Manaen

"For those who seek me, there is only one name: brothers in the name of God. Come. We shall break bread together. You can shelter the horse under this shed." (GRM 121.9)

Manaen is the son of the nurse of Herod Antipas, thus becoming his "milk brother". He is therefore roughly the same age, a little under 50 years old. He is slender and robust. His smile is sincere, his face brown and virile. He is richly dressed.

He is initially a disciple of the Baptist before becoming one of Jesus. Chuza, the steward of Herod Antipas, told him about Jesus. Manaen meets Jesus at the Clear Water, at the beginning of his public life.

He puts his influence at the service of the Baptist whom he continues to follow faithfully. He announces the beheading of John the Baptist to Jesus and brings him his last Disciples.

Life at the court weighs increasingly on him. Herod Antipas asks, through him, Jesus to renounce , to which Jesus simply replies "No!"

Manaen struggles to reject his past. Life at the court disturbs his judgment: he dreams, with Chuza, fallen into disGrace, of seeing Jesus become King in place of Herod and free them from the Roman yoke. Jesus' refusal is categorical, but he holds no grudge against Manaen. Manaen recovers after this mistake:

"I understood the truth of your Mission. I was wrong one day, but it served me to understand and I will no longer stray from the right path."

If he continues to frequent Herod's court, it is now to protect Jesus. He unsuccessfully tries to intervene to secure his release after his capture at Gethsemane. He is a witness to his Passion, his Resurrection, and his Ascension, where Jesus places him beside himself saying:

"You, Manaen, who knew how to despise the sordid Confessionrs of a filthy being to walk in my path".

His name

Manaen (Mananen or Manahem) is a form of the Hebrew Menahem (מנח) which means "comforter".

Where is he mentioned in the work?

GRM 75

GRM 121 GRM 127

GRM 266 GRM 267 GRM 268 GRM 269 GRM 270 GRM 271 GRM 272 GRM 281

GRM 334 GRM 348 GRM 349 GRM 350 GRM 352 GRM 362 GRM 363 GRM 364 GRM 376

GRM 461 GRM 463 GRM 464 GRM 477 GRM 488 GRM 489 GRM 492 GRM 495

GRM 507 GRM 508 GRM 509 GRM 540 GRM 542 GRM 545 GRM 548 GRM 549 GRM 559 GRM 560 GRM 566 GRM 578 GRM 584 GRM 589 GRM 596

GRM 604 GRM 621 GRM 623 GRM 634 GRM 638

Learn more about this character

Excerpts from the Dictionary of Gospel Characters, According to Maria Valtorta (Msgr. René Laurentin, François-Michel Debroise, Jean-François Lavère, Éditions Salvator, 2012):

According to the Acts of the Apostles, he later joined the community of Antioch in Syria. According to According to Maria Valtorta, this community may have found its beginnings in the work of Syntyche and John of Endor. Manaen is a teacher of the nascent Church.

According to Salton Baronius, he laid hands on and then sent Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journeys.

Luke, being from Antioch of Syria, some believe Manaen may have provided him with many family details about Herod. This would also explain why he spoke of Chuza and Joanna, both members of the court.

The Roman martyrology indicates that he died a martyr in Antioch. He is celebrated as a saint confessor on May 24.

Notes and references

Note: Quotations from the work of Maria Valtorta on this page currently use machine-translated text and will gradually be replaced by the official English translation. Until then, the official translation may be consulted through the reference link provided with each quotation.

The Gospel as Revealed to Me (Maria Valtorta).