La “historia de Pelagia” en la vida de Juan el Limosnero de Leoncio de Neápolis

Abstract

In one of his hagiographic works, Leontius of Neapolis narratesseveral episodes in the life of John the Almsgiver, patriarch of Alexandria from 610 to617 approximately, who was contemporary of him. Usually, John is the protagonist ofthe narrations, which involve either moralizing anecdotes or the working of miracles.However, in chapter 50, the saint becomes the narrator of a story he has read. In this story,a woman known as Porphyria, who will later change her name to Pelagia, abandons herwork as a prostitute and takes the habit thanks to the intervention of a monk. Our aimis, on the one hand, to examine the affinity of this episode with a passage of the Homily67 of St. John Chrysostom and the narration of Pelagia's conversion. On the other hand,we seek to consider its functionality in this work of Leontius.