Collant Ro 2002138

Coll. Antropol. 26 (2002) 1: 325–332UDC 61(091):615.852

Original scientific paper

Miraculous Healings as a Time-and Space- Conditioned Category –The Example of St. Thecla

A. Muzur1 and A. [krobonja2

1 Department of Psychiatry, Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Massachusetts Mental HealthCenter, Harvard University Medical School, Boston, USA

2 Department for the History of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Rijeka,Rijeka, Croatia

A B S T R A C T

The phenomenon of miracle has been present in each time period and each civiliza-tion, and what has changed was not its definition but its content. Gautama Buddha,Apostle Paul, Mohammed, Church fathers from Origen and Augustine of Hippo toGregory the Great and Thomas Aquinas were all studying miracles and trying to findout the rules and systematization for them. The present paper explores the intriguingdifferences (e.g., the proportions of miracle types) and similarities (e.g. saintly »special-ization«) between some Eastern and Western miracle accounts, analyzing the possibleunderlying reasons. As a case study, the collection of miracles performed by St. Thecla(Basil of Seleukia, 5th c. AD) has been used. The major conclusion of the paper is thatmiracle accounts quite consequently reflect cultural differences between East and West.

One of the ways to present miracles isthe manner in which atheists presentGod – as the result of a human necessity,i.e. as a product of human weaknesses,complexes, and aspirations towards per-fection. And indeed, what does miracu-lous mean to a human being? The victoryover all that he is afraid of: resurrectionas the triumph over Death and healingover Illness; mastery over wild beasts, de-mons, and atmospheralia as the reflec-tion of his everyday struggle; the produc-

tion of food as the protection from Dürer’sFamine. Miracles are, according to thisvariant, the hallucinatory dreams andfantasies of a coward, a hypochondriac, aglutton: of a man. To that same weaksoul, miracles can seem to be »designed toestablish the innocence of the condem-ned« (la justice de Dieu vient réparer le malcommis par la justice des hommes.)1

Hence, miracles have the function ofre-establishing the legal order, 2 but of thenatural laws in general as well-off health,

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of freedom for the innocent, of stable at-mospheric conditions. A miracle was anecessary universal supernatural corri-gendum of nature obviously perceived asimperfect.

On the other hand, one could considermiracles to be everything that imperilshuman knowledge of nature and its laws.Thus, Hume’s claim that our experienceis crucial for discerning miracles as op-posed to natural phenomena3 is not en-tirely correct. If one hears of a 130-year-old man, he will probably accept his exis-tence as a possibility, although he hadnever before heard about a similar case.Nevertheless, if the same person is toldabout a resurrection of the dead, he willnot believe in it, although he may haveread many legends about it. The differ-ence between the two reports is not intheir isolated empirical support (which isabsent in both cases), but in their contra-diction or non-contradiction of the cul-tural fundamentals, which are the basisof an individual sense of order and secu-rity.

In the tradition of the Far East, Gau-tama Buddha had already differentiatedbetween »the miracles of magic, the mira-cles of thought reading, and the miraclesof instruction«4. According to this system,miraculous healings should be considered(along with levitation, going throughwalls, appearing and vanishing, walkingon water, etc.) as a part of »the miracles ofmagic,« which were considered by Bud-dha as no more than tricks, the perfor-mance of which was characteristic tomany monks. This strange and so impre-cise tripartite division cannot be regardedother than as an intention to point out inan allegorical way the importance andthe magnanimity of »instruction«. It is in-teresting that the Apostle Paul, in hisview of the spiritual Church hierarchy,also orders miracle-performers only afterapostles, prophets, and instructors.5

When Mohammed was asked about his

miracles, he indicated the Koran as theonly one, which once more corresponds tothe tendency to glorify teaching. Conse-quently, »in early Mohammedan VitaeSanctorum it is not uncommon to encoun-ter sayings to the effect that miraculouspowers are comparatively of small ac-count«6.

In the Mediterranean cultural circle,miracles certainly do not phenomenologi-cal begin with the Bible, but the mostvivid discussion of them and their exege-sis probably does. Already Christ's ad-mission that Pharisees and »false Christsand prophets« can also expel demons andproduce signs7 opened the gate of contro-versy.8 Origen (3d c.) interprets miraclesas the means without which the Apostlescould not have persuaded their audienceof the correctness of Christ's faith.9 (Theimportance of this type of »proof« can beillustrated by the case of King Abgar ofEdessa who had exchanged letters withJesus and was prepared to accept Christ'sreligion attracted to it precisely by thehealings.10) In this way the circle inwhich miracles provoke faith can be es-tablished, and faith is the major factor forthe miracles' success.

For Augustine of Hippo, miracles areno longer, as they are for Origen, de-signed only to create an impression, butto »meet some human need« as well.9

Therefore, he distinguishes between thosemiracles which cause only wonder (like aflying man, for example) and those»which procure great favor and good will«(as healings do)9. This question of thefunction of miracles actually never diesout.11 Another problem – of how an invisi-ble god can perform visible miracles –was solved by Augustine with the exam-ple of the creation of the world: Nequeenim audiendi sunt qui Deum invisibilemvisibilia miracula operari negant; cumipse etiam secundum ipsos fecerit mundum,quem certe visibile negare non possunt.12

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A. Muzur and A. [krobonja: Miraculous Healings, Coll. Antropol. 26 (2002) 1: 325–332

Gregory the Great (6th–7th c.) regar-ded miracles as necessary tools for con-versions and as a phenomenon which in-creased in frequency during the periodscritical for Christianity.13 In the miraclesdescribed by Gregory (Dialogorum liberquatror), a pedagogical note is obvious aswell as the selection of the best examples,allegorical forgery on the one side and in-sistence upon testimonies on the other13.

While Augustine understands mira-cles as signa Dei within the frames of na-ture created by God, Thomas Aquinasteaches that they break through the bar-riers of the ordo totius naturae, and canbe performed only by God.8 The classifica-tion of Aquinas includes three groups ofmiracles.14 The first group contains phe-nomena which are not feasible by anynatural power (quod sol retrocedat autstet, etc.); the miracles from the secondgroup are events that can occur, but areunusual for this particular subject (e.g. adog that speaks, a man who flies, etc.).The miracles of the third group, on theother hand, are those which are feasibleby natural powers, but not in this manneror velocity (e.g., the instant cure of aleper). The only slight difference in thedivision found in the Summa contra gen-tiles is that here miracles are distin-guished according to the three »degrees.«The principles of Aquinas' interpretationare still preserved in Western thought.Flew15 defines miracles as phenomena bywhich the operations of the ordinarycourse of nature are overruled, sus-pended, or modified, which more closelyresembles another division proposed byThomas Aquinas – into miracula supranaturam, miracula praeter naturam, andmiracula contra naturam. Although so-phisticated, Aquinas' divisions are onlyrelatively adequate for at least two rea-sons: first, they analyze miracles them-selves and not reports of miracles, whichsupply the first and very often the onlyraw material for each investigator of the

miracle problematic. Second, they de-scribe only the result of miracles and donot consider the mechanisms of the per-formances of miracles: of course, fromAquinas' point of view, the cause is Godand the mechanisms are therefore incon-ceivable. In these purely philosophicaldistinctions, there is no mention either ofthe patient or of the healer.

Miracle is miracle, in the East as wellas in the West. It is always that phenome-non inexplicabile – unexplainable. Whatchanges are only our criteria, interre-lated with our personal knowledge andthe knowledge of the time we live in.

The collection of miracles of St.Thecla, attributed to Basil of Seleukia(5th century AD),16 contains a mixture ofpagan antique and Christian thaumatur-gic elements, a blend that could be con-sidered characteristic for Eastern-Medi-terranean hagiography of that period.(St. Thecla’s life is a prototype of anEarly-Christian-Martyr life itself: InIconium, Thecla hears Paul’s preachingand for the first time encounters Chris-tian ideas which deeply impress her. Af-ter Paul was imprisoned, Thecla escapesfrom home and, in spite of the intrigueslaunched by her fiancé Thamyris, Thecladecides to join Paul on his Apostolic ways.However, Thecla’s flight is discovered andshe has to face a trial: the Proconsul triesto force her to accept the marriage withThamyris, but Thecla remains silent. Al-though confused, the Proconsul sendsThecla to the stake, but the fire is mirac-ulously extinguished by an unexpectedrain. After she left Iconium, Thecla meetsPaul again and finally joins him as a dis-ciple. At the gate of Antioch, they encoun-ter Alexander, the city pimp, who imme-diately notices Thecla’s beauty andattempts at acquiring her. Refused, Alex-ander succeeds at bringing Thecla tocourt, which assigns Thecla to a guardianTryphaina. Very soon, Thecla stupefiesthe community by taming a lioness, and

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Falconilla, the late Tryphaina’s daughter,appears in her mother’s dream and rec-ommends the acceptance of Thecla, whointercedes by Christ in Falconilla’s favor.Alexander succeeds to detach Theclafrom her guardian and leads her to thebeasts. Nevertheless, a lioness is tamed(again) and protects even Thecla fromother animals. In a near seal pool, Theclabaptizes herself. From more beasts, a ce-lestial fire protects Thecla, while womenfrom the audience daze the animals bytheir perfumes. Because of these miracu-lous events, Thecla is questioned by theGovernor. She defends herself from theaccusations of sorcery, and is releasedand fully rehabilitated. Thecla leavesAntioch: at first, she joins Paul at Myra,but soon she settles down alone nearSeleukia, where she dies.16)

Out of the forty-six miracles presentedin Basil of Seleukia’s collection (some ofthem are described already in Thecla’slife), only fourteen are connected to heal-ings (about 30%). How can this law per-centage be explained? Benedicta Wardmentions that cures (as ��; signa;virtutes) »are in fact singularly few« and»were a very minor matter in the desert.«17

If they occurred, they were only a copy ofChrist’s healings.18 In Cyrille of Scytho-polis’ collection of the miracles of Sabas,healings come only after the miracles ofsurviving lethal dangers and masteringbeasts.19 St. Anthony the Hermit refusesto help certain Martinianos with thewords »Man, why are you crying in frontof me? I myself am a man like you. If youbelieve in Christ, whom I serve, go, prayto God according to your faith, and thatwhat you ask will come to pass.« Thesixth-century Syrian stylite Maro also re-fused to cure the sick and possessed,claiming that the expelled devils are go-ing to attack others and those others willcome again to Maro asking for help: thus,the devils will only play game with him,and he, Maro, will become arrogant be-

cause of so many performed benefac-tions.20 Obviously, the stylite wanted tohave his peace. Elisabeth Malamut claimsthat the saints-healers were not a largergroup than »the saints who travel follow-ing the appeal of their believers, in orderto repair the effects of natural catastro-phes.«21

The explanation for this »neglect« ofcuring miracles in the entire corpus ofwonders could be various. The isolatedlife of the Desert Fathers could haveposed a physical obstacle. However, thisceases to be a valid argument in the ninthor tenth century, when »a saint leaves thedesert, circulates more freely [...], enterscities more resolutely.« Another, morespeculative explication could be that theEastern type turned away attention fromthe individual, stirring up fatalism andtherefore decreasing the interest for heal-ing stories. The geographic differences inhuman pathology should not be forgotteneither.

It is, nevertheless, true, that somethinkers explicitly favored miracles ofother types than healing. Apostle Paul,Mohammed, and Buddha were alreadymentioned in this work. The traces of thisattitude can also be found in the earliestcollection of miracle stories from the Jap-anese Buddhist tradition (ninth century),where only 5 out of 116 miracles treathealings.22 Don Baker, analyzing the sit-uation in Korea, has to conclude as wellthat miracles were propagated as healing»methods« only in the earliest periods ofthe establishment of the new religion inthose territories.23

Salvation from danger (cc. 25%) andvengeance and the punishment of sinnersrepresent a considerable group among St.Thecla’s miracles. Such a high percentageof the »miracles of punishment« (Strafmi-rakel) is, none the less, no longer an ex-clusive Eastern-collections characteristic.We find this type of miracles abundantlyrepresented in the Western-saints Vitas

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and Miraculas as well, up to twelfth cen-tury (cf. St. Cuthberth’s miracles fromthe eleventh-twelfth century, where heal-ings, thanks to the large quantity of mir-acles of punishment, make up less than20% of the total number of miracles24).The miracles of punishment could bemore easily connected with the period ofthe establishment of a new religious sys-tem: as soon as it becomes more or lessstable, they cede in favor of the healingmiracles25 (cf. the change of this ratio inthe collections from the »transitional pe-riod« of the twelfth century: St. Foe’sheadings – 43%; St. Vulfran’s – 75%; St.Gibrien’s – 96%26 etc.).

Christianity was spread by hope, rhet-oric, threats, and force, and miracles cer-tainly played an important persuasiverole in this process (cf. the story of KingAbgar of Edessa10). The use of miracles inthe fight against competition is commonfor all religions. However, the Christiantradition obviously did not offer any effi-cient replacement for miracles in the fol-lowing phase, differing therefore essen-tially from Buddhism, which comprisedrich elements of Indian and Chinese med-ical heritage.23 Thus, Buddhism couldhave used miracles only in the beginning,in order to eliminate the shaman compe-tition, while after the consolidation of itspositions, Buddhism turned towards reg-ular and routine procedures.23 For Bud-dhism, miracles were only a necessity ofthe given time. Christianity, on the otherhand, continued to make use of miracu-lous healings on a massive scale after itsconsolidation period as well. This was ei-ther because it did not possess satisfyingmedical knowledge or a theological-philo-sophical-medical conception of health anddisease, or for purely economic reasons(pilgrims as a source of incomes).

Another feature, which divides Eastand West, at least from the point of viewof miraculous healings, is method. St.Thecla primarily visited her patients in

their dreams (incubatio) and advisedthem how to treat their illnesses. Thistype of saintly help, »where God showsHimself and grants health, or, more of-ten, indicates a treatment to be follow-ed,«27 known only sporadically in West-ern collections, was widely spread amongEastern healers, especially Cosma andDamian, Cyr and John, Artemius of Con-stantinople, and others. Incubation was avery familiar method in Antiquity, prac-ticed in Asklepios’ temples. It can be con-nected with the general belief thatdreams are some kind of an »intermedi-ate state« where contact with a god canbe established more likely and easilythan while awake. According to one ex-planation, incubation is based upon thebelief that, by night, saints visit the citiesstanding under their protection.25 Sincethis belief was not established before thefourth-fifth century, this explanation cannot be satisfying. In addition, it shouldnot be forgotten that the states especiallyconducive to the effects of suggestion are»tiredness, sleepiness, semiconsciousstates immediately before falling asleepand immediately after awakening.«28

Incubation was not the only antiquerelic taken over by the early Christian(particularly Eastern) saints. The man ofAntiquity would have understood thelogic:

disease ® medication + divine help® cure.

Indeed, Asclepios was known to scrubthe roots of herbs, prepare draughts, andmix ointments. In the early thaumaturgicpattern, this attitude was preserved, andSt. Thecla recommended the use of heal-ing oil and magic ointment; she has beendescribed treating a diseased leg,16 etc.Among miracles performed by Saints Cyrand John, there is often a mention ofpharmakon.29 When they appeared in adream to a certain Epiphanius, they per-formed an apparent abdominal-surgical

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operation.30 Elisabeth Malamut writesabout an Egyptian monk from the fifthcentury, who received »from our Lord thegrace of healing by applying consecratedoil.«21 On the other hand, the dogmatizedmedieval Christian mind obviously lostthe consciousness of any limits to God'spotential, and material medications be-came less needed. This process of thede-medication of healing continued witha transitional period, during which conse-crated wells were used,16 as well as magicstones,16 etc. Finally, saints began to cureonly by touching or praying, and the com-petition from physicians had to be neu-tralized by stressing the doctors' profes-sional impotence, as done by Basil ofSleeker or Gregory of Tours. The »settlingof the accounts« culminated later in aclear anathema on medications (cf. si bo-nus peregrinus esses, curam tui corporisDeo et sancto Fiacrio ex toto committeres,contemptis aliis medicis, et omniumillorum medicinis25).

Thecla was, typical of the early Chris-tian tradition, still a universal healer. Inthe West, probably due to competitionamong the increased number of shrines,31

in the late Middle Ages, saints »special-ized« in certain diseases or groups of dis-eases. However, in the East, loyal to theAsclepian custom, this specializationnever reached Western dimensions andimportance: saints (like Cosma and Da-mian, Cyr and John, Artemius of Con-stantinople) remained only healers – »ge-neral practitioners.« In certain regions ofthe world (Nepal and Punjab, for in-stance), Muslim saints specialized as well– Sakhi Sarwar for eye complaints,Makhdum Sahib for eye diseases and ex-orcisms, Shaikh Saddu for melancholy,Guga Pir and Madar Shah for snake bi-tes, Pir Jahaniya for leprosy, etc.32 Thesame occurred with Brazilian traditional

healers, razadores, who combine autoch-thonous Indian methods with Christianelements, and are strictly »specialized« incuring »earache, toothache, hemorrhage,burns, dermatosis, and for natural cul-ture-bound syndromes such as espinhellacaida (fallen espinhella)«.33 In Buddhism,the division was made, but only up to thedifferent faces of the same divinity (Yaksayorae = the Buddha of Healing, etc.23),which can be compared to the ancient Ro-man »articulation« of Jupiter into JupiterStator, Jupiter Tonans, etc. Although thespecialization of saints as a redistribu-tion of divine power recalls a certain revi-talization of pagan polytheism, this wasnever a serious objection made by thetheologians. Could this fact be explainedby the inextricable clew of the conceptionof the Unity of the Multitude and theManifoldness of the Unity, which was ex-tending throughout our civilization, fromthe late Neoplatonic doctrine of the he-nadic gods34 to Cusanus’ teaching on Godas containing all things in himself, culmi-nating in the conception of Holy Trinity?

It seems sometimes that everythingimportant started in the East – light,script, states, religions: even when theWest collapsed under barbaric hooves,the East remained standing. However,during the centuries that followed, thetheocratic rigidity of the society and con-stant undermining of the antemurale byvarious types of eastern »plagues« iso-lated the medieval East in a certain way,connected more firmly to the antique pastthan to the future. Even in one singlemiracle collection, the differences in de-velopmental dynamics between East andWest can be observed – in the ways ofthinking, writing, and acting. These dif-ferences can be traced up to the presentday.

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R E F E R E N C E S

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A. [krobonja

Department for the History of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Rijeka,Bra}e Branchetta 20, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia

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ÛDESNA OZDRAVLJENJA KAO PROSTORNO I VREMENSKIUVJETOVANA KATEGORIJA: PRIMJER SVETE TEKLE

S A @ E T A K

Fenomen ~uda prisutan je u svim vremenima i civilizacijama, a ono {to podlijeèpromjenama nije njegova definicija ve} sadràj. Gautama Buddha, apostol Pavao, Mu-hamed, crkveni oci od Origena i Augustina Hiponskog do Grgura Velikog i Tome Akvin-skog prou~avali su ~uda i poku{avali za njih izna}i pravila i sistematizacije. Ovaj se~lanak bavi ispitivanjem intrigantnih razlika (npr. u proporcijama vrsta ~uda) i sli~no-stima (npr. sveta~ka »specijalizacija«) izme|u nekih isto~nja~kih i zapadnih izvje{}a o~udima, ra{~lanjuju}i mogu}e razloge koji stoje u njihovoj pozadini. Za oglednu jestudiju odabrana zbirka ~uda svete Tekle (iz pera Bazila iz Seleukije, V. st.). Me|unajzna~ajnijim je zaklju~cima ~lanka da zbirke izvje{}a o ~udima prili~no dosljednooslikavaju op}e kulturne razli~itosti Istoka i Zapada.

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