Anapsychia

Anapsychia was a late Roman letter-writer, wife and widow of Marcellinus of Carthage, and correspondent of Jerome of Stridon.

Biography

Anapsychia was married to Marcellinus of Carthage, the Roman imperial commissioner.[1] The couple arrived in North Africa in 411 AD. By 413 AD, Marcellinus had been beheaded after accusations by Donatists.[2] Very little is known about Anapsychia's life, including her dates of birth and death.[3] However, the fact that she is a named correspondent makes her a notable late Roman woman.[4][5]

Correspondence

St Jerome

In Letter 126 to Anapsychia and Marcellinus, Jerome discusses the answer to their question on the origin of the soul.[6] The letter is dated 412 AD, and in it Jerome also instructs the couple to speak to their bishop, Augustine of Hippo.[6] The letter also discusses stoicism and the idea that the human soul is "consubstantial with the divine essence".[7] Jerome also mentions that he has sent books with a Fabiola, that they can borrow if they like, demonstrating the literacy of women as well as men.[8]

St Augustine

A letter from Anapsychia and Marcellinus to Jerome in Bethlehem written around 410 AD has been preserved in Augustine's letter collection as Letter 165.[9] Augustine makes reference to the letter in Letter 166 to Jerome, written around 415, demonstrating that he had access to it. In Letter 151 (ca. 413 AD) from Augustine to Marcellinus, Augustine discusses her marriage, writing that Marcellinus was prevented by the bond of marriage from leaving all worldly concerns and enrolling in the army of Christ. Augustine hints that Marcellinus was committed to chastity within his marriage, but does not mention Anapyschia.

References
  1. Augustine, of Hippo, Saint, 354-430 (1990). The works of Saint Augustine : a translation for the 21st century. Hill, Edmund,, Rotelle, John E.,, Augustinian Heritage Institute. Brooklyn, N.Y.: New City Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-56548-055-1. OCLC 20594822.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Flavius Marcellinus". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  3. Disselkamp, Gabriele (1997). "Christiani Senatus lumina" : zum Anteil römischer Frauen der Oberschicht im 4. und 5. Jahrhundert an der Christianisierung der römischen Senatsaristokratie. Bodenheim. p. 136. ISBN 3-8257-0001-1. OCLC 38596579.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. Mandouze, André; La Bonnardière, Anne-Marie; Lacroix, Claude-Hélène; Lancel, Serge; Marrou, Henri-Irénée; Munier, Charles; Paoli-Lafaye, Élisabeth; Pellistrandi, Stan-Michel; Pietri, Charles (1982). "Prosopographie chrétienne du Bas-Empire, 1. Prososopographie de l'Afrique chrétienne (303-533)". Études d'Antiquités Africaines. Éditions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. 2 (1): 68.
  5. Jones, A. H. M. (Arnold Hugh Martin), 1904-1970. (1971–1992). The prosopography of the later Roman Empire. Martindale, J. R. (John Robert),, Morris, John, 1913-1977. Cambridge [England]: University Press. p. 430. ISBN 0-521-20160-8. OCLC 125134.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. Jerome, St (1975). The Principal Works of St. Jerome. Library of Alexandria. ISBN 978-1-4655-4103-1.
  7. Colish, Marcia L. (1985). The Stoic tradition from antiquity to the early Middle Ages. Leiden: E.J. Brill. p. 85. ISBN 90-04-07267-5. OCLC 13097870.
  8. Haines-Eitzen, Kim. (2012). The gendered palimpsest : women, writing, and representation in early Christianity. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-19-517129-7. OCLC 700735523.
  9. "Augustinus, epistula 151". faculty.georgetown.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
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