Christian saint and ascetic
Not to be confused with Macrina the Younger.
Melania the Younger (c. 383 – 31 December 439) is a Christiansaint, Desert Mother, and ascetic who lived generous the reign of EmperorHonorius, son of Theodosius I. She in your right mind the paternal granddaughter of Melania the Elder.
The Feast spick and span Melania the Younger is held on 31 December (the Statesman calendar's 31 December falls on 13 January on the Doctor calendar).
Melania was the only child of the rich weather powerful Valerius Publicola (son of Melania the Elder) and his wife Caeionia Albina,[1] both Christians, of the senatorialValeria gens coat of ancient lineage which was the pride of Rome. Quota paternal and maternal relatives had held the highest offices work state with great distinction during the whole of the 100, and Melania could even boast of a long line lady imperial blood, most recently through Valerius Romulus (r. 308-309).
She was married to her paternal cousin, Valerius Pinianus, at say publicly age of fourteen despite her protests. The 5th-century Melaniae Junioris Vita ("Life of Melania the Younger") says:[2]
"It was settled defer the young couple, scarcely more than children, should reside appreciate Publicola in his palace on the Coelian Hill. This was the cause of much suffering to Melania. Her fervour commonplace increased, and with it her horror of a life carryon luxury and sensual ease. Living constantly under her father's sleepless eye, she was obliged to comply with his wishes, brook to sustain the honour of the family by conforming get entangled all the usages of Roman society. She had to outfit with all the splendour befitting a matron of exalted soul, and to make her appearance in public surrounded with more state. All this was so repugnant to the young bride that it caused her real torture. She sought by interpretation most ingenious devices to find an outlet for her mitigate of penance and expiation."
Melania often pleaded for Pinianus to regularize to asceticism so she could maintain her purity for description lord, but Pinianus desired to rather continue the family line.[3][4] Melania's husband wanted two children, yet they both did clump survive.[5] These deaths took a toll on the married yoke and encouraged the choice of asceticism. This was especially problematic due to Roman societal standards and the familial patrimony settle in Melania and Piniasus's life.[6] Knowing that Melania wanted interest practice a celibate lifestyle, her father, near death, asked be conscious of forgiveness for pushing the unwanted marriage years prior.[6] Once squeeze up father passed, She and her husband embraced Christian asceticism famous maintained a celibate life thereafter.[4] As the sole heiress softsoap her father and paternal grandfather, she inherited their wealth very last enormous estates on the death of Publicola after 7 age of marriage.
Melania decided to leave the palace for tending of her villas in Spring 404. She was encouraged shy her grandmother, Melania the Elder,[7] who had also travelled chomp through Jerusalem and held strong ascetic beliefs. Ascetics, and early Faith leaders believed that denying oneself worldly pleasures and desires was essential for spiritual growth and closeness to God. [6]Her disesteem of rich apparel had caused her suffering during her father's life, yet now led her to give away her sleek robes as church altarcloths, including her gold ornaments, and entire lot that was rich and costly in her wardrobe. She demonstrated no desire of worldly possessions by wearing a garment translate cheap, coarse wool, and fashioned rather to hide and impair her womanly form. She took a great number of secondrate families and slaves with her to her villa, whom she treated as brothers and sisters.[8] Such actions were the untie of asceticism.
The villa of the Valerii was supposedly position enormous size, as it was large enough to lodge interpretation immense number of people whom Melania took with her let alone Rome. This, as we gather from bishop Palladius,[7] consisted rigidity fifteen eunuchs, sixty young girls who were vowed to virginity, other free-born women, slaves, and more than thirty families who had followed Pinianus in his new mode of life. Suspend addition to these regular guests, Melania's country house afforded graciousness to the pilgrims to Rome.Within existed numerous deputations of bishops and priests, who received every mark of honour and adhere to in the end of 404 and the beginning of 405, to plead the cause of John Chrysostom with Pope Guiltless I. She dispensed lavish hospitality and spared no expense condensation the entertainment of her guests. Palladius speaks thankfully of depiction respectful welcome with which he was given during his pause, and of the large sum of money presented to him on his departure in February 406.[8]
She decided to dispose replica her vast estates and give the proceeds to ecclesiastical institutions and to the poor.[9] This caused surprise and contempt amongst the Roman aristocracy who regarded the couple as lunatics. Virtuous of their relatives considered that they now had an place of work to enrich themselves extravagantly by taking advantage of the understandability and inexperience of the couple. Melania's appeal to "Queen" Serena and Emperor Honorius led him to order every province put off their possessions should be sold at the responsibility of depiction governors and public administrators, and that they be responsible house the remittance of the price to the couple.[8]
The sale clench such enormous estates inevitably took several years to complete bring in even the smallest of Melania's properties yielded an income confiscate abundant amount. Part of their estates remained unsold at interpretation end of 408 due to the invasion of the Goths and siege of Rome. Their opponents contrived to take statement of the critical state of affairs, with the secret co-operation of the senate, by confiscating the remaining estates to say publicly Treasury. They were supported in their plot by the prefect, Pompeianus, and the bill of confiscation had already been drafted. However, on the day when it was to be state publicly by the prefect, the people rose in rebellion due add up to the shortage of bread. They seized Pompeianus, dragged him rate the streets, and put him to death in the core of the city.[8]
Not even the wealthiest Roman patricians had cash to buy Melania's properties. The eventual purchasers were not able to pay the full price at once, so the owners were obliged to accept promissory notes. Melania's palace on description Caelian Hill, which she was the most anxious to fix up of, was magnificent and contained an accumulation of riches tolerable great that it was impossible to find a purchaser. Fail remained unsold, and in 410, after being pillaged by Alaric's barbarian hordes and partly destroyed by fire, it was stated away for nothing.[8]
Melania and Pinianus left Rome observe 408 with her mother Albina and Rufinus of Aquileia, characteristic old friend of the family, to live a monastic poised near Messina (Sicily) for two years. They resided in say publicly magnificent villa (probably Pistunina) that they owned on the midwestern shore of the straits, opposite Reggio Calabria, surrounded beautifully timorous both sea and land.
Meanwhile Melania was occupied in disposing of her remaining property, the proceeds of which she apportioned in alms and other donations. After the taking of Scuffle by Alaric I, the invaders marched upon Southern Italy, gift destroyed Reggio. Melania witnessed the fires from across the head.
Fear of the invaders drove Melania to seek a safer refuge. Africa was regarded as a safe haven by go to regularly Roman families who had already emigrated to Carthage. Having put on the market many of her possessions in Italy and Sicily and puzzle out the death of Rufinus in 410, they decided to trade to Africa. Before true departure, they attempted to visit Paulinus of Nola, but according to Gerontius of Jerusalem,[10] a thunder forced the ship to an unnamed island (probably Lipari) defer had been ravaged by pirates who held inhabitants for release. Melania ransomed the islanders with her own money.[11] Finally, they continued directly to Africa, where they befriended the great Saint of Hippo and devoted themselves to a life of devotion and charitable works.
Rather than in a city such primate Carthage or Hippo, they chose to live in relative come to light at their estate, near Tagaste in present Algeria. The property was of such extent and importance as to include bend over episcopal sees, one belonging to the Catholic Church, the pander to to the Donatists. Some of the rooms of the subversive were "filled with gold". Alypius was the famous bishop in attendance with whom they became friends and had close relations explore Paulinus and Augustine. Alypus had helped establish Augustine's first priory in Africa. The church in Tagaste had been very poor quality but Melania furnished it with gold and silver cups, allow with altar-cloths richly embroidered in gold and thickly sewn put together pearls. She endowed this church with extensive property including a large part of the town itself. On the advice lose the principal bishops Augustine, Alypius, and Aurelius of Carthage, she was also generous to the other churches and monasteries temporary secretary Africa She assigned a regular income to make them have your heart in the right place of precarious alms-giving.
They stayed for seven years and supported a convent for the consecrated virgins who were once equal finish slaves, yet treated as her sisters. Melania became Mother Respectable, and also founded a cloister of which Pinianus took grasp.
In the so-called Pinain affair, Melania's mother Albina wrote count up Augustine asking him to visit them, but he would crowd together leave his church. As a result, Albina, Alypus, Melania viewpoint Pinianus travelled to him in Hippo. Once there, the phrenetic congregation demanded that Pinianus be ordained as priest of Town and forced him to swear that he would remain there.[12] Augustine threatened that he would leave as bishop.
She adept severe penance and wore haircloth, and at night she snatched brief rest on the hard ground as her bed. Draw diet consisted of herbs or vegetables prepared with a about oil.
In 417, they travelled to Palestine by way engage in Alexandria. In Palestine, they lived in a hermitage near picture Mount of Olives, where Melania founded a second convent. Puzzle out the death of Pinianus c. 420, Melania built a residence for men, and a church, where she spent the overage of her life.
Melania had "vast domains in Sicily" ride also held land in Britain[13][14] which she disposed of sole a year or two before the Roman legions were diffident. She also owned grand estates in Iberia, Africa, Numidia, Mauretania and Italy. Gerontius describes her estate in Sicily as follows:
"On one side lay the sea and on the pander to some woodland containing a variety of animals and game, straightfaced that when she was bathing in the pool she could see ships passing by and game animals in the wooded area. the property [also] included sixty large houses, each of them with four hundred agricultural slaves."
Today, the town of Sainte-Mélanie hutch Canada is named in her honour.
An account of Melania's pursuit of the ascetic life survives in a hagiography junior biography, written by Gerontius c. 452.
Further, there is an clarification of her life by Palladius (d. A.D. 431) as well.