https://gkiouzelisabeltasos.blogspot.com
Orhodoxy - Gkiouzelis Abel-Tasos
Ireland and British Isles of my heart
English Flowers of Orthodoxy 3
ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY – MULTILINGUAL ORTHODOXY – EASTERN ORTHODOX CHURCH – ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΙΑ – SIMBAHANG ORTODOKSO NG SILANGAN – 东正教在中国 – ORTODOXIA – 日本正教会 – ORTODOSSIA – อีสเทิร์นออร์ทอดอกซ์ – ORTHODOXIE – 동방 정교회 – PRAWOSŁAWIE – ORTHODOXE KERK - නැගෙනහිර ඕර්තඩොක්ස් සභාව – СРЦЕ ПРАВОСЛАВНО – BISERICA ORTODOXĂ – GEREJA ORTODOKS – ORTODOKSI – ПРАВОСЛАВИЕ – ORTODOKSE KIRKE – CHÍNH THỐNG GIÁO ĐÔNG PHƯƠNG – EAGLAIS CHEARTCHREIDMHEACH – ՈՒՂՂԱՓԱՌ ԵԿԵՂԵՑԻՆ / Abel-Tasos Gkiouzelis - https://gkiouzelisabeltasos.blogspot.com - Email: gkiouz.abel@gmail.com - Feel free to email me...!
♫•(¯`v´¯) ¸.•*¨*
◦.(¯`:☼:´¯)
..✿.(.^.)•.¸¸.•`•.¸¸✿
✩¸ ¸.•¨
THE LONG JOURNEY TO ORTHODOXY OF JOHANNA MCBRIDE FROM BELFAST, IRELAND
Sergei Mudrov
The McBride family lives on Ashfield Street in a typical neighborhood of two-storied houses in north Belfast. Everything here is familiar to those who know British and Irish cities and their residential areas, the only difference being a birch tree planted many years ago that grows near the McBrides’ house. True, the capital of Northern Ireland is a specific city: it has seen a division between Catholics and Protestants (the Republicans and the Loyalists). At one time, the political and religious confrontation in Ulster brought all the horrors of hatred and curses, terrorist attacks and armed clashes that took the lives of over 3000 people.
From local residents’ point of view, the McBride family are Catholics, since the head of the family, Pat (Patrick), and his three sons belong to the Roman Catholic Church. However, the McBrides are not entirely part of the Belfast Catholic community, since Pat's wife, Johanna (Astrid), as well as their daughter Lucy, are Orthodox Christians.
Perhaps there is no single beaten path for those who were born outside the Orthodox Church and have found their way to the faith that gave the world St. Seraphim of Sarov, Holy Hierarch John of Shanghai, Sts. Job and Amphilochius of Pochaev and many other wondrous saints. Some people, after learning about Orthodoxy, convert to the true faith very quickly; sometimes after several months. But for others this journey takes many years, accompanied by painful reflections, sometimes sorrow and long, heartfelt prayer. Motivations can vary—from disappointments and intellectual searchings to marriage with an Orthodox Christian.
Astrid Keil (her surname before marriage), who now lives in the north of Belfast, wasn’t born on Irish soil, but in Germany, to a Protestant family. From childhood she was raised in Lutheranism, in which there is no veneration of the Theotokos and the saints. Paradoxically, Astrid’s first encounter with Orthodoxy was in her own Lutheran family. Her father, a professor of Slavonic studies, enjoyed listening to Orthodox hymns when he wanted to rest mentally and spiritually. The little girl really liked Orthodox hymns—sometimes she listened to them without her father’s knowledge, entering his room unnoticed. These touching and pleasant childhood memories remained in her heart forever.
Astrid's childhood with its joyful “musical” encounter with Orthodoxy gave way to youth, and at the age of fifteen she encountered Orthodoxy again—now at a religious and liturgical level. A Greek Orthodox church was built in the area of Bonn where the Keils lived. The Greeks invited local Catholics and Protestants to the Paschal night service. Rolf-Dietrich decided to go to the festive service with his daughter.
“For me these were unusual, incomparable impressions,” Johanna relates. “I felt elation and joy. Everyone in the church spoke Greek. I didn’t understand them, but I saw joyful faces and positive emotions. One woman even hugged me—she was so happy on the feast of the Resurrection of Christ, and she wanted to share her happiness and joy with me.”
The joy of the encounter, the feeling of Christ's presence, kind emotions, the benevolence of unknown parishioners... It seemed that all conditions were interwoven for the young Lutheran woman to set foot on the path to Orthodoxy. But that didn’t happen. The Paschal service and emotions became a thing of the past. Astrid no longer went to services at the Greek church. It was necessary to wait for something else; apparently as a Protestant she needed to go through a special acceptance of the image reflecting the prototype—the Orthodox icon—in her religious search. For many Protestants, the veneration of icons was and still remains one of the stumbling blocks, which, alas, prevents them from coming closer to Orthodoxy. Even with sympathy for the deep theological sophistication and moral teachings of the Orthodox Church Fathers, Protestants sigh with doubt when they see burning candles in front of icons of the Most Holy Theotokos or St. Sergius of Radonezh. It is very difficult to overcome this stereotype of Protestant consciousness, especially when many generations have absorbed Protestant logic and dogmatics from childhood.
And again a miraculous encounter came through her family: Rolf-Dietrich brought two large posters about an icon exhibition from Moscow. On one of them there was an image of an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, and on the other one, of St. John the Baptist. Surprisingly, these images, printed on paper, somehow resonated in the heart of the young Lutheran woman: She began to pray secretly in front of them.
“You see, I didn't know anything about holy icons,” Johanna continues. “I saw that one icon depicted the Virgin Mary, but as for the second one, at first I wasn’t even sure whether it was Christ or St. John the Baptist. Nevertheless, I began to pray in front of these icons. I had the feeling that St. John the Baptist was holding out his hands as if he wanted to receive thoughts and words addressed to him. I felt that I could share my desires, feelings and thoughts with him. Moreover, when I looked into his eyes, I felt how they was leading me to prayer.”
From that moment on, Astrid could no longer imagine her life without Orthodox icons. Another miracle followed in due course: through the icon of St. John the Baptist she received a revelation about her future daughter! According to Johanna, in 1996, when they were already raising three children, she caught herself thinking that God wanted to send them another child. During prayer Astrid saw a small image of a praying girl appear on St. John the Baptist’s icon. To dispel her doubts she called her husband. But Pat saw the same thing!
Nine months later, another Christian soul came to our world... A whole book (in English) is devoted to this story: Anne-Marie... a Child of God, in which there is an account of this miracle, and of the ordeals endured by the little girl during her short life (Anne-Marie didn’t live more than three years; she died during a second heart operation).
Since the news of her daughter’s birth came through an icon that had arrived from Russia, Astrid decided to find a Russian church and talk to the priest there.
“I didn't want to go to a Romanian or Greek church because the icon was Russian,” Johanna recounts. “The nearest Russian parish was at Stradbally (a town in county Laois in Ireland’s midlands, southwest of Dublin, about 160 miles From Belfast). I talked to the priest there, and to some extent he agreed with me that Anne-Marie, whose birth I was expecting, should be baptized in Orthodoxy. But there were no Orthodox Christians in our family, so the bishop to whom the priest turned for advice decided that Orthodox Baptism for my daughter was possible if one of the parents became Orthodox. At that time I was Lutheran and my husband was a Roman Catholic. Therefore, we baptized Anne-Marie in the Catholic Church.”
But her interest in and respect for Orthodox icons never ceased to bear fruit. In the Church of St. Colman in Stradbally (ROCOR) Astrid noticed an icon of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco. She seemed to feel the special presence of this saint there. And again it was a paradox: Astrid refused the priest's offer to embrace Orthodoxy, believing that Orthodoxy was open to Anne-Marie but not to her. It was obviously very hard for a Lutheran woman to embrace an unfamiliar, “foreign” faith, especially when no one in her family belongs to this faith. It took a while before Astrid’s inner convictions allowed her to begin preparations for Orthodox Baptism. She was a catechumen for over two years, beginning December 2000. And only in January 2003 was Astrid baptized in Orthodoxy with the name Johanna. The Baptism was performed in the Jordan River during her stay at the convent of Mt. of Olives in Jerusalem, where there is also a chapel of St. John the Baptist.
“There I made friends with one of the nuns, Sister Seraphima, and she came to visit us in Northern Ireland,” Johanna says. “At that time a new trial awaited us: Our son Pascal was diagnosed with cancer at the age of eleven. Nun Seraphima, who had a small portion of St. John of Shanghai’s vestments with her, gave us half of it. My son and I prayed in front of St. John’s icon for healing. By the way, Pascal confessed to me that while the doctor was speaking to him about his illness, he felt the presence of the Savior in the hospital ward. By the grace of God and through the prayers of St. John of Shanghai my son recovered, and we (taking his younger brother with us) went to San Francisco to thank the saint for his help.”
As Johanna recalls, in that California city, where the amazing Russian saint lived for many years, she really wanted to tell someone about the miracle of healing. She shared this with the monk who later showed her the house where St. John had lived, his office, the church where he often served, and the icon in front of which he prayed, offering up his petitions for orphans transported from China to the United States. That pilgrimage became an unforgettable joyful experience. When Johanna, Pascal and his younger brother returned to Belfast, the first thing the five-year-old boy exclaimed as he hugged his father who met them at the airport was, “Dad, I saw St. John!”
McBride family has bee marked with miraculous and amazing events, but this hadn’t yet brought them all to Orthodoxy. As Johanna points out, “I can’t force them. My eldest son says that Orthodoxy is the right faith, but there is also a road to this faith.” Surprisingly, Johanna’s only surviving daughter Lucy was the first among her children to convert to Orthodoxy—at the age of eight. The girl was very impressed by one of the family’s guests, priest Andrei Logvinov, who as Johanna said, “didn’t take a leave of absence from Christianity for a single moment; he was like a saint.” After talking with Fr. Andrei, Lucy told her mother (at the age of seven) that she would like to become an Orthodox nun! Of course, that childhood desire remained in the past, but the true faith of Christ entered Lucy’s life—through her familiarization with the Orthodox Church.
Now Lucy, like Pat’s and Johanna’s three sons, lives separately from her parents. So far only the female part of the McBride family has converted to Orthodoxy. The men remain Catholics despite their respect for the Orthodox Church. Will they embrace Orthodoxy in the future? We don’t know. But it is not easy for the Irish (especially from Ulster) to leave Catholicism and join the Church of the first Christians and apostles, even if they are convinced that the fullness of Christ shines in it. Incidentally, Johanna's parents departed this life as Lutherans, although her mother came to love St. John of Shanghai in a special way and even made the sign of the cross (for the first time in her life) in front of his icon a few moments before her death (which coincided with the feast of St. John).
After working in the British National Health Service for many years and then retiring, now Johanna carries out her missionary service at the Church of St. John of Shanghai, located (since November 2017) in the courtyard of the McBrides’ house on Ashfield Street. ROCOR clergy who travel from England celebrate the Liturgy here, usually once a month. On other Sundays, the typika is read by laypeople. The language of services is English, which is certainly convenient for parishioners of different nationalities and for local residents who are interested in Orthodoxy. It is gratifying that Johanna, having made the difficult journey from Lutheranism to Orthodoxy, has become not only a parishioner, but also an active organizer in the life of the parish community. In her service there is also help for those seeking to embrace Orthodoxy or wishing to learn more about the faith that gave our world many wonderful saints, including John of Shanghai and San Francisco, now glorified on Irish soil in a church bearing his name.
<>
Ireland, 2024: Mass Baptism of 11 people in Irish Sea - Parish of St John Maximovitch in Belfast
BELFAST PARISH BAPTIZES 10+ IN IRISH SEA
The Orthodox Church of St. John of Shanghai in Belfast (Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia) festively celebrated its patronal feast of the Uncovering of St. John’s Relics over the weekend.
And this year, 2024, the joy of the feast was augmented by a mass Baptism in the Irish Sea on the eve of the feast on Friday evening, the church reports.
In total, 11 people were baptized: Aidan, Adomnán, Asher, Benjamin, Luke, Nathan, Peter, Sophrony, Anna, Elena, and Irene. The rite of Holy Illumination was celebrated by parish priest Fr. Justin Venn and Fr. Robert Williams from the ROCOR Mission of St. Patrick in Clifden.
The Baptisms were followed by Vespers and an evening meal.
The next day, Frs. Justin and Robert celebrated the Divine Liturgy for the feast of St. John.
“We give thanks to almighty God for the newly illumined and for the many blessings bestowed upon our parish, through the prayers of our patron St John,” the church writes.
* * *
On the evening of Friday 11th October, 2024, we were overjoyed to welcome 11 new members into the Church, with a mass baptism in the sea. Friday evening was closed by return to the church, with the serving of Vespers and a small evening meal together with the newly illumined and their gathered friends and family.
Please remember in your prayers the newly illumined servants of God:
Aidan
Adomnán
Asher
Benjamin
Luke
Nathan
Peter
Sophrony
And the newly illumined handmaidens of God:
Anna
Elena
Irene
May they have many years!
Saturday 12th October saw us celebrate our patronal feast, when we remember the Uncovering of the Relics of our parish patron Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco. We were delighted to have many returning and new visitors to celebrate with us. A Panakhida for the departed was served following the Liturgy and we also welcomed two new Catechumens.
Fr Justin was joined for the baptisms and in serving the Divine Liturgy by Fr Robert from our sister ROCOR mission parish of St Patrick in Clifden, Co. Galway. Fr. Robert visited with his family and Reader Oswald from the Clifden parish - we hope we may have them with us again soon!
We give thanks to almighty God for the newly illumined and for the many blessings bestowed upon our parish, through the prayers of our patron St John.
St. John, pray to God for us!
<>
Saint Columba of Iona (+597) and the monster of Lake Loch Ness, Scotland
The earliest report of a monster in the vicinity of Loch Ness appears in the Life of St. Columba by Adomnán, written in the 7th century AD. According to Adomnán, writing about a century after the events described, Irish monk Saint Columba was staying in the land of the Picts with his companions when he encountered local residents burying a man by the River Ness. They explained that the man was swimming in the river when he was attacked by a "water beast" that mauled him and dragged him underwater despite their attempts to rescue him by boat. Columba sent a follower, Luigne moccu Min, to swim across the river. The beast approached him, but Columba made the sign of the cross and said: "Go no further. Do not touch the man. Go back at once." The creature stopped as if it had been "pulled back with ropes" and fled, and Columba's men and the Picts gave thanks for what they perceived as a miracle.
<>
Orthodox churches / parishes in Ireland
Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation
46 Arbour Hill, Stoneybatter, Dublin 7, D07 W6T7, Ireland
Tel.: +353 89 983 4204
<>
Serbian Orthodox Church
Artane Oratory of the Resurrection,
Kilmore Rd, Beaumont, Dublin 5, Ireland
Tel.: +353 85 181 8407
<>
Romanian Orthodox Church
Leeson Park, Ranelagh, Dublin 6, Ireland
Tel.: +353 87 614 8140
<>
Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, Patriarchal Metochion, Russian Orthodox Church
Harold's Cross Rd, Harold's Cross, Dublin, Ireland
Tel. +353 86 734 7934
<>
Orthodox Monastery of the Life-Giving Spring
Ard Ciaran, Raghrabeg, Shannonbridge, Co. Roscommon, N37 Y153, Ireland
Tel: +353 89 483 1802
<>
Romanian Orthodox Church "St. Patrick and Calinic de la Cernica"
Pembroke, Co. Cork, Ireland
Tel: +353 87 677 2241
<>
St. Colman's Russian Orthodox Church
Cork Rd, Raheenduff, Stradbally, Co. Laois, Ireland
Tel: +353 85 831 3962
<>
Saint Nicholas Romanian Orthodox Church
St Mary's Rd, Galway, Ireland
Tel: +353 86 228 2690
<>
Saint Leila (Layla) of Limerick, Ireland (+6th century)
August 11
Saint Lelia the virgin is connected to the diocese of Limerick, Ireland. Her feast day is August 11th. She is the sister of Saint Munchin who is also one of Limericks patron saints. Lelia is the great great granddaughter of Prince Cairtheann, who was baptized and converted to Christianity by Saint Patrick who is Ireland's Patron Saint in Singland, which is also in the diocese of Limerick.
Being the sister of St. Munchin, she came from a family that was true in their faith and together they were able to spread it all around Limerick. She has inspired many to do what they didn't think they could and help out others through their hard times.She devoted all her time to helping others instead of herself.
Lelia is a person of faith because she has changed so many lives in her work. She gave up so much to help other even though times were hard when she was living, she still seemed to make sure everyone was taking care of.
<>
Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise, Ireland (+549), one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland
September 9
Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise (c. 516 – c. 549), supposedly born Ciarán mac an tSaeir ("son of the carpenter"), was one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland and the first abbot of Clonmacnoise. He is sometimes called Ciarán the Younger to distinguish him from the 5th-century Saint Ciarán the Elder who was bishop of Osraige.
Ciarán was born in around 516 in County Roscommon, Connacht, in Ireland. His father was a carpenter and chariot maker. As a boy, Ciarán worked as a cattle herder.
He was a student of Finian's at Clonard and in time became a teacher, himself. Columba of Iona said of Ciarán, “He was a lamp, blazing with the light of wisdom.” In about 534, he left Clonard for Inishmore where he studied under Enda of Aran, who ordained him a priest and advised him to build a church and monastery in the middle of Ireland. Later, he travelled to Senan on Scattery Island (in about 541). In 544, he finally settled in Clonmacnoise, where he founded the Monastery of Clonmacnoise with ten fellow companions. As abbot, he worked on the first buildings of the monastery; however, he died about seven months later of a plague, in his early thirties. His feast day is 9 September.
One story tells that he lent his copy of the Gospel of St Matthew to fellow-student St Ninnidh. When Finnian tested the class, Ciarán knew only the first half of the Gospel. The other students laughed and called him “Ciarán half-Matthew.” St Finnian silenced them and said, “Not Ciarán half-Matthew, but Ciarán half-Ireland, for he will have half the country and the rest of us will have the other half.”
Another tale relates that as a student, a young fox would take his writings to his master, until it was old enough to eat his satchel.
He is supposed to have told his followers that upon his death, they were to leave his bones upon the hillside, and to preserve his spirit rather than his relics.
INS.
<>
Irish High Crosses / Irish Celtic Crosses
(8th-9th ce.)
High Crosses or Celtic Crosses as they are also known, are found throughout Ireland on old monastic sites. Along with the Book of Kells and the Book of Durrow, these High Crosses are Irelands biggest contribution to Western European Art of the Middle Ages. Some were probably used as meeting points for religious ceremonies and others were used to mark boundaries. The earliest crosses in Ireland were made of wood and metal and probably much smaller than the great stone monuments we see today. It was generally accepted that the Western Ossory group were amongst the earliest examples of High Crosses to be found in Ireland. Their design imitates the wood and metal crosses before them; but a recent study suggests they may not be 8th century but possibly mid 9th century. These crosses are mainly found within a few miles of each other at Kilkieran, Kilree, Killamery and the finest examples at Ahenny. The majority of scriptural crosses are also believed to have been erected around the 9th century and there are several local groupings: the North Leinster group includes Kells, Monasterboice and Duleek; the Midlands group includes Clonmacnois Tihilly and Durrow; and another distinct group of granite High Crosses are those of the Barrow valley that includes Castledermot, Graiguenamanagh, Moone, St Mullins and Ullard.
<>
Irish High Crosses at Ahenny in Co Tipperary, Ireland - 8th century
Ahenny
Probably the earliest group of ringed high crosses, the Ossory group includes these two fine high crosses at Ahenny in Co Tipperary. Found at the monastic site of Kilclispeen these crosses imitate the earlier wooden crosses which were encased with a metal binding, the stone bosses imitate the studs that would have covered the rivets, these held the metal and wooden crosses together. Dr Francoise Hardy dated the crosses to the 8th century based on parallel designs in metalwork. The sandstone crosses are skillfully carved with intricate geometrical designs. The plain base of a third cross also remains on site. About three kilometres from here, just over the border in Kilkieran graveyard, county Kilkenny, are four more crosses belonging to the Ossary group. Two of those crosses are similar in style to the crosses at Ahenny.
The North Cross
The north cross stands at 3.13 metres high and is the finest example. It has a conical shaped cap-stone, which may represent a bishops mitre. A conical cap is also present on the east and west crosses at Kilkieran. The cap was discovered nearby and placed on the cross in the 1900s. I presume there was a tenon joint present on the top of the cross to hold the capstone in position. A tenon joint can be seen on the cross head at Kilree, where the capstone is missing.
The South Cross
The figure sculpture on both crosses appears only on the base and without the best lighting conditions it's very difficult to make out. The detail of the North Cross base, south face, pictured above right, shows David bringing the defeated Goliath to Jerusalem.
Both crosses are made out of sandstone and best viewed around mid-day during the summer, when the high relief of the sculpture is shown at its best. The cross, east face pictured left below, stands at 3.90 metres high.
Situated: In Ahenny, County Tipperary. From Carrick-on-Suir take the R 697 North, after 5 kilometres take a left at Scrogh Bridge then take the next right. Two kilometres down this road there is a church on your right, the crosses are in a field immediately to the right of the church.
<>
Saint Adrian of Canterbury, England (+710)
9 January
Born in Africa; died at Canterbury, England, January 9, 710.
Saint Adrian became abbot at Nerida near Naples, Italy. Upon the death of Saint Deusdedit, the archbishop of Canterbury (England), Pope Saint Vitalian chose Adrian to replace the bishop because of his great learning and piety. Adrian seemed to be the perfect leader for a nation new in its Christianity. Yet Adrian demurred saying that he was not fitted for such a great dignity. He said that he would find someone else more suited for the task.
The first substitute was too ill to become archbishop. Again the pope urged the post on Adrian. Again Adrian begged permission to find someone else. At that time a Greek monk from Tarsus named Theodore was in Rome. Adrian nominated Theodore to the pope. Theodore was willing to become archbishop of Canterbury, but only if Adrian agreed to come to England and help him. Adrian readily consented to this compromise. It was agreed that Adrian would accompany Theodore to England as his assistant and adviser. On March 26, 668, Theodore was consecrated archbishop of Canterbury and two months later the two set sail for England.
They were a perfect team. Theodore appointed Adrian abbot of SS Peter and Paul abbey, afterward called Saint Augustine's, at Canterbury, where he taught Greek and Latin for 39 years. Here Adrian's learning and virtues were best employed. In addition to these languages, Adrian taught poetry, astronomy and math, as well as Scripture and virtue.
Into the minds of his students, Adrian poured the waters of wholesome knowledge day by day, according to the Venerable Bede. The school became famous for its teaching and trained such as Saints Aldhelm and Oftfor. Bede records that Saint Adrian was very learned in the Holy Scriptures, very experienced in administering the church and the monastery, and a great Greek and Latin scholar. He also is said to have commented that some of Adrian's students spoke Latin and Greek equally as well as their native languages.
The abbot also helped the archbishop in his pastoral undertakings. There can be no doubt that the flourishing of the English Church in Theodore's time owed much to Adrian.
Adrian was known for miracles that helped students in trouble with their masters, and miracles were associated with his tomb in Saint Augustine's Church.
CELTIC SAINTS
<>
Saint Nectan, Hermit-Martyr in Wartland, England, from Wales (+510)
June 17
Saint Nectan was born in Ireland but moved to Wales when he was young in 423 AD, the eldest of the 24 children of King Brychan of Brycheiniog (now Brecknock in Wales). Saint Nectan heard of the great hermit of the Egyptian desert, St Anthony, and was inspired to imitate his way of life. Seeking greater solitude, Saint Nectan and his companions left Wales, intending to settle wherever their boat happened to land. Saint Nectan and his companions wound up on the northern coast of Devon at Hartland, where they lived for several years in a dense forest. The saint's family would visit him there on the last day of the year. Later, he relocated to a remote valley with a spring.
At Hartland, Saint Nectan lived in the solitude of a remote valley where he helped a swineherd recover his lost pigs and in turn was given a gift of two cows. Saint Nectan's cows were stolen and after finding them he attempted to convert the robbers to the Christian faith. In return, he was attacked by robbers who cut off his head. The same authority says that he picked his head up and walked back to his well before collapsing and dying. Seeing this, the man who killed Saint Nectan went out of his mind, but the other thief buried him. From that time, miracles began to take place at Saint Nectan's tomb. Local tradition says that wherever the blood from Saint Nectan's beheaded head fell, foxgloves grew.
Saint Nectan is also associated with St Nectan's Glen and Waterfall at Trethevy, near Tintagel, in Cornwall, where it is claimed he spent some time as a hermit. Saint Nectan is believed to have sited his hermitage above the waterfall. He rang a silver bell in times of stormy weather to warn shipping of the perils of the rocks at the mouth of the Rocky Valley.
Saint Nectan is also said to have appeared in 937, on the eve of the Battle of Brunanburh. A young man from Hartland felt himself afflicted with the plague and called upon God and Saint Nectan to help him. Saint Nectan appeared to the young man just after midnight and touched the afflicted area of his body, healing him. When King Athelstan heard of this, asked for more information about Saint Nectan. The young man urged the king to have faith in Saint Nectan with faith, and he would be victorious. After the battle, Athelstan visited Hartland and donated property to the saint's church.
Saint Nectan's feast day is 17 June, the day of his death (+510). He is the Patron Saint of Hartland, Devon, England.
<>
From the life of Saint Ciarán (or Kieran) of Saigir, Ireland (+530)
One night Saint Ciarán (or Kieran) of Saigir, Ireland (+530), and a pilgrim named Germanus that was with him entered into a stream of cold water, in which, when they had now been for a long time, Germanus said: “Kieran, I may no longer hold out in the water.” Kieran made the sign of the Holy Cross upon the water, whereby he turned it to be temperate and of bathing heat; and there they were praising God.
<>
From the life of Saint Féchín of Fore, Ireland (+655)
During the Lent, Saint Féchín of Fore, Ireland (+655), was accustomed to go and pray at midnight in the stream at Esdara A monk named Pastól went along with him into the stream, and when he was on the side below Féchín he could not endure the water for heat. And when he was on the side above (Féchín) he could not endure (it) for exceeding cold. When Féchín understood this he called him beside him and moderated the water for Pastól so that it was endurable. And Féchín told him not to relate this to any one. So that it was after Féchín’s death that he related it. And God’s name and Féchín’s were magnified thereby.
<>
From the wisdom of Saint Patrick of Ireland (+461)
* Never trust a dog to watch your food.
* I am certain in my heart that all that I am, I have received from God.
* If I have any worth, it is to live my life for God.
* I am Patrick, yes a sinner and indeed untaught; yet I am established here in Ireland where I profess myself bishop. I am certain in my heart that 'all that I am,' I have received from God. So I live among barbarous tribes, a stranger and exile for the love of God.
* And there I saw in the night the vision of a man....coming as it were from Ireland, with countless letters. And he gave me one of them, and I read the opening words of the letter, which were, The voice of the Irish...and as I read the beginning of the letter I thought that at the same moment I heard their voice - they were those beside the Wood of Voclut, which is near the Western Sea - and thus did they cry out as with one mouth: We ask thee, boy, come and walk among us once more.
* Let anyone laugh and taunt if he so wishes. I am not keeping silent, nor am I hiding the signs and wonders that were shown to me by the Lord many years before they happened, who knew everything, even before the beginning of time.
* That which I have set out in Latin is not my words but the words of God and of apostles and prophets, who of course have never lied. He who believes shall be saved, but he who does not believe shall be damned. God has spoken.
* No one should ever say that it was my ignorance if I did or showed forth anything however small according to God's good pleasure; but let this be your conclusion and let it so be thought, that - as is the perfect truth - it was the gift of God.
* Here's to a long life and a merry one. A quick death and an easy one.
<>
Saint Tassach Bishop of Raholp, Ireland (+495)
14 April
Died c. 495. Tassach was a disciple of Saint Patrick, who appointed him as the first bishop of Raholp, County Down, Ireland. He was a skilled artisan who made crosiers, patens, chalices, credences, shrines, and crosses for the many churches Patrick founded.
Tassach's rule is for ever memorable for the fact that he was selected by the national Apostle to be with him in his last moments and to administer the Holy Viaticum to him. This event is thus chronicled in The Martyrology of Donegall; Tassach of Raholp gave the Body of Christ to Saint Patrick before his death in the monastery of Saul.
He is often confused with Saint Asicus of Elphin (f.d. April 27), who had the same skills and is said to have died the same year.
CELTIC SAINTS
<>
Father Thomas Carroll, Ireland: From Irish Soldier to Orthodox Priest
By Christos Mouzeviris
Father Thomas Carroll is a 70-year-old priest in Dublin, Ireland.
He grew up rural county Tipperary, in a family with strong military ties. His father fought in Gallipoli, while his great uncle was at the battle of Thessalonica during the first World War.
Growing up in a Catholic secondary school, he felt called to take holy orders but was told he was not ready, so he followed the family tradition and joined the military.
“We seem to be a family that was always involved militarily. There was discipline among us, but the rules were not too strict. Yet, I could never consider myself a free spirit,” he recalls.
It was while serving in Cyprus with the UN in the 1960s that Father Carroll’s life, vocation and future were set on a path that led him to a narrow brick-built church in the centre of Dublin. A church which stands out from others in the city because of richly gilded decorated screen which separates the altar from the nave, but also because it is orthodox.
To prevent its servicemen being influenced in anyway, the UN did not permit any interaction between them and either communities. However, Father Thomas could not entirely follow the discipline, that both the peace keeping forces and his family have edified him.
“I had a few acquaintances with Cypriots, but the only person that I had a lot of communication with, was a Greek orthodox priest in a village,” he recounts. Father Thomas would meet up with him on a regular basis, to talk about theology and argue regarding everything around it.
“We often could not agree on anything, but he left a lasting impression on me,” he continues.
That prompted him to explore the Orthodox religion further, but when he returned to Ireland there were only a handful of Greeks and Cypriots living in the country. They did not have an established community, so nobody could help him.
It was only when the Archbishop of Great Britain Methodios, established the first parish in Ireland in 1981, that became possible for him to talk to people with the same interest.
Prior to this he had contacted the Greek Orthodox archdioceses in London, but nobody responded to his letters. “They probably thought that I was some guy seeking only information,” Father Thomas says.
When the parish has been established by Methodios, a friend happened to mention it to him by chance. He then got around there straightaway, but it took him another 5 years before he decided to make the “big jump” and convert.
“I eventually became an Orthodox in 1986, so I do not do anything in a hurry as you see,” he jokes. “But after that, I was committed. I took early retirement from my job in 1996 and went to study theology for 5 years.”
After the conclusion of his studies, he initially served as a deacon for four years in his new parish, before eventually becoming a priest. And to him it is a vocation, not his profession.
Ultimately, it was the outward portrayal and the beautiful liturgies of the orthodox dogma, that attracted him to it.
“I came from the tradition that initially the Catholic Church came from, with many similarities in liturgy and rituals. But after the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council in the ‘60s, everything changed and became more simplified,” the priest explains.
For Father Thomas, the traditional poignant ceremonies had been stripped from the Catholic faith. Services had become to some extend “protestantized” in the method of worship, minimalised. So, he realised that it was not for him.
This inevitably left a big hole in his spiritual life, that he couldn’t relate to this new situation in the Catholic Church.
“This is where Orthodoxy entered my life and gave me something tangible to hold on to. Something about the church itself, its layout, the rituals even the smell of incense, would grab you straight away,” he describes.
At the time, among the Orthodox community in Ireland, there were about 20 nationalities. The original parish was founded for all orthodox Christians within the island of Ireland, regardless of any jurisdictions.
As immigration increased into Ireland, many of these new arrivals established their own communities and Father Thomas’ parish eventually became primarily Greek. The community has grown in recent years due to the increasing emigration from Greece, thus the future of his parish looks secure.
For Father Thomas, a church is a living thing and must adapt to society, rather than society adapting to it. Another reason why he admires the Greek Orthodox Church, is because it reaches out to every nationality.
“All Greek orthodox archdioceses in the UK, have up to 30% clergy that is non-Greek, thus the liturgies are commonly English speaking. Other jurisdictions like the Romanian or Russian, are operating in their language solely for their own people,” he says.
The priest believes that breaking down language and nationality barriers is very important for a modern religion, especially when attracting young individuals.
Otherwise they could be at the mercy of fundamentalist evangelical churches, while others may become attracted to radical Islam. “They are giving them something to live for, when often they have nothing,” claims Father Thomas.
He is the only one who converted to Greek orthodoxy in his family. “It did not make any difference to most of them, but I think today they would be happy with my choices,” he says.
“If you asked me how Ireland is responding to a church of different dogma about 50 years ago, there would be quite hostile reaction to it. Now nobody cares. At the last count, there were about 130 different religions the country, most of them established during the past 15 years,” Father Thomas explains.
About 50% of those are ethnic African churches. “But the people of Ireland are accepting all religions in their country now. Maybe the reason is that most of them do not go to the church themselves,” he continues.
“Young people particularly, who are carrying on the catholic faith in Ireland, have absolutely no animosity to anybody outside this tradition,” he concludes.
Father Thomas is one example of a man, who did not just follow a religion due to family, community or national traditions. He researched, reached out and when the time was right, he found what was best for him.
<>
Saint Cormac mac Cuilennáin of Ireland (+908)
Saint Cormac was from a noble family and had the title of bishop before he took the title of King of Munster in 902. Although he was from a noble family, it was not usual for them to rise to the position of king. He died in the Battle of Bellaghmoon in 908.
Flaithbertach mac Inmainén was the abbot of the monastery on Scattery Island and was in a role like an advisor to Saint Cormac. A war was brewing with Leinster, whose king was Cerball mac Muirecáin who was Saint Cormac’s fosterbrother, and they mustered an army. However, prior to the battle Flaithbertach fell from his horse in the army camp. This was taken as a bad omen by many in the army and they deserted. A peace treaty was made and Saint Cormac was inclined to accept it but Flaithbertach convinced him to go ahead with the battle despite being outnumbered significantly. Saint Cormac foresaw his death and took the Eucharist before the battle.
As for the Battle of Bellaghmoon, many of the Munstermen fled early and the entire army was soon routed. Saint Cormac died when he fell from his horse after it slipped in blood. The enemy soldiers beheaded him which was not met with the approval of the High King Flann Sinna as they expected. He said they had done an evil deed. He arranged for the proper burial of head and body.
Flaithbertach was captured and imprisoned for a time before being allowed to return to be the abbot of Scattery Island. He later succeeded Saint Cormac as King of Munster, there having been a vacancy for a while.
The Fragmentary Annals say: “Why, then, should the heart not be moved and mourn this awful deed, that is, the killing and hacking up (with abominable weapons) of the holy person who was the most skilled that ever was or will be of the men of Ireland? A scholar in Irish and in Latin, the wholly pious and pure chief bishop, miraculous in chastity and in prayer, a sage in government, in all wisdom, knowledge and science, a sage of poetry and learning, chief of charity and every virtue; a wise man in teaching, high king of the two provinces of all Munster in his time.” In regards to his greatness as a scholar, we have a very important document, the Sanas Cormaic (Cormac’s Glossary). It is something like a dictionary or encyclopedia that has over 1,400 words in Gaelic with their meanings and sometimes etymologies. It is the first European encyclopedic dictionary in a language other than Greek or Latin.
<>
Saint Bronach (St Bronacha), Virgin of Glen-Seichis, Ireland
2 April
Date unknown. The name of this virgin is registered in the martyrologies of Tallaght and Donegal. Glen-Seichis is the old name of Kilbroney or Kilbronach in County Down near Rostrevor, Ireland, which takes its present name from her. Saint Bronach's Bell is the subject of a well-known Irish legend of a mysterious, invisible bell that rang in Kilbroney churchyard.
In 1885, a storm ripped down an old oak tree near Kilbroney, and in its branches was found a 6th-century bell. For many years the denizens heard a bell ringing and attributed it to a supernatural origin. It seems, however, that the bell was hidden during the Reformation to prevent its removal or destruction. Over the years the tongue had worn away, so the bell stopped ringing, yet talk of it did not. The bell and Bronach's cross can now be found at the parish church of Rostrevor.
<>
Orthodox Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Church
http://orthodoxy-rainbow.blogspot.com/search/label/english%20articles
http://orthodoxy-rainbow.blogspot.com
Orthodoxy-Rainbow
<>
2021: Noted British Author Paul Kingsworth Baptized at Orthodox Monastery in Ireland
The noted British author, thinker, and activist Paul Kingsnorth was united to Christ in holy Baptism at the Romanian Orthodox monastery in Shannonbridge, Ireland, on the feast of Christ’s Baptism on January 6 this year.
“As a Western newcomer to Orthodoxy, I have a lifetime’s learning journey ahead of me, but I already feel like I have arrived home,” he commented on this momentous step.
Kingsnorth, 49, who lives in rural Galway, Ireland, is known for both his fiction books and essays on the environment, as well as the environmental-activist Dark Mountain Project, which he founded in 2009 and directed until 2017. However, he was never a materialist, like many others in the movement, he says. Instead, he has been searching for the deeper Truth for many years.
“I first discovered Christian Orthodoxy four years ago when I walked into a small church in Bucharest. That powerful experience stayed with me, but I could not have known that it would lead me on a journey that would lead to me becoming a member of the Romanian Church,”
Kingsnorth told the Basilica News Agency.
“I felt both joyful and peaceful afterwards … and cold! But a stronger sense that I had arrived somewhere I was meant to be. My reception into the Church has been a great privilege, and the [Romanian] community here in Ireland has been so welcoming to me and my family,” the writer said.
Father Tudor Ghi??, who baptized Kingsnorth, recalls that he impressed upon the famous writer that being a Christian is a never-ending work that should bring spiritual joy, deeper than the initial feelings of enthusiasm upon finding Orthodoxy.
On his own website, Kingsnorth writes that he was on a long spiritual search that led him through Zen Buddhism, Taoism, mythology, Sufism, traditionalism, Wicca, and various other practices. However, something was always missing.
He writes:
Then, in 2020, as the world was turned upside down, so was I. Unexpectedly, and initially against my will, I found myself being pulled determinedly towards Christianity. It’s a long story, which I might tell one day. Suffice it to say that I started the year as an eclectic eco-pagan with a long-held, unformed ache in my heart, and ended it a practicing Christian, the ache gone and replaced by the thing that, all along, I turned out to have been looking for. In January 2021 I was baptised and received into the Eastern Orthodox Church. I don’t know where the path leads from here, but at last I know how to walk it.
Rod Dreher, an Orthodox author and admirer of Kingsnorth, who once recommended him to read Kyriacos Markide’s The Mountain of Silence, writes that,
“Paul is different. He sees the emptiness of our mechanical civilization with much wiser and more searching eyes than Houellebecq, but he also has hope, because even before he was a Christian, Paul believed in the sacred. He sensed the presence of the divine immanent in nature. He only needed to make contact with the Source.”
In September, OrthoChristian reported that Orthodox actor and musician Jonathan Jackson moved to Ireland to help support the newly-established Monastery of the Life-Giving Spring Romanian Orthodox Monastery in Shannonbridge.
https://journeytoorthodoxy.com/2021/06/noted-british-author-paul-kingsworth-baptized-at-orthodox-monastery-in-ireland/
JTO2
<>
Saint Sincheall, Abbot of Killeigh, Ireland (+5th ce.)
26 March
5th century. Sincheall, an early Roman convert of Saint Patrick (f.d. March 17), was abbot-founder of the monastery and school at Killeigh, Offaly, Ireland, where he had 150 monks under his direction. The community flourished until the 16th century (Benedictines, D'Arcy, McManus, Montague, Sullivan, Tommasini).
St. Sinell or Senchell. said to be the first to be baptised by St. Patrick. He lived as a hermit in Clane, Co. Kildare afterwards founding a community in the present parish of Killeigh, Co. Offaly. Killeigh is derived from Cill Achaidh the original name. Two saints of this name resided at Killeigh.
The Martyrlology of Donegal has this verse about St. Senchell:
The men of heaven, the men of earth, a surrounding host, thought that the day of judgement was the death of Seancheall. There came not, there will not come from Adam, one more austere, more strict in piety; there came not, there will not come, all say it, another saint more welcome to the men of heaven.
And from the Annals of the Four Masters
Page 137 http://celt.ucc.ie/online/T100005A.html
1] The family of Patrick of the prayers,
2] who had good Latin,
3] I remember; no feeble court were they,
4] their order, and their names.
5] Sechnall, his bishop without fault;
6] Mochta after him his priest;
7] Bishop Erc his sweet spoken Judge;
8] his champion, Bishop Maccaeirthinn; [the Saint above]
9] Benen, his psalmist;
10] and Coemhan, his chamberlain;
11] Sinell his bell ringer,
12] and Aithcen his true cook;
<>
Western Europe was the home of many venerable Orthodox Saints, such as St. Patrick, St. Ita, St. Declan, St. Ia, St. Aidan, St. Hilda etc.
For the first thousand years after the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, Rome was a faithful part of the Orthodox Church, and Western Europe was the home of many venerable Orthodox Saints, such as St. Patrick, St. Declan, St. Ia, St. Aidan, St. Hilda, St. Columba, St. Ita, St. Ursula, St. Olaf, St. Sunniva, St. Ambrose, St. Hillary, St. Vincent, St. Gregory, St. Benedict, and many others. All of these Saints — as well as their prayers and liturgies — are fully Orthodox, and continue to be beloved by Orthodox Christians today.
https://orthochristian.com/143205.html
<>
Saint Aidan 1st Bishop of Lindisfarne, England (+651)
In the 7th century, the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria fluctuated between Christian and pagan monarchs. One of their great Christian kings was Saint Oswald of Northumbria. He converted to Christianity in his early youth while he was in Dál Riata, the Western area of Scotland where many Irish people lived in those times. It was in this area that the famous Iona monastery was located. Saint Oswald held Iona in high regard and so when he became king he sent a messenger to Iona to request one of their monks to be sent to Northumbria for the purpose of converting pagans and instructing the Christians to the high standards of excellence that Iona was known for. The abbot at that time was the fifth abbot of Iona, Saint Ségéne mac Fiachnaí, and he selected Saint Aidan for this mission. Saint Oswald gave Saint Aidan a monastery in a place called Lindisfarne and Saint Aidan was followed by many other Irish monks to Northumbria.
As he spent an important part of his life in England, Saint Aidan is mentioned multiple times in Saint Bede’s ‘Ecclesiastical History of the English People.’ In Book III, Chapter V, Saint Aidan is described in this way:
Chapter V
OF THE LIFE OF BISHOP AIDAN. [A.D. 635.]
From the aforesaid island, and college of monks, was Aidan sent to instruct the English nation in Christ, having received the dignity of a bishop at the time when Segenius, abbot and priest, presided over that monastery; whence, among other instructions for life, he left the clergy a most salutary example of abstinence or continence; it was the highest commendation of his doctrine, with all men, that he taught no otherwise than he and his followers had lived; for he neither sought nor loved any thing of this world, but delighted in distributing immediately among the poor whatsoever was given him by the kings or rich men of the world. He was wont to traverse both town and country on foot, never on horseback, unless compelled by some urgent necessity; and wherever in his way he saw any, either rich or poor, he invited them, if infidels, to embrace the mystery of the faith or if they were believers, to strengthen them in the faith, and to stir them up by words and actions to alms and good works.
His course of life was so different from the slothfulness of our times, that all those who bore him company, whether they were shorn monks or laymen, were employed in meditation, that is, either in reading the Scriptures, or learning psalms. This was the daily employment of himself and all that were with him, wheresoever they went; and if it happened, which was but seldom, that he was invited to eat with the king, he went with one or two clerks, and having taken a small repast, made haste to be gone with them, either to read or write. At that time, many religious men and women, stirred up by his example, adopted the custom of fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays, till the ninth hour, throughout the year, except during the fifty days after Easter. He never gave money to the powerful men of the world, but only meat, if he happened to entertain them; and, on the contrary, whatsoever gifts of money he received from the rich, he either distributed them, as has been said, to the use of the poor, or bestowed them in ransoming such as had been wrong. fully sold for slaves. Moreover, he afterwards made many of those he had ransomed his disciples, and after having taught and instructed them, advanced them to the order of priesthood.
It is reported, that when King Oswald had asked a bishop of the Scots to administer the word of faith to him and his nation, there was first sent to him another man of more austere disposition, who, meeting with no success, and being unregarded by the English people, returned home, and in an assembly of the elders reported, that he had not been able to do any good to the nation he had been sent to preach to, because they were uncivilized men, and of a stubborn and barbarous disposition. They, as is testified, in a great council seriously debated what was to be done, being desirous that the nation should receive the salvation it demanded, and grieving that they had not received the preacher sent to them. Then said Aidan, who was also present in the council, to the priest then spoken of, “I am of opinion, brother, that you were more severe to your unlearned hearers than you ought to have been and did not at first, conformably to the apostolic rule, give them the milk of more easy doctrine, till being by degrees nourished with the word of God, they should be capable of greater perfection, and be able to practice God’s sublimer precepts.” Having heard these words, all present began diligently to weigh what he had said, and presently concluded, that he deserved to be made a bishop, and ought to be sent to instruct the incredulous and unlearned; since he was found to be endued with singular discretion, which is the mother of other virtues, and accordingly being ordained, they sent him to their friend, King Oswald, to preach; and he, as time proved, afterwards appeared to possess all other virtues, as well as the discretion for which he was before remarkable.
Chapters XIV-XVII tell us about several of the most noteable miracles and good deeds of Saint Aidan, including miracles associated with one of his relics which was a post that he was leaning on at the time of his death. On two occasions it did not burn in fire and chips from it caused miraculous cures.
<>
Saint Finan 2nd Bishop of Lindisfarne, England (+661)
Saint Aidan’s successor as Abbot of Lindisfarne was Saint Finan who was also sent from Iona. His abbacy was a time in which the good work of Saint Aidan was continued on and many more converts to Christianity were made. A great enemy of the Christian Anglo-Saxons was their fellow Anglo-Saxon, but pagan, King Penda, king of the Mercians. He made frequent wars with them and so it was a great acheivement for the Christian kingdoms when King Penda’s son converted to Christianity! The son’s name was King Peada, king of the Middle Angles. He was baptised by Saint Finan. After this, he supported the conversion of his people. Furthermore, King Sigebert, king of the East Saxons, was preached to by King Oswy, the Christian king of Bernicia and Northumbria. King Sigebert decided to convert and Saint Finan also baptised him.
Saint Finan sent Saint Cedd, one of the great Anglo-Saxon saints to preach to these nations and Saint Finan ordained him as bishop of the East Saxons. With the baptism of these two kings and the ordination of this saintly bishop, Saint Finan of Lindisfarne was a central figure in the conversion of the Middle Angles and the East Saxons.
It is also during the abbacy of Saint Finan that the Easter dating controversy began to become an issue. This is related to the Gregorian missions which had been sent from Rome with their dating method. Christians using this method had now arrived further north and encountered the other method of calculation. The tensions arose at this point but would not reach their culmination for a few more years.
<>
Saint Colmán 3rd Bishop of Lindisfarne (+664)
It is during the abbacy of Saint Colmán, also sent from Iona to take over Lindisfarne, that the Easter dating controversy had to be resolved in Northumbria. An impossible situation had emerged as King Oswy was celebrating Easter in accordance with the calculation method of Iona and Lindisfarne whereas his wife, Queen Eanfleda, was celebrating Easter according to the other method because she had been brought up in Kent which used the Roman method. The Synod of Whitby was called in 664 and ultimately it was decided that Northumbria would follow the Roman method.
Saint Colmán left Lindisfarne with those monks who were disappointed with the result of the synod. He returned to Iona and then to Ireland where he founded the great School of Mayo which was also known as Mayo of the Saxons because of the Anglo-Saxons who came with him. This is covered in Book IV, Chapter IV of ‘Ecclesiastical History of the English People.’ The most notable of these Anglo-Saxon followers of Saint Colmán was Saint Gerald of Mayo who became the next abbot. This new monastery was on a small island called Inishbofin.
<>
Saint Tuda 4th Bishop of Lindisfarne, England (+664)
A consequence of the Synod of Whitby was the splitting of the position of Abbot of Lindisfarne and Bishop of Lindisfarne. For Saints Aidan, Finan and Colmán, they assumed and held each position simultaneously. After the departure of Saint Colmán, Saint Tuda became the Bishop of Lindisfarne. He was also Irish but he was from southern Ireland which in large part was following the Roman method. At the same time, an Anglo-Saxon called Saint Eata was made Abbot of Lindisfarne on the recommendation of the departing Saint Colmán.
However Saint Tuda’s abbacy was extremely brief because the Yellow Plague began in the same year as the Synod of Whitby (664). He caught the plague and died within months of taking the position. This was the end of an era for Lindisfarne because instead of electing a new Bishop of Lindisfarne, a new jurisdiction was drawn and the Bishop of York became the bishop for an area that included Lindisfarne. This situation would last from 664 until 678 when Lindisfarne would again have a bishop centred there (the first of whom would be the aforementioned Saint Eata who was already the Abbot of Lindisfarne). 664 was the end of an era for Lindisfarne as it was no longer closely associated with Iona and Irish monks but it would have saintly Anglo-Saxon abbots in the future and continue the legacy that began with Saint Aidan.
<>
I read in Book V, Chapter XII of Saint Bede’s ‘Ecclesiastical History of the English People’ the story of a man from Northumbria who died but came back to life many hours later. He had a vision of the afterlife, including the torments of the sinful. Although he had been a layman with a family, after this he began a monastic life. It is related of him that:
He had a more private place of residence assigned him in that monastery, where he might apply himself to the service of his Creator in continual prayer. And as that place lay on the bank of the river, he was wont often to go into the same to do penance in his body, and many times to dip quite under the water, and to continue saying psalms or prayers in the same as long as he could endure it, standing still sometimes up to the middle, and sometimes to the neck in water; and when he went out from thence ashore, he never took off his cold and frozen garments till they grew warm and dry on his body. And when in the winter the half-broken pieces of ice were swimming about him, which he had himself broken, to make room to stand or dip himself in the river, those who beheld it would say, “It is wonderful, brother Dritheim (for so he was called), that you are able to endure such violent cold; ” he simply answered, for he was a man of much simplicity and in different wit, “I have seen greater cold.” And when they said, “It is strange that you will endure such austerity;” he replied, “I have seen more austerity.” Thus he continued, through an indefatigable desire of heavenly bliss, to subdue his aged body with daily fasting, till the day of his being called away; and thus he forwarded the salvation of many by his words and example.
<>
Marriage & children
Saint Sophrony of Essex, England (+1993)
The aim of marriage is for the couple to collaborate with God, so that they will give birth to sons and daughters of God. Prayer is needed when choosing. In order for them to make a good choice, much prayer is needed that the suitable person may be given for this purpose.
When someone marries, he does so in order that his wife may be his helper for salvation. He must show love, and they must struggle for their salvation.
Today it is a privilege not to have children. Parents suffer martyrdom. When the children grow up, society takes them. Parents idolise their children. They live their whole lives in them and identify with them. This is a mistake. Through marriage the husband takes the wife as a helper, so that they may achieve perfection [theosis]. Children are gifts from God. Often the children bring anxiety and the nous is distracted from God. Nature itself (God’s creative, life-giving and providential energy) will bring it about that there are not many children; it will grow weak and it will not be possible for many children to be born. When people marry and God gives children, they should glorify God. If God does not give children, they should be calm and not worry.
It is not a matter of giving birth to beings for historical reality, but of giving birth to persons for the reality that transcends history, that they may enter Paradise. Many give birth to children who become fodder for hell.
Married couples must learn self-emptying. They must give way to one another. Then they learn to accept another existence in their own existence.
The upbringing of children begins from the day of the wedding. The couple ought to live with prayer and the fear of God. When a mother prays when she is pregnant, the embryo feels the energy of the prayer. When a child is conceived the parents ought not to be angry. When it is born, they ought to pray; they should also pray when they have the child in their arms. Whatever the mother does, she should do it with prayer. She should make the sign of the cross over the child when it is asleep, and pray when she breastfeeds it or gives it food.
The fact that many children nowadays have unkind instincts is because they were not breastfed by their mothers. (When a woman asked whether she should feed her baby with her own milk or with cows’ milk, I replied: “Who gave birth to it – you or the cow?”)
The aim is not simply that the infant should partake of the Most Pure Mysteries, but that it should live in an atmosphere of prayer at home. The atmosphere of the home should be one of prayer. The parents ought to inspire the children with their love for Christ and the All-Holy Virgin.
When the children are small, there ought to be rules at home, which should gradually give way as the children grow up. Then they are given freedom. We should also give them presents. The children may feel that they live in a rather old-fashioned way when they live life in the Church. The important thing, however, is for the children not to become atheists. Atheism is worse even than carnal sin.
The aim in bringing up children is that they may acquire personal love for Christ and the All-Holy Virgin. We ought not to advise them simply to become good people. Also, we have to help them to stay in the Orthodox Church, not merely to avoid sin. The fact that they stay within Orthodoxy is a great thing, and may be the cause of salvation, even if they have made some mistakes in their lives. Children ought to be inspired by love for Christ and the All-Holy Virgin.
Constructive leisure activities are essential for those who live in the world. It is preferable for children to get out of the house rather than to stay at home and watch television.
If we want our children to live in modern cities in the same way as we lived in the past, we will drive them mad. There are children who seem all right when they are small, but when they grown up they lose their reason.
It is preferable for children not to partake of the Body and Blood of Christ rather than to partake under compulsion from their parents, without wanting to themselves. If the mother prays during the child’s conception, pregnancy and birth, she gives it spiritual birth as well as physical birth – she gives birth to a spiritual being. There were many atheists in Russia, but the worst atheists were the children of priests. We must make sure that we bring up children in such a way that they do not regard Orthodoxy as difficult and burdensome.
Parents ought not to neglect their children much on account of services and sermons. Also, many Greek parents in England do not allow their children to go round with English children. This is a bad thing. The child has to learn how to live in a community with different people.
The general view on bringing up children is as follows: care is needed prior to marriage. The choice of a suitable spouse must be made with prayer. The couple ought to begin their life with zeal, and with prayer that God might enlighten the children that will be born so that they become His own children. As they bring up their children they ought, with discretion, to give them freedom and allow them to go on their way. We should not use the word ‘forbid’, even as regards leisure activities. How they behave in secondary matters is less important than whether they love Christ. So that they may love Christ, we ought not to talk to them psychologically and theologically in stilted language, but to pray inwardly in our heart. When the parents have God’s grace within them, the children sense it.
There should be open discussions within the home. Also, the atmosphere of prayer ought to prevail, not just an atmosphere of words. We should form our children. And formation, according to the Church, means giving form – the form of Christ.
It is good for children to have contact and meetings with lots of young people. Because in this way they will realise that relations with the opposite sex are not confined to the carnal level, as happens in marriage.
In the past matchmaking was prevalent. Now personal acquaintance predominates. It is not so important what happens, but whatever happens must be done with prayer.
Freedom does not mean “Do what you like”, but “Do what you like within limits”. In other words, we discuss with the children; we do not express surprise and amazement at every bad thing they do. And in some secondary matters we leave them to do as they like. If a child wants to go to a party, we should tell him or her: “Pray, and do whatever God enlightens you to do.” And we should add: “I shall not hold it against you if you go to the party after praying.” In this way we develop their sense of responsibility and their relationship with Christ. We teach them to pray to God about everything they do.
Freedom plays a major role in bringing up children.
<>
Saints Elvan and Mydwyn, missionaries to Great Britain (+2nd century)
1 January
2nd century. Elvan and Mydwyn are said to have been the Britons sent by King Saint Lucius to Pope Saint Eleutherius to petition for missionaries to be sent to Britain (Benedictines).
<>
1000 Martyrs of Lichfield, England (+304)
2 January
Died 304. Many Christians (possibly about 1000) suffered at Lichfield (Lyke-field, the field of dead bodies) in England during the persecution of Diocletian.
<>
Saint Sophrony of Essex, England (+1993) on the Love and Pain of the Holy Virgin Mary Mother of God
Our Holy Virgin Mary Mother of God (Theotokos) was pained much more than all other women, much more than all other mothers in the world, because no one else was struck, to no one else was done evil like that which was done to Her, the greatest evil of the whole world. They crucified Her Son.
And seeing Him upon the Cross, She was pained so much in her heart...Because of this She can understand every painful existence, and She suffers together with every human who is pained, because She exactly knows what "pain" means. When the soul is seized by the love of God, then, O, how gracious, beloved and joyous is everything! Love, however, goes together with sorrow, and the deeper the love is, even greater is the sorrow.
The Holy Virgin Mary Mother of God never sinned, not even in thought, and She never lost grace, and even She had such great sorrows. When she stood beside the Cross, then Her sorrow was impassable like the ocean, and the pains of Her soul were incomparably greater than the pain of Adam after the expulsion from Paradise, because Her love was incomparably greater than the love of Adam in Paradise.
And though She survived it, She survived only with divine power, with the strength of the Lord, because His will was for the Theotokos to later see the Resurrection, and later, after His Ascension, that She might remain the consolation and joy of the Apostles and of the new Christian people. We do not reach the fullness of the love of the Theotokos, and because of this we cannot fully conceive of the depth of Her sorrow.
Her love was perfect. She loved her Son and God incomparably, but She also loved the people with great love. And what did She sense, then, when they whom She herself loved so greatly and whom She so greatly pained for their salvation, when She saw them crucifying her beloved Son?
This we cannot conceive of, because our love for God and man is small. However, the love of Panagia was incomparable and inconceivable, thus incomparable also was her pain, which remains inconceivable to us.
The Theotokos did not relate in the Scriptures Her thoughts, nor her love for Her Son and God, nor the sorrows of Her soul at the hour of the Crucifixion, because even then they couldn't conceive of it. Her love for God was stronger and more fervent than the love of the Cherubim and Seraphim, and all the powers of the Angels and Archangels were amazed with Her.
http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2018/02/elder-sophrony-of-essex-on-love-and.html
<>
Saint Rumon οf Tavistock, England (+6th ce.)
4 January
Born c.AD 515.
Rumon is a saint of some controversy. He is chiefly the patron of Tavistock in Devon, but also apparently of several churches in Cornwall and Brittany where he is variously called Ruan or Ronan. It is not completely certain that the character referred to in each was the same man.
According to the relic lists of Glastonbury, Prince Rumon was a brother of St. Tugdual and, therefore, one of the sons of King Hoel I Mawr (the Great) of Brittany. Tradition says he was educated in Britain-probably Wales-but that he later accompanied St. Breaca on her return from Ireland to her Cornish homeland. Like Tudgual, he had presumably travelled to Ireland to learn the Holy Scriptures. He is said to have lived in a hermitage on Inis Luaidhe, near Iniscathy, and was eventually raised to the episcopacy. In Cornwall, he founded churches at Ruan Lanihorne (on the River Fal), Ruan Major & Minor (near the Lizard Peninsula), a defunct chapel in Redruth and at Romansleigh in Devon; but he quickly moved on to Cornouaille in Brittany, with St. Senan as his companion.
Rumon met up with St. Remigius in Rheims, which would place him in Brittany around the early 6th century, the probable time of his birth if he was a son of Hoel Mawr. At any rate, he settled first at St. Rénan and then moved on to the Forest of Nevez, overlooking the Bay of Douarnenez. He seems to have acquired a wife, named Ceban, and children at some point. He may be identical with Ronan Ledewig (the Breton), father of SS. Gargunan and Silan. His lady wife took a distinct dislike to Rumon's preaching amongst the local pagan inhabitants and considered him to be neglecting his domestic duties. The situation became so bad that she plotted to have Rumon arrested.
Hiding their little daughter in a chest, Ceban fled to the Royal Court at Quimper and sought an audience with the Prince of Cornouaille-supposedly Gradlon, though he lived some years earlier. She claimed that her husband was a werewolf who ravaged the local sheep every fortnight and had now killed their baby girl! Rumon was arrested, but the sceptical monarch tested him by exposing the prisoner to his hunting dogs. They would have immediately reacted to any sign of wolf, but Rumon remained unharmed and was proclaimed a holy man. His daughter was found, safe and well, whilst his wife appears to have received only the lightest of punishments. Despite this, her troublemaking persisted and Rumon was forced to abandon her and journey eastward towards Rennes. He eventually settled at Hilion in Domnonia, where he lived until his death.
There was much quarrelling over Rumon's holy body after his demise. His companion had thought to keep one of his arms as a relic and brutally cut it off. A disturbing dream soon made him put it back though. Later, the Princes of Cornouaille, Rennes and Vannes all claimed the honour of burying him in their own province. The matter was decided by allowing him to be drawn on a wagon by two three-year-old oxen who had never been yoked. Where they rested, he would be interred. However, the body would not allow itself to be lifted onto the cart, except by the Prince of Cornouaille; so it was no surprise when the cattle chose Locronan in the Forest of Nevez, near his former home.
It is unclear when Rumon's relics left Locronan-despite the 16th century shrine still to be seen there today. It was suggested by Baring-Gould & Fisher that they were removed to safety in Britain during the Viking coastal attacks of AD 913 & 14. Tradition says they were taken to Quimper, thence to Ruan Lanihorne in Cornwall. In AD 960, however, Earl Ordgar of Devon founded his great Abbey of Tavistock, on the edge of Dartmoor. He translated the body of Rumon into the abbey church with much pomp and ceremony and there it remained, working miracles for nearly six hundred years: until the Dissolution of the Monastery in the late 1530s. Some relics, however, may have made their way back to Brittany, by the 13th century, including, perhaps, his head.
<>
Saint Peter, Abbot in Canterbury, England (+608)
December 30
Died c. 606-608; feast at Saint Augustine's in Canterbury is kept on December 30. Saint Peter was a monk at Saint Andrew's Monastery in Rome until, in 596, he was sent by Pope Saint Gregory the Great to England with the first group of missionaries under Saint Augustine of Canterbury. In 602, Peter became the first abbot of SS. Peter and Paul (afterwards Saint Augustine's) at Canterbury.
Saint Peter was probably the monk delegated by Augustine to take news to the pope of the first Anglo-Saxon conversions. He then brought back Saint Gregory's replies to Augustine's questions. Later Peter was dispatched on a mission to Gaul, but was drowned in the English Channel at Ambleteuse (Amfleet) near Boulogne. According to the Venerable Bede, the local inhabitants buried him in an "unworthy place" but, as the result of a prodigy of mysterious light appearing over his grave at night, translated his relics to a church in Boulogne with suitable honour.
<>
A PRAYER OF SAINT ALFRED, KING OF THE ENGLAND
To be found at the end of King Alfred's translation of 'On the Consolation of Philosophy'.
O Lord God Almighty, Maker and Ruler of all creation, in the name of Thy mighty mercy, through the sign of the Holy Cross and the virginity of Holy Mary, the obedience of Holy Michael and the love and merits of all Thy Saints, I beseech Thee, guide me better than I have deserved of Thee; direct me according to Thy will and the needs of my soul better than I myself am able; strengthen my mind for Thy will and the needs of my soul; make me steadfast against the temptations of the devil; keep foul lust and all evil far from me; shield me from my enemies, seen and unseen; teach me to do Thy holy will, that I may inwardly love Thee above all things with clean thought and chaste body. For Thou art my Maker and my Redeemer, my life, my comfort, my trust and my hope. Praise and glory be to Thee now and forever and unto the endless ages. Amen.
http://www.orthodoxengland.org.uk/athapray.htm
<>
Teachings of Saint Sophrony of Essex, England (+1993)
We should pray God to give inspiration. God enlightens everyone, especially mothers, and gives them inspiration. This is the only way we can bring up children.
Some people speak about ‘marital priesthood’ and assert that in married life one lives the threefold dignity of the Lord. This is speculative theology. The threefold dignity of the Lord (Prophet, King and High Priest) is lived through repentance. Otherwise all those things that are said are a theology of the passions.
In the Old Testament God made known His will negatively through the law, through ‘not’ and ‘no’ – “Thou shalt not kill” and so on. The people were tormented and lost hope because they could not put it into practice, and they cried out: “Come, Thou Messiah, and save us.” In this way the law became “a tutor to bring us to Christ”.
In the Old Testament childlessness was considered a curse because all women wanted to become mothers and grandmothers of Christ, the Messiah. In the New Testament things have changed, because now we live the Messiah, Christ.
God did not create masters and slaves but sons in relation to a Father. All those who become sons of God by grace afterwards also become spiritual fathers of Christians.
God glorified the All-Holy Virgin and kept her in silence. The mystery of the Theotokos is a mystery of silence. For that reason God did not enlighten people to talk about her natural life. However, the Church glorified her.
A saint’s word opens the hearer’s nous, and with this word he can preach a whole sermon.
God’s revelation is not visions, but the advent of divine grace, which comes in stages.
Christ said something once and this word remains for ever. We realise this from the saints as well. They heard a word once and they kept it for the whole of their lives. In this way we also comprehend the energy of God’s word.
For someone to do missionary work in an Orthodox way, he has to have the Holy Spirit within him, but he must also assimilate the culture of the place where he is. Then he can make a contribution.
https://thoughtsintrusive.wordpress.com/2015/07/10/various-words-from-elder-sophrony-of-essex/
<>
The Prayer of St. Aidan
"Leave me alone with God as much as may be.
As the tide draws the waters close in upon the shore,
Make me an island, set apart,
alone with you, God, holy to you.
Then with the turning of the tide
prepare me to carry your presence to the busy world beyond,
the world that rushes in on me
till the waters come again and fold me back to you."
These are the words of the Holy Bishop and Wonderworker of Lindisfarne, Aidan. May we taste of the closeness he had with Christ.
https://orthodoxy-rainbow.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-prayer-of-st-aidan-video.html
JL.H.
<>
Saint Pega of Mercia, England (+719)
8 January
Born in Mercia, England; died in Rome, Italy, c. 719. Saint Pega, the virgin sister of Saint Guthlac of Croyland, had her hermitage in the Fens (Peakirk = Pega's church in Northhamptonshire) near that of her brother. When he realised that his death was near (714), he invited her to his funeral. In order to get there, Pega is said to have sailed down the Welland, and cured a blind man from Wisbech en route. Guthlac bequeathed to her his psalter and scourge, both of which she gave to the monastery that grew up around his hermitage. After Guthlac's death, she is said to have made a pilgrimage to Rome and to have died there. Ordericus Vitalis claimed that her relics survived in an unnamed Roman church in his day and that miracles occurred there.
https://celticsaints.org/2022/0108d.html
<>
AN INTERVIEW WITH FR. JOHN MUSTHER OF CUMBRIA, ENGLAND
“Christ Won the Battle and Made my Heart Orthodox!”
Father John Musther, an Orthodox Englishman, serves in the Orthodox missionary parish of Sts. Bega, Mungo and Herbert in Keswick, Cumbria, North West England. His community, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, is part of the ancient tradition of the Orthodox Church. The congregation is a living witness of the truth of Holy Orthodoxy to the people living nearby.
In the first millennium, before the Norman Conquest, Church in Britain and in Ireland was in full communion with the universal Orthodox Church, both East and West. Then the differences between Eastern and Western Church were relatively minor, most of them limited to local traditions. Yet striving for holiness was the same.
During that time the peoples of Britain and Ireland gave the world thousands of saints, men and women, kings and queens, martyrs, bishops and abbots, hermits and missionaries. The whole land of Britain retains the memory of the ancient saints of these islands. A great number of early shrines and holy sites are scattered all over Britain and Ireland.
Cumbria, where Fr. John lives, is one of the largest and least densely populated counties in England. The Lake District, part of Cumbria, is one of the most picturesque regions in England, with breath-taking views from the hills. The Lake District is justly famous for many beautiful lakes, hills and forests, and for centuries was inspiring poets and writers, musicians and painters.
In the first millennium Cumbria developed rather separately from the rest of England, and had more links with Wales than with the seven historic Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Christian life of its inhabitants had been influenced by many traditions - Roman, Celtic (Welsh, Irish and Scottish), Saxon and even Norse. Material traces of all of these can be found today.
The Church tradition holds that St. Patrick, Apostle of the Irish, was born here. This region draws people by its magic beauty and tranquillity—and by its very rich early Christian heritage. Thanks be to God, that the revival of Orthodox Faith and rediscovering of nearly forgotten local saints and shrines is becoming a reality because of people like Fr. John Musther.
* * *
—Fr. John, how did you become Orthodox?
—I met Fr. Sophrony (Sakharov). I was a student at University College London reading for a law degree. It was early 1961 if I remember correctly. At any rate Fr. Sophrony had only recently arrived at the Old Rectory at Tolleshunt Knights, Essex. I knew just a little about Christianity through the Church of England but nothing about Orthodoxy. On Sunday afternoon after the Ninth Hour he invited me into his study while the tea was being made and asked me: what was the purpose of the Christian life? He spoke so gently and when I said that I didn't know, he simply said, 'the purpose of the Christian life is to ask the Lord Jesus to send the Holy Spirit into our hearts that he may cleanse us and make us more like Christ'.
I sat there dumbfounded. My hair stood on end. I had never heard of such a thing. I had no questions. I knew that what he had told me was the truth of his own heart. The only response was to be still and receive the precious gift he was giving me.
His statement was a complete summary of the Scriptures. It was the Word of God to me. It changed the direction of my life. The power of that word still urges me on.
He told me to read, “The Undistorted Image.” Again I felt completely poleaxed. It was like death. How could a man live like this?
I struggled with the Greek culture of the churches at that time. It was also many years before I could overcome the Protestant spirit that I found in me. Then one day I woke up and felt all my objections had fallen away. Christ had won the battle and had made my heart Orthodox. I discovered I was living near the late Fr. Sergei Hackel's parish in Lewes in Sussex. He prepared myself and my wife Jenny for Chrismation in 2003.
—Please, tell us about your parish.
—The two of us moved to Cumbria in 2007 but not before I had been made a deacon with the mandate to see if there were any Orthodox in the area. We had bought a small cottage in Keswick which needed a lot of refurbishment. As the daily offices had already become part of our life we had the attic made into a chapel frescoed from top to bottom by (prominent English Orthodox icon painter) Aidan Hart. The painting was finished before we could move in: it was as though the Saints had moved in before us. (www.orthodoxcumbria.org/ the One Way of Holiness in Christ/ The Living Tradition in the British Isles)
We hadn't far to go before we met our first Orthodox, just 80 yards to the nearest chip shop. We discovered that Orthodox families ran fish and chip shops throughout the top of the county. We had an instant congregation. But the chapel was no longer big enough. Happily for us the local Methodist church had just closed their chapel in the village Braithwaite just two miles down the road. It was perfect for our needs. We were allowed to make it into an Orthodox church for Sunday liturgies while still using the first chapel for Vespers and Matins.
The Orthodox who first came to us were from Cyprus but soon we had English people also asking to be Chrismated. From the very beginning there was a demand to have a liturgy every Sunday celebrated in English. We have a good number of visitors from round the county but a good number more from those who come on holiday to this very popular location. The buildings include a social and kitchen area so after the liturgy we can all sit down and eat and talk. People are often reluctant to leave!
We are very fortunate in having people who are willing to do things. The ladies took in hand the refurbishing the bedrooms from what had been a youth center. So now we can have people to stay. We have been blessed by having a number of families and their children. It is so wonderful that they ask for baptism. Our numbers are 30-50 most of the year round.
The Chapel is on the village green and in summer people sit out in the open air; the children run around and enjoy the village swing. Just higher up is a splendid mountain pool. The water is cold and at Theophany there are only a few who jump in. But in summer it is a glorious spot for adult baptisms.
—You wrote a unique book: The Living Tradition of the Saints and Significance of their Teaching for Us. It contains over 350 pages that reflect the wisdom of saints who lived in the Orthodox East as well as in the Orthodox West in the first centuries of Christianity. This is a fruit of labours, prayers and research of some forty-five years. Could you please tell us how this book was created?
—Fr. Sophrony gave me a letter of Introduction to visit Mount Athos. I stayed eleven days, which was no mean feat when the monastic life was at such a low ebb in 1963. But I had a big gap in my knowledge of what I call the Living Tradition. I had grasped that the Desert Fathers were the bedrock of this tradition. I knew two people like them, St. Silouan and Father Sophrony. But what about the 1500 years in between? In those days (1962) there was virtually nothing in print in English about Orthodoxy. But I had regular access to the great library of Chevetogne and read everything I could, often in French. I started filling the gap. It took something like forty years to complete.
When people found out about what I was doing they were keen to hear, especially about what the Fathers taught about prayer. Then they asked me to write things down. This is how the book came about. It has proved very helpful for people to get an overview of the one way of holiness in Christ. It has to be read again and again. It has never been advertised. I prefer it that way. It is also the story of our conversion to Orthodoxy.
—You have also initiated two very important projects online. One is a British Saints Synaxarion, for which you selected various kinds of information on great many saints of Britain and Ireland: lives of saints, holy sites associated with them, iconography, hymnography, with many photographs and illustrations. One can search the Synaxarion website (www.synaxarion.org.uk) using different criteria: rank, feast-day, icons, troparia and kontakia, holy places, miracles, pilgrimage sites. It is an enormous piece of work. The second project is Early Christian Ireland: here you provide information and photographs of all early Christian sites in Ireland up to 1100, including holy wells, trees and mountains linked to the memory of a saint, Celtic high crosses, round towers, tombs etc. How have you been collecting information on the saints of the British Isles?
—One year we found ourselves in Ireland. We visited some of the holy sites there. I was astounded how many and how rich these places are. But it had been difficult to get information about many of them. So I started making a database so others could find their way also. (www.earlychristianireland.org). People have been very appreciative. Sometimes people ask me to plot for them a two week visitation of holy sites for their vacation!
We have been round Ireland ourselves twice—but there are still gaps in our knowledge. But by now we had became fervent hunters of remote islands, beehive huts and the tombs of the saints. I cannot tell you how excited we got. How close we seemed to these Desert Fathers.
People asked us to “do” Wales, Cornwall, Scotland and the rest of England. But I wouldn't have missed the experience for anything. We feel we have so many friends who surround us, pray for us and encourage us every day.
When we had our chapel frescoed we had our local Cumbrian saints in large size under the central deisis, namely St. Mungo, St. Cuthbert, St. Bega and St. Herbert. We dedicated our Community to Saints Bega, Mungo and Herbert. Around the other three sides of the walls we have St. Anthony, St. Poemen, St. Macarius, St. Barsanuphius, St. John Climacus, St. Isaac the Syrian; St. Maximus, St. Hesychius, St. Gregory of Sinai, St. Simeon the New Theologian, St. Gregory Palamas and St. Silouan.
These are our “clouds of witnesses.” We sing Vespers and Matins every day. We are so happy tacked on to the “end.” Knowing where we are, we know we are truly being saved every day.
—In the illustrated articles on these saints and shrines that you put on the parish website (http://www.orthodoxcumbria.org/) you mention that you and your matushka did visit most of these places yourselves. It must have brought great inspiration and comfort to your soul. Looking at these photographs alone, one can say these are truly “holy landscapes” which transform the soul of nearly each traveller… Who are your favourite saints? What are your favourite holy places?
—We have already mentioned the Saints. Choosing favourite places is hard but some things stand out: the cave of St. Colman Mac Duach (Colman of Kilmacduagh) on the Burren Co Clare, the cave of St. Ninian in Galloway, and the cave of St. Columba at Ellary in Argyll; the island of Illauntannig off the north side of the Dingle Peninsula (county Kerry), the monastic island of Illaunlochan in Portmagee (Co Kerry), Church Island off Waterville (Co Kerry), St. Macdara's Island off Galway; the seastacks of the Orkneys, the shrine of St. Issui in the Black mountains (near Abergavenny, Wales), St. Moluag's church in remote Eynort on the Isle of Skye, St. Triduana's chapel on Papa Westray, Orkneys. All these are an unsurpassable testimony to serious solitude and prayer. We have made 17 booklets of 40 or so pages covering the entire British Isles detailing holy sites wherever we went.
What was then needed was a Synaxarion of saints in the British Isles so that many of them could return to liturgical remembrance in our services. Of course there was already in existence the extremely important Calendar of Saints published by the Fellowship of St. John the Baptist. But the names need to be backed up by information about the saints in easy accessible form. What better to have it all together on a website devoted to this purpose. So we selected all the saints who played an important part in the history of the church in each area. The saints instead of just appearing on a list are placed in a proper historical and geographical context. Indeed by having a “next” button the whole Synaxarion can be read from beginning to end in this way. This makes not only for a beautiful read but supplies abundant information. The final coup has been to include on each entry of the saint not only an icon where available but photographs of all holy sites relevant to each saint. This in turn will stimulate more visits to more holy sites and more pilgrimages. People can download what they want or be sent a printable version of the Calendar. We realize this is not quite the same as the older Synaxarion but technology has made it possible to do something which fits the bill getting to know and appreciate saints in a way we could never do before.
—Could you please talk a little about Cumbria, and offer a brief outline of the history of Orthodoxy in the county? Would you suggest pilgrimage sites the Orthodox faithful would benefit from visiting?
—The church came to Cumbria early. At least two chapels have been found on Hadrian's Wall, Vindolanda and Birdoswald, and Vindolanda may date even back into the fourth century. Just round the corner is Ardwall Island in Galloway where early Irish monks settled in the fifth century. St. Ninian worked out of Carlisle and could have founded the hermit caves of Ninekirks. St. Kentigern (St. Mungo) is said to have preached at Crosthwaite in Keswick. St. Cuthbert was a regular visitor to these western parts. St. Herbert his friend lived on his island in Derwentwater (situated on the territory of Keswick). St. Bega made her cell on the shores of Lake Bassenthwaite very near to Keswick. This is rich stuff for such a small area as Cumbria; and Keswick shows itself to have four saints! What more could we want?
—Is there a growing awareness of the ancient saints and shrines of these isles among the native residents of Cumbria and all Britain? What is your heroic parish currently undertaking in order to contribute to the restoration of the rich Orthodox heritage of your country?
—In 2007 we did an eight-day pilgrimage to the holy sites of Cumbria using the accommodation at Braithwaite. We hunted down holy wells and to our astonishment found seventy—a figure far higher than previous estimates though some are now lost. Astonishingly such density of wells in the northern area of Cumbria is a new revelation and makes it not far off the density of Wales or Cornwall. In 2014, we began a work of restoration and blessing of the wells. We hope to continue this in 2015 and beyond. At the moment we are writing up what is turning out be a lovely book on all the wells.
In the background here is a deeper question: if Orthodoxy is recently returning to this ancient area of Britain and reclaiming its saints and holy places, how can it be meaningful to reclaim the wells also? People can connect with saints, with (British) monastic sites (of which there are several in Cumbria), and with the great crosses (such as Bewcastle and Gosforth) But with wells? Are they not a cultural embarrassment? We have to answer that. Otherwise we are just making a romantic selection of the past which has little to do with reality. Cultural heritage in Cumbria is the county’s only remaining economic asset and here the Orthodox Church is seen to be preserving a very overlooked part of that heritage. We believe that awareness of the spiritual landscape of Cumbria will dramatically increase through pilgrimages, annual blessings of the wells, and of course through what we publish.
—How do you see the future of Orthodoxy here? Do the various Orthodox jurisdictions (Greek, Russian, Romanian, Antiochian and others) work together in this country?
—Did you know Cumbria was not part of England to the tenth and eleventh centuries? It was then swallowed up by the Western church just like the rest of the country. The voice of Orthodoxy has been submerged that long. People are deeply ignorant of it because they have no experience of it. It comes as something of a real shock when we came here.
The first thing has been to establish the liturgy every Sunday; the second thing is to have it in English. We must speak about our Fathers: the Greek speakers that we have saints they know nothing about; the English that they have saints they have all but forgotten about. The kingdom “works” through the prayers of the saints, the Gospel is liveable, and sanctity is possible. This is the core of Orthodoxy and it cannot ever change.
But the religious culture of England (and elsewhere) was turned away from the Mother of God, and all the Saints and the Angels. The communion of earth with heaven was met with denial as was the liturgy as a transforming reality. It lost the one way of holiness at the heart of the Living Tradition. People do not know what they have lost.
Orthodoxy must not add to this tragedy. Generations of young Orthodox have already been lost by lack of vision. Multiple jurisdictions wreak havoc with our witness. Where will we be in fifteen or twenty years time? Perhaps even slimmer than we are now, but hopefully more wise and aware.
Pray for us.
—It was a real pleasure to talk to you, Fr. John! Thank you for the wonderful interview! We wish you abundant blessings from God in all your labors! May He grant you strength for many years!
Dmitry Lapa
https://orthochristian.com/77852.html
<>
The Lorica of Gildas (9th century)
The Lorica (Breastplate) of Gildas is also known as the Lorica of Loding, and is found in the Book of Cerne.
Trinity in unity, preserve me.
Unity in Trinity, have mercy on me.
I pray,
preserve me from all dangers
which overwhelm me
like the waves of the sea,
so that neither mortality
nor the vanity of the world
may sweep me away this year.
And I also ask,
send the high, mighty hosts of heaven,
that they not abandon me
to be destroyed by enemies,
but defend me now
with their strong shields
and that the heavenly army
advance before me:
cherubim and seraphim by the thousands,
and archangels Michael and Gabriel, likewise,
I ask, send these living thrones,
principalities and powers and angels,
so that I may be strong,
defended against the flood of strong enemies
in the next battle.
May Christ, whose terror scares away the foul throngs,
make with me a strong covenant.
God the unconquerable guardian,
defend me on every side by your power.
Free all my limbs,
with your safe shield protecting each,
so that the fallen demons cannot attack
against my sides or pierce me with their darts.
I pray, Lord Jesus Christ, be my sure armor.
Cover me, therefore, O God, with your strong breastplate.
Cover me all in all with my five senses,
so that, from my soles to the top of the head,
in no member, without within, may I be sick;
that, from my body, life be not cast out
by plague, fever, weakness, suffering,
Until, with the gift of old age from God,
departing from the flesh, be free from stain,
and be able to fly to the heights,
and, by the mercy of God, be borne in joy
to the heavenly cool retreats of his kingdom.
Source: The Lorica of Gildas, also known as the Lorica of Loding from the Book of Cerne.
Source of this version: Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
Note: The Lorica of Loding continues after the section above to appeal to the saints for protection, and then to pray, individually, for protection for all the parts of the body. The remainder of the Lorica is presented below, based on the translation by Hugh Williams in Gildas: The Ruin of Britain … together with the Lorica of Gildas, 1899.
Patriarchs four, prophets four,
apostles, watchmen of the ship of Christ,
and all the athlete martyrs, I ask–
And charge also all virgins,
faithful widows, and confessors,
to surround me by their safety,
and every evil perish from me.
May Christ, whose terror scares away the foul throngs,
make with me a strong covenant.
God the unconquerable guardian,
defend me on every side by your power.
Free all my limbs,
with your safe shield protecting each,
so that the fallen demons cannot attack
against my sides, or pierce me with their darts.
Skull, head, hair and eyes,
forehead, tongue, teeth and their covering,
neck, breast, side, bowels,
waist, buttocks and both hands.
For the crown of my head with its hair,
be the helmet of salvation on my head;
for forehead, eyes, triform brain,
nose, lip, face, temple;
for chin, beard, eye-brows, ears,
cheeks, lower cheeks, internasal, nostrils;
for the pupils, irises, eyelashes, eyelids,
chin, breathing, cheeks, jaws;
for teeth, tongue, mouth, throat,
uvula, windpipe, bottom of tongue, nape;
for the middle of the head, for cartilage,
neck—you, kind One, be near for defense.
I pray, Lord Jesus Christ, by the nine orders of holy angels,
Lord, be my sure armor,
for my limbs, for my entrails,
that you may drive back from me the invisible
nails of stakes, which enemies fashion.
Cover me, therefore, O God, with strong breastplate,
along with shoulder blades, shoulders and arms.
Cover my elbows and elbow-joints and hands,
fists, palms, fingers with their nails.
Cover back-bone and ribs with their joints,
hind-parts, back, nerves and bones.
Cover surface, blood and kidneys,
haunches, buttocks with the thighs.
Cover hams, calves, thighs,
knee-caps, hocks and knees.
Cover ankles, shins and heels,
legs, feet with the rests of the soles.
Cover the branches that grow ten together,
with the toes and their nails ten.
Cover chest, sternum, the little breast,
nipple, stomach, navel.
Cover belly, reins, genitals,
and paunch, and vital parts also of the heart.
Cover the triangular liver and fat,
spleen, armpits with covering.
Cover stomach, chest with the lungs,
veins, sinews, gall-bladder with
Cover flesh, groin with the inner parts,
spleen with the winding intestines.
Cover bladder, fat and all
the numberless orders of joints.
Cover hairs, and the rest of my limbs,
whose names, may be, I have passed by.
Cover me all in all with my five senses,
and with the ten doors formed for me,
so that, from my soles to the top of the head,
in no member, without within, may I be sick;
that, from my body, life be not cast out
by plague, fever, weakness, suffering,
Until, with the gift of old age from God,
I blot out my sins with good works;
And, in departing from the flesh, be free from stain,
and be able to fly to the heights,
and, by the mercy of God, be borne in joy
to the heavenly cool retreats of his kingdom.
Source:
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/08/01/the-lorica-of-gildas/
<>
Saint Merryn Missionary in Cornwall, England & Brittany, France (+6th ce.)
4 April
6th century. Missionary in Cornwall and Brittany. Saint Merryn is the titular patron of a place in Cornwall. He may be identical with the Breton saint honoured at Lanmerin and Plomelin. During the medieval period, the legendary Saint Marina was believed to have been its patron. For this reason, the Cornish St. Merryn observes the feast on July 7, whereas the Breton feast is on April 4.
https://celticsaints.org/2022/0404c.html
<>
Saint Ethelburga of Lyminge, England (+647)
5 April
Died c. 647. Saint Ethelburga was the daughter of King Saint Ethelbert of Kent (f.d. February 24), who had been converted to Christianity by his wife Bertha (Tata) and Saint Augustine of Canterbury (f.d. May 27). Ethelburga married the pagan King Edwin of Northumbria. She and her chaplain Saint Paulinus (f.d. October 10) helped persuade Edwin to become a Christian in 627 and a saint (f.d. October 12). The behaviour of his wife, as much as the preaching of Paulinus, must have had a great influence in the conversion of Edwin and his court. Pope Boniface wrote to her to encourage her, addressing the letter To his daughter, the most illustrious lady, Queen Ethelburga, Bishop Boniface, servant of the servants of God ... He sent her the blessing of St Peter, and a silver mirror with an ivory comb adorned with gold, asking her to accept the present in the same kindly spirit as that in which it is sent.
Edwin encouraged the advancement of Christianity in his kingdom, but on his death, paganism returned, and Ethelburga and Paulinus were forced to return to her native Kent. There she founded a double monastery at Lyminge where her brother Eadbald gave her the site of an old Roman villa at Lyminge, on Stone Street, near the Roman fort of Lymne.
St. Ethelburga continued at Lyminge to the end of her life, and there remains a recess in the South wall of the parish church, which was probably her tomb, and her well on the village green, in a good state of preservation. When Lanfranc founded the Collegiate Church at Canterbury for the parish clergy of the city, he translated the relics of St. Ethelburga, and they were enshrined there, just outside the Northgate, until the time of the Dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII (Attwater2, Benedictines, Delaney).
Saint Ethelburga is portrayed in art as a crowned abbess with the Abbey of Lyminge, where she is venerated.
https://celticsaints.org/2022/0405c.html
<>
Quotes of Saint Sophrony of Essex, England (+1993)
No one can bear to live with a saint, because the saint’s word is fiery. The saint ascends the Cross with his whole life; he is crucified. And the one who lives with him cannot bear this life of the Cross.
There are no writings by female saints. This is not because there are fewer holy women than men. There are more holy women, but female saints lead a hidden life; they are able to keep their life secret. The All-Holy Virgin received great grace from God. We do not have revelations that come from the All-Holy Virgin, but we know that she had great grace; the Church and all who pray to her are aware of it.
Also, women did not need to reveal their experiences in order to guide their flock. All those who have left us a few of their words were Abbesses. But male saints, too, would have kept silent, and we would not have their writings, had it not been necessary for them, as people with responsibility and shepherds of the Church, to guide their flocks.
God’s covenant with human beings is His call to each one. Accepting the call is keeping the Covenant.
Priests share in Christ’s martyric priesthood. The Pope exercises his authority from a high position. Orthodox priests share in Christ’s self-emptying, in the martyric priesthood of Christ, Who was crucified and went down to Hades.
The trials that the saints underwent are greater than our own trials, because their hearts were sensitive and everything in their lives took on larger proportions. Christ’s Cross transcends any human martyrdom because Christ was sinless. We inherit death and we strengthen the power of death throughout our lives with our sins.
Christians will always be misunderstood by those around them.
We should also respect the freedom of non-believers and atheists, and not judge them. Then they too will leave us free to do our work.
In Greece they are prone to gossip and easily take offence, but at the same time they have intuition, and they understand that other people have good intentions and mean well. This is because Greece is an Orthodox country.
When someone has a rule from his spiritual father not to take Holy Communion, but he takes Holy Communion because he thirsts for it, then, apart from being disobedient, he does harm to his soul, because afterwards he stops thirsting for Holy Communion. If, however, he obeys his spiritual father, he will continue to thirst for Holy Communion. This thirst is beneficial. Just by keeping the word of one’s spiritual father one receives grace from God.
https://thoughtsintrusive.wordpress.com/2015/07/10/various-words-from-elder-sophrony-of-essex/
<>
Sayings of Saint Sophrony of Essex, England (+1993)
When someone has passed through Buddhism he needs to repent and weep a lot. Otherwise a certain pride will remain in him as a residue from his previous life. Carnal sins (fornication) are forgotten through repentance and are easily cured. Psychological and spiritual sins (pride, heresies, experimenting with Buddhism) are not easily cured. It is the same with culture. A monk who spends his time on cultural pursuits shows that he has no experience of repentance. If he had repentance, all his past interests, including culture, would be left behind, since the grace of God would be before him.
What do the words “Keep your mind in hell, and despair not” mean? They mean nothing to us, but Staretz Silouan understood them as a great consolation, because he was going through the period of Godfor-sakenness. That is why he said: “I received the weapon of my salvation.” It was like a triumph. Hell means the withdrawal of God’s grace. This is God’s chastening. For Staretz Silouan the way out was “Do not despair.”
God abandoned the Apostle Peter during the time of trial in order to prepare him for greater grace. He received so much grace from God that even his shadow cured people.
The grace of God that comes to the saints is so great that the soul is unable to keep it. For that reason they leave the world and the monastery. This happened to St Seraphim of Sarov.
When someone who is married does not honour spiritual virginity (purity of heart) and does not exercise it, he does not live well even as a married man, because married life is nourished by this purity of heart.
Godly despair is different from worldly despair. Godly despair is linked with profound repentance, abandonment by God.
The difference between something psychological and something spiritual is the difference between what is human and what is divine. Everything in the spiritual life is the fruit of human collaboration and divine grace.
God arranges sufferings and trials for the proud man so that he might be saved. To someone who is physically strong He gives an illness to stop him indulging himself. Afflictions crush the heart, and this crushing produces prayer.
Man is a microcosm. He repents, he becomes holy, he receives the whole world, and thus a small creation takes place.
We are all murderers to varying degrees. When we are emotionally in favour of a state that fights against another state, we too participate spiritually in the killings that take place.
Practising virginity requires obedience. A monk is not protected from various temptations when he lives with his mother and sister, but when he has the blessing of his Elder and is obedient to him.
The essence of obedience is that someone opens his heart – his hypostasis – and accepts the will of another hypostasis. This enables him to acquire knowledge of all created being. When someone is completely obedient to his Elder, his heart opens up and he inherits the Elder’s ‘riches’ in a very short time. This is not something psychological, but something that comes about in the Spirit. This means that, if the disciple receives a grace from God during prayer, his mind immediately turns to his Elder and he says that this happened by the prayers of the Elder. This is spiritual obedience and love for the Elder. Through this process, obedience to the Elder deadens the passions. This is the only way to deaden and transform the passions.
Often impertinence becomes a burning fire. Simplicity, not impertinence, is needed.
The Apostle Paul expounds the charisma of love in his Epistle to the Romans better than in the Epistle to the Corinthians.
The prayer “Against Thee only do we sin, and Thee alone do we worship” has great theological significance. We worship God, but we are also unable to live with Him. He is a mirror that reveals our ugliness. Thus man grows spiritually both downwards and upwards.
Prayer ought to take place in the dogmatic framework of ecclesi-ology and the Gospel. Otherwise prayer cannot act. And even if it acts, at the time of temptation it departs and is lost. We must be familiar with the whole of God’s training.
There are many degrees of humility. The first is the recognition of sinfulness. Secondly, man compares himself with the perfect law and sees that he is worse than everyone else. Thirdly, he accepts charismas as gifts from God. Fourthly, he sees the humility of Christ.
Keeping Christ’s commandments is for all Christians. The monastic life is a technical method to help us keep Christ’s commandments better. So we do not preach monasticism but Christianity.
I do not like talking about intuition, but about the heart’s awareness and inner conviction, which is the working of divine grace.
We should not oppose the evil one with words, because opposition increases evil. As Abba Dorotheos says, the good swimmer passes under the wave.
Someone ought not to humble himself before those who do not humble themselves, because they will perceive it as weakness and will go on to strangle him. When those who are born again in the Spirit meet someone humble, they humble themselves even more, whereas those who are not born again, when they meet someone humble, take the opportunity to impose themselves on him.
Five minutes of prayer when the whole body is in pain are more precious than a whole night of praying with bodily ease.
It is preferable to do only a little spiritual work, but with peace in our heart, rather than to attempt a lot and lose our peace of heart.
We should prefer to have a little of all the virtues rather than one virtue to perfection, because in this way one’s nous, will and desire are purified. The soul acts in the whole body, so man needs to be wholly cleansed.
We should not only talk about prayer; we should also know how to keep ourselves from hopelessness. Usually people fall as a result of pride or despair. These two are man’s greatest enemies.
Each one has a particular way of life that is unlike any other. All, however, lead to God and end with Him, just as the spokes of a wheel are connected with the hub.
Even in spiritual drought God sends us consolation, as He knows our weaknesses. It would be to our advantage to live our whole life in spiritual dryness but to struggle. In other words, if we could reach Christ through being utterly abandoned by God, through emptying ourselves completely, as happened with Christ on the Cross. Then man would also have great glory. We shall have glory depending on how much we empty ourselves and how much pain we endure.
Nothing, either spiritual or material, belongs to us but to God. It becomes ours when we offer it to God. Through the prayer that we say before the meal, we offer up the material good things to God, and then they become ours, because God gives them back to us so that we can live.
https://thoughtsintrusive.wordpress.com/2015/07/10/various-words-from-elder-sophrony-of-essex/
<>
“Today is the autumnal equinox, when the hours of light and dark are in equal balance. This is a good day to take stock to make sure that we have a God-given equilibrium in our lives. This may seem a forlorn and frustrating task, until we realize that Christ, who is the perfect specimen of a balanced human being, can calm our agitated or overworked parts, heal our sick parts, and strengthen our weak parts. Gildas, who has been nicknamed the Jeremiah of the early British church because he was so critical of its lax members, believed in fasting and prayer—yet he was equally aware of the danger of going overboard and losing a sense of proportion. He wrote: There is no point in abstaining from bodily food if you do not have love in your heart. Those who do not fast much but who take great care to keep their heart pure (on which, as they know, their life ultimately depends) are better off than those who are vegetarian, or travel in carriages, and think they are therefore superior to everyone else. To these people death has entered through the window of their pride. Grant me the serenity— that comes from placing the different parts of my being under your harmonizing sway. Today may I grow in balance. SEPTEMBER”
― Ray Simpson, Daily Light from the Celtic Saints: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Life
<>
Saint Wulsin Bishop of Sherborne, England (+1005)
8 January
Died January 8, 1005. Saint Wulsin is described as a loyal and trusty monk whom Saint Dunstan loved like a son with pure affection. When Dunstan restored Westminster Abbey, he appointed Wulsin superior there (c. 960) and finally abbot in 980. In 992, Wulsin was consecrated bishop of Sherborne, but he also continued to serve as abbot of Westminster. The following year Bishop Wulsin introduced a monastic chapter within his see. Wulsin rebuilt the church at Sherborne and improved its endowment. He was a great Benedictine prelate even in that age of distinguished monks.
Several pieces of correspondence with Wulsin are still extant. There is a letter from the scholar Aelfric (then abbot of Cerne) introducing his collection of canons for the instruction of priests. William of Malmesbury records that Wulsin warned his monks that having the bishop as their abbot would cause difficulty in the future.
Wulsin's pastoral staff and other pontificalia survived at Sherborne and were notable for their simplicity, which matched his general austerity. Another second-degree relic not mentioned by William of Malmesbury is the famous Sherborne Pontifical, which belonged to him and is a rich example of Winchester illumination. Wulsin's bodily remains, together with those of Saint Juthwara, were translated to Sherborne c. 1050. Wulsin is venerated at Sherborne, Westminster, Abbotsbury, and Worcester.
https://celticsaints.org/2022/0108e.html
<>
From the wisdom of Saint Sophrony of Essex, England (+1993)
Freedom is not political independence, but that the evil one has no authority over us.
Not all the saints received the same grace from God, but all filled the vessel that they offered to God.
Sometimes reading patristic writings makes the spiritual life difficult. For instance: a certain Christian has a spiritual experience. If he reads a patristic book he begins spying on himself, trying to fit himself into the corresponding categories of the spiritual life, according to what he has read. Thus the left hand consumes and destroys whatever the right hand does. Great simplicity is required in the spiritual life. Illiterate old ladies whisper prayers to God and have faces like children, whereas educated people speculate and their faces are troubled and aggressive.
Sometimes it is good that agitation arises between the brethren. Because, on the one hand, they escape from despondency and, on the other, they become humble.
Once someone receives God’s grace the war, the battle, begins. He receives great grace and his body must also be transformed. The carnal mentality draws the soul downwards, but at the same time God’s grace draws it upwards. This is a difficult moment. Someone can be led astray from the right or from the left. The psychological pain is great, and it can strike him at the weakest point of his body, his heart or his brain. Then obedience to a discerning Elder is necessary. Our own will must disappear from within us.
One interpretation of the Apostle Paul’s words, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Col. 3:16), is as follows: When we hear or read a word of God, we feel it by grace to be food for our heart. This is spiritual, not intellectual, remembrance of God.
Man’s formation and transformation means that he takes the form of Christ’s servant.
The passion of worldly sorrow is a great passion that preoccupies people today. Unfortunately we retain sorrow within us and we caress it until it kills us. One must fight against the passion of sorrow and cure it.
One should not listen to one’s own thoughts, because the devil and the satanic spirit work through thoughts. If someone heeds his own thoughts in trivial matters, the devil will gradually gain power, strength and domination over him. Then he will cast him into major delusions. If the devil tells him to do something and he obeys, later on he will even tell the man to commit suicide and he will obey him.
A Roman Catholic asked me why we Orthodox repeat the Jesus Prayer so often. I told him: “We repeat it because we are slow on the uptake and do not understand. When, however, we understand something, we never leave it.”
The angels sinned in eternity, whereas human beings sin in time.
Western Christians force themselves to pray, and this creates pressure in the brain. The Orthodox pray with ease, because this prayer takes place with the grace that exists abundantly in the Orthodox Church.
Long services usually make inner prayer difficult. After a long vigil service Staretz Silouan said, “We killed the donkey (the body) but we didn’t do anything.” Fasting helps spiritual progress less than prayer, particularly inner prayer accompanied by mourning. Fasting a lot without discretion sometimes creates problems in prayer.
It is easier for people to keep burning charcoal in their hands than grace in their hearts. They perceive divine grace as a consuming fire. What is needed is humility and self-accusation, and for them not to receive divine grace in a festive manner.
People in the West are unaware of the mystery of divine abandonment, of God’s chastening, which is why they fall into despondency. This mystery of divine abandonment and self-emptying is repeated again and again in the life of Orthodox monks, but they know what this mystery is and how to deal with it. Self-emptying leads to glory, if one is able to endure.
God’s commandments are the manner of divine life. Man cannot keep the commandments of God to the full, so he needs grace. Prayer accomplishes this. Sometimes, when someone keeps God’s commandments and lives the ethos of the crucified Christ, he senses God’s grace without praying, or he prays out of love. The aim is not to pray without ceasing (when it is done mechanically and formally); the aim is our communion with God, which is also achieved through prayer.
The Fathers did not ask for many words. They received one spiritual word, left for the desert, and lived for many years with that word. They attempted to put it into practice and they were nourished by it. We say, and we want to hear, lots of words, but we do nothing to put them into practice. When someone talks a lot, he becomes spiritually weak.
Simple people are moved by the slightest thing, and this gives them energy. However, they may also complain and grumble about the slightest thing, and this exhausts them.
Someone who has obedience and love can adapt himself to any situation.
Many people have unassailable ignorance.
As a layman I was very sensitive. Someone was contemptuous of Holy Scripture and thumped his hand on the table. I was in pain for two weeks. Afterwards, however, I stopped being sensitive, because this energy too was transformed.
People in the West live with their brain: their lives are centred on reason. So, if scientists were to invent a machine, they would be able to read people’s thoughts and direct them. All those, however, who live with their heart, within which God’s grace acts, and who pray in their heart, have the sign of the Cross in their heart and no one is able to control them spiritually. They have freedom of spirit.
In the cave of the Holy Trinity (near the Monastery of St Paul) I prayed ardently and wept aloud, because no one could hear me and I had freedom, whereas in Karoulia it was difficult for me, because I had neighbours.
The twelfth chapter of the Apostle Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews describes the spiritual fact of God’s chastening. Sometimes this chastening from God comes about through the Jesus Prayer, sometimes through weeping, and at other times through Godforsakenness. God trains man in many ways and offers him more perfect knowledge to prevent him experiencing a fall, as did Adam when he was first created. In this way his progress towards God will be steadier.
The following state occurs in those at the start of their spiritual life: something they say or a sin they commit causes them great agitation. We ought to be slightly contemptuous of these forgivable little everyday falls, in order to make some other gains. It is better to be at a low level and peaceful, rather than high up and anxious.
When the heart is on fire for the Jesus Prayer and for various reasons it cannot pray, it is like a dormant volcano.
When someone cannot rebut his thoughts, he should at least tell them to his Elder. Even then he will benefit.
When someone reaches a certain spiritual state and has grace from God, he begins to be taught by God. Then everything instructs him. God sent St Antony the Great to the shoemaker to learn self-accusation, even though St Antony had grace and was superior to the shoemaker, which is why we commemorate St Antony and not the shoemaker. Also, someone who is spiritual is taught by the whole of nature.
When someone who has hidden, unconfessed sins hears a spiritual word, he feels pain somewhere in his body. Divine grace also reveals his state to him in this way, and if he wishes, he can escape from this spiritual misfortune.
When someone prays in a particular way and encounters various obstacles, and at some point he is unable to pray in that way, if he has inspiration, another path will open up. Another way will be found and he will acquire greater knowledge of God.
When we speak about asceticism in the Orthodox Church we do not simply mean bodily ascetic practices, although these too are essential, but the soul’s resurrection from the passions, love towards God and the quickening of the soul by the Holy Spirit.
https://thoughtsintrusive.wordpress.com/2015/07/10/various-words-from-elder-sophrony-of-essex/
<>
Words of Saint Sophrony of Essex, England (+1993)
When Staretz Silouan died I felt like an orphan for one week. Afterwards I felt differently.
When someone prays in his heart, he is sometimes given a word. This word begets other words. Thus his nous is opened and he grasps the meaning of the whole of Holy Scripture. Every word of revelation encompasses the entire meaning of Holy Scripture.
When someone begins to live according to Christ, the community rejects him. Then he acquires another community, because we Christians also have our own community. We lose nothing, even in this world.
My greatest trial, when I became a monk, was that I had to abandon art, because I thought that through art I would draw near to the eternal. The eternal, however, is approached through prayer, the renunciation of the wealth of the mind and, above all, through theoria of God.
The experience gained by living and practising asceticism in a monastery enables a monk to live in the desert as well. Otherwise he cannot put the desert to good use. When someone departs for the desert and a thought about something (hurting a brother) torments him, this thought will give him no peace.
Spiritual virginity even cures lost bodily virginity. Abba Zosimas, who had both bodily and spiritual virginity, bowed down before St Mary of Egypt, who was a prostitute from an early age. The spiritual virginity that St Mary of Egypt acquired cured her completely.
Spiritual virginity is of greater worth. Spiritual virginity means keeping Christ’s commandments, when one’s nous cleaves to God through prayer. Everyone, whether married or unmarried, can acquire this spiritual virginity. Monks who do not have spiritual virginity are wretched, because they neither have children on the natural level nor do they transfer existence to Paradise.
If people have the idea of being saved and they manage it, how will we monks whose aim is to be saved not manage it?
For a monastery to make progress it must have either an Elder or pilgrims. Pilgrims help monks to reduce their passions, because the monks have to offer them something, to show love and to sacrifice themselves. It is very beneficial when every week one pilgrim is regenerated at the monastery.
– The holy Fathers make a distinction between mourning and weeping aloud. Mourning means compunction. Sometimes the one who mourns breaks into loud sobs, which are of a spiritual and charismatic, not psychological, nature. This is weeping aloud. In this case the desert is necessary, so that no one will hear him weeping. Then the monk is
unable to stay in the monastery. Weeping aloud increases tears.
The parents of monks realise the benefit of their child’s dedication to God at the hour of their death.
No one ought to ask for the priesthood, whereas one ought to ask for the monastic schema, because monasticism is the search for repentance.
When I was a monk at the Monastery of St Panteleimon, I did not want any thought of ordination to the priesthood or diaconate to enter my mind. Nor did I want to suggest that I be ordained. When the Abbot suggested ordination to me, during the service, as they could not put the deacon’s stole on me, I moved my arm to help them. Afterwards this troubled me a lot, in case a desire [for ordination] had perhaps existed within me and had expressed itself in this way. Priesthood brings many temptations. When someone goes forward or begins on his own, he cannot overcome them.
Martyrdom in the monastic life, and in the Christian life in general, consists in how one will live through the successive stages of Christ’s life.
In order for the monastery to function well it must have a discerning spiritual father or a good typikon and good organisation, otherwise it will turn into a gypsy camp.
https://thoughtsintrusive.wordpress.com/2015/07/10/various-words-from-elder-sophrony-of-essex/
<>
Words of Wisdom: Saint Sophrony of Essex, England (+1993)
Brianchaninov complains in his autobiography about the severity with which his first Elder treated him. In this way he sapped his strength for prayer. For that reason the Elder ought to take care of his spiritual children in every respect.
A monk said: “I am very sure about the things I say from the Elder’s words.”
We live as though we had nothing in our minds and when they ask us, we have something to say.
Sometimes one becomes spiritually weaker after a talk. This happens when one speaks many times a day with energy and intensity.
The holy Fathers do not usually speak in detail about matters to do with marriage and married couples. When someone lives in repentance, he finds the solution to many problems. When someone has the fear of God, he is enlightened to deal with more specific problems.
People will have to answer to God for the word they say to people which is beyond them.
We ought to speak when forced to do so. Then we too force God, Who cannot be forced, and He gives us a word of freedom.
We must respect other people’s freedom. Nothing done by force endures in time and eternity.
When a spiritual father encounters a response from someone, he loves him, because both of them benefit. Therefore it is not wrong for there to be a special love in the Spirit and gratitude between spiritual father and disciple.
When we accept the spiritual father as a gift from God, or when gratitude and thankfulness to God for the spiritual father arise in prayer, then we love him in the Spirit.
When someone wants to change his spiritual father, he must first seek his blessing, and so leave in peace. He should never refer anywhere to complaints or things that happened in the past. If he complains and mentions various events, the devil acquires power over him, whereas otherwise the devil’s fire goes into the air. In the French Revolution someone said: “Give me a letter from someone and I will cut off his head”, in other words, he would find a pretext to put him to death. For that reason, the best we can do in such cases is keep silent.
Spiritual fathers have a difficult task, because they must continually point out their spiritual children’s mistakes. This stirs up a reaction and causes hatred.
When we speak about things that we do not know personally and that are beyond us, we place a barrier (a wall) in front of us that prevents us from experiencing them.
The death of an innocent man imperceptibly changes the whole world for the better, because the energy of the innocent man benefits the whole world and cures injustice.
We ought not to make vows to God. However, if we make them, we must fulfil them.
St John of Kronstadt was once invited to cure someone who was allegedly paralysed. It was a trap, because they wanted to murder him. When St John realised the deception he said: “Let it be, Lord, according to Thy word.” And the allegedly paralysed man became actually paralysed. Subsequently St John prayed and he became well. When someone pretends to be ill, God allows him to become ill.
There is only a slight difference between geniuses and madmen.
By praying for two weeks and studying patristic texts, intelligent people can write a whole book about prayer and think that they can pray.
When someone knows earthly pleasures through art, he feels disappointment and bitterness. This is because one pursues art in order to grasp the eternal, but this cannot be achieved through any human work. The soul knows that eternity is not to be found there, so it feels pain.
When someone receives a spiritual gift, he usually attracts other people’s envy. Then he feels the need to hide it. So, without realising it, he becomes a fool for Christ’s sake.
The subject of foolishness for Christ’s sake is a very subtle one. Some have undertaken this task to conceal the riches of their spiritual gifts, and so as not to provoke people’s envy.
We must turn psychological states into spiritual phenomena, into weeping. There is a method which Christians ought to know. We are aware of a trial, of contempt on the part of others or an unjust attack. Then our heart is embittered by this injustice and produces various thoughts that affect our whole life. Prayer stops at once.
The therapeutic method is to leave aside the brother who has wronged us and to begin a conversation with God. We say: “My God, it’s my fault. I am unworthy to be loved by people…” Then repentance and weeping begin, and this cures the negative psychological phenomenon and makes it spiritual. We see this in the life of Christ. The Apostle Peter was preventing Christ from going to the Cross, but Christ had steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, to Golgotha. His crucifiers were howling, but He had His nous turned towards God’s will and was praying to His Father. He did not engage in a dialogue with people but with God. In this way we become healthy and are cured. This is a kind of ‘struggle’ with God.
The Philokalia does not write much about the scientific method of prayer, but it writes a lot about the atmosphere of prayer and about keeping Christ’s commandments. Some Westerners only translate those parts of the Philokalia that write about the technical method of prayer, and so they present it as a sort of Christian yoga. This is a mistake.
Mindfulness of death, as lived and described by the Fathers, is not an external awareness that one day we shall die. Elderly people have this as well, and they mention it often. Rather, it is a charismatic state; it is the consciousness of inner deadness. Man sees that he is inwardly destitute of God’s grace, and that he has passions. He knows that God is the God of the living, but he is spiritually dead and has lost God. This is what people experience in the West, which is why they say that God is dead. God has not died, but man has died to God.
When, by grace, man sees this inner deadness, he also sees deadness in the whole of creation. He feels that everything is lifeless, dead. He sees death everywhere. This causes profound suffering; he gives himself over to weeping and seeks Life, the Living God, his resurrection.
This is a charisma, a spiritual event that gives birth to prayer. When this gift is absent, we use external things to give us a sense of death, such as pictures of graves and bones, and so on.
Christianity is so great that one refuses to believe it, as happened after Christ’s Resurrection: “They worshipped Him; but some doubted”. They did not doubt out of lack of love, nor out of disbelief, but out of a sense of greatness. At the Second Coming of Christ the just will be amazed, but the sinners will also be amazed; the former because they did not expect to be saved, the latter because they did not expect to be condemned.
If mindfulness of death purifies man, how much more does death itself – that is to say, the coming of death, when it is accompanied by repentance.
All our life long we go through the tribunal, the judgment.
The customs houses about which the Fathers write are symbols of a reality. The Fathers understand them as follows: after the fall of man, the soul is nourished by the body, in other words, it finds refreshment in material pleasures. After death, however, these bodily passions that used to divert the soul no longer exist, because the soul has left the body, and they choke and stifle the soul. These are the customs houses and hell. Abba Dorotheos says that hell is for someone to be shut up for three days in a room without food, sleep or prayer. Then he can understand what hell is.
When someone acquires mindfulness of death, he understands how senseless it is to acquire and accumulate material possessions.
At the Second Coming the just will say: “When, Lord, did we do this, when did we do that?” They will not know what good they have done, because they passed through all the dryness of this present life with patience and faith. They put their trust in the words of Holy Scripture.
Paradise is the grace of God and His Kingdom. God continuously sends His grace and calls us in this life. Those who despise God and drive Him away, will see at His Second Coming what sort of a God they drove away, and they will be burned up. Those who live in God now will be in raptures then.
We have such a rich God, Who has such great grace, but all the same we live in such poverty. We are upset by the slightest thing; this is a wretched state. We ought to be joyful all the time. Our life should always be a daily surprise. Not a day passes without God giving us a new sense of eternal life.
https://thoughtsintrusive.wordpress.com/2015/07/10/various-words-from-elder-sophrony-of-essex/
<>
Now robed in stillness in this quiet place
Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, England (+687)
Now robed in stillness in this quiet place, emptied of all I was, I bring all that I am your gift of shepherding to use and bless.
Source: Ray Simpson, Daily Light from the Celtic Saints: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Life
<>
Saint Macartin Bishop of Clogher, Ireland (+505)
24 March
Died c. 505; feast day formerly March 24. Saint Macartin (in Irish - Aedh mac Carthin) was an early disciple and companion of Saint Patrick during the latter's missions into pagan territory. He is said to have been consecrated bishop of Clogher in Tyrone by Patrick in 454. It is said the Saint Brigid, Macartin's niece, was present at the founding of the see. Tradition names Macartan as the strong man of Saint Patrick, who established the church in Clogher and spread the Gospel in Tyrone and Fermanagh.
Macartin is also one of the earliest Irish saints to be known as a miracle-worker. His holiness is revealed not so much by any "vita," which are non-existent, but by the high veneration in which he is held. Saint Bede records that the earth was taken from his grave as holy relics. His Office is the only one to survive from an Irish source.
A reliquary, called the Great Shrine of Saint Mac Cairthinn, which was designed to contain relics of the True Cross as well as his bones, has been altered over the centuries but still survives as the Domnach Airgid in the National Museum. Its inner yew box was given to Macartin by Patrick together with the latter's episcopal staff and Bible.
The Cloch-Oir (Golden Stone), from which this ancient diocese takes its name, was a sacred ceremonial stone to the druids, It was given to Macartin by an old pagan noble, who had harassed Macartin in every possible way until the saint's patient love won the local ruler to the faith. The stone is still preserved and the noble's son, Tighernach of Clones, succeeded Macartin as bishop.
<>
Saint Caimin of Lough Derg (of Inniskeltra), Ireland (+653)
24 March
Died 653; in some places his feast is celebrated on March 25. The Irish Saint Caimin was half-brother to King Guaire of Connaught and Cumian Fada (f.d. November 12), and himself a distinguished scholar. But he retired from the vanities of the world to live asa hermit on Inish-Keltra (Caltra) in Lough Derg near Galway. Although Saint Columba of Terryglass (f.d. December 12) had founded a monastery on the island a century earlier, Saint Caimin is the reason the people call it "Holy Island" after many disciples were drawn there because of his reputation for holiness. Later in life he founded a monastery and church, named Tempul-Cammin, on the island of the Seven Churches.
The monastery on Inish-Keltra thrived through 1010 (when its last recorded abbot died) despite its being in the direct path of the Danish invaders. The abbey was plundered c. 836 and again in 922. Brian Boru restored the church c. 1009. Now, however, only ruins recall the grandeur of Inish-Keltra's past: the 80-foot tall round tower, early grave markers, and ivy-covered church ruins.
Saint Caimin was a fellow-worker with Saint Senan (f.d. April 29). A fragment of the Psalter of Saint Caimin, claimed by some to have been copied by his own hand, still exists in the Franciscan library at Killiney, County Dublin. He is also credited with authorship of the Commentary on the Hebrew Text of the Psalms (Benedictines, D'Arcy, Healy, Husenbeth, Montague, Muirhead, Neeson).
<>
Saint Blathmac of Iona, Scotland (+835)
As Ireland was too far to be effected by the persecutions of Roman emperors in the early centuries and was also to far to be effected by the later Islamic invasions, combined with the fact that the conversion from paganism within Ireland was rapid and peaceful, there are not very many Irish saints who were martyrs. Saint Blathmac is an exception to this as he was bravely martyred in a Viking raid.
There had been multiple Viking raids on Iona in the early 9th century causing many of the monks, including the abbot, to move to Kells in Ireland. Saint Blathmac had been an abbot of a different monastery on Ireland but moved to Iona. He was the acting abbot in the abscence of the abbot who was residing in Kells for safety. Anticipating another Viking attack, Saint Blathmac had the relics of Saint Columba of Iona moved to a hidden location.
Just after finishing the Liturgy on the island, the Vikings did attack. They demanded that Saint Blathmac reveal the location of the relics. He boldly refused them and was martyred. Miracles were reported at the site of Saint Blathmac’s grave.
An interesting fact is that the most complete account of the above was written only shortly after the events by Walafrid Strabo, a German monk. He was the abbot of Reichenau Island which is in southern Germany and has many written works to his name on theology, lives of saints and poetry. A common misconception is that Iona, or even worse Ireland in general, was remote, inaccessible, and cut-off from the larger Christian world on the continent of Europe. Although there are many more examples to disprove this idea, the fact that a poetic account of Saint Blathmac’s martyrdom was written by Walafrid Strabo would be one such piece of evidence.
<>
Iona, Iona, Iona - A prayer of Saint Columba of Iona, Scotland (+597)
Iona, Iona, Iona, the seagulls crying, wheeling, flying o’er the rain-washed bay; Iona, Iona, The soft breeze sighing, the waves replying on a clear, blue day, Iona. Iona, Iona, the waters glisten, the wild winds listen to the voice of our Lord; Iona. Iona’s blessing strengthens and firmly it will hold you; then from this rocky fortress goes forth our island soldier; may Christ who calmed the tempest with safety now enfold you.
Source:
Ray Simpson, Daily Light from the Celtic Saints: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Life
<> YT,
Saint Teneu / Thaney of Glasgow, Scotland (+6th century)
Protector of the abused and rape victims
July 18
Saint Teneu became pregnant after being raped when she was very much still a child. She was so innocent in her youth that her abuser was able to make her believe that he was in fact a woman and that his act of violence was normal behaviour among women. When the pregnancy became visible, her family rejected the young mother and threw her from a cliff to die. By God’s care, Teneu survived the fall and she sailed in a coracle across the Firth of Forth to Saint Serf’s community in Culross, where she gave birth to a little boy, the future Saint Mungo (Kentigern).
https://agioi-oi-kaliteroi-mas-filoi.blogspot.com/2019/12/saint-thaney-teneu-of-wales-and-glasgow.html
<> ΥΤ.
The Life of Fr. John Maitland Moir, Scotland (1924 - 2013)
Below is his official obituary. Our prayers go to all who knew and loved him, and for the repose of his holy soul.
Father John Maitland Moir, Priest of the Orthodox Church of St Andrew in Edinburgh, founder of many smaller Orthodox communities throughout Scotland and Orthodox Chaplain to the University of Edinburgh, died peacefully in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on the 17th April 2013.
A man of profound holiness and bedazzling eccentricity, of boundless compassion and canny wisdom, utterly selfless and stubbornly self-willed, serenely prayerful and fiercely self-disciplined, Father John will surely earn a place as a unique and outstanding figure in the ecclesiastical annals of Scotland. He was born in 1924 in the village of Currie where his father was the local doctor; his fondness for his mother was always mingled with quiet pride in the fact that she was a member of the lesser aristocracy. The privileged but somewhat severe upbringing of an only child in this household together with a chronic weakness in his knees kept him apart from the hurly-burly of boyhood and directed him from an early age to more spiritual and intellectual pursuits. After his schooling at Edinburgh Academy, he went on to study Classics at Edinburgh University during the war years, his never robust health precluding any active military service. After the war, and a short spell as Classics Master at Cargilfield School in Perthshire, he moved to Oxford to continue classical studies at Christ Church and theological studies at Cuddesdon Theological College.
His interest in Eastern Christendom was awakened in Oxford and he eagerly seized the opportunity to study at the famous Halki Theological Academy in Istanbul in 1950-51. During this year he also travelled in the Holy Land and Middle East and forged friendships in the Eastern Churches which he maintained throughout his life. On his return to Scotland he was ordained in the Scottish Episcopalian Church, which he was to serve faithfully for the next thirty years. His first charge was as Curate at St Mary’s in Broughty Ferry, then for a period of six years he taught at St Chad’s College, Durham. He returned to Scotland in 1962 as Curate in Charge of the Edinburgh Parish of St Barnabas and as Honorary Chaplain at St Mary’s Cathedral, then in 1967 he moved north to the Diocese of Moray where he served as Chaplain to the Bishop of Moray and latterly as Canon of St Andrew’s Cathedral in Inverness. His devotion to his pastoral and liturgical duties as well as his personal holiness and prayerfulness inspired a sense of awe in his loyal parishoners. Only his habit of wearing the kilt beneath his cassock provoked a reprimand from his Bishop, who was more than somewhat bewildered by Father John’s fervent and unbending Scottish patriotism. The Scottish Episcopalian Church which Father John loved and served was, he believed, a Church with special affinities with the Eastern Churches: his eyes would light up when explaining how the Liturgy of Scottish Episcopalian Church, like those of the East, contained an epiclesis. With the passing of the years, however, he became convinced that the Scottish Episcopalian Church was moving ever further away in faith and in practice from that common ground with the Orthodox Church which he had also come to know and love and whose prayer he had made his own.
In 1981, he resigned from his position in the Diocese of Moray and travelled to Mount Athos where he was received into the Orthodox Church at the Monastery of Simonopetra. He returned to Britain to serve now as an Orthodox Priest in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain with utter devotion for a further full thirty years.
After three years in Coventry, Father John returned to Scotland where he united the two small Orthodox communities in Edinburgh, one Slavonic and one Greek, into the single Orthodox Community of St Andrew. At the same time, he travelled tirelessly around the country by bus serving often tiny groups of Orthodox Christians in Aberdeen, Inverness, Perth, Dundee, St Andrews, Stirling and elsewhere. For Father John, the Orthodox Church was what his beloved C.S. Lewis would call ‘Mere Christianity’, transcending the bounds of nationality and language and embracing all who seek to live a Christian life – the scandal of the cross and the glory of the resurrection. It also embraced for him the most precious elements in the Christian history of Scotland, especially that vision of Christianity expressed in figures such as St Columba and St Cuthbert. An ascetic by nature, his interest was in a practical Christianity nourished by prayer and tradition, rather than in the aesthetic refinements and intellectual gymnastics that attract many Westerners to the Orthodox Church. Not without opposition from members of his flock, Father John introduced English as the common language of worship and succeeded in creating a truly international community reflecting the many nationalities of the Orthodox students studying at the Scottish Universities and of the Orthodox families living and working in Scotland. As the Orthodox Church in Scotland grew in numbers through migration from traditionally Orthodox countries, so did the proportion of Scottish members who found themselves at home in the Community.
His role as Chaplain to the University of Edinburgh was one he took very seriously. The Chapel of St Andrew, set up at first in his house in George Square and then transferred to the former Buccleuch Parish School by the Meadows, lay at the heart of the University complex; the daily services held there with unfailing regularity and its ever open door provided and continues to provide a firm point of reference for countless students. The Chapel of St Andrew, however, was also the base for his work at the other Edinburgh Universities and throughout Scotland – work now being continued with equal zeal and selflessness by two gifted Priests, Fr Avraamy and Fr Raphael.
Father John subjected himself to an almost unbelievably austere ascetic regime of fasting and prayer, while at the same making himself available to everyone who sought his assistance, spiritual or material, at all times of day and night. His care for the down-and-out in Edinburgh provoked admiration and no little concern in many parishioners who would come to the Church, which was also his home, only to find him calmly serving coffee with aristocratic gentility to a bevy of homeless alcoholics or to find a tramp asleep on his sofa. He was tireless in his efforts to help the victims of torture and persecuted Christians throughout the world. Few days would pass without him writing a letter of support for someone in prison or in mortal danger. He had inherited a comfortable fortune, he died penniless, having dispersed all his worldly assets to the deserving and undeserving in equal measure.
His habits of life would have marked him as a caricature of Scottish parsimony had they not been joined to an extraordinary generosity of spirit. All his voluminous correspondence was meticulously hand-written on scraps of recycled paper and dispatched by second-class mail in reused envelopes, whether he was writing to Dukes and Prelates or to the indigent and distressed. For many years, he was a familiar sight on the streets of Edinburgh as he passed by on his vintage electric bicycle, his black cassock and long white beard furling in the wind.
As his physical strength ebbed away, he was comforted by the love and care of those who looked to him as their spiritual father and by the ministrations and devotion of his fellow clergy. He was also tended by the medical expertise of the Greek doctors of the Community towards whom he never ceased to express his gratitude.
The last year of his remarkable life was perhaps the most remarkable of all. Completely bed-ridden, nearly blind and almost totally deaf, he devoted himself even more fully to prayer, especially to prayer for the continued unity, harmony, well-being and advancement of the Orthodox Communities in Scotland. On the day he died, an anonymous benefactor finally sealed the purchase of the former Buccleuch Parish Church for the Orthodox Community of St Andrew in Edinburgh thus securing a material basis for the realization of the spiritual vision that had inspired Fr John throughout his life.
May his Memory be Eternal!
<>
May I Keep the Smallest Door
A Prayer of Saint Columba of Iona, Scotland (+597)
Almighty God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
to me the least of saints,
to me allow that I may keep
even the smallest door,
the farthest, darkest, coldest door,
the door that is least used,
the stiffest door.
If only it be in your house, O God,
that I can see your glory even afar,
and hear your voice,
and know that I am with you, O God.
Source: Attributed to St. Columba, 521-597.
Source of this version: http://yourworshiptools.com/a-prayer-of-st-columba/
Included in Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
This prayer recalls Psalm 84:10.
Source:
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/07/21/may-i-keep-the-smallest-door/
<>
Katherine’s Journey Home
This is my journey home to the Orthodox Church
by Katherine Sanders, Scotland
I was born in the early 1970s into an ethnically Scottish Presbyterian family – my parents had both been baptised and our culture was very sectarian – anything remotely Catholic was immediately suspect, even crosses. Only one of my grandparents was an overtly Christian believer, although I think in hindsight that they all had what I would call a ‘quiet faith’. Scotland is not a demonstrative country and talking of Jesus and salvation immediately marked one out as ‘different’ and perhaps even (say it quietly) foreign.
I had not been baptised, as my family wanted me to decide when I was old enough to understand what I was believing in. In those days we had a regular school assembly led by a very nice Church of Scotland minister, Mr Brown, who spoke softly with a Highland accent of Jesus, the Bible, Creation, and our first school was clearly Christian – we had a hymns at every assembly and I was given a bible very early on – I remember there were pictures of clouds shot through with divine sunlight, which struck me very profoundly.
Even today, they have a special place in my heart. I think I must have been seven or maybe eight when I asked my parents to take me to Church on Sundays. I have no recollection of what prompted it – love for my grandmother, enjoyment of singing, wanting to be ‘proper’ and grown up but by then, I already believed in God… Anyway, they patiently drove me to our town church and let me go in myself. I was initially expected to leave during the service and join the Sunday School, but I loathed the noise, the colouring in, the other children (!) and so developed a good line in slinking down in the pews when other children left, so I could listen to the sermons and keep singing grown up hymns. I remember clearly being in the car with my grandfather one day and hoping to impress him having memorised all the names of the books of the Bible. He was pretty bemused.
I was glad to be in church but of course, with no real structure beyond one hour or so a week, it wasn’t long until I drifted away and as a young teenager, I was far more interested in rock music and art than God. He never entirely let me go, and I did attend a few Scripture Union meetings, having been befriended by a lovely and devout teenage couple (they later married young, she trained as a doctor while he worked, then he trained as a minister, and when he had a parish they had their family. They are still together, still devout and it is lovely to think that I knew them thirty years ago). At that time, I ‘fell in with a bad crowd’.
One of them was Roman Catholic and had an odd relationship with her church – in spite of our behaviour, which ran the gamut of teenage indiscretions, she regularly went to Mass and even taught me the Hail Mary (which I can still recite). Something in me was deeply attracted to the cool, quiet church with air scented with incense, the holy water in the stoup, the idea that there could be beauty and pictures (Pictures!) in a church without people spontaneously combusting. However, the din of heavy metal, rock, boys and motorcycles proved too loud for a good ten years at that point.
I confess that I wandered very far from my roots and life was very dark for a while. I grew distant from my parents and family, narrowly avoided getting into trouble and got through school because I didn’t have to work very hard.
I became interested in the occult, partly because of the music I was listening to and partly because that’s what teenagers do, to an extent. I had no idea what I was dabbling with and I thank God daily that I never tried things like ouija boards etc. I was looking for eternal and universal meaning though, looking for some significance to my life and the Creation.
I was looking in the wrong places.
Around the age of 18, I was at art school, fulfilling my life’s ambition. I had a boyfriend and was living away from home. I then had what I think of as a breakdown – or breakthrough. I wasn’t able to structure my life properly and without the support of my family, I quickly dropped out of a very prestigious fine arts course, where more than 4000 students apply for less than 40 places. I was in despair and had no idea why.
In my desperation, I began to draw Christ on the Cross – it seemed that somehow only this image was strong enough to express where I was. Billy Graham visited Scotland and I went along with my boyfriend’s mother – at the end, when he asked people to come forward, I found myself stepping down to the front to be prayed over. My heart felt like a black weight, burning and poisoning my soul. I had lost my beloved grandmother, I had been unable to cope on the course I had worked most of my school life to get onto, I had to return home, broke and beaten, unable to live by myself.. I desperately wanted to feel whole again.
I began attending church with my boyfriend’s mother, who was a church elder in the village Church of Scotland. The minister was a very intelligent, thoughtful and caring man, who was happy to spend hours talking to me about my life, about Christ, about the Bible – here my love of Hebrew and Greek first began – and in a year or so, I was attending a more ‘practical’ secretarial course, living at home and was christened into the Church of Scotland at the age of 20.
I was delighted to have found a church of my own, even if Communion was only served quarterly (at that time I believed it was merely a representation of the Eucharist) and the most decorative item in the church were the flowers (which I genuinely believe God has created for our delight and comfort – how can looking or smelling at a rose do anything other than give joy to us). The classes on the bible continued and if I felt slightly disenchanted at the separation of my daily life with a once a week service, I got over it by trying to read the Bible more often and praying, eyes shut tight and trying to feel the presence of God.
At the same time, I was once more trying to live alone, having a relationship that was not good for me in several ways – he refused to accept that I no longer wanted the same kind of relationship and I was too weak to break it off – and pretty soon, being bullied awfully in a secretarial job.
This pattern continued even after a serious illness which left me bedridden for months and with a slew of health problems that continue to this day. I believe that life would have continued like this indefinitely – he was about to propose marriage – when I decided to return to college and study to become a minister or a teacher (the very thought makes me laugh now but I was entirely sincere).
I went on holiday to Cyprus around this time and visited my first Orthodox church, where the locals assumed I was Russian by my behaviour. A local restauranteur and his wife took me under their wing, got me nice headscarves, showed me where to stand and so on. I was given kollyva and shown how to reverence the icons, although I didn’t really understand what was going on, I was fascinated. This rather threw a spanner in the works and the unhealthy relationship declined, messily, even as my relationship with that particular church diminished as I no longer went with his mother and the minister moved elsewhere.
My boss said I needed to go back to university, as it was clear I didn’t fit in to office life. I aimed for literature and theology but ended up in Religious Studies, which covered everything from the Old Testament, Egypt, Indian religions, etc. This gave me a fresh view on lots of things and at the end of the first year, I met the man who was to become my husband during one of my many summer jobs.
We travelled widely, including a holiday in Rome where we visited early churches – the apostles and early saints had lived here, and I was desperate to find a church which was full of mystery and history. In one church, I felt very close to some kind of truth but always the stumbling blocks of what I had grown up with as a strong prejudice against Roman Catholicism continued.
There were too many things I could not ignore and so I continued searching for God.
Back in Edinburgh, we went to the Orthodox Church at the end of a day when churches are open for visitors – my husband has always been an unusual man and as a church architect, we had lots of reasons to go and see this unique place.
We turned up at the small chapel of St Andrew the First-Called in the university area at the end of the day and were shown around by Presbytera Elizabeth Flegg, an ex-gym teacher who was spry, funny and very bright. She insisted that we stay for vespers, since it was already 6pm and that, as they say, was that! The lights were dimmed. The candles were lit. Incense rose with the voices in four-part tunes and I felt at home. I can’t put it any more or less strongly than that. I was home. I was at peace. Here was some deep presence of God in the flickering flames, the constant prayers, the harmony of worship. Afterwards, we descended the steep stone stairs to Archimandrite John (Maitland Moir)’s study for some truly awful coffee. We met a young Canadian couple who had come to their first service in Edinburgh, having arrived for study.
They were part of a vibrant parish in Vancouver, were full of excitement and joy in God and the Orthodox church and very quickly became our good friends. They answered a lot of my questions about the faith, as did Fr John, who would usually be found at home, sitting quietly in an antique hard wooden chair, praying in silence. He never sent me away and in time, we began to sit quietly together. He would whistle a little under his breath, make a little note in his unusual script, using a tiny pencil on some re-used slip of paper, then return to silence. It wasn’t ever a difficult one though and he would merely wait for whatever awful question I had dredged up to surface.
We were both Scots in a predominantly Greek and Cypriot community, so had a way of communicating with economy that seemed to suit us very well.
I am not going to say that my path since then has been straightforward or easy. I found the conflicting demands of different groups within the parish pushed me beyond what I could bear easily – there were many days when I had to leave because my anger had grown so great I couldn’t even pray. Fr John would counsel me to always return, as soon as I could, to hold onto the Jesus Prayer, to pray for those I felt anger towards and most of all, to keep my eye on the cross. If nothing else, to focus on that one thing. It worked, albeit slowly.
I was baptised (fully) within a year, after attending daily vespers and weekly and festal Liturgies (“by far the best way to understand Orthodox theology.. Absorb it and let it wash over you”) and moved out of the flat I shared with my then-boyfriend (now husband). Not many men would accept their girlfriend turning their lives upside down, cope with a radical change in not just my behaviour but my clothing, my cooking, our relations and the rhythm of our life being dictated by church services, but he did.
A few years after my baptism, we were betrothed in a highland chapel with huge icons on the wall, as it is within a castle owned by a Scots-Greek shipping magnate, then married in a tiny Scots collegiate church, surrounded by my friends in the choir and with another Scottish Orthodox priest (Fr John Raffan) who had baptised me and given me my Orthodox name.
It took many years of prayer but in the course of time, he too has been baptised (for four years now) as is our daughter.
He too was converted by attending the services – he came with me and our baby every week, became part of the community and one day quietly announced he would be getting baptised. He had long been an example to me of how a Christian should behave (my temper is still a cross/Podvig) and at last, we were all able to attend the Eucharist as a family.
I have now been Orthodox for twenty years; I cannot imagine my life without the faith of my fathers, as indeed it was once. I have trained as an iconographer for more than half of that time and am currently pursuing a year long project to produce high quality icons of the saints of my country, ones which firmly place them within the fellowship of the better known saints of the Church rather than the folk-art type or amateur ones which are often seen.
I believe that God has guided my steps since childhood, has given me a guardian angel who has steered me away from some of the worst rocks and storms I could so easily have succumbed to, that my saint in heaven – Katherine of Alexandria – is steadfast in helping me continue in prayers even when I am struggling.
My faith does not grant me immunity from the insecurities of modern life, even if to the outside world it seems that I am a painter of ‘medieval’ type icons, I worship in a way that hasn’t changed for hundreds of years, I stay at home and light candles daily – rather, it helps me to endure, knowing that we have ‘no continuing city’ and I will one day God willing find myself in ‘the homeland of my heart’s desire’.
<>
Saint Kentigerna of Loch Lomond, Scotland, from Ireland (+734)
7 January
Died on Inch Cailleach, Scotland, c. 733-734. Kentigerna was the mother of Saint Fillan and the daughter of Kelly (Cellach), prince of Leinster. She married a neighbouring prince, who was the father of Fillan. After her husband's death, she left Ireland with her missionary brother Saint Comghan and her son to lead the life of a recluse on the island of Inch Cailleach (or Inchebroida, according to some), in Loch Lomond, Scotland, where a church is dedicated in her name. Kentigerna is listed in the Aberdeen Breviary.
<>
Guide Me, Today, Tonight and Forever
A Prayer of Saint Columba of Iona, Scotland (+597)
Be O Lord,
a guiding star above me,
a smooth path below me,
a kindly shepherd behind me
and a bright flame before me;
today, tonight and forever. Amen.
Source: Attributed to St. Columba, 521-597.
Source of this version: https://daily-prayers.org/angels-and-saints/prayers-of-columba-colomcille-of-ireland/
Included in Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
Source:
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/07/18/guide-me-today-tonight-and-forever/
<>
Saint Nathalan, Bishop of Aberdeenshire, Scotland (+7th ce.)
8 January
Born of a noble family at the beginning of the 7th C. on the East Coast of Scotland. Nathalan decided to show his devotion to God by spending his life cultivating the earth. As a result, he grew vegetables enough to feed people in times of famine. He preserved Scotland from Pelagianism. He resided at Tullicht, now in the Diocese of Aberdeen of which he became Bishop. He built churches in Tullicht, Bothelim and Hill. He reposed in the late 7th C. and was buried in the Church at Tullicht. His name appears in the Aberdeen Breviary.
https://celticsaints.org/2022/0108g.html
<>
God, Be My Guide
A Prayer of Saint Columba of Iona, Scotland (+597)
Be a bright flame before me,
Be a guiding star above me,
Be a smooth path below me,
Be a kindly shepherd behind me,
Today, tonight, and forever.
Source: Columba
Source of this version: Modified from
http://www.faithandworship.com/Christian_Quotes.htm#ixzz4DZpQ04t9
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2016/07/05/god-be-my-guide/
<>
Dunkeld Litany (8th-12th century)
The litany below is a shortened version of a litany which was sung at public processions of a group of ascetic monks called Culdees. It was used at the ancient Scottish monastery of Dunkeld.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
God, the Father in heaven, have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
You are three, and yet one God, have mercy on us.
Be gracious, free us, Lord.
Be gracious, hear us, Lord.
Be gracious, spare us, Lord.
From every evil,
from every evil inclination,
from every impurity of heart and body,
from a haughty spirit,
from the evil of sickness,
from the snares of the devil,
from enemies to the Christian name,
from destructive storms,
from famine and nakedness,
from thieves and robbers,
from wolves and all dangerous animals,
from floods of water,
from trials of death,
in the day of judgment, free us, Lord.
By your advent,
by your birth,
by your circumcision,
by your baptism,
by your passion,
by sending the counseling Spirit, free us, Lord.
We sinners pray, free us, Lord.
Holy Father, we pray, hear us.
To give us peace and concord,
to give us life and health,
to give us the fruits of the earth,
to protect our livestock from all pestilence,
to give us favorable weather,
to give us rain at the proper time,
to give us perseverance in good works,
to work true repentance in us,
to move us in charity for those in need,
to give us fervor in your service,
to give all Christian people peace and unity,
to keep us in the true faith and religion,
to preserve and spread your holy church,
to give long life and health to pastors, teachers and all leaders in the church,
to protect the leaders of our land from all enemies and snares.
to give them victory and long life,
to drive out the enemies of Christians from the earth,
to bring them to holy baptism,
to give all Christians your mercy,
to spare us,
to grant us mercy,
to look upon us, we pray, hear us.
Son of God, hear us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world,
have mercy on us, Lord.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world,
have mercy on us, Lord.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world,
grant us peace.
Christ conquers,
Christ rules,
Christ commands.
O Christ, hear us.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
O Christ, give us your grace,
O Christ, give us joy and peace.
O Christ, give us life and salvation.
Amen.
Let us pray.
Our Father…
Let us pray.
Almighty and gracious God, in your majesty remember us. Grant us forgiveness of all sins, increase your heavenly grace to us, and give us your help against all the snares of our enemies, seen and unseen. In the same way, protect our hearts by your command, so that after this mortal life, we may rejoice together with all your saints in the glory of the kingdom of God, serving our Jesus Christ our Lord and Redeemer, who has all power and rule, one with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
Source: Kalendars of Scottish Saints by Alexander Penrose Forbes, Bishop of Brechin, Edmonston and Douglas, Edinburgh, 1872, p. lvi-lxv.
Source of this version: Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/07/26/dunkeld-litany/
<>
Renown Scottish Orthodox Priest Dies Just Weeks After Completing His Life’s Work
Another story of Orthodoxy in Scotland
One of Scotland’s most senior priests died just weeks after seeing his “life’s work” complete – as his once tiny congregation bought a huge new church.
Eastern Orthodox clergyman John Maitland Moir died last week at the age of 89, and tributes have poured in from around the world to the respected cleric.
He started a combined congregation of the church in his Edinburgh living room in the early 80s, with just 20 worshippers attending.
This grew to number more than 100 in recent years. But the church faced a steep bill to buy a suitably large property as Father John was plagued by heart trouble, leaving him bedridden for the last year of his life.
Despite that, the priest – described as a deeply humble and devout man – encouraged the Orthodox Community of St Andrew-Edinburgh to raise enough to buy a B-listed deconsecrated church. When he heard the purchase was going ahead on 22 March he said
“Glory be to God”.
On Wednesday last week he died at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
Although he lived a quiet life, Father John hit the national headlines in 2001 when he helped shelter an eight-year-old girl from her father.
Defying a court order that the girl should not leave the country without her father’s consent, he helped Ashley-Maria Black and her mother Valerie set up a new life in Greece.
Despite angry visits from the girl’s father Keith Black to his offices he refused to reveal the girl’s whereabouts, despite a court order, claiming Mr Black was using the girl to “harass” her mother.
Born to a wealthy family in Edinburgh, he was first ordained as a Scottish Episcopal priest at the age of 27.
However he loved Orthodox faith, describing it as “the original church”, and converted while in his 50s, later becoming an Archimandrite who was regarded as the most venerable in Scotland.
He started the Orthodox Community of St Andrew – Edinburgh in the early 80s, with around 20 people attending sermons in his living room.
But his flock grew and grew, eventually moving to a new church by the city’s Meadows park.
Colleagues spoke of the congregation’s difficulty in buying a new church after the Meadows building became too small.
Father Raphael Pavouris (corr), who knew with Father John for 21 years, said: “He started with a very small congregation consisting of Orthodox Greeks and Romans.
“From 20 people we now have around 100. We moved to the meadows in 2003 but after eight years we needed a new church.”
But the congregation had to raise £350,000 to buy their preferred building, the disused 18th Century Chapel Street church nearby which is currently owned by Edinburgh University.
Father Raphael said: “It was achieved days before his death. He had pleaded for help, and we had great help from an anonymous donation.
“He was absolutely delighted to hear the news from his bed. He had been bedridden for a year and a half. It’s almost the culmination of his life’s work. He died on Wednesday and we got the keys on Friday.”
Father John was in hospital with heart trouble when the news came through, and exclaimed “Glory be to God” when he heard the deal was finalised.
He paid tribute to Father John, saying
“I can say I have lived and worked with a saint. He was our inspiration, our leader, and a spiritual father for hundreds of people.”
Father Raphael continued:
“He was an extremely well educated man. Both his parents were noble, his father was a well known doctor. But he died penniless, he distributed to all who needed. He sold his house and we bought the church by the Meadows.”
Former Dean of Gibraltar Cannon Gordon Reid, who is now Rector of a church in Philadelphia, described him as a “great man, though so humble that he kept it hidden.”
He said:
“[Father John] was a Scottish Episcopal priest when we first met in the 1960s, but even then he looked like an Orthodox priest, with a wispy beard and a Sarum cassock. He became a “weel-kent” figure riding a heavy iron bicycle around Tollcross and the Meadows. He used to have one meal a day only… he was very strict about his Orthodox diet.”
A Facebook page set up for Father John has seen tributes pour in from around the world.
Father Raphael said:
“He did all he could to help and keep the law of God and the Gospel.”
<>
What Need I Fear? - A prayer of Saint Columba of Iona, Scotland (+597)
Alone with none but you, my God
I journey on my way.
What need I fear, when you are near
O King of night and day?
More safe am I within your hand,
Than if a host round me stand.
My destined time is known to you,
And death will keep his hour;
Did warriors strong around me throng,
They could not stay his power:
No walls of stone can man defend
If you your messenger will send.
My life I yield to your decree,
And bow to your control
In peaceful calm, for from your arm
No power can wrest my soul:
Could earthly omens e’er appal
A man that heeds the heavenly call?
The child of God can fear no ill,
His chosen, dread no foe;
We leave our fate with you, and wait
Your bidding when to go:
‘Tis not from chance our comfort springs,
You are our trust, O King of kings.
Source: Attributed to St. Columba, 521-597.
Source of this version: http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/hymn-lyrics/alone_with_none_but_thee_my_god.htm
Source:
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/07/18/what-need-i-fear/
<>
The Scottish Abbess of Gethsemane Convent
ABBESS MARY (ROBINSON) OF THE GETHSEMANE CONVENT
Gethsemane became one of the first places of the Holy Land to be visited by modern Russian pilgrims. From the tomb of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary people walk up a narrow, steep street. After visiting a Franciscan monastery, where old olive trees of the Garden of Gethsemane that were witnesses of the life of Christ on the earth still grow, Orthodox pilgrims come up to the gate of the “Russian Gethsemane”. It is here that the holy relics of Grand Duchess Elisabeth the New Martyr and her cell-attendant Nun-Martyr Barbara have rested at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, built in the 1880s by the imperial family in honor of the Russian Empress Consort Mary Alexandrovna (1824-1880).
First of all, Russian believers with come great zeal to venerate the relics of the holy new martyrs. At the temple they hear ascetic chanting according to the Typikon, which has largely retained the pre-revolutionary traditions of monastic choirs. An amicable and peaceful atmosphere reigns in the “Russian Gethsemane”. The convent’s nuns show pilgrims the stone on which, according to tradition, Apostle Thomas found the Holy Cincture of the Mother of God. Together with their guests they proceed to visit the cave church dedicated to the icon, “The Prayer for the Chalice”, then lead pilgrims to the ancient Biblical flight of steps from which the Lord is believed to have entered Jerusalem. They tell the visitors about the convent’s cemetery, which became the resting-place of many nuns and Russian emigrants, one of whom is Mikhail Khripunov, the last Flugel-Adjutant of Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II.
The community of Bethany and Gethsemane was founded in 1933 with the blessing of Metropolitan Anastasius (Gribanovsky; 1873-1965), the future second First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. Before the October Revolution, between 1906 and 1914, he had been Abbot of the St. Daniel’s Monastery in Moscow. Divided by the tragedy of 1917, the Russian Orthodox people strove to preserve their faith despite everything—both in the Soviet Russia and abroad. Finding themselves in the Russian diaspora and in an unfamiliar religious environment, most Russian people nevertheless preached Orthodoxy by their own lives.
In 1929, novice-nun Valentina (Tsvetkova) from an intelligent Moscow family was put in charge of the Russian plot of land in Gethsemane by Metropolitan Anastasius. It was here that in 1933 two Anglican nuns, Stella Robinson and Alexandra (“Alix”) Sprot, stopped during their stay in the Holy Land. They then did not know anything about Russia or Orthodoxy. Once Sister Valentina (whose confessors were the holy elder Aristokly of Mt. Athos and Moscow, the holy elder Anatoly [Potapov] of Optina, and spiritual father, Bishop-Martyr Arseny [Zhadanovsky] of Moscow) talked with the Anglican nuns about Russia for a long time, sharing the memories of her personal communication with the holy Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna with them. Notably, she told them that when St. Elisabeth had first seen her as a girl she [the saint] exclaimed:
“Valentina will be my follower”.
Nun Stella had a booklet on Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna that she had bought just before her departure from Britain. When both nuns learned that the remains of the new martyr reposed under the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, they began to attend services in there. The life and martyrdom of Elisabeth the New Martyr inspired the Anglican sisters and led to their inner spiritual transformation; as a result, they decided to embrace Orthodoxy and become Orthodox nuns. This they did in 1934.
Two years later, Sister Stella, who had been tonsured a nun with the name Mary, was appointed abbess of the community of Bethany and Gethsemane. Using donations from her relatives, Abbess Mary built a boarding school for Orthodox girls from Arab and Russian families in Bethany, opened an icon-painting school along with a weaving workshop for blind young women, and an outpatient clinic for the local population. Olga Aleyeva, a graduate of Smolny Institute [in St. Petersburg; before the Revolution, Petrograd], became the boarding-school’s headmistress. Sister Olga, an experienced educator and niece of Professor Mechnikov, assisted her with the children’s education. The English Orthodox missionary Archimandrite Lazarus (Moore; 1902-1992), who had come from India to Jerusalem for this purpose, taught English there.
At first the community gathered by Abbess Mary was multinational. Palestinian girls, Russian emigrants, and nuns from Europe initially prayed and worked there. This convent produced such prominent abbesses as Mother Tamara (secular name: Princess Tatiana Constantinovna; 1890-1979), a daughter of Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich Romanov who also was a well-known poet. She became Abbess of the Mount of Olives Convent in Jerusalem. Nuns of the convent of Bethany also established Orthodox monastic communities in London, and even as far away as Chile.
Thanks to her meekness, self-sacrificing service to her neighbors, and affection for all—Christians and non-Christians alike—Abbess Mary won the hearts and respect of all who ever met her. Archimandrite Dimitry, who worked in the Holy Land at that time, delivered the following oration during the funeral of Abbess Mary on October 26 (according to the old calendar), 1969:
"Leaving all—her homeland, relatives, and material well-being, she joined us on Russian Golgotha with courage, sharing the Russian people’s sorrows and suffering. She became abbess of these Russian convents not in the days of our motherland’s glory and prosperity, but in the period when the Russian Church, persecuted and almost bleeding to death, was being crucified on the cross… Can we forget all of this?".
No! This is the answer of the present-day Gethsemane nuns and all those who come to work at the convent of Gethsemane from Russia and many other countries throughout the world—the pious pilgrims who find here the spirit of love, inner freedom and courteous manners—the qualities that are so characteristic of the “Russian Gethsemane”. The traditions introduced by Abbess Mary are still alive today. This can be seen in the life of the monastic community, which is multinational in composition yet united in spirit, and which adopted and absorbed the monastic traditions of old Russia. The most important of them is the example of the Sts. Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy, founded by the Holy Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna in Moscow. The example of holiness of the Bethany maidens and servants of Christ, Martha and Mary, is the basis of monastic life of the sisters in “Russian Gethsemane”. As before, they are doing their best to uphold the precept that Archbishop (later Metropolitan) Anastasius once gave to the first nuns of the convent: The sisters of Gethsemane should develop inward spiritual activity, like Mary [Martha’s sister from the Gospel – ed]. And the sisters of Bethany should serve their neighbors.
Maria Kozlova
Translation by Dmitry Lapa
Pravoslavie.ru
From Orthodox America, a biography of Abbess Mary (Robinson) of Gethsemane Convent:
It always comes as a surprise to learn that the founding abbess of one of the most revered convents of the Russian diaspora and of the Holy Land was a convert, a Scotswoman who began life as Barbara Robinson. Her life and spiritual character bear evident resemblance to that of another convert, the Grand Duchess Elizabeth, who became her guiding star.
Abbess Mary was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on July 8/21, 1896. She was baptized as an infant in the Presbyterian church, where her father was a minister. After graduating from the Independent Girls’ School, she completed a course in pediatric nursing in Liverpool and went on to further her medical studies in London, receiving a diploma with honors in 1923. Three years later she received a degree in sociology from London’s Bedford University. Meanwhile, she had been confirmed in England’s High Church, and after working for several years for the government as a social worker, she made the decision to enter the monastic community of Christ the Healer in London. As a novice she was sent with a group of missionaries to India where, with the help of the archbishop of Bombay, she founded a clinic: attached to a prayer and missionary center. She returned to London in 1931 to make her vows, and was professed with the name Stella. A year later she was in London again, on business, and she was preparing to return to India when she had a dream prompting her to go to the Holy Land to venerate the Tomb of the Lord. “Yes,” she would later say, “the ways of the Lord are inscrutable. I planned to spend thirty days in Jerusalem — and I stayed for thirty years.”
Sister Stella arrived in Jerusalem accompanied by another Anglican nun, Sister Alexandra (“Alix’) Isabella. They rented rooms on property in Gethsemane owned by the Russian Palestine Society. The rassophore nun in charge of receiving pilgrims, Sister Valentina, showed them around and they found themselves absorbed in discussions about Orthodoxy, which was virtually unknown to them. They began attending services at the church of St Mary Magdalene, an inspiring edifice there in the garden of Gethsemane, and there became acquainted with Metropolitan Anastassy. He also spoke to them at length, and the combined influence of these conversations and the nuns’ contact with Orthodoxy at the many holy sites stirred their hearts with a desire for this fullness of Truth. But the thought of converting did not seriously occur to them until…
They had been at Gethsemane a few weeks, still with the intention of continuing on to India, when one night Sr. Stella had a dream. A woman dressed in a beautiful habit, with strikingly beautiful eyes, came to her and said,
“You cannot leave. Your place is here in Jerusalem.”
When the next day Sister Stella related this dream to Sister Valentina, the latter fetched a photograph of Grand Duchess Elizabeth, whom Sister Stella at once recognized to be the woman in her dream. It was, she later noted, the inspiration of Grand Duchess Elizabeth, herself a convert of part English ancestry, that sealed her decision to become Orthodox. Sister Alix followed her example. Metropolitan Anastassy himself guided their catechesis, and on September 5,1933, they were received into the saving fold of Holy Orthodoxy. Sister Stella received the name Mary, in honor of St Mary Magdalene, and Sister Alix became Martha.
It was evident to Metropolitan Anastassy that this aristocratic-looking Scotswoman was a very capable individual. With his blessing, a sisterhood was founded and a temporary chapel was set up on the Russian mission property in Bethany. Mary, assisted by her companion Martha, worked tirelessly to rescue the property and its buildings from their dilapidated state. She had a gift for attracting benefactors and, through the influence of her family, was able to enlist the aid of the British Bible Society. Martha came from a very well-endowed family, and they, too, contributed significantly. Buildings were restored, the cistern was repaired, the garden was cleared and cultivated, a clinic was opened. Meanwhile, with the blessing of Metropolitan Anastassy, Mary began gathering sisters for a future monastic community at Gethsemane In 1933 she was placed in charge of the Russian Garden of Gethsemane and its church of St Mary Magdalene Martha was appointed to be her assistant and given charge of the Bethany property.
On the Feast of Transfiguration, August 6/19, 1934, Metropolitan Anastassy tonsured the two former Anglican nuns in the church of St Mary Magdalene. His eloquent word addressed to Mother Mary on this occasion is excerpted here:
“You came to us from a different people and from a different religious community, in every nation, however, there are those who fear the Lord. In every Christian country there are people on whom He places His seal at birth and leads them to Himself by means of paths unknown to man. Everywhere there are the chosen ones who have heard God’s call from childhood just as Samuel did. You were one of these. The voice calling from heaven touched your heart very early, and afterwards not all the noise of life’s bustle nor all the songs of the earth could silence it.
At times, according to your own testimony, an element of gloom rushed upon you, ready to swallow you, but you had a lamp which shone brightly in your soul and darkness did not envelope it. You had already come to love the Heavenly Bridegroom with all your heart. Because of Him, you refused all the delights of youth and entered one of the monastic communities in order to dedicate yourself later to self-denying missionary service in India.
Nevertheless, an inner voice told you that the first and basic aim of a Christian must be to know the truth, that is, to learn the pure, undefiled Christian teaching and to join yourself to the fulness of an abundant Church life.
Not finding either of these in the community to which you then belonged, you hoped to fill the deficiency in Anglo-Catholicism, that is, in that branch of the Anglican Confession which most nearly approaches the Orthodox Church. In fact, the motivating force that brought forth the great Oxford Movement a hundred years ago, the continuation of which is today’s Anglo-Catholicism, was the desire on the part of the most fervent Anglicans to re-establish the lost bond with the ancient, One, Universal Church, the living memory of which never died in the bosom of Anglicanism. The Eastern Orthodox Church possesses the advantage over the other Christian confessions in that it never broke this organic unity with the ancient Apostolic Church, remaining faithful to its spirit in all things. This has given it the strength to preserve in itself the complete fulness of truth and grace which was given to His Church by its Divine founder, Christ. You saw this with your own penetrating gaze immediately upon coming closer to Orthodoxy, and your heart automatically [involuntarily] reached out for it.
Even before coming into contact with Orthodoxy, you already clearly felt monasticism to be the highest embodiment of the Christian ideal. You had already entered the path of monastic podvig. Orthodox teachings deepened for you the thought of monasticism itself, and the Orthodox Church now gives you a special grace for the worthy fulfillment of this genuinely super-human way of life, a way of life that is more heavenly than earthly.
In the brilliance et Mount Tabor, which will always illuminate for you the day of your complete betrothal to Christ,, the lofty significance of monasticism is revealed with special clarity. What is the essence of monasticism if not a constant ascent to the mountain of the Lord and entry into the glory of the sons of God. From the crucible of prayer to which the God-man gave Himself on Tabor, the wondrous mystery of His Transfiguration emerged and shone forth.
Truly, it is good for a person to be on spiritual heights — on the mountain of the Lord. He then attains such plenitude and saturation of life that he is ready to exclaim together with Symeon the Theologian: “I take delight in His Love and His beauty I become a participant et light and glory: My face shines like the Beloved’s …. I am more beautiful than the beautiful, richer than the rich, stronger than the strong.”
Now obtain for yourself also this unfading beauty, this imperishable wealth, this all-conquering power of Christ.”
Sister Valentina was also professed at that time and became Mother Barbara.[1] In 1935 Mother Mary was appointed superior of the women’s convent of the Resurrection of Christ in Bethany. The following year she visited Belgrade, where she was raised to the rank of abbess by His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky), and given a jeweled pectoral cross belonging to Metropolitan Anastassy.
At the time of their tonsure, Metroplitan Anastassy said to the nuns, “I entrust Bethany to you; we need to start a school there.” With God’s help the nuns organized an elementary school for girls, which officially opened with a special service of blessing on Lazarus Saturday, 1937. That same year the house-chapel was frescoed by a new sister, an iconegrapher, whose talents inspired the opening of an icon studio there in Bethany. The next year the school expanded and received British accredation as an academy. It soon acquired a superior reputation, and its enrollment increased to more than a hundred Orthodox-Arab girl boarders. In addition to the usual curriculum, the girls learned Arabic, Russian and English. They were also schooled in Orthodox piety, and some of the pupils later became monastics. Mother Mary took an active part in the school administration, and visited it almost daily, frequently making the two-mile trip from Jerusalem and back on a donkey.
With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, communication with Metropolitan Anastassy, then in Munich, was suspended; it was later restored thanks to Mother Mary’s persistent inquiries at the Red Cross. Meanwhile, hundreds of Russian soldiers, held up in Palestine on their way to Italy, joined the nuns for prayer in the church of St Mary Magdalene.
In Palestine, however, the horrific realities of war came later, with the departure of the British in 1948. Simmering tensions between Arabs and Israelis exploded in bitter fighting in and around Jerusalem. As a British subject, Abbess Mary could have returned to the safety of her homeland, but she declined to abandon her sisters and her children of the Bethany School. Her energies and her talents were dedicated, as always, to helping those in need. She turned the school into a hospital, the classrooms became wards. A courageous young doctor offered his service, s, and he was joined by a number of professional nurses, who in turn were assisted by the nuns and the older girls at the school. Every day brought more wounded, soldiers and civilians. Bread and other provisions were often obtained under artillery fire. Death and destruction were all around. Fortunately, Mother Mary managed to secure for the hospital the protection of the Red Cross, its flag flying over the walls of the community made Bethany a relatively safe haven. During the worst shelling, local Palestinians sought shelter there, spending the night in the cave on the property, together with their domesticated animals. Somehow the school continued to function, with pupils coming even from other schools. There was no disruption in the order of services, and the intensified prayer of the nuns drew upon them the evident power of God’s mercy.
There was a particularly tense period in the winter of 1949, when the military High Command declared its plans to requisition all the buildings of the Bethany School, due to its strategic location, and to evict the entire community. The nuns began removing furnishings and other items to Gethsemane, some things they stored in the cave, a place in the country was rented to house some of the children and elderly. The sisters prayed fervently, and — a miracle. At someone’s chance suggestion, a letter was sent by courier to Amman, to general Glob Pasha, and on the very Feast of Nativity, at trapeza after Liturgy, a reply was received: the order for the requisition had been given in error. Glory to God!
Throughout these years of difficulty and uncertainty, Abbess Mary was a model of evangelical self sacrifice, inspiring those around her with her courage and energy, consoling the grieving and fainthearted… She was, in a word, a noble example of unfailing and selfless charity, which lies at the heart of true Christianity.
With the end of the war, the Bethany community began functioning more normally, and dozens of schoolgirls once again ran about in the courtyard. The war, however, had left its mark, and among its causalities were a number of blind girls. The community decided to help them by teaching them to weave. Unfortunately, in the aftermath of war there were few tourists and little market for such handiwork, and the project was abandoned.
In the summer of 1952, the Bethany School began receiving groups of Russian pilgrims from Western Europe. These annual pilgrimages, organized and led by Bishop Methodius, had a very positive influence, both on the pilgrims themselves and upon the Orthodox living in the Holy Land. They likewise helped inform the broader Orthodox community of the existence of the Jerusalem convents, eliciting needed financial support.
Upon meeting Mother Mary, pilgrims were consistently impressed by her exceptional spirituality and her noble, luminous soul. She was genuinely concerned for the well-being of each individual who approached her, and she showed extraordinary sensitivity in being able to resolve complex and burdensome problems. Warm, gracious and unfailingly tactful, she was loved and respected by a wide spectrum of people.
Abbess Mary’s high monastic standards reflected upon the community as a whole. Several of her nuns later became abbesses at other convents. Abbess Elizabeth of the Annunciation Convent in London (six of her nuns there are former pupils of the Bethany School), the late Abbess Tamara, and Abbess Juliana, for many years in Chile and now at the Mount of Olives convent.
Not only Russian pilgrims but foreigners and non-Orthodox were drawn by the genuinely spiritual atmosphere there at the Gethsemane convent. A Roman Catholic visitor from Germany in 1965, wrote:
“This is to express my hearty compliments to your esteemed Convent where the smell of piety comes over the pilgrim attending the Divine Liturgy and the Canonical Hours in your Church. I have finished my pilgrimage to the Holy Land on 14th August, by attending the beautiful sung Vespers in your Church, and I suppose that this was an act of worthy finishing these privileged days one may stay at Jerusalem. Please let all your Sisters know that I was deeply moved by their chant in the pure monastic Russian style. It is very seldom that one is finding the sacred music performed like by your Sisters. Here, in Europe, in most of the Orthodox churches, the hymns are performed like in an orchestra hall…”
In 1967, as a result of the Arab-Israeli war, the Bethany community found itself on the territory of Israel. Mother Mary and the sisters staunchly endured the trials that fell to them without retreating from their arena of struggle. But from this time Mother Mary’s physical strength began to decline, her heart weakened. She contemplated retirement, but impelled by the command of love, she remained at her post.
Abbess Mary was called to the Lord on 25 October (7 November), 1969. She died peacefully in her sleep, her fingers folded for making the sign of the Cross. News of her repose spread rapidly. That afternoon, hierarchs and clergy of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate came to the convent and held a memorial service. Then began the Vigil for the departed. Through the night the nuns by turns read the Psalter. The next day, a Saturday, the funeral service was held in a packed church: Abbess Tamara came with nuns from the Mt of Olives convent, as did almost all the Bethany School students; also present were representatives of different church denominations and a large number of other mourners. Afterwards the burial procession filed solemnly up the hill beside the church where, between two pine trees, Abbess Mary’s body was lovingly committed to the earth to await the General Resurrection.
Sister Barbara, Mother Mary’s co-worker for many years, who succeeded her as abbess of Gethsemane, sketched this spiritual portrait of her amma:
“She was a remarkable person, deeply religious, totally dedicated to God in everything, and serving Him through prayer and through her service of love for her neighbor. She was humble, lenient in her judgment, exceedingly condescending and kind even to the ungrateful, attentive to the needs of others… She was a gentle and loving mother, she was our joy, and we thank the Most High for her.”
Blessed are they whom Thou hast chosen and taken to Thyself, O Lord. Their remembrance shall be from generation to generation.
Translated and compiled from materials in the Gethsemane Convent archives.
<>
May I Keep the Smallest Door - Saint Columba of Iona, Scotland (+597)
Almighty God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
to me the least of saints,
to me allow that I may keep
even the smallest door,
the farthest, darkest, coldest door,
the door that is least used,
the stiffest door.
If only it be in your house, O God,
that I can see your glory even afar,
and hear your voice,
and know that I am with you, O God.
Source: Attributed to St. Columba, 521-597.
Source of this version: http://yourworshiptools.com/a-prayer-of-st-columba/
Included in Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
This prayer recalls Psalm 84:10.
Source:
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/07/21/may-i-keep-the-smallest-door/
<>
“The Search for the True Church is Invaluable”
Interview with Fr. Seraphim Bell, USA & Scotland
Fr Seraphim Bell is an American, a Protopriest of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, founder and former president of the Missionary Department of ROCOR. He established four Orthodox parishes in the USA, did missionary work in Guatemala, Nepal and the Philippines, and also spent time on Mt Athos. At the present time, Fr Seraphim lives at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY. His voice reflects his surname as he proclaims sermons about our Lord Jesus Christ. He consoles those in despair with the hope of salvation. Fr Seraphim talks about his path to the Lord, the life of an Orthodox community in America, about the difficulties of missionary work in a pagan land, about our youth and a great deal more.
-Fr Seraphim, tell us about your path to God, how you came to Orthodox Christianity living in a country so far away, America, where the majority of the population are Protestants or Catholics.
– Let me start from the beginning. My ancestors on both sides of my family hailed from Scotland. Mama grew up in Oklahoma, the home of the Cherokee Indians, and some of our relatives still live there as part of that community. I grew up in California in the family of Scottish Presbyterians. Studying in university, I turned to Christ and began to study the history of Christianity and theology. My wife and I traveled to our ancient homeland, Scotland, where I got my Doctor of Sciences degree in dogmatics. While we lived there, I became a pastor in a local church. When I returned to America, I served for several years at a Presbyterian church in California, but ultimately left the community.
-What caused you to leave?
- In the most important matter, faith, the community was becoming more and more liberal. I founded a new church in San Jose, CA. It quickly grew to over 300 members. A few years went by, and doubts continued to grow: I didn’t have a good idea of which direction to lead my flock, and what our mission was, who we were as a church. I kept repeating to my parishioners: “Our goal is to become the Church of the New Testament.” In conclusion, I always said, “We are not now the Church of the New Testament, but by Divine Grace we could be someday.”
I hadn’t the slightest idea how this could take place. Finally, I gathered all the parishioners and told called upon them to join me in 40 days of fasting and prayer, and to ask the Lord to reveal His will. The very first evening, at prayer time, one person in my flock introduced me to Frank Schaeffer. Frank is a writer and activist, the son of a renowned Protestant theologian. After our meeting, a few of my parishioners learned more about him. How amazed I was when they told me that Frank converted to Orthodoxy! I remember my reaction: “There is no need to even entertain this notion.” A little time went by, and I found out that one of my closest friends was studying Orthodoxy. For several reasons, I became enraged, and I decided that I needed to examine Orthodoxy more closely in order to prove that it was a false teaching, and save my friends from a serious mistake. That’s what I thought at the time, but now, as I look back through the years, I understand how condescending and ignorant I was. When I remember that period of my life, it makes me laugh how stupid I was, how far from reality I was, and I blush to remember.
-And yet, that lay the foundation of your conversion to Orthodoxy.
– Yes, that was the beginning of my path to the Lord. In my case, as paradoxical as it seems, what helped was my lack of faith and my heartfelt desire to help my friends, to save them. I won’t go into detail, I will only say that I came to the firm determination that Orthodoxy is the true faith, though at the time I wasn’t ready for Holy Baptism, but I listened to my inner voice and sensed that I have to be honest with myself and follow the faith one recognizes as being true.
After I shared this with my parishioners (I spent many months studying the foundations of Orthodoxy, the teachings of the Holy Church), some 120 people joined me in converting to Orthodoxy. We founded a Church of Holy Archdeacon Stephan, the very first martyr. Over the course of over two years, over 150 people received Holy Baptism and joined our parish, which quickly grew to 300 people.
The search for the True Faith, the True Church is invaluable, and whoever receives it obtains a treasured jewel.
The process of leaving Protestantism and joining the Orthodox faith was very painful for me. I was attacked, criticized by my family, the bitter loss of friends, the loss of financial support, etc. Still, in the end was all gained much more than we lost.
-What problems did you have when you became an Orthodox priest, living in America?
– There were many problems, in fact. Over many years I had been a pastor, I had a theological degree, over 120 people converted to Orthodoxy with me, and on that basis, the bishop decided to ordain me to the priesthood right away. In my opinion, this wasn’t quite right, but the Lord allowed it by His Providence, so it was to be. The most difficult thing for me was to be ordained.
It became apparently almost immediately that although I could preach, based on my readings about Orthodoxy, but becoming a spiritual father, a guide, exceeded my abilities, since I had little experience. The Orthodox world view accumulates slowly, and not on the basis of reading books, but from the long-time effect of true living tradition, complete immersion. So I tried to seek out such spiritual guidance. Soon I was directed to the writings of Elder Sophrony and the teachings of St Silouan of Athos. After reading the Life of St Silouan, I visited Elder Sophrony’s monastery in England. I spent several months there. This was a turning point in my life, the beginning of my spiritual edification.
I also decided to move to Greece with my family, and we lived in Thessaloniki for a year. Living there, we were immersed in “the living treasure of Orthodoxy,” we attended divine services, we read the Lives of Saints, venerated relics, received invaluable advice from wise elders, in short, we were under great influence. We visited many monasteries then, and I made about 12 trips to Holy Mount Athos.
As I was preparing to leave Greece, Abbot George (Kapsanis) gave me icons, incense, he made the sign of the cross over me and said, “You received the rare honor of spending time here, serving in the monastery and learning the tradition in direct proximity of holy relics. Now you must return to America and pass along what you received.” These words electrified me. After we returned to America, over the next ten years, or maybe more, I returned to Greece every year and spent a few months on Mt Athos or near Thessaloniki.
-You did missionary work in various countries. Tell us about that. How did people of different cultures, with their own social environments and traditions, receive the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ?
-Without a doubt, this was a miracle and I sensed special grace to do missionary work in various countries: Guatemala, Nepal and the Philippines. In each of these countries I found that people have a genuine interest in studying Orthodox Christianity. When I would be in these countries, dressed as a priest in a cassock and a cross around my neck, people would approach me and ask who I was and which faith I confess.
In each of these places I found that “the fields were ripe for harvest,” yet very few Orthodox Christians are willing to serve as missionaries, so there are many missed opportunities. I spent most of my time in Nepal, and had I not fallen ill and been sent to Katmandu, I would be there today. Nepal is a remarkable country. The people are very gregarious and openly listen to the preaching of the Faith. Most are Hindu, but more in a cultural than spiritual sense.
But in general, you might say that the country is “on the dark side.” People worship many idols and gods. Demonic possession is a common occurrence. Since I had no other Orthodox Christians with me, it was spiritually inhibited. That is why it is not right to do missionary work alone over a long period of time. Even now, every month I receive e-mails from people in Nepal. I very much hope that they will be given the opportunity to attend divine services in a church, but there isn’t a single Orthodox church in that country today. What we need is a team of Orthodox faithful who would live there, perform everyday services, and try it and see
-As far as I know, you also visit Russia and you know how they live . I’d like to know: in your opinion, how are young Russians different from young Americans? Is it hard to find a common language with them? In our nano-tech world, when the computer became every kid’s best friend and companion, how can parents protect their children from the lethal effect of gadgets and destructive games like Pokemon Go, which has even led to death? How can we make children live with God, and not in virtual reality?
– I got blessing to visit Russia several times. I made a total of 8 visits. My first was in October, 1993, the day after Moscow’s “White House” was shot up. I lived in Moscow from September 2009 to March 2010 and spent most of 2015 in Holy Trinity-St Sergius Lavra.
What amazed me most of all during my trips was not the difference but the similarities between the youth of both countries. In some respect, this is very good. This is an outstanding example of the fact that despite the cultural difference and enormous distances that separate us, we are all humans who have similar desires and similar habits. In Russia, I mostly met Orthodox youth, and maybe that’s why I see similarities between them and our youth. Still, I was discouraged when I saw how eagerly lay society, at least in Moscow, absorb the worst aspects of Western culture. Russian youth, just like American youth, try to master all the attributes of “the toys of the world.” This means, in particular, that kids in both worlds share a passion for technology.
Unlimited access to the internet has drawn many people to dependency on pornography and computer games. Some young people can’t live without their smartphones. In fact, many kids prefer to send each other electronic messages than sit face to face and talk. If a parent doesn’t pay attention and allows his child unlimited access to the internet when they are still young, then the likelihood is great that as young people, they will lost to this world, and the parents will be helpless to do anything.
The destructive effect usually begins at an early age, so parental attentiveness is very important. Computers and mobile phones have an overbearing effect on impressionable minds. That is why many tech leaders don’t allow their own children access to gadgets. They have heard how damaging they can be when too much time is spent on them. This alone should serve as a warning and spur us to protect our young children from the effects of the computer and other electronic dependencies.
-Fr Seraphim, thank you for your important advice to parents. We hope that they realize this in time and take whatever steps necessary to save their children. Our readers also want to know more about the life of the Orthodox Church in the United States. Do you see cases where people who are ardent Catholics genuinely convert to Orthodoxy and remain adherents? Can you give us examples?
-This is a very broad question, and it’s not easy to answer. Every parish had their own character, their own life. Some have blessing for conducting daily divine services, like we did at St Stephan Church when I served there, as we did when I was rector at St Silouan Church. Unfortunately, this is not a widespread practice, and not easy to organize. As a result, people often move from one church to another. Some are so drawn into church life that they arrange their lives according to the church calendar of services and holidays. They regularly make confession and often partake of the Holy Gifts, they make pilgrimages to monasteries. Still, the fact remains, these are the minority. The majority are devoted to this world, and their devotion to the Church is secondary
There is also a difference between those who were born into Orthodoxy (Orthodox from the cradle) and converts to the faith. Converts are often more zealous, and burn with the desire to improve, follow the Church canons, while “cradle Orthodox Christians” adhere to the faith as an ethnic thing. So the latter are often involved in cultural activities (such as Russian festivals, art, etc), but you won’t find them in church that often. Of course, the newly-converted are sometimes so zealous yet so unexperienced that they can cause problems for the priest or parish. Some of the most pious Orthodox Christians whom I know personally are in fact the “cradle Orthodox.”
As far as the conversion of Roman Catholics to Orthodoxy, this happens, and often. I will bring forth as an example someone to came to St Silouan Church. A woman who was preparing to be baptized into Catholicism heard that there was an Orthodox church nearby and decided to visit. Her colleague, a Catholic (who was her sponsor to Catholicism), was very upset and tried to talk her out of it. Finally she said “I just want to attend their service.” He responded, “If you see their service and compare it to ours, you will never return.” And he was absolutely right: after she came to our church service and began reading about Orthodoxy, she quickly decided to abandon her intention to convert to Catholicism and be baptized into the Orthodox Faith. Her friend called me several times to express his dissatisfaction. He said that the Pope announced that Catholics can even take communion in Orthodox churches. I rplied that the Pope has no standing in our Church. Finally, in a fit of rage, he yelled at me: “Do you know what you’re doing? Our Church is against what you are trying to do. Do you understand that?” Wishing to end the conversation, I said calmly yet firmly “Yes, I know what I am doing. I am snatching a person about to enter heresy and schism and bringing her to the true faith and the true Church.” He fell silent, and then said quietly: “Well, I’d like for our own priests to have your determination and courage.”
Another example. I once baptized a young man, a former Catholic. His mother was a devoted Catholic. She attended the baptism and cried throughout the service; she felt unfortunate that her son made this decision. Still, she would come to church when he was there, hoping that he returns to Catholicism. Gradually, she started reading some Orthodox literature, and finally converted to Holy Orthodoxy together with her husband. From the very start, when she began attending divine services in the Church of Christ, she admitted that she sensed the spiritual profundity and power of Orthodoxy, which she had thirsted for with all her heart, but could not find in the Roman Catholic Church. The Lord finally filled the void in her heart as she received Holy Baptism and the Eucharist, and she never regretted coming to us.
-In concluding our discussion, I can’t help but touch upon a matter that is all over the mass media: it is no secret that there is an information war between America and Russia. What must be done to prevent the deterioration of relations in all facets of life, from the civil sphere to the spiritual?
– This is a big question, not easy to answer. I agree that this is sad and painful… Our countries are becoming more and more antagonistic towards each other. I am convinced that this would not have occurred had not some influential people not gotten involved who profit from war. In our country, there is a group called “neo-conservatives,” adherents to the notion that there should be only one superpower in the world. They see a threat to their hegemony in a renewed Russia and China, which are developing quickly. They are committed to war with Russia and warn of nuclear attacks. This is madness, there is no other word for it, it is demonic behavior. We Orthodox Christians must understand that we must first of all preserve our faith in Christ. It is written in the Scripture, that “our citizenship is in heaven.” We must fervently pray “O God, save Your people and bless Your inheritance.”
Many of us Orthodox Christians in America do everything we can to tell our compatriots the truth, that our leadership is doing everything it can to provoke Russia to war. But there are very few of us in relation to the overall population of the United States, who are still inclined to believe what their political leaders are saying.
Each one of us must strive to obtain the grace and peace of the Holy Spirit, and then a thousand people around us will be saved.
We must pray for peace with all our strength, pray that the forces of darkness recede, that the Lord saves His people and blessed His inheritance. Many saints and holy elders warned us that war has already begun. That is why we must protect our own hearts from hatred and the desire for war, which the devil wants to implant in each of us. St Seraphim is our guide.
-Fr Seraphim, thank you. We wish you Divine help and hope that you visit our country again.
-Thank you for the opportunity to be connected to my brothers and sisters in Christ who live in God-preserved Russia. I hope that I can visit again, and that Divine Grace which has been preserved here will touch me as well. Please remember me in your prayers.
Interviewed by Elena Khomullo
pravoslavie.ru
<>
Delightful It Is to Serve the King of Kings
A Prayer of Saint Columba of Isle of Iona, Scotland (+597)
Let me bless almighty God,
whose power extends over sea and land,
whose angels watch over all.
Let me study sacred books to calm my soul:
I pray for peace,
kneeling at heaven’s gates.
Let me do my daily work,
gathering seaweed, catching fish,
giving food to the poor.
Let me say my daily prayers,
sometimes chanting, sometimes quiet,
always thanking God.
Delightful it is to live
on a peaceful isle, in a quiet cell,
serving the King of kings.
Source: Attributed to St. Columba, 521-597.
Source of this version: https://daily-prayers.org/angels-and-saints/prayers-of-columba-colomcille-of-ireland/
Included in Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
Source:
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/07/19/delightful-it-is-to-serve-the-king-of-kings/
<>
Through Oxford To Orthodoxy
Archimandrite Meletios (Webber), of Scottish background, was born in London, and received his Masters degree in Theology from Oxford University, England and the Thessalonica School of Theology, Greece. He also holds an E.D.D. (doctorate) in Psychotherapy from the University of Montana, Missoula. He is the author of two published books: Steps of Transformation; an Orthodox Priest Explores the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (Conciliar Press, 2003); and Bread and Water, Wine and Oil; an Orthodox Christian Experience of God (Conciliar Press, 2007).
This interview was originally published in Pravoslavnie.ru.
—Fr. Meletios, could you tell us a little about your journey to Orthodoxy in Oxford, and how you became a priest?
—I went to Oxford as a theology student in 1968, and very quickly found an Orthodox Church there. The parish priest at the time was Fr. Kallistos Ware, who is now Metropolitan of Diokleia, and the deacon at the time was Fr. Basil Osborne, who is now Bishop of Amphipolis. The parish in Oxford was both a Russian and a Greek one, coexisting in a small room in what had once been the house of the famous Dr. Spooner. I was immediately attracted to the quality of the stillness that I found in that small room. That has been something that I have consistently valued in the Orthodox Church ever since. It is a quality which is difficult to talk about, but it happens when one goes into a space which is so obviously God-filled. That is something that I found very important and very attractive at that time. Under the tutelage of Fr. Kallistos I became Orthodox three years later, and I was ordained a priest some three years after that in January of 1976, by the Greek Archbishop of Thyateira in Great Britain, and served with that bishop as his chaplain for a number of years. My first parish in Britain after I returned from my studies in Greece was in an area of London called Harrow. From Harrow I went to the United States and spent 22 years there, before returning to Europe to live in the Netherlands in 2005.
—In which parishes did you serve in the U.S.?
—In the beginning, in 1984, I served as the parish priest in the churches of the state of Montana. There were three active parishes, two missions, and several other groups. This was with the Greek Archdiocese. I used to travel a very great deal throughout the year, which was at times a little more exciting than I wanted it to be. The people were very scattered, but very few in number. A trickle of converts started toward the end of my time there, but for the most part I was serving Greek Americans.
—Were there any converts at all while you were there?
—In Great Falls, Montana there was an air force base, and we had a number of very fine converts coming to us from that direction. We baptized a few families who were attracted to the Church from that place. It would be difficult to say that the Greek community found it easy to accept non-Greeks, because they saw themselves as a sort of bastion of Greekness. They were very friendly on the whole, but they simply did not know how to react to people who wanted to join the Church who were not Greek, who didn’t speak Greek, and so on. They also found it difficult at that time (and I think this is still the case), to keep their children in Montana. Almost everyone would leave the state as soon as they were able, in search of employment or education.
—Because Montana simply does not have very much to offer in the way of employment or education?
—Certainly in Great Falls there wasn’t. In Missoula and Billings there are universities; in Missoula there was quite a thriving Orthodox community. But even then, with the exception of two or three of my former altar boys, who went to get their law degrees and then returned to practice in Montana, most people found it difficult to find professional development in Montana. It is a problem in a state which has a huge surface area and a relatively small population.
—Where did you serve after Montana?
—I went to what is known in America as “The Bay Area,” meaning the area around San Francisco, and became the chancellor of what was then the Greek diocese of San Francisco, with Bishop Anthony. I served with him as chancellor for two years, during which time I served as parish priest in Santa Cruz. After I ceased being chancellor, I was then full-time parish priest in Santa Cruz, for another nine years.
—Is that the same parish in which the murdered Fr. John Karastamatis served?
—Yes. He was not my immediate predecessor; there had been three other priests in between. I knew his presbytera quite well, and his children. He was murdered on the premises of the church, in very unpleasant circumstances, some years before I arrived, but it was still a very dominant factor in the life of parish while I was there—something they couldn’t forget.
—In your experience as a pastor in America, with the Greek population and later with a slightly more diverse group, what would you say is the most challenging aspect of being a pastor there?
—I think that there are many problems, but none of them is insurmountable, so long as the focus of parish life always centers upon the words of Jesus and the Gospel. It is easy to become distracted into the realms of, for example, Greek culture and cooking, or folk dance, all of which are wonderful activities in themselves, but can never be the backbone of parish life. The backbone of parish life has to be spiritual in nature, and based very firmly upon the Gospel. So, the interests of parishioners can be in one direction, and those of the pastor in another, and it is up to the pastor to help the people whom he is serving stay focused on what is important; encouraging them, of course, in all these other areas as well, but making sure that the spiritual core is always present in everything that they do.
—Did you ever find that it was a challenge for your Greek parishioners to have a pastor, even a chancellor, who was not at all Greek?
—Yes, well, you would have thought so. But when I was in London I was serving a community that was almost entirely Cypriot, and also Greek- speaking. I survived that experience reasonably well. They used to call me in the Cypriot dialect “O kochenos,” which means “The red-haired one,” since I had red hair in those days. I have always found that although I am not Greek, I speak Greek reasonably well, and I can feel Greek enough to participate in Greek parish life—sometimes perhaps too much so. (Perhaps a little stoic reserve would be more applicable.) But because I speak the language, with very few exceptions (and there have been some), I have never been made to feel an outsider.
Bishop Anthony (whom I mentioned earlier, and who went on to become Metropolitan Anthony, reposing in 2004, on Christmas day), was not an easy man to work with in many ways. But the one thing that always surprised me about him was that with regard to ethnicity, he was sort of color blind. He actually forgot that the people around him were Greek, or not Greek. It simply was not important to him. This was one of his great strengths, actually, in bringing the metropolis together.
—Now that you have come to Holland, you are entering into a new realm—the Russians, the Dutch, and other Europeans who are living in Amsterdam, a cosmopolitan city. Could you describe what the parish life is like in the Russian Church in Amsterdam?
—First of all, the parish itself is a great deal larger than any other parish I have served in before. Apart from those two years when I was Chancellor and had oversight over a number of parishes, all of the parishes in which I worked personally had around fifty to a hundred families. Suddenly, when I come to Amsterdam, there is a huge parish with a very flexible congregation—new people seem to turn up every week The number of languages flying around is just something that you just have to get used to. In the altar four languages certainly are quite common amongst the clergy themselves.
—Those being…
—French, Dutch, Russian, and English; occasionally there are other languages, too. This being only us communicating amongst ourselves, in order to know what we are supposed to do.
—French being a sort of lingua franca?
Yes. I don’t think there is actually a French person there. But we do have some people who are very, very qualified in language skills. One of our deacons is an international translator who works for President Putin and other people of that ilk, as the need arises.
—Is he Russian?
—No, he is actually Dutch. He speaks four languages fluently. He occasionally translates my sermons, which I enjoy immensely. I deliver them in Dutch, and he translates them into Russian. He catches nuances in what I am saying that I’ve missed. I am just amazed at his skill. He is a very young man. It is quite exciting.
Parish council meetings (which I don’t attend) are entirely bilingual, so everything has to be said in Dutch and Russian, and I should imagine that that becomes at times something less than a pleasure.
—Twice as long?
Twice as long; and the subject matter at parish meetings is at times not so interesting, or not so important to the central interest of the parish. But I suppose that is just parish life.
—Which is the dominant nationality there now?
—I would have to say that the dominant group would be the Russians, most of whom have come to Europe fairly recently. There are very, very few old Russians left from previous immigrations, the notable exception being Matushka Tatiana, the wife of the reposed Fr. Alexei (who was Dutch). There are very few, if any, of that generation. There are some older women—particularly women—from a new generation; but that’s another matter—they came over as old ladies.
—Is this mixture of Russian and Dutch harmonious?
—I would say that it really is. I have been in parishes in England and in the U.S., where people tended to get very defensive about languages. In Holland that is not the case, and in Amsterdam, certainly not. We have a system of trying to balance the languages which seems to work very well. And I don’t think I have ever heard a complaint that we were using one language more than another. Occasionally I have to break into English or Greek during the services, bearing in mind that I know most of the services by heart in Greek, not even as well in English. People will sometimes comment on that, mostly not in too brusque a manner, but it is often the best I can do, if I am in a situation wherein I can’t find the book I need, or if I am in a hurry.
—Do you know any Russian?
—Yes, I also use Church Slavonic in the Services.
—Can you speak to the Russians in their own language?
—To a certain extent. I need some help to learn a bit more Russian. I do hear confessions in Russian, but that is more instinctive than linguistic, and normally I reply either in English or Dutch, depending upon what the person’s language skills happens to be.
I understand that the difficulties that occurred in the London Moscow Patriarchate parish have been more or less smoothed out by this time. But in your opinion, what could have been the underlying problem which could have made it so difficult for the new Russian immigrants to coexist with the local converts—a problem which does not seem to exist here in Amsterdam?
I have never been a member of the parish in London, although I have known about it for forty years or so. I could be quite wrong in what I am about to say, and I certainly do not want to offend anyone. I, like many, many other people, regard Metropolitan Anthony Bloom as a very important part of my Orthodox formation, and I venerate his memory as do many, many others. I think what we saw there—somewhat encouraged by Metropolitan Anthony—was a very high level of expectation as to how the diocese would develop as he got older, and eventually what would happen after he died. But the circumstances in Russia were such, that by the time that happened, the reality was altogether different from any possible dream that anyone might have had. And I think that the reality and the dream simply didn’t mix.
I don’t necessarily think that anyone is to blame for this. I know that many feelings were hurt, but I don’t see any wrong-doing on anyone’s part; I think it was simply people doing their best to fight for what they thought was right and just—on both sides. But it is a situation with which Vladyka Anthony himself never really came to grips; and by the time the Soviet Union dissolved, he was already a very old man. Whilst he was mentally very strong right to the end, coping with the sort of ecclesiastical needs of the new Russians was something he had never had to do. He was ministering mainly to English people in very small, rural communities. There were a couple of exceptions, but on the whole, that was where his main influence seemed to lie.
Then, all of a sudden he was confronted with the huge ecclesiastical needs of a lot of Russians in cities, which was not where he was actually comfortable. That is a bit of a guess. I may be entirely wrong on that, but this seems to be part of it.
This is a point of view of someone who was not in the thick of it, an objective observer.
—How would you, in a few words, characterize this new burst of immigration coming from Russia and Eastern Europe in general? Is the majority or only a small percentage coming to the Church? How does this big wave of immigration affect the Church?
I think that several things happened relatively quickly when the Soviet Union dissolved. One comment that was made to me by a Russian, which I find quite interesting, was that for a lot of people, once the Communist Party was, as it were, no more, they latched onto the Church as being a point of stability in social life. And it was as if the Communist Party were replaced by the Church. We are not talking here about matters of faith, but simply about social structure, how people live their lives, what they do when they get up in the morning, and how they see the world when they look out the window. If that is true, then the Church obviously has a huge burden of evangelizing, bringing the Gospel to these people. I think that is what we see happening.
Typically the Orthodox method of doing such a thing isn’t by making church life attractive, by trying to “sell” an idea, or imposing an ideology upon people, but rather to open the doors of the parishes, to welcome people when they arrive, to make them feel at home, and gradually to educate them in the prayer life, which is after all, what the Church really has to offer. Of course, it is not an activity where efficiency counts for much. You’re looking for quality rather than quantity.
I would say that the Russian population in Amsterdam is something in the region of six or seven thousand people, which in comparison with the total population isn’t that large. Nevertheless, the congregation on Sunday morning is only, say, 350 people, including the non-Russians. So, yes, there is a great deal more that can be done.
The outreach has to be for Orthodoxy on a personal level. The era for the conversion of Russia was already a thousand years ago, and I don’t think those tactics would work on a modern group—the baptism by sword-point is no longer even desirable. The long term answer is for the Orthodox in Amsterdam to live lives which are attractive enough to people who are potentially Orthodox, so that they can be attracted to what the Church has to offer. We are greatly blessed—we have a wonderful bishop, we have fine clergy, and although they are all human beings, there are very human aspects of Church life as well. The very heart of what is going on is the proclamation of the Gospel.
—What is your ministry like to the youth, and how do you bring young people into the Church? How do you feel about rock concerts, and Orthodox priests entering into such realms that are not Christian in nature in order to reach out to the youth?
The teenage years are years of rebellion. Teenagers have been rebelling in one way or another since the dawn of time. So, making teenagers conform to anything has been a heavy task for parents and educators for as long as men and women have been around.
Ultimately, teenagers on the whole—although of course there are exceptions—tend to be driven by peer pressure, and if peer pressure includes a spiritual dimension, then there will tend to be a spiritual dimension to their existence, although it may not be recognizable to anyone else. But if spirituality is entirely lacking—as it tends to be so in the Western world, even amongst fairly religious groups in the United States—you find that teenagers tend to spend time in rebellion. This means that ultimately you pray for the teenagers, and hope that they are going to come through those years without too many scars. The churches tend to pick them up once again when they become young parents. There is nothing wrong with that pattern, it just happens to be the one that seems to be in place.
Now, I know so little about rock music and things of that nature that anything I say is likely to be very doubtful, but let me put it in another context: I can’t say that I have ever met anybody who has been converted to Christianity by attending a symphony concert. Now, if that is true of symphony concerts, I think that that is also true of rock concerts. So rock music is an end in itself—I really can’t say if it is good or bad. But it is unlikely to provide much of a spiritual dimension for most people. It is a diversion, a distraction; it is away from the spiritual quest, rather than on the path. Therefore, I would say that it is somewhat irrelevant; I don’t think that having priests dress as rock stars is going to fill the churches.
—What about priests attending rock concerts in order to reach out to the youth?
As I say, putting the same thing in the context of a symphony hall, having a priest sitting in the front row will not drive those people into the Church. The Church is good at being the Church. When the Church tries to be something else—and in the past it has tried to be all sorts of things, including government or administrator, sometimes because it had to, sometimes because it chose to—it is not at its best. The Church is essentially to do with living, and proclaiming the Gospel. The moment you start moving away from that occupation, then there is trouble.
—Viewing the youth of Europe, do you see any hope? Does materialism totally prevail, or is there any yearning for traditional spirituality amongst the young people of Europe?
I think the Church has failed to make faith a living issue for a lot of people. I am not here talking necessarily about the Orthodox Church, although I have lived in Greece, and I have seen how the Church there has fallen short of bringing the Christian life to people living in that country.
Here in Holland the churches are almost a dead issue, they are almost irrelevant to the life of the country. When youngsters come in contact with the Church—and now I am talking about the Orthodox Church—they tend to be quite taken aback by not only the spiritual strength which they encounter, but also the depth of experience which the Orthodox Church has. (I am talking about very small numbers of people.) That is because our favorite missionary method is simply to open a church door, and that is pretty much the extent of it. So if people choose to come inside, then we have a lot to share with them. But that is the limit of our activity in that direction.
Nevertheless, I also have a tremendous optimism. First of all, God is in charge, and no matter how badly we are doing, God is still God, and He is very good at being God. He has been doing it for a long time. In the end, God’s will will prevail, no matter how many obstacles we put in His path—or other people do.
This may be very wrong of me, but I see both in Europe and in the United States a quest on the part of young people towards what I suppose I could characterize as a quest for “goodness” as opposed to “rightness.” In the 1930’s and 40’s, certainly during the Second World War, Europe like most of the world was torn apart over questions of “rightness.” Goodness was not the issue at all—there was no goodness. Everything was bad. But the fascists thought they were right, and the communists thought they were right, and they tore each others’ throats out to settle it. What I do see amongst young people is a desire to pursue goodness for its own sake. This isn’t any big movement or anything of that nature.
I was a high school teacher for many years, so I have had much contact with teenagers. But simply from talking with teenagers, I would say that if there has been a trend at all, this is what it is.
—Do you have any young people in Amsterdam who have just “wandered in?”
—There are some. We also encourage teachers to bring classes. That is beginning to happen.
—As a cultural experience?
—Yes, because the Church has something very different to offer. The Dutch are living in a post-Calvinist society, where the Church has a rather dour, cold, forbidding aura about it. To come into the middle of a celebrating Orthodox community is actually quite an important event for them, even if it has no spiritual dimension at all.
—The search for “goodness?”
—Yes.
—Is it difficult for the Russians and Eastern Europeans who immigrate here to adjust to Western European life? Do they go through a period of shock? What words of encouragement would you give to those who find themselves in Holland as their new home? How can they adapt themselves without losing what is best about their own culture and personalities?
—I am never quiet clear as to why people come to Holland in the first place, unless they have a specific job offer in this country. Of all the countries in Europe, it is one of the most difficult for an Eastern European to apply to live in. Holland has its own language which is only shared with half of Belgium, and that’s that. So language tends to be something of an issue. Housing is expensive, and social services are no longer as generous as they have been in the past. Having said that, I can also say that many people, although not everybody, find Holland to be home quite quickly.
When I was little, I was intensely aware of the differences between Scotland and England. Most people, for instance, from North America, wouldn’t even be aware that there were such differences. Whenever you move from country to country, or indeed within a country, you are likely to come across some difficulties. Holland has a bureaucracy, which goes at it own pace. Holland has its own educational system, which is different from other people’s. Holland has its own medical services, which tend to have a different slant on things. You can go to a store in Amsterdam and buy marijuana, but you can’t go and buy penicillin. Things are just different.
—Do you have any comment on the decision by the European Union to deny the Christian origin of European culture? And in contrast, on the recent attempt in the United States Congress to affirm and value this origin, and the essential role Christianity has played in the development of Western Civilization? What is the portent of this statement for the European Community?
—I think that one of the most important factors in the modern world is that perhaps for the first time, the Church has become free to criticize any political leader. I think that the Gospel is, and always will be, at odds with most of the social systems we have developed, at least so far. And it is the Church’s task to call government to account whenever political governments are behaving in ways that are at odds with the Gospel. So, I think that it is interesting that America, in which the notion of the separation of Church and State really originated, or partially originated, is now wanting to affirm some Christian roots; whereas, in Europe, where Christianity is so much part of the life blood that it hardly needs to be talked about, such a statement is deemed to be unnecessary.
The high points in the life of the Church, spiritually speaking, have usually been the times when the Church has been heavily persecuted, and the low points, spiritually speaking, have been times when the Church has been allied with political power. Not always, but sometimes. So, I think it is largely irrelevant as to whether political powers seek to have their roots in Christianity or in any other religion, if they use that religion to justify whatever it is they are doing. So, the freer the Church is to comment on political life in the light of the Gospel, the better the situation is, everything else notwithstanding.
—The experience of the Byzantine Empire, which remains somewhere in the consciousness of Christian society, has as its symbol the double-headed eagle signifying the harmonious functions of two heads in one body—the Church as the conscience of the Government, and the Government as the protector of the Church. Does this have any meaning for Europeans today?
—Of course, the Byzantine ideal depends upon Christian emperors. That is a great deal more than emperors who happen to be Christian. In the good examples which Byzantium gives us, we see people who are of great spiritual depth, and under those circumstances it is possible for such a thing to exist. I don’t see that the way modern democracy works is likely to bring people who are more than nominally Christian into positions of leadership.
People who are too demonstratively Christian are going to be wiped out in the primaries. That is the nature of the modern political machine. People with strong views about anything are likely to be wiped out. The people you are left with are those who are good at balancing, pleasing all sides. The Church is not like that. The Church should not be like that. The Church has a mission which hasn’t changed from the day that Jesus was physically amongst us on Earth.
It is the call to repentance, the call to bring people back to God. Very few states can be seen to have been successful in doing that same thing.
—You are speaking of states in the Western world, or states in general?
—In general. I know that Byzantium is a beautiful idea for many, many people. Holy Russia is a beautiful idea for many other people. Yet both the Russian political system and the Byzantine political system fell short of the Gospel in many ways, at least during certain periods of history, and sometimes markedly so. Neither one was of the mold of modern democracy. Unless things change dramatically in the future, I don’t see that the sort of government that existed in Russia, and in Byzantium, is going to be a possibility at all. So I would see the future being where the Church and the State might be amicable, but the Church always needs to reserve the right to criticize. And many governments don’t particularly care for that particular part of the Church’s mission.
—Do you think that this might be the underlying cause for this statement by the European Union?
—To be honest, the people who seem to be making the rules in Europe at the moment baffle me entirely. I have no idea why they say anything. Or even who they are.
—But you do not see this as setting the stage for more strictures on Church activities?
—No, absolutely not.
—They have fallen away from the Church, so they assume that all of Europe has fallen away from the Church?
—Pretty much. In some ways, that is good for the Church. Wherever, for example, Catholicism has been hand in hand with a particular government in a particular country, you haven’t always seen Catholicism at its finest.
—Being hand in hand with the government did not bring out its finest?
—Precisely. On the contrary.
—It brings out its worst?
—Well, the Spanish Inquisition leaps to one’s mind, but there are other examples.
—So, do you think that this decision could also have sprung from the Western European historical consciousness of abuses springing from a unity between Church and State?
—The Christian background of Western Europe is so vast, and so omnipresent, that nobody could actually eradicate it. It is an historical fact, there to stay. That is the basis of what’s going on. Given the arrival of Islam into Spain and parts of Eastern Europe, it has always been one variety of Christianity or another which has dominated this area for 1200 years, in some places even longer.
—And the new wave of Moslem immigration—are you feeling any pressure from this in Amsterdam?
—I am almost certain that there is a solution waiting to be found to what appears to be a problem. Most Moslem people here in Holland are very happy to lead there own lives, doing what they usually do peacefully with what are usually post-Christian neighbors. There will always be layers of fanaticism in every society, but on the whole, the Moslem presence in Holland is something that most people can live with.
However, when people turn to religion to provide themselves with what one might want to call “ego identity,” simply because that identity is not present anywhere else, it transforms the religion into something which is rather distasteful, and also makes their own psychological make-up somewhat suspect. This isn’t the best way of finding an identity. That is the problem. If people only find some sort of living identity in their religious affiliation, then we’ve got a lot of work to do. Because in the end, religions aren’t made to coexist. Religions, by definition, tend to be at odds, and this has always been historically true for Christianity as well as Islam, there has always been a tendency for one to want to wipe out the other. They don’t live side by side naturally. Quite how we can get them to live side by side with some sort of friendliness, I am not quite sure, but that is the work that needs to be done.
—Finally, do you have any words for the readers of Pravoslavie.ru.? Some wishes for the people of Russia, and her relationship to Europe?
—I suppose my view is that the communists who took over Russian society at the time of the revolution were (and I think this is true), genuinely trying to improve society. But I also believe that the way they went about it, particularly becoming adversarial towards Orthodoxy, meant that their labors were, as it were, in vain. Russia is Orthodox to the marrow. I see it in the people who come to Church, who have no real academic or book knowledge of what Orthodoxy is all about, but who have a deep, deep reverence for Orthodoxy, and the life of Christ that Orthodoxy exhibits. Russia without Orthodoxy is, and has been, impoverished. It might be splendid in some ways, but there is something desperately lacking. And I am fairly certain that in God’s time the roots will be connected with the leaves. Then, what is in the depths of Russian history—what you might want to call the depths of the Russian soul (but perhaps that’s a little more dangerous)—will begin to manifest itself once again in positive ways, through growth, outreach, and commitment to the words of Jesus. That future is very bright indeed.
Nun Cornelia (Rees)
<>
Christ’s Cross
A Prayer of Saint Columba of Iona, Scotland (+597)
CHRIST’S cross over this face,
and thus over my ear.
Christ’s cross over this eye.
Christ’s cross over this nose.
Christ’s cross over this mouth.
Christ’s cross over this throat.
Christ’s cross over the back of this head.
Christ’s cross over this side.
Christ’s cross over this belly
(so is it fitting).
Christ’s cross over this lower belly.
Christ’s cross over this back.
Christ’s cross over my arms
from my shoulders to my hands.
Christ’s cross over my thighs.
Christ’s cross over my legs.
Christ’s cross to accompany me before me.
Christ’s cross to accompany me behind me.
Christ’s cross to meet every difficulty
both on hollow and hill.
Christ’s cross eastwards facing me.
Christ’s cross back towards the sunset.
In the north, in the south unceasingly
may Christ’s cross straightway be.
Christ’s cross over my teeth
lest injury or harm come to me.
Christ’s cross over my stomach.
Christ’s cross over my heart.
Christ’s cross up to broad (?) Heaven.
Christ’s cross down to earth.
Let no evil or hurt come
to my body or my soul.
Christ’s cross over me as I sit.
Christ’s cross over me as I lie.
Christ’s cross be all my strength
till we reach the King of Heaven.
Christ’s cross over my community.
Christ’s cross over my church.
Christ’s cross in the next world;
Christ’s cross in this.
From the top of my head
to the nail of my foot,
O Christ, against every danger
I trust in the protection of thy cross.
Till the day of my death,
before going into this clay,
I shall draw without . . .
Christ’s cross over this face.
http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/cc10.html
<>
Orthodox churches in Scotland
Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain
Scottish Orthodox Community
<>
The Chapel Of Saint John The Baptist, Ross-Shire, Highlands, Scotland
General Details
Type: Chapel
Archdiocese: Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain
Diocese: Scottish Orthodox Community
Priest: Archimandrite John Maitland Moir
Feast Day: January 7
Contact Details
Address: Ardross Castle, Ross-shire, Highlands, IV17 0YE United Kingdom
Phone: 01349-883395
Url: http://www.edinburgh-orthodox.org.uk
Priest: frjohnedin@talktalk.net
<>
The Orthodox Community Of The Highlands, Inverness-Shire, Highlands, Scotland
General Details
Type: Church
Archdiocese: Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain
Head Priest: Bishop Raphael of Ilion
Priest: Fr Antonios Kakalis / Fr Christopher Wallace
Second Priest: Fr Andrei Dosoftei
Feast Day: June 9 - Feast of Saint Columba
Contact Details
Address: Ness Walk, Inverness-shire, Highlands, IV3 5SF United Kingdom
Email: antonioskakalis@gmail.com
Phone: 07763-283600
<>
The Oratory Of The Mother Of God And Saint Cumein, Inverness-Shire, Highlands
General Details
Type: Church
Archdiocese: Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain
Priest: Archimandrite John Maitland Moir
Contact Details
Address: Bunoich Brae, Inverness-shire, Highlands, PH32 4DG United Kingdom
Phone: 01320-366 457
Priest: frjohnedin@talktalk.net
<>
Saints Joachim And Anna Romanian Orthodox Church, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
General Details
Type:
Church
Archdiocese:
Romanian Orthodox Church, Romanian Patriarchate
Diocese:
Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of Western and Southern Europe
Head Priest:
Metropolitan Joseph
Priest:
Gabriel Hlade
Feast Day:
September 9 - Sts. Joachim and Anna
Contact Details
Address:
Mastrick Parish Church, Greenfern Road, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, AB16 6TR United Kingdom
Email:
aberdeen@mitropolia.eu
Url:
http://www.bisericaortodoxaromanascotia.org.uk
<>
The Orthodox Community Of Saint Matthew The Apostle, Aberdeenshire, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
General Details
Type:
Church
Archdiocese:
Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain
Diocese:
Scottish Orthodox Community
Priest:
Archimandrite John Maitland Moir
Contact Details
Address:
696 King Street, Aberdeenshire, Aberdeenshire, AB24 1SJ United Kingdom
Phone:
01224-315658
Url:
http://www.edinburgh-orthodox.org.uk
Priest:
frjohnedin@talktalk.net
<>
The Orthodox Community Of Dundee, Angus, Dundee, Scotland
General Details
Type:
Church
Archdiocese:
Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain
Diocese:
Scottish Orthodox Community
Priest:
Archimandrite John Maitland Moir
Contact Details
Address:
Cross Row, Angus, Dundee, DD1 4HN United Kingdom
Phone:
01382-344157
Url:
http://www.edinburgh-orthodox.org.uk
Priest:
frjohnedin@talktalk.net
<>
The Orthodox Community Of Saint Andrews, Fife, Fife
General Details
Type:
Church
Archdiocese:
Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain
Diocese:
Scottish Orthodox Community
Priest:
Archimandrite John Maitland Moir
Contact Details
Address:
The Pends, Fife, Fife, KY16 9RF United Kingdom
Phone:
01334 479 121
Priest:
frjohnedin@talktalk.net
<>
The Orthodox Community Of Stirling, Stirlingshire, Stirling
General Details
Type:
Church
Archdiocese:
Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain
Diocese:
Scottish Orthodox Community
Priest:
Archimandrite John Maitland Moir
Contact Details
Address:
Keir Street, Stirlingshire, Stirling, FK9 4AT United Kingdom
Phone:
01786-479875
Priest:
frjohnedin@talktalk.net
<>
Presentation Of Our Lord Romanian Orthodox Church, Glasgow, Glasgow
General Details
Type:
Church
Archdiocese:
Romanian Orthodox Church, Romanian Patriarchate
Diocese:
Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of Western and Southern Europe
Head Priest:
Metropolitan Joseph
Priest:
Marcel Oprişan
Feast Day:
February 2 - Presentation of Our Lord
Contact Details
Address:
111 Killin Street, Glasgow, Glasgow, G32 9AH United Kingdom
Email:
marceloprisan@yahoo.com
Url:
http://www.bisericaortodoxaromanascotia.org.uk/
<>
The Orthodox Chapel Of Saint Andrew, Midlothian, Edinburgh
General Details
Type:
Chapel
Archdiocese:
Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain
Diocese:
Scottish Orthodox Community
Priest:
Archimandrite John Maitland Moir
Contact Details
Address:
2 Meadow Lane, Midlothian, Edinburgh, EH8 9NR United Kingdom
Phone:
0131 336 4492
Url:
http://www.edinburgh-orthodox.org.uk
Priest:
frjohnedin@talktalk.net
<>
Saint Luke Orthodox Cathedral, Lanarkshire, Glasgow
General Details
Type:
Seminary
Archdiocese:
Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain
Head Priest:
Archbishop Gregory
Priest:
Father Constantine Papageorgiou
Contact Details
Address:
27 Dundonald Road, Lanarkshire, Glasgow, G12 9LL United Kingdom
Email:
info@stluke.org.uk
Phone:
+44 (0)141-339 7368
Url:
http://www.stluke.org.uk
<>
The Greek School Of Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Glasgow
General Details
Type:
School
Archdiocese:
Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain
Head Priest:
Mr Nondas Pitticas
Contact Details
Address:
27 Dundonald Road, Lanarkshire, Glasgow, G12 9LL United Kingdom
Email:
greekschoolglasgow@gmail.com
Url:
http://www.greekschoolglasgow.org.uk
<>
Orthodox Community Of Saint Nicholas, Perthshire, Stirling
General Details
Type:
Church
Archdiocese:
Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia
Diocese:
Diocese of Sourozh
Head Priest:
Archbishop Elisey of Sourozh
Priest:
Fr Alexander William
Feast Day:
December 6
Contact Details
Address:
Laighill Loan, Perthshire, Stirling, FK15 OBJ United Kingdom
Phone:
01786-822-750
<>
Orthodox Parish Church Of The Archangel Gabriel, Glasgow, Aberdeen
General Details
Type:
Church
Archdiocese:
Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox Churches in Western Europe
Diocese:
UK Parishes
Priest:
Fr Augustine
Feast Day:
March 26 - The Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel
Second Feast Day:
November 7 - Feast of the Archangels and all Angelic Powers
Contact Details
Address:
Wellington Church 77 Southpark Avenue, Glasgow, Aberdeen, G12 8LE United Kingdom
Email:
archangelgabriel@glasgoworthodox.co.uk
Phone:
+447772184841
Url:
https://www.facebook.com/orthodoxcommunityofsaintgabriel/
<>
Orthodox Community Of Saint Kentigern, Lanarkshire, Glasgow
General Details
Type:
Church
Archdiocese:
Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia
Diocese:
Diocese of Sourozh
Head Priest:
Archbishop Elisey of Sourozh
Priest:
Archpriest Gennadiy Andreev
Contact Details
Address:
866 Govan Road, Lanarkshire, Glasgow, G51 3UU United Kingdom
Phone:
0141-435-4889
Url:
http://kentigern.squarespace.com
<>
Saint Enda, Abbot of Arranmore, Father of Irish Monasticism (+6th ce.)
21 March
Born in Meath; died at Killeany, Ireland, c. 530 or 590; feast day formerly on March 16.
In the 6th century, the wild rock called Aran, off the coast of Galway, was an isle of saints, and among them was Saint Enda, the patriarch of Irish monasticism. He was an Irish prince, son of Conall Derg of Oriel (Ergall) in Ulster. Legend has it that the soldier Enda was converted by his sister, Saint Fanchea (f.d. January 1), abbess of Kill-Aine. He renounced his dreams of conquest and decided to marry one of the girls in his sister's convent. When his intended bride died suddenly, he surrendered his throne and a life of worldly glory to become a monk. He made a pilgrimage to Rome and was ordained there. These stories told of the early life of Saint Enda and his sister are unreliable, but the rest is not. More authentic "vitae" survive at Tighlaghearny at Inishmore, where he was buried.
It is said that Enda learned the principles of monastic life at Rosnat in Britain, which was probably Saint David's foundation in Pembrokeshire or Saint Ninian's (f.d. September 16) in Galloway. Returning to Ireland, Enda built churches at Drogheda, and a monastery in the Boyne valley. It is uncertain how much of Enda's rule was an adaptation of that of Rosnat.
Thereafter (about 484) he begged his brother-in-law, the King Oengus (Aengus) of Munster, to give him the wild and barren isle of Aran (Aranmore) in Galway Bay. Oengus wanted to give him a fertile plot in the Golden Vale, but Aran more suited Enda's ideal for religious life. On Aran he established the monastery of Killeaney, which is regarded as the first Irish monastery in the strict sense, `the capital of the Ireland of the saints.' There they lived a hard life of manual labour, prayer, fasting, and study of the Scriptures. It is said that no fire was ever allowed to warm the cold stone cells even if "cold could be felt by those hearts so glowing with love of God."
Enda divided the island into ten parts, in each of which he built a monastery, and under his severe rule Aran became a burning light of sanctity for centuries in Western Europe. Sheep now huddle and shiver in the storm under the ruins of old walls where once men lived and prayed. This was the chosen home of a group of poor and devoted men under Saint Enda. He taught them to love the hard rock, the dripping cave, and the barren earth swept by the western gales. They were men of the cave, and also men of the Cross, who, remembering that their Lord was born in a manger and had nowhere to lay His head, followed the same hard way.
Their coming produced excitement, and the Galway fishermen were kept busy rowing their small boats filled with curious sightseers across the intervening sea, for the fame of Aran-More spread far and wide. Enda's disciples were a noble band. There was Saint Ciaran of Clonmacnoise (f.d. September 9), who came there first as a youth to grind corn, and would have remained there for life but for Enda's insistence that his true work lay elsewhere, reluctant though he was to part with him. When he departed, the monks of Aran lined the shore as he knelt for the last time to receive Enda's blessing, and watched with wistful eyes the boat that bore him from them. In his going, they declared, their island had lost its flower and strength.
Another was Saint Finnian (f.d. September 10), who left Aran and founded the monastery of Moville (where Saint Columba spent part of his youth) and who afterwards became bishop of Lucca in Tuscany, Italy. Among them also was Saint Brendan the Voyager, Saint Columba of Iona, Jarlath of Tuam (f.d. June 6), and Carthach the Elder (f.d. March 5) These and many others formed a great and valiant company who first learned in Aran the many ways of God, and who from that rocky sanctuary carried the light of the Gospel into a pagan world.
The very wildness of Aran made it richer and dearer to those who lived there. They loved those islands which as a necklace of pearls, God has set upon the bosom of the sea, and all the more because they had been the scene of heathen worship. There were three islands altogether, with lovely Irish names: Inishmore, Inishmain, and Inisheen.
On the largest stood Saint Enda's well and altar, and the round tower of the church where the bell was sounded which gave the signal that Saint Enda had taken his place at the altar. At the tolling of the bell the service of the Mass began in all the churches of the island.
O, Aran, cried Columba in ecstasy, the Rome of the pilgrims! He never forgot his spiritual home which lay in the western sun and her pure earth sanctified by so many memories. Indeed, he said, so bright was her glory that the angels of God came down to worship in the churches of Aran (Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines, D'Arcy, Delaney78, Encyclopaedia, Farmer, Gill, Healy, Husenbeth, Kenney, Montague).
<>
Saint Frigidian of Lucca, Bishop, from Ireland (+588)
18 March
Born in Ireland; died 588; feast day formerly March 15. In spite of the Italian name Frediano, by which he is usually called, St. Frigidian was an Irishman, the son of King Ultach of Ulster. He was trained in Irish monasteries and ordained a priest. His learning was imparted by such flowers of the 6th century Irish culture as Saint Enda and Saint Colman.
St. Frigidian arrived in Italy on a pilgrimage to Rome and decided to settle as a hermit on Mount Pisano. In 566, he was elected bishop of Lucca and was persuaded by Pope John II him to accept the position. Even thereafter the saint frequently left the city to spend many days in prayer and solitude. As bishop he formed the clergy of the city into a community of canons regular and rebuilt the cathedral after it had been destroyed by fire by the Lombards.
His most famous miracle:- the River Serchio frequently burst its banks, causing great damage to the city of Lucca. The citizens reputedly called on their bishop for aid. He asked for an ordinary rake. Fortified by prayer, Frigidian commanded the Serchio to follow his rake. He charted a new, safer course for the water, avoiding the city walls, as well as the cultivated land outside. Miraculously, the river followed him.
Sometimes there is confusion between Saint Finnian of Moville and St. Frigidian. They could perhaps be the same person but the links have never been well established. Frigidian is still greatly venerated in Lucca (Attwater, Bentley, Encyclopedia).
In art, St. Frigidian walks in procession as the Volto Santo crucifix is brought to Lucca on an ox cart. He may also be shown changing the course of the Serchio River or as a bishop with a crown at his feet (Roeder).
<>
Saint Patrick, Enlightener of Ireland (+461)
17 March
Born in Scotland (?), c. 385-390; died at Saul, Strangford Lough, Ireland, c. 461.
I was like a stone lying in the deep mire; and He that is mighty came, and in His mercy lifted me up, and verily raised me aloft and placed me on the top of the wall. --Saint Patrick
The historical Patrick is much more attractive than the Patrick of legend. It is unclear exactly where Patricius Magonus Sucatus (Patrick) was born--somewhere in the west between the mouth of the Severn and the Clyde--but this most popular Irish saint was probably born in Scotland of British origin, perhaps in a village called "Bannavem Taberniae." (Other possibilities are in Gaul or at Kilpatrick near Dumbarton, Scotland.) His father, Calpurnius, was a deacon and a civil official, a town councillor, and his grandfather was a Christian priest.
About 405, when Patrick was in his teens (14-16), he was captured by Irish raiders and became a slave in Ireland. There in Ballymena (or Slemish) in Antrim (or Mayo), Patrick first learned to pray intensely while tending his master's sheep in contrast with his early years in Britain when he knew not the true God and did not heed clerical admonitions for our salvation. After six years, he was told in a dream that he should be ready for a courageous effort that would take him back to his homeland.
He ran away from his owner and travelled 200 miles to the coast. His initial request for free passage on a ship was turned down, but he prayed, and the sailors called him back. The ship on which he escaped was taking dogs to Gaul (France). At some point he returned to his family in Britain, then seems to have studied at the monastery of Lerins on the Cote d'Azur from 412 to 415.
He received some kind of training for the priesthood in either Britain or Gaul, possibly in Auxerre, including study of the Latin Bible, but his learning was not of a high standard, and he was to regret this always. He spent the next 15 years at Auxerre were he became a disciple of Saint Germanus (f.d. July 31) and was possibly ordained about 417. Germanus is also said to have consecrated him bishop. [This is incorrect - Patrick was consecrated bishop by St Maxim of Turin during the time he was returning from Rome to Auxerre].
Heric of Auxerre wrote in the 5th century:
Since the glory of the father shines in the training of the children, of the many sons in Christ whom St. Germain is believed to have had as disciples in religion, let it suffice to make mention here, very briefly, of one most famous, Patrick, the special Apostle of the Irish nation, as the record of his work proves. Subject to that most holy discipleship for 18 years, he drank in no little knowledge in Holy Scripture from the stream of so great a well-spring. Germain sent him, accompanied by Segetius, his priest, to Celestine, Pope of Rome, approved of by whose judgement, supported by whose authority, and strengthened by whose blessing, he went on his way to Ireland.
The cultus of Patrick began in France, long before Sucat received the noble title of Patricius, which was immediately before his departure for Ireland about 431. The centre of this cultus is a few miles west of Tours, on the Loire, around the town of Saint- Patrice, which is named after him. The strong, persistent legend is that Patrick not only spent the twenty years after his escape from slavery there, but that it was his home. The local people firmly believe that Patrick was the nephew of Saint Martin of Tours (f.d. November 11) and that he became a monk in his uncle's great Marmoutier Abbey.
Patrick's cultus there reverts to the writing, Les Fleurs de Saint-Patrice, which relates that Patrick was sent from the abbey to preach the Gospel in the area of Brehemont-sur-Loire. He went fishing one day and had a tremendous catch. The local fishermen were upset and forced him to flee. He reached a shelter on the north bank where he slept under a blackthorn bush. When he awoke the bush was covered with flowers. Because this was Christmas day, the incident was considered a miracle, which recurred each Christmas until the bush was destroyed in World War I. The phenomenon was evaluated many times and verified by various observers, including official organisations. He is now the patron of the fishermen on the Loire and, according to a modern French scholar, the patron of almost every other occupation in the neighbourhood. There is a grotto dedicated to him at Marmoutier, which contains a stone bed, alleged to have been his. It is said that in visions he heard voices in the wood of Focault or that he dreamed of Ireland and determined to return to the land of his slavery as a missionary in the footsteps of Saint Palladius (f.d. July 6). In that dream or vision he heard a cry from many people together come back and walk once more among us, and he read a writing in which this cry was named 'the voice of the Irish.'
In his Confessio Patrick writes: It was not my grace, but God who overcometh in me, so that I came to the heathen Irish to preach the Gospel . . . to a people newly come to belief which the Lord took from the ends of the earth. Saint Germanus consecrated him bishop about 432, and sent him to Ireland to succeed Saint Palladius (f.d. July 6). the first bishop, who had died earlier that year. There was some opposition to Patrick's appointment, probably from Britain, but Patrick made his way to Ireland about 435.
He set up his see at Armagh about 444 and organised the church into territorial sees, as elsewhere in the West and East. While Patrick encouraged the Irish to become monks and nuns, it is not certain that he was a monk himself; it is even less likely that in his time the monastery became the principal unit of the Irish Church, although it was in later periods. The choice of Armagh may have been determined by the presence of a powerful king. There Patrick had a school and presumably a small "familia" in residence; from this base he made his missionary journeys. There seems to have been little contact with the Palladian Christianity of the southeast.
There is no reliable account of his work in Ireland, where he had been a captive. Legends include the stories that he drove snakes from Ireland, and that he described the mystery of the Trinity to Laoghaire, high king of Ireland, by referring to the shamrock, and that he singlehandedly--an impossible task--converted Ireland. Nevertheless, Saint Patrick established the Church throughout Ireland on lasting foundations: he travelled throughout the country preaching, teaching, building churches, opening schools and monasteries, converting chiefs and bards, and everywhere supporting his preaching with miracles.
At Tara in Meath he is said to have confronted King Laoghaire on the Celtic Feast of Tara which coincided with Easter Eve. On that day the fires were quenched throughout the country. The penalty for infringing the superstitious custom by kindling a fire was death. Nevertheless, Patrick kindled the light of the Paschal fire on the hill of Slane (the fire of Christ never to be extinguished in Ireland). When Laoghaire and his men went to apprehend the violator of their sacred night, they were treated to a sermon that confounded the Druids into silence, and gained a hearing for Patrick as a man of power. During the course of the sermon, Patrick picked up a shamrock to use it as a symbol of the triune God.
Patrick converted the king's daughters Saints Ethenea and Fidelmia (f.d. January 11). He threw down the idol of Crom Cruach in Leitrim. Patrick wrote that he daily expected to be violently killed or enslaved again.
He gathered many followers, including Saint Benignus (f.d. November 9), who would become his successor. That was one of his chief concerns, as it always is for the missionary Church: the raising up of native clergy.
He wrote: It was most needful that we should spread our nets, so that a great multitude and a throng should be taken for God. . . . Most needful that everywhere there should be clergy to baptize and exhort a people poor and needy, as the Lord in the Gospel warns and teaches, saying: Go ye therefore now, and teach all nations. And again: Go ye therefore into the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature. And again: This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all nations.
In his writings and preaching, Patrick revealed a scale of values. He was chiefly concerned with abolishing paganism, idolatry, and sun-worship. He made no distinction of classes in his preaching and was himself ready for imprisonment or death for following Christ. In his use of Scripture and eschatological expectations, he was typical of the 5th-century bishop. One of the traits which he retained as an old man was a consciousness of his being an unlearned exile and former slave and fugitive, who learned to trust God completely.
There was some contact with the pope. He visited Rome in 442 and 444. As the first real organiser of the Irish Church, Patrick is called the Apostle of Ireland. According to the Annals of Ulster, the Cathedral Church of Armagh was founded in 444, and the see became a centre of education and administration. Patrick organised the Church into territorial sees, raised the standard of scholarship (encouraging the teaching of Latin), and worked to bring Ireland into a closer relationship with the Western Church.
His writings show what solid doctrine he must have taught his listeners. His Confessio (his autobiography, perhaps written as an apology against his detractors), the "Lorica" (or "Breastplate"), and the "Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus," protesting British slave trading and the slaughter of a group of Irish Christians by Coroticus's raiding Christian Welshmen, are the first surely identified literature of the British or Celtic Church.
What stands out in his writings is Patrick's sense of being called by God to the work he had undertaken, and his determination and modesty in carrying it out: I, Patrick, a sinner, am the most ignorant and of least account among the faithful, despised by many. . . . I owe it to God's grace that so many people should through me be born again to him.
The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters state that by the year 438 Christianity had made such progress in Ireland that the laws were changed to agree with the Gospel. That means that in 6 years a 60 year old man was able to so change the country that even the laws were amended. St. Patrick had no printing press, no finances, few helpers and Ireland had no Roman roads to travel on. See http://www.ireland-now.com/heritage/myths/histofpatrick.html
There are many places in Ireland associated with S. Patrick but none more than Croagh Patrick in County Mayo where he spent the forty days of Lent in 441 and saw devils as flocks of black birds and was sustained by the angels of God appearing as white birds filling the sky. On the last Sunday in July the age-long annual pilgrimage draws thousands to scale the mountain.
The National Museum at Dublin has his bell and tooth, presumably from the shrine at Downpatrick, where he was originally entombed with Saints Brigid and Columba. St Patrick's Church in Belfast claims to possess an enshrined arm.
The high veneration in which the Irish hold Patrick is evidenced by the common salutation, May God, Mary, and Patrick bless you. His name occurs widely in prayers and blessings throughout Ireland. Among the oldest devotions of Ireland is the prayer used by travellers invoking Patrick's protection, "An Mhairbhne Phaidriac" or "The Elegy of Patrick." He is alleged to have promised prosperity to those who seek his intercession on his feast day, which marks the end of winter. A particularly lovely legend is that the Peace of Christ will reign over all Ireland when the Palm and the Shamrock meet, which means when St. Patrick's Day fall on Palm Sunday.
We are told that often Patrick baptized hundreds on a single day. He would come to a place, a crowd would gather, and when he told them about the true God, the people would cry out from all sides that they wanted to become Christians. Then they would move to the nearest water to be baptized.
On such a day Aengus, a prince of Munster, was baptized. When Patrick had finished preaching, Aengus was longing with all his heart to become a Christian. The crowd surrounded the two because Aengus was such an important person. Patrick got out his book and began to look for the place of the baptismal rite but his crosier got in the way.
As you know, the bishop's crosier often has a spike at the bottom end, probably to allow the bishop to set it into the ground to free his hands. So, when Patrick fumbled searching for the right spot in the book so that he could baptize Aengus, he absent-mindedly stuck his crosier into the ground just beside him--and accidentally through the foot of poor Aengus!
Patrick, concentrating on the sacrament, never noticed what he had done and proceeded with the baptism. The prince never cried out, nor moaned; he simply went very white. When Patrick turned to take up his crosier and was horrified to find that he had driven it through the prince's foot!
But why didn't you say something? Your foot is bleeding and you'll be lame. . . . Poor Patrick was very unhappy to have hurt another.
Then Aengus said in a low voice that he thought having a spike driven through his foot was part of the ceremony. He added something that must have brought joy to the whole court of heaven and blessings on Ireland:
Christ, he said slowly, shed His blood for me, and I am glad to suffer a little pain at baptism to be like Our Lord (Curtayne).
In art, Saint Patrick is represented as a bishop driving snakes before him or trampling upon them. At times he may be shown (1) preaching with a serpent around the foot of his pastoral staff; (2) holding a shamrock; (3) with a fire before him; or (4) with a pen and book, devils at his feet, and seraphim above him (Roeder, White). He is patron of Ireland and especially venerated at Lerins (Roeder, White).
<>
Saint Finnian Lobhar (the Leper), Abbot (Finan) in Ireland (+560) - 16 March
Born at Bregia, Leinster, Ireland; died February 2, c. 560. Little is authentically known about Saint Finnian because the records of his life are conflicting. He is said to have been the son of Conail and descendent of Alild, king of Munster. He may have been a disciple of Saint Columba (f.d. June 9) (or perhaps he was trained at one of Columba's foundations); others, that he was a disciple of Saint Brendan (f.d. May 16). He was ordained by Bishop Fathlad, and may have been consecrated by him.
Finnian built a church that is believed to have been at Innisfallen in County Kerry and so is considered by some scholars to have been the founder of that monastery. Later he lived at Clonmore Abbey in Leinster and then went to Swords near Dublin, where he was made abbot by Columba when he left. Another account has him abbot of Clonmore Monastery, where he was buried, for the last thirty years of his life.
Lobhar means "the Leper," a name he acquired when he reputedly assumed the disease of a leper to cure a young boy of an illness.
<>
Saint Gerald of Mayo, Ireland (+731) - 13 March
Born in Northumbria, England; died in Galway, Ireland, 732. Saint Gerald became a monk at Lindisfarne and probably followed Saint Colman to Innisbofin Island, Galway, Ireland, when the Celtic liturgical practices were displaced in Northumbria.
He became a monk, then abbot, of the abbey known as Mayo of the Saxons, which Colman founded for the English following a quarrel between the English and Irish monks. The abbey flourished and was so well known for the erudition of its monks that Blessed Alcuin (f.d. May 19) corresponded with its abbot and monks. He lived to a great age and may have witnessed the introduction of Roman observances into his abbey. Gerald is sometimes said to have been consecrated bishop, but this is uncertain.
He is believed to have founded the abbeys of Elytheria, or Tempul-Gerald in Connaught, as well as Teaghna-Saxon, and a convent that he put under the care of his sister Segretia. He was buried at Mayo, where a church dedicated to God under his patronage remains to this day.
<>
From the life of Saint David of Wales (+589)
This was from Rhygyvarch’s Life of Saint David of Wales (+589). It is chapter 31 and it is written:
The father himself pouring forth fountains of tears daily, irradiating with censed holocausts of prayers, and blazing with a double flame of charity, consecrated with pure hands the due oblation of the Lord’s Body, and thus after matins proceeded alone to angelic discourse. After this he immediately used to seek cold water, in which by lingering a long while wet he subdued every heat of the flesh.
<>
Saint Brynach the Irishman of Carn-Engyle, Wales (+5th ce.)
7 April
5th century. Brynach was an Irishman who settled in Wales, where he built a hermitage and a church at a place called Carn-Engyle (Mountain of Angels) overlooking the Nevern (Pembrokeshire). Traditionally, the place received its name because Brynach was in constant communication with the angels. His church became the principal church of the district. Some authors identify him with Saint Brannock of Braunton (f.d. January 7).
<>
New Orthodox Mission Opens in Wales
Welsh, Romanian, and Russian parishioners came together on Sunday for the first Divine Liturgy at a new mission parish in Wales.
With the blessing of His Grace Bishop Irinei of London and Western Europe of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, the Liturgy for the new mission of Sts. David of Wales and Nicholas the Wonderworker was celebrated by Archpriest Luke Holden in Vivian Hall in Swansea, in southern Wales, the diocese reports.
Hieromonk Mark (Underwood) of the Kazan Icon Church in Cardiff was also present, leading the kliros and choir, which sang mainly in English, but also in Slavonic.
Thus, the mission “begins now with a core group of devoted members of already-existing parishes, reaching out to nearby communities with the fervent prayer that the new locale will soon become an independent community in its own right.”
Parishioners stayed after the Liturgy for a time of fellowship. The Hours and Divine Liturgy will be celebrated again this coming Sunday at 10:00 AM.
<>
Saint Beoc (St Dabheog) of Island Lough Derg, Wales (+5th century)
1 January
5th or 6th century. Beoc was a Cambro-Briton, who crossed over from Wales to Ireland and founded a monastery on an island in Lough Derg, Donegal (Benedictines).
St Daibheog of Lough Derg
In the Martyrology of Tallagh we find this insertion : Aedh, Lochagerg, alias Daibheog. His name is Latinized Dabeocus, and he is frequently called Beanus.
At a very early date, this saint lived on the island ; but for what term of life does not seem to have been ascertained. Few notices of the place occur in our ancient annals. We read, in the Martyrology of Donegal, that Dabheog belonged to Lough Geirg or Loch-gerc, in Ulster. There, also, three festivals were annually held in his honour, namely, on the 1st of January, on the 24th of July, and on the 16th of December.
According to St. Cummin of Connor, in the following translation from his Irish poem on the characteristic virtues of the Irish Saints :-
Mobeog, the gifted, loved, According to the Synod of the learned, That often in bowing his head, He plunged it under water.
Whether or not St. Patrick had any acquaintance with St. Dabeoc can hardly be discovered. But, we are told, while the latter, with his clerics, lived on the island, and when his vigils had been protracted to a late hour one night, a wonderful brightness appeared towards the northern part of the horizon. The clerics asked their master what it portended.
In that direction, whence you have seen the brilliant illumination, said Dabeog, the Lord himself, at a future time, shall light a shining lamp, which, by its brightness, must miraculously glorify the Church of Christ. This shall be Columba, the son of Feidlimid, son of Fergus, and whose mother will be Ethnea. For learning he shall be distinguished ; in body and soul shall he be chaste ; and he shall possess the gifts of prophecy.
See Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga. Quinta Vita S, Columbae. Lib. i., cap. X, pp. 390, 391.
<>
A Prayer to Saint Melangell of Wales (+641)
In Welsh:
Mil engyl a Melangell Trechant
lu fyddin y fall.
https://orthodoxy-rainbow.blogspot.com/2015/03/melangell.html
In english:
Melangell with a thousand angels
Triumphs over all the powers of evil.
https://orthochristian.com/71372.html
<>
Saint Brannock, Abbot in Wales (6th ce.)
7 January
6th century. Saint Brannock appears to have migrated from southern Wales into Devon, and to have founded a monastery at Braunton, near Barnstaple in Devonshire, where William Worcestre and Leland say he was buried. The traditions concerning him are sometimes uncertain. Some hagiographers identify him as the 6th-century Welsh missionary Saint Brynach (Bernach or Bernacus). Because there are two separate feasts at Exeter on April and January 7 for the respective saints, it is unlikely that they are the same person
https://celticsaints.org/2022/0107a.html
<>
Alexander’s Breastplate (10th-14th ce.)
This lorica (breastplate) prayer is called “Alexander’s Breastplate” because it is between two poems about Alexander the Great in the Welsh Book of Taliesin.
[The Book of Taliesin (Welsh: Llyfr Taliesin) is one of the most famous of Middle Welsh manuscripts, dating from the first half of the 14th century though many of the fifty-six poems it preserves are taken to originate in the 10th century or before].
On the face of the earth
his equal was not born,
Three persons of God,
one gentle Son
in the glorious Trinity.
Son of the Godhead,
Son of the Manhood,
one wonderful Son.
Son of God, a fortress,
Son of the blessed Mary,
Son, Servant, Lord.
Great his destiny,
great God supreme,
in heavenly glory.
Of the race of Adam
and Abraham,
and of the line of David,
the eloquent psalmist,
was he born.
By a word he healed
the blind and deaf
from every ailment;
the gluttonous, vain
iniquitous, vile, perverse,
to rise toward the Trinity
by their redemption.
The Cross of Christ
is our shining breastplate
against every ailment.
Against every hardship
may it certainly be
our city of refuge.
Source: Book of Taliesin, Welsh, 10th-14th Century, excerpt
The Four Ancient Books of Wales, 1868, p. 557-558.
Source of this version: Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church.
Original in Old Welsh:
Ar clawr eluyd y gystedlyd ny ryanet.
Teir person duw. vn mab adwyn terwyn trinet.
Mab yr dwydit. mab yr dyndit. vn mab ryued.
Mab duw dinas. mab gwen meirgwas. mat gwas gwelet.
O hil ade ac abrahae yn ryanet.
O hil dofyd dogyn dwfynwedyd llu ryanet.
Dyduc o eir deill abydeir o pop aelet.
Pobyl ginhiawc. goec gamwedawc salw amnyned.
Rydrychafom erbyn trindawt gwedy gwaret.
Croes cristyn glaer. lluryc llachar rac pop aelat.
Rac pop anuaws poet yn dilis dinas diffret.
http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/t27w.html
and
http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/t27w.html
Source:
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/08/15/alexanders-breastplate/
<>
Orthodox churches in Wales
Swansea, Wales – The Orthodox Community of Ss. Zacharias and Elizabeth
Swansea – The Orthodox Community of Ss. Zacharias and Elizabeth
Worshipping within St Mary’s Church, Swansea SA1 3LP.
Website: www.orthodoxchurchswansea.org
The Divine Liturgy is served once a month. Visit the website of the Parish for further information.
<>
Lampeter, Wales – The Greek Orthodox Church of the Three Hierarchs
Lampeter – The Greek Orthodox Church of the Three Hierarchs
Worshipping in Soar Chapel, Victoria Terrace, Lampeter, Ceredigion SA48 7DF.
Website: www.lampeterorthodox.org.uk
Priest:
The Revd Oeconomos Timothy Pearce
<>
Cardiff, Wales – The Greek Orthodox Community of St. Nicholas
Cardiff, Wales – The Greek Orthodox Community of St. Nicholas
Greek Church Street, Butetown, Cardiff CF10 5HA
Tel. & Fax: 029 2048 7889
Train: Caerdydd Canalog / Cardiff Central & Cardiff Bute Road
Website: www.greekorthodoxchurchcardiff.org.uk
Charity Registration no. 1078008
Priest-in-charge:
The Very Revd. Archimandrite Eleftherios Price
Greek School: The Greek Community Centre (Address and phone number of the Church)
<>
TO BE FREE OR NOT TO BE: WELSH CHRISTIANITY AT THE CROSSROADS
Nun Nectaria (McLees), Hieromonk Deiniol
Hieromonk Deiniol, the sole native Welsh Orthodox priest, the founder of the Wales Orthodox Mission, and pastor of the Church of All Saints in the North Wales mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, traveled with Road to Emmaus magazine in 2009 to ancient and little-known pre-schism shrines of the Welsh countryside. Along the way we talked of early Welsh Christianity, the effects of post-Reformation Calvinism, and the state of the Welsh Church today.
RTE: father, how did a native Welshman end up as an Orthodox priest in Blaenau Ffestiniog?
Fr. Deiniol: I originate from Anglesey, an island off the coast of North Wales, and I became Orthodox at the age of twenty, when I was living and studying in London. I became a monk in 1977, and was ordained a priest in 1979 by Metropolitan Anthony of Sourouzh, who gave me the task of opening an Orthodox church in North Wales. At that time, the nearest church was in Liverpool, which was very far for people from north-west Wales. After ordination I moved a few miles from where I was living to Blaenau Ffestiniog, where I’ve been for twenty-six years.
RTE: And what can you tell us about this remote and beautiful town?
Fr. Deiniol: The town of Blaenau Ffestiniog is a depressed post-industrial town in the middle of the mountains. It was a very busy town while the slate industry flourished, one of three or four such areas in north Wales, and in the 19th century, it employed many thousands of people. Unlike the other slate-mining areas in north Wales, extraction of the slate in Blaenau Ffestiniog took place underground. In other locations it was above ground, or at least in open pits, but here the slate was mined beneath the earth, and the conditions were terrible. Mines were often full of dust from blasting the slate, and smoke from the explosives. The men worked in the dark with candles on their helmets. They were answerable to the mine’s steward and if they arrived at work a minute late they were sent home. They worked chained. A chain was fastened around their upper leg, and they were suspended from this chain, which was attached to a rod hammered into the slate face. In other countries, these working conditions are considered penal conditions, for example, in the old salt mines in Siberia. In the winter, the slate miners wouldn’t see the light of day. They started work before dawn and finished after dark.
Nevertheless, there was a sort of vibrant cultural life in those mining towns, partly due to the fact that these miners didn’t want bright young men to have to work in the same conditions. They would save money, for example, and gather pennies and subscriptions to send bright youngsters to the university. Many young men from that time owe a lot to their mining families and friends, who made sure that they didn’t have to go into the mines. In fact, those miners paid to set up the University of Wales.
In just such a way they built their nonconformist chapels, of which at one time there were forty-two in our town which, at its height, had a population of 12,000. Having all of these sectarian chapels was characteristic of Welsh society at the time.
That was the formative period for Blaenau Ffestiniog, but we have to realize that because the town is located very high up in the mountains at the end of a valley, in the normal course of events, no one would have thought of building a town there. It came into being only because of the slate mining industry, and is built in the shape of an inverted horseshoe—so you can be on one side of the town and look across the valley to the other side.
In addition to valuing culture, many people, of course, also valued their religious heritage, but as in most other places in North Wales, this was a very Calvinistic form of Protestantism. In the South Wales valleys, where coal mining was the dominant industry, Calvinism didn’t dominate in the same way. This is something we should return to when we analyze the logistics of what Orthodox mission involves in a post-Calvinist society.
RTE: When did the slate mining stop?
Fr. Deiniol: It hasn’t stopped; it continues, but on a much-reduced scale. People sometimes compare the North Wales slate-mining areas with the South Wales coal-mining valleys. If you go to a place called Tylotrstown in the Small Rhondda Valley, you wonder where does Tylotrstown end and where does the next town, Ferndale, begin? These villages run into each other in a row, whereas in North Wales slate-mining towns were quite separate communities, particularly Blaenau Ffestiniog, and there is a certain air of isolation here. Also, of course, after the decline of the industry, it became a post-industrial town, which means that this town, which produced an income of millions of pounds from which the local people never benefited, then became a place of unemployment. We have all the characteristics of the postindustrial communities of north-east England that are one hundred times our size, and the Pennsylvania coal-mining areas in the States: high degrees of social exclusion, substance abuse, family breakup, the break-down of social cohesion.
So this is the town I live in, a very poor town, high levels of unemployment and many people with a sense of hopelessness. Nevertheless, they wouldn’t think of turning to church, because the Calvinist legacy is a very negative one. I’m not saying that everything was bad about the chapels; the Nonconformist tradition produced a genuine Christian spirituality with a real love of Scripture, a real love of God, and very fine hymnography, but it had a shadow side, and this shadow side was Calvinism and its censoriousness, being very judgmental and placing people in categories. It wasn’t known for its compassion for the frail and vulnerable, or for those whose lives took a negative turn.
RTE: Scotland also has many adherents of Calvinism, doesn’t it?
Fr. Deiniol: It does, and Calvinism was also strong in parts of South Africa, but the form of Calvinism there is not as extreme as the form that dominated in Wales, where the belief in ‘Double Predestination’ was adhered to.
RTE: What is ‘Double Predestination’?
Fr. Deiniol: The Calvinist doctrine is that God has predestined people from before the creation of the world for redemption. ‘Double Predestination’ is the belief that God has predetermined and preordained not only who shall go to heaven, but who shall go to hell. In other words, He has brought some human beings into existence, having already determined that they shall go to hell for eternity. They maintain that He has done this in His infinite Wisdom and that the logical contradiction between that and God’s infinite love is not for us to question and understand. So, the God of love becomes, in their theology, a tyrannical and arbitrary monster, whose excesses are far worse than the worst tyrants of human history, who only tormented people for a limited period of time. The God of Calvinism creates some people in order that they should suffer for eternity.
RTE: And this not only severs any notion of free will, but I imagine that you would have to take care to appear “good” to prove that you are one of the saved, or is that too simplistic?
Fr. Deiniol: No, that’s very accurate. “How do we know who is saved?” “Oh, by their fruits you shall know them.” Accordingly, observable behavior becomes very important, and at a certain stage in the evolution of things, when conviction and faith are no longer so strongly present, this preoccupation with appearances becomes a very distinctive characteristic of these societies. That is certainly what I think happened in Wales. Also it means that people don’t look at the darker side of themselves, and don’t encounter their shadow. Darkness is then projected onto other people, so you have groups that are the scapegoats, the lowest of the low. Communities are very hierarchical and there are people right at the bottom of the pile. In Wales, this emphasis on behavior also got linked up with the Temperance Movement, which, much as it may have been needed, divided the society into two—those who went to the chapel and those who went to the pub, those who drank and those who didn’t (or at least said they didn’t drink.) To this very day, many Welsh people who go to the pub will not visit a church or chapel. The two locations are thought to be mutually exclusive locations, and those who frequent one of these places will usually hold the other place and its frequenters in contempt and think they will not be welcomed there! By now almost everybody does visit the pub, but the dichotomy persists and it is almost impossible to persuade people to visit a church. Furthermore, because every family was a ‘member’ of a Non-conformist chapel or of the Anglican parish Church, it means that people are still aware of their family ‘Church allegiance’. They may still pay an annual fee for their family seat in a particular chapel, but never attend that chapel or any other place of worship, other than for baptisms, weddings, and funerals. However, they will use their ancestral allegiance to a particular denomination as a reason not to attend any other Church. An invitation to attend the Orthodox Church will therefore usually be met with a negative response. Typically, they might say ‘‘my ‘ticket’ (i.e. membership card which they maintain by payment of the rent for their seat in the chapel!) is in such and such a chapel.” Yet they may not have been there for 25 years.
Of course, as you’ve mentioned, Calvinism undermines any doctrine of free will. In fact they don’t believe in free will. Free will and predestination are opposing doctrines. This is perhaps what happens when you eliminate the role of the Mother of God from your theology, because it was of her own free will that she said, “Be it unto me according to Thy will.” At that point she was free to say, “No.” The redemption of the human race was in the balance at that moment. She could have said, “This is too much, I can’t take this on,” but instead she said, “Be it unto me…” So when you remove the Mother of God, and the very pivotal nature of her response, then the door is open to do away with the idea of free will in Christian theology, and the way is open for Calvinism. The Mother of God is our protection against Calvinistic doctrine. The Calvinistic doctrine that some are chosen for heaven, and others for hell, not only makes God seem very arbitrary, but it undermines any idea that God is the God of love and that our response to Him is a free and voluntary response.
RTE: In that case, you couldn’t possibly love Him yourself.
Fr. Deiniol: Yes—love is voluntary, not compulsory. We can only love God if we have free will. We might be frightened of Him, perhaps, or feel duty towards Him, but without free will we cannot love Him. Without free will our relationship with Him is not reciprocal. This attitude has created antipathy, and although people now don’t go to church, they know something—not theology, but the feel of Calvinism that permeates their culture. They keep their distance because they think they know what Christianity is, but it’s often a negative impression. For this reason, it would be easier to undertake a mission in Tibet than in a Calvinistic culture.
I imagine it will take a generation or two for people not only to consciously reject specific Calvinistic perspectives and teachings, but to rid themselves of its influence on their mentality. It has left behind a certain fatalism. These chapels have died very quickly. They are closing at the rate of one a week in Wales, which is a small country, and it’s as if people are glad to shake off the whole thing.
RTE: Do you think that after these generations pass, people will be ready to reconsider Christianity?
Fr. Deiniol: Because people free themselves doesn’t actually mean they will come to church, but that particular obstacle won’t be there. There will be other obstacles then. When people begin asking questions about the meaning of life, about the significance of things, they begin to touch on religious questions, but in general, people are not asking these questions, and I say this as one who has taught religious education for fifteen years here in Wales, and who has lived in this society most of his life.
RTE: Perhaps it’s a recovery period.
Fr. Deiniol: If it acts as a recovery period that would be very good. Of course, this is an attempt to provide some sort of diagnosis or analysis, and I’m not saying that I have answers as to what the strategy of the Orthodox Church in Wales should be. God does things in His way and His time, and it would be foolish of me to say, “This is what we must do.” But I think we won’t go far wrong if, for example, as Orthodox people in Wales, we try to demonstrate some care for people in their situations in life. for example, in our town there are high rates of unemployment. If our church can be instrumental in improving people’s lives so that they aren’t plagued by constant problems, this may be a way to show that God loves them and cares about them, and cares about their situations.
RTE: Do you have ideas as to how your parish can participate in that?
Fr. Deiniol: To be honest, although we are not numerous, many of us have been very actively involved in work in the community and for the regeneration of Blaenau Ffestiniog from the inception of our church. Orthodoxy believes not only in life after death, but in life before death. The quality of people’s lives is important. We are incarnate beings, not just souls, and we can’t be happy if we see people hungry or in anguish. We have to be concerned about people’s situations as a whole, in their totality.
RTE: Yes, and this approach has other 20th-century precedents. After World War II and the Greek civil war, there was massive unemployment and many Greeks were depressed and disillusioned with the Church. Fr. Amphilochius Makris, the well-known spiritual father of Patmos, said that the words of preachers and politicians were like throwing turpentine on the fire, and that only love and works of charity would bring them back to Christ.
Fr. Deiniol: Well, the Gospel actually says that, doesn’t it? Why should I consider preaching at people to be the main strategy? Why should they listen to me? For two centuries, they’ve listened to other preachers who didn’t make them feel good. I have no mandate from them. They didn’t ask me to come here and preach to them. On what basis would I assume that these people want to hear what I’ve got to say? That’s the first thing.
The second thing is that people do not go to church in Wales. I remember asking a young person, “What would it take to get you to go to church?” He said, “A great deal of courage to actually be seen coming into the building by my friends.” This is very different from many countries, even from the States, as I know from my visits there. But we have to be aware of what things are like in the United Kingdom and what things are like in Wales. And as I’ve tried to explain in giving this Calvinistic background, I’m not surprised that people don’t want to come to church.
This not to say we don’t get any people coming into church. In fact, we get many visitors and my parishioners are a mixture of nationalities. For Christmas we were ten nationalities, and there are also foreign Orthodox students at the universities and colleges where I am chaplain. We conduct our services in a number of languages, according to the need on any particular Sunday. We’ve been very fortunate in the support we receive from our hierarch, Bishop Andriy of Western Europe, who is a member of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Church of the Diaspora, within the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
We are officially called The Wales Orthodox Mission, of which I am the administrator. In fact, the term “mission” is not used very much in the U.K. by the Orthodox Church, but I think it is very important to state what we are. We are not a chaplaincy looking after a separate ethnic minority, nor are we a well-established church full of people who have become Orthodox (although there are increasing numbers). We are a mission. And I think that any church in Wales, whether Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican or anything else, should at this point call themselves a mission, because that is the nature of the situation.
The Wales Orthodox Mission is the contact point between the Orthodox Church and Welsh institutions. If Welsh organizations wish to be in touch with the Orthodox Church, they contact us, and we get many groups visiting us from churches and societies. I’m often asked to give talks and if subjects such as Eastern Europe or certain theological or social issues are being discussed on the radio or TV, they sometimes ask me for an interview on these topics as well. So our church is present and active, but I hope in a way that corresponds to the needs, realities, and possibilities that exist at this stage in Welsh cultural history.
RTE: We were told that you were invited to lead a prayer at the opening of your national parliament, the Welsh Assembly.
Fr. Deiniol: This is quite an interesting history. Wales lost its independence in government 700 years ago, and approximately six years ago, we received our own government again, not completely independent, but with certain powers. There was an ecumenical service to celebrate the opening of the Welsh Assembly Government, which took place at the Anglican cathedral in Llandaff, Cardiff. The Orthodox Church, amongst other churches, was invited to make a contribution to the format of the service. I prepared two prayers. Each prayer had a response, and as the response I included, “All you saints of Wales, pray to God for us.” The ecumenical organizers came back and said that they didn’t think this was acceptable. (Invocation of the saints, of course, had been outlawed during the Protestant period.) My response was, “If you invite an Orthodox priest, you get an Orthodox response and an Orthodox contribution. If this is not acceptable, why do you ask us in the first place?”
At that point I felt that the ghost of Thomas Cromwell was striding rampantly through Wales. Thomas Cromwell was Henry VIII’s henchman and operator who closed all the monasteries throughout Britain, wrecked the shrines and relics, and destroyed the altars. I thought, “Well, they are still unwilling to invoke the saints,” and was about to write a fax that evening to say words to this effect, but at the moment I was about to send this letter, another fax arrived saying that the prayer was alright. So this prayer was used and the response was used.
Now the interesting part is this. on that occasion, the Queen of England, her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, and her son, Charles, Prince of Wales, were all present at the service. Normally, for security reasons, the three do not travel or appear together. So when that prayer was said, and the whole congregation responded, “O, all you saints of Wales, pray to God for us!”, this was the first time such a phrase had been used in that cathedral since the Reformation—with the successor of Henry VIII, the king who had originally made such an invocation illegal, present and taking part in the service. That was not an insignificant event, I think.
RTE: Wonderful. Can we go back some centuries and talk about how Wales, as we know it now, came into being?
Fr. Deiniol: The process was complicated. We first had the Celtic-speaking native British, who were pushed west as the invading Angles, Saxons, and Jutes gained ascendancy. In some places the original population of Britons probably mixed with them, in other places not. In Strathclyde, now in Scotland, for example, the Welsh language was spoken until the twelfth century, and the first Welsh poetry is found in Catterick in northern Yorkshire in England. Even to this day, when we speak in Welsh of the “old North,” we mean the area around Strathclyde.
At a certain point, various of these invading tribes developed kingdoms, such as in Mercia, where a wall was built separating the Brythonic-speaking Britons who had gone west, from the conquering tribes. In about the 7th century, the word “Welsh” began to be used by the English Anglo-Saxons, meaning “foreigners,” and the Welsh called themselves Cymry, which means “the brethren” or “compatriots.” We cannot speak of a separate England, Wales, and Scotland until that point.
So, the original Brythonic-speaking people in the old North, in Devon, Cornwall, and Wales, were now physically separated from one another. The Welsh language was eventually lost from the “old North,” and so it is no longer possible to identify the descendants of the ancient Britons who lived there. The Scots are not their descendants, but descendants of Irish migrants who settled there. That is why Scottish and Irish Gaelic are almost the same language. The Cornish language died in the 18th century. The only descendants of the ancient Britons who can still be identified are the people of Wales, and this is because we have preserved our ancient language. What we now call “the Welsh” is the identifiable remnant of the original people of the British Isles.
RTE: We tend to think of centers of early Romano-British Christianity as being near such places as York. When the Romans pulled out in the fifth century, did Wales also have a fully-established hierarchical church?
Fr. Deiniol: of course. They say that Bangor-in-Arfon in North West Wales was a diocese in the sense that we use the word now, as a territorial area from the sixth century. Bede talks about a monastery in Bangor-on-Dee (another Bangor) with 2,000 monks. Certainly, there were Celtic bishops as well.
Of course, we can’t speak about “The Celtic Church,” as if it was an organized entity that incorporated what we now call Brittany, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland into an identifiable independent body. It was part of the worldwide Church. It was catholic—but not in the contemporary sense of “Roman Catholic”—in faith and doctrine. There was coming and going, and there was much interest on the Continent about what was happening in Britain. Many writers speak of early Christianity here, and early fathers of the Church mention it as well—origen, Lactantius, Tertullian, Eusebius.
They knew of the Christian Church in Britain, and monks used to travel to the East from the Celtic-speaking lands on pilgrimage. There was evangelization along the trade routes, and our monks certainly went to see monastic life in Egypt, the Holy Land, Rome, and Constantinople. Monasticism here seemed to resemble more the Lavra system than the classical coenobitic monasteries that evolved in the West. There is also a tradition that the Celtic bishops St. David, St. Teilo, and St. Padarn were all consecrated by the patriarch of Jerusalem. According to tradition, one was given a sakkos, the bishop’s vestment, another, a portable altar, and the third, a bishop’s staff.
So there were connections with the East, but we don’t have to show a connection with the East to prove that this church of the Celts was Catholic and Orthodox in faith and doctrine. Yes, they had their local customs, such as shaving their head in a certain way for the monastic tonsure, as we find local customs today in various local Orthodox churches. And, as within Orthodoxy today, they had different calendars. After the Synod of Whitby, when the Church of the Celtic peoples adapted its local customs to conform to those of Rome, it came under Canterbury and thereby under Rome. So when the Great Schism came about, it was part of the patriarchate of the West, and went with the western Churches. Canterbury remained the primatial see of Britain.
RTE: How did the 11th-century Norman invasion affect Christian Wales?
Fr. Deiniol: In Wales, the Normans established many monasteries. In fact, all the big abbeys were established by them. The most significant thing about this was that, while previously the monasteries had followed the Orthodox tradition of being independent and generally self-ruling, now each monastery had to belong to one of the Western religious orders. The Welsh often chose the Augustinians, as being perhaps the nearest to the way of life they were accustomed to. There were also many Cistercian foundations in Wales, such as the monastery in Strata Florida. This is where the history of Wales, called “The Chronicles of the Princes,” in Welsh, Brut-y-Tywysogion, was written. The history of Wales begins with the death of St. Cadwaladr, the last Briton—i.e. Celt, to be king of Britain before the Saxons obtained the crown. He is the patron saint of The Wales Orthodox Mission. He was known for his compassion, otherworldliness, and generosity—giving away his possessions to those who had lost theirs and caring for the multitudes who were afflicted by a terrible plague which visited the land in those days.
RTE: With such a rich heritage, what allowed the Welsh and Scots to make such a radical change from traditional Catholicism and a Reformation-imposed Anglicanism, to Calvinism?
Fr. Deiniol: By the 18th century, the Anglican Church in Wales was pretty moribund. It was led by English, non-Welsh-speaking absentee Anglican bishops. Many of the clergy were also absentee and did not speak the language of the people (by no means everyone in Wales could speak English in those days).
When the Methodist Revival broke out in the U.K. and spread to Wales, John Wesley and Whitfield, his colleague, came to an agreement that Wesley would have England as missionary territory and Whitfield would take Wales. Methodism spread in Wales through the efforts of great “revivalists” like Howell Harris, Daniel Rowlands, and especially the magnificent hymnographer, William Williams of Pantycelyn, whose hymns are, by any measure, classics comparable to the great hymnographers of any Christian tradition, East or West. Thus, the people of Wales were offered a vibrant and rich religious life, in their own language.
Methodism became a popular movement—unlike the highly Anglicized Anglican Church in Wales which was essentially the Church of the landowners and to which the ordinary Welsh people may never have been very attached since the Reformation. The ordinary, poor Welsh people now had a form of Christianity of their own which flourished and produced some good fruit.
However, Whitfield was a Calvinist and so the form of Methodism that spread in Wales was Calvinistic Methodisim. When a Welsh person speaks of Methodism, he or she generally means this Calvinistic variety also known as the Presbyterian Church of Wales (the title they prefer these days). Methodism in England followed Wesley’s theology which was based on the teaching of Jacobus Arminius,which emphasizes free will as opposed to Calvin’s predestination.
Later on, Wesleyan Methodism also came to Wales, but it was a minority denomination here and strong only in certain specific areas. However, the Calvinists maintain (and I have heard this point being made by a Calvinist minister in my house a few years ago) that the ‘Wesleyans’ have no right to be in Wales owing to the agreement between Whitfield and Wesley.
I must say that the ethos of each of the two forms of Methodism was very different. They had very different cultures from each other. There was even a ditty about the Calvinists: ‘Nasty, cruel Methodists (i.e. Calvinists) who go to chapel without any grace....’
RTE: Have the Catholic and Anglican Churches returned in any force since?
Fr. Deiniol: The Roman Catholic Church, which was illegal for hundreds of years, only returned in the 19th century, although a few “recusant” families who could afford to pay the fines, remained Catholic. Accordingly, most Roman Catholics in Wales are not Welsh, but are usually partly of Polish or Irish extraction. There are some Welsh Roman Catholics but they aren’t numerous.
After the rise of Protestant Calvinism, the Anglican Church became a minority church compared to the Non-conformist denominations such as Baptists, Congregationalists, and Calvinists. only a small proportion of Welsh-speaking or culturally Welsh people belonged to it. This may still be true to some degree. It was only in the 20th century that the Anglican Church in Wales gained its independence from Canterbury and became disestablished.
So, we can say that this is a good time for Orthodoxy as a continuation of the Undivided Church, to be in Wales. None of the other churches dominate Welsh religious and cultural life, and people are not so sectarian in their mentality—it doesn’t mean as much to them now that they are Baptists or Calvinists. There is a very friendly atmosphere. Also, the prejudices against saints and their veneration (customs such as praying at shrines and holy wells, which reflect the sacramental understanding of life) are now more acceptable. At least we aren’t in the position of confrontation, and that is helpful.
RTE: Are people becoming more interested as they see your attempts to recover their heritage?
Fr. Deiniol: No, I don’t think so. The awareness of the saints is too lost. They are mostly remembered in place-names—for example, a majority of places in Wales begin with the prefix “Llan.” This can mean the church building, but it also means a Christian settlement, usually founded by a Christian saint. In many cases we are talking about the period of the Anglo-Saxon invasion, when the original Celtic-speaking British peoples began moving west. A saint might land on a coastal area, as did St. David, the patron saint of Wales, who went to a place called Vallis Rosina, “Valley of the Roses,” to live as a monk. The pagan tribes are at first hostile to him but eventually people are attracted by the holiness of his life and become Christian; a community forms, and around the community, a village. This is almost identical to what St. Sergei of Radonezh did in Russia, founding new hermitages and monasteries as he moved deeper into the forest.
These new communities that came into being because people were attracted by the saint who lived there, are called Llan, and very often in Welsh place-names, the name that follows Llan is the name of a saint: Llandanwg—the Christian settlement and Church of St. Tanwg, or Llandudno—the Church of St. Tudno.
What is this country that we now call Wales? It is the sum total of the Llans, these places created by saints, communities that didn’t exist before they came. As we travel these roads we go through one Llan after another, and each one is a saint’s name. This is why I use the expression, “Wales is a nation created by saints.”
But, even with such a rich history, we need more to awaken us than an understanding of place names. The young people in Russia, for example, still have a link with their spiritual past after the collapse of Soviet atheism—their grandmothers were still Orthodox Christians—but what we’ve had here was a much longer break. of course, after the Great Schism, I’m sure that very little changed, and much in Roman Catholic practice would have been indistinguishable from Orthodoxy for a very long time afterwards.
Even that break, however, goes back a thousand years, and the Reformation, which was largely destructive of tradition, goes back 400 years.
When we acquired our church, the Metropolitan suggested that we dedicate it to “All the Saints of Wales.” The idea is that when the church is finished with icons and frescoes, a person from any part of Wales will be able to come here and find his saint. This is part of our task, recreating this link with history, and this is done by things like the service to mark the opening of the Welsh Assembly, and the opportunity to give talks and welcome visitors to the church. our mission exists on various levels and different fronts.
RTE: And the interest will not only be local. We come across many interesting accounts of the strong appeal that the Celtic culture has, especially for young people, in many parts of the world.
Fr. Deiniol: of course, wonderful things have survived, such as The Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels. The art and imagery are amazing. The Christian Celts had developed a profound and deeply Christian culture. It’s not surprising that this should be of interest to people in other countries.
Orthodox youth in former Soviet countries or the emigration often think of their ancestral churches as something rather ethnic or old-fashioned. other things appear more interesting to them. But it’s a little bit like the Trojan Horse isn’t it? If they become interested in Celtic history and culture, they will soon find that inside, at the very core, is their own Christian faith.
The question for us is how we can encourage our own young people to be remotely interested in anything Christian whatsoever. As an old colleague of mine, Archimandrite Barnabas—the first Welsh Orthodox priest—used to say, the cultural legacy of Calvinistic teaching seems to have provided an immunization against all religious search and questions.
RTE: May God give the blessing.
From: Road to Emmaus, Winter 2009, No. 36. Reprinted with permission.
abandoned church, Llandudno, North Wales
Nun Nectaria (McLees), Hieromonk Deiniol
9/11/2011
https://orthochristian.com/48566.html
<>
St. Derfel Gadarn of Bardsey Island, Wales (+6th ce.)
5 April
5th or 6th century. According to tradition, Saint Derfel was a great Welsh soldier who fought at the Battle of Camlan (537), where King Arthur was killed. He may have been a monk and abbot at Bardsey and later a solitary at Llanderfel, Merionethshire, Wales, thus becoming its founder and patron. A wooden statue of him mounted on a horse and holding a staff was greatly venerated in the church at Llanderfel until it was used for firewood in the burning of John Forest, Queen Catherine of Aragon's confessor, at Smithfield, England. The remains of Derfel's staff and horse can be seen in Llanderfel.
https://celticsaints.org/2022/0405a.html
<>
Saints Probus and Grace, husband and wife, in Wales (+5th ce.)
5 April
Date unknown. Probus and Grace are traditionally considered to be a Welsh husband and wife duo. The church of Tressilian, or Probus, in Cornwall is dedicated in their honour. St Probus' and Saint Grace's relics are still within the Church that has grown over the site of his oratory.
https://celticsaints.org/2022/0405d.html
<>
Saint Oengus (Aengus, Oengoba) the Culdee, Abbot & Bishop (+830) - 11 March
Born in Ireland; died c. 830. The appellation "Culdee," Ceile De, or Kele-De means "worship of God," which became the name of a monastic movement otherwise known as the "Companions of God." Oengus was of the race of the Dalriadans, kings of Ulster. In his youth, renouncing all earthly pretensions, he chose Christ for his inheritance by embracing the religious life in the monastery of Cluain-Edneach (Clonenagh) in East Meath (County Laois). Here he became so great a proficient both in learning and sanctity, that no one in his time could be found in Ireland that equalled him in reputation for every kind of virtue, and for sacred knowledge.
To shun the esteem of the world, he disguised himself and entered the monastery of Tamlacht (Tallaght Hill), three miles from Dublin, where he lived for seven years as an anonymous lay brother. There he performed all the drudgery of the house, appearing fit for nothing but the vilest tasks, while interiorly he was being perfected in love and contemplation absorbed in God. After his identity was discovered when he tried to coach an unsuccessful student, he returned to Cluain-Edneach, where the continual austerity of his life, and his constant application to God in prayer, may be more easily admired than imitated. For example, he would daily recite one-third of the Psalter (50 Psalms) while immersed in cold water.
He was chosen abbot, and at length raised to the episcopal dignity: for it was usual then in Ireland for eminent abbots in the chief monasteries to be bishops. He was known for his devotion to the saints. He left both a longer and a shorter Irish Martyrology, and five other books concerning the saints of his country, contained in what the Irish call "Saltair-na-Rann." The short martyrology was a celebrated metrical hymn called "Felire" or "Festilogium." The longer, "Martyrology of Tallaght" was composed in collaboration with Saint Maelruain of Tallaght (f.d. July 7).
He died at Disertbeagh (now Desert Aenguis or Dysert Enos), which became also a famous monastery, and took its name from him (Benedictines, Farmer, Husenbeth, Montague).
Another Life:
To Aengus many ascribe the reform of Irish monasticism and its emergence as an ordered ascetic and scholastic movement. He is called the Culdec because this reform produced the groups of monks in Ireland and Scotland, who were really anchorites but lived together in one place, usually thirteen in number after the example of Christ and His Apostles. The name Culdec probably comes from the Irish Ceile Dee (companion) rather than the Latin Cultores Dei (worshippers of God). The Culdees produced the highly decorated High Crosses and elaborately illuminated manuscripts which are the glory of the Irish monasteries.
Aengus was born of the royal house of Ulster and was sent to the monastery of Clonenagh by his father Oengoba to study under the saintly abbot Maelaithgen. He made great advances in scholarship and sanctity but eventually felt he had to leave and become a hermit to escape the adulation of his peers. He chose a spot some seven miles away for his hermitage which is still called Dysert. He lived a life of rigid discipline, genuflecting three hundred times a day and reciting the whole of the Psalter daily part of it immersed in cold water, tied by the neck to a stake. At his dysert he found he got too many visitors and went to the famous monastery of Tallaght near Dublin, without revealing his identity, and was given the most menial of tasks. After seven years a boy sought refuge in the stable where Aengus was working because he was unable to learn his lessons. Aengus lulled him to sleep and when he awoke he had learnt his lesson perfectly.
When the abbot of St. Maelruain heard of this monk's great teaching gifts he recognised in him the missing scholar from Clonenagh and the two became great friends. It was at Tallaght that Aengus began his great work on the calendar of the Irish saints known as the Felire Aengus Ceile De. As for himself he thought that he was the most contemptible of men and is said to have allowed his hair to grow long and his clothing to become unkempt so that he should be despised. Besides the Felire one of his prayers asking for forgiveness survives, pleading for mercy because of Christ's work and His grace in the saints.
Like all the holy people of God, Aengus was industrious and had a supreme confidence in His power to heal and save. On one occasion when he was lopping trees in a wood he inadvertently cut off his left hand. The legend says that the sky filled with birds crying out at his injury, but St. Aengus calmly picked up the severed hand and replaced it. Instantly it adhered to his body and functioned normally.
When St. Maelruain died in 792, St. Aengus left Tallaght and returned to Clonenagh succeeding his old teacher Maelaithgen as abbot and being consecrated bishop. As he felt death approaching he retired again to his hermitage at Dysertbeagh, dying there about 824. There is but scant evidence of the religious foundations at Clonenagh or Dysert but he will always be remembered for his Feliere, the first martyrology of Ireland. He is honoured on 11th March (Walsh, Cross, Flanagan).
<>
Saint Samthann, abbess of Clonbroney, Ireland (+739)
Saint Samthann was a woman betrothed on orders of the king to a particular nobleman against her wishes. However on the night before the wedding, the fiancé was awoken by a vision of a supernatural light. Following it to see where it was landing, he arrived to see Saint Samthann’s face lit up by the light. Recognising that she had a great sanctity, the nobleman and king accepted her rejection of the marriage and allowed her to take vows as a nun as she desired. She grew in the spiritual life until she eventually became the Abbess of Clonbroney.
As abbess, she set an excellent standard for her nuns in regards to asceticism and voluntary poverty. She was blessed with miracles and Clonbroney would continue to be an important monastery for a long time to come.
<>
Sayings of Saint Patrick of Ireland (+461)
* If I have any worth, it is to live my life for God so as to teach these peoples; even though some of them still look down on me.
* I pray to God to give me perseverance and to deign that I be a faithful witness to Him to the end of my life for my God.
* Sufficient to say, greed is a deadly deed. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.
* Daily I expect to be murdered or betrayed or reduced to slavery if the occasion arises. But I fear nothing, because of the promises of heaven.
* I am imperfect in many things, nevertheless I want my brethren and kinsfolk to know my nature so that they may be able to perceive my soul's desire.
* Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.
* He [God] watched over me before I knew him, and before I learned sense or even distinguished between good and evil, and he protected me, and consoled me as a father would his son.
* Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort me and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
* Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me.
* May the strength of God pilot us, may the wisdom of God instruct us, may the hand of God protect us, may the word of God direct us. Be always ours this day and for evermore.
<>
Saint Senan of Scattery, Ireland (+544) - March 8
Died c. 560. Senan was the principal of the numerous Irish saints with this name, and is credited with making a remarkable succession of monastic foundations on islands at the mouths of rivers and elsewhere, from the Slaney in Wexford to the coast of Clare. The stories that have survived about St. Senan suggest a man of considerable complexity of character. He is said to have visited Rome and on his way home stayed with St. David (f.d. March 1) in Wales. On his return to Ireland, he founded more churches and monasteries, notably one at Inishcarra near Cork. He finally settled and was buried on Scattery Island (Inis Cathaig) in the Shannon estuary, where there is still a fine round tower and other early remnants. There are indications that he spent some time in Cornwall, but appears to have had no connection with the Land's End parish of Sennen (Attwater, Benedictines).
* * *
Senan was born at Kilrush in County Clare where his parents, Erguid and Comgella, owned land and were well to do farmers. In his youth he had to do some fighting for his overlord but it was while he was about the more peaceful occupation of looking after his father's cattle that the call came to forsake the world and devote himself to religious study. His conversion was caused by a great wave that broke at his feet as he was walking on the sea shore, then ebbed leaving a clear path for him across the bay, and finally closed behind him. He saw this as a sign that his lay life was over and, breaking his spear in two, he made a cross of it and set out for the monastery at Kilnamanagh in County Dublin.
Senan was obviously a resourceful man for he miraculously automated the mill at the monastery so that it ground the grain without him having to leave his books. He made great progress in his studies and after his ordination he visited other centres of learning before returning to his home country to found a number of religious houses. The most famous of his foundations was on Scattery Island, Iniscathaigh, and before he could build his monastery there he had to rid the island of a ferocious beast after which it was named, the Cata. The monster is described as exceedingly fierce and breathing fire and spitting venom which make some believe that it was a tribe of wild cats. However, Senan protected by his faith, expelled it with the sign of the Cross, ordering it never to harm anyone again.
The Archangel Raphael is said to have aided him and there was an incident when Senan was searching for water for his monks that the Archangel directed the holly stick with which he was probing and water gushed out of the dry ground. Senan left his stick in the hole and on the next day he found that it had grown into a tree. Raphael also helped S. Senan to ensure safe crossing to the island for his monks.
The ruins on Scattery include those of six churches, the Saint's grave which provides miraculous cures in the church known as Temple Senan and a spectacular round tower, the tallest in the whole of Ireland. He died on March 1st but his burial was postponed to the octave day of his death to enable those from the neighbouring communities to attend, so his festival is observed on March 8th.
<>
Twelve Apostles of Ireland
Saint Finnian of Clonard is often called the "Teacher of the Irish Saints." At one time his pupils at Clonard included the so-called Twelve Apostles of Ireland:
Brendan of Birr (f.d. November 29)
Brendan the Voyager (f.d. May 16)
Cainnech (f.d. October 11)
Ciaran of Clommacnois (f.d. September 9)
Columba of Iona (f.d. June 9)
Columba of Terryglass (f.d. today)
Comgall of Bangor (f.d. May 11)
Finian of Moville (f.d. September 10)
Kieran of Saigher (f.d. March 5)
Mobhi (f.d. October 12)
Molaise (Laserian) of Devendish (f.d. August 12)
Ninidh of Inismacsaint (f.d. January 18)
Ruadhan of Lothra (f.d. April 15)
Sinell of Cleenish (f.d. October 12).
(You might note that this is more than 12; this is a very elastic twelve with different saints added at different times)
<>
Saint Patrick of Ireland (+461) and the laws of Ireland in the 5th century
"The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland" by the Four Masters state that by the year 438 Christianity had made such progress in Ireland that the laws were changed to agree with the Gospel.
That means that in a few years a 60 year old man was able to so change the country that even the laws were amended. St. Patrick had no printing press, no finances, few helpers and Ireland had no Roman roads to travel on.
Orthodox Ireland
<>
Saint Ciaran of Saigher, Bishop and Confessor of Ossory, Ireland (+530) - March 5
5th century. St. Ciaran or Kieran, the Elder is believed to have been a contemporary of St. Patrick if not a precursor of this great saint. He was born at Cape Clear, where there is a church reputedly built by him, but he went to the Continent for his education and was ordained and consecrated bishop there before returning to Ireland. He settled as a hermit at Saighir near to the Slieve Bloom Mountains but soon disciples were attracted to him and a large monastery grew up round his cell, which became the chosen burial place for the Kings of Ossory. His mother Liaden is said to have gone to Saighir with a group of women who devoted their lives to the service of God and the members of her son's community.
There are many stories of miracles wrought by God through Ciaran, including several restorations to life of those who had died, and there are charming tales of his relations with the animal kingdom. One of these related how the most blessed bishop and first begotten of the Saints of Ireland "as a youth saw a hawk swooping down and snatching a fledgling from its nest. Ciaran, moved with pity for the little creature, prayed for its deliverance and the hawk flew down and laid it at his feet, torn and bleeding, but at once it was wonderfully restored to health and strength. There are considerable remains at Saighir among them the carved base of a high cross and St. Ciaran is regarded as the Patron of Munster with the fifth of March as his feast day.
and:
This St. Kieran is commemorated in all dioceses of Ireland, for he is reputed to have been the "firstborn" of Irish saints.
Kieran's biography is full of obscurities. It is commonly said, however, that he left Ireland before the arrival of St. Patrick. Already a Christian, and of royal Ulster blood, he had determined to study for the Church; hence, he secured an education at Tours and Rome. On his return from France, he built himself a little cell in the woods of Upper Ossory.
There he spent the next few years as a hermit. Inevitably, however, other devout men joined him to form a monastery called "Saigher" (that is, "Sier-Ciaran," - "Kieran's Seat"). Later, he built nearby a monastery for women, the care of which he entrusted to his mother Liadan. Thus Kieran, rather than Brigid, seems to have been the pioneer founder of Irish women's convents. Around these foundations arose a village called Saigher, after the monastery.
When St. Patrick arrived in Ireland to carry the Faith throughout Erin, Abbot Kieran gave him his glad assistance. Some writers say that Kieran was then already a bishop, having been ordained while on the continent. It seems more likely, however, that he was one of the twelve men that Patrick, on his arrival, consecrated as helpers. It was customary in the early days for abbots to be ordained as bishops but to remain heads of their monasteries. The Diocese of Ossory considers Abbot Kieran as its first bishop. (He may also be the St. "Piran" venerated in Cornwall, Wales and Brittany.)
Many legends inevitably arose, too charming to leave untold, about this ancient hermit and bishop.
One story involves the Christmas communion of St. Cuach, Abbess of a monastery far away from Saigher. She had been Kieran's nurse when he was a child, and as a priest he always celebrated Mass for her community on Christmas night, after having presided at the midnight Mass of his own abbey. But nobody could figure out how he got to the convent of Ross-Bennchuir, so many miles distant, and returned that same night. The chronicler of the story suggests that it was by a miracle like that in which God once lifted up the prophet Habakkuk by the hair of his head and sped him from Palestine to Chaldea.
A second tale was that of Chrichidh, the boy from Clonmacnois whom St. Kieran had admitted to his monastery as a servant. One Easter the young servant mischievously extinguished the Easter Fire. (This was lighted at the monastery annually on Holy Saturday, and then kept burning all year as the only source of warmth or light in the monastic household.) Kieran predicted that for this thoughtless act, the lad would meet an untimely death. The very next day, as Chrichidh sauntered through the woods, he was killed and eaten by a wolf.
Soon afterward, St. Kieran the Younger (of Clonmacnois) arrived at Saigher, and was invited to dine by its monks. But he said he would not eat with them until his young friend Chrichidh from Clonmacnois had been restored to life. Out of hospitality in their chilly abbey, the older Kieran prayed for a little heat, and a ball of fire landed in his lap, which sufficed to warm up monks and visitor. Bishop Kieran then told his namesake that he should not hesitate to sit at table with them, for the boy was about to enter. Thereupon Chrichidh, raised from the dead, came in, sat down, and began to eat with his usual gusto.
The last story also concerns a miraculous resuscitation. King Aengus of Munster had seven minstrels whose songs about dead heroes pleased him. These minstrels, wandering through the land, were one day murdered by the king's enemies. They threw the bodies into the waters of a bog and hung their harps on a tree. Aengus mourned the loss. But St. Kieran informed him that the identity of the murderers and the place of the killing had been revealed to him. The king accompanied the saint to the spot. After Kieran had fasted a day on bread and water, the bog went dry, and he and Aengus saw the seven bodies of the songsters lying in the mud. Kieran then prayed that they might come back to life. Although a month dead, all seven promptly arose, their lives fully restored. Taking their harps, they thanked their benefactors with a recital of their sweetest songs.
The chronicler concluded, That bog has remained dry ever since. Whatever the truth of this legend, one central fact remains certain: that God will heed the prayers of a worthy person. Ask, said our Lord, and you shall receive.
<>
Saint Dymphna the Virgin-Martyr in Ireland (+620)
Saint Dymphna’s name in Irish means poetess. Her mother was a pious Christian but her father was a pagan. Her father, Damon, was a king in a region in the north of Ireland called Oriel. In her youth, Saint Dymphna took a vow of chastity.
Unfortunately her mother died when she was still young. After this, there was a change in her father as he sunk into a deep depression. He was encouraged by those close to him to remarry in the hopes that this would improve his dark mood. However, he said he would not marry any woman less beautiful than his wife. After a long search for such a woman, none could meet his exacting standard. As his mental and spiritual health deteriorated, Damon began to be attracted to his own daughter due to her physical similarity to his deceased wife.
Realising his intentions, Saint Dymphna fled Ireland with her priest, Saint Gerebernus. They sailed to continental Europe and arrived in a city called Geel (in Belgium). While there she gave much in charity to the poor and sick. Damon eventually discovered her location and went there himself. He ordered his soldiers to kill Saint Gerebernus. He was martyred and Damon tried to convince Saint Dymphna to return to Ireland but she adamantly refused. Enraged, Damon himself drew his sword and beheaded her. The residents of Geel buried and venerated them.
The site of their tombs healed many from madness. In the 15th century, it attracted pilgrims from all over Europe. A tradition began to allow the people suffering from madness to stay at the homes of the citizens of Geel. They would be encouraged to work and participate in the life of the city and were not looked on with contempt or even as patients. Incredibly this tradition has persisted to the modern day and Geel is infamous for its community driven efforts to heal the mentally and spiritually disturbed.
<>
St. Modomnoc O'Neil (Domnoc, Dominic, Modomnoc) of Ossory, Ireland (+550)
February 13
Died c. 550. Modomnoc, descended of the Irish royal line of O'Neil, had to leave Ireland to train for the priesthood, since he was a student before the creation of the great Irish monasteries. His name is most likely to have been Dom or Donogh but the Celtic saints were so tenderly loved that "my", "little" and "dear" were very often added to the names, which completely altered their appearance. Another disciple from Ireland much loved by St.David was originally called Aidan, but usually appears in accounts of the monastery as Maidoc.
He crossed the English Channel to be educated under the great Saint David at Mynyw (Menevia, now Saint David's) Monastery in Wales. All those who resided in the community were expected to share in the manual work as well as the study and worship, and there is a story which tells how one day Modomnoc was working with another monk making a road, when he had occasion to rebuke him for some matter. The other monk was seized with anger and took up a crowbar, but before he could bring it down on Modomnoc, SaintDavid, who was witness to the incident, stayed his arm by his spiritual powers and it remained paralysed.
Modomnoc was given charge of the bees and he loved it. And so did everyone else--they all loved honey, but few like taking charge of the hives. Modomnoc liked the bees almost more than he liked their honey. He cared for them tenderly, keeping them in straw skeps in a special sheltered corner of the garden, where he planted the kinds of flowers best loved by the bees.
Every time they swarmed, he captured the swarm very gently and lovingly and set up yet another hive. He talked to the bees as he worked among them and they buzzed around his head in clouds as if they were responding. And, of course, they never stung him.
At the end of summer, they gave him much honey, so much that Modomnoc needed help carrying it all inside. The monks never ran out of honey for their meals or making mead to drink. The good Modomnoc thanked God for this, and he also thanked the bees. He would walk among the skeps in the evening and talk to them, and the bees, for their part, would crowd out to meet him. All the other monks carefully avoided that corner of the monastery garden because they were afraid of being stung.
As well as thanking the bees, Modomnoc did everything he could to care for them in cold and storm. Soon his years of study ended, and Modomnoc had to return to Ireland to begin his priestly ministry. While he was glad to be returning home, he knew he would be lonely for his bees. On the day of his departure, he said good-bye to the Abbot, the monks, and his fellow students. Then he went down to the garden to bid farewell to his bees.
They came out in the hundreds of thousands in answer to his voice and never was there such a buzzing and excitement among the rows and rows of hives. The monks stood at a distance watching the commotion in wonder, You'd think the bees knew, they said. You'd think they knew that Modomnoc was going away.
Modomnoc resolutely turned and went down to the shore and embarked the ship. When they were about three miles from the shore, Modomnoc saw what looked like a little black cloud in the sky in the direction of the Welsh coast. He watched it curiously and as it approached nearer, he saw to his amazement that it was a swarm of bees that came nearer and nearer until finally it settled on the edge of the boat near him. It was a gigantic swarm--all the bees from all the hives, in fact. The bees had followed him!
This time Modomnoc did not praise his friends. How foolish of you, he scolded them, you do not belong to me but to the monastery! How do you suppose the monks can do without honey, or mead? Go back at once, you foolish creatures! But if the bees understood what he said, they did not obey him. They settled down on the boat with a sleepy kind of murmur, and there they stayed. The sailors did not like it one bit and asked Modomnoc what he intended to do.
He told them to turn the boat back for Wales. It was already too far for the bees to fly back, even if they wanted to obey him. He could not allow his little friends to suffer for their foolishness. But the wind was blowing the boat to Ireland and when they turned back, the sail was useless. The sailors had to furl it and row back to the Welsh coast. They did it with very bad grace, but they were too much afraid of the bees to do anything else.
Saint David and the monks were very surprised to see Modomnoc coming back and looking rather ashamed. He told them what had happened. The moment the boat had touched land again, the bees had made straight for their hives and settled down contentedly again. Wait until tomorrow, advised the abbot, but don't say farewell to the bees again. They will be over the parting by then.
Next morning, the boat was again in readiness for Modomnoc and this time he left hurriedly without any fuss of farewell. But when they were about three miles from the shore, he was dismayed to see again the little black cloud rising up over the Welsh coast. Everyone recognised the situation and the sailors turned back to shore immediately.
Once more the shamefaced Modomnoc had to seek out David and tell his story. What am I to do? he pleaded. I must go home. The bees won't let me go without them. I can't deprive you of them. They are so useful to the monastery.
David said, Modomnoc, I give you the bees. Take them with my blessing. I am sure they would not thrive without you. Take them. We'll get other bees later on for the monastery.
The abbot went down to the boat and told the sailors the same story. If the bees follow Modomnoc for the third time, take them to Ireland with him and my blessing. But it took a long time and a great deal of talking to get the sailors to agree to this. They did not care who had the bees as long as they weren't in their boat.
The abbot assured the sailors that the bees would give no trouble as long as Modomnoc was onboard. The sailors asked, if that were so, why the bees did not obey Modomnoc's command to return to the monastery. After much back and forth, the sailors were finally persuaded into starting out again.
For the third time the boat set sail, Modomnoc praying hard that the bees would have the sense to stay in their pleasant garden rather than risking their lives at sea. For the third time he saw the little black cloud rising up in the distance, approaching nearer and nearer until he saw it was the same swarm of bees again. It settled on the boat once more. This time it did not turn back. Modomnoc coaxed his faithful friends into a sheltered corner of the boat, where they remained quietly throughout the journey, much to the sailors' relief.
When he landed in Ireland, he set up a church at a place called Bremore, near Balbriggan, in County Dublin, and here he established the bees in a happy garden just like the one they had in Wales. The place is known to this day as the Church of the Beekeeper.
He became a hermit at Tibberaghny in County Kilkenny and some say he was later consecrated Bishop of Ossory (Benedictines, Curtayne).
<>
Saint Gobnata (Gobnet, Gobnait) of Ballyvourney, Ireland (+6th ce.) - February 11
6th century One of the most popular of the saints of Munster, she was born in County Clare but had to flee from enemies and took refuge in the Isle of Aran, where there is a church at Inisheer, Kilgobnet, Gobnat's church. After a time an angel appeared and told her that this was not to be the place of her resurrection but she must make a journey until she came upon nine white deer and this would be the sign for her to settle and build a monastery.
So she set out to search for the spot that God had chosen for her and she founded churches on the way, among them Dunguin in County Kerry and Dungarven in County Waterford. It was in County Cork that she saw three white deer near Cloudrohid; then at Ballymakeera she saw six and going further she arrived at Ballyvourney and found nine grazing near a wood. There she founded her monastery.
Saint Abban of Kilabban, County Meath, Ireland, is said to have worked with her on the foundation of the convent in Ballyvourney, County Cork, on land donated by the O'Herlihy family, and to have placed Saint Gobnat over it as abbess.
St Gobnat had a particular calling to care for the sick and she is credited with saving the people at Ballyvourney from the plague. She is also regarded as the Patroness of bees. Gobnata (meaning "Honey Bee", which is the equivalent of the Hebrew "Deborah") Of course honey is a useful ingredient in many medicines but she is said to have driven off a brigand by sending a swarm of bees after him and making him restore the cattle he had stolen. In fact she seems to have been very able in dealing with brigands. Set in the wall of the ruined church at Ballyvourney there is a round stone, which she is said to have used as a sort of boomerang to prevent the building of a castle by another brigand on the other side of the valley from her monastery. Every time he began building she sent the stone across and knocked down the walls, as fast as he could build, until he gave up in despair.
There is a field near to the village called the Plague Field commemorating the area she marked out as consecrated ground, across which the plague could not pass. The "Tomhas Ghobnata", which is the Gaelic for Gobnat's measure, a length of wool measured against her statue, is still in demand for healing, and in the church a much worn wooden statue of the thirteenth century is preserved and shown on her festival. At Killeen there is Gobnat's Stone, an early cross pillar that has a small figure bearing a crozier on one side.
A well still exists at Ballyvourney that is named after her. As with many Irish saints, there are stories of wondrous interactions with nature.
Her grave in the churchyard at Ballyvourney is decorated with crutches and other evidence of cures obtained through Gobnata's intercession. Among the miracles attributed to her intercession were the staying of a pestilence by marking off the parish as sacred ground. Another tradition relates that she routed an enemy by loosing her bees upon them. Her beehive has remained a precious relic of the O'Herlihys.
The round stone associated with her is still preserved. In art, Saint Gobnata is represented as a beekeeper.
<>
The Martyrology of Saint Oengus the Culdee
Félire Óengusso Céli dé
<>
Ireland: The Land of Saints
The vast majority of the Saints of Ireland lived during the 4th–10th centuries, the period of early Christian Ireland, when Celtic Christianity produced many missionaries to Great Britain and the European continent. For this reason, Ireland in a 19th-century adage is described as "the land of saints and scholars".
The introduction of Christianity into Ireland was during the end of the 4th century. Its exact introduction is obscure, though the strict ascetic nature of monasticism in Ireland derives from the Desert Fathers. Although there were some Christians in Ireland before him, Patrick, a native of Roman Britain, played a significant role in its full Christianisation.
Some of the most well known saints are the Twelve Apostles of Ireland and Brigid of Kildare.
<>
Saint Abbán of Leinster, Ireland (+520)
May 13
Saint Abbán moccu Corbmaic (d. 520 AD), also Eibbán or Moabba, is a saint in Irish tradition. He was associated, first and foremost, with Mag Arnaide (Moyarney or Adamstown, near New Ross, Co. Wexford) and with Cell Abbáin (Killabban, County Laois). His order was, however, also connected to other churches elsewhere in Ireland, notably that of his alleged sister Gobnait.
Three recensions of Abbán's Life survive, two in Latin and one in Irish. The Latin versions are found in the Codex Dublinensis and the Codex Salmanticensis, while the Irish version is preserved incomplete in two manuscripts: the Mícheál Ó Cléirigh's manuscript Brussels, Royal Library MS 2324-40, fos. 145b-150b and also the RIA, Stowe MS A 4, pp. 205–21.
Abbán arrives in the area between Éile and Fir Chell, i.e. on the marches between Munster and Leinster: Abbán converts a man of royal rank from the area and baptises his son. m
Other sources for Abbán's life and order include the Irish genealogies of the saints and the entries for his feast-day in the martyrologies. His pedigree is given in the Book of Leinster, Leabhar Breac, Rawlinson B 502 and in glosses to his entries in the Félire Óengusso.
His pedigree in the Irish genealogies, which appear to have been composed in the interest of Cell Abbáin, suggests that he belonged to the Uí Chormaic (also Moccu Chormaic or Dál Chormaic). It identifies his father as Laignech (lit. "Leinsterman"), son of Mac Cainnech, son of Cabraid, son of Cormac, son of Cú Corb, while an Irish note to the Félire Óengusso (for 27 October) largely agrees if substituting Cabraid for Imchad. The Lives, on the other hand, state that his father was Cormac son of Ailill, king of Leinster, who died in 435 according to the Annals of the Four Masters, and name his mother Mílla, sister to St Ibar.
Nothing is known of Abbán's early life. The Lives tell that he was expected to succeed his father in Leinster, but that his devotion to God and the saintly miracles which he wrought while still in fosterage soon made clear that he was destined for a career in the church. The boy was sent to his maternal uncle, the bishop Íbar, with whom he travelled to Rome. In Italy, Abbán's saintly powers proved to be of much use in warding off any danger presented by men, monsters and supernatural phenomena. Throughout the text, Abbán can be seen demonstrating his powers, exercising special authority over rivers and seas.
Abbán had six brothers who all appear in the Martyrology of Donegal as bishops: Damán Uí Chormaic of Tígh Damhain (Tidowan), in the barony of Marybouragh, Co. Laois; Miacca Uí Cormaic of Cluain Fodhla in Fiodhmar (borders Uí Duach/Bally Fíodhmor, Ossory); Senach Uí Chormaic of Cillmór; Lithghean Uí Chormaic of Cluain Mór Lethghian in Uí Failge (Barony Ophaly, Co. Kildare); Dubhán Uí Chormaic; Toimdeach Uí Chormaic of Rosglas, Monasterevin, Co. Kildare.
Dár Cairthaind and Ethne are listed as his sisters in the 'Accent of the Saints', while Gobnait of Baile Bhuirne, Cork and Craobh Dearg are mentioned as his sisters in other accounts.
<>
2011: Number of Orthodox Christians in Ireland doubled over five years
According to the latest 2011 census there are over 45 thousand Orthodox Christians in Ireland, reports Interfax-Religion.
This figure is two times larger than it was in 2006 and four times larger than in 2002. Thus according to the official data Orthodoxy is the fastest growing religion in Ireland, says the website Russianireland.com.
The largest center of Orthodoxy in the country is Swords, the county town of Fingal, where 1168 Orthodox Christians reside according to the 2011 census data.
The census also showed that the majority of the Orthodox Christians in Ireland are Romanians (26%), followed by Irish (20%) and Latvians (12.5%).
“Orthodoxy is not something new or strange In Ireland; it has always existed here. It is well-known that Irish Christianity before the 11th century was very similar to ours. But after Ireland was conquered by the British this denomination had been intentionally removed by the Pope. That is probably why many Irish perceive Orthodoxy as something special and dear”, said the Rector of the Patriarchal representation of the Russian Orthodox Church in Dublin, priest Michael Nasonov.
According to him, there are seven parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ireland already.
The most common religion in Ireland is Roman Catholicism (3.86 million people, 84.2% of the population), followed by Protestantism (over 134 thousand people) and Islam (over 49 thousand people).
http://orthochristian.com/57148.html
JTO2
<>
Saint Jarlath, first Bishop of Tuam, Ireland (+540)
December 26
Saint Jarlath, also known as Iarlaithe mac Loga (fl. 6th century), was an Irish priest and scholar from Connacht, remembered as the founder of the monastic School of Tuam and of the Archdiocese of Tuam, of which he is the patron saint.
Saint Jarlath of Tuam is said to have belonged to the Conmhaícne, who ruled over the greater part of what would become the parish of Tuam.
Saint Brendan the Voyager (+577) is said to have visited Connacht to study under the famous Jarlath. One day, when Jarlath was in his old age, Brendan advised his mentor to leave the school and to depart in a newly built chariot until its two hind shafts broke, because there would be the place of his resurrection (esséirge) and that of many after him. Because Jarlath acknowledged the divinity and superior wisdom of his pupil, saying "take me into thy service for ever and ever", he gladly accepted his advice. His travel did not take him very far, as the shafts broke at Tuaim da Ghualann ("Mound of two shoulders"), that is, at Tuam.
Saint Jarlath died, "full of days", on 26 December, circa 540, aged about 90 years old.
<>
St. Beoc (Beanus, Dabeoc, Mobeoc) of Ireland (+5th-6th ce.) - 1 January
5th or 6th century. Beoc was a Cambro-Briton, who crossed over from Wales to Ireland and founded a monastery on an island in Lough Derg, Donegal (Benedictines).
St Daibheog of Lough Derg
In the Martyrology of Tallagh we find this insertion : Aedh, Lochagerg, alias Daibheog. His name is Latinized Dabeocus, and he is frequently called Beanus.
At a very early date, this saint lived on the island ; but for what term of life does not seem to have been ascertained. Few notices of the place occur in our ancient annals. We read, in the Martyrology of Donegal, that Dabheog belonged to Lough Geirg or Loch-gerc, in Ulster. There, also, three festivals were annually held in his honour, namely, on the 1st of January, on the 24th of July, and on the 16th of December.
According to St. Cummin of Connor, in the following translation from his Irish poem on the characteristic virtues of the Irish Saints :-
Mobeog, the gifted, loved, According to the Synod of the learned, That often in bowing his head, He plunged it under water.
Whether or not St. Patrick had any acquaintance with St. Dabeoc can hardly be discovered. But, we are told, while the latter, with his clerics, lived on the island, and when his vigils had been protracted to a late hour one night, a wonderful brightness appeared towards the northern part of the horizon. The clerics asked their master what it portended.
In that direction, whence you have seen the brilliant illumination, said Dabeog, the Lord himself, at a future time, shall light a shining lamp, which, by its brightness, must miraculously glorify the Church of Christ. This shall be Columba, the son of Feidlimid, son of Fergus, and whose mother will be Ethnea. For learning he shall be distinguished ; in body and soul shall he be chaste ; and he shall possess the gifts of prophecy.
See Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga. Quinta Vita S, Columbae. Lib. i., cap. X, pp. 390, 391.
<>
Saints Ethenea (Ethna) and Fidelmia (Fedelma) of Ireland, Virgins (+433) - January 11
Died 433. The story is told that one summer day the little daughters of King Laoghaire of Connaught, Ethna and Fedelma, who were barely out of childhood and full of fun, went for their daily bath in a private place near the palace, a place to which no one ever came so early in the morning. But this special day they were surprised to hear voices and see tents encamped on the grassy slope near the pool.
There was a drone of a strange language and every now and again a sweet voice broke into song and mingled with that of the birds in the nearby woods and the murmuring of the river. Saint Patrick and his companions, who had arrived during the night with a message for the King of Connaught, were praying the Divine Office in Latin. Finally, each group spied the other.
The older princess asked, Who are you, and where do you come from?
Patrick hesitated, then said: We have more important things to tell you than just our names and where we're from. We know who the one true God is whom you should adore. . . .
The girls were delighted, rather than annoyed. In a flash something seemed to light up inside them, to make a blinding white blaze in their hearts and minds. They knew at once that this was real, real news and that it was true. It all happened instantaneously. Then they asked a whole torrent of questions:
Who is God? Where does He live? Will He live forever? and on and on as excited young people do.
Patrick answered each question quickly and simply. He, too, was delighted: the light that blazed up in the girls was in the man, too, and the three lights together made a tremendous glow. Everyone else stood listening raptly, feeling lucky to be witnesses to the saintly man and the sweet girls--and the Holy Spirit in their midst.
Oh, tell us how to find the good God. Teach us more about the kind Jesus, who died upon the Cross. Tell us more, more, more, the princesses urged. But there was no need for more; the two had already received the gift of the Spirit of Truth.
Patrick led them to their bathing pool, where he baptized them. For a short time thereafter, Ethna and Fedelma were very quiet for they were in deep prayer. Meanwhile, Patrick prepared to offer the Holy Sacrifice. Then the princesses began again, I want to see Jesus Christ now, said Ethna.
And so do I, echoed Fedelma. I want to be with Him in His home forever.
Patrick, moved by this loving longing, very gently explained that they would not be able to see God until after their death. They were still young, so it would be a long time before they could see Him as He is. If they lived good Christian lives, then they would be able to go to God for always and great joys would replace the present sorrows. The girls pondered this as Patrick began the Offering.
As the holy Offering went on everyone was still, but the river and woods seemed to sing God's praises. Then the youngest man rang a little bell and all bowed their heads. Jesus Christ was with them in the grassy knoll in the king's park. Soon the bell rang again. Patrick beckoned the princesses forward and gave them Holy Communion.
For a little while the girls looked so happy and so beautiful that they were like angels. And then, we are told, they died. They longed so much to be with Jesus that they died of longing. Saint Patrick was exceedingly happy to have met such quick and whole-hearted belief (Benedictines, Curtayne).
This other retelling of the meeting between Patrick and the two young girls is from Muirchu's 7th century Life of Saint Patrick:
On his missionary travels, Saint Patrick came to Rathcroghan near Tulsk. At the well of Clebach beside Cruachan (probably today's Tobercrogheer), he pauses for a rest.
Rathcroghan, the rath of Croghan, is an ancient Celtic royal burial place, rich in earthworks and earlier megalithic remains. The seven-foot-high standing stone in the middle of a ring-fort is said to mark the burial place of the pagan monarch Daithi.
While Patrick and his clerics are assembled at the well, two royal maidens, fair Ethne and red-haired Fedelma, come to wash their hands. These two daughters of Loeghaire are being brought up in Connacht by the two wizards, the brothers Mael and Caplait. Surprised at the strange appearance of the monks and priests, the girls ask them who they are, and where they come from. Patrick replies that it were better for them to believe in the true God than to ask such questions.
Ethne then asks him:
What is God? Where is God. And of whom is God?
And where is God's dwelling place?
Does your God have sons and daughters?
Has he gold and silver? Is he immortal?
Is he beautiful?
Have many people fostered his son?
Are his daughters beautiful and beloved of men?
Is he in heaven or on earth?
Or on the plain?
In what manner does he come to us?
In the mountains? In the glens?
Is he young or old?
Tell us of him, in what manner is he seen?
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Patrick answers them:
Our God is the God of all men, the God of Heaven and Earth,
of seas and rivers, of Sun and Moon and stars,
of high mountains and deep valleys,
the God over Heaven and in Heaven and on Earth,
and in the sea and in all that is therein.
He informs all these things, he brings life to all things,
he surpasses all things, he sustains all things.
He gives light to the Sun, and to the Moon by night.
He makes fountains in the dry land and islands in the seas,
and he sets the stars in their places.
He has a Son, co-eternal with himself and in his own likeness.
Neither is the Son younger than the Father,
nor the Father older than the Son.
And the Holy Spirit breathes in them.
The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit cannot be divided.
In truth I wish to unite you to the Heavenly King,
you who until now are the daughters of an earthly king.
Believe!
With one voice and heart, the two girls answer: In what way can we believe in the Heavenly King? Instruct us most diligently so that we may see him face to face, inform us and whatever you tell us we will do.
Patrick asks them if they believe that in baptism the sin of their father and mother will be cast off, to which they reply We believe.
Patrick asks them if they believe in repentance after sin, in life after death, in resurrection on the Day of Judgement, in the oneness of the Church. To all of these questions the girls reply We believe.
They are then baptized, Patrick blesses the white veils over their heads, and they beg to see the face of Christ. Patrick tells them that until they receive Communion and taste death, they cannot see Christ's face. They reply: Give us the Communion so that we may see the Son, our Bridegroom.
They receive the Holy Eucharist and fall asleep in death. They are wrapped together in one shroud, and are greatly bewailed by their friends.
The Druid Caplait, the foster-father of one of the girls, comes to Patrick lamenting. Patrick preaches to him and he, too, believes, and is baptized and tonsured. The other Druid, Caplait's brother Mael, comes to Patrick to tell him that he will bring his brother back to the pagan creed, but Patrick preaches to Mael also, and he, too, is converted, and tonsured.
The period of mourning then being over, the bodies of Ethne and Fidelma are buried near the well of Clebach. A circular ditch is dug around the burial place, as is customary (Tirechan adds) among the inhabitants of Ireland.
from Muirchu's Life of Saint Patrick
<>
Saints Máel Ruain (+792) and Óengus of Tallaght, Ireland (+824)
Most of the great Irish monasteries were founded in the 6th century. The next generations of saints often were trained at sites such as Clonard, Clonmacnoise, Iona, etc. However, there was one more great monastic foundation that would be established later than the rest. That was Tallaght, founded in the 8th century by Saint Máel Ruain.
The etymology of Tallaght refers to a gravesite for victims of plague. Tallaght is referred to in the Lebor Gabála Érenn as the burial site of the Partholonians, a people group, who were wiped out by a plague in Ireland’s ancient history. This is a topic that should be of great interest to those interested in an Orthodox Christian perspective of the history of Ireland because texts such as the Lebor Gabála Érenn were written and passed down by the Church and are a part of its tradition.
Less is known about Saint Máel Ruain himself than the monastery and its successes. Regularly referred to resources for anyone studying the Irish saints are the Martyrology of Tallaght and the Martyrology of Óengus, both produced from the monastery of Tallaght. It is also from Tallaght, while Saint Máel Ruain was abbot, that a monastic movement known as the Céilí Dé, anglicised as the Culdees, began. This is a large topic that has a range of interpretations in academic literature. Orthodox Christian appraisals of the Céilí Dé are hopefully on the near horizon!
The other great saint of Tallaght was Saint Óengus. He had been a hermit in a hermitage that he founded called the Dísert Óengusa but his piety and asceticism eventually attracted many visitors. Saint Óengus wished for more solitude and obscurity and for this reason left and joined Tallaght as a lay brother, disguising his significant reputation and experience in monasticism. Saint Máel Ruain eventually discovered his true identity. As implied by the name, the Martyrology of Óengus was written by him.
<>
Saint Ita of Limerick, Ireland (+570)
January 15
Died c. 570. Saint Ita is the most famous woman saint in Ireland after Saint Brigid (f.d. February 1), and is known as the Brigid of Munster. She is said to have been of royal lineage, born in one of the baronies of Decies near Drum in County Waterford, and called Deirdre.
An aristocrat wished to marry her, but after praying and fasting for three days and with divine help, she convinced her father to allow her to lead the life of a maiden. She migrated to Hy Conaill (Killeedy), in the western part of Limerick, and founded a community of women dedicated to God, which soon attracted many young women. She also founded and directed a school. It is said that Bishop Saint Erc gave into her care Saint Brendan (f.d. May 16), who would become a famous abbot and missionary (though the chronology makes this unlikely). Many other Irish saints were taught by her for years. For this reason, she is often called foster-mother of the saints of Ireland.
Brendan once asked her what three things God especially loved. She replied, True faith in God with a pure heart, a simple life with a religious spirit, and open-handedness inspired by charity.
An Irish lullaby for the Infant Jesus is attributed to her. Saint Ita's legend stresses her physical austerities. The principle mark of her devotion was the indwelling of the Holy Trinity. Like other monastic figures of Ireland, she spent much time in solitude, praying and fasting, and the rest of the time in service to those seeking her assistance and advice.
She and her sisters helped to treat the sick of the area. Many miracles are also attributed to her including one in which she reattached the head to the body of a man who had been decapitated, and another that she lived only on food from heaven.
Although her life is overlaid by much unreliable material, because she has been so popular and her "vita" was not written for centuries, there is no reason to doubt her existence. There are church dedications and place names that recall her both in her birthplace and around her monastery. She is also mentioned in the poem of Blessed Alcuin (f.d. May 19), and her cultus is still vibrant (Attwater2, Benedictines, Delaney, Farmer, Montague, Riain, Walsh, White).
An extract from the entry on St. Ita in Edward Sellner's The Wisdom of the Celtic Saints.
Ita (also Ite or Ide) is, after Brigit, the most famous of Irish women soul friends. Her hagiographer even describes her as a second Brigit. A sixth-century abbess, Ita founded a monastery in Country Limerick at Killeedy (which means Cell of Church of Ita). She came from the highly respected clan of the Deisi, and her father, like Brigit's, was resistant to her becoming a nun. After gaining his permission, Ita left home and settled at the foot of Sliabh Luachra, where other women from neighbouring clans soon joined her. There she founded a monastic school for the education of small boys, one of whom was Brendan of Clonfert. She evidently had many students, for she is called the Foster-mother of the Saints of Erin.
Ita's original, some claim, was Deirdre, but because of her thirst (iota) for holiness she became known as Ita. This quality may have been what drew so many women to join her monastery and families to send their sons to her. Ita wanted her students to become acquainted with the saints as soul friends. Besides her mentoring, Ita is associated with competence in healing and with an asceticism that an angel had to warn her about.
Ita died in approximately 570. Her grave, frequently decorated with flowers, is in the ruins of a Romanesque church at Killeedy where her monastery once stood. A holy well nearby, almost invisible now, was known for centuries for curing smallpox in children and other diseases as well.
Her feast day is January 15.
Ita's Qualities as a Child, and the Fiery Grace of God
Ita was born in Ireland of noble lineage, that is, of the stock of Feidhlimidh Reachtmiher, by whom all Ireland was supremely ruled for many years from the royal fort of Tara. He had three sons, Tiacha, Cond and Eochaid. Ita was born of the people called the Deisi, and from her baptism on she was filled with the Holy Spirit. All marvelled at her childhood purity and behaviour, and her abstinence on the days she had to fast. She performed many miracles while she was yet a small child, and when she could speak and walk she was prudent, very generous and mild toward everyone, gentle and chaste in her language, and God-fearing. She consistently attempted to overcome evil and always did what she could to promote good. As a young girl she lived at home with her parents.
One day, while Ita was asleep in her room the whole place seemed to be on fire. When her neighbours came to give assistance, however, the fire in her room seemed to have been extinguished. All marvelled at that, and it was said that it was the grace of God that burned about Ita as she slept. When she arose from her sleep, her whole appearance seemed to be angelic, for she had beauty that has never been seen before or since. Her appearance was such that it was the grace of God that burned about her. After a short interval, her original appearance returned, which certainly was beautiful enough.
Ita's Dream and the Angel that Helped Discern Its Meaning
Another day when she went to sleep, Ita saw an angel of the Lord approach her and give her three precious stones. When she awoke she did not know what that dream signified, and she had a question in her heart about it. Then an angel appeared to her and said, Why are you wondering about that dream? Those three precious stoned you saw being given to you signify the coming of the Blessed Trinity to you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Always in your sleep and vigils the angels of God and holy visions will come to you, for you are a temple of God, in body and soul. After saying this, the angel left her.
Ita's Desire to be Consecrated to Christ, and her Parents' Resistance
Another day Ita came to her mother and announced to her the divine precepts the Holy Spirit had taught her. She asked her mother to seek her father's permission so that she might consecrate herself to Christ. But her father was defiantly opposed to what she desired. The request was also very displeasing to her mother , and when others added their petitions, Ita's father vehemently refused to give permission. Then Ita, filled with the spirit of prophecy, said to all: Leave my father alone for a while. Though he now forbids me to be consecrated to Christ, he will come to persuade me and eventually will order me to do so, for he will be compelled by Jesus Christ my Lord to let me go wherever I wish to serve God. And it happened as she had predicted. This is how it came about.
Not long afterward, Ita fasted for three days and three nights. During those days and nights, through dreams and vigils, it became clear that the devil was waging several battles against Ita. She, however, resisted him in everything, whether she slept or watched. One night, the devil, sad and grieving, left Ita with these words: Alas, Ita, you will free yourself from me, and many others too will be delivered.
<>
Saint Fechin of Fobhar (Fore), Ireland (+665) - January 20
Born at Bile Fechin (Connaught), Ireland; died c. 665. Saint Fechin, the abbot-founder of several Irish monasteries, was trained by Saint Nathy (f.d. August 9) at Achonry, County Sligo. After a life of sanctity, he died during the great pestilence which came upon Britain and Ireland in the year after the Council at Whitby and felled four Irish kings and nearly two-thirds of the populace.
Fechin's name is particularly connected with that of Fobhar (Fore or Foure) in Westmeath, which was his first monastic foundation, and an important one for its manuscripts. Fechin was the son of Coelcharna, descendant of Eochad Fionn, brother to the famous king Conn of the Hundred Battles, and his mother Lassair was of the royal blood of Munster. When fit to be sent to school he was placed under St Nathy of Achonry.
Having finished his studies he was ordained priest, and retired to a solitary place at Fore in Westmeath, there to live as a hermit. But he was followed by many disciples, and Fore became a monastery. Here he eventually governed over 300 monks. He is said to have pitied the monks engaged in grinding their corn in querns, he therefore brought water from a marsh to the monastery, by cutting a tunnel through the rock, and then established a water mill. Of this Giraldus Cambrensis relates the following :-
There is a mill at Foure, which St Fechin made most miraculously with his own hands, in the side of a certain rock. No women are allowed to enter either this mill or the church of the Saint; and the mill is held in as much reverence by the people as any of the churches dedicated to him.
His influence was very great with the kings and princes of his age. The Saint finding a poor leper, full of sores one day, took him to the Queen, and bade her minister to him as to Christ. She bravely overcame her repugnance, and tended him with gentle care. of three hundred monks. He also established a religious house in the island of Immagh, near the coast of Galway. The inhabitants were then pagans, but Fechin and his monks converted them.
The monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary which he founded in Cong is renowned because of the Cross of Cong, one of the great treasures of Ireland, which had been hidden in an old oaken chest in the village, and now resides in the National Museum in Dublin. Both the church and monastery at Cong were rebuilt in 1120 for the Augustinians by Turlough O'Connor, who gave them the bejewelled processional cross he had made to enshrine a particle of the True Cross. Cong Abbey also served as the refuge for the last high king of Ireland, Roderick O'Connor. The monastery was suppressed by King Henry VIII.
St. Fechin's other foundations include those at Ballysadare (his birthplace?),Imaid Island, Omey and Ard Oilean, from which came the oldest manuscript about his life. All of these are now in ruins. His memory, however, is also perpetuated at Ecclefechan and Saint Vigean's (the name under which he is invoked in the Dunkeld Litany), near Arbroath in Scotland, where a fair was held on his feast day.
<>
Saint Colman of Lismore, Ireland, Abbot and Bishop (+702) - January 23
Died c. 702. Saint Colman succeeded Saint Hierlug (Zailug) as abbot-bishop of Lismore in 698. During his rule the fame of Lismore reached its peak (Benedictines).
The Monastery of Lismore
As the School of Armagh in the North of Ireland, and that of Clonmacnoise in the centre, so the School of Lismore was the most celebrated in the South of Ireland. It was founded in the year 635 by St. Carthach the Younger, in a most picturesque site, steeply rising from the southern bank of the Blackwater. Its founder had spent nearly forty years of his monastic life in the monastery of Rahan on the southern borders of ancient Meath, in what is now King's County. He dearly loved that monastery which he had founded and which he fondly hoped would be the place of his resurrection; but the men of Meath - clerics and chieftains - grew jealous of the great monastery founded in their territory by a stranger from Munster, and they persuaded Prince Blathmac, son of Aedh Slaine, of the southern Hy Mall, to expel the venerable old man from the monastic home which he loved so well. The eviction is described by the Irish annalists as most unjust and cruel, yet, under God's guidance, it led to the foundation of Lismore on the beautiful margin of what was then called Avonmore, the great river, a site granted to St. Carthach by the prince of the Desii of Waterford.
Lismore was founded in 635; and the founder survived only two years, for he died in 637, but Providence blessed his work, and his monastery grew to be the greatest centre of learning and piety in all the South of Erin. The Rule of St. Carthach is the most notable literary monument which the founder left behind him. It is fortunately still extant in the ancient Gaelic verse in which it was written. It consists of 185 four-lined stanzas, which have been translated by O'Curry - who has no doubt of its authenticity - and is beyond doubt one of the most interesting and important documents of the early Irish Church.
The Rule of Saint Carthage can be found in The Celtic Monk: Rules & Writings of Early Irish Monks Uinseann O'Maidin OCR, pub. Cistercian Studies Series Number 162, 1996. ISBN: 0879076623 (pb) and 0879075627 (hb).
But Lismore produced a still more famous saint and scholar, the great St. Cathaldus of Tarentum. His Irish name was Cathal, and it appears he was born at a place called Rathan, not far from Lismore. Our Irish annals tell us nothing of St. Cathaldus, because he went abroad early in life, but the brothers Morini of his adopted home give us many particulars. They tell us he was a native of Hibernia - born at Rathan in Momonia - that he studied at Lismore, and became bishop of his native territory of Rathan, but that afterwards, inspired by the love of missionary enterprise, he made his way to Jerusalem, and on his return was, with his companions, wrecked at Tarentum - the beautiful Tarentum - at the heel of Italy. Its pleasure-loving inhabitants, forgetting the Gospel preached to them by St. Peter and St. Mark, had become practically pagans when Cathaldus and his companions were cast upon their shores. Seeing the city given up to vice and sensuality, the Irish prelate preached with great fervour, and wrought many miracles, so that the Tarentines gave up their sinful ways, and from that day to this have recognised the Irish Cathaldus as their patron saint, and greatly venerate his tomb, which was found intact in the cathedral as far back as the year 1110, with his name Cathaldus Rachan inscribed upon a cross therein. Another distinguished scholar of Lismore, and probably its second abbot, was St. Cuanna, most likely the half-brother and successor of the founder. He was born at Kilcoonagh, or Killcooney, a parish near Headford in the County Galway which takes its name from him. No doubt he went to Lismore on account of his close connection with St. Carthach, and for the same reason was chosen to succeed him in the school of Lismore. Colgan thought that the ancient but now lost "Book of Cuanach", cited in the "Annals of Ulster", but not later than A.D. 628, was the work of this St. Cuanna of Kilcooney and Lismore. It is also said that Aldfrid, King of Northumbria, spent some time at the school of Lismore, for he visited most of the famous schools of Erin towards the close of the seventh century, and at that time Lismore was one of the most celebrated. It was a place of pilgrimage also, and many Irish princes gave up the sceptre and returned to Lismore to end their lives in prayer and penance. There, too, by his own desire, was interred St. Celsus of Armagh, who died at Ardpatrick, but directed that he should be buried in Lismore - but we have sought in vain for any trace of his monument.
Two interesting memorials of Lismore are fortunately still preserved. The first is the crosier of Lismore, found accidentally in Lismore Castle in the year 1814. The inscription tells us that it was made for Niall Mac Mic Aeducan, Bishop of Lismore, 1090-1113, by Neclan the artist. This refers to the making of the case or shrine, which enclosed an old oak stick, the original crosier of the founder. Most of the ornaments are richly gilt, interspersed with others of silver and niello, and bosses of coloured enamels. You can see the crosier here:
http://www.discoverlismore.com/images/lismorecrozier.jpg
http://www.nyu.edu/classes/overbey/shrines/shrines-Thumb.00001.html
The second is the "Book of Lismore" found in the castle at the same time with the crosier, enclosed in a wooden box in a built-up doorway. The castle was built as long ago as 1185 by Prince John. Afterwards the bishops of Lismore came to live there, and no doubt both crosier and book belonged to the bishops and were hidden for security in troublesome times. The Book of Lismore contains a very valuable series of the lives of our Irish saints, written in the finest medieval Irish. It was in 1890 admirably translated into English by Dr. Whitley Stokes. One of the Saints' Lives (paraphrased), Saint Fanahan of Brigown, may be read here http://incolor.inetnebr.com/jskean/Fanahan.htm
<>
Saint Manach of Lemonaghan, Ireland (+7th ce.)
January 24
St. Manchan lived in Leamonaghan, it is about two kilometres from Pollagh. St. Kieran of Clonmacnoise gave him some land and he formed a monastery in the year 645 AD. Nothing now remains but the ruins and the surrounding graveyard. The foundations of the original buildings may still be traced but the larger ruins are those of a church built at a later date.
About 500m from the monastery is a little stone house which Monchan built for his mother Mella. This place is known locally as Kell and the ruins of the house can still be visited today. It is said that one day the saint was thirsty and there was no water at the monastery. He struck a rock and a spring well bubbled up, it is now known as St. Manahan's well. It is visited by people from all around especially on January 24 each year. It is claimed that many people have been cured of diseases after visiting the well.
There are many stories about the saint. One of the most famous of them explains why the people of Lemonaghan will not sell milk. St. Manchan had a cow that used to give milk to the whole country side for which there was no charge. The cow became famous and the neighbouring people of Kill-Managhan got jealous and stole his cow. When St. Manchan eventually found his cow it was dead, he struck it with a stick and the cow came back to life and returned to supplying milk.
St. Manchan's shrine was made in 1130 AD in Clonmacnoise, it contains some of his bones including the femur. On the shrine are placed brass figures, in 1838 it was placed in Boher church. It is the largest shrine of its kind in existence today. The guardians of the shrine through the centuries are the Mooney family (my ancestors!)
St Manchan's Shrine is preserved in Boher church, near-by. This shrine is the largest and most magnificent ancient reliquary in Ireland and was made at Clonmacnois about AD 1130. It is a gabled box of yew wood with gilt, bronze, and enamelled fittings. It still contains the relics of the saint. There are ten remaining figures of a possible 50 or 52 on the cover.
Shrine of Saint Manchan
http://www.ardaghdiocese.org/page5.html
http://www.ardaghdiocese.org/img20.gif
http://www.ardaghdiocese.org/img21.gif
St. Manchan lived in Lemonaghan for 19 years. During this time he looked after the spiritual needs of the locality. He waas known for his kindness and generosity, his wisdom and his knowledge of sacred scripture.
In 664 AD he became ill and was struck down by the yellow plague a disease which desolated Ireland at the time. He died and wad buried locally. After his death the place became known as 'Liath Manchan', which means Manchan's grey land.
How St. Manchan came to Lemonaghan
In 644, Diarmuid, High King of Ireland was on his way to fight a battle against Guaire, the King of Connaught, when he stopped off at Clonmacnois to ask the monks for their prayers for his success. Having won the battle, a grateful Diarmuid granted Ciarán, abbot of Clonmacnois, the "island in the bog" which we now know as Lemonaghan, provided that he send one of his monks there to Christianize it.
St. Ciarán chose St. Manchan for the mission. The thriving community that was already on the island were converted to Christianity by St. Manchan. He then went on to establish a monastery there. He built a cell for his mother, St. Mella, in an adjoining piece of high ground, and the intervening bog was bridged by a togher or walkway made from sandstone laid on brushwood and gravel. St. Manchan is alleged to have taken a vow never to look at a woman as part of his orders, so he is supposed to have had to sit back to back with his mother in order to communicate with her.
St. Manchan had many followers at Lemonaghan and ancient headstones still survive from the era. St. Manchan's well was used for cures since pagan times, and continues to be used for a variety of cures today, as is the holy water font in the ruined church in the graveyard.
St. Manchan
a visit to a historic Offaly centre Monday, 24th January
Midland Tribune 27th April 1935
By Tomas O'Cleirigh, M.A., National Museum.
I was in the little two-horse train which labours west from Clara to Banagher and the outlook was desolate. There was another chap in the carriage. He sat hunched up in the corner with his nose to the window. One glance convinced me that it was useless to say anything and there the two of us kept on staring rather lovingly at a wilderness of bog stretching away to the Slieve Bloom Mountains. It seemed to me that there was a kind of promised land on the other side. On past a few scattered farm houses some grey boulders and the ruins of a church. I found myself thinking dismally enough of the tourists. After all what do they get? Just ruins, ruins and more ruins- the saddest ruins in Europe. Then suddenly I heard my friend of the opposite corner speak in a mournful kind of way with his nose still glued to the window - "That's Leamanaghan, a quare kind of place, decent people, too, the best in the world, people who'd give you all the milk you could drink but wouldn't sell a drop of it for all the gold in Ireland and it's all by raison of a cow, saint Manchan's cow."
The Grey Land
I went through a storm of real Irish rain to see Leamanaghan that very evening. It is four miles from Ferbane in County Offaly and hidden away in a vast bog region which is dotted with scattered boulders of magnesian limestone. The general depression is summed up in the name - Liath Manchan - the grey land of Manchan. Aye! The grey, lonely, chill land of Manchan. St. Manchan lived here and died in A.D. 664. That might have been only yesterday, however as far as the good neighbours are concerned because he is the one subject over which every man, woman and child can get really voluble.
I was taken to see the ruins of his church and then down to his well and heard how when you are sick should pray here, walk three times round it and then, go back and leave a little present for the saint himself in the window of the church. He had quite a good collection when I was there - a strangely human and pathetic little collection among which I noticed a girl's brooch, some small religious articles, a boy's penknife, a G.A.A. footballer's medal and strangest gift of all for a saint of Manchan's calibre - a demure little vanity box! After that I was told that on the 24th January when all the rest of the world works, the people of Leamanaghan just take a holiday and make merry because it would be the unpardonable sin to think of work on their Saint's day.
The Saint's Cow
They have all kinds of stories about the good saint but the best one of them all explains why Leamanaghan people don't sell milk. Here it is - Saint Manchan had a cow - a wonderful cow that used to give milk to the whole countryside - good, rich milk for which no charge was ever made by the saint. Then, the people of the neighbouring Kill Managhan got jealous and watched and there chance. One fine day when Manchan was absent they came and stole the cow and started to drive her along the togher through the bog back home to Kill Managhan. The good cow, suspecting something was wrong, went backwards and most unwillingly, fighting, struggling and disputing every inch of the way. Now she'd slip designedly on the stones: again she'd lie down but every where she went, she managed to leave some trace of her rough passage on the stones of the togher. The marks are there to this day, - hoof marks, tail marks - every kind of marks and the chef-d'oeuvre of them all has a place of honour at the entrance to the little school. Alas! In spite of that very gallant resistance, the cow was finally driven to Kill Managhan. There, horrible to say, she was killed and skinned.
In the meantime, the saint returned, missed his cow, and straightaway started in pursuit. He succeeded in tracing the thieves by the marks on the stones and arrived just at the moment when she was about to be boiled. He carefully picked the portions out of the cauldron pieced them together, struck at them with his stick and immediately the cow became alive again. She was every bit as good as ever, too, except that she was a wee bit lame on account of one small portion of a foot which was lost. She continued to supply the milk as before, and, of course, no charge was made by the saint. Ever since the famous custom still lives on, and good milk is given away but never gold by the loyal people of Leamanaghan. Now, can any lover of the grand faith of Medievaldom beat that?
The very old vellum books state that Manchan of Liath was like unto Hieronomus in habits and learning. I can well believe it. Some distance away from the church is the little rectangle cell which he built for his mother - Saint Mella. Cold, austere and with no window, you get the shivers by even looking at it. There is also a large flag-stone on the togher leading from the well, and they say the saint and his mother used to meet here every day and sit down back to back without speaking a word because the saint had vowed never to speak to a woman!
A Famous Shrine
Leamanaghan people are, I gather, a tenacious class. Not only have they so zealously guarded the cow tradition but they have succeeded, despite the groans of sundry learned antiquarians, in still keeping in their midst the saint's precious shrine. It has a special altar all to itself in the church of Boher. But the first thing I noticed when I went along to see it was a wonderful green in a Harry Clarke window. The shrine itself has been many times described, notably so by the Rev James Graves in 1875.
St. Manchan is credited with writing a poem in Irish that describes the desire of the green martyrs:
Grant me sweet Christ the grace to find-
Son of the living God!-
A small hut in a lonesome spot
To make it my abode.
A little pool but very clear
To stand beside the place
Where all men's sins are washed away
By sanctifying grace.
A pleasant woodland all about
To shield it (the hut) from the wind,
And make a home for singing birds
Before it and behind.
A southern aspect for the heat
A stream along its foot,
A smooth green lawn with rich top soil
Propitious to all fruit.
My choice of men to live with me
And pray to God as well;
Quiet men of humble mind --
Their number I shall tell.
Four files of three or three of four
To give the Psalter forth;
Six to pray by the south church wall
And six along the north.
Two by two my dozen friends --
To tell the number right --
Praying with me to move the King
Who gives the sun its light.
<>
Saint Cannera of Inis Cathaig, Ireland (+530) - January 28
Died c. 530. Little is known of Saint Cannera except that which is recorded in the story of Saint Senan (f.d. March 8), who ruled a monastery on the Shannon River, which ministered to the dying--but only men. Cannera was an anchorite from Bantry in southern Ireland. When she knew she was dying, she travelled to Senan's monastery without rest and walked upon the water to cross the river because no one would take her to the place forbidden to women. Upon her arrival, the abbot was adamant that no woman could enter his monastic enclosure. Arguing that Christ died for women, too, she convinced the abbot to give her last rites on the island and to bury her at its furthermost edge. Against his argument that the waves would wash away her grave, she answered that she would leave that to God.
Cannera told the abbot of a vision she had in her Bantry cell of the island and its holiness.
Double (male and female) monasteries already existed in Ireland.
Probably because Saint Cannera walked across the water, sailors honour their patron by saluting her resting place on Scattery Island (Inis Chathaigh). They believed that pebbles from her island protected the bearer from shipwreck. A 16th-century Gaelic poem about Cannera prays, Bless my good ship, protecting power of grace. . . . (Benedictines, D'Arcy, Markus, O'Hanlon).
<>
Saint Dallan Forghaill (of Cluain Dallain), Martyr in Ireland (+640)
January 29
Born in Connaught, Ireland; died 640. Dallan, a kinsman of Saint Aidan of Ferns (f.d. January 31) and a renowned scholar in his own right. The intensity of his study strained his eyes to the point where he became blind.
In 575, Dallan was the Chief Bard of Ireland, a position second only to the king in honour. When the king of Ireland, Aedh MacAinmire, called upon the Assembly of Drumceat to abolish the bardic guild and its privileges, Saint Columba (f.d. June 9) successfully argued that the bards were necessary to preserve the history of the nation and that it would be prudent to punish abusive bards rather than destroy the order.
In recognition of Columba's defence of the bards, Saint Dallan wrote a panegyric, "Amra Choluim Kille" or "Eulogy of Columba". To account for its obscure and intentionally difficult language, legend tells us that in his humility Columba would only permit it to be written if it were incomprehensible to the Irish. Saint Dallan also wrote the "Eulogy of Senan".
Today's saint reorganised and reformed the Bardic Order and initiated a strictly supervised school system for it that encouraged the cultivation of the Gaelic language and preservation of its literature. The order itself was active until 1738 when Turlough O'Carolan, the last of the great Irish bards and composer of the tune of the "Star Spangled Banner," died. Until that time, the bards participated in every major Irish celebration.
He is venerated as a martyr because he was murdered at Inis-coel (Inniskeel) by pirates who broke into the monastery (Benedictines, D'Arcy, Healy, Kenney, Montague, Montalembert, Muirhead).
<>
Saint Brigid of Kildare, Ireland (+525)
February 1
Born at Faughart (near Dundalk) or Uinmeras (near Kildare), Louth, Ireland, c. 450; died at Kildare, Ireland, c. 525; feast of her translation is June 10.
We implore Thee, by the memory of Thy Cross's hallowed and most bitter anguish, make us fear Thee, make us love Thee, O Christ. Amen.
--Prayer of Saint Brigid.
Saint Brigid was an original--and that's what each of us are supposed to be, an original creation of the Almighty Imagination. Unfortunately, most of us get caught up in the desire to be accepted by others. We conform to the norm, rather than opening up to the creative power of God and blooming to render Him the sweet fragrance of our unique lives. We miss the glory of giving God the gift of who we were intended to be.
Brigid lacked that fault. She got things done. She had a welcome for everyone in an effort to help them be originals, too. She was so generous that she gave away the clothes from her back. She never shied away from hard work or intense prayer. She would brush aside the rules--even the rules of the Church--if it was necessary to bring out the best in others. Perhaps for this reason, the saint who never left Ireland, is venerated throughout the world as the prototype of all nuns. She bridged the gap between Christian and pagan cultures.
Brigid saw the beauty and goodness of God in all His creation: cows made her love God more, and so did wild ducks, which would come and light on her shoulders and hands when she called to them. She enjoyed great popularity both among her own followers and the villagers around; and she had great authority, ruling a monastery of both monks and nuns.
Her chief virtue lay in her gentleness, in her compassion, and in her happy and devoted nature which won the affection of all who knew her. She was a great evangelist and joined hands gladly and gaily with all the saints of that age in spreading the Gospel. So great was her veneration throughout Europe that the Medieval knights, seeking a womanly model of perfection, chose Brigid as the example. This theory maintains that such was the image of Brigid as the feminine ideal that the word "bride" passed into the English language. (This is unlikely, however. The word probably derives from the Old German "bryd," meaning bride.)
Historical facts about Saint Brigid's life are few because the numerous accounts about it after her death (beginning in the 7th century) consist mainly of miracles and anecdotes, some of which are deeply rooted in pagan Irish folklore. Nevertheless, they give us a strong impression of her character. She was probably born in the middle of the 5th century in eastern Ireland. Some say her parents were of humble origin; others that they were Dubhthach, an Irish chieftain of Leinster, and Brocca, a slave at his court. All stories relate that they were both baptized by Saint Patrick. Some say that Brigid became friends with Patrick, though it is uncertain that she ever met him. Beautiful Brigid consecrated herself to God at a young age. She was veiled as a nun by Saint Macaille at Croghan and consecrated as Abbess by Bishop Saint Mel at Armagh.
The Book of Lismore bears this story:
Brigid and certain virgins along with her went to take the veil from Bishop Mel in Telcha Mide. Blithe was he to see them. For humility Brigid stayed so that she might be the last to whom a veil should be given. A fiery pillar rose from her head to the roof ridge of the church. Then said Bishop Mel: Come, O holy Brigid, that a veil may be sained on thy head before the other virgins. It came to pass then, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, that the form of ordaining a bishop was read out over Brigid. Macaille said that a bishop's order should not be confirmed on a woman. Said Bishop Mel No power have I in this matter. That dignity hath been given by God unto Brigid, beyond every (other) woman. Wherefore the men of Ireland from that time to this give episcopal honour to Brigid's successor.
Most likely this story relates to the fact that Roman diocesan system was unknown in Ireland. Monasteries formed the centre of Christian life in the early Church of Ireland. Therefore, abbots and abbesses could hold held some of the dignity and functions that a bishop would on the Continent. Evidence of this can be seen also at synods and councils, such as that of Whitby, which was convened by Saint Hilda. Women sometimes ruled double monasteries; thus, governing both men and women. Bridget, as a pre-eminent abbess, might have fulfilled some semi-episcopal functions, such as preaching, hearing confessions (without absolution), and leading the neighbouring Christians.
Beginning consecrated life as a anchorite of sorts, Brigid's sanctity drew many others. When she was about 18, she settled with seven other like-minded girls near Croghan Hill in order to devote herself to God's service. About 468 she followed Saint Mel to Meath.
There is little reliable information about the convent she founded around 470 at Kildare (originally Cill-Daire or 'church of the oak'), the first convent in Ireland, and the rule that was followed there. This is one of the ways Brigid sanctified the pagan with the Christian: The oak was sacred to the druids, and in the inner sanctuary of the Church was a perpetual flame, another religious symbol of the druid faith, as well as the Christian. Gerald of Wales (13th century) noted that the fire was perpetually maintained by 20 nuns of her community. This continued until 1220 when it was extinguished. Gerald noted that the fire was surrounded by a circle of bushes, which no man was allowed to enter.
It is generally thought to have been a double monastery, housing both men and women--a common practice in the Celtic lands that was sometimes taken by the Irish to the continent. It's possible that she presided over both communities. She did establish schools there for both men and women. Another source says that she installed a bishop named Conlaeth there, though the Vatican officially lists the See of Kildare as dating from 519.
Cogitosus, a monk of Kildare in the eighth century, expounded the metrical life of St. Brigid, and versified it in good Latin. This is what is known as the Second Life, and is an excellent example of Irish scholarship in the mid-eighth century. Perhaps the most interesting feature of Cogitosus's work is the description of the Cathedral of Kildare in his day:
Solo spatioso et in altum minaci proceritate porruta ac decorata pictis tabulis, tria intrinsecus habens oratoria ampla, et divisa parietibus tabulatis.
The rood-screen was formed of wooden boards, lavishly decorated, and with beautifully decorated curtains.
Probably the famous Round Tower of Kildare dates from the sixth century.
The sixth Life of the saint printed by Colgan is attributed to Coelan, an Irish monk of the eighth century, and it derives a peculiar importance from the fact that it is prefaced by a foreword from the pen of St. Donatus, also an Irish monk, who became Bishop of Fiesole in 824. St. Donatus refers to previous lives by St. Ultan and St. Aileran.
Even as a child Brigid showed special love for the poor. When her mother sent her to collect butter, the child gave it all away. Her generosity in adult life was legendary: It was recorded that if she gave a drink of water to a thirsty stranger, the liquid turned into milk; when she sent a barrel of beer to one Christian community, it proved to satisfy 17 more. Many of the stories about her relate to the multiplication of food, including one that she changed her bath-water into beer to satisfy the thirst of an unexpected clergyman. Even her cows gave milk three times the same day to provide milk for some visiting bishops.
Brigid saw that the needs of the body and the needs of the spirit intertwined. Dedicated to improving the spiritual as well as the material lives of those around her, Brigid made her monastery a remarkable house of learning, including an art school. The illuminated manuscripts originating there were praised, especially the Book of Kildare, which was praised as one of the finest of all illuminated Irish manuscripts before its disappearance three centuries ago.
Once she fell asleep during a sermon of Saint Patrick, but he good-humouredly forgave her. She had dreamed, she told him, of the land ploughed far and wide, and of white-clothed sowers sowing good seed. Then came others clothed in black, who ploughed up the good seed and sowed tares in its place. Patrick told her that such would happen; false teachers would come to Ireland and uproot all their good work. This saddened Brigid, but she redoubled her efforts, teaching people to pray and to worship God, and telling them that the light on the altar was a symbol of the shining of the Gospel in the heart of Ireland, and must never be extinguished.
Brigid is called the 'Mary of the Gael' because her spirit of charity, and the miracles attributed to her were usually enacted in response to a call upon her pity or sense of justice. During an important synod of the Irish church, one of the holy fathers, Bishop Ibor, announced that he had dreamed that the Blessed Virgin Mary would appear among the assembled Christians. When Brigid arrived the father cried, "There is the holy maiden I saw in my dream." Thus, the reason for her nickname. Her prayers and miracles were said to exercise a powerful influence on the growth of the early Irish Church, and she is much beloved in Ireland to this day.
When dying at the age of 74, St. Brigid was attended by St. Ninnidh, who was ever afterwards known as "Ninnidh of the Clean Hand" because he had his right hand encased with a metal covering to prevent its ever being defiled, after being the medium of administering the viaticum to Ireland's Patroness.
She was interred at the right of the high altar of Kildare Cathedral, and a costly tomb was erected over her. In after years her shrine was an object of veneration for pilgrims, especially on her feast day, 1 February, as Cogitosus related. About the year 878, owing to the Scandinavian raids, the relics of St. Brigid were taken to Downpatrick, where they were interred in the tomb of St. Patrick and St. Columba.
A tunic reputed to have been hers, given by Gunhilda, sister of King Harold II, survives at Saint Donatian's in Bruges, Belgium. A relic of her shoe, made of silver and brass set with jewels, is at the National Museum of Dublin. In 1283, three knights took the head of Brigid with them on a journey to the Holy Land. They died in Lumier (near Lisbon), Portugal, where the church now enshrines her head in a special chapel.
In England, there are 19 ancient church dedications to her. The most important of which is the oldest church in London--St. Bride's in Fleet Street--and Bridewell or Saint Bride's Well. In Scotland, East and West Kilbride bear her name. Saint Brigid's Church at Douglas recalls that she is the patroness of the great Douglas family. Several places in Wales are named Llansantaffraid, which means "St. Bride's Church." The Irish Bishop Saint Donato of Fiesole (Italy) built a Saint Brigid's Church in Piacenza, where the Peace of Constance was ratified in 1185.
The best-known custom connected with Brigid is the plaiting of reed crosses for her feast day. This tradition dates to the story that she was plaiting rush crosses while nursing a dying pagan chieftain. He asked her about this and her explanation led to his being baptized.
Traditional Irish blessings invoke her. Brid agus Muire dhuit, Brigid and Mary be with you is a common Irish greeting, and in Wales people say, Sanffried suynade ni undeith, St. Brigid bless us on our journey. A blessing over cattle in the Scottish isles goes: The protection of God and Colmkille encompass your going and coming, and about you be the milkmaid of the smooth white palms, Brigid of the clustering, golden brown hair (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Encyclopaedia, Farmer, Gill, Groome, Montague, O'Briain, Sellner, White).
She is usually portrayed in art with a cow lying at her feet, or holding a cross and casting out the devil (White). Her emblem is a lighted lamp or candle (not to be confused with Saint Genevieve, who is not an abbess). At times she may be shown (1) with a flame over her; (2) geese or cow near her; (3) near a barn; (4) letting wax from a taper fall upon her arm; or (5) restoring a man's hand (Roeder).
Brigid is the patron saint of Ireland, poets, dairymaids, blacksmiths, healers (White), cattle, fugitives, Irish nuns, midwives, and new-born babies (Roeder). She is still venerated highly in Alsace, Flanders, and Portugal (Montague), as well as Ireland and Chester, England (Farmer).
<>
Saint Colman of Kilmacduagh (St. Colman MacDuagh), Ireland (+632) - February 3
In the Martyrology of Tallaght, St Colman is commemorated on February 3, but in other Calendars and in Ireland today he is remembered on October 29.
Born at Corker, Kiltartan, Galway, Ireland, c. 550; died 632. Son of the Irish chieftain Duac, Colman was educated at Saint Enda's (f.d. March 21) monastery in Aran. Thereafter he was a recluse, living in prayer and prolonged fastings, at Arranmore and then at Burren in County Clare. With King Guaire of Connaught he founded the monastery of Kilmacduagh, i.e., the church of the son of Duac, and governed it as abbot-bishop. The "leaning tower of Kilmacduagh," 112 feet high, is almost twice as old as the famous town in Pisa. The Irish round tower was restored in 1880.
There is a legend that angels brought King Guaire to him by causing his festive Easter dinner to disappear from his table. The king and his court followed the angels to the place where Colman had kept the Lenten fast and now was without food. The path of this legendary journey is called the "road of the dishes."
As with many relics, Saint Colman's abbatial crozier has been used through the centuries for the swearing of oaths. Although it was in the custodianship of the O'Heynes of Kiltartan (descendants of King Guaire) and their relatives, the O'Shaughnessys, it can now be seen in the National Museum in Dublin (Attwater, Benedictines, Carty, D'Arcy, Farmer, MacLysaght, Montague, Stokes).
Other tales are recounted about Saint Colman, who loved birds and animals. He had a pet rooster who served as an alarm clock. The rooster would begin his song at the breaking of dawn and continue until Colman would come out and speak to it. Colman would then call the other monks to prayer by ringing the bells.
But the monks wanted to pray the night hours, too, and couldn't count on the rooster to awaken them at midnight and 3:00 a.m. So Colman made a pet out of a mouse that often kept him company in the night by giving it crumbs to eat. Eventually the mouse was tamed and Colman asked its help:
So you are awake all night, are you? It isn't your time for sleep, is it? My friend, the cock, gives me great help, waking me every morning. Couldn't you do the same for me at night, while the cock is asleep? If you do not find me stirring at the usual time, couldn't you call me? Will you do that?
It was a long time before Colman tested the understanding of the mouse. After a long day of preaching and travelling on foot, Colman slept very soundly. When he did not awake at the usual hour in the middle of the night for Lauds, the mouse pattered over to the bed, climbed on the pillow, and rubbed his tiny head against Colman's ear. Not enough to awaken the exhausted monk. So the mouse tried again, but Colman shook him off impatiently. Making one last effort, the mouse nibbled on the saint's ear and Colman immediately arose--laughing. The mouse, looking very serious and important, just sat there on the pillow staring at the monk, while Colman continued to laugh in disbelief that the mouse had indeed understood its job.
When he regained his composure, Colman praised the clever mouse for his faithfulness and fed him extra treats. Then he entered God's presence in prayer. Thereafter, Colman always waited for the mouse to rub his ear before arising, whether he was awake or not. The mouse never failed in his mission.
The monk had another strange pet: a fly. Each day Colman would spend some time reading a large, awkward parchment manuscript prayer book. Each day the fly would perch on the margin of the sheet. Eventually Colman began to talk to the fly, thanked him for his company, and asked for his help:
Do you think you could do something useful for me? You see yourself that everyone who lives in the monastery is useful. Well, if I am called away, as I often am, while I am reading, don't you go too; stay here on the spot I mark with my finger, so that I'll know exactly where to start when I come back. Do you see what I mean?
So, as with the mouse, it was a long time before Colman put the understanding of the fly to the test. He probably provided the insect with treats as he did the mouse--perhaps a single drop of honey or crumb of cake. One day Colman was called to attend a visitor. He pointed the spot on the manuscript where he had stopped and asked the fly to stay there until he returned. The fly did as the saint requested, obediently remaining still for over an hour. Colman was delighted. Thereafter, he often gave the faithful fly a little task that it was proud to do for him. The other monks thought it was such a marvel that they wrote it done in the monastery records, which is how we know about it.
But a fly's life is short. At the end of summer, Colman's little friend was dead. While still mourning the death of the fly, the mouse died, too, as did the rooster. Colman's heart was so heavy at the loss of his last pet that he wrote to his friend Saint Columba (f.d. June 9). Columba responded:
You were too rich when you had them. That is why you are sad now. Great troubles only come where there are great riches. Be rich no more.
A Prayer:
May God's angels guard us
and save us till day's end,
protected by God and Mary
and Mac Duach1 and Mac Daire
and Colm Cille
till days' end.
Aingil De dar gcoimhdeacht
's dar sabhail aris go fuin;
ar coimri De is Mhuire,
Mhic Duach is Mhic Daire
agus Colm Cille
aris go fuin.
Saint Colman of Kilmacduagh (St. Colman MacDuagh), Ireland (+632)
<>
Saint Buo of Ireland, missionary in Iceland - February 5
Died c. 900. In the 7th and 8th century, Irish missionaries were working in Iceland and the Faroe Islands, before the discovery of the islands by the Norwegians in 860. When they arrived they found Irish bells, books, and staffs. The Irish geographer Dicuil in "De mensura orbis terrae" notes that certain clerics remained on the Iceland Island from February 1 until August 1. Saint Buo was one of the distinguished missionaries who evangelized the province around Esinberg, while he was still a very young man (D'Arcy, Fitzpatrick2, Little, Neeson, O'Hanlon, Toynbee).
<>
Saint Mel of Ardagh and Saint Melchu, Bishops and Martyrs in Ireland - February 6
Died c. 488-490. Mel and his brother Melchu (plus Munis and Rioch) were sons among the 17 sons and two daughters of Saint Patrick's sister, Darerca (f.d. March 22) and her husband Conis. While all of the children are reputed to have entered religious life, Mel and Melchu, together with their brothers Muinis and Rioch, accompanied Patrick to Ireland and joined him in his missionary work.
Patrick ordained Mel and Melchu bishops. Patrick is reputed to have appointed Mel bishop of Ardagh, and Melchu to the see of Armagh (or vice versa). There is some evidence that Melchu may have been a bishop with no fixed see, who may have succeeded his brother. Some scandal was circulated about Mel, who lived with his Aunt Lipait but both cleared themselves by miraculous means to Patrick, who ordered them to live apart.
According to an ancient tradition, Mel professed Saint Brigid as a nun. During the rite, he inadvertently read over her the episcopal consecration, and Saint Macaille (f.d. April 25) protested. The ever serene Mel, however, was convinced that it happened according to the will of God and insisted that the consecration should stand.
From the Life of Saint Brigid, 1 February http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celt-saints/message/697
Brigid and certain virgins along with her went to take the veil from Bishop Mel in Telcha Mide. Blithe was he to see them. For humility Brigid stayed so that she might be the last to whom a veil should be given. A fiery pillar rose from her head to the roof ridge of the church. Then said Bishop Mel: Come, O holy Brigid, that a veil may be sained on thy head before the other virgins. It came to pass then, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, that the form of ordaining a bishop was read out over Brigid. Macaille said that a bishop's order should not be confirmed on a woman. Said Bishop Mel No power have I in this matter. That dignity hath been given by God unto Brigid, beyond every (other) woman. Wherefore the men of Ireland from that time to this give episcopal honour to Brigid's successor.
Most likely this story relates to the fact that Roman diocesan system was unknown in Ireland. Monasteries formed the centre of Christian life in the early Church of Ireland. Therefore, abbots and abbesses could hold held some of the dignity and functions that a bishop would on the Continent. Evidence of this can be seen also at synods and councils, such as that of Whitby, which was convened by Saint Hilda. Women sometimes ruled double monasteries; thus, governing both men and women. Bridget, as a pre-eminent abbess, might have fulfilled some semi-episcopal functions, such as preaching, hearing confessions (without absolution), and leading the neighbouring Christians.
Nothing is definitely known about these saints; however, Mel has a strong cultus at Longford, where he was the first abbot-bishop of a richly endowed monastery that flourished for centuries. The cathedral of Longford is dedicated to Mel, as is a college.
The crozier believed to have belonged to Saint Mel is now kept at Saint Mel's College in a darkened bronze reliquary that was once decorated with gilt and coloured stones. It was found in the 19th century at Ardagh near the old cathedral of Saint Mel.
The various sources are rather confusing. It is possible that Mel was bishop of Armagh and/or that Melchu and Mel are the same person (Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson, Curtayne2, D'Arcy, Delaney, Farmer, Healy, Henry2, Montague, Ryan).
<>
Quotes of Saint Patrick of Ireland (+461)
* So I live among barbarous tribes, a stranger and exile for the love of God.
* If I be worthy, I live for my God to teach the heathen, even though they may despise me.
* I grieve for you, how I mourn for you, who are so very dear to me, but again I can rejoice within my heart, not for nothing have I labored, neither has my exile been in vain.
* The Lord opened the understanding of my unbelieving heart, so that I should recall my sins.
* I prayed in the woods and on the mountain, even before dawn. I felt no hurt from the snow or ice or rain.
* For after chastisement from God, and recognizing him, our way to repay him is to exalt him and confess his wonders before every nation under heaven.
* I am Patrick, a sinner, most uncultivated and least of all the faithful and despised in the eyes of many.
* Before I was humiliated I was like a stone that lies in deep mud, and he who is mighty came and in his compassion raised me up and exalted me very high and placed me on the top of the wall.
* He who believes shall be saved, but he who does not believe shall be damned. God has spoken.
* Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me.
<>
Irish Orthodox Christian ascetic practice of prayer in cold water
In August 2021, I made a trip to Downpatrick, County Down. This is a very special little town which includes the final burial place of Saint Patrick. The visitor centre unfortunately left much to be desired in regards to its scholarship! However, my knowledge of Saint Patrick and the saints who he baptised, led me to add the very nearby Saul Church to my itenary, the first church established by Saint Patrick in Ireland. The building was a barn donated to him by Saint Dichú. Saint Patrick’s misssion in Ireland started and ended in the same region.
It was someone else in my party who suggested the next nearby site connected to Saint Patrick which was the Struell Wells. They are Holy Wells, blessed by Saint Patrick. A sign mentioned that he prayed the Psalms in the water at night.
This did not mean very much to me at the time. My attention was especially caught and returned to the Struell Wells when on another trip, not long after my trip to Struell Wells, with a fellow parishioner of my local Orthodox church. He came to my hometown of Bangor to visit Bangor Abbey whose founder was Saint Comgall. On the way to Bangor Abbey, through a park, there are some signs about each of the most well-known saints of Bangor Abbey (https://irishortodoxa.wordpress.com/2022/01/05/saints-comgall-columbanus-and-gall-and-bangor-abbey/). I took the following photos on my mobile phone.
For the second time I saw a reference to entering cold water as an ascetic practice! I connected the dots and from then on was aware of this as a practice of more than one Irish saint.
My post on Saint Kevin of Glendalough is marked as December 19th, 2021. While researching him, I read about his most well-known miracle – while praying in the lake at Glendalough with his arms raised, he was so still that a blackbird landed and made a nest in his hand. At first, I did not realise but finally I looked past the attention-grabbing miracle to notice the context – Saint Kevin was praying in the water of the lake. Now I really started to notice the pattern.
Although I had written about Saint Ciarán (or Kieran) of Saigir long before, it was only at a later date that I found his entire hagiography. One of his miracles is recorded below:
One night Kieran and a pilgrim named Germanus that was with him entered into a stream of cold water, in which, when they had now been for a long time, Germanus said: “Kieran, I may no longer hold out in the water.” Kieran made the sign of the Holy Cross upon the water, whereby he turned it to be temperate and of bathing heat; and there they were praising God.
And I later read in the life of Saint Féchín of Fore:
During the Lent, Féchín was accustomed to go and pray at midnight in the stream at Esdara A monk named Pastól went along with him into the stream, and when he was on the side below Féchín he could not endure the water for heat. And when he was on the side above (Féchín) he could not endure (it) for exceeding cold. When Féchín understood this he called him beside him and moderated the water for Pastól so that it was endurable. And Féchín told him not to relate this to any one. So that it was after Féchín’s death that he related it. And God’s name and Féchín’s were magnified thereby.
Finally, I read in Book V, Chapter XII of Saint Bede’s ‘Ecclesiastical History of the English People’ the story of a man from Northumbria who died but came back to life many hours later. He had a vision of the afterlife, including the torments of the sinful. Although he had been a layman with a family, after this he began a monastic life. It is related of him that:
He had a more private place of residence assigned him in that monastery, where he might apply himself to the service of his Creator in continual prayer. And as that place lay on the bank of the river, he was wont often to go into the same to do penance in his body, and many times to dip quite under the water, and to continue saying psalms or prayers in the same as long as he could endure it, standing still sometimes up to the middle, and sometimes to the neck in water; and when he went out from thence ashore, he never took off his cold and frozen garments till they grew warm and dry on his body. And when in the winter the half-broken pieces of ice were swimming about him, which he had himself broken, to make room to stand or dip himself in the river, those who beheld it would say, “It is wonderful, brother Dritheim (for so he was called), that you are able to endure such violent cold; ” he simply answered, for he was a man of much simplicity and in different wit, “I have seen greater cold.” And when they said, “It is strange that you will endure such austerity;” he replied, “I have seen more austerity.” Thus he continued, through an indefatigable desire of heavenly bliss, to subdue his aged body with daily fasting, till the day of his being called away; and thus he forwarded the salvation of many by his words and example.
Although he was from Northumbria and not Ireland, it was Irish monks from Iona who converted the Northumbrians to Christianity. It is likely that the practice of entering water for prayer was taught by the Irish to the Northumbrians. This is something I stumbled upon over the last year or so of research of the Irish saints and I have never seen someone gather this information and present it together before. It is fair to say it was an Irish Orthodox Christian practice. I do not know if this can be seen in the lives of saints from other times and places or if it originated in Ireland.
P.S. The examples multiply! After writing this post to this point, I came across yet another case. This was from Rhygyvarch’s Life of Saint David of Wales. It is chapter 31 and it is written:
The father himself pouring forth fountains of tears daily, irradiating with censed holocausts of prayers, and blazing with a double flame of charity, consecrated with pure hands the due oblation of the Lord’s Body, and thus after matins proceeded alone to angelic discourse. After this he immediately used to seek cold water, in which by lingering a long while wet he subdued every heat of the flesh.
With all this evidence, it is irrefutable that this was a British and Irish Christian practice. Now the most pertinent question remains, was this unique to Britain and Ireland or was this also practiced by their nearest neighbours in Gaul? I consider it likely but I have not read very many lives of Gallic saints and so I have not seen an example from there but there certainly could be. British and Irish monasticism was inspired very directly by Gaul and so this is why I have reason to assume they learned the practice from there. Furthermore, I wonder if this was a practice further abroad and I wonder if it continues even up to the present day in a specifically Orthodox Christian ascetic context?
P.P.S. If you are tough enough, get your swimming shorts on and your prayer book out and try it for yourself!
<>
* * *
WALES
* * *
A Prayer to Saint Melangell of Wales (+641)
In Welsh:
Mil engyl a Melangell Trechant
lu fyddin y fall.
https://orthodoxy-rainbow.blogspot.com/2015/03/melangell.html
In english:
Melangell with a thousand angels
Triumphs over all the powers of evil.
https://orthochristian.com/71372.html
<>
Alexander’s Breastplate (10th-14th ce.)
This lorica (breastplate) prayer is called “Alexander’s Breastplate” because it is between two poems about Alexander the Great in the Welsh Book of Taliesin.
[The Book of Taliesin (Welsh: Llyfr Taliesin) is one of the most famous of Middle Welsh manuscripts, dating from the first half of the 14th century though many of the fifty-six poems it preserves are taken to originate in the 10th century or before].
On the face of the earth
his equal was not born,
Three persons of God,
one gentle Son
in the glorious Trinity.
Son of the Godhead,
Son of the Manhood,
one wonderful Son.
Son of God, a fortress,
Son of the blessed Mary,
Son, Servant, Lord.
Great his destiny,
great God supreme,
in heavenly glory.
Of the race of Adam
and Abraham,
and of the line of David,
the eloquent psalmist,
was he born.
By a word he healed
the blind and deaf
from every ailment;
the gluttonous, vain
iniquitous, vile, perverse,
to rise toward the Trinity
by their redemption.
The Cross of Christ
is our shining breastplate
against every ailment.
Against every hardship
may it certainly be
our city of refuge.
Source: Book of Taliesin, Welsh, 10th-14th Century, excerpt
The Four Ancient Books of Wales, 1868, p. 557-558.
Source of this version: Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church.
Original in Old Welsh:
Ar clawr eluyd y gystedlyd ny ryanet.
Teir person duw. vn mab adwyn terwyn trinet.
Mab yr dwydit. mab yr dyndit. vn mab ryued.
Mab duw dinas. mab gwen meirgwas. mat gwas gwelet.
O hil ade ac abrahae yn ryanet.
O hil dofyd dogyn dwfynwedyd llu ryanet.
Dyduc o eir deill abydeir o pop aelet.
Pobyl ginhiawc. goec gamwedawc salw amnyned.
Rydrychafom erbyn trindawt gwedy gwaret.
Croes cristyn glaer. lluryc llachar rac pop aelat.
Rac pop anuaws poet yn dilis dinas diffret.
http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/t27w.html
and
http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/t27w.html
Source:
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/08/15/alexanders-breastplate/
<>
* * *
ENGLAND
* * *
<>
Now robed in stillness in this quiet place
Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, England (+687)
Now robed in stillness in this quiet place, emptied of all I was, I bring all that I am your gift of shepherding to use and bless.
Source: Ray Simpson, Daily Light from the Celtic Saints: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Life
<>
A PRAYER OF SAINT ALFRED, KING OF THE ENGLAND
To be found at the end of King Alfred's translation of 'On the Consolation of Philosophy'.
O Lord God Almighty, Maker and Ruler of all creation, in the name of Thy mighty mercy, through the sign of the Holy Cross and the virginity of Holy Mary, the obedience of Holy Michael and the love and merits of all Thy Saints, I beseech Thee, guide me better than I have deserved of Thee; direct me according to Thy will and the needs of my soul better than I myself am able; strengthen my mind for Thy will and the needs of my soul; make me steadfast against the temptations of the devil; keep foul lust and all evil far from me; shield me from my enemies, seen and unseen; teach me to do Thy holy will, that I may inwardly love Thee above all things with clean thought and chaste body. For Thou art my Maker and my Redeemer, my life, my comfort, my trust and my hope. Praise and glory be to Thee now and forever and unto the endless ages. Amen.
http://www.orthodoxengland.org.uk/athapray.htm
<>
The Prayer of St. Aidan
"Leave me alone with God as much as may be.
As the tide draws the waters close in upon the shore,
Make me an island, set apart,
alone with you, God, holy to you.
Then with the turning of the tide
prepare me to carry your presence to the busy world beyond,
the world that rushes in on me
till the waters come again and fold me back to you."
These are the words of the Holy Bishop and Wonderworker of Lindisfarne, Aidan. May we taste of the closeness he had with Christ.
https://orthodoxy-rainbow.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-prayer-of-st-aidan-video.html
JL.H.
<>
The Lorica of Gildas (9th century)
The Lorica (Breastplate) of Gildas is also known as the Lorica of Loding, and is found in the Book of Cerne.
Trinity in unity, preserve me.
Unity in Trinity, have mercy on me.
I pray,
preserve me from all dangers
which overwhelm me
like the waves of the sea,
so that neither mortality
nor the vanity of the world
may sweep me away this year.
And I also ask,
send the high, mighty hosts of heaven,
that they not abandon me
to be destroyed by enemies,
but defend me now
with their strong shields
and that the heavenly army
advance before me:
cherubim and seraphim by the thousands,
and archangels Michael and Gabriel, likewise,
I ask, send these living thrones,
principalities and powers and angels,
so that I may be strong,
defended against the flood of strong enemies
in the next battle.
May Christ, whose terror scares away the foul throngs,
make with me a strong covenant.
God the unconquerable guardian,
defend me on every side by your power.
Free all my limbs,
with your safe shield protecting each,
so that the fallen demons cannot attack
against my sides or pierce me with their darts.
I pray, Lord Jesus Christ, be my sure armor.
Cover me, therefore, O God, with your strong breastplate.
Cover me all in all with my five senses,
so that, from my soles to the top of the head,
in no member, without within, may I be sick;
that, from my body, life be not cast out
by plague, fever, weakness, suffering,
Until, with the gift of old age from God,
departing from the flesh, be free from stain,
and be able to fly to the heights,
and, by the mercy of God, be borne in joy
to the heavenly cool retreats of his kingdom.
Source: The Lorica of Gildas, also known as the Lorica of Loding from the Book of Cerne.
Source of this version: Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
Note: The Lorica of Loding continues after the section above to appeal to the saints for protection, and then to pray, individually, for protection for all the parts of the body. The remainder of the Lorica is presented below, based on the translation by Hugh Williams in Gildas: The Ruin of Britain … together with the Lorica of Gildas, 1899.
Patriarchs four, prophets four,
apostles, watchmen of the ship of Christ,
and all the athlete martyrs, I ask–
And charge also all virgins,
faithful widows, and confessors,
to surround me by their safety,
and every evil perish from me.
May Christ, whose terror scares away the foul throngs,
make with me a strong covenant.
God the unconquerable guardian,
defend me on every side by your power.
Free all my limbs,
with your safe shield protecting each,
so that the fallen demons cannot attack
against my sides, or pierce me with their darts.
Skull, head, hair and eyes,
forehead, tongue, teeth and their covering,
neck, breast, side, bowels,
waist, buttocks and both hands.
For the crown of my head with its hair,
be the helmet of salvation on my head;
for forehead, eyes, triform brain,
nose, lip, face, temple;
for chin, beard, eye-brows, ears,
cheeks, lower cheeks, internasal, nostrils;
for the pupils, irises, eyelashes, eyelids,
chin, breathing, cheeks, jaws;
for teeth, tongue, mouth, throat,
uvula, windpipe, bottom of tongue, nape;
for the middle of the head, for cartilage,
neck—you, kind One, be near for defense.
I pray, Lord Jesus Christ, by the nine orders of holy angels,
Lord, be my sure armor,
for my limbs, for my entrails,
that you may drive back from me the invisible
nails of stakes, which enemies fashion.
Cover me, therefore, O God, with strong breastplate,
along with shoulder blades, shoulders and arms.
Cover my elbows and elbow-joints and hands,
fists, palms, fingers with their nails.
Cover back-bone and ribs with their joints,
hind-parts, back, nerves and bones.
Cover surface, blood and kidneys,
haunches, buttocks with the thighs.
Cover hams, calves, thighs,
knee-caps, hocks and knees.
Cover ankles, shins and heels,
legs, feet with the rests of the soles.
Cover the branches that grow ten together,
with the toes and their nails ten.
Cover chest, sternum, the little breast,
nipple, stomach, navel.
Cover belly, reins, genitals,
and paunch, and vital parts also of the heart.
Cover the triangular liver and fat,
spleen, armpits with covering.
Cover stomach, chest with the lungs,
veins, sinews, gall-bladder with
Cover flesh, groin with the inner parts,
spleen with the winding intestines.
Cover bladder, fat and all
the numberless orders of joints.
Cover hairs, and the rest of my limbs,
whose names, may be, I have passed by.
Cover me all in all with my five senses,
and with the ten doors formed for me,
so that, from my soles to the top of the head,
in no member, without within, may I be sick;
that, from my body, life be not cast out
by plague, fever, weakness, suffering,
Until, with the gift of old age from God,
I blot out my sins with good works;
And, in departing from the flesh, be free from stain,
and be able to fly to the heights,
and, by the mercy of God, be borne in joy
to the heavenly cool retreats of his kingdom.
Source:
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/08/01/the-lorica-of-gildas/
<>
* * *
SCOTLAND
* * *
Iona, Iona, Iona - Saint Columba of Iona, Scotland (+597)
Iona, Iona, Iona, the seagulls crying, wheeling, flying o’er the rain-washed bay; Iona, Iona, The soft breeze sighing, the waves replying on a clear, blue day, Iona. Iona, Iona, the waters glisten, the wild winds listen to the voice of our Lord; Iona. Iona’s blessing strengthens and firmly it will hold you; then from this rocky fortress goes forth our island soldier; may Christ who calmed the tempest with safety now enfold you.
Source:
Ray Simpson, Daily Light from the Celtic Saints: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Life
<>
May I Keep the Smallest Door - Saint Columba of Iona, Scotland (+597)
Almighty God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
to me the least of saints,
to me allow that I may keep
even the smallest door,
the farthest, darkest, coldest door,
the door that is least used,
the stiffest door.
If only it be in your house, O God,
that I can see your glory even afar,
and hear your voice,
and know that I am with you, O God.
Source: Attributed to St. Columba, 521-597.
Source of this version: http://yourworshiptools.com/a-prayer-of-st-columba/
Included in Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
This prayer recalls Psalm 84:10.
Source:
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/07/21/may-i-keep-the-smallest-door/
<>
The Fire of God’s Love - Saint Columba of Iona, Scotland (+597)
May the fire of God’s love
burn brightly and steadfastly in our hearts
like the golden light within the sanctuary lamp.
Source: Attributed to St. Columba, 521-597.
Source of this version: https://daily-prayers.org/angels-and-saints/prayers-of-columba-colomcille-of-ireland/
Source:
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/07/20/the-fire-of-gods-love/
<>
Delightful It Is to Serve the King of Kings - Saint Columba of Isle of Iona, Scotland (+597)
Let me bless almighty God,
whose power extends over sea and land,
whose angels watch over all.
Let me study sacred books to calm my soul:
I pray for peace,
kneeling at heaven’s gates.
Let me do my daily work,
gathering seaweed, catching fish,
giving food to the poor.
Let me say my daily prayers,
sometimes chanting, sometimes quiet,
always thanking God.
Delightful it is to live
on a peaceful isle, in a quiet cell,
serving the King of kings.
Source: Attributed to St. Columba, 521-597.
Source of this version: https://daily-prayers.org/angels-and-saints/prayers-of-columba-colomcille-of-ireland/
Included in Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
Source:
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/07/19/delightful-it-is-to-serve-the-king-of-kings/
<>
What Need I Fear? - A prayer of Saint Columba of Iona, Scotland (+597)
Alone with none but you, my God
I journey on my way.
What need I fear, when you are near
O King of night and day?
More safe am I within your hand,
Than if a host round me stand.
My destined time is known to you,
And death will keep his hour;
Did warriors strong around me throng,
They could not stay his power:
No walls of stone can man defend
If you your messenger will send.
My life I yield to your decree,
And bow to your control
In peaceful calm, for from your arm
No power can wrest my soul:
Could earthly omens e’er appal
A man that heeds the heavenly call?
The child of God can fear no ill,
His chosen, dread no foe;
We leave our fate with you, and wait
Your bidding when to go:
‘Tis not from chance our comfort springs,
You are our trust, O King of kings.
Source: Attributed to St. Columba, 521-597.
Source of this version: http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/hymn-lyrics/alone_with_none_but_thee_my_god.htm
Source:
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/07/18/what-need-i-fear/
<>
Guide Me, Today, Tonight and Forever - Saint Columba of Iona, Scotland (+597)
Be O Lord,
a guiding star above me,
a smooth path below me,
a kindly shepherd behind me
and a bright flame before me;
today, tonight and forever. Amen.
Source: Attributed to St. Columba, 521-597.
Source of this version: https://daily-prayers.org/angels-and-saints/prayers-of-columba-colomcille-of-ireland/
Included in Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
Source:
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/07/18/guide-me-today-tonight-and-forever/
<>
God, Be My Guide - Saint Columba of Iona (+597)
Be a bright flame before me,
Be a guiding star above me,
Be a smooth path below me,
Be a kindly shepherd behind me,
Today, tonight, and forever.
Source: Columba
Source of this version: Modified from
http://www.faithandworship.com/Christian_Quotes.htm#ixzz4DZpQ04t9
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2016/07/05/god-be-my-guide/
<>
Dunkeld Litany (8th-12th century)
The litany below is a shortened version of a litany which was sung at public processions of a group of ascetic monks called Culdees. It was used at the ancient Scottish monastery of Dunkeld.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
God, the Father in heaven, have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
You are three, and yet one God, have mercy on us.
Be gracious, free us, Lord.
Be gracious, hear us, Lord.
Be gracious, spare us, Lord.
From every evil,
from every evil inclination,
from every impurity of heart and body,
from a haughty spirit,
from the evil of sickness,
from the snares of the devil,
from enemies to the Christian name,
from destructive storms,
from famine and nakedness,
from thieves and robbers,
from wolves and all dangerous animals,
from floods of water,
from trials of death,
in the day of judgment, free us, Lord.
By your advent,
by your birth,
by your circumcision,
by your baptism,
by your passion,
by sending the counseling Spirit, free us, Lord.
We sinners pray, free us, Lord.
Holy Father, we pray, hear us.
To give us peace and concord,
to give us life and health,
to give us the fruits of the earth,
to protect our livestock from all pestilence,
to give us favorable weather,
to give us rain at the proper time,
to give us perseverance in good works,
to work true repentance in us,
to move us in charity for those in need,
to give us fervor in your service,
to give all Christian people peace and unity,
to keep us in the true faith and religion,
to preserve and spread your holy church,
to give long life and health to pastors, teachers and all leaders in the church,
to protect the leaders of our land from all enemies and snares.
to give them victory and long life,
to drive out the enemies of Christians from the earth,
to bring them to holy baptism,
to give all Christians your mercy,
to spare us,
to grant us mercy,
to look upon us, we pray, hear us.
Son of God, hear us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world,
have mercy on us, Lord.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world,
have mercy on us, Lord.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world,
grant us peace.
Christ conquers,
Christ rules,
Christ commands.
O Christ, hear us.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
O Christ, give us your grace,
O Christ, give us joy and peace.
O Christ, give us life and salvation.
Amen.
Let us pray.
Our Father…
Let us pray.
Almighty and gracious God, in your majesty remember us. Grant us forgiveness of all sins, increase your heavenly grace to us, and give us your help against all the snares of our enemies, seen and unseen. In the same way, protect our hearts by your command, so that after this mortal life, we may rejoice together with all your saints in the glory of the kingdom of God, serving our Jesus Christ our Lord and Redeemer, who has all power and rule, one with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
Source: Kalendars of Scottish Saints by Alexander Penrose Forbes, Bishop of Brechin, Edmonston and Douglas, Edinburgh, 1872, p. lvi-lxv.
Source of this version: Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/07/26/dunkeld-litany/
<>
Christ’s Cross
Saint Columba of Iona, Scotland (+597)
CHRIST’S cross over this face,
and thus over my ear.
Christ’s cross over this eye.
Christ’s cross over this nose.
Christ’s cross over this mouth.
Christ’s cross over this throat.
Christ’s cross over the back of this head.
Christ’s cross over this side.
Christ’s cross over this belly
(so is it fitting).
Christ’s cross over this lower belly.
Christ’s cross over this back.
Christ’s cross over my arms
from my shoulders to my hands.
Christ’s cross over my thighs.
Christ’s cross over my legs.
Christ’s cross to accompany me before me.
Christ’s cross to accompany me behind me.
Christ’s cross to meet every difficulty
both on hollow and hill.
Christ’s cross eastwards facing me.
Christ’s cross back towards the sunset.
In the north, in the south unceasingly
may Christ’s cross straightway be.
Christ’s cross over my teeth
lest injury or harm come to me.
Christ’s cross over my stomach.
Christ’s cross over my heart.
Christ’s cross up to broad (?) Heaven.
Christ’s cross down to earth.
Let no evil or hurt come
to my body or my soul.
Christ’s cross over me as I sit.
Christ’s cross over me as I lie.
Christ’s cross be all my strength
till we reach the King of Heaven.
Christ’s cross over my community.
Christ’s cross over my church.
Christ’s cross in the next world;
Christ’s cross in this.
From the top of my head
to the nail of my foot,
O Christ, against every danger
I trust in the protection of thy cross.
Till the day of my death,
before going into this clay,
I shall draw without . . .
Christ’s cross over this face.
http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/cc10.html
<>
MORE
CELTIC CHRISTIAN
PRAYERS
* * *
<>
“Take time to get in touch with your shadow. Make a list of the things that most often make you angry with other people. This may give you clues as to your shadow’s feelings. Once you have been honest about your vices, make a conscious effort to replace each vice with its opposite virtue;”
― Ray Simpson, Daily Light from the Celtic Saints: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Life
<>
“Lord of my heart, give me vision to inspire me that, working or resting, I may always think of you. Lord of my heart, give me light to guide me that, at home or abroad I may always walk in your way. Lord of my heart, give me wisdom to direct me that, thinking or acting, I may always discern right from wrong. Heart of my own heart, whatever befall me, rule over my thoughts and feelings, my words and actions. ancient Irish”
― Ray Simpson, Daily Light from the Celtic Saints: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Life
<>
A Celtic Prayer before a meal
“The food which we are to eat is earth, water, and sun coming to us through pleasing plants The food which we are to eat is fruit of the labor of many creatures. We are thankful for it. May it give us health, strength, joy, and may it increase our love. a prayer before a meal”
― Ray Simpson, Daily Light from the Celtic Saints: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Life
<>
Creator, Watch over Us (Celtic Prayer)
Creator of the universe, watch over us
and keep us in the light of your presence.
May our praise continually blend
with that of all creation,
until we come together to the eternal joys
which you promise in your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Source: Celtic prayer
Source of this version:
http://www.pettchapel.org.uk/Extras/Prayers/Prayers_of_Praise.htm
Variant:
Creator of the universe, watch over us
and keep us in the light of your presence.
Let our praise continually blend
with that of all creation,
and bring us, with all for whom we pray,
to the eternal joys
which you promise in your love;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
Source of this version: http://www.revjones.fsnet.co.uk/prayers/prayers.html
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2016/06/29/creator-watch-over-us/
<>
Help Us in Our Time of Need (4th-5th century)
You guided Noah over the flood waves: hear us.
With your Word you recalled Jonah from the deep: deliver us.
You stretched forth your hand to Peter as he sank: help us, O Christ.
Son of God, you did marvelous things of old: help us also in our time of need.
Source: Early Celtic Prayer
Source of this version: Modified freely from http://www.malankaraworld.com/Library/Devotional/Feb-5-2011-God_weekly_devotional.htm
Variant:
We have sinned, O Lord, we have sinned:
forgive our sins and save us,
hear us, O Lord, you who guided Noah on the waves of the flood,
for it was by your Word that Jonah was recalled from the abyss.
Free us, you who reached out your hand to Peter as he was sinking:
bear us up, O Christ, Son of God.
For you performed wonders among our fathers, O Lord:
Now stretch forth your hand from the Heavens,
help us in our times of need.
Source of this version: Confession of sins in Celtic Vespers: http://celticorderofuniversalwisdom.weebly.com/uploads/5/8/5/2/5852535/short_celtic_vespers.pdf
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2016/06/29/help-us-in-our-time-of-need/
<>
In Your Mercy, Lead Me (9th century)
Almighty God and Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I pray, in your mercy lead me: where thousands of angels always reflect the exceeding glory of the King of kings, praising him;
where the twenty-four elders fall before the throne of the Lamb of God, praising him;
where the four living creatures surround the throne, and every eye sees his wonderful works;
where the four rivers flow from their one source;
where the patriarchs, the first to believe in God, rule with him in his divine city;
where the prophets, full of the pure Holy Spirit, praise Christ together in the purest light of truth;
where Christ with the apostles Peter and Paul rule, sitting on their thrones;
where the flower of the state of virginity of the innocent with the pleasantness of the people of flourishing are following the Lamb;
where the martyrs of Christ are dressed in white robes and singing and waving palm branches;
where the holy, pure virgins hold palms for the king of kings;
where the crowd of saints sings to the Lord with constant peace in the land of the living;
where there is happiness;
where there is security;
where there is always health
where there is purity of mind;
where there is no pain;
where there are no problems, no anger, no pain of labor;
where there is no hunger;
where there is no deep water;
where no fire burns;
where no one perishes;
where there is no old age;
where youth flourishes;
where there is no groaning;
where the poor do not weep;
where there is eternal peace;
where there is joy;
where there is no trouble;
where there is true life;
where there is no bitter death;
where it is always divine;
where no one knows evil;
where love is strong;
where the nourishing glory of Christ the King reigns;
where there is true joy;
where the cup is full of constant life;
where the clear name of Christ rules upon his throne;
where all things are made right;
where there is salvation for all;
where there is unity;
where there is Trinity;
where there is real truth;
where there is divine virtue;
where there is the God of gods;
where there is the Lord of lords;
where there is the King of kings;
where there is the choir of heaven;
where there is the Light from Light;
where there is the source of life, flowing in the heights of the city;
where the voice of praise resounds for the Lord;
where there is no darkness of night;
where the King of kings rules forever and ever.
Source: The Book of Cerne, p. 106-108
Original in Latin:
Deus pater omnipotens domine caeli ac terrae deduc me obsecro te per misericordiam pietatis tuae
Ubi resplendent semper angelorum milia regem regum laudantes cum ingenti gloria .
Ubi uiginti quattuor seniores sunt proni agnum dei laudantes ante conspectum throni .
Ubi mystica quattuor animalia tota oculis plena tarn mira magnalia .
Ubi ilia flumina bis bina manantia uno e fontis rore inrigati .
Ubi patriarchae primi credentes deo ciues urbis diuinae regnantes sine (fine) cum eo .
Ubi prophetae puri spiritu sancto pleni christum conlaudant clara causa luminis ueri .
Ubi sancta maria sanctis cum uirginibus uitae fruentes prmiis & in thronis sublimibus .
Ubi petrus et Paulus christi cum apostolis regnant cum rege sedentes in cathhedris .
Ubi sequuntur agnum turbae innocentium uirginitatis flore amoeno florentium .
Ubi martyrum chori amicti stolis albis christo canentes habentes uitae palmam .
Ubi uirgines sanctae castitatis nimiam habent palmam gloriae regni regiae .
Ubi sanctorum turbae domino canentium gaudent cum pace firma in terra uiuentium .
Ubi est felicitas .
Ubi et securitas .
Ubi semper sanitas .
Ubi mentis puritas .
Ubi nullus dolor .
Ubi nee mentes nee irae furor Nee dolor laborantibus .
Ubi nullus esurit .
Ubi nee ullus bibit .
Ubi ignis non urit .
Ubi nullus peribit .
Ubi senex non manet .
Ubi iuuenis florebit .
Ubi lesus non gemit .
Ubi pauper non plorat .
Ubi pax perpetua .
Ubi et laetitia .
Ubi nee molestia .
Ubi uita est uera .
Ubi nee mors amara .
Ubi semper diuina .
Ubi non nocent mala .
Ubi caritas firma .
Ubi alma gloria christi regis regiae .
Ubi lumen diuinum .
Ubi gaudium uerum .
Ubi poculum purum uitae perennis plenum .
Ubi nomen praeclarum Christi regnantis (in) thronum .
Ubi est rector rerum .
Ubi salus cunctorum .
Ubi unitas .
Ubi diuinitas .
Ubi trinitas .
Ubi ueritas uera .
Ubi uirtus diuina .
Ubi deus deorum .
Ubi dominus dominorum .
Ubi rex regum .
Ubi caelorum chori .
Ubi lux lucis .
Ubi fons uiuus fulget in summa poli .
Ubi uox laudis resonat domino regi .
Ubi nox nulla tetra .
Ubi regnum regnorum saeculorum in saecula . Amen .
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/11/01/in-your-mercy-lead-me/
<>
For Love and Light (6th century)
O Lord,
in the name of Jesus Christ your Son our God,
give us that love which can never cease,
that will kindle our lamps but not extinguish them,
that they may burn in us and enlighten others.
O Christ, our dearest Savior,
kindle our lamps,
that they may evermore shine in your temple,
that they may receive unquenchable light from you
that will enlighten our darkness,
and lessen the darkness of the world.
Lord Jesus, we pray,
give your light to our lamps,
that in its light
the most holy place may be revealed to us
in which you dwell as the Eternal Priest,
that we may always see you,
desire you, look on you in love,
and long after you;
for your sake. Amen.
Source: An Ancient Collect, sixth century
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Early Church, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1953
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/09/06/for-love-and-light/
<>
You Are the King of kings, and Lord of Lords (9th century)
God, my almighty God, I humbly worship you.
You are the King of kings, and Lord of lords.
You are the judge of every age.
You are the Redeemer of our souls.
You are the Liberator of those who believe.
You are the Hope of those who labor.
You are the Comforter of the sad.
You are the Way for the straying.
You are the Teacher of the nations.
You are the Creator of all creatures.
You are the Lover of all that is good.
You are the Prince of all virtue.
You are the Joy of your saints.
You are Life everlasting.
You are Joy in truth.
You are the joy of our eternal homeland.
You are Light from light.
You are the Fount of holiness.
You are the glory of God the Father in the highest.
You are the Savior of the world.
You are the Fullness of the Holy Spirit.
You are seated at the right hand of the Father, ruling on your throne forever.
Source: From a confession of sins in The Book of Cerne, 9th Century.
Source of this version: Translated for Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
Deus deus meus omnipotens
Ego humiliter te adoro
Tu es rex regum et dominus dominantium
Tu es arbiter omnis saeculi
Tu es redemtor animarum
Tu es liberator credentium
Tu es spes laborantium
Tu es paracletus doleutium
Tu es uia errantium
Tu es magister gentium
Tu es creator omnium creaturarum
Tu es amator omnis boni
Tu es princeps omnium uirtutum
Tu es gaudium sanctorum tuorum
Tu es uita perpetua
Tu es laetitia in ueritate
Tu es exultatio in aeterna patria
Tu es lux lucis
Tu es fons sanctitatis
Tu es gloria dei patris in excelso
Tu es saluator mundi
Tu es plenitude spiritus sancti
Tu sedis ad dexteram dei patris in throno regnas in saecula
Source: The prayer book of Aedeluald the bishop, commonly called the Book of Cerne, p. 95-96.
Source:
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/07/27/you-are-the-king-of-kings-and-lord-of-lords/
<>
A Benediction (10th century)
May our Lord + Jesus Christ
be near you to defend you,
within you to refresh you,
around you to preserve you,
before you to guide you,
behind you to justify you,
above you to bless you;
and the blessing of almighty God,
the Father, the + Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.
Amen.
Source: 10th Century manuscript, from The New Ancient Collects, #575, (Bright’s Ancient Collects, p. 193.3)
In Bright’s Ancient Collects, this was printed as a prayer with this ending:
…above you to bless you;
who lives and reigns
with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2017/09/02/a-benediction/
<>
<>
Two Celtic Communion Prayers (8th century)
The Lorrha Missal (also called the Stowe Missal) was a book containing the texts of the mass, written in Ireland in the late 8th century. The first prayer below was prayed after the consecration (Words of Institution) and before the distribution. The second prayer was the post-communion prayer.
We believe, O Lord.
We believe we have been redeemed
by the breaking of Christ’s body,
and the pouring of his blood.
We rely on this sacrament for strength,
confident that what we now hold in hope,
we will enjoy in true fulfillment in heaven;
through our Lord Jesus Christ
who reigns with you and the Holy Spirit
now and forever.
Amen.
We give you thanks, O Lord,
holy Father, almighty and eternal God,
for you have satisfied us
with the body and blood of Christ your Son.
In your mercy, O Lord,
let this sacrament not be for our condemnation or punishment,
but for our salvation and forgiveness,
for strengthening the weak
as a firm foundation against the dangers of the world.
With this communion forgive all our guilt,
and give us the heavenly joy of sharing in it;
through our Lord Jesus Christ
who reigns with you and the Holy Spirit
now and forever.
Amen.
Source: Freely modified from The Lorrha-Stowe Missal, p. 6-7.
Source of this version: Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
Formatted as block paragraph:
We give you thanks, O Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, for you have satisfied us with the body and blood of Christ your Son. In your mercy, O Lord, let this sacrament not be for our condemnation or punishment, but for our salvation and forgiveness, and for strengthening the weak as a firm foundation against the dangers of the world. With this communion forgive all our guilt and give us the heavenly joy of sharing in it; through our Lord Jesus Christ who reigns with you and the Holy Spirit now and forever.
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/07/14/two-celtic-communion-prayers/
<>
A Celtic Litany (8th century)
The Lorrha Missal (also called the Stowe Missal) was a book containing the texts of the mass, written in Ireland in the late 8th century. The litany below is freely modified from the Litany of St. Martin from the Lorrha Missal. It would have been prayed between the reading of the Epistle and Gospel.
Let us all pray to the Lord.
Hear us, Lord, and have mercy.
With all our heart and mind,
to the Lord who looks over the earth and makes it tremble,
let us pray:
Lord, have mercy.
For blessed peace and most tranquil times for us,
for the holy church to extend from our borders to the ends of the earth,
let us pray:
Lord, have mercy.
For our pastors, teachers, servants,
and all leaders in our church,
let us pray:
Lord, have mercy.
For this place and those who live in it,
for faithful leaders,
and for all who serve to defend our land,
let us pray:
Lord, have mercy.
For those who dedicate themselves to the Lord’s service,
for the needy, for widows and orphans,
let us pray:
Lord, have mercy.
For those who travel by land, sea and air,
for those striving to live lives of repentance,
for those instructed in the Christian faith,
let us pray:
Lord, have mercy.
For those who bear fruits of mercy in Christ’s holy church,
let us pray:
Hear us, Lord almighty.
That we may live in the Christian faith and die in peace,
let us pray,
Lord, hear our prayer.
That God’s kingdom may remain among us,
that his will be done among us in the holy bonds of charity,
let us pray,
Lord, hear our prayer.
To preserve the Christian faith among us in all holiness and purity,
let us pray.
Lord, hear our prayer.
O Lord,
cleanse us from all our sins,
and restore us in your sight.
Graciously hear our prayers
and receive our praise;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.
Source: Freely modified from The Litany of Supplication of St. Martin in the Lorrha-Stowe Missal, p. 6-7. Translated and prepared for A Collection of Prayers. The closing prayer is a very free adaptation of the litany’s closing collect.
A more literal translation of all the petitions may be found here: http://www.liturgies.net/Liturgies/Other/stowe.htm
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/07/14/a-celtic-litany/
<>
The Lorrha-Stowe Preface and Sanctus (8th century)
The Lorrha Missal (also called the Stowe Missal) was a book containing the texts of the mass, written in Ireland in the late 8th century. It begins in the same way as the Roman rite, but becomes a beautiful poem on the attributes of God.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It good and right.
It is truly good, right and salutary
for us to give thanks to you always and everywhere,
holy Lord, almighty and eternal God,
through Christ our Lord;
with your only Son and the Holy Spirit you are
one immortal God,
incorruptible and unchangeable God,
invisible and faithful God,
wonderful and praiseworthy God,
honorable and mighty God,
most high and magnificent God,
living and true God,
wise and powerful God,
holy and glorious God,
great and good God,
awesome and peaceful God,
beautiful and righteous God,
pure and benevolent God,
blessed and just God,
pious and holy God,
not one singular person,
but one Trinity of substance.
We believe you.
We bless you.
We adore you.
We praise your name forever and ever
through him who is the salvation of the world,
through him who is the life of humanity,
through him who is the resurrection of the dead.
Through him the angels praise your majesty,
the dominions adore,
the powers of the highest heaven tremble,
the virtues of the blessed seraphim rejoice together.
We pray, grant that we may join our voices with theirs, confessing you and saying:
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of Sabaoth.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who came down from heaven that he might live on the earth, be made fully human, and gave his flesh as a sacrificial victim, and by his passion gave eternal life to those who believe.
Source: Lorrha-Stowe Missal, eighth century. Translated by Paul C. Stratman for A Collection of Prayers.
Source:
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/07/12/the-lorrha-stowe-preface-and-sanctus/
<>
To You, Trinity We Give Praise and Thanks (8th century)
We worship you, eternal Father.
We call on you, eternal Son.
We confess you, Holy Spirit, dwelling in one divine unity.
To you, Trinity we give praise and thanks.
To you, one God, we sing in endless praise.
To you, Father unbegotten,
to you, the only-begotten Son,
to you, Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Father and the Son, we confess with our hearts,
to you beyond all thought, surpassing all understanding, to the all-powerful God we give thanks; who reigns, now and forever. Amen.
Source: The Antiphony of Bangor, #125; translated by Paul C. Stratman for A Collection of Prayers.
Original in Latin:
Te Patrem adoramus seternum.
Te sempiternum Filium invocamus.
Teque Spiritum Sanctum in una divinitatis substantia manentem confitemur.
Tibi Trinitati laudes et gratias referimus.
Tibi uni Deo incessabilem dicimus laudem.
Te Patrem ingenitum,
Te Filium unigenitum.
Te Spiritum Sanctum a Patre et Filio procedentem corde credimus.
Tibi inaestimabili, incomprehensibili, omni potens Deus, gratias agimus. Qui regnas in saecula, &c.
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/05/20/to-you-trinity-we-give-praise-and-thanks/
<>
A Blessing Based on Isaiah 9
May the wisdom of the Wonderful Counselor direct you,
the strength of the Mighty God protect you,
the love of the Everlasting Father embrace you,
the peace of the Prince of Peace surround you.
Source: Unknown, possibly Celtic.
This blessing is drawn from Isaiah 9:6
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2016/09/10/a-blessing-based-on-isaiah-9/
<>
MAELISU'S HYMN TO THE ARCHANGEL MICHAEL
O angel!
Bear, O Michael of great miracles,
To the Lord my plaint.
Hearest thou?
Ask of forgiving God
Forgiveness of all my vast evil.
Delay not!
Carry my fervent prayer
To the King, to the great King!
To my soul
Bring help, bring comfort
At the hour of its leaving earth.
Stoutly
To meet my expectant soul
Come with many thousand angels!
O soldier!
Against the crooked, wicked, militant world
Come to my help in earnest!
Do not
Disdain what I say!
As long as I live do not desert me!
Thee I choose,
That thou mayst save my soul,
My mind, my sense, my body.
O thou of goodly counsels,
Victorious, triumphant one,
Angelic slayer of Antichrist!
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32030/32030-h/32030-h.htm#Page_41
<>
A Personal Blessing (8th century)
O Lord, open your heavens;
from there may your gifts descend to him.
Put forth your own hand and touch his head.
May he feel the touch of your hand,
and receive the joy of the Holy Spirit,
that he may remain blessed for evermore.
Amen.
Source: Æthelwold of Winchester, c. 908-984
Source of this version: Modified from http://www.dsbc.org.uk/downloads/June_2012_MAGAZINE_seq.pdf
Also found in Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, p. 41
Included in Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2016/07/20/a-personal-blessing/
<>
* * *
IRELAND
* * *
A prayer of Saint Brigid of Ireland (+525)
"We implore Thee, by the memory of Thy Cross's hallowed and most bitter anguish, make us fear Thee, make us love Thee, O Christ. Amen."
—Prayer of Saint Brigid of Ireland (+525)
<>
This night is the eve of the great Nativity,
Born is the Son of Mary the Virgin,
The soles of His feet have reached the earth,
The Son of glory down from on high,
Heaven and earth glowed to Him,
All hail! let there be joy!
'Tis frenzy blind,
'Tis witlessness, 'tis madness wild
- Since still to deathward all life tends -
To be unfriends with Mary's child.
Irish:
Mór báis mor baile
mór coll ceille mor mire
olais airchenn teicht do écaib
beith fo étoil maíc maire.
attrib. to the Irish Saint Siadhal (Sedulius), 5th century
Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus
Orthodox Ireland, https://www.facebook.com/groups/236570420106157/
<>
Lá Fhéile Bride!!
A Naomh Bríd, guí orainn!
A Bhríd, a Mhuire na nGael,
A Bhríd, scaoil tharam do bhrat
agus coinnigh faoi do cumhdach mé
go mbeidh mé leat i bhFlaitheas Dé.
Orthodox Ireland, https://www.facebook.com/groups/236570420106157/
<>
Happy feast of St Senan of Scattery Island / Lá féile Naomh Sheanáin.
Naomh Seanáin guí orainn!
Orthodox Ireland, https://www.facebook.com/groups/236570420106157/
<>
Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona dhaoibh.
Naomh Pádraig, patrún na hÉireann, guí orainn!
Orthodox Ireland, https://www.facebook.com/groups/236570420106157/
<>
Bennachtaí na Féile Ciarán!
Happy namesday to my son Ciaran!
Orthodox Ireland, https://www.facebook.com/groups/236570420106157/
<>
Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig Oraibh!
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!
<>
The Irish-speaking cockerel is not heard to say, 'cock-a-doodle-doo!’ but ‘Mac na hÓighe slán!’ [pron. mac na hoya slahn!] ‘the Son of the Virgin is safe!’ That is what the first cock crew on that first Easter Morning, and the cockerels have called it thus every year since.
Orthodox Ireland, https://www.facebook.com/groups/236570420106157/
<>
The Lorica of St. Fursa (7th century)
May the guiding hands of God be on my shoulders,
may the presence of the Holy Spirit be on my head,
may the sign of Christ be on my forehead,
may the voice of the Holy Spirit be in my ears,
may the smell of the Holy Spirit be in my nose,
may the sight of the company of heaven be in my eyes,
may the speech of the company of heaven be in my mouth,
may the work of the church of God be in my hands,
may the serving of God and my neighbor be in my feet,
may God make my heart his home,
and may I belong to God, my Father, completely.
Source: Lorica of St. Fursa (Fursey), 7th Century.
Source of this version: Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
Original in old Irish:
Robé mainrechta Dé forsind [f]ormna-sa,
robé torruma in spirta naoimh for in cend-sa,
robé airde Críst isin édan-sa,
robé ésdecht in spirta náimh isna clúasaib-sea,
robé bolltanugad in spirta nóib isna srónaib-sea,
robé imfaiccsin fer nime isna súilib-sea,
robé comlabra fer nime isna bélaib-sea,
robé lubair eculsa Dé isna lámaib-sea,
robé les Dé ocus a choimnesa isna cosaib-sea,
roba locc do Día in cride-sea,
rob la Día athair uile in duine-sea!
Credo ocus pater.
Source: https://celt.ucc.ie//published/G400079/index.html
Source:
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/08/02/the-lorica-of-st-fursey/
<>
My God, Help Me (11th century)
Deus meus adiuva me, [My God, help me.]
Give me your love, O Son of God,
Give me your love, O Son of God,
Deus meus adiuva me.
In meum cor, ut sanum sit, [Into my heart, that it may be sound,]
O noble King, give your love quickly,
O noble King, give your love quickly,
In meum cor, ut sanum sit.
Domine da quod peto a te, [O Lord, give what I ask of you,]
Give, give quickly, O clear, bright sun,
Give, give quickly, O clear, bright sun,
Domine da quod peto a te.
Hanc spero rem et quaero quam, [This thing I hope for, and this is what I ask,]
Your love to me in this world,
Your love to me in the next world,
Hanc spero rem et quaero quam.
Tuum amorem, sicut vis, [Your love, as you wish,]
Give me quickly what I ask again,
Give me quickly what I ask again,
Tuum amorem, sicut vis.
Quaero, postulo, peto a te, [I search, I ask, I beg of you,]
My life in heaven, Son of God,
My life in heaven, Son of God,
Quaero, postulo, peto a te.
Domine, Domine, exaudi me, [O Lord, O Lord, hear me,]
Fill my soul with your love, O God,
Fill my soul with your love, O God,
Domine, Domine exaudi me.
Deus meus adiuva me,
Deus meus adiuva me.
Source: Mael Ísu Ua Brolcháin, d. 1086 The Poem-Book of the Gael, 1912, p. 140-141, translation composite.
Included in Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
Original in Latin/Old Irish:
Deus meus adiuva me
Tabhair dom do shearch,a Mhic ghil Dé
Tabhair dom do shearch,a Mhic ghil Dé
Deus meus adiuva me.
In meum cor, ut sanum sit,
Tabhair, a Rí rán, do ghrá go grip;
Tabhair, a Rí rán, do ghrá go grip,
In meum cor, ut sanum sit.
Domine da quod peto a te,
Tabhair dom go dian a ghrian ghlan ghlé,
Tabhair dom go dian a ghrian ghlan ghlé,
Domine da quod peto a te.
Hanc spero rem et quaero quam,
Do shearc dom sonn, do shearc dom thall;
Do shearc dom sonn, do shearc dom thall,
Hanc spero rem et quaero quam.
Tuum amorem, sicut vis,
Tabhair dom go tréan, a déarfad arís;
Tabhair dom go tréan, a déarfad arís,
Tuum amorem, sicut vis.
Quaero, postulo, peto a te,
Mo bheatha i neamh, a mhic dhil Dé;
Mo bheatha i neamh, a mhic dhil Dé,
Quaero, postulo, peto a te.
Domine, Domine, exaudi me,
M’anam bheith lán de d’ghrá, a Dhé,
M’anam bheith lán de d’ghrá, a Dhé,
Domine, Domine exaudi me.
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/08/05/my-god-help-me/
<>
Be My Vision (6th-8th century)
Be my vision, O Lord of my heart.
There is none other but the King of the seven heavens.
Be my meditation by day and night.
May it be you that I behold even in my sleep.
Be my speech, be my understanding.
Be with me, may I be with you.
Be my Father, may I be your son.
May you be mine, may I be yours.
Be my battle-shield, be my sword.
Be my dignity, be my delight.
Be my shelter, be my stronghold.
Raise me up to the company of the angels.
Be every good to my body and soul.
Be my kingdom in heaven and on earth.
Be solely the chief love of my heart.
Let there be none other, O high King of heaven,
Until I am able to pass into your hands,
My treasure, my beloved, through the greatness of your love.
Be alone my noble and wondrous estate.
I seek not men nor lifeless wealth.
Be the constant guardian of every possession and every life.
For our corrupt desires are dead at the mere sight of you.
Your love in my soul and in my heart —
Grant this to me, O King of the seven heavens.
O King of the seven heavens grant me this —
Your love to be in my heart and in my soul.
With the King of all, with him after victory won by piety,
May I be in the kingdom of heaven O brightness of the son.
Beloved Father, hear, hear my lamentations.
Timely is the cry of woe of this miserable wretch.
O heart of my heart, whatever befall me,
O ruler of all, be my vision.
Source: Attributed to Dallán Forgaill, 6th-8th century
English prose translation by Mary Byrne (1905), adapted
A poetic translation, “Be Thou My Vision” appears in many hymnals.
This prayer has its own page on Wikipedia.com.
Included in Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
Original in old Irish:
Rop tú mo baile, a Choimdiu cride:
ní ní nech aile acht Rí secht nime.
Rop tú mo scrútain i l-ló ‘s i n-aidche;
rop tú ad-chëar im chotlud caidche.
Rop tú mo labra, rop tú mo thuicsiu;
rop tussu dam-sa, rob misse duit-siu.
Rop tussu m’athair, rob mé do mac-su;
rop tussu lem-sa, rob misse lat-su.
Rop tú mo chathscíath, rop tú mo chlaideb;
rop tussu m’ordan, rop tussu m’airer.
Rop tú mo dítiu, rop tú mo daingen;
rop tú nom-thocba i n-áentaid n-aingel.
Rop tú cech maithius dom churp, dom anmain;
rop tú mo flaithius i n-nim ‘s i talmain.
Rop tussu t’ áenur sainserc mo chride;
ní rop nech aile acht Airdrí nime.
Co talla forum, ré n-dul it láma,
mo chuit, mo chotlud, ar méit do gráda.
Rop tussu t’ áenur m’ urrann úais amra:
ní chuinngim daíne ná maíne marba.
Rop amlaid dínsiur cech sel, cech sáegul,
mar marb oc brénad, ar t’ fégad t’ áenur.
Do serc im anmain, do grád im chride,
tabair dam amlaid, a Rí secht nime.
Tabair dam amlaid, a Rí secht nime,
do serc im anmain, do grád im chride.
Go Ríg na n-uile rís íar m-búaid léire;
ro béo i flaith nime i n-gile gréine
A Athair inmain, cluinte mo núall-sa:
mithig (mo-núarán!) lasin trúagán trúag-sa.
A Chríst mo chride, cip ed dom-aire,
a Flaith na n-uile, rop tú mo baile.
Source:
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/07/23/be-my-vision/
<>
The Litany of the Trinity (Mugron) (10th century)
Have mercy on us,
O God, Father almighty!
O God of hosts,
O God most high,
O Lord of the world,
O indescribable God,
O Creator of the elements,
O invisible God,
O untouchable God,
O unjudgeable God,
O immeasurable God,
O impatient God,
O immaculate God,
O immortal God,
O immoveable God,
O eternal God,
O perfect God,
O merciful God,
O admirable God,
O awesome God,
O golden good,
O Father in heaven,
have mercy on us!
Have mercy on us,
O almighty God,
O Jesus Christ,
O Son of living God!
O Son that was born twice,
O only-begotten of God the Father,
O first child of Mary the Virgin,
O Son of David,
O Son of Abraham,
O beginning of all,
O end of the world,
O Word of God,
O jewel of the heavenly kingdom,
O life of all,
О eternal truth,
О image, О likeness, О figure of God the Father,
О hand of God,
О arm of God,
О strength of God,
О right hand of God,
О true wisdom,
О true light that enlightens all darkness,
О guiding light,
О sun of truth,
О morning star,
О radiance of the Godhead,
О splendor of the eternal light,
О intelligence of the mystic world,
О mediator of all men,
О betrothed of the Church,
О faithful shepherd of the flock,
О expectation of the faithful,
О angel of the great counsel,
О true prophet,
О true apostle,
О true teacher,
О high priest,
О master,
О Nazarene,
О fair-haired one,
О ever living satisfaction,
О tree of life,
О true vine,
О sprout of the root of Jesse,
О King of Israel,
О Savior,
О door of the world,
О chosen flower of the plain,
О lily of the valleys,
О rock of strength,
О cornerstone,
О heavenly Zion,
О foundation of faith,
О innocent lamb,
О diadem,
О silent sheep,
О redeemer of humanity,
О true God,
О true man,
О lion,
О ox,
О eagle,
О crucified Christ,
О judge of Doom,
have mercy on us!
Have mercy on us,
О almighty God,
О Holy Spirit!
О Spirit that is nobler than all Spirits,
О finger of God,
О guard of the Christians,
О comforter of the sorrowful,
О gentle one,
О merciful intercessor,
О giver of true wisdom,
О author of Holy Scripture,
О ruler of speech,
О sevenfold Spirit,
О Spirit of wisdom,
О Spirit of understanding,
О Spirit of counsel,
О Spirit of strength,
О Spirit of knowledge,
О Spirit of gentleness,
О Spirit of awe,
О Spirit of charity,
О Spirit of grace,
О Spirit by whom all high things are ordained,
have mercy on us.
O Father, O Son, O Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Have mercy on us, eternal God,
O God in heaven, have mercy on us.
Have mercy on us, O glorious God,
Trinity glorious, ruling the circle of the earth.
O God, to your name be honor and praise,
now and forever. Amen.
May the almighty God be magnified in all the earth.
Source: Litany of the Trinity by Mugron, d. 980-981.
Source of this version: Kuno Meyer in Hibernica Minora, 1894, p. 43-44
Included in Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
Original in old Irish:
Mugrón, comarba Coluim cille, hec uerba composuit de Trinitate.
Airchis dín, a Dé Athair uili-cumachtaig,
A Dé na slóg,
A Dé uasail,
A thigerna in domuin,
A Dé díaisneithe,
A duilemuin na ndúl,
A Dé nem-aicside,
A Dé nem-chorpdai,
A Dé nem-mitte,
A Dé nem-toimside,
A Dé nem-foiditnich,
A Dé nem-thruailnide,
A Dé nem-marbdai,
A Dé nem-chumscaigthe,
A Dé shuthain,
A Dé foirpthe,
A Dé trocair,
A Dé adhamraigthe,
A Dé aduathmair,
[A De in talman,
A De na teined,
A De na nusqui nexamail,
A Dhe ind aeoir [fh]uasnadaigh & rethanaig,
A De na nil-berlada im chrunni in talman,
A Dé na tonn a thec imdomhain inn aiceoin,
A Dhe na nairdreannach, & na nuili rinn étrocht,
A Dhe, ro thebestar in maisi, ro thinns[c]nastar la & aidchi,
A De ro thigernastar ar ifern cona daoscor-sluag,
A Dé ro follamnaighes co narcainglib,]
A maith forordai,
A Athair nemdai fail i nimib,
Airchis din.
[Ad Christum hec uerba pertinent.]
Airchis dín, a Dé uili-chumachtaig, a Isu Crist, a meic Dé bi,
A meic ro genair fo di,
A oen-geinne Dé Athar,
A prim-geinne Maire oige,
A meic Dauid
A meic Abraham
A thosach na nuili,
A forcend an domuin,
A Briathar Dé,
A shét na flatha némdai,
A betha na nuili,
A fírinne tshuthain,
A immhaigin, a chosmailes, a dealb Dé Athar,
A lám Dé,
A dóit Dé,
A nert Dé,
A deis Dé,
A fhir-ecnai,
A fhir-shoillsi cena soillsiges cech ndorchai,
A sholus taircedaig,
A grian na fírinde,
A rétla matindai,
A delrad na deachta,
A thaitnem na soillsi suthaine,
[A thopur in bethad bith-buain,]
A thuicsi an betha rundai,
A etirsidaigthe na nuile duine,
A thairngertaig na hecailse,
A oegaire tairise an treoid,
A frescisiu na niresech,
A aingil na comairli móire,
A fhir-faith,
A fhir-abstail,
A fhir-forcetlaid,
A uasal-shacairt,
A Maigistir,
A Nasarda,
A glan-mongaich,
A shasad bith-béo,
A bile an betha[d],
[A fhir-nem],
A fhir-fhinemain,
A flesc do freim Iesse,
A rí Israel,
A shlainicid,
A dorus an betha[d]
A blath togaide in maige,
A lil na nglenn,
A ail na sonairte,
A cloch uillech,
A Sion nemdai,
A fotha na hirse,
A uain ennaic,
A mind,
A choera cennais,
A thathchrithid in chiniud[a] daon[d]a,
A fír-De,
A fhír-duine,
A leo,
A oc-daim,
A aquil,
A Christ crochdai,
A brithem bratha,
Airchis dín.
[Hec uerba ad Spiritum Sanctum pertinent.]
Airchis dín a Dé uile-cumachtaig, a Spirut Noib,
A Spirut as uaisle cech spirut.
A mér Dé,
A coimed na cristaide,
A comdidantaid na toirsech,
A choen-suaraich,
A etar-guthid trocar,
A thi[d]nachtaid ind fír-ecnai,
A auctair na scribture noibe,
A airrechtaid na érlabrai,
A Spirut secht-dealbaig,
A Spirut in ecnai,
A Spirut in inntlechtai,
A Spirut na comairle,
A Spirut na sonairte,
A Spirat ind fessa,
A Spirut na báide,
A Spirut ind uamain,
A Spirut na deirce,
A Spirut ind ratha,
A Spirut on ordnigther cech nuasal,
[A Spirut loisces na cinta,
A Spirut nighes na pectha,
A Spirut naomh fhollamnaighes na huile dule, aicsidhe & nem-fhaicsidhe,
Aircis dim,
A Dhe uili-cumachtaig, ind Athair nemdha, & a Meic aon-geine,
Aircis dim.
Aircis dim, a Athair, a Meic, a Spirut naom.
Aircis dim a De aonda,
A De do nim, aircis dim.
Aircis dim, a De o fuilid, tria fuilid folla[m]nugud na nuile dul det, a De.
Rot be onoir & inocbail in secula seculorum. Amen.
Omnipotens Deus magnificetur in uniuersa terra, et reliqua.]
Source: https://celt.ucc.ie/published/G206009.html
Source:
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/07/21/the-litany-of-the-trinity-mugron/
<>
The Lorica of Mugron (10th century)
This Lorica of Mugron asks for the protection of the cross of Christ on all parts of the body. The idea is that Christ fills all our lives, so we do not need to be afraid. In one source, this Lorica was called “The Lorica of Columkille” (or Columba).
The cross of Christ upon this face,
and over this ear,
The cross of Christ upon this eye.
The cross of Christ upon this nose.
The cross of Christ upon this mouth.
The cross of Christ upon this tongue.
The cross of Christ upon this throat.
The cross of Christ upon this back.
The cross of Christ upon this side.
The cross of Christ upon this belly …
The cross of Christ upon my hands,
from my shoulders to my palms.
The cross of Christ over my legs,
The cross of Christ with me before me,
The cross of Christ with me after me,
The cross of Christ to face every trouble
in valley and hill.
The cross of Christ as I look east.
The cross of Christ toward the sunset.
In the north and south. never stopping,
the cross of Christ always there.
The cross of Christ over my teeth,
to protect from harm and danger.
The cross of Christ over my stomach.
The cross of Christ over my heart.
The cross of Christ up to highest heaven.
The cross of Christ down to earth.
There shall come no evil nor suffering
to my body or to my soul.
The cross of Christ at my sitting.
The cross of Christ at my lying.
The cross of Christ all my strength,
until we reach the King of heaven.
The cross of Christ over my community.
The cross of Christ over my church.
The cross of Christ in the next world.
The cross of Christ in this.
From the top of my head
to the sole of my foot,
O Christ, in all trouble,
I trust in the protection of your cross.
Until the day I die
before returning to the earth,
I shall trace on myself
the cross of Christ upon this face.
Source: From the Lorica of Mugron, d. 980-981, composite translation, based mostly on The Irish Liber Hymnorum, by John Henry Bernard, 1898, p. 212
Source of this version: Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
Original in old Irish:
Cros Chríst tarsin n-gnúis-se, tarsin g-clúais fon cóir-se.
Cros Chríst tarsin súil-se.
Cros Chríst tarsin sróin-se.
Cros Chríst tarsin m-bél-sa.
Cros Chríst tarsin cráes-sa.
Cros Chríst tarsin cúl-sa.
Cros Chríst tarsin táeb-sa.
Cros Chríst tarsin m-broinn-se (is amlaid as chuimse).
Cros Chríst tarsin tairr-se.
Cros Chríst tarsin n-druim-se.
Cros Chríst tar mo láma óm gúaillib com basa.
Cros Chríst tar mo lesa.
Cros Chríst tar mo chasa.
Cros Chríst lem ar m’ agaid.
Cros Chríst lem im degaid.
Cros Chríst fri cach n-doraid
eitir fán is telaig.
Cros Chríst sair frim einech
Cros Chríst síar fri fuined.
Tes, túaid cen nach n-anad,
Cros Chríst cen nach fuirech.
Cros Chríst tar mo déta
nám-tháir bét ná bine.
Cros Chríst tar mo gaile.
Cros Chríst tar mo chride.
Cros Chríst súas fri fithnim.
Cros Chríst sís fri talmain.
Ní thí olc ná urbaid
dom chorp ná dom anmain.
Cros Chríst tar mo suide.
Cros Chríst tar mo lige.
Cros Chríst mo bríg uile
co roisem Ríg nime.
Cros Chríst tar mo muintir.
Cros Chríst tar mo thempal.
Cros Chríst isin altar.
Cros Chríst isin chentar.
O mullach mo baitse
co ingin mo choise,
a Chríst, ar cach n-gábad
for snádad do chroise.
Co laithe mo báis-se,
ría n-dol isin n-úir-se,
cen (ainis) do-bér-sa
Cros Chríst tarsin n-gnúis-se.
Source:
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/07/30/the-lorica-of-mugron/
<>
Prayers for the Sick from the Book of Dimma (7th century)
The Evangelist Mark, from the Book of Dimma
Let us pray, brothers, to the Lord our God for our brother _____, who now suffers under severe hardships, that the goodness of the Lord may heal him with heavenly medicine. May he who has given the soul, also preserve it; through our Lord. [1]
To the almighty living God, who restores and strengthens all his works, let us pray, dear brothers, for our sick brother, that either in renewal or recovery the creature may feel the hand of the creator; in the man of his making may the tender Father recreate his work; through our Lord. [2]
O Lord, holy Father, author of the universe, almighty and eternal God, to whom all are alive. You bring the dead to life and call things that are not as those that are. Since you are the maker, in love do your work for this person you have fashioned; through our Lord. [3]
To God, in whose hands are the support of the living and the life of the dead, we pray that this infirm body may be cured and this soul be healed, that what he does not deserve by merit, he may receive by our prayers for your mercy’s sake; through our Lord. [4]
O God, you do not desire the death of a sinner but that he turn and live. Forgive the sins of this man who has turned to you with all his heart, and give him the grace of eternal life; through our Lord. [5]
O God, you always govern your creatures with tender affection. Hear our prayers for your servant _____, who is suffering from bodily sickness. Visit him with your deliverance, and give him the medicine of your heavenly grace; through our Lord. [6]
Source: The Book of Dimma, 7th century. Prayer #6 is also found in Gelasian sources.
Source of this version: Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
Originals in Latin:
Oremus, fratres, dominum deum nostrum pro fratre nostro .n. quem duri adpresens malum langoris adulcerat, ut eum domini pietas caelestibus dignetur curare medicinis ; qui dedit animam det etsalutem, perdominum nostrum. [1]
Deum uiuum omnipotentem, cui omnia opera restaurare [et] confirmare facillimum est, fratres carissimi, profratre nostro infirmo supliciter oremus, quo creatura manum sentiat creatoris aut inreparando aut inrecipiendo ; inhomine suo pius pater opus suum recreare dignetur, perdominum nostrum. [2]
Domine, sancte pater, uniuersitatis auctor, omnipotens aeternae deus, cui cuncta uiuunt, qui uiuificas mortuos et uocas ea quae non sunt, tanquam ea quae sunt, tuum solitum opus, qui es artifex, pie exerce in hoc plasmate tuo, perdominum. [3]
Deum in cuius manu tam alitus uiuentis quam uita morientis, fratres dilectissimi, deprecemur, ut corporis huius infirmitatem sanet et animae salutem prestet; ut quod per meritum non meretur, misericordiae gratia consequatur, orantibus nobis, perdominum. [4]
Deus, qui non uis mortem peccatoris, sed ut conuertatur et uiuat, huic adte excorde conuerso peccata dimite, et perennis uitae tribu[e] gratiam, perdominum. [5]
Deus, qui facturam tuam pio semper do[mi]nares afectu, inclina aurem tuam suplicantibus nobis tibi; ad famulum tuum .n. aduersitate ualitudinis corporis laborantem placitus respice; uisita eum insalutare tuo, et caelestis gratiae ad medicamentum, per dominum. [6]
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/08/06/prayers-for-the-sick-from-the-book-of-dimma/
<>
We Walk in the Light of this Bountiful Day (9th century)
We walk in the light of this bountiful day
in the great strength of the most high God of gods,
in the favor of Christ,
in the light of the Holy Spirit,
in faith of the patriarchs,
in the service of the prophets,
in the peace of the apostles,
in the joy of angels,
in the splendor of the saints,
in the work of the faithful,
in the strength of the righteous,
in the witness of the martyrs,
in the chastity of the virgins,
in the wisdom of God,
in the patience of many,
in the denial of the flesh,
in the control of the tongue,
in the abundance of peace,
in the praise of the Trinity,
in the sharpness of senses,
in continuing good works,
in step with the Spirit,
in the words of God,
in many blessings.
In this is the way of all who labor for Christ,
who led the saints into joy forever after their deaths,
that they might listen to the voices of the angels,
praising God and saying:
“Holy, holy, holy.”
Source: The Book of Cerne 9th century. Translated for A Collection of Prayers.
Source of this version: Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
In the original, “in the work of the faithful” is “in the work of the monks”
Original in Latin:
Ambulemus in prosperis huius diei luminis
IN uirtute altissimi dei deorum maximi
IN bene placito christi
IN luce spiritus sancti
IN fide patriarcharum
IN meritis prophetarum
IN pace apostolorum
IN gaudio angelorum
IN splendoribus sanctorum
IN operibus monachorum
IN uirtute iustorum
IN martyrio martyrum
IN castitate uirginum
IN dei sapientia
IN multa patientia
IN carnis abstinentia
IN linguae continentia
IN pacis habundantia
IN trinitatis laudibus
IN acutis sensibus
IN semper bonis actibus
IN formis spiritalibus
IN diuinis sermonibus
IN benedictionibus
IN his est iter omnium pro christo laborantium
qui deducit sanctos post obitum sempiternum in gaudium
Ut a audiam uocem Angelorum
deum laudantium ac dicentium
sanctus sanctus sanctus
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/07/24/we-walk-in-the-light-of-this-bountiful-day/
<>
The Lord’s Prayer from the Book of Cerne (9th century)
Father, in your tranquil world above,
may your kingdom come,
reveal your nourishing light.
Let your clear will be done
on earth and in heaven.
What is needed for life today,
the substance of holy bread,
provide to us soon.
Forgive countless debts of our wicked errors,
no different than we pardon our debtors.
Oh, keep temptation of the devil far away,
and likewise raise us up from evil
to light at your right hand.
Source: The Book of Cerne, 9th Century, translated by Paul C. Stratman for A Collection of Prayers.
Source of this version: Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
Orginal in Latin, from The prayer book of Aedeluald the bishop: commonly called the Book of Cerne, ed. Arthur Benedict Kuypers.
Pater alte tui tranquillaque mundo –
Adueniat regnumque tuum lux alma recludat –
In caelo et in terra tua fiat clara uoluntas –
Uitalisque hodie sancti substantia panis –
Proueniat nobis tua mox largit(i)o soluat –
Innumera indulgens erroris debita praui –
Et nos haut aliter concedere fenore nostris –
Tetrisae ua procul temtatio daemonis absit –
Aeque malis tua nos in lucem dextera tollat –
Source:
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/07/16/the-lords-prayer-from-the-book-of-cerne/
<>
I Arise Today (Celtic Prayer) - St. Patrick (4th-5th century)
I arise today
embraced in the arms
of God the Father,
empowered by the strength
of God the Spirit,
immersed in the love
of God the Son.
I arise today
in the company
of the Trinity,
Father, Spirit and Son.
I arise today.
Source: Unknown, attributed as “A Celtic Prayer”
Source of this version: http://stoswaldsoswestry.org.uk/prayer-room/morning-and-evening-prayers/
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2016/08/23/i-arise-today/
<>
I Arise Today (St. Bridget) (5th-6th century)
I arise today
through a mighty strength:
God’s power to guide me,
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s eyes to watch over me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to give me speech,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to shelter me,
God’s host to secure me.
Source: St. Bridget of Kildare (Bridget of Gael)
Source of this version: http://www.faithandworship.com/Celtic_Blessings_and_Prayers.htm
Also found here: http://www.worldprayers.org/archive/prayers/adorations/i_arise_today.html
Similar to St. Patrick’s Breastplate
Source:
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/02/01/i-arise-today-st-bridget/
<>
A Poem-Prayer of Saint Oengus of Ireland to Christ and His Saints (9th century)
Sanctify, O Christ ! my words:
O Lord of the seven heavens !
Grant me the gift of wisdom,
O Sovereign of the bright sun !
O bright son who dost illuminate
The heavens with all their holiness !
O King who governest the angels !
O Lord of all the people !
Lord of the people,
King all-righteous and good !
May I receive the full benefit
Of praising Thy royal hosts.
Thy royal hosts I praise
Because Thou art my Sovereign ;
I have disposed my mind,
To be constantly beseeching Thee.
I beseech a favour from Thee,
That I be purified from my sins,
Through the peaceful bright-shining flock.
The royal host whom I celebrate.”
https://citydesert.wordpress.com/2014/03/11/oengus-the-culdee-hermit/
<>
St. Patrick’s Evensong (5th century)
May your holy angels, O Christ, Son of living God,
Guard our sleep, our rest, our shining bed.
Let them reveal true visions to us in our sleep,
O High Prince of the universe, O great King of the mysteries!
May no demons, no ill, no calamity or terrifying dreams
Disturb our rest, our willing, prompt repose.
May our watch be holy, our work, our task,
Our sleep, our rest without stop, without break.
Source: St. Patrick’s Evensong, translated as prose by Kuno Meyer in Selections from Ancient Irish Poetry, New York, 1911.
Source of this version: Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
Version in verse:
Jesus, Son of God most high,
May your holy angels keep
Watch around us as we lie
In our shining beds asleep.
Time’s hid veil with truth to pierce
Let them teach our dreaming eyes,
High King of the Universe,
High Priest of the Mysteries.
May no demon of the air,
May no malice of our foes,
Evil dream or haunting care
Mar our willing, prompt repose!
May our vigils hallowed be
By the tasks we undertake!
May our sleep be fresh and free,
Without stop and without break.
St. Patrick’s Evensong, translated as poetry, from A Celtic Psaltery, New York, 1917.
Source:
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/07/31/st-patricks-evensong/
<>
A PRAYER TO THE HOLY VIRGIN MARY MOTHER OF GOD (AN ANCIENT IRISH PRAYER)
Gentle Mary, noble maiden, give us help!
Shrine of our Lord's body, casket of the mysteries!
Queen of queens, pure holy maiden,
Pray for us that our wretched transgression be forgiven for Thy sake.
Merciful one, forgiving one, with the grace of the Holy Spirit,
Pray with us the true-judging King of the goodly ambrosial clan.
Branch of Jesse's tree in the beauteous hazel-wood,
Pray for me until I obtain forgiveness of my foul sins.
Mary, splendid diadem, Thou that hast saved our race,
Glorious noble torch, orchard of Kings!
Brilliant one, transplendent one, with the deed of pure chastity,
Fair golden illumined ark, holy daughter from Heaven!
Mother of righteousness, Thou that excellest all else,
Pray with me Thy first-born to save me on the day of Doom.
Noble rare star, tree under blossom,
Powerful choice lamp, sun that warmeth every one.
Ladder of the great track by which every saint ascends,
Mayst Thou be our safeguard towards the glorious Kingdom.
[Pg 33]
Fair fragrant seat chosen by the King,
The noble guest who was in Thy womb three times three months.
Glorious royal porch through which He was incarnated,
The splendid chosen sun, Jesus, Son of the living God.
For the sake of the fair babe that was conceived in Thy womb,
For the sake of the holy child that is High-King in every place,
For the sake of His cross that is higher than any cross,
For the sake of His burial when He was buried in a stone-tomb,
For the sake of His resurrection when He arose before every one,
For the sake of the holy household from every place to Doom,
Be Thou our safeguard in the Kingdom of the good Lord,
That we may meet with dear Jesus—that is our prayer—hail!
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32030/32030-h/32030-h.htm#Page_32
<>
A Doxology - A Doxology from the Antiphonary of Bangor of Ireland (9th century)
We worship you, eternal Father.
We call on you, eternal Son.
And we confess you, Holy Spirit,
dwelling in one divine unity.
One God in three persons,
we give you praise and thanks,
and ask that we may join our voices
to sing in your unending praise,
now and forever.
Source: Antiphonary of Bangor, ninth century
Source of this version: Translated and reworked from the Latin text for A Collection of Prayers.
© 2016 Paul C. Stratman
Translation of Doxology “Te Patrem adoremus aeternum” by Paul C. Stratman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Please contact for any commercial usage.
Original in Latin:
123. Post laudate pueri dominum in dominico die.
Te Patrem adoramus aeternum.
Te sempiternum Filium invocamus.
Teque Spiritum Sanctum
in una divinitatis substantia manentem confitemur.
Tibi uni Deo in Trinitate
debitas laudes et gratias referimus,
ut te incessabili voce laudare mereamur,
per aeterna saecula saeculorum.
The Antiphonary of Bangor and The Divine Offices of Bangor is now available in paperback through Amazon.com. It is also available for Amazon Kindle. This is a new translation of the entire Antiphonary into comtemporary liturgical English.
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2016/08/05/a-doxology/
<>
Evening Prayers - Two Evening Prayers from the Antiphonary of Bangor (9th century)
FOR PEACE
Antiphon:
We have sinned,
and have acted wickedly. (2 Chronicles 6:37 ESV)
Collect:
You have redeemed us, O Lord, God of truth, by your holy blood. Now help us in all things, Jesus Christ, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
Antiphon
Great peace have those who love your law;
nothing can make them stumble. (Psalm 119:165 ESV)
Collect
Let your peace, O Lord, heavenly King, always remain in our hearts, that we need not fear the terror of the night, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
Source: Antiphonary of Bangor, ninth century
Source of this version: Translated and reworked from the Latin text for A Collection of Prayers.
© 2016 Paul C. Stratman
Translation of Prayers “Redemisti nos, Domine Deus / You have redeemed us, O Lord,” and “Pax tua, Domine, rex caelestis / Let your peace, O Lord, heavenly King” by Paul C. Stratman are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Please contact for any commercial usage.
“You have redeemed us…” is a reference to Psalm 31:5
“Now help us…” may be a reference to Psalm 70:1
“that we need not fear the terror of the night” is a reference to Psalm 91:5
Originals in Latin:
34. Ad pacem Celebrandam
Ant. Injuste egimus, iniquitatem fecimus.
Collectio. Redemisti nos, Domine Deus veritatis, in tuo sancto sanguine, nunc adjuva nos in omnibus, Jesu Christe, Qui regnas, &c
Ant. Pax multa diligentibus legem tuam; et non est illis scandalum.
Collectio. Pax tua, Domine, rex caelestis, permaneat semper in visceribus nostris, ut non timeamus a timore nocturne, Qui regnas &c
The Antiphonary of Bangor and The Divine Offices of Bangor is now available in paperback through Amazon.com. It is also available for Amazon Kindle. This is a new translation of the entire Antiphonary into comtemporary liturgical English.
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2016/08/05/evening-prayers/
<>
Blessing from the Book of Cerne (9th century)
God the Father bless me,
Christ guard me,
the Holy Spirit enlighten me,
all the days of my life!
The Lord be the defender and guardian
of my soul and my body, now and ever! Amen.
The right hand of the Lord preserve me always to old age!
The grace of Christ perpetually defend me from the enemy!
Direct, Lord, my heart into the way of peace.
Hasten to save me, O God!
O Lord, come quickly to help me!
Source: The Book of Cerne
Source of this version: Modified from http://assets.newscriptorium.com/collects-and-prayers/prmanual.htm
Included in Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
“Hasten…” is a reference to Psalm 70:1
Original in Latin:
Benedicat me deus pater
custodiat me christus
inluminet me spiritus sanctus
omnibus diebus vitae meae
Sit dominus defensor
Atttque custus animi mei et corporis mei et nunc et semper
et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
dextera me domini conseruet semper ein aevum.
Direge domine cor meum in viam pacis.
…
Domine Deus in adjutorium meum intende domine ad adivuan meum adnuntiavit laudem tuam.
Prayer Book of Aedeluald the Bishop, Commonly Called the Book of Cerne, p. 101-102.
Illustration from the Book of Cerne, Cambridge University Library, wikipedia.com
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2016/07/20/blessing-from-the-book-of-cerne/
<>
St. Patrick’s Creed (5th century)
Our God, God of all people,
God of heaven and earth, sea and rivers,
God of sun and moon, of all stars,
God of highest mountain, of deepest valleys,
God over heaven and in heaven and under heaven.
He has his dwelling
in heaven and earth and sea
and all that is in them.
He inspires all,
he gives life to all,
he surpasses all,
he upholds all.
He ignites the light of the sun.
He surrounds the stars and tells them to shine.
He makes fountains in dry lands,
and dry islands in the sea,
and stars to serve the greater lights.
He has a Son,
coeternal with him and like him.
The Son is not younger than the Father,
neither is the Father older than the Son.
And the Holy Spirit breathes in them.
Not separate are the Father and Son and Holy Spirit.
Source: St. Patrick, fifth century, in The Tripartite Life of Patrick, 1887, p. 315-316
Translated for Prayers of the Ancient Celtic Church
Included in Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2016/07/01/st-patricks-creed/
<>
St. Patrick’s Creed (from ‘The Confession of St. Patrick’) (5th century)
There is no other God,
and there never was another,
nor will there be any after him
except God the Father, without beginning.
From him is all beginning.
He upholds all things.
And his Son Jesus Christ
whom together with the Father
we testify to have always existed.
Before the beginning of the world
he was spiritually present with the Father.
Begotten in an indescribable manner before all beginning.
By him all things visible and invisible were made.
He was made man,
and having overcome death
was received into heaven to the Father:
And the Father has bestowed on him
the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord and God.
In him we believe,
and we await his coming
who before long shall judge the quick and dead.
He will render to everyone according to his deeds,
and has poured out abundantly on us
the gift of the Holy Spirit,
even the pledge of immortality,
who makes those that believe and obey
to be the sons of God the Father
and joint-heirs with Christ.
Him we confess and adore —
one God in the Trinity of the sacred name.
Source: St. Patrick, fifth century, from The Confession of St. Patrick
The Confession of Patrick, Tr. Olden, 1853, p. 44-46
Included in Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2016/07/01/st-patricks-creed-from-the-confession-of-st-patrick/
<>
ANCIENT PRAYER TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN.
(Translated from the Irish of the Eighth Century.)
O Great Mary,
Most Great of women,
Queen of the Angels,
Woman full of, and replete with the grace of the Holy Spirit,
Blessed and Most Blessed,
Mother of Eternal Glory,
Mother of the Heavenly and Earthly Church,
Mother of Love and Indulgence,
Mother of the Golden Light,
Honor of the Sky,
Sign of Tranquillity,
Gate of Heaven,
Golden Casket,
Temple of the Divinity,
Beauty of Virgins,
Mistress of the Tribes,
Fountain of the Parterres,
Mother of the Orphans,
Breast of the Infants,
Solace of the Wretched,
Star of the Sea,
Handmaid of God,
Mother of the Redeemer,
Resplendent like the Sun,
Destruction of Eve’s Disgrace,
Regeneration of Life,
Chief of the Virgins,
Inclosed Garden,
Closely-locked Fountain,
Mother of God,
Perpetual Virgin,
Holy Virgin,
Prudent Virgin,
Serene Virgin,
Chaste Virgin,
Temple of the Living God,
Royal Throne of the Eternal King,
Sanctuary of the Holy Spirit,
Virgin of the Roof of Jesus,
Cedar of Mount Lebanon,
Cypress of Mount Sion,
Crimson Rose of the Land of Jacob,
Blooming like the Olive Tree,
Glorious Son-bearer,
Light of Nazareth,
Glory of Jerusalem,
Beauty of the World,
Noblest Boon of the Christian Flock,
Queen of Life,
Ladder of Heaven :
Hear the petition of the poor; spurn not the wounds and groans of the miserable. Let the devotion of our sighs be carried through thee to the presence of the Creator, for we are not ourselves worthy of being heard, because of our evil deserts. O powerful Mistress of Heaven and Earth, dissolve our trespasses and our sins; destroy our wickedness and corruptions; raise the fallen, the debilitated and the fettered; loosen the condemned; repair, through thyself, the transgressions of our immoralities and of our vices; appease for us the Judge, by thy voice and thy supplications; allow us not to be carried off from these among the spoils of our enemies; allow not our souls to be condemned, but take us to thyself, forever, under thy protection. We beseech thee and pray thee further, O Holy Mary, through thy great supplication, from thy only Son, that is Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, that God may defend us from all straits and temptations, and obtain for us, from the God of Creation, that we may all receive from Him the forgiveness and remission of all our sins and trespasses, and that we may obtain from Him further, through thy supplication, the perpetual occupation of the Heavenly Kingdom through the eternity of life; in the presence of the Saints and of the world, which may we deserve and may we occupy, in sæcula sæculorum—Amen.
https://hieronymopolis.wordpress.com/2010/08/06/an-ancient-irish-litany-of-the-blessed-virgin/
<>
Blessing from St. Patrick’s Breastplate (5th century)
May the strength of God pilot us.
May the power of God preserve us.
May the wisdom of God instruct us.
May the hand of God protect us.
May the way of God direct us.
May the shield of God defend us.
May the host of God guard us
against the snares of evil
and the temptations of the world.
May Christ be with us.
Christ before us.
Christ in us.
Christ over us.
May your salvation, O Lord,
be always ours
this day and forever more.
Source: St. Patrick, from “St. Patrick’s Breastplate”
Source of this version: http://www.oursanctuary.net/breastplate.html
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2016/07/19/blessing-from-st-patricks-breastplate/
<>
Confession of Sins from the Book of Cerne (9th century)
I come before your sight, O Lord,
as one accused with my conscience as witness.
I pray, not daring to ask what I am not worthy to receive.
But Lord, you know everything
that drives us to confess to you;
what we are ashamed of,
and the sins we were not afraid to commit.
With these words we yield to you our hearts and minds,
and commend to you what we say,
but not what we have done.
Spare us, O Lord, and forgive the sins we confess.
Have mercy on those who call to you.
And because my senses are weak
in comprehending your mysteries,
grant, Lord, the things we do not ask
because of the hardness of our hearts,
and grant us pardon;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Source: Book of Cerne,
In Latin:
Ante oculos tuos domine reus conscientiae testis adsisto rogare non audeo quod impetrare non merear . Tu enim scis domine omnia quae aguntur in nobis erubescimus confitere quod per nos non timemus conmittere . Uerbis tibi tantum obsequimur corde autem mentimus . et quod uelle nos dicimus nolle nostris actibus adprobamus . parce domine confitentibus ignosce peccantibus . miserere te rogantibus . et quia in sacramentis tuis meus sensus infirmus est . praesta domine ut qui ex nobis duri cordis uerba non suscipis . per te nobis ueniam largiaris iesus christus dominus noster . Amen.
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/11/14/confession-of-sins-from-the-book-of-cerne/
<>
St. Patrick’s Breastplate (5th century)
“Lorica” was originally the word for a breastplate that a Roman soldier would wear. Loricas were prayers for protection—sometimes praying for protection from every angle, or protection for every part of the body. St. Patrick’s Breastplate is also known as “The Lorica.”
I arise today
through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
through belief in the Threeness,
through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
through the strength of Christ’s birth and his baptism,
through the strength of his crucifixion and his burial,
through the strength of his resurrection and his ascension,
through the strength of his descent for the judgment of doom.
I arise today
through the strength of the love of cherubim,
in the obedience of angels,
in the service of archangels,
in the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
in the prayers of patriarchs,
in the predictions of prophets,
in the preaching of apostles,
in the faith of confessors,
in the innocence of holy virgins,
in the deeds of righteous men.
I arise today, through
the strength of heaven,
the light of the sun,
the radiance of the moon,
the whiteness of snow,
the splendor of fire,
the speed of lightning,
the swiftness of wind,
the depth of the sea,
the stability of the earth,
the firmness of rock.
I arise today, through
God’s strength to pilot me,
God’s power to sustain me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s path to go before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me
from snares of devils,
from temptation of vices,
from allurements of nature,
from everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near,
alone or in a crowd.
I summon today
all these powers to stand between me
and every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
against incantations of false prophets,
against black laws of paganism,
against false laws of heretics,
against deceit of idolatry,
against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
against poison, against burning,
against drowning, against wounding,
so that there may come to me an abundance of reward.
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
through belief in the Threeness,
through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.
Salvation belongs to the Lord.
Salvation belongs to the Lord.
Christ is salvation.
May your salvation, O Lord, be with us always.
Source: St. Patrick
Source of this version: Modified from the translation by Kuno Meyer
Selections from Ancient Irish Poetry, 1911, p. 25-28
Included in Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, © 2018, Paul C. Stratman
The section, “Christ with me, Christ before me…” has been set to music by a modern composer. It is called “The Deer’s Cry” by Arvo Pärt.
Variant: Versified by Cecil Frances Alexander d. 1895.
I bind unto myself today
the strong name of the Trinity
by invocation of the same,
the Three in One and One in Three.
I bind this day to me forever,
by power of faith, Christ’s incarnation,
his baptism in the Jordan river,
his death on cross for my salvation,
his bursting from the spiced tomb,
his riding up the heavenly way,
his coming at the day of doom,
I bind unto myself today.
I bind unto myself today
the virtues of the starlit heaven,
the glorious sun’s life-giving ray,
the whiteness of the moon at even,
the flashing of the lightning free,
the whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
the stable earth, the deep salt sea
around the old eternal rocks.
I bind unto myself today
the power of God to hold and lead,
God’s eye to watch, God’s might to stay,
God’s ear to hearken to my need,
the wisdom of my God to teach,
God’s hand to guide, God’s shield to ward,
the word of God to give me speech,
God’s heavenly host to be my guard.
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
I bind unto myself the name,
the strong name of the Trinity
by invocation of the same,
the Three in One and One in Three,
of whom all nature has creation,
eternal Father, Spirit, Word.
Praise to the Lord of my salvation;
salvation is of Christ the Lord!
Source of this version: http://www.hymnary.org/text/i_bind_unto_myself_today
Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick%27s_Breastplate
Version in Irish Gaelic, thought to be the original:
Atomriug indiu
niurt tréun:
togairm Trindóit
faístin Oendatad,
i nDúlemon dáil.
Atomriug indiu
niurt gene Críst cona bathius,
niurt a chrochtho cona adnacul,
niurt a essérgi cona fhresgabáil,
niurt a thoíniudo fri brithemnas mbrátho.
Atomriug indiu
niurt gráid hiruphin,
i n-aurlataid aingel,
i frestul inna n-archaingel,
i freiscisin esséirgi
ar chiunn fochraicce,
i n-ernaigthib uasalathrach,
i tairchetlaib fáithe,
i preceptaib apstal,
i n-iresaib foísmedach,
i n-enccai noebingen,
i ngnímaib fer firén.
Atomriug indiu
niurt nime,
soilsi gréne,
étrochtai éscai,
áni thened,
déni lóchet,
luaithi gaíthe,
fudomnai mara,
tairismigi thalman,
cobsaidi ailech.
Atomriug indiu
niurt Dé dom luamairecht.
Cumachtae nDé dom chumgabáil,
ciall Dé dom inthús,
rose nDé dom remcisiu,
cluas Dé dom étsecht,
briathar Dé dom erlabrai,
lám Dé dom imdegail,
intech Dé dom remthechtas,
sciath Dé dom imdítin,
sochraite Dé dom anacul
ar intledaib demnae,
ar aslagib dualche,
ar forimthechtaib aicnid,
ar cech duine mídúthrastar dam,
i céin ocus i n-ocus,
i n’uathud ocus i sochaidi.
Crist dom imdegail indiu
ar neim, ar loscud, ar bádud, ar guin,
condom-thair ilar fochraicce.
Críst limm, Críst reum, Críst im degaid,
Críst indium, Críst ísum, Críst uasum,
Críst desum, Críst tuathum,
Críst i llius, Críst i sius, Críst i n-erus,
Críst i cridiu cech duini immumrorda,
Críst i ngin cech oín rodom-labrathar,
Críst i cech rusc nonom-dercathar,
Críst i cech cluais rodom-chloathar.
Atomriug indiu
niurt tréun:
togairm Trindóit,
cretim Treodatad,
faístin Oendatad,
i nDúlemon dáil.
Domini est salus,
Domini est salus,
Christi est salus
salus tua, Domine, sit semper nobiscum.
Source of this version: http://irishpage.com/patrick/deercry.htm
Version in Latin:
Ad Temoriam hodie potentiam praepollentem invoco Trinitatis,
Credo in Trinitatem sub unitate numinis elementorum.
Apud Temoriam hodie virtutem nativitatis Christi cum ea ejus baptismi,
Virtutem crucifixionis cum ea ejus sepulturae,
Virtutem resurrectionis cum ea ascensionis,
Virtutem adventus ad judicium aeternum.
Apud Temoriam hodie virtutem amoris Seraphim in obsequio angelorum,
In spe resurrectionis ad adipiscendum praemium.
In orationibus nobilium Patrum,
In praedictionibus prophetarum,
In praedicationibus apostolorum,
In fide confessorum,
In castitate sanctarum virginum,
In actis justorum virorum.
Apud Temoriam hodie potentiam coeli,
Lucem solis,
Candorem nivis,
Vim ignis,
Rapiditatem fulguris,
Velocitatem venti,
Profunditatem maris,
Stabilitatem terrae,
Duritiam petrarum.
Ad Temoriam hodie potentia Dei me dirigat,
Potestas Dei me conservet,
Sapientia Dei me edoceat,
Oculus Dei mihi provideat,
Auris Dei me exaudiat,
Verbum Dei me disertum faciat,
Manus Dei me protegat,
Via Dei mihi patefiat,
Scutum Dei me protegat,
Exercitus Dei me defendat,
Contra insidias daemonum,
Contra illecebras vitiorum,
Contra inclinationes animi,
Contra omnem hominem qui meditetur injuriam mihi,
Procul et prope,
Cum paucis et cum multis.
Posui circa me sane omnes potentias has
Contra omnem potentiam hostilem saevam
Excogitatam meo corpori et meae animae;
Contra incantamenta pseudo-vatum,
Contra nigras leges gentilitatis,
Contra pseudo-leges haereseos,
Contra dolum idololatriae,
Contra incantamenta mulierum,
Et fabrorum ferrariorum et druidum,
Contra omnem scientiam quae occaecat animum hominis.
Christus me protegat hodie
Contra venenum,
Contra combustionem,
Contra demersionem,
Contra vulnera,
Donec meritus essem multum praemii.
Christus mecum,
Christus ante me,
Christus me pone,
Christus in me,
Christus infra me,
Christus supra me,
Christus ad dextram meam,
Christus ad laevam meam,
Christus hine,
Christus illine,
Christus a tergo.
Christus in corde omnis hominis quem alloquar,
Christus in ore cujusvis qui me alloquatur,
Christus in omni oculo qui me videat,
Christus in omni aure quae me audiat.
Ad Temoriam hodie potentiam praepollentem invoco Trinitatis.
Credo in Trinitatem sub Unitate numinis elementorum.
Domini est salus,
Domini est salus,
Christi est salus,
Salus tua, Domine, sit semper nobiscum.
https://acollectionofprayers.com/2016/06/19/st-patricks-breastplate/
<>
AN EVEN-SONG - SAINT PATRICK OF IRELAND SANG THIS
May Thy holy angels, O Christ, son of living God,
Guard our sleep, our rest, our shining bed.
Let them reveal true visions to us in our sleep,
O high-prince of the universe, O great king of the mysteries!
May no demons, no ill, no calamity or terrifying dreams
Disturb our rest, our willing, prompt repose.
May our watch be holy, our work, our task,
Our sleep, our rest without let, without break.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32030/32030-h/32030-h.htm#Page_28
<>
ON THE FLIGHTINESS OF THOUGHT (Ancient Irish Prayer)
Shame to my thoughts, how they stray from me!
I fear great danger from it on the day of eternal Doom.
During the psalms they wander on a path that is not right:
They fash, they fret, they misbehave before the eyes of great God.
Through eager crowds, through companies of wanton women,
Through woods, through cities—swifter they are than the wind.
Now through paths of loveliness, anon of riotous shame!
Without a ferry or ever missing a step they go across every sea:
Swiftly they leap in one bound from earth to heaven.
They run a race of folly anear and afar:
After a course of giddiness they return to their home.
Though one should try to bind them or put shackles on their feet,
They are neither constant nor mindful to take a spell of rest.
Neither sword-edge nor crack of whip will keep them down strongly:
As slippery as an eel's tail they glide out of my grasp.
[Pg 36]
Neither lock nor firm-vaulted dungeon nor any fetter on earth,
Stronghold nor sea nor bleak fastness restrains them from their course.
O beloved truly chaste Christ to whom every eye is clear,
May the grace of the seven-fold Spirit come to keep them, to check them!
Rule this heart of mine, O dread God of the elements,
That Thou mayst be my love, that I may do Thy will.
That I may reach Christ with His chosen companions, that we may be together!
They are neither fickle nor inconstant—not as I am.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32030/32030-h/32030-h.htm#Page_35
<>
No comments:
Post a Comment