List of Famous Monks
- Martin Luther, , (; German: [ˈmaɐ̯tiːn ˈlʊtɐ]; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German professor of theology, composer, priest, monk, and a seminal figure in the Protestant Reformation. Luther was ordained to the priesthood in 1507. He came to reject several teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church; in particular, he disputed the view on indulgences. Luther proposed an academic discussion of the practice and efficacy of indulgences in his Ninety-five Theses of 1517. His refusal to renounce all of his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520 and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521 resulted in his excommunication by the pope and condemnation as an outlaw by the Holy Roman Emperor. Luther taught that salvation and, consequently, eternal life are not earned by good deeds but are received only as the free gift of God's grace through the believer's faith in Jesus Christ as redeemer from sin. His theology challenged the authority and office of the Pope by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge, and opposed sacerdotalism by considering all baptized Christians to be a holy priesthood. Those who identify with these, and all of Luther's wider teachings, are called Lutherans, though Luther insisted on Christian or Evangelical (German: evangelisch) as the only acceptable names for individuals who professed Christ. His translation of the Bible into the German vernacular (instead of Latin) made it more accessible to the laity, an event that had a tremendous impact on both the church and German culture. It fostered the development of a standard version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the writing of an English translation, the Tyndale Bible. His hymns influenced the development of singing in Protestant churches. His marriage to Katharina von Bora, a former nun, set a model for the practice of clerical marriage, allowing Protestant clergy to marry.In two of his later works, Luther expressed antagonistic views towards Jews. His rhetoric was not directed at Jews alone, but also towards Roman Catholics, Anabaptists, and nontrinitarian Christians. Luther died in 1546 with Pope Leo X's excommunication still effective.
- Birthplace: Eisleben, Germany
- Thích Nhất Hạnh (October 11, 1926 – January 22, 2022) was a Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk, peace activist, and founder of the Plum Village Tradition, historically recognized as the main inspiration for engaged Buddhism. Nhất Hạnh spent most of his later life at the Plum Village Monastery in southwest France near Thénac, travelling internationally to give retreats and talks. He coined the term "Engaged Buddhism" in his book Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire. After a 39-year exile, he was permitted to visit Vietnam in 2005. In November 2018, he returned to Vietnam to his "root temple", Từ Hiếu Temple, near Huế, where he died on January 22, 2022, at the age of 95.
- Birthplace: Vietnam
- Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (; Russian: Григо́рий Ефи́мович Распу́тин [ɡrʲɪˈɡorʲɪj jɪˈfʲiməvʲɪtɕ rɐˈsputʲɪn]; 22 January [O.S. 9 January] 1869 – 30 December [O.S. 17 December] 1916) was a Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the family of Tsar Nicholas II, the last monarch of Russia, and gained considerable influence in late imperial Russia. Born to a peasant family in the Siberian village of Pokrovskoye, Tobolsk governorate (now Tyumen oblast), Rasputin had a religious conversion experience after taking a pilgrimage to a monastery in 1897. He has been described as a monk or as a "strannik" (wanderer, or pilgrim), though he held no official position in the Russian Orthodox Church. After traveling to St. Petersburg, either in 1903 or the winter of 1904–05, Rasputin captivated some church and social leaders. He became a society figure, and met the Tsar in November 1905. In late 1906, Rasputin began acting as a healer for Alexei, the Tsar and his wife Alexandra's only son, who suffered from hemophilia. At court, he was a divisive figure, seen by some Russians as a mystic, visionary, and prophet, and by others as a religious charlatan. The high point of Rasputin's power was in 1915, when Nicholas II left St. Petersburg to oversee Russian armies fighting World War I, increasing both Alexandra and Rasputin's influence. As Russian defeats in the war mounted, however, both Rasputin and Alexandra became increasingly unpopular. In the early morning of 30 December [O.S. 17 December] 1916, Rasputin was assassinated by a group of conservative noblemen who opposed his influence over Alexandra and the Tsar. Historians often suggest that Rasputin's terrible reputation helped discredit the tsarist government, and thus helped precipitate the overthrow of the Romanov dynasty, which happened a few weeks after he was assassinated. Accounts of his life and influence were often based on hearsay and rumor.
- Birthplace: Russia, Pokrovskoye
- Gregor Johann Mendel (Czech: Řehoř Jan Mendel; 20 July 1822 – 6 January 1884) (English: ) was a scientist, Augustinian friar and abbot of St. Thomas' Abbey in Brno, Margraviate of Moravia. Mendel was born in a German-speaking family in the Silesian part of the Austrian Empire (today's Czech Republic) and gained posthumous recognition as the founder of the modern science of genetics. Though farmers had known for millennia that crossbreeding of animals and plants could favor certain desirable traits, Mendel's pea plant experiments conducted between 1856 and 1863 established many of the rules of heredity, now referred to as the laws of Mendelian inheritance.Mendel worked with seven characteristics of pea plants: plant height, pod shape and color, seed shape and color, and flower position and color. Taking seed color as an example, Mendel showed that when a true-breeding yellow pea and a true-breeding green pea were cross-bred their offspring always produced yellow seeds. However, in the next generation, the green peas reappeared at a ratio of 1 green to 3 yellow. To explain this phenomenon, Mendel coined the terms “recessive” and “dominant” in reference to certain traits. (In the preceding example, the green trait, which seems to have vanished in the first filial generation, is recessive and the yellow is dominant.) He published his work in 1866, demonstrating the actions of invisible “factors”—now called genes—in predictably determining the traits of an organism. The profound significance of Mendel's work was not recognized until the turn of the 20th century (more than three decades later) with the rediscovery of his laws. Erich von Tschermak, Hugo de Vries, Carl Correns and William Jasper Spillman independently verified several of Mendel's experimental findings, ushering in the modern age of genetics.
- Birthplace: Hynčice, Czech Republic
- Brendan Smyth O.Praem (8 June 1927 – 22 August 1997) was a Roman Catholic priest from Belfast, Northern Ireland, who became notorious as a child molester, using his position in the Roman Catholic Church to obtain access to his victims. During a period of over 40 years, Smyth sexually abused and indecently assaulted at least 143 children in parishes in Belfast, Dublin and the United States. His actions were frequently hidden from police and the public by Roman Catholic officials. Controversy surrounding his case contributed to the downfall of the government of Republic of Ireland in December 1994.
- Birthplace: Belfast, United Kingdom
John Main
Dec. at 56 (1926-1982)John Main OSB was a Roman Catholic priest and Benedictine monk who presented a way of Christian meditation which utilised a prayer-phrase or mantra. In 1975 Main began Christian meditation groups which met at Ealing Abbey, his monastery in West London, England and, later, in Montreal, Canada. These were the origins of the ecumenical network of Christian meditation groups which have become the World Community for Christian Meditation.- Birthplace: London, United Kingdom
- For the Constable of Wallingford Castle, see Richard of Wallingford.Richard of Wallingford (1292–1336) was an English mathematician, astronomer, horologist, and cleric who made major contributions to astronomy and horology while serving as abbot of St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire.
- Birthplace: Wallingford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
Thich Quang Duc
Dec. at 66 (1897-1963)Thích Quảng Đức (Vietnamese: [tʰǐk̟ kʷâːŋ ɗɨ̌k] (listen); 1897 – 11 June 1963; born Lâm Văn Túc) was a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk who burned himself to death at a busy Saigon road intersection on 11 June 1963. Quảng Đức was protesting the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government led by Ngô Đình Diệm. Photographs of his self-immolation were circulated widely across the world and brought attention to the policies of the Diệm government. John F. Kennedy said in reference to a photograph of Đức on fire, "No news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one." Malcolm Browne won a Pulitzer Prize for his photograph of the monk's death.Quảng Đức's act increased international pressure on Diệm and led him to announce reforms with the intention of mollifying the Buddhists. However, the promised reforms were not implemented, leading to a deterioration in the dispute. With protests continuing, the ARVN Special Forces loyal to Diệm's brother, Ngô Đình Nhu, launched nationwide raids on Buddhist pagodas, seizing Quảng Đức's heart and causing deaths and widespread damage. Several Buddhist monks followed Quảng Đức's example, also immolating themselves. Eventually, a U.S.-backed Army coup toppled Diệm, who was assassinated on 2 November 1963.- Birthplace: Hội Khánh, Vietnam
Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow
Dec. at 79 (1929-2008)Patriarch Alexy II (or Alexius II, Russian: Патриарх Алексий II; secular name Aleksei Mikhailovich Ridiger Russian: Алексе́й Миха́йлович Ри́дигер; 23 February 1929 – 5 December 2008) was the 15th Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus', the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. Elected Patriarch of Moscow eighteen months prior to the fall of the Soviet Union, he became the first Russian Patriarch of the post-Soviet period.- Birthplace: Tallinn, Estonia
- Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम Siddhāṛtha Gautama, c. 563/480 – c. 483/400 BCE) or Siddhattha Gotama (शिद्धत्थ गोतम) in Pali, also called the Gautama Buddha, the Shakyamuni (i.e. "Sage of the Shakyas") Buddha, or simply the Buddha, after the title of Buddha, was a monk (śramaṇa), mendicant, sage, philosopher, teacher and religious leader on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. He is believed to have lived and taught mostly in the northeastern part of ancient India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE.Gautama taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and the severe asceticism found in the śramaṇa movement common in his region. He later taught throughout other regions of eastern India such as Magadha and Kosala.Gautama is the primary figure in Buddhism. He is believed by Buddhists to be an enlightened teacher who attained full Buddhahood and shared his insights to help sentient beings end rebirth and suffering. Accounts of his life, discourses and monastic rules are believed by Buddhists to have been summarised after his death and memorized by his followers. Various collections of teachings attributed to him were passed down by oral tradition and first committed to writing about 400 years later.
- Birthplace: Lumbini, Nepal
- Benedetto Pallavicino (c. 1551 – 26 November 1601) was an Italian composer and organist of the late Renaissance. A prolific composer of madrigals, he was resident at the Gonzaga court of Mantua in the 1590s, where he was a close associate of Giaches de Wert, and a rival of his younger contemporary Claudio Monteverdi.
- Birthplace: Cremona, Italy
Attilio Ariosti
Dec. at 62 (1666-1729)Attilio Malachia Ariosti (or Frate Ottavio) (5 November 1666 – 1729) was a Servite Friar and Italian composer in the Baroque style, born in Bologna. He produced more than 30 operas and oratorios, numerous cantatas and instrumental works.- Birthplace: Bologna, Italy
Charles Sydney Gibbes
Dec. at 87 (1876-1963)Charles Sydney Gibbes (19 January 1876 – 24 March 1963) was a British academic who from 1908 to 1917 served as the English tutor to the children of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia. When Nicholas abdicated the throne in March 1917 Gibbes voluntarily accompanied the Imperial family into exile to the Siberian city of Tobolsk. After the family was murdered in 1918 Gibbes returned to the United Kingdom and eventually became an Orthodox monk, adopting the name of Nicholas in commemoration of Nicholas II. He died in 1963, and is buried at Headington cemetery, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.- Birthplace: Rotherham, United Kingdom
William of Gellone
Dec. at 57 (755-812)William of Gellone (c. 755 – 28 May 812 or 814 AD), the medieval William of Orange, was the second Duke of Toulouse from 790 until 811. In 804, he founded the abbey of Gellone. He was canonized a saint in 1066 by Pope Alexander II.In the tenth or eleventh century, a Latin hagiography, the Vita sancti Willelmi, was composed possibly based on oral traditions. By the twelfth century, William's legend had grown. He is the hero of an entire cycle of chansons de geste, the earliest of which is the Chanson de Guillaume of about 1140. In the chansons, he is nicknamed Fièrebrace (proud of his arm) on account of his strength and the marquis au court nez (margrave with the short nose) on account of an injury suffered in battle with a giant.- Birthplace: France
Matthieu Ricard
Age: 78Matthieu Ricard (Nepali: माथ्यु रिका, born 15 February 1946) is a French writer, photographer, translator and Buddhist monk who resides at Shechen Tennyi Dargyeling Monastery in Nepal. Matthieu Ricard grew up among the personalities and ideas of French intellectual circles. He received a Ph.D. degree in molecular genetics from the Pasteur Institute in 1972. He then decided to forsake his scientific career and instead practice Tibetan Buddhism, living mainly in the Himalayas. Ricard is a board member of the Mind and Life Institute. He received the French National Order of Merit for his humanitarian work in the East with Karuna-Shechen, the non-profit organization he co-founded in 2000 with Rabjam Rinpoche. Since 1989, he has acted as the French interpreter for the Dalai Lama.- Birthplace: France, Aix-les-Bains
- Father Cesare Bonizzi, O.F.M. Cap. (born 15 March 1946), also known as Frate Cesare and Fratello Metallo ("Brother Metal") - which was also the name of his band, is an Italian Capuchin friar, who was known as a heavy metal singer.
- Birthplace: Offanengo, Italy
- Bede Griffiths, OSB Cam., (17 December 1906 – 13 May 1993), born Alan Richard Griffiths and also known by the end of his life as Swami Dayananda ("bliss of compassion"), was a British-born Benedictine monk and priest who lived in ashrams in South India and became a noted yogi. He became a leading thinker in the development of the dialogue between Christianity and Hinduism. Griffiths was a part of the Christian Ashram Movement.
- Birthplace: Walton-on-Thames, United Kingdom
U Gambira
Age: 45U Gambira (Burmese: ရှင်ဂမ္ဘီရ; born 19 June 1979) is a former Buddhist monk, activist and a leader of the All-Burma Monks' Alliance, a group which helped lead the 2007 protests against Burma's military government. Following the protests, he went into hiding and published two editorials critical of the Burmese government in the Washington Post and The Guardian on 4 November 2007. He was arrested the same day. In October 2008, he was sentenced to 68 years in prison, including 12 years hard labour; the sentence was reduced to 65 years on appeal. Gambira reportedly protested his imprisonment by organising chanting with other imprisoned monks, boycotting his trial, and going on hunger strike. Human rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch also protested his imprisonment. Gambira was released during a mass pardon of prisoners on 13 January 2012 as part of the 2011–2012 Burmese political reforms. He ceased to be a monk in April 2012, stating that he had been unable to find a monastery to join due to his status as a former prisoner. He was re-arrested at least three times in 2012.- Birthplace: Myanmar
Thích Quảng Độ
Age: 96Thích Quảng Độ (born 27 November 1928) is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk and patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam, a currently banned religious body in Vietnam. In 2002, he was awarded the Homo Homini Award for human rights activism by the Czech group People In Need, which he shared with Thích Huyền Quang and Thadeus Nguyễn Văn Lý.- Birthplace: Vietnam
Lou Tseng-Tsiang
Dec. at 77 (1871-1949)Lou Tseng-Tsiang or Lu Zhengxiang (Lù Zhēngxiáng) (Chinese: 陸徵祥; 12 June 1871 – 15 January 1949) was a Chinese diplomat and a Roman Catholic monk. He was twice Premier of the Republic of China and led his country's delegation at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. He sometimes used the French name René Lou in earlier life, and his monastic name was Pierre-Célestin, O.S.B..- Birthplace: Zhejiang, China
Nanavira Thera
Dec. at 45 (1920-1965)Ñāṇavīra Thera (born Harold Edward Musson; 5 January 1920 – 5 July 1965) was an English Theravāda Buddhist monk, ordained in 1950 in Sri Lanka. He is known as the author of Notes on Dhamma, which were later published by Path Press together with his letters in one volume titled Clearing the Path.- Birthplace: Aldershot, United Kingdom
Thomas à Kempis
Dec. at 91 (1380-1471)Thomas à Kempis, CRSA (c. 1380 – 25 July 1471), was a German-Dutch canon regular of the late medieval period and the author of The Imitation of Christ, one of the most popular and best known Christian devotional books. His name means Thomas "of Kempen", his home town, and in German he is known as Thomas von Kempen (in Dutch, Thomas van Kempen).He was a member of the Modern Devotion, a spiritual movement during the late medieval period, and a follower of Geert Groote and Florens Radewyns, the founders of the Brethren of the Common Life.- Birthplace: Kempen, Germany
Yunmen Wenyan
Dec. at 87 (862-949)Yúnmén Wényǎn (862 or 864 – 949 CE; 雲門文偃; Japanese: うんもんぶんえん, Ummon Bun'en; also known in English as "Unmon", "Ummon Daishi", "Ummon Zenji"), was a major Chinese Zen master in Tang-era China. He was a dharma-heir of Xuefeng Yicun Yunmen founded the Yunmen school, one of the five major schools of Chán (Chinese Zen). The name is derived from Yunmen monastery of Shaozhou where Yunmen was abbot. The Yunmen school flourished into the early Song Dynasty, with particular influence on the upper classes, and eventually culminating in the compilation and writing of the Blue Cliff Record. The school would eventually be absorbed by the Linji school later in the Song. The lineage still lives on to this day through Chan Master Hsu Yun (1840–1959).- Birthplace: Jiaxing, China
Fra Simone da Carnuli
Fra Simone da Carnuli (born 15th century) was an Italian (Genoese) painter. He was a Franciscan friar of Genoa. He painted several pictures for his convent, two of which are dated 1519, representing the Last Supper and Preaching of St. Anthony. He painted architectural designs and bird's-eye views with figures seen from an aerial perspective.Adrian Urmanov
Age: 45An important figure of the 2000s generation and the founder of the movement called Utilitarism. In 2004 he became a Christian Orthodox monk.- Birthplace: Ploiești, Romania
Anselm Hurt
Anselm Hurt is a monk and the older brother of actor John Hurt.Shi Yan Ming
Age: 60Shi Yan Ming (born Duan Gen Shan; February 13, 1964) is a 34th generation Shaolin warrior monk, teacher and actor, best known as the founder of the USA Shaolin Temple. Trained at the Shaolin Temple in Henan, People's Republic of China (PRC) since the age of five, Shi Yan Ming defected to the United States in 1992, before opening the USA Shaolin Temple in Manhattan, where he has taught hundreds of students, including numerous celebrities. He has made various media appearances in television, film and print, including National Geographic, PBS, History, Time magazine, and the 1999 American samurai action film, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.- Birthplace: China, Zhumadian
Tripurari Swami
Age: 75Tripurari Swami, also known as Swami BV Tripurari, is an American author, poet, and guru, described as "a prominent master in the Gaudiya Vaishnava lineage", and "one of the leading practitioners of Bhakti-yoga in the West."- Birthplace: Teaneck, New Jersey
- Huángbò Xīyùn (simplified Chinese: 黄檗希运; traditional Chinese: 黄檗希運; Wade–Giles: Huang-po Hsi-yün; literally: 'Xiyun of Mt. Huangbo', Japanese: Ōbaku Kiun) (died 850) was an influential Chinese master of Zen Buddhism during the Tang Dynasty. Huángbò was a disciple of Baizhang Huaihai (720-840), and the teacher of Linji Yixuan (died 866) (Wade–Giles: Lin-chi I-hsüan; Japanese: Rinzai Gigen).
- Birthplace: Fujian, China
Palden Gyatso
Age: 92Palden Gyatso (1933, Panam, Tibet – November 30, 2018, Dharamshala, India) was a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Arrested for protesting during the Chinese invasion of Tibet, he spent 33 years in Chinese prisons and labor camps, where he was extensively tortured, and served the longest term of any Tibetan political prisoner. After his release in 1992 he fled to Dharamsala in North India, in exile. He was still a practicing monk and became a political activist, traveling the world publicizing the cause of Tibet up until his death in 2018. His autobiography Fire Under the Snow is also known as The Autobiography of a Tibetan Monk. He was the subject of the 2008 documentary film Fire Under the Snow.- Birthplace: Tibet, China
Henry de Sully
Henry or Henri de Sully may refer to: Henry de Sully (died 1189), abbot of Fécamp, bishop-designate of Salisbury and archbishop-elect of York Henry de Sully (died 1195), abbot of Glastonbury and bishop of Worcester Henry de Sully (archbishop) (died 1200), archbishop of Bourges Henri IV de Sully (died 1336), treasurer of Philip V of France and seneschal of GasconyNestor the Chronicler
Dec. at 58 (1056-1114)Saint Nestor the Chronicler (c. 1056 – c. 1114, in Kiev, Kievan Rus') was the reputed author of the Primary Chronicle, (the earliest East Slavic chronicle), Life of the Venerable Theodosius of the Kiev Caves, and Account about the Life and Martyrdom of the Blessed Passion Bearers Boris and Gleb. In 1073, Nestor became a monk of the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev. The only other detail of his life that is reliably known is that he was commissioned with two other monks to find the relics of St. Theodosius of Kiev, a mission which he fulfilled successfully. It is also speculated that he supported the reigning prince Svyatopolk II, and his pro-Scandinavian party disliked Greek influence in Kiev. His chronicle begins with the Deluge, as did those of most Christian chroniclers of the time. The compiler appears to have been acquainted with the Byzantine historians; he makes use especially of John Malalas and George Hamartolus. He also likely had other Slavonic language chronicles to compile from, which have since been lost. Many legends are mistakenly attributed to Nestor's Chronicle; the style is occasionally so poetic that perhaps he incorporated bylinas that are now lost. As an eyewitness, Nestor could only have described the reigns of Vsevolod I and Svyatopolk II (1078–1112), but it is surmised he could have gathered many details from older inhabitants. Two such possibilities are Giurata Rogovich of Novgorod, who could have provided him with information concerning the north of Kievan Rus', the Pechora River, and other places, as well as Yan Vyshatich, a nobleman who died in 1106 at the age of ninety. Nestor provided valuable ethnological details of various Slavic tribes. The current theory about Nestor is that the Chronicle is a patchwork of many fragments of chronicles, and that the name of Nestor was attached to it because he either wrote the majority of it or was responsible for piecing all the fragments together. The name of the hegumen Sylvester is affixed to several of the manuscripts as the author. St. Nestor died around 1114 and was buried in the Near Caves. He has been glorified (canonized) as a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church. The body of the ancient chronicler may be seen among the relics preserved in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. His feast day is celebrated on October 27. He is also commemorated in common with other saints of the Kiev Caves Lavra on September 28 (Synaxis of the Venerable Fathers of the Kiev Caves) and on the Second Sunday of Great Lent.- Birthplace: Kiev, Ukraine
Sarvajna
Sarvajña (Kannada: ಸರ್ವಜ್ಞ) was a Kannada poet, pragmatist and philosopher of the 16th century. The word "Sarvajna" in Sanskrit literally means "the all knowing". He is famous for his pithy three-lined poems called tripadi (written in the native three-line verse metre, "with three padas, a form of Vachana). He is also referred as Sarvagna in modern translation.- Birthplace: Karnataka, India
Ferréol of Uzès
Dec. at 51 (530-581)Saint Ferréol (Ferreolus) of Uzès (530 – January 4, 581) was bishop of Uzès and possibly bishop of Nîmes (Catholic Encyclopedia "Nîmes") (553-581). His Feast Day is January 4. He was born in Narbonne, apparently a grandson of Cloderic of the Ripuarian Franks. Bishops in Merovingian Gaul were ordinarily drawn from the highest levels of society. Ferréol founded a Benedictine abbey, for which he wrote a rule that survives; it regards the work of transcription in the scriptorium as the equivalent of manual labor, since it charges that the monk "who does not turn up the earth with the plow ought to write the parchment with his fingers." As bishop of Uzès, Ferréol devoted himself in particular to converting the Jews within his diocese. Under Childebert I Ferréol was banished from his see in 555, for having lived in too friendly relations with the Jews of Septimania. The thoroughly Romanized region had until recently been ruled by a Visigothic and Arian upper class, and relaxed relations with the long-established and urbane Jewish community was a Visigoth tradition. Ferréol's motive lay in hopes of making conversions, according to the Vita Ferreoli, apud Marcus Antonius Dominicy, Ausberti Familia Rediviva, published in Paris, 1648 (Jewish Encyclopedia). He was restored to his see after three years (Benedictine Encyclopedia), but now had to toe the strict Merovingian line: "Ferréol ordered the Jews of his diocese to meet in the Church of St Theodoric, and preached to them a baptismal sermon. Some Jews abjured their faith; he forbade the others to remain in the city, and expelled them from his diocese" in 558 (Jewish Encyclopedia). Ferréol makes a brief appearance in the phantasmic parade of Episode 12 ("Cyclops") in James Joyce's Ulysses. His sister Saint Tarsicia of Rodez (died ca 600) lived as a hermit in the Rouergue near Rodez, where she is still venerated by the Benedictines, with a feast day of January 15. She was said in error to have been a granddaughter of Clotaire II, and more accurately a granddaughter of Clotaire I and, less likely, of St. Radegunda (Catholic Encyclopedia "Rodez"). Thus, they were two among numerous members of the Merovingian royal house whose posthumous veneration was encouraged by the Catholic Church. An earlier, legendary St. Ferreolus (Saint Ferréol) was sent to evangelize in Besançon in the late 2nd century. In 1320, the chanter of Notre-Dame de Paris, Hugues de Besançon, founded a chaplaincy "in honor of Saints Ferréol and Ferrutien" at the altar of one of the recently completed chapels [1].- Birthplace: Narbonne, France
Tenzin Zopa
Age: 50Geshe Tenzin Zopa (born 1975) is a Nepalese Tibetan Buddhist monk of the Mahayana tradition. He is the resident teacher of the Losang Dragpa Centre of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT). Zopa is featured in the 2008 documentary film Unmistaken Child, which follows his search for the reincarnation of his beloved master, Geshe Lama Konchog. Zopa has also written a book about this search, titled Precious Holy Child of Kopan.- Birthplace: Nepal
Hugh II of Vermandois
Dec. at 85 (1127-1212)Hugh II "The Monk", count of Vermandois and Valois, resigned his titles in 1160 and became a monk, canonized 1177 (b. Amiens, 9.4.1127 - m. Caerfroy Cloister, near Paris, 4.11.1212).- Birthplace: Amiens, France
- Pepin, or Pippin the Hunchback (French: Pépin le Bossu, German: Pippin der Buckelige; c. 769 – 811) was a Frankish prince. He was the eldest son of Charlemagne and noblewoman Himiltrude. He developed a humped back after birth, leading early medieval historians to give him the epithet "hunchback". He lived with his father's court after Charlemagne dismissed his mother and took another wife, Hildegard. Around 781, Pepin's half brother Carloman was rechristened as "Pepin of Italy"—a step that may have signaled Charlemagne's decision to disinherit the elder Pepin, for a variety of possible reasons. In 792, Pepin the Hunchback revolted against his father with a group of leading Frankish nobles, but the plot was discovered and put down before the conspiracy could put it into action. Charlemagne commuted Pepin's death sentence, having him tonsured and exiled to the monastery of Prüm instead. Since his death in 811, Pepin has been the subject of numerous works of historical fiction.
Hermann Anton Gelinek
Dec. at 70 (1709-1779)Hermann Anton Gelinek (August 8, 1709 – December 5, 1779) was a German monk and musician. Gelinek was born in Horzeniowes, Bohemia, and became a priest at the Premonstratensian Abbey in Seelau in 1728, then traveled to Vienna to study law. Returning to his monastery, he was professor and director of church music, and played the organ and violin. Soon however he developed the urge to travel and left his monastery. He first went to Paris, where he played to audiences including the King. He later went to Naples, where he lived for a number of years and played violin under the assumed name Cervetti. He returned sometime thereafter to the monastery in Seelau, where at one point he traveled with his superiors to Prague. After returning to Seelau, he developed the urge to travel once more, and left the monastery for a final time in 1779 to go to Italy again, where he died in Milan in December 1779. He published some concertos and sonatas for violin, some organ pieces, and various pieces of church music.Peter Colechurch
- Jianzhi Sengcan (Chinese: 鑑智僧璨; Hànyǔ Pīnyīn: Jiànzhì Sēngcàn; Wade–Giles: Chien-chih Seng-ts'an; Japanese: Kanchi Sōsan, died 606) is known as the Third Chinese Patriarch of Chán after Bodhidharma and thirtieth Patriarch after Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha. He is considered to be the Dharma successor of the second Chinese Patriarch, Dazu Huike (大祖慧可; Hànyǔ Pīnyīn: Dàzǔ Huìkě; Wade–Giles: Ta-tsu Hui-k’o; Japanese: Taiso Eka). Sengcan is best known as the putative author of the famous Chán poem, Xinxin Ming 信心銘 (Hànyǔ Pīnyīn: Xìnxīn Míng; Wade–Giles: Hsin-hsin Ming; Inscription on Faith in Mind).
- Birthplace: China
James of Aragon
Age: 728James (Jaume) (b. 29 September 1296 - d. Tarragona, July 1334) was the son of James II of Aragon and Blanche of Anjou. James renounced his right to the throne in 1319 to become a monk. He refused to consummate his marriage to Leonor of Castile, who later become the second wife of his brother Alfonso.Isembert de Saintes
Losang Samten
Age: 72Losang Samten (Tibetan: བློ་བཟང་བསམ་གཏན།, Wylie: blo-bzang bsam-gtan) is an American Tibetan scholar, sand mandala artist, former Buddhist monk, and Spiritual Director of the Tibetan Buddhist Center of Philadelphia. He is one of only an estimated 30 people, worldwide, qualified to teach the traditional art of Tibetan sandpainting. He has written two books and helped to create the first Tibetan sand mandala ever shown publicly in the West in 1988. In 2002, he was made a National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment of the Arts. In 2004, he was granted a Pew Fellowship in Folk and Traditional Arts.- Birthplace: Tibet, China
- Anthony the Hermit (ca. 468 – ca. 520), also known as Antony of Lérins, is a Christian saint. He was born in the ancient Roman province of Valeria (now the Balkans), then part of the Hunnic Empire. When he was eight years old, his father died and he was entrusted to the care of the holy Abbot Severinus of Noricum, in modern-day Austria. Upon the death of Severinus in 482, Anthony was sent to Germany and put in the care of his uncle, Constantius, an early Bishop of Lorsch. While there, Anthony is thought to have become a monk at the age of twenty.In 488, at about 20 years of age, Anthony moved to Italy to take up an eremitical life with a small group of hermits living on an island in Lake Como. He was eventually joined by numerous disciples seeking to emulate his holiness and he chose to seek greater solitude in Gaul. He lived in various solitary places until he became a monk at the Abbey of Lérins two years before his death, where he became well-known locally for the holiness of his life and the miracles he had performed. Anthony is commemorated according to their respective church calendars on 28 December by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.
Dr. Kagyur T. Rinpoche Thakur
Dr. Kagyur T. Rinpoche Thakur is the husband of Mandakini.William of Normandy
Age: 1018Luang Pu Thuat
Dec. at 100 (1582-1682)Luang Pu Thuat (Thai: หลวงปู่ทวด), also known as Luang Pu Thuad, Luang Por Tuad, Luang Phu Tuad, and various other spellings. Luang Pu Thuat was born in 1582 (2125 BE) and died 1682 (2225 BE) in Ayer Kala, Lenggong, Perak, Malaysia. He is a revered Buddhist monk who lived in Siam. He is said to have performed miracles.- Birthplace: Songkhla, Thailand
Somdej Toh
Dec. at 84 (1788-1872)Somdet To (1788-1872; B.E. 2331-2415), known formally as Somdet Phra Buddhacarya (To Brahmaramsi) (Thai: สมเด็จพระพุฒาจารย์ (โต พฺรหฺมรํสี); RTGS: Somdet Phra Phutthachan (To Phrommarangsi)), was one of the most famous Buddhist monks during Thailand's Rattanakosin Period and continues to be the most widely known monk in Thailand. He is widely revered in Thailand as a monk who is said that he possessed magical powers and his amulets are widely sought after. His images and statues are some of the most widespread religious icons in Bangkok.- Birthplace: Tha Ruea District
- Benedict of Nursia (Latin: Benedictus Nursiae; Italian: Benedetto da Norcia; Vulgar Latin: *Benedecto; Gothic: Benedikt; c. 2 March 480 – c. 21 March 547 AD) is a Christian saint venerated in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Anglican Communion and Old Catholic Churches. He is a patron saint of Europe.Benedict founded twelve communities for monks at Subiaco, Lazio, Italy (about 40 miles (64 km) to the east of Rome), before moving to Monte Cassino in the mountains of southern Italy. The Order of Saint Benedict is of later origin and, moreover, not an "order" as commonly understood but merely a confederation of autonomous congregations.Benedict's main achievement, his "Rule of Saint Benedict", contains a set of rules for his monks to follow. Heavily influenced by the writings of John Cassian, it shows strong affinity with the Rule of the Master. But it also has a unique spirit of balance, moderation and reasonableness (ἐπιείκεια, epieíkeia), and this persuaded most Christian religious communities founded throughout the Middle Ages to adopt it. As a result, his Rule became one of the most influential religious rules in Western Christendom. For this reason, Giuseppe Carletti regarded Benedict as the founder of Western Christian monasticism.
- Birthplace: Norcia, Italy
Bernard of Clairvaux
Dec. at 63 (1090-1153)Bernard of Clairvaux, O.Cist (Latin: Bernardus Claraevallensis; 1090 – 20 August 1153) was a French abbot and a major leader in the reform of Benedictine monasticism that caused the formation of the Cistercian order. "...He was sent to found a new abbey at an isolated clearing in a glen known as the Val d'Absinthe, about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) southeast of Bar-sur-Aube. According to tradition, Bernard founded the monastery on 25 June 1115, naming it Claire Vallée, which evolved into Clairvaux. There Bernard preached an immediate faith, in which the intercessor was the Virgin Mary." In the year 1128, Bernard attended the Council of Troyes, at which he traced the outlines of the Rule of the Knights Templar, which soon became the ideal of Christian nobility. On the death of Pope Honorius II on 13 February 1130, a schism broke out in the Church. King Louis VI of France convened a national council of the French bishops at Étampes in 1130, and Bernard was chosen to judge between the rivals for pope. By the end of 1131, the kingdoms of France, England, Germany, Portugal, Castile, and Aragon supported Pope Innocent II; however, most of Italy, southern France, and Sicily, with the Latin patriarchs of Constantinople, Antioch, and Jerusalem supported Antipope Anacletus II. Bernard set out to convince these other regions to rally behind Innocent. In 1139, Bernard assisted at the Second Council of the Lateran. He subsequently denounced the teachings of Peter Abelard to the pope, who called a council at Sens in 1141 to settle the matter. Bernard soon saw one of his disciples elected Pope Eugene III. Having previously helped end the schism within the church, Bernard was now called upon to combat heresy. In June 1145, Bernard traveled in southern France and his preaching there helped strengthen support against heresy. He preached at the Council of Vézelay (1146) to recruit for the Second Crusade. After the Christian defeat at the Siege of Edessa, the pope commissioned Bernard to preach the Second Crusade. The last years of Bernard's life were saddened by the failure of the crusaders, the entire responsibility for which was thrown upon him. Bernard died at the age of 63, after 40 years as a monk. He was the first Cistercian placed on the calendar of saints, and was canonized by Pope Alexander III on 18 January 1174. In 1830 Pope Pius VIII bestowed upon Bernard the title "Doctor of the Church".- Birthplace: Fontaine-lès-Dijon, France
Anthony the Great
Dec. at 105 (251-356)Saint Anthony or Antony (Greek: Ἀντώνιος Antṓnios; Latin: Antonius; Coptic: Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ⲁⲛⲧⲱⲛⲓ; c. 12 January 251 – 17 January 356), was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is distinguished from other saints named Anthony such as Anthony of Padua, by various epithets of his own: Anthony the Great, Anthony of Egypt, Antony the Abbot, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, and Anthony of Thebes. For his importance among the Desert Fathers and to all later Christian monasticism, he is also known as the Father of All Monks. His feast day is celebrated on 17 January among the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches and on Tobi 22 in the Coptic calendar used by the Coptic Church. The biography of Anthony's life by Athanasius of Alexandria helped to spread the concept of Christian monasticism, particularly in Western Europe via its Latin translations. He is often erroneously considered the first Christian monk, but as his biography and other sources make clear, there were many ascetics before him. Anthony was, however, among the first known to go into the wilderness (about AD 270), which seems to have contributed to his renown. Accounts of Anthony enduring supernatural temptation during his sojourn in the Eastern Desert of Egypt inspired the often-repeated subject of the temptation of St. Anthony in Western art and literature. Anthony is appealed to against infectious diseases, particularly skin diseases. In the past, many such afflictions, including ergotism, erysipelas, and shingles, were referred to as St. Anthony's fire.- Birthplace: Heracleopolis Magna, Egypt
John Cassian
Dec. at 75 (360-435)John Cassian (c. AD 360 – c. 435), also known as John the Ascetic and John Cassian the Roman (Latin: Ioannes Eremita Cassianus, Ioannus Cassianus, or Ioannes Massiliensis), was a Christian monk and theologian celebrated in both the Western and Eastern churches for his mystical writings. Cassian is noted for his role in bringing the ideas and practices of Christian monasticism to the early medieval West.- Birthplace: Scythia Minor
John of Damascus
Dec. at 73 (676-749)Saint John of Damascus (Medieval Greek Ἰωάννης ὁ Δαμασκηνός, Ioánnis o Damaskinós, Byzantine Greek pronunciation: [ioˈanis o ðamasciˈnos]; Latin: Ioannes Damascenus, Arabic: يوحنا الدمشقي, ALA-LC: Yūḥannā ad-Dimashqī), also known as John Damascene and as Χρυσορρόας / Chrysorrhoas (literally "streaming with gold"—i.e., "the golden speaker"), was a Byzantine monk and priest. Born and raised in Damascus c. 675 or 676, he died at his monastery, Mar Saba, near Jerusalem on 4 December 749.A polymath whose fields of interest and contribution included law, theology, philosophy, and music, he is said by some sources to have served as a Chief Administrator to the Muslim caliph of Damascus before his ordination. He wrote works expounding the Christian faith, and composed hymns which are still used both liturgically in Eastern Christian practice throughout the world as well as in western Lutheranism at Easter. He is one of the Fathers of the Eastern Orthodox Church and is best known for his strong defence of icons. The Catholic Church regards him as a Doctor of the Church, often referred to as the Doctor of the Assumption due to his writings on the Assumption of Mary.The most common source of information for the life of John of Damascus is a work attributed to one John of Jerusalem, identified therein as the Patriarch of Jerusalem. This is an excerpted translation into Greek of an earlier Arabic text. The Arabic original contains a prologue not found in most other translations, and was written by an Arab monk, Michael. Michael explained that he decided to write his biography in 1084 because none was available in his day. However, the main Arabic text seems to have been written by an earlier author sometime between the early 9th and late 10th centuries AD. Written from a hagiographical point of view and prone to exaggeration and some legendary details, it is not the best historical source for his life, but is widely reproduced and considered to contain elements of some value. The hagiographic novel Barlaam and Josaphat, traditionally attributed to John, is in fact a work of the 10th century.- Birthplace: Damascus, Syria
Pope Pius VII
Dec. at 81 (1742-1823)Pope Pius VII (14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in 1823. Chiaramonti was also a monk of the Order of Saint Benedict in addition to being a well-known theologian and bishop throughout his life. Chiaramonti was made Bishop of Tivoli in 1782, and resigned that position upon his appointment as Bishop of Imola in 1785. That same year, he was made a cardinal. In 1789, the French Revolution took place, and as a result a series of anti-clerical governments came into power in the country. In 1796, during the French Revolutionary Wars, French troops under Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Rome and took as prisoner Pope Pius VI. He was taken as prisoner to France, where he died in 1799. The following year, after a sede vacante period lasting approximately six months, Chiaramonti was elected to the papacy, taking the name Pius VII. Pius at first attempted to take a cautious approach in dealing with Napoleon. With him he signed the Concordat of 1801, through which he succeeded in guaranteeing religious freedom for Catholics living in France, and was present at his coronation as Emperor of the French in 1804. In 1809, however, during the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleon once again invaded the Papal States, resulting in his excommunication. Pius VII was taken prisoner and transported to France. He remained there until 1814 when, after the French were defeated, he was permitted to return to Rome, where he was greeted warmly as a hero and defender of the faith. Pius lived the remainder of his life in relative peace. His papacy saw a significant growth of the Catholic Church in the United States, where Pius established several new dioceses. Pius VII died in 1823 at age 81. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI began the process towards canonizing him as a saint, and he was granted the title Servant of God.- Birthplace: Cesena, Italy
Shinran
Dec. at 89 (1173-1263)Shinran (親鸞, May 21, 1173 – January 16, 1263) was a Japanese Buddhist monk, who was born in Hino (now a part of Fushimi, Kyoto) at the turbulent close of the Heian Period and lived during the Kamakura Period. Shinran was a pupil of Hōnen and the founder of what ultimately became the Jōdo Shinshū sect in Japan.- Birthplace: Kyoto, Keihanshin, Japan
Luang Phor Suk
Dec. at 76 (1847-1923)Columba
Dec. at 75 (521-597)Saint Columba (Irish: Colm Cille, 'church dove'; Scots: Columbkille; 7 December 521 – 9 June 597) was an Irish abbot and missionary Evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important abbey on Iona, which became a dominant religious and political institution in the region for centuries. He is the Patron Saint of Derry. He was highly regarded by both the Gaels of Dál Riata and the Picts, and is remembered today as a Catholic saint and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland.Colmcille studied under some of Ireland's most prominent church figures and founded several monasteries in the country. Around 563 he and his twelve companions crossed to Dunaverty near Southend, Argyll, in Kintyre before settling in Iona in Scotland, then part of the Ulster kingdom of Dál Riata, where they founded a new abbey as a base for spreading Celtic Christianity among the northern Pictish kingdoms who were pagan. He remained active in Irish politics, though he spent most of the remainder of his life in Scotland. Three surviving early medieval Latin hymns may be attributed to him.- Birthplace: Gartan, Republic of Ireland
- Phra Dharmakosacarya (Nguam Indapañño) (Thai: พระธรรมโกศาจารย์ (เงื่อม อินฺทปญฺโญ); RTGS: Phra Thammakosachan (Ngueam Inthapanyo)), also known as Buddhādasa Bhikkhu (Thai: พุทธทาสภิกขุ; RTGS: Phutthathat Phikkhu, May 27, 1906 – May 25, 1993) was a famous and influential Thai ascetic-philosopher of the 20th century. Known as an innovative reinterpreter of Buddhist doctrine and Thai folk beliefs, Buddhadasa fostered a reformation in conventional religious perceptions in his home country, Thailand, as well as abroad. Buddhadasa developed a personal view that those who have penetrated the essential nature of religions consider "all religions to be inwardly the same", while those who have the highest understanding of dhamma feel "there is no religion".
- Birthplace: Chaiya District, Thailand
Anselm of Canterbury
Dec. at 76 (1033-1109)Saint Anselm of Canterbury (; 1033/4–1109), also called Anselm of Aosta (Italian: Anselmo d'Aosta) after his birthplace and Anselm of Bec (French: Anselme du Bec) after his monastery, was an Italian Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher and theologian of the Catholic Church, who held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109. After his death, he was canonized as a saint; his feast day is 21 April. Beginning at Bec, Anselm composed dialogues and treatises with a rational and philosophical approach, sometimes causing him to be credited as the founder of Scholasticism. Despite his lack of recognition in this field in his own time, Anselm is now famed as the originator of the ontological argument for the existence of God and of the satisfaction theory of atonement. He was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by a bull of Pope Clement XI in 1720. As archbishop, he defended the church's interests in England amid the Investiture Controversy. For his resistance to the English kings William II and Henry I, he was exiled twice: once from 1097 to 1100 and then from 1105 to 1107. While in exile, he helped guide the Greek bishops of southern Italy to adopt Roman rites at the Council of Bari. He worked for the primacy of Canterbury over the bishops of York and Wales but, though at his death he appeared to have been successful, Pope Paschal II later reversed himself and restored York's independence.- Birthplace: Aosta, Italy
Ji Gong
Dec. at 77 (1130-1207)Ji Gong (Chinese: 濟公, 2 February 1130 – 16 May 1209 Birthdate Lunar 2nd Month, 2nd Day), born Li Xiuyuan and also known as "Chan Master Daoji" (Chinese: 道濟禪師) was a Chan Buddhist monk who lived in the Southern Song. He purportedly possessed supernatural powers, which he used to help the poor and stand up to injustice. However, he was also known for his wild and eccentric behaviour, and for violating Buddhist monastic rules by consuming alcohol and meat. By the time of his death, Ji Gong had become a folk hero in Chinese culture and minor deity in Chinese folk religion. He is mentioned by Buddhists in folktales and kōans, and sometimes invoked by oracles to assist in worldly affairs.