-
Skip These Ads
-
Skip These Ads|
|
 |
Click here and add this page to your favorites!
|
Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: STE-SUS |
|
|
STIGMATIZATION , the infliction of stigmata, i.e. marks tattooed or branded on the person, the term being used with specific reference to the supposed supernatural infliction of wounds like those of Christ. An ancient and widespread method of showing tribal connexion, or relation to tribal deities, was by marks set upon the person; thus Herodotus, in describing a temple of Hercules in Egypt (ii. 113), says that it is not lawful to capture runaway slaves who take refuge
In the period of persecution Christian martyrs were sometimes branded with the name of Christ on their foreheads (Pontius, " De vit. S. Cypriani," Biblioth. veterum patrum, vol. iii. p. 472, vii.). Wounds of this sort were sometimes self-inflicted as a disfigurement by nuns for their protection, as in the case of St Ebba abbess of Coldingham (see Baronius, Annales, xv. 215, ann. 87o, also Tert. De eel. virg.). Some Christians likewise marked themselves on the hands or arms with a cross or the name of Christ (Procopius, In Esaiam, ed. Curterius, p. 496), and other voluntary mutilations for Christ's sake are mentioned (Matt. xix. 12; Fortunatus, Life of St Rhadegund, ed. Migne, col. 508; Palladius, Lausiac History, cxii.; Jerome's Letter to St Eustochium, &c.). In St Francis of Assisi we have the first example of the alleged miraculous infliction of stigmata. (For an earlier instance pronounced by the Church to be an imposture see F1euYy, Hist. Eccl. Ixxviii. 56, ann. 1222.) While meditating on the sufferings of our Lord, in his cell on Mount
The reputation of the latter order was, however, similarly raised in the next century by the occurrence of the same wonder in the case of a sister of the third rule of St Dominic, Catherine Benincasabetter known as St Catherine of Siena. From her biographer's account we gather that she was subject to hysteroepileptic attacks, in one of which, when she was twenty-three years old, she received the first stigma (see v. 230). In spite of her great reputation, and the number of attesting witnesses, this occurrence was not universally believed in. Pope Sixtus IV. published a bull in 1475 ordering, on pain of anathema, the erasure of stigmata from pictures of St Catherine, and prohibiting all expressions of belief in the occurrence. Pope Innocent VIII. similarly legislated " ne de caetero S. Catherina cum stigmatibus depingatur; neve de ejus stigmatibus fiat verbum, aut sermo, vel praedicatio ad tollendam omnem scandali occasionem " (see references in Raynaud, De Stigmatisme, cap. xi. 1665). In the years which followed cases of stigmatization occurred thick and fastnow a Franciscan, now a Dominican, very rarely a religieuse of another order, showing the marks. Altogether about ninety instances are on record, of which eighteen were males and seventy-two females. (There are about thirty other cases sometimes included in the catalogue, of which there are no particulars recorded.) Most of them occurred among residents in religious houses, after the austerities of Lent, usually on Good Friday, when the mind was intently fixed on our Lord's Passion; and the possibility of the reception of the marks was constantly before the eyes and thoughts of the members of the two orders to which St Francis and St Catherine belonged. The order of infliction in the majority of cases was that of the crucifixion, the first token being a bloody sweat, followed by the coronation with thorns; afterwards the hand and foot wounds appear, that of the side being the last. The grade of the infliction varied in individual cases, and they may be grouped in the following series: 1. As regards full stigmatization, with the visible production of the five wounds, and generally with the mark of the crown as well, the oldest case, after St Francis, is that of Ida of Louvain (1300), in whom the marks appeared as coloured circles; in Gertrude von Oosten of Delft (1344) they were coloured scars, and, as in the case of St Catherine, disappeared in answer to prayer as they also did on Dominica de Paradis; in Sister Pierona, a Franciscan, they were blackish grey. They were true wounds in Margaret Ebnerin of Nuremberg (d. 1351; see her Life, Augsburg, 1717), in Brigitta, a Dominican tertiary (139o), and also in Lidwina. An intermission is described in the marks on Johanna della Croce of Madrid (1524), in whom the wound in the side was large, and the others were rose-coloured circular patches. The marks appeared on each Friday and vanished on Sunday. These emitted an odour of violets; but in Sister Apollonia
Joanna
flowers
ridge
Joanna
2. In some cases, although the pains of stigmatization were felt, there were no marks apparent. This occurred to Helen Brumsen (1285) ; Helena of Hungary (1270) ; Osanna of Mantua (1476) ; Columba Rocasani; Magdalena de Pazzis; Anna of Vargas; Hieronyma Carvaglio; Maria of Lisbon, a Dominican; Joanna di Vercelli; Stephania Soncinas, a Franciscan; Sister Christina, a Carthusian; and Joanna Rodriguez, a Poor Clare. In the case of Ursula Aguir de Valenza, a tertiary of St Dominic (1608), and Catharine Cialina (d. 1619) the pain was chiefly that of the crown of thorns, as it was also in Amelia Bicchieri of Vercelli, an Augustinian. 3. In a third series some of the marks were visible on the body, while others were absent or only subjectively indicated by severe pains. The crown of thorns only was marked on the head of Vincentia Ferreria at Valencia (d. 1515) and Philippa de Santo Tomaso of Montemor (167o), while according to Torellus the Augustinian Ritta von Cassia (d. 1430) had a single thorn wound on the forehead. The crown was marked on Catharina of Raconizio (b. 1486), who also suffered a severe bloody sweat. In the case of Stephano Quinzani, in Soncino
Cecilia
4. In a fourth set of cases the imprints were said to have been found on the heart, even though there was no surface marking. Thus the Dominican Paula de St Thomas was said to have had the stigmata on her heart. The heart of Clare of Montfaucon (1308) was said to have been as large as a child's head and impressed with the cross, the scourge and the nails. Similar appearances were found in Margaret of Citta di Capello and Johanna of Yepes (1591) The instances of masculine stigmatization are few. Benedict di Rhegio, a Capuchin at Bologna, had the marks of the crown (1602); Carolus Sazia, an ignorant lay brother, had the wound in his side. Dodo, a Praemonstratensian lay brother, was fully stigmatized, as also was Philip de Aqueria. The marks after death were found on the heart of Angelos del Pas, a minorite of Perpignan, as also on Matheo Carery in Mantua, Melchior of Arazel in Valentia, Cherubin de Aviliana (an Augustinian), and Agolini of Milan. Walter of Strassburg, a preaching friar (1264), had the heart-pain but no mark, and the same was the case with a Franciscan, Robert de Malatestis (1430), and James Stephanus. On Nicholas of Ravenna the wounds were seen after death, while John Gray, a Scotsman, a Franciscan martyr
Several later instances have been recorded. Anna Katherina Emmerich, a peasant girl born at Munster in 1774, afterwards an Augustinian nun at Agnetenberg, was even more famous for her visions and revelations than for the stigmata. Biographies, hydrated calcium aluminium silicate, CaAl2(SiOs)s+6H20. Usually a small proportion of the calcium is replaced by sodium. Crystals are monoclinic, and are invariably twinned, giving rise to complex groups and characteristic sheaf-lide aggregates. The colour is usually white, sometimes red, and on the perfect cleavage (parallel to the plane of symmetry) the lustre is markedly pearly; hence the name stilbite given by R. J. Haify in 1796, from Gr. oriX(3Eiv, to shine. After the separation of heulandite from this species in 1818, the name desmine (from &a,un, a bundle) was proposed, and this name is now employed in Germany. The hardness is 31 and the specific gravity 2.2. Stilbite is a mineral of secondary origin, and occurs with other zeolites in the amygdaloidal cavities of basic volcanic rocks; it is sometimes found in granite and gneiss, and exceptionally in metalliferous veins. It is abundant in the volcanic rocks of Iceland, Faeroe Islands, Island of Skye, Bay of Fundy, in Nova Scotia and elsewhere. Beautiful, salmon- pink
End of Article: STIGMATIZATION If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/STE_SUS/STIGMATIZATION.html"> STIGMATIZATION </a> |
|
|
(Previous) STIGAND (d. 1072) |
(Next) STILE |
Jesus Christ Saves Ministries, P.O. Box 70696, Pasadena, CA 91117JCSM is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization. Copyright © 1997-present. |
Free & Cheap Cell
Phones |
Cheap Long Distance
Phone Service Carriers |
Talk America Local Phone Service
|
Ztel & MCI - Unlimited Long Distance
Compare
Cell Phone Plans & Companies |
International Calling Cards & Prepaid Phone Cards |
Voice Over IP Broadband Internet Phone
Service | Wireless
Phone Plans & Cheap Cell Phones
|
_____________________________________________________________________________
Online First Aid and CPR Certification . The Online Christ Centered Ministries . The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained . The Inerrancy Discussion Board . Free Email Accounts . Home Equity Loans . JasonGastrich.com . The Missions, Apologetics, and Creation Bible Conference . Young Earth Creation Science . San Diego Music Lessons . 10,000 Wise Quotes and Spiritual Sayings . Gastrich.net . Maximizing the Internet: 12 Keys to Success . Louisiana Baptist University . NKJV Web Hosting and Services . Michael Newdow . San Diego Soccer Training . Christian Guitar Lessons . Jesus Christ Saves Ministries . Eternal Security
