Saint Thais the Vegan Beauty in Heaven. By Dr. Chapman Chen

Saint Thais was a gorgeous woman who lived in 4th-century Alexandria, Egypt. Though she was brought up as a Christian, she worked as a courtesan of controversial reputation. Her beauty was considered incomparable. She became the cause of many furious contests between various rivals whose blood was lost as they lay at her door.  

Per the Vita Thaisis, a several-centuries-old translation into Latin of the life of Saint Thaïs (the original in Greek) as well as The Conversion of the Harlot Thaïs, a Latin play by Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim (935-1002), Saint Paphnutius, who had been living in the desert, heard of this sad course of events. He decided to go to town and visit Thais. Disguised as a lover, he won over her lascivious heart first with admonitions and sweet talk. Then he frightened her with God’s justice, brusquely reproving her actions as meriting damnation.

Thaïs gave in to the view of Paphnutius without protest; she became full of angst. Obviously, she had managed to conceal from herself her knowledge of her sin. When confronted by Paphnutius, quickly Thaïs recognized her self-deception. Then she came to hear the dissonance within her that had caused her unbalanced life, with its disruptive results. She threw herself at the sage’s feet and asked what she might do to live rightly in the eyes of God. In repentance, she collected together all of her jewels, furniture, clothes, and gifts, and burnt them publicly in the street. She decided to live in a monastery for women where she lived in a tiny cell, eating only bread and water. While there, she spent her days in prayer.

One day, certain monks residing in the city beheld a vision. In this vision, a place in heaven had been prepared for a sacred person. Initially, they believed the vision concerned Saint Anthony, but soon they understood it was about the meek, repentant Thais accompanied by God’s innocent creatures. Since Thais had embraced a path of humbleness and self-denial, living without the consumption of animal flesh, renouncing worldly possessions, and showing compassion to all sentient beings, her spirit had been filled with divine grace. While still a young woman, Thais’ earthly life came to an end. She had reached the wisdom of one who is reconciled with God and with the whole of His creation, at which time her soul was received by the Lord. #VeganChrist #VeganGod  #VeganChurch  #VeganTheology

Full Text: https://www.vegantheology.net/post/saint-thais-the-vegan-beauty-in-heaven-by-dr-chapman-chen

References

Butler, Alban (1990). Butler's Lives Of The Saints Complete Edition. Ed. Herbert Thurston and Donald Attwater. https://archive.org/details/ButlersLivesOfTheSaintsCompleteEdition/page/61/mode/2up?q=thais&view=theater

Roberts, Holly (2004). Vegetarian Christian Saints. Anjeli Press. https://archive.org/details/vegetarianchrist0000holl/page/42/mode/2up

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