New this year, we are pleased to offer a brief Opening Ceremony video for Lent Madness. It might not involve a cast of thousands like the Olympics, but it does feature two dead archbishops introducing a true Episcopal celebrity wearing a purple cassock. See, we win!
Isn't it just "astonishing" how many people have been looking forward to the start of Lent? Isn't it just "great" that Lent Madness has finally begun? The Supreme Executive Committee has fired the starting gun (don't worry, it's metaphorical) and...we're off! The 2014 Saintly Smackdown has officially commenced.
So, hang onto your halos as we begin whittling down our field of 32 saints. All are worthy (yes, they have already received their respective crowns of glory) yet only one will attain the coveted Golden Halo. There will be debates, ire, angst, rejoicing, and holy trash talking. Just remember, it’s all in the spirit of this season specifically set aside to grow closer to God through our relationship with Jesus Christ. On behalf of the Lent Madness team, we’re delighted you’ve decided to spend some of this holy season with us.
If this is your first year playing Lent Madness, welcome. You're in for a fun, informative, engaging, occasionally wild, ride. (Looking for a Lent Madness primer? Click here). If you're back for more heart-stopping saintly thrills, it's good to see you!
After you vote we encourage you to do three things: First, like us on Facebook. Second, follow us on Twitter (if you just can't get enough of the Madness, social media is the perfect way to continue the conversation). Finally, visit the Lentorium where you can purchase ebook versions of the Saintly Scorecard: The Definitive Guide to Lent Madness 2014 and other Lent Madness paraphernalia such as mugs. Your hairdresser, local barista, cousin, etc. will be thrilled with such thoughtful and wholly unexpected gifts.
Make sure you watch LentMadnessTV regularly for updates from Archbishops Thomas Cranmer and John Chrysostom, as well as the Supreme Executive Committee. Each week you'll find a video about that week's match-ups. Here's a video about the competition of Ash Week.
P.S. Here's a Lent Madness "Pro Tip" -- if you want to receive all the daily match-ups in your e-mail inbox, we encourage you to go to the home page and "subscribe" by entering your e-mail address (near the top right). This will insure you never miss a vote!
Basil the Great
In the early years of Christianity, much of what we take for granted was in flux. Exact points of belief were the source of schism and argument. In the 4th century, one of the great controversies was Arianism, or the belief that Jesus was subordinate to God and was not created with God the Father, but at a later time; therefore, Jesus was distinct from God. The initial Council of Nicea addressed the issue, but the debate would not rest.
In the region of Cappadocia, particularly, the Arian controversy threatened to divide the region. One of the priests in the region, Basil, stepped firmly into the fray.
Basil was one of the three Cappadocian Fathers, three men who, along with their sister Macrina, profoundly influenced Christian orthodoxy in the 4th century. Basil was born into a family of wealth and privilege and educated in the classic Greek style of the era and the Christian faith. When his sister Macrina used her wealth and status to establish a monastery, Basil himself traveled in the area of Mesopotamia and lived the life of a solitary monastic. He soon shifted his interest to a community of faith rooted in prayer and work. Assisted by Gregory of Nazianzus, he wrote a monastic Rule, which would become the foundation for Eastern monastic discipline.
He retired to a life of monastic living and writing, but was called out of retirement to defend against the heresy of Arianism. Through his intellect, profound and deep faith, and no small amount of political savvy, Basil did just as he was asked. In his On the Holy Spirit, Basil wrote that both the words of Scripture and the traditions of the Church require that the same honor, glory, and worship are to be paid to God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. For Basil, correct worship would include the formula, “Glory to the Father with the Son together with the Holy Spirit.”
Basil lived what he preached. He never allowed his concern for proper orthodox belief to distract from his focus and work for the poor. He, in his life and after his death through bequests, built homes, hospitals, churches, and other support agencies for the poor and outcasts.
Basil died in 379 at the age of fifty. Two years later, the Second Ecumenical Council affirmed the Nicene faith as understood and presented by Basil and his supporters - the very same words we affirm today in the Nicene Creed.
Collect for Basil the Great
Almighty God, you have revealed to your Church your eternal Being of glorious majesty and perfect love as one God in Trinity of Persons: Give us grace that, like your bishop Basil of Caesarea, we may continue steadfast in the confession of this faith, and constant in our worship of you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; for you live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
-- Laurie Brock
Christina the Astonishing (also known as Christina Miribilis)
In 1172, in St-Tronde (Belgium), the body of a twenty-something orphan named Christina was brought into church, surrounded by a priest, her sisters, and other mourners, for her funeral mass. After the Agnus Dei, Christina rose from her open coffin and levitated into the rafters, where she perched like a bird as all the mourners except for the priest and one sister fled, amazed.
Christina then came down and told what had happened to her while she was “dead.” Angels had guided her into a dark place where she saw many people she had known, in torment. This was Purgatory. Then she was taken to Hell, where she saw others suffering. Finally, she was taken to Heaven and given this choice: stay in Heaven, or return to earth to make penances for those in Hell and Purgatory, that they might be released; and suffer to convert the living, too.
She chose to return. And, she said, “my life will be astonishing, like nothing you have ever seen.”
Christina, the patron of both the mentally ill and therapists, embarked on a life of extreme behavior. She became homeless, dressed in rags, begging for food. During intense prayer, she threw herself into fiery furnaces or into the frozen river for days, emerging unscathed. She recoiled from human contact and often was found perched in treetops, towers, and other remote places, because the smell of human sin was too much for her.
Her family, thinking her possessed, once had her captured and her leg broken by a thug in an effort to control her. Then they called a doctor. And then Christina escaped.
Yet she lived out her last three years obediently at St Catherine’s Convent where locals -- saints, counts, villagers -- came to her for counsel and confession. She died in 1224 at the age of 74.
In addition to being immortalized in plays, poems, and a song by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Christina’s original story was written down by a contemporary, Thomas de Cantimpre, a Belgian Dominican, based on eyewitness accounts from villagers and Cardinal Jaques de Vitry, who knew Christina. This astonishing woman was a great puzzle to everyone, who were never sure if she was a mystic or insane. Perhaps she was shattered by an encounter with the Divine.
She herself was convinced she was called to suffer for others, to be a different kind of witness. And that she was.
** Image of Christina the Astonishing by Cookie Scottorn. Used with permission.
Collect for Christina the Astonishing
Eternal God, in the example of Christina, we are reminded of the fine line between mysticism and mental illness. You gave to her a passionate spirit, a vivid mind, and the call to suffer for others. Through her example, may we be awakened to passionate and compassionate witness to your glory. In the name of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(Collect written by Nancy Hopkins-Greene.)
283 comments on “Basil the Great vs. Christina the Astonishing”
Even if Christina doesn't win this competitition, I have two thoughts:
1. She may have the best saint's moniker ever ("the Astonishing")!
2. Someone should found a Society of St. Christina the Astonishing--perhaps dedicated to helping the mentally ill.
Famous saint, father of the Nicene creed versus someone I had not heard of... I have to go with Christina the Astonishing, an underdog and the saint for mental illness... something that is still not understood in our day.
I cast my vote for the dear Basil. As a fan of antiquity and the actions and events that shape precedent (in some sense, really brought us to where we are), Basil started ahead. Christina, whom I had never heard of before today, was also quite astonishing and set off a deadlock. Where I live, in Virginia, mental health issues have become a major issue locally and statewide - and I leapt when I saw she was the patron of both the mentally ill and those who cared for them. The tipping point, funnily enough, was the collect. I have moved temporarily and it resulted in a swift diminishing of my spiritual life, so the prayer to be "constant in worship" and "steadfast in confession" struck a chord that needed striking. So I vote for him.
Nan,
Thank you for sharing a bit of your story. Indeed astonishing things happen to so many of us and mercies great and small flow around us in abundance. Your life is a witness to an astonishing act of love. My hope for you is that Christina has embraced your mother and led her into paradise.
Imagine being willing to leave her place in heaven to return to witness to us. I have often contemplated perching in the wonderful rafters of churches I have worshiped in. And to provide needed support for those who suffer from mental illness and those who minister to them? Christina, you rock, Gal.
Although I shy away from "challenging others" and lean more toward invitation, my cynicism--especially about out-of-body/dying and coming back experiences--was challenged by Christina. The logical side of my brain says she was still alive in the coffin (coma/fugue state), and her brain chemicals created a dream-like state with visions of heaven and hell, but we are invited and called to a mysterious faith. It's uncomfortable to be challenged, but sometimes we need to be challenged. I agree--Basil was, and is, Great, but God used Christina's story to challenge my earth-bound cynicism.
As important as Basil is, I had to vote for Christina in honor of her willingness to walk on the edge of sanity and work to heal the great suffering she felt. The church needs examples showing that those of us who struggle with mental illness need to be included and supported though our witness may at times appear strange to others.
It sort of feels like a brain vs. heart thing here. Basil is huge in the development of Christian teaching. But Christina's story is truly "astonishing." I wish she hadn't gone up against one of the giants among the Fathers of the Church right off the bat. I would like to have voted for her, but I went for Basil.
Although I am quite charmed by the story of a woman who stood in trees because the smell of sin was too much for her, I must go with Basil. He gave us a structure that still holds us together. I do like his wording: "Glory to the Father with the son together with the Holy Spirit." Makes the mystery a little more understandable for me.
This is clearly a choice between The Church and mysticism. I chose the latter, much more exciting.
Christina for me ... on behalf of those whose souls are troubled, including my father and mother-in-law, both with forms of dementia.
While the ideal defended by Basil helps form the foundation that the modern church is laid on, I believe that Lent is more about sacrifices made for the benefit of others. So, in that spirit, I select Christina, who wanted to alleviate the suffering of others through suffering herself.
Well said, Erin! Come on, Christina! In the spirit of Lent!
My initial instinct was to vote for Basil the Great: he isn't called "Great" for nothing, and his contributions to the Church have had tremendous impact throughout history. However, that was my head talking; my heart urged me to vote for Christina. "Astonishing" trumps "great," and I enjoyed learning about this remarkable woman. So much of history, religious and secular, is focused on what men thought and with not enough attention on how women lived. Additionally, whether Christina suffered from mental illness or a "holy madness" or both, people today who cope with mental illness need a patron and advocate and role model. My round one vote goes to Christina the Astonishing.
Had to vote for Christina. We lived in Belgium and sometimes the dark, rainy climate can cause people to do radical things. If she'd lived in the 20th century, she would have gone to the Canary Islands to escape as the Belgians now do. But also, as someone dealing with dementia in the family, I'm adding her to my heavenly prayer chain. Pray for us, Christina.
Christina would vote for Basil, so I do too! I am also in the mood for something with pesto ...
Thank you to those who wrote the fascinating bios of these two outstanding saints. However, when picking for the vote, I use and recommend the same method that would put me in serious debt if I lived near a racetrack: go with the name you like best. While you may think I would be lured to vote for Basil by the connection to pesto, I was not. Christina, such a dainty and musical name, ruled the day. Although I must confess to being influenced by the lovely picture of her in flight with her gorgeous green garments.
Me too!
I agree Abby. This is going to be a very interesting matchup! As a Junior Warden, I think Christina the Astonishing will be helpful to me to keep me from tearing my hair out as the year progresses!
As a follower of God, Christ holds particular relevance that is not in any way diminished for me (or i would argue the Church) by not holding to the esse of Trinitarianism. That all of creation is of God suffices to hold within it the creation of Christ and the Holy Spirit as separate yet crucial for both providing us the living example of God in Jesus and the ongoing inbreaking and "Still Speaking,..." of God in the world and in lives down thru the ages & today & future. As a proponent of the thought that in Christiana's world there were plenty of examples of suffering, abuse, cruelty & perhaps her own experiences with loss of control and/or severe cultural confinement to a spirit so free (ie characteristics of Purgatory) i have no need to accept purgatory as a real place. I believe this places me in Arianism with regard to Christ and out of Basil's camp. Also, given that my interest and longing for our faith is the discovery and benefits of God's feminine and the knowledge I have both scholarly and personally of the emotion of Love in the "nature" of God as expressed for me in the life, death and resurrection of Christ, Christina has my vote!
I parent a profoundly gifted son with a mental health diagnosis; live a holy, fruitful life of ministry, scholarship, and (sometimes mystical) prayer with one myself; and know many others who do as well. Hence I vote for Christina--and raise my voice in a prophetic protest against the ableist remarks by blogwriter and commenters including "the fine line between mental illness and mysticism" and the claim that all of us who are not neurotypical "live with inner torment" (some of us, some of the time, and it's hardly unique to us). 20 to 25% of the human race live with a mental illness, and many conditions include powerful intellectual and spiritual gifts along with the challenges--yet both church and society stigmatize us and view us only as pathetic recipients of ministry rather than generous and gifted exercisers of it (for instance, in prayers and preaching on themed "mental illness" Sundays which call "us" the presumed neurotypical church to welcome and help "them" the disabled). This drives huge numbers of my sisters and brother without social privilege, safe conditions, and appropriate healthcare into jail and onto the streets--and, often, those of us who enjoy these rights into the "crazy closet" lest we lose credibility and respect in professional and ministry contexts and have our advocacy for ourselves and others written off. I recommend reading Monica Coleman's work http://monicaacoleman.com/ and Nancy Eiesland's The Disabled God for a more balanced and respectful perspective.
Mother Laura, thank you for expanding the discussion here. And BTW, Nancy Eiesland taught at my seminary and was a powerful voice and force for, with, and among those who often have no voice.
Preach it, Mother Laura!! I'm a Harvard Law graduate whose great-grandmother spent 50 years in the state insane asylum. We are all part of God's creation and all have unique gifts to offer. Christina is definitely winning the comments section, if not the official balloting (yet).
Mother Laura, I'm with you, although I find the 20-25% figure dubiously low.
I appreciate the comment (can't find it to attribute right now) honoring the creativity of many people with mental illness-- and suggest that "the desire to be more *typical* would be a more helpful phrasing rather than "the desire to be more normal". We are part of the beautiful spectrum that God created--not abnormal!
The write up on Basil neglects to mention the powerful influence of his mother Emmelia who raised ten spiritual and gifted children--and that of his older sister Macrina whom he recounts gratefully as kicking his arrogant butt and getting him back on track spiritually when he came back from his studies "puffed up, not built up" in Paul's words!
As a follower of God, Christ holds particular relevance that is not in any way diminished for me (or i would argue the Church) by not holding to the esse of Trinitarianism. That all of creation is of God suffices to hold within it the creation of Christ and the Holy Spirit as separate yet crucial for both providing us the living example of God in Jesus and the ongoing inbreaking and "Still Speaking,..." of God in the world and in lives down thru the ages & today & future thru the Holy Spirit.
Since I think in Christiana's world there were plenty of examples of suffering, abuse, cruelty & perhaps her own experiences with loss of control and/or severe cultural confinement to a spirit so free (ie the suffering characteristics of Purgatory) i have no need to accept that the purgatory she saw was a real place beyond this world.
I believe this places me in Arianism with regard to Christ and therefore out of Basil's camp. Also, given that my interest and longing for our faith is the discovery and benefits of God's feminine and the knowledge I have both scholarly and personally of the oft described emotion of Love in the "nature" of God - expressed for me in the life, death and resurrection of Christ, Christina has my vote!
I like upsets in the early rounds. Christina. (and the color is definitely blue)
My vote went to the astonishing candidate, the one who understood befuddled thinking and behavior in God's people...then blessed them by working to ground the foundations of our faith, the Trinity and Nicene Creed. St. Basil was the Astonishing One who reconciled thinking to include both mysticism as well as scripture/tradition/reason. Basil nurtured the body, the mind and the spirit of God's people.
I vote for Christina, because she was a Christian Bodhisattva. Imagine having the choice between heaven/nirvana or staying outside to suffer for others. Her heart must have been so full of love!
I love the Christian Bodhisattva image, Freeman!
Ditto!
As a pastoral counselor I'm voting for our patron saint, but I don't expect to imitate her astonishing methods.
Church foundation vs. Flitting Creature. No contest for me. And I think the real sufferers might have been Christina's family, driven to keep her out of trouble. Thanks but no thanks. Margaret
Basil, because at the end of the day I want someone who is willing to feed the crowd.
I'm frustrated when I try to vote and can find nothing that works. What am I missing ?
Under both bios, you should see
Vote! (Only once per person!)
Basil the Great vs. Christina the Astonishing
Under that are their names with little circles. Click in the circle of the person you wish to vote for.
Basil gets my vote. But Christina and her family and friends get my tears.
Clarification point to my initial comment: on rereading I notice that Penny Nash who wrote up Cristina did not herself write the ableist collect claiming that mentally ill people are on one side of a line, however fine, and mystics on another. More care in vetting such in the future from both blog writers and overall SEC approvers would be gratefully appreciated.
I read it just the opposite way, Mother Laura. That mystics are capable of mental illness, and people with a mental illness diagnosis are also capable of great mysticism.
Agree with you here, those who suffer mental illness are capable of all things, including mysticism, as as those who aren't blessed with mental illness, when will our society stop creating barriers especially Christian hurdles.
Tough choice. Tempted to go with Basil and the Nicene Creed, but I work for a church that serves the homeless and mentally challenged. Never knew Christina is our saint. And, anyone with "Astonishing" seems worth a vote. Hmmm. Think I do have to go with Basil.
As a person who deals with bipolar, and had my own healing miracle through the acceptance of Christ into my life, I could vote no other way except Christiana