Friday, August 7, 2026

It is the 7th of August 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

With apologies to whoever sent the email recently, someone asked the relatively straightforward question of: how does one become a “saint”?

 

Today we will remember St. Afra… who? She was an obscure 4th c. Martyr in the august city of Augsburg- but her story is perhaps indicative of why the science of “saint-making” makes a little bit of sense.

 

In the Catholic and Orthodox traditions, there is a long history of recognizing specific saints- and because of the confusion that could surround the likes of St. Afra, there are now specific boards and regulations that require documentation and recognition by the church hierarchy. But it wasn’t always that way. In the early church- especially during Roman persecution Christians kept the memory of those who died for the faith in martyrologies. These were books that named and listed the faithful who died declaring their faith.

 

And the first time we get word of this mysterious St. Afra is in Jerome’s Book of Martyrs- a compilation of various collections of martyrs from the 4th century. Here’s all we know from this text: Afra was a woman who died for her faith, put to death in the city of Augsburg in 304 on either the 5th, 6th, or 7th of August. But that is the least of the discrepancies (and we place her on this day not because I have any inside information, but because today was open on my calendar).

 

In 565 she is mentioned again, in the Life of St. Martin that claims her burial spot had already become a site of pilgrimage- but there is still no story as to what made her remarkable.

 

Her story seems to have been born of two later events. First, there is another saint who shared the day with Afra in Jerome’s Book of Martyrs- Venerea- a virgin martyr from the 2nd century. Hence, some reports of Afra also make her a virgin martyr. But, there is a stronger tradition that Afra was a temple… er, “courtesan” at a temple for Venus- not a virgin at all. This is likely to do with the mix-up with the name Venerea.

 

It was in the 9th century, as discussions about the appropriateness of men and women in religious orders together, that a full story was fleshed out about Afra. It was a story, in part, promoting a woman who protected and served with men. The story goes that Afra was from Cyprus (perhaps the daughter of the King) who came to Augsburg and was put in the temple of Venus. She also ran a brothel. A bishop, Narcissus, fleeing persecution, sought refuge in the house of Afra, not knowing it was a home of ill repute. He preached at the brothel, and all there were converted. When the officials came looking for Narcissus, Afra hid him underneath a pile of flax.

 

Afra was arrested, and when she refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods and mocked for being a Christian despite her sinful past, she remained steadfast and was either burned to death or beheaded on a small island on the Lech River going through the city. This would lead to a bishop in the 11th century building a monastery on the site of her death and Afra becoming one of the patron saints of the city of Augsburg. Furthermore, in the early 1400s Christine De Pizan would write a popular book, “The Book of the City of Ladies”- a collection of 150 stories of faithful women who contributed to the church. Just as in the 9th century, this anonymous Afra- either a virgin or not was used to defend the place of women in the church. Her sites and churches dedicated to her remain today in the city of Augsburg- another curious story wherein the Reformation was able to flourish in that city, but only to an extent- it became a kind of DMZ during the Reformation, and so the Catholic shrines and basilicas often remained.

 

She is venerated as the patron saint of fallen women, of converts, and penitents… almost completely on account of a scribal error associating her with Venerea and later attempts to justify the role of women in the church. To add to all the confusion, she is celebrated on the 5th, 6th, or 7th of August…

 

Sainthood is either very tricky, very easy (all Christians are saints), or in the case of Afra- a concoction of tales told and altered through the centuries.

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and, ironically a story from Acts about a man invited into ministry by both a man and a woman:

24 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. X When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.

27 When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. 28 For he vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 7th of August 2026 brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who wonders which name is more ironic for a Christian: Narcissus or Apollos- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who visits the Basilica of Afra in Augsburg every year- you can too… go to GTItours.org for more info- I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.