Remember that passage in the synoptic gospels (Luke 2:24, Matthew 18:1, Mark 9:34) where the disciples start arguing about which one of them is the greatest? Jesus basically tells them to get a life (by losing it). Here at Lent Madness, however, Dionysius and Irene are battling to resolve the question once and for all. In the Battle of the Greats, Dionysius the Great takes on Irene the Great as we crank things back up for another week of saintly action. The winner will take on Brigid of Kildare.
We're glad to have the drama of Friday's server crash behind us and Lent Madness is now being hosted on a shiny new purple server using a company that understands "unlimited bandwidth" to actually mean "unlimited bandwidth." So, vote (once), comment, tell all all your friends to log on at the exact same moment and we should be fine. Thanks for collectively having the patience of a, well, saint.
Dionysius the Great
Dionysius was born sometime around 190 to a well-to-do pagan family. He attended a church school and was educated to be a priest. He was a bright and well-read child and a student of the scholar Origen. Dionysius became head of the Catechetical School of Alexandria in 232 and was elevated to Bishop of Alexandria in 248, succeeding Heraklas in both posts.
In 249 a series of riots broke out and anti-Christian violence ensued. This soon evolved into the Decian Persecutions. Christians were subjected to all manner of torture and cruelty, with the goal to force them to sacrifice to false gods. It was a time of martyrdom and forced migration as many fled to the deserts for safety.
Dionysius was among those who fled but was later seized after being recognized. He was ultimately freed by a party of Christians and resumed his exile in the desert where he remained until the persecutions came to an end in 251.
Dionysius is remembered especially for his role in how to treat Christians who had lapsed during the persecutions. Many believed there was no possibility for readmission to Holy Communion and the Church after such apostasies. Dionysius, however, offered a way toward reconciliation. He said that after a period of penance and re-baptism, those who had succumbed to pressure would be welcomed back into the Church.
A prayer penned by Dionysius reads,“O God the Father, Origin of Divinity, good beyond all that is good, fair beyond all that is fair, in whom is calmness, peace, concord: Heal the dissensions that divide us from one another, and bring us back into the unity of love that resembles your divine nature.”
Upon returning to Alexandria, Dionysius took up extensive writing, especially opposing heresy and exploring scripture. His work in interpreting scripture was especially admired.
In 257, at the instigation of Emperor Valerian, Christians were once again under persecution and Dionysius was exiled when he refused to sacrifice to pagan gods. After two years of exile, he returned to a city plagued by disease and wracked by violence. In this environment he served five more years as bishop until his death in 265.
Persecution, plague, and violence marked the life of Dionysius, and yet through all of this he remained faithful and diligent, causing Saint Basil to term him “Dionysius the Great.”
Collect for Dionysius the Great
Almighty God, you called your servant Dionysius the Great to be a champion of reconciliation during times of great fear and persecution. Grant us the grace to seek the calm, peace, and concord that mark the things of the kingdom of God, reminding us that our greatest consolation may be found in pondering your holy words, even in the darkest of times. Amen.
Irene the Great
Named Penelope and born as a Persian princess in the fourth century, Irene the Great is a legendary figure credited with miracles that astonish the modern reader. To keep her from hearing the gospel, her father (the pagan king Licinius) isolated her in a high tower like a Rapunzel of late antiquity, where she was watched over by thirteen young maidens and the statues of ninety-eight gods. She desperately objected to her seclusion and isolation from her mother and even the sunshine, but Licinius would not relent and sealed her in the tower with his signet ring until she was to marry. In spite of her father, an elderly tutor was hired to teach her. Servants hauled him up into the tower by an elaborate pulley system, and he spoke to her from behind a curtain and taught her about Jesus Christ.
When she reached marrying age, she received a series of signs from God delivered to the tower via an assortment of birds. Her tutor interpreted them as a call to virginity and as omens foreshadowing her suffering for her savior. Penelope was baptized and took the name Irene, which means peace. She initially failed to convert her parents, and like a righteously indignant teenager, destroyed all her father’s idols. As punishment, he threw her under wild horses to be trampled to death, but the horses did not stomp on her and instead attacked Licinius, gravely injuring him. Irene prayed for her father and he was healed in the presence of eyewitnesses, leading to the conversion of her parents and three thousand others.
Later, she refused the governor’s order to cease preaching, and he threw her into a pit of vipers. She remained unharmed for ten days, fed and guarded by an angel until her release. Her life of preaching and miracle-working continued, and thousands more people converted to Christianity.
In 330 the Persian King Sapor II had her arrested, beheaded, and buried. Remarkably, even for a woman who survived a pit of vipers, God resurrected her, and she continued teaching all the way to Ephesus, converting thousands more to the Christian faith! Finally, at divine bidding, she found an unused tomb, made the sign of the cross, and was sealed inside. When her friends returned four days later, the tomb was reportedly empty.
Ironically, those wishing to land a quick and happy marriage are encouraged to pray to Saint Irene, despite her role in history as a virgin and martyr saint. In Greece, she is also the patron saint of policemen.
Collect for Irene the Great
Jesus, you raised up your servant Irene the Great and set her before us as an example of deep thirst for faith and a hunger for righteousness. May we have the discerning spirit to seek more of you, disregarding the detours and damage the enemy may place in our path toward you. Let us, like Irene, never be given over to anger or malice, but continually pray for those who do not know you, never letting violence or intractability steal away the peace and consolation you give us with yourself. Amen.
Vote!
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214 comments on “Dionysius the Great vs. Irene the Great”
Reconciliation and concord. Dionysius it has to be. Between the otters, seals, snakes, wild horses, and birds the SEC better invest in a zoo!
I am sure there was no theological need for rebaptism, but we do have reaffirmation. Perhaps that is what Dionysius was thinking?
Dionysius pre-dates the decision that baptism was a once-for-all time sacrament. That was made 100 or so years after his time.
'@ Kim Hartley- That part of the story made me think of reaffirmation too. Though theology around baptism has changed since Dionysius lived I would imagine that for some people reconciliation with the church is felt more deeply when some ceremony accompanies it. I chose to see it in this light rather than as statement that falling away somehow nullifies baptism.
Voting in memory of beloved Don Armentrout for Dionysius. Little Don used to say that he would have sacrificed to idols in a heartbeat to keep from being tortured, and was glad that Dionysius would have given him a second chance.
Well, I voted for Dionysius, but I'm not happy about it. On Friday you gave us two compelling saints from whom to choose; today I have to choose between a bratty teenager and a man who promotes re-baptism? I wanted to vote for Irene for the simple reason that my late husband's mother shared that name, but her story was just too wild for a Monday morning after changing over to DST. And tantrum-throwing teens never have appealed to me. Dionysius, on the other hand, was - as others have noted - a reconciler, and we need that in our world. So, despite a somewhat legalistic approach he got my vote. (I cut him some slack for the times and that people were still trying to figure out this Christianity thing.)
This one was easy --- Dionysius gets the strong nod for his spirit of reconciliation. May the Lord raise up more of his ilk in the Church today!!!
Irene, and the Persian connection for me........maybe Irene can lead the present day Persians to the Lord and peace in our time!
Dionysius, on the basis of the prayer he wrote. Beautiful. BTW where is Maple Anglican this year?
Re-baptism is a brilliant idea. True Christian forgiveness for people who were forced to lie about their belief just so their families could survive. Not everyone would have been able to traipse off to the desert and survive there. Isn't Lent supposed to be a time when people who have been separated from the church can come back?
Right on!
How can I not vote for my namesake!
Good night Irene.
As a resident of the Episcopal diocese of San Joaquin, I must vote for the bishop who seeks to "heal the dissentions that divide us from one another."
Wild horses couldn't keep me from voting for Dionysius 🙂 Lost count of how many second chances I've needed so honouring a saint who worked for reconciliation in spite of unease about re baptism.
Voted for the wild and rebellious woman but oh what a hard choice - ugh.
Even tho my loving spouse middle name is Irene I can't vote for the too magical saint.
I voted for Dionysius because of his recognition that the church should always be about reconsiliation. The BCP has a format for Reconciliayion of a Penitent. Re-baptism may be too much but I can overlook that he was merciful to those who lost their way.
Dionysius gets my vote due to the relevancy of reconciliation in our times, and especially in our Anglican communion
I think in these troubled times a woman renamed 'Peace' and the patron saint of the ironic coupling of marriage and police officers should carry the color towards Resurrection Sunday.
I am constrained to note that Saint Irene the Great is, unfortunately, not the Saint Irene after whom the famous Aegean island of Santorini (officially Thera) was renamed.
On a related note, when did we decide that "Irene" (from the Greek Ειρήνη) should be pronounced with two syllables (Eye-reen) rather than three (Eye-ree-knee)?
In my book, peace beats reconciliation, at least for today.
Reconciliation.
When I read that DtG promoted re-Baptism {{shudder}} I was very ready to vote for ItG, but then I read her hagiography and it was too incredible. All things are possible with God, but seriously? Furthermore Lou F. & Sister Janet make some good points about DtG and "re-Baptism" so though I do believe as the Church catholic teaches that Baptism is a once in a lifetime thing, having taken those two comments into consideration, I will forgive DtG for double dunking and vote for him now but for Saint Brigit next time.
Dionysus gets my vote. Anyone who could live to age 75 in the time of all that strife and disease was definitely watched over and supported by God. Go seniors!!**
Although all the saints show perseverance in their lives, I thought today's match-up pitted reconciliation against perseverance. At first, I was tempted to dismiss Irene's bio as some pretty bizarre stories, but then I decided it depicted faith in times of extreme trial. Irene gets my vote.
This sounded like a vote between a real person and a Disney fantasy! Gotta go with the real person! Besides, I love that prayer.
Btw, any chance the box for comments could appear right after the voting link so we don't have to scroll down through all the comments to leave ours?
Had to go with Irene today. Her faith is something to try to copy.
Also, how many of us run around like we have our heads cut off? Next time I'm in that position I'll try praying to Irene!
Uh, never mind! I just saw the comment link on the home page... Mea culpa!
According to scripture there is only one unforgivable sin: blaspheming the Holy Ghost. And my understanding is that the devil, Satan himself, is the only one to have ever blasphemed the Holy Spirit! Dionysius was right to have found a way to welcome those who had fallen away in the persecutions back into the fold. There is too much of the fantastic in Irene's story ..... I voted for Dionysius!
I was on board with Irene until the claim of resurrection after beheading and burial. Dionysus wins for my leaning toward historical probability.
Thank you for your post,Ellie. If publicly redeclaring their commitment to Jesus and Christianity is important to lapsed Christans, through the sacrament of Baptism, what could possibly be the harm? Reconciliation is too important to quibble.
I,too, vote for Dionysus!
Hmmm . . . Is Irene the Great really on TEC's calendar? I can't find her there. She may be an obscure Orthodox saint, but I couldn't even find her in Wikipedia. Dionysius it is, then.
Maybe the bloggers should tell us which calendar(s) the person appears on?
The SEC should indeed clarify whether the saints are on TEC'S calendar. Given the criteria I have seen for inclusion, Irene doesn't qualify. SEC, please advise!
http://orthodoxwiki.org/Irene_of_Thessaloniki
As much as I'm given to drama, I had to vote for Dionysian reconciliation. During the election cycle, and isn't it always an election cycle, we need all the reconciliation we can get before "culture wars" lead to religious war!