N for Nicarete: Female Scientists Before Our Time

Saint Nicarete - Mistica, Eremita

Nicarete was born into a wealthy noble family in Nicomedia, Bithynia, Asia Minor  sometime during the 4th Century. Today we would recognize Nicomedia as Izmit, Turkey.  

Other names for Nicarete are Niceras, Nikarete, and Nicaretes, and in the Catholic Church she is simply Saint Nicarete.

Nicarete lived during the early stages of the Christian church. A good number of women who had converted to Christianity became physicians and healers. Nicarete was one of them. Passionate about her newfound faith, Nicarete left home for Constantinople to study theology and minister to the poor.

Once established as a physician and healer, Nicarete used a variety of remedies to cure sickness among the poor. Standard treatments by physicians of the day, the story goes, had been unsuccessful. Nicarete jumped into her new role eyes forward and full throttle, giving all her worldly possessions to the poor in her zeal to help. She was described as “zealous” in her work, “virtuous,” and “well ordered in manner and speech and in behavior.”

A known healing was that of John Chrysostom (c. 349-407) who had suffered from a stomach ailment. Chrysostom was Archbishop of Constantinople and well known for his preaching and public speeches on the misuse of authority by the church and certain political leaders. He was especially popular with the common people for his refusal to cater to the wealthy and their extravagant lifestyles. 

Inspired, Nicarete became a close friend and follower, and later when Archbishop Chrysostom was exiled from Constantinople (404 to 407), Nicarete followed. The Pope protested his banishment to no avail. The Archbishop's support of anti-pagan laws, etc., had apparently gone too far. It’s not clear as to the age of Nicarete when she died during the exile (c. 405) or whether she had continued her medical practice. The Archbishop died a short time later (c. 407).

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicarete; http://catholicsaints.mobi/calendar/27-december.htm
Woman in Science, by John Augustine Zahm, 2011 [www.gutenberg.org/files/]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Chrysostom; http://catholicsaints.info/saint-nicarete-of-constantinople/

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
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