Melania the Elder

Who they were

Melania the Elder, Latin Melania Maior (c. 350 – before 410 or c. 417) was a Desert Mother who was an influential figure in the Christian ascetic movement (the Desert Fathers and Mothers) that sprang up in the generation after the Emperor Constantine made Christianity a legal religion of the Roman Empire. She was a contemporary of, and well known to, Abba Macarius and other Desert Fathers in Egypt, Jerome, Augustine of Hippo, Paulinus of Nola (her cousin or cousin-in-law; he gives a colorful description of her visit to Nola in his Letters), and Evagrius of Pontus, and she founded two religious communities on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), until this page is written up in full.

The miracles

Limited information available on this saint.

Why that counted as sanctity

Limited information available on this saint.

Connected on this site

• Evagrius Ponticus Saint Influenced by them
  “He left a promising ecclesiastical career in Constantinople and traveled to Jerusalem, where in 383 AD he became a monk at the monastery of Rufinus and Melania the Elder.” — Wikipedia
• Paulinus of Nola Saint Relative
  “She was a contemporary of, and well known to, Abba Macarius and other Desert Fathers in Egypt, Jerome, Augustine of Hippo, Paulinus of Nola (her cousin or cousin-in-law; he gives a colorful description of her visit to Nola in his Letters), and Evagrius of Pontus, and she founded two religious communities on the…” — Wikipedia
• Augustine of Hippo Saint
  “She was a contemporary of, and well known to, Abba Macarius and other Desert Fathers in Egypt, Jerome, Augustine of Hippo, Paulinus of Nola (her cousin or cousin-in-law; he gives a colorful description of her visit to Nola in his Letters), and Evagrius of Pontus, and she founded two religious communities on the…” — Wikipedia
• Pambo Saint
  “He was renowned for his wisdom, and was consulted by many, including Athanasius, Melania the Elder, and Ammonas of Egypt.” — Wikipedia