The Quotes and Quirks of the Saintly Sixteen continue as Phocas the Gardener faces Katharina von Bora. To make it to this round, Phocas defeated Isidore the Farmer while Katharina took down Wulfstan. Today's winner will face Richard Hooker.
Don't forget, the Saintly Sixteen write-ups are not the sum of what has been shared about each saint by our Celebrity Bloggers. Click the links above or scroll down on the bracket page to supplement your knowledge of our daily contestants.
Yesterday, the great controversy surrounding whether or not it was "fair" to stick an angel in the bracket was decided as Esther soundly dismantled Michael the Archangel 70% to 30%. This sets up the first Elate Eight matchup, a sure-to-be epic battle between Peter and Esther. Now go vote!
Phocas the Gardener
It is no surprise that Phocas the Gardener is best known for his eponymous horticultural habits. Phocas’ garden, near the Black Sea city of Sinope, provided food to the poor and hospitality to strangers, including to the strangers at whose hands he would ultimately be martyred during the Diocletian persecution. In writing Lives of the Saints, Alban Butler praised Phocas, saying he was one who “join[ed] prayer with his labor, [and] found in his garden an instructive book and an inexhaustible fund of meditation. His house was open to strangers and travelers who had no lodging in the place; and after having for many years liberally bestowed the fruit of his labor on the poor, he was found worthy also to give his life for Christ.” Yet Phocas’ legend is not limited to his garden.
Phocas’ name appears to come from the Greek phoke, meaning “seal” (as in the lovable seafaring mammal, and, alas, not the British singer or a wax signet affixed to paper). It is speculated that his common name with the lovable sea mammal, along with a life and ministry lived near a major port, gave rise to his patronage of sailors, mariners, and watermen. A reference by Asterius of Amasea in the year 400 refers to hymns sung in Phocas’ honor by sailors in the Euxine, Aegean, and Adriatic seas.
It is perhaps around this time that a unique custom arose among some sailors in honor of St. Phocas. It became customary that for each meal, a portion would be designated for Phocas, which would be purchased by one of the voyagers or sailors. The cost of the meal would be left with the ship’s captain, and, upon arriving into port, the money from Phocas’ portion would be given to the poor.
Remembered and venerated for his patronage of gardeners, farmers, providers of hospitality, and sailors, Phocas’ witness of faithful generosity to the vulnerable and powerful alike paints a vivid picture of answering the call given to all Christians to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Katharina von Bora
Unlike many of the women who played a role in the Protestant Reformation — or many of the saints who appear in Lent Madness — Katharina von Bora’s primary vocation was not ministry.
Rather, biographer Ruth A. Tucker notes, von Bora was “a farmer and a brewer with a boarding house the size of a Holiday Inn. All that with a large family and nursing responsibilities.” And yet, Tucker writes, the former nun was “the most indispensable figure of the Reformation, save for Martin Luther himself.”
(She was, of course, also the wife of the surly Reformer, which many have quipped should be enough to win her sainthood.)
It’s perhaps fitting that while few of von Bora’s quotes have survived, what letters remain are all business. Most plead with Luther’s benefactors to continue their support for her family after her husband’s death.
Nevertheless, several of her quips have persisted in letters written by Luther, in his “Table Talk” and in other contemporary accounts.
One of the most endearing comes after Luther tried to bribe von Bora to read through the Bible in a year, still a popular undertaking by many Christians. Her response, after having lived behind convent walls for nearly two decades: “I’ve read enough, I’ve heard enough, I know enough. Would to God I lived it.”
Evidently, she knew more than enough. Luther elsewhere said in his typically colorful language that his wife knew the Psalms “better than ever the papists had done.”
And in response to a joke from Luther about taking more than one wife, von Bora reportedly said, “I’d rather go back to the convent”.
Perhaps the biggest celebration of Katharina von Bora also has little to do with ministry: Thousands of people gather each summer in Wittenberg, Germany, for a quirky weekend festival that celebrates not the couple’s role in the Reformation, but their wedding. During “Luthers Hochzeit,” or “Luther’s Wedding,” performers dress as Luther, von Bora and 16th century wedding guests and parade through the streets — a far more elaborate affair than the couple’s actual wedding, which took place within a day of Luther’s proposal.
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113 comments on “Phocas the Gardener vs. Katharina von Bora”
Katarina for me. What a woman!
Phocas seems too much like suicide by cop. Martin Luther consulted Katherina. He recognized how smart she was. She managed everything, including the finances. God only knows how many people she fed. I wonder who Martin would have been without her? I have no doubt we owe much to Katherina! Somewhere along the way it was recognized she was more than just a clergy spouse for she IS Katherina Von Bora!
Could the sailors paying for a portion of the meal in Phocas' name be the original pay it forward?
works for me
Phocas was sincere in giving of his labors to the truly needy. Katherina was undoubtedly a smart and clever woman and helpmate but clever folk are a dime a dozen. True and sincere believers who do God's will are true saints.
Phocas has my vote today...while my garden is tiny compared to his, I hope my prayers and meditations while gardening benefit God's creation, too. We gardeners have to stick together!
I dig the gardener.
Ha!!
Phocas: my new patron saint as I read "Vegetable Gardening for Dummies" and try my hand at it. The idea is to grow enough to share. I do hope our neighbors don't kill us.
"Katharina von Bora’s primary vocation was not ministry." Hogwash! Taking care of a family, running a boarding house "the size of a Holiday Inn", being a support to one of the most influential men (perhaps "the" most influential) in the Reformation--that's ministry, even without a formal ordination.
Phocas is admirable, Katharina is amazing.
Isn't it amazing how, when a woman multitasks and accomplishes economic survival and comfort for many, her efforts end up sounding common place, but when a man does something similar he is seen as exceptional. I am for Katie!
Katherine deserves better treatment than this!
Phocas, in honor of my favorite farmer priest, Nadia Stefko.
This was a very difficult choice. But I chose Katherine--she had to put up with Martin. I suspect she has much wisdom despite the dearth of written work from her.
I just chose by random. Phocas to the next round! (But please make Richard Hooker beat him)
Is Katarina von Bora actually revered as a saint in any Christian calendar? Among German Lutherans perhaps?
I love the notes of humor in so many of the saintly descriptions.
You had me at "seal".
Loving our neighbors as ourselves. Phocas the Gardener.
I am sure you knnow for whom I will vote, but let me lay out my argument. Phocas: How many of us have quietly taken our produce, excess or otherwise, to the church pantry, our neighbors, or the local foodbank? In Denver it is common and very much needed. Who wouldn't choose to die at their own time and in the way they select (given the 'this way' or 'that way'only ultimatum)? How large could the town really have been in the 400's, even with the given that it may have been a port town? How many legends have sprung up to make a town's saint apear more saintly than another? What actual miracles are attributed to him? None.
Katherina Von Bora: A woman. Educated, possibly more than her husband, in a time when it was seen as excessive and un-necccessary for women to educated. She, too, "gardened" and fed many. Possibly thousands. She kept many from living on the street, or near-homelessness. It is admitted by Luther himself that she helped in his writings and helped clarify his attitudes. She raised 6 children (who knows how many she may have lost in that time, as it was common for 1 out of every 3 children to die before the age of 4). She brewed her own beer, as every good housewife did, to keep her family (and those pesky students who always were around) from contracting parasites and other yucky stuff from the water. She knew what the Bible, the Church, and Luther taught forwards and backwards - like many women in the Christian community, and then struggled to live it while faced with a busy and harried life. Just like we all do. She was never given the title of saint (as none of us will). She didn't die a virgin, wasn't threatened with decapitation or faced a firing squad/Roman centurians. She has yet to perform verified miracles, nor do I think she would want to. To her only "miracle" was living a woman's life of active theology by caring for those around her as Jesus and the Bible demanded of her. It is a "miracle" that we all strive to emmulate in our daily lives.
She represents all women of today, going about our daily lives, feeding our familys the best we can, nourishing the minds and hearts of our children, partners, and communities, without seeking acknowledgements or fame.
SHE is US. So the cry must go out: Bora, Bora, Bora!
I appreciate your passionate advocacy for Katherina von Bora. Thank you.
BORA! BORA! BORA! BORA! BORA!
Yes, Katarina von Bora has a day in the Lutheran calendar, in December. It is 20th. I voted for her.
I have great admiration for Phocas, and if it were just between him and Katarina, I would have voted for him. However, since the winner of this round will be up against Richard Hooker, I thought it would be interesting to see who would win: the Lutheran or the Anglican! It looks as if we'll never know...
As a lifelong Tolkien fan, I saw the humble heroism of Sam the Gardener in the description of Phocas. It was fascinating to hear of the sailors' donations to the poor in Phocas' name. What a wonderful idea! Should be encouraged on cruise ships.
I vote that Phocas not only wins today but receive the Golden Halo. Christianity is about protecting all Gods Creations. Feeding the poor, protecting the earth, sharing his faith including following the ten commandments. "You shall not be a false witness."
He was a small farmer, who probably used seaweed as a fertilizer which enriches the soil, so he could use the same land over and over. He lived by selling produce without damaging the earth, feed the poor, and shared his Christian faith without judgement. A man to emulate.
I agree. I am hoping it will be Phocas. His life embodies so many Christian virtues and the glorious soulfulness of growing green things.
With all due respect (and it is mighty) to Katharina, as a passionate gardener and the widow of a proud U.S. Navy veteran, I choose Phocas.
The bio of Katharina doesn't give her enough credit. She isn't called the Mother of the Reformation for no reason. She was a theologian in her own right in addition to her many other roles. My vote's for her.
Much as there is to admire in Katharina, faced with a garden that is hardly worthy of the name, and a pile of books I dearly want to read, my vote goes to Phocas, hoping that he will inspire me to tend a make a garden out of the rubble around our house, and also find the time and space to meditate on the written word.
Go, Phocas! I was overwhelmed by this humble servant of Christ. Forgiveness and serene faith are tough for me. I could not fail to honor his example.
I like the humble life of Phocas who seemed to have a holy sense of humility and hospitality. I am in the mood for quiet and calmness rather than the hustle and bustle of a household like that of Katharina. Although she does deserve sainthood for tolerating the surly Luther.
Phocas drew my focus today. Though I usually vote for the more modern person, especially if female, today’s description of Phocas the humble farmer stirred me. I was surprised that he was ahead when I saw the results at midday. Love these written descriptions of the lives of the saints and other holy folk.
Being the son of a pastor, I chose Katharina. She was a pastor's wife who did as much as her husband in ministry, but likely not appreciated for all she did.
Phocas the Gardener, what a beautiful name, sounds like a Druids name from Dungeons and Dragons.