Religious Place Names

Zell am See, Austria: Zell mean "monastic cell" in German, so this id "Cell on the sea."

Mughar an-nasara, Jordan: This is an archeological site near the ancient Nabataean stone carved city of Petra. "Nasara" (a reference to "Nazarene") means "Christians" in Arabic, so this is the "Caves of the Christians."

el-Kab, Egypt: Nekhbet was the ancient Egyptian vulture goddess and the town named for her wss Nekheb. The name survives as el-Kab.

Gaya, Bihar State, India: Gayasura is the Sanskrit name of a Hindu demon.

Vestavia Hills, Alabama State, United States of America: Vesta is the Latin name of the Roman goddess of the hearth.

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Sung Shang-Chieh: (b. 1901, China – d. 1944; aka: Song Shang-Jie; John Sung; Little Pastor) Evangelist, revivalist in China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. Over 100,000 converts. He worked with Watchman Nee. Wesleyan Methodist.

Pachomius: (b. ca 292, Egypt – d. 348; aka. Pakhom, Pachome, Pakhomius) Pachomius’ name in Coptic means “the falcon.”  He is considered to be the founder of Christian cenobitic monasticism.  After being involuntarily conscripted into the Roman army, he became a Christian and follower of the hermit, Palaemon.  Before Pachomius, Christian asceticism was solitary; he organized the hermits into communities.

Mary of Egypt: (b. ca. 344, Egypt – d. ca. 421; aka. Maria Aegyptica) Mary was not a prostitute but appears to have been a sexually promiscuous nymphomaniac from the age of twelve.  At age twenty-six, she underwent a religious conversion and became an ascetic.  She lived the rest of her life as a hermit in the desert near the Jordan River.

Lech Aleksander Kaczynski: (b. 1949, Poland – d. 2010) Anti-Communist President of the Republic of Poland.  He and his wife, Maria Kaczynska, died in an airplane crash in 2010. (Ninty-six people died in the crash.)

Spencer Perceval: (b. 1762 – d. 1812)  Perceval was an ardent opponent of the slave trade and served, from 1809, as the British Prime Minister until his assassination in 1812.