Levitation of saints

For other uses, see Levitation (disambiguation).

Short description: Saints to whom the ability to fly or levitate has been attributed

Joseph of Cupertino is believed to have had the capability to levitate.

The levitation of saints is the ability attributed to a saint to fly or to levitate. Most of these "flying saints" are mentioned as such in literature and sources associated with them.

## Contents

* 1 Christianity
* 1.1 Orthodoxy
* 1.2 Catholicism
* 2 Islam
* 3 Hinduism
* 4 References
* 5 External links

## Christianity

The ability to levitate was attributed to figures in Early Christianity. The apocryphal Acts of Peter gives a legendary tale of Simon Magus' death. Simon is performing magic in the Roman Forum, and in order to prove himself to be a god, he flies up into the air. The apostle Peter prays to God to stop his flying, and he stops mid-air and falls, breaking his legs, whereupon the crowd, previously non-hostile, stones him to death.[1]

The church of Santa Francesca Romana claims to have been built on the spot in question (thus accepting the claim that Simon Magus could indeed fly), claims that Paul was also present, and that a dented slab of marble that it contains bears the imprints of the knees of Peter and Paul during their prayer.[2]

### Orthodoxy

In recent times, John of Shanghai and San Francisco was said to be levitating while in prayer; an individual witnessed this when checking in on him while he was in prayer. George of Drama was also seen levitating during the Divine Liturgy.[3]

### Catholicism

Francis of Assisi is recorded as having been "suspended above the earth, often to a height of three, and often to a height of four cubits" (around 1.3 to 1.8 m). Alphonsus Liguori, when preaching at Foggia, was lifted before the eyes of the whole congregation several feet from the ground.[4] Catherine of Siena was similarly said to be levitating while in prayer, and a priest claimed to have seen the Holy communion flying from his hand straight to Catherine's mouth.[5][6][7]

Flying or levitation was also associated with witchcraft. When it came to female saints, there was a certain ambivalence expressed by theologians, canon lawyers, inquisitors, and hagiographers towards the powers that they were purported to have. By 1500, the image of the female saint in popular imagination had become similar to that of the witch. Both witches and female saints were suspected of flying through the air, whether in saintly levitation or bilocation, or in a Witches' Sabbath.[8]

## Islam

Levitation is a practice often described in Islamic literature from antiquity until well into the medieval era.[9] Revered prophets and Islamic saints are said to have flown.[10] Those named as capable of "flight" have included the Islamic prophet Muhammed, the twelfth century Persian dervish, Qutb ad-Dīn Haydar and the ninth century Muslim saint Abu Yazid al-Bestami.[11]

## Hinduism

Levitation has also been cited outside of Islam and Christianity. In his book Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramahamsa Yogananda discusses Nagendranath Bhaduri, a saint said to levitate in India. Nagendranath Bhaduri – Bhaduri Mahasaya served as an Acharya of the Baluhati branch of the Adi Brahmo Samaj.[12] However, due to differences with Debendranath Tagore, Nagendranath Bhaduri eventually broke off his connection with the Adi Brahmo Samaj.[13] He met Sri Ramakrishna at Dakshineswar in 1881 while serving as the Headmaster of Bally English High School.[14] Bhaduri Mahasaya – Maharshi Nagendranath pursued intense spiritual practices in solitude, especially Hathayoga and Pranayam, in a lonely cave in Monghyr and attained salvation there.[15] The saint had mastered Astanga Yoga and several Yogic techniques including various pranayamas or breathing techniques as mentioned in Patanjali's Yoga Sutra.[16] Yogananda wrote that Nagendranath Bhaduri had performed bhastrika pranayama so strongly that he felt like he was in the middle of a storm and after performing the pranayama, Bhaduri Mahasaya entered into a state of ecstatic calm. The chapter which describes Bhaduri Mahasaya is titled "The Levitating Saint".[17]

## References

1. ↑ The Acts of Peter
2. ↑ Erik Inglis, “Inventing Apostolic Impression Relics in Medieval Rome,” Speculum 96/2 (April, 2021), 309-66.
3. ↑ Middleton, Herman A (2004) (in en). Precious Vessels of the Holy Spirit: The Lives and Counsels of Contemporary Elders of Greece (2nd ed.). Thessalonica, Greece & Asheville, North Carolina, United States: Protecting Veil Press. pp. 183.
4. ↑ Montague Summers, Witchcraft and Black Magic, Courier Dover, 2000, p. 200.
5. ↑ "St. Catherine of Siena's Severed Head" (in en). http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/st-dominics-basilica.
6. ↑ Egan, Jennifer (May 16, 1999). "The Shadow of the Millennium Women: Power Suffering". https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/millennium/m2/egan.html.
7. ↑ Reda, Mario; Saco, Giuseppe (January 28, 2010). "Anorexia and the Holiness of Saint Catherine of Siena" (in en-US). Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture vol. 8 Issue 1. https://www.medievalists.net/2010/01/anorexia-and-the-holiness-of-saint-catherine-of-siena/.
8. ↑ Caroline Walker Bynum, Holy Feast and Holy Fast: The Religious Significance of Food to Medieval Women, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987, p. 23.
9. ↑ Dunstan Lowe. "Suspending Disbelief: Magnetic and Miraculous Levitation from Antiquity to the Middle Ages" Classical Antiquity 35 (2):247-278 (2016)
10. ↑ Potts, M. ‘Religious Levitation’. Psi Encyclopedia. London: The Society for Psychical Research, 2015.
11. ↑ Robert Irwin. The Arabian Nights A Companion. p.59, 102 (1994, 2004)
12. ↑ (in English) Nagendranath Bhaduri, Maharshi (1846 - 1926), COMPANIONS AND FOLLOWERS OF RAMAKRISHNA. Advaita Ashrama, 5 DEHI ENTALLY ROAD. KOLKATA 700 014: Swami Bodhasarananda. pp. 381. ISBN 978-81-7505-360-1.
13. ↑ (in English) Nagendranath Bhaduri, Maharshi (1846 - 1926), COMPANIONS AND FOLLOWERS OF RAMAKRISHNA. Advaita Ashrama, 5 DEHI ENTALLY ROAD. KOLKATA 700 014: Swami Bodhasarananda. pp. 381. ISBN 978-81-7505-360-1.
14. ↑ (in English) Nagendranath Bhaduri, Maharshi (1846 - 1926), COMPANIONS AND FOLLOWERS OF RAMAKRISHNA. Advaita Ashrama, 5 DEHI ENTALLY ROAD. KOLKATA 700 014: Swami Bodhasarananda. pp. 381. ISBN 978-81-7505-360-1.
15. ↑ (in English) Nagendranath Bhaduri, Maharshi (1846 - 1926), COMPANIONS AND FOLLOWERS OF RAMAKRISHNA. Advaita Ashrama, 5 DEHI ENTALLY ROAD. KOLKATA 700 014: Swami Bodhasarananda. pp. 381. ISBN 978-81-7505-360-1.
16. ↑ Patañjali. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali : the Book of the Spiritual Man : an Interpretation. London :Watkins, 1975.
17. ↑ Yogananda, Paramahansa, Autobiography of a Yogi, Los Angeles, CA: Self-Realization Fellowship, 1946, Chapter 7.

## External links

* Paranormality: Levitating Saints

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