Fr Alex Swain

Beloved in Christ,

Today is the Feast of Saint Melania the Elder. According to Lesser Feasts and Fasts (2024, p. 264), Melania was born in 341 in Spain and was a wealthy Roman aristocrat and “part of the first generation of Roman aristocrats who were encouraged to embrace Christianity.” At the age of 22, following the death of her husband, she pursued a monastic vocation.

She used her fortune to support monastics, teachers, pilgrims, and the like. She studied the works of Origen, Basil the Great, and Gregory of Nazianzus. She founded two monasteries on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem and helped create a haven for female pilgrims to come to Jerusalem.

She was outspoken, a theological giant.

She was a contemporary—and was well known—by Saints Jerome (who translated the Bible into Latin), Augustine of Hippo, Abba Macarius (and other Desert Fathers in Egypt), and Evagrius of Pontus (a formidable theologian whose insight into the human psyche has him now dubbed as the “founder of Cognitive Psychology”).

Evagrius wrote to Saint Melania the Great Letter. Here he discusses the human mind, language, and the attempt to capture the ineffable wonder of God in our limited, mortal tongue. He expounds on Trinitarian theology, the Christological issues of Jesus being both fully human and fully divine, and ascetical theology. Indeed, Lesser Feasts and Fasts notes that this letter “is one of the most profound works of ascetical and mystical theology” that we have from the 300s.

Saint Melania is an incredible woman of leadership and deep faith. Her witness both to building up the church, and to study, harkens us to today’s reading from Ecclesiastes, “Wisdom is as good as an inheritance… the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to the one who possess it.”

Saint Melania shows us that study into the depths of the Holy Scriptures and theology is not merely an intellectual exercise. It leads to works for the sake of the world, like the building up of sanctuaries for others to receive respite, hospitality, and safety.

Her faith and theology informed her works for those in need!

May we, like Saint Melania, study the wonderful works of Scripture and theology, and in so doing, make a difference on the world around us.

Saint Melania, pray for us to the Lord our God!

Yours in Christ,

—Fr Alex