Apollinaris Syncletica () was a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

and

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

of the 5th century, venerated in the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

churches. Her story is most likely

apocryphal Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...

and "turns on the familiar theme of a girl putting on male attire and living for many years undiscovered".

Hagiography

The legend of Apollinaris Syncletica was likely based on those of

Syncletica of Alexandria Syncletica of Alexandria () was a Christian saint and Desert Mother from Roman Egypt in the 4th century. She is the subject of the ''Vita S. Syncleticæ'', a Greek hagiography purportedly by Athanasius of Alexandria (d. 373) but not written in f ...

and

Theodora of Alexandria Theodora of Alexandria was a saint and Desert Mother who was married to a prefect of Egypt. In order to perform penance for adultery, she disguised herself as a man and, pretending to be a eunuch, joined a monastery in the Thebaid. Her true iden ...

, two of the

Desert Mothers Desert Mothers is a neologism, coined in feminist theology in analogy to Desert Fathers, for the ''ammas'' or female Christian ascetics living in the desert of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria in the 4th and 5th centuries AD. They typically lived in t ...

.Veder, p. 162 Although Apollinaris Syncletica was listed as a saint in the ''

Roman Martyrology The ''Roman Martyrology'' ( la, Martyrologium Romanum) is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved ...

'', her story, set in

late antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English ha ...

, is most likely

, and has been called "a pious fiction", "so much like a romance",Baring-Gold, p. 70 and "a religious romance". Her namesake

is the subject of the ''Vita S. Syncleticæ'', a Greek

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...

purportedly by

Athanasius of Alexandria Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲡⲓⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲓⲕⲟⲥ or Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲁ̅; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...

(d. 373) but not in fact written before 450.Veder, p. 161 She then appears as ''

amma Amma or AMMA may refer to: Acronym * American Medical Marijuana Association * Amhara Mass Media Agency (created in 1993), a media organisation in Amhara Region in Ethiopia * Association of Malayalam Movie Artists * Assistant Masters' and Mist ...

'' Syncletica, an

anchorite In Christianity, an anchorite or anchoret (female: anchoress) is someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic, or Eucharist-focused life. While anchorites are ...

whose sayings are included in the ''

Apophthegmata Patrum The ''Sayings of the Desert Fathers'' ( la, Apophthegmata Patrum Aegyptiorum; el, ἀποφθέγματα τῶν πατέρων, translit=Apophthégmata tōn Patérōn) is the name given to various textual collections consisting of stories and ...

'', compiled c.480–500. The legend of Theodora of Alexandria, like that of Apollinaris Syncletica, involves a holy woman and ascetic living as a male monk. The 10th century

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

hagiographer A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...

Symeon the Metaphrast Symeon, called Metaphrastes or the Metaphrast (; ; died c. 1000), was a Byzantine writer and official. He is regarded as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and his feast day falls on 9 or 28 November. He is best known for his 10-volume Greek ...

stated that Apollinaris was the daughter of the

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Anthemius Procopius Anthemius (died 11 July 472) was western Roman emperor from 467 to 472. Perhaps the last capable Western Roman Emperor, Anthemius attempted to solve the two primary military challenges facing the remains of the Western Roman Empire: ...

, but it is more likely that her father was a consular prefect in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. It is probable that both the hagiographic association with the emperor of the

Western Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...

and her connection with

Macarius of Alexandria Saint Macarius of Alexandria (died 395) was a monk in the Nitrian Desert. He was a slightly younger contemporary of Macarius of Egypt, and is thus also known as Macarius the Younger. Life Macarius was born about the year 300 in Alexandria. He ...

(d. 390) were added to her story to enhance her spiritual authority.

Life

Early life

According to the tale, Apollinaris' parents wanted her to marry a wealthy man at a young age, but she refused and persuaded them into allowing her to remain unmarried. She wanted to "retire completely from the world", like the Egyptian recluses she admired.

Religious life

Her parents permitted her to take a pilgrimage to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, where she freed and dismissed all the slaves that accompanied her, except for an elderly man and a

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

to prepare her tent, and bribed an old woman to procure a

habit A habit (or wont as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously.

for her. On her way back home, while visiting the Egyptian coast, she escaped her companions, "assumed the monastic habit, and cast aside her worldly dress, with all its ornaments".Baring-Gold, p. 71 She fled into the desert, but her companions could not find her, even after eliciting the assistance of a local governor. Her parents, when told of what happened, assumed that Apollinaris had entered a

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

of religious women. Apollinaris made her way to

Wadi El Natrun Wadi El Natrun (Arabic: "Valley of Natron"; Coptic: , "measure of the hearts") is a depression in northern Egypt that is located below sea level and below the Nile River level. The valley contains several alkaline lakes, natron-rich salt dep ...

, a desert valley in the

Nitrian Desert The Nitrian Desert is a desert region in northwestern Egypt, lying between Alexandria and Cairo west of the Nile Delta. It is known for its history of Christian monasticism."Nitrian Desert", in F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone, eds., ''The Oxfor ...

west of the

Nile Delta The Nile Delta ( ar, دلتا النيل, or simply , is the delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Po ...

, where she joined a large

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

of recluses living in caves and

cells Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life Cell may also refer to: Locations * Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery w ...

, run by Macarius of Alexandria. She was able to disguise herself as a man and assumed the name Dorotheus. Her sister had, in the meantime, become possessed by a demon, so her parents sent her to Macarius, who was famous for healing. Macarius, "moved by some interior impulse", insisted that Dorotheus heal the girl. When the girl was restored, she was returned to her parents, but she became ill again and her parents assumed that she had become pregnant. The girl accused Dorotheus of seducing her, so they demanded that Dorotheus be brought to them so he could answer the charge, and Apollinaris revealed herself to them as their daughter. She spent a few days with them and returned to the desert, where she remained for the rest of her life.Baring-Gold, pp. 71–72

Death and legacy

Apollinaris' gender was not discovered by her fellow

s until her death in 420. The hagiographer

Alban Butler Alban Butler (13 October 171015 May 1773) was an English Roman Catholic priest and hagiographer. Biography Alban Butler was born in 1710, at Appletree, Aston le Walls, Northamptonshire, the second son of Simon Butler, Esq. His father died when ...

said, about her story, that "it turns on the familiar theme of a girl putting on male attire and living for many years undiscovered". The Roman Catholic Church celebrates her feast day on 4 January; the Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates it on 5 January. Syncletica's name was removed from the

Roman calendar of saints The General Roman Calendar is the liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, wherever this liturgical rite is in use. These celebra ...

in 2001.

References

Works cited

* Baring-Gould, Sabine (1877).
The Lives of the Saints
' (3rd edition). London: J. Hodges. pp. 70–72. * Veder, William R. (2006)
"Saint Syncletica and the Sea: A Text Come To Life".
''Russian History''. 33 (2/4): 153–162.

ISSN An International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is an eight-digit serial number used to uniquely identify a serial publication, such as a magazine. The ISSN is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title. ISSNs ...

br>0094-288X
{{DEFAULTSORT:Apollinaris Syncletica 420 deaths 5th-century Christian saints Cross-dressing saints Eastern Orthodox saints Greek saints Hermits People whose existence is disputed Year of birth unknown