir. Alexander was the second son, and as such didn’t… Continue reading November 23 – Alexander Nevsky →

Michael of Tver (1272–1318), son of Yaroslav III Yaraslovich and nephew of Alexander Nevsky (Nov 23), was raised a good Christian lad by his good Christian mum (St.) Xenia of Tarusa, later a nun in Novgorod. From his youth, Michael figured he’d wind up either a monk or a martyr, and it turned out he… Continue reading November 22 – Michael of Tver; Cecilia →

The Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple commemorates an incident recorded in the second-century Protoevangelium of James. Joachim and Anna, devout first century (AD) Palestinian Jews, had no offspring even unto their old age until the archangel Gabriel (not to be confused with Peter Gabriel, who hadn’t been born yet) visited… Continue reading November 21 – Entrance of the Theotokos; Albert of Louvain →