Afra martyr of Augusta Vindelicorum (Augsburg), is reported to have been originally a common prostitute, but Rettberg (Kircheng. Deutschlands, 1, 144) denies it. When the persecution in the time of Diocletian and Maximianus Herculius reached Augsburg, Afra was seized and carried before Gains the judge, as a Christian; when Gains could by no means prevail upon her to deny the faith, he condemned her to be burned alive, which sentence was speedily executed (the 7th of August, 304) upon her, continually, during her agony in the flames, glorifying and blessing God. Her festival is kept on the 5th of August. — Butler, Lives of Saints, 3, 327.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More