Saint Saint Nonnus

Nonnus (Ancient Greek: Νόννος, Nónnos) was legendary 4th- or 5th-century[n 1] Christian saint, said to have been an Egyptian monk who became a bishop in Syria and was responsible for the conversion of St Pelagia the harlot during one of the Synods of Antioch. His feast day is observed on November 10. The name Nonnus was a Levantine one, with eight of the nine Nonni listed in the Acts of the councils of Chalcedon and Ephesus from that area. Some claim it to be a latinization or hellenization of an Egyptian title equivalent to "saint". A hagiography of St Pelagia attributed to James or Jacob (Latin: Jacobus), deacon of the church of Heliopolis (modern Baalbek), states that Nonnus was "a perfect monk" from Tabenna or "Tabennesum" in Egypt who, "by reason of his virtuous life", became bishop of Heliopolis,[n 2] converting "all its inhabitants" and baptizing 30 000 Arabs. The monks of Ramsgate place his see at Edessa. As Nonnus addressed a church council in Antioch, the town's most famous courtesan Margarita ("Pearl") passed by. Observing her beauty, Nonnus chastised the members of the assembly for taking less care of their souls than she did of her body. She appeared at his next Sunday sermon and Nonnus's sermon on hell prompted her to repent. She wrote him a letter and was permitted to see him with other witnesses; convinced of her sincerity, he took her confession and baptized her by her birth name Pelagia. After being pursued by the devil for a few days, she donated the property from her former employment to the church and lived with the deaconess Romana before departing for Jerusalem to disguise herself as a male hermit under the name Pelagius. The story significantly omits dates and (on 8 occasions) the name of the archbishop under whom Nonnus served.[n 3] The historical St Pelagia — mentioned by St Ambrose and in two sermons by John Chrysostom — was an Antiochene virgin who committed suicide to avoid rape during the Diocletianic Persecution.