Stupid things religious people say

[Fake Messiah]

The lady in the previous post is nothing compared to this one from the 5th century who was one of those Christians who willingly spent decades wearing heavy chains or rocks, confined in cages with no space to move, starving, denying themselves sleep, and jumping in the fire just to please their god (and be popular).

Chained in faith: 5th-century female skeleton may be world’s 1st self-mortifying Christian nun

Some 1,600 years ago, a mysterious woman was bound with four heavy metal rings around her neck and others around her arms and legs. Iron plates on her stomach completed what was effectively an armored structure.

When the woman died, she was buried under the altar of a church some three kilometers northwest of Jerusalem’s Old City. Burial under the altar is reserved for only the most honored individuals.

But this woman was the mistress of her own torment: Many historical sources document extreme practices of self-flagellation in the Byzantine period. These practices included not only wearing heavy chains, metal rings, or rocks but also confining themselves in very small and isolated rooms or even cages with no space to move, prolonged fasts, exposing the body to the elements, denying themselves sleep, and jumping in the fire.

“Theodoret of Cyrrhus described these practices in his book ‘Historia Religiosa,'” Adawi said, referring to a prominent 5th-century theologian. “He mentioned a few examples of monks wearing iron chains.”

The work names two women, Marana and Cyra, who bound their entire body in chains, including the neck, waist, and limbs, for 42 years.

While the mystery around the chained nun’s identity might never be solved, she must have been an important personality within the community, perhaps a venerated figure.

“Only VIPs were buried under the altar of a church,” Adawi said.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/chained-in...stian-nun/