A
Alexander_Roman
Guest
Dear Friends,
Just a note to share with you something I recently discovered about the Arian or Semi-Arian Apostle and missionary to the Goths and translator of the scriptures into the Gothic language, Wulfila.
Arian saints and martyrs have made it into the Catholic calendar and, as Fr. Holweck states in his “Dictionary of the Saints (1924)” the fact of their martyrdom for Christ made the Church “overlook the defect of their orthodoxy.”
Such are St Nicetas and St Savas the Goths, St Artemius the dux augustalis of Egypt and others.
A number of these were converted as a result of Wulfila’s missionary efforts. The Catholic Church to this day refers to Wulfila as the “Apostle to the Goths.”
What I discovered was that while Wulfila is not a saint in the universal Catholic calendar, he was actually honoured as a saint locally in the ancient Roman town of Novae in Moesia which is today “Trishtov” in Bulgaria.
There Wulfila had a basilica built in his honour where he was celebrated as “Saint Lupus” and Fr. Holweck does refer to this in his book. “Wulfila” can mean “a wolf” or a “little wolf.”
There are those who deny that Wulfila was ever a heretic or else say that his defects in his orthodoxy were the result of his being under a consistent influence of Semi-Arianism throughout his life.
Anyway, I thought that was interesting.
Alex
Just a note to share with you something I recently discovered about the Arian or Semi-Arian Apostle and missionary to the Goths and translator of the scriptures into the Gothic language, Wulfila.
Arian saints and martyrs have made it into the Catholic calendar and, as Fr. Holweck states in his “Dictionary of the Saints (1924)” the fact of their martyrdom for Christ made the Church “overlook the defect of their orthodoxy.”
Such are St Nicetas and St Savas the Goths, St Artemius the dux augustalis of Egypt and others.
A number of these were converted as a result of Wulfila’s missionary efforts. The Catholic Church to this day refers to Wulfila as the “Apostle to the Goths.”
What I discovered was that while Wulfila is not a saint in the universal Catholic calendar, he was actually honoured as a saint locally in the ancient Roman town of Novae in Moesia which is today “Trishtov” in Bulgaria.
There Wulfila had a basilica built in his honour where he was celebrated as “Saint Lupus” and Fr. Holweck does refer to this in his book. “Wulfila” can mean “a wolf” or a “little wolf.”
There are those who deny that Wulfila was ever a heretic or else say that his defects in his orthodoxy were the result of his being under a consistent influence of Semi-Arianism throughout his life.
Anyway, I thought that was interesting.
Alex
