St Quentin (d. 278)

Quintin was of noble lineage of the city of Rome, and came into the city of Amiens, showing many miracles. And was taken there of the provost of the city by commandment of Maximian, and was beaten until they that beat him were weary, and after was put in prison, but he was unbound of an angel, and he went into the city and there preached to the people. Then he was taken again, and was strained on the eculee, an instrument to torment saints on, unto the breaking of his veins, and beaten with raw sinews right long, and afterwards he was boiled in burning pitch and oil, and yet for all that he mocked the judge. Then the judge did do put into his mouth quicklime, vinegar, and mustard, and yet always he abode constant and unmovable. And then he was brought into Vermandos, and fixed in him two nails from his head unto his knees, and ten nails between his nails and the flesh of his nails and the flesh on his hands. And at the last the provost made him to be beheaded, and threw the body into the water.


Which body was hid there fifty-five years, and then founden there by a noble woman of Rome. For as she was continually in prayer, she was in a night warned by an angel that she should go hastily unto the castle of Vermandos, and it was commanded to her that she should fetch the body of Saint Quintin in such a place and bury it honourably. And when she came to the said place with a great company, and as she made her prayers, the body of Saint Quintin appeared above the water, sweetly smelling and without corruption, which body she took and buried it worshipfully. And for the sepulture that she made honourably, she that tofore was blind, received her sight again for a reward. And then there she edified a fair church, and returned home to her own place again. In which church now is a fair monastery of monks and a good town called Saint Quintins in Vermandos, where daily be showed many great miracles, especially for the dropsy, etc., and swelling of great bellies for over great superfluity of water. For this sickness in especial he is sought, and many men have been cured and made whole by the merits of this blessed saint and martyr Saint Quintin. To whom pray we that we may be delivered from all infirmities, as far as it shall please God, and necessary for us. Amen
 
source

Fall of Rome

On this date 1600 years ago, the Visigoths sacked Orthodox Rome.

It all started when the Huns charged into eastern Europe near the end of the fourth century, sending terrified tribes running for their lives and in search of new homes. The Roman emperor Valens granted the Visigoths permission to settle a parcel of land along the south bank of the Danube river, but when famine broke out, the Romans chose not to supply the refugees with food. The Goths revolted and the Romans struck back, with the emperor himself leading the Roman army into battle against the barbarians. The defeat of the Roman army and the death of the emperor at the battle of Adrianople boosted the confidence of the Visigoths who petitioned Rome for better treatment and for a homeland to call their own. Alaric, king of the Visigoths, began a series of sieges on Rome, broken periodically by sessions of attempted negotiation. After four years, his forces entered the city, by which time the citizens of Rome were diseased and starving.

"By a skilful disposition of his numer forces, who impatiently watched the moment of an assault, Alaric encompassed the walls, commanded the twelve principal gates, intercepted all communication with the adjacent country, and vigilantly guarded the navigation of the Tyber, from which the Romans derived the surest and most plentiful supply of provisions. The first emotions of the nobles, and of the people, were those of surprise and indignation, that a vile Barbarian should dare to insult the capital of the world: but their arrogance was soon humbled by misfortune; and their unmanly rage, instead of being directed against an enemy in arms, was meanly exercised on a defenceless and innocent victim.

"The senate, who in this emergency assumed the supreme powers of government, appointed two ambassadors to negotiate with the enemy. When they were introduced into [Alaric's] presence, they declared, perhaps in a more lofty style than became their abject condition, that the Romans were resolved to maintain their dignity, either in peace or war; and that, if Alaric refused them a fair and honorable capitulation, he might sound his trumpets, and prepare to give battle to an innumerable people, exercised in arms, and animated by despair. “The thicker the hay, the easier it is mowed,” was the concise reply of the Barbarian; and this rustic metaphor was accompanied by a loud and insulting laugh, expressive of his contempt for the menaces of an unwarlike populace, enervated by luxury before they were emaciated by famine.

"At the hour of midnight, the Salarian gate was silently opened, and the inhabitants were awakened by the tremendous sound of the Gothic trumpet. Eleven hundred and sixty-three years after the foundation of Rome, the Imperial city, which had subdued and civilized so considerable a part of mankind, was delivered to the licentious fury of the tribes of Germany and Scythia."
(Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Chapter 31)

Below is a dramatization by the BBC of the events surrounding the sack of Rome. What the video fails to mention, however, is that the Roman Empire continued for another thousand years in the East after Rome fell.



After the Visigoths conquered Rome, they didn't stay put, but continued south looking for ships to transport them to Africa. When Alaric died en route, his second-in-command Athaulf took over as king and led his people north, where they eventually settled in the Aquitaine region of what is not southwestern France. Their territory grew into what is now Spain and in the late sixth century, the Visigoths, who had been Arians, adopted the Nicene Faith.

St Oswald of Northumbria, King and Martyr

Oswald’s great devotion and faith in God was made evident by the miracles that took place after his death. For at the place where he was killed fighting for his country against the heathen [Aug. 5, 642], sick men and beasts are healed to this day. Many people took away the very dust from the place where his body fell, and put it in water, from which sick folk who drank it received great benefit. This practice became so popular that, as the earth was gradually removed, a pit was left in which a man could stand. But it is not to be wondered at that the sick received healing at the place of his death; for during his lifetime he never failed to provide for the sick and needy and to give them alms and aid. Many miracles are reported as having occurred at this spot, or by means of the earth taken from it; but I will content myself with two, which I have heard from my elders.


Not long after Oswald’s death, a man happened to be riding near the place when his horse suddenly showed signs of distress. It stopped and hung its head, foaming at the mouth, and as its pains increased it collapsed on the ground. The rider dismounted, removed the saddle, and waited to see whether the beast was going to recover or die. At length, having tossed this way and that in great pain for a considerable time, it rolled on to the spot where the great king had died. Immediately the pain ceased, and the horse stopped its wild struggles, then having rolled on its other side, as tired beasts do, it got up fully recovered and began to graze. The traveller, an observant man, concluded that the place where his horse was cured must possess special sancitity, and when he had marked it, he mounted and rode on to the inn where he intended to lodge. On his arrival he found a girl, the niece of the landlord, who had long suffered from paralysis; and when members of the household in his presence were deploring the girl’s diease, he began to tell them about the place where his horse had been cured. So they put the girl in to a cart, took her to the place, and laid her down. Once there she fell asleep for a short while; and, on awaking, she found herself restored to health. She asked for water and washed her face; then she tidied her hair, adjusted her linen headgear, and returned home on foot in perfect health with those who had brought her.”

(source)

Old Roman Chant

I recently purchased a beautiful CD called "Chants de l'Eglise de Rome: Période Byzantine." It is a recording of hymns from a period in history when the Eastern style of worship had a strong influence on the Church of Rome.

Historically, Rome was always kind of the oddball of the Christian world. They used a different language, had different liturgical practices, and the bishop of the Roman church was the only Orthodox patriarch in the west. These and other differences contributed to the slow drifting apart of the Eastern and Western halves of the Church, and eventually led to the tragic split that became formal in the middle of the eleventh century.

About four hundred years before that split, the Italian peninsula was heavily populated by Eastern Christians (Greek, Arab, etc) whose influence is apparent in the art, architecture, and music of that era.

The liner notes from the CD tell the story in more detail:

OLD ROMAN CHANT 7th-8th CENTURIES

Byzantine period

The repertory to which the works on this record belong is commonly called the "Old Roman." It is the early chant of the Church of Rome, anterior to that which is today called the "Gregorian," which came into existence in the Carolingian Empire, probably in the region of Metz, deriving its structure from the Roman chant, but completely modifying its ornamentation.

The early chant of the Church of Rome took shape during the 7th and 8th centuries. Its distinctly Oriental character, which gives it the aspect of an ornamented cantilation, is by no means surprising when one remembers that at this period Italy was dependent not only on the Byzantine Emperor, but was also a land of asylum for a large Greek colony which had sought refuge there.

In fact, after the invasion of Palestine by the Persians, the number of Syrian and Greek monasteries multiplied in Italy from the South as far as inside Rome itself. And the iconoclast quarrel was all the more reason for the monks to flee from the Orient and re-assemble in the Italian peninsula. Between 726 and 775 nearly fifty thousand monks took refuge in Southern Italy. Many popes of Syrian or Greek origin presided over the destinies of the Church of Rome at the period (fourteen out of twenty popes between 644 and 772 were Greek-speaking). The "Liber pontificalis" mentions, besides their Oriental origins, the musical competence of three of them: Leo II, Sergius I, and Gregory III. It was under the influence of these popes that the Roman liturgy became profoundly Eastern in character.

Introduced into Gaul by Pepin the Short and then under Charlemagne, the Old Roman chant gave birth to the Carolingian chant, similar in musical structure, but very different in ornamentation.

Paradoxically the Carolingian chant later became the official "Gregorian" chant, even to the point of supplanting in Rome itself the Old Roman, which finally disappeared in the 13th century.

Although a number of Roman popes were speakers of Greek, the lingua franca of the western Church at the time was Latin. So, while the hymns on this CD all sound very Byzantine, they are all in Latin rather than in Greek. That's just fine with me, as Latin, in my opinion, is a far prettier language than Greek.

Here is a sample from the CD. It is a hymn called "Terra Tremuit" ("the earth trembled") which is based on Psalm 76:



Terra tremuit et quievit
dum resurgeret in iudicio Deus, alleluia.
Notus in Iudea Deus in Israel magnum nomen eius, alleluia,
dum resurgeret in iudicio Deus, alleluia.
Et factus est in pace locus eius et habitatio eius in Sion, alleluia,
dum resurgeret in iudicio Deus, alleluia.
Ibi confregit cornua arcum, scutum, gladium et bellum,
iluminans tu mirabiliter a montibus aeternis, alleluia.
Terra tremuit et quievit, dum resurgeret in iudicio Deus, alleluia.

(The earth trembled and was still,
when God arose in judgment, alleluia.
In Judah is God known: His name is great in Israel, alleluia,
when God arose in judgment, alleluia.
His dwelling is in peace and in repose, and in Sion is His habitation, alleluia,
when God arose in judgment, alleluia.
There He broke bow arrows, shield, sword, and war weapons,
you are glorious, more wonderful than eternal mountains, alleluia.
The earth trembled and was still,
when God arose in judgment, alleluia)

Bach: Mass in B Minor

So there we were: Two Orthodox Christians, sitting in a Presbyterian church, listening to an Episcopalian choir performing the music of a Lutheran.

Two Saturdays ago, Kathryn and I saw the Oakland Choral Society (which is not an Episcopal choir, per se, but is populated by some of our Episcopalian friends) perform Bach's Mass in B Minor at Grosse Pointe Memorial Church, which is a lovely pseudo-Gothic behemoth next to the War Memorial. (if you were at our wedding reception you now where it is.) It was a beautiful performance of one of my very favorite choral works by my hands-down favorite composer of sacred music. Bach's Mass in B Minor was cobbled together using leftover bits from other discarded works, but, even so, it is so powerful and beautiful that I'm nearly brought to tears every time I hear it.

But for all the many hundreds of times that I have listened to this piece, it never really occured to me to pay much attention to the words. This performance was the first time I had heard it since becoming Orthodox, and as I followed along with the performance I was struck by how closely the words of the Latin Mass match those of portions of the Orthodox liturgical services. In some places it's nearly verbatim.

The words of Bach's Mass are the standard words used in every choral Mass and are, with the exception of the first three lines, in Latin. A choral Mass is typically divided into six sections: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus, and Angus Dei. Sometimes those are divided further. Here are the sections:

I. Kyrie
Kyrie eleison; Christe eleison; Kyrie eleison
(Lord have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy)

This is the only portion of the Latin Mass that is not in Latin. Rather, it is in Greek, and I have done some research to find out why that is and no one seems to know. But it is a very familiar phrase to anyone who has been to an Orthodox Divine Liturgy, where we say "Lord, Have Mercy" about fifty times throughout the service.

II. Gloria
Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax hominibus bonæ voluntatis. Laudamus te, benedicimus te, adoramus te, glorificamus te, gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam, Domine Deus, Rex cœlestis, Deus Pater omnipotens.Domine Fili unigenite, Jesu Christe, Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis; qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram. Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis. Quoniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dominus, tu solus Altissimus, Iesu Christe, cum Sancto Spiritu in gloria Dei Patris. Amen.

(Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will. We praise You, we bless You, we adore You, we glorify You, we give thanks to You for Your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God the Father. Lord Jesus Christ, only begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, who taketh away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us; You who take away the sins of the world, hear our prayers. Who sits at the right hand of the Father, have mercy upon us. For You are the only Holy One, the only Lord, the only Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in the glory of God the Father, Amen.)

This section matches almost word-for-word The Great Doxology (from Matins):
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among men. We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we worship Thee, we glorify Thee, we give thanks to Thee for Thy great glory. O Lord, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty; O Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ; and O Holy Spirit. O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that takest away the sin of the world; have mercy on us; Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer; Thou that sittest at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For Thou only art holy; Thou only art the Lord, O Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.

III. Credo
Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem... (I believe in one God, the Father Almighty...)

This is the Creed (a.k.a., the Nicene Creed, a.k.a., the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed) and I won't include the entire thing here. The version used in the Latin Mass is the same one used in all Western (i.e. Roman Catholic and Protestant) churches and matches that used in the East (Orthodox--both Eastern and Oriental--and Byzantine Catholic) except for two elements:

Where the original Creed says "And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages, Light of Light, true God of true God...," the Latin version adds "God from God" right before "Light of Light.": "Deum de Deo, lumen de lúmine, Deum verum de Deo vero..."

The other addition is that of the Filioque, which the Latin text adds to the line "And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father..." so that it reads "Et in Spíritum Sanctum, Dóminum et vivificántem: Qui ex Patre Filióque procédit."

IV. Sanctus
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth; pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis

(Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts; Heaven and earth are full of Your glory. Hosanna in the highest.)

This section matches the Anaphora from the Divine Liturgy, which is directly following the Creed:
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Sabaoth; heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest!

V. Benedictus
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis

(Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.)

This is simply a continuation of the Anaphora:
Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!

VI. Agnus Dei
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem.

(Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace.)

This isn't an exact match, but it's pretty close to a repeat of the Great Doxology from Matins:
Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that takest away the sin of the world; have mercy on us;
Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer; Thou that sittest at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us.

Much of this is simply quoting the Bible, so it shouldn't be too surprising that the services match so closely. Here is the final part of Bach's Mass, called Dona Nobis Pacem (Grant Us Peace), for your listening pleasure. Enjoy.

Happy St Patrick's Day!*

"Saint Patrick, the Apostle of the Irish, was seized from his native Britain by Irish marauders when he was sixteen years old. Though the son of a deacon and grandson of a priest, it was not until his captivity that he sought out the Lord with his whole heart. In his Confession, the testament he wrote towards the end of his life, he says, 'After I came to Ireland — every day I had to tend sheep, and many times a day I prayed — the love of God and His fear came to me more and more, and my faith was strengthened. And my spirit was so moved that in a single day I would say as many as a hundred prayers, and almost as many at night, and this even when I was staying in the woods and on the mountain; and I would rise for prayer before daylight, through snow, through frost, through rain, and I felt no harm."


  After six years of slavery in Ireland, he was guided by God to make his escape, and afterwards struggled in the monastic life in Aesir in Gaul [now France], under the guidance of the holy Bishop Germanus. Many years later he was ordained bishop and sent to Ireland once again, about the year 432, to convert the Irish to Christ. His arduous labours bore so much fruit that within seven years, three bishops were sent from Gaul to help him shepherd his flock, 'my brethren and sons whom I have baptized in the Lord -- so many thousands of people,' he says in his Confession.

  His apostolic work was not accomplished without much 'weariness and painfulness,' long journeys through difficult country, and many perils; he says his very life was in danger twelve times. When he came to Ireland, as its enlightener, it was a pagan country; when he ended his earthly life some thirty years later, about 461, the Faith of Christ was established in every corner." (Great Horologion)

  The work of St Patrick and his brethren has been called the most successful single missionary venture in the history of the Church.

  It is said of St Patrick that he chanted the entire Psalter every day.

From Holy Trinity Church

*Today is March 17th according to the patristic Julian calendar

St. Edward the Martyr, King of the English

Edward was the eldest son of King Edgar the Peacemaker by his first wife, the beautiful Ethelflaeda Eneda (White-Duck). The lady died shortly after the birth of her son and, after her death, Edgar remarried Aelfthrith, daughter of Ealdorman Ordgar of Devonshire. She bore him two sons, Edmund, who died young, and Aethelred. Edward was thirteen years old when his father died in AD 975. An admirable youth, upright in all his dealings and fearing God, he was elected to the throne by the Witan, largely under the influence of St. Dunstan and Ealdorman Aethelwin of East Anglia.
On 18th March AD 978, when Edward was only sixteen, he was assassinated under controversial circumstances. In reality, this surrounded a magnetic power struggle, led by the Mercian anti-monastic party who favoured Edward's half-brother. However, legend tells a very different story. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle does not record the King's assassin, only that he was killed at eventide at Corfe Castle in Dorset. Henry of Huntingdon says that King Edward was killed by his own people. Florence of Worcester, that he was killed by his own people by order of his step-mother, Queen Aelfthrith. William of Malmesbury says he was killed by Ealdorman Aelfhere of Mercia; but in recording his death, Malmesbury also attributes the crime to Aelfthrith and tells the now traditionally accepted story:
Queen Aelfthrith hated Edward because he had been elected King when she had hoped her own son, Aethelred, would take the throne; and she plotted to have him murdered. One day, the young King was hunting near the Royal Palace of Corfe, in Dorset, where Queen Aelfthrith and Prince Aethelred were staying. Being weary and thirsty, King Edward turned away from his hunting party and rode off to drop in on them and take a rest. When he rode up to the palace gate, Aelfthrith herself came out to greet him with a kiss. The two were on friendly terms as far as the King knew and, without dismounting, he asked his step-mother for a drink. Queen Aelfthrith sent for a cup of wine and the exhausted Edward drank eagerly. But as he drank, Aelfthrith gave a sign to one of her servants, who stepped forward, drew his dagger and stabbed the King in the back! The King cried out in pain, but managed to set his spurs to his horse in an attempt to escape to the safety of his comrades. He slipped from his horse though and, with his leg caught in the stirrup, he was dragged along until the combination of the knife-wound and inflicted head injuries killed him.
Queen Aelfthrith sent out her men to follow the King's bloody trail and retrieve the body. She ordered it buried in Wareham Priory, but not in holy ground or with any Royal pomp. A light from heaven is later said to have shone over King Edward's humble grave and many miracles were reported there. As a good youth, unjustly and cruelly killed, people looked on him as a saint and called him Edward the Martyr. On 20th June AD 980, St. Dunstan translated the body to Shaftesbury Abbey. Relics excavated amongst the ruins, and believed to be his, were for many years the subject of a legal dispute. However, they now reside in the Eastern Orthodox Church in Brookwood (Surrey).

From EBK

See also:
Service to the Holy Martyr Edward, King of England

The Saint of Second Chances

 From Brits at their Best:

The patron saint of the Irish, Patrick he was born and raised in Britain until kidnapped by Irish pirates, and taken as a slave to Ireland.

Enslaved
Growing up in Britain at the end of the 4th century, Patrick did not give anyone the impression he would become a saint with a capital S. Then his life changed abruptly. A teenager, he was kidnapped by pirates and taken west across the sea, to be sold into slavery in Ireland.

He found himself living outside, herding sheep, cold and hungry and at the mercy of those who owned him. Out of desperation he returned to his childhood faith in Christ. For six years he survived, and prayed. One night he heard the voice of God telling him it was time to leave.

Escape
Patrick decided to go. He walked south. Incredibly no one stopped the runaway slave. He reached Wexford, but couldn't find a ship that would take him. Just before a ship carrying wolfhounds to Gaul shipped anchor, he was allowed to board. The sailors offered him their nipples to be kissed - a sign of welcome that Patrick found a little disconcerting.

They landed in Europe to discover desolation. It is speculated that tribes had recently crossed the frozen Rhine and devastated the Roman Empire.

A sunny sanctuary
Years later, still uncertain of his future but following his visionary inner voice, Patrick made his way across Gaul to the monastery on a sunny little island, now called St. Honorat, that lies in the Mediterranean not far from Cannes. Southern warmth brought him the scents of lavender and basil, lemon and roses. His six years of slavery in Ireland disappeared from his mind like a boat over the horizon.

At the monastery the monks maintained a civilised belief in books and in the siesta, spent in the stone coolness of the monastery's fountain-splashed interior. Patrick learned Latin, though not very well, and the stories and sayings of Christ by heart. He learned to preach, but like some modern graduate students he began to think he could live a companionable academic life, shielded from the hectic life outside, forever.

Dream visions
It was only in his dreams that the ship returned, and he saw the outstretched arms of the Irish imploring him to return, and heard their voices calling to him from across the water. Among those voices was one voice he could not forget, from his boyhood. But for a long time, fear kept him motionless.

He was a priest and a preacher approaching middle age when he had another visionary dream. He heard a voice in Ireland say, “He who has given his own soul for you, He it is who speaks in you. Come back to Eire and free us.”

There are people who ignore their visions and die filled with regrets. Patrick ignored his visions until he was strong enough to face them. He made the free but frightening decision to return to the people who had kidnapped and enslaved him, and preach the love of God. He faced violence, betrayal, church snobbery, and his own fears.

Return to Eire
All too aware of the dangers and his own modest abilities, he left the warm scents of the Mediterranean, the sun, and the sea, the easy comradeship and the library of books, and crossed the mountains to the north, travelling through the wilderness that was Gaul. He sailed over the turbulent northern waters, heading toward the cold, green island where there was not one book and where, fifteen years earlier, he had spent six years as a hungry, naked slave boy.

It was eary in the fifth century. The island rose on the horizon like the grey ship of captivity. This was the dreaded country of his servitude, but it was also the place where poverty and calamity have been better for me than riches.

Faced with assault and assassination, Patrick gave himself to God. That proved enough, though as he also observes, he had to give his whole self sincerely, since God was not enthusiastic about theatrical impersonation.

Patrick was said to have sung Faeth Fiadha, the Deer’s Cry as he travelled –

I arise today through the strength of heaven
light of sun,
radiance of moon,
splendour of fire,
speed of lightning
swiftness of wind,
depth of sea,
stability of earth,
firmness of rock.
I arise today through God's strength to pilot me. . .

Living as if God’s strength piloted him, he travelled around Ireland, talking about the gospel of Isu Mac De (the Gaelic for Jesus the son of God). and founding communities of fellowship.

Seeding community
Despite local hostility, his first community grew as he healed the sick, gave pastoral care, and preached. When Patrick was sure the community could survive, he travelled on with his crook-shaped staff. A few members from the first fellowship came with him to help him plant the second so the second community grew quickly, and Patrick could branch out and start a third and a fourth. He was attacked and, at least once, held captive. That he was not killed was due, he wrote simply, to “the Lord.”

His communities were a stunning turnaround in a land where men and women had often waged bloody tribal wars over the ownership of cattle. The reason for their change of heart is visible, even over the distance of many years. People experienced the gospel for themselves by becoming part of the vibrant and loving Christian community; and the existence of such communities was the living evidence for the truth proclaimed (Celtic Gifts, Robert Van de Weyer).

Attacking slavery
Patrick introduced people to a way of life whose love, fearlessness, and generosity he embodied. He was not afraid. He never hesitated to attack the accepted, profitable way of doing things if he thought it was wrong. The Greek playwright Euripides is the first man in recorded history to denounce slavery, that thing of evil, by its nature evil, forcing a man to submit to what no man should submit to. Patrick was the second or third to denounce slavery –

Patricide, fratricide! ravening wolves eating up the people of the Lord as if it were bread!. . .I beseech you earnestly, it is not right to pay court to such men nor to take food and drink in their company, nor is it right to accept their alms, until they by doing strict penance with shedding of tears make amends before God and free the servants of God. . .

According to the Oxford Dictionary, Germans and Celts called their kinfolk ‘free,’ a word that meant they were ‘dear’ to them and so had personal rights and liberty of action not given to slaves. Patrick declared that everyone was dear to God, and therefore everyone should be free. He created communities that defended and nurtured freedom out of his belief that this is what God wanted.

The Venerable Bede, writing in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, reported that the communities which Patrick founded in Ireland became havens of education for young English men. And a century after Patrick's death, Aidan brought learning and Christ's teachings of peace back to England, to strife-torn Northumbria.

At a time of year when the grey trees stand bare, throwing the shadows of their branches across the green grass, the starry blue flowers of the periwinkle open, and the dog-tooth violets lift nodding blooms on crook-shaped stems, Patrick laid down his crook-shaped staff. After he was gone, he seemed to those who knew him to be the best part of themselves, the slave who had returned to the place of his servitude to free slaves, the middle aged man who had dared to let his life be transformed, giving hope to us that it isn't too late to transform ours.
I arise today!

St Bridget of Kildare

Her name is also spelled Brigit or Bridget; she is considered, equally with St Patrick (March 17), patroness of Ireland. She was born in Ulster of a noble Irish family which had been converted by St Patrick. She was uncommonly beautiful, and her father planned to marry her to the King of Ulster. But at the age of sixteen she asked her Lord Jesus Christ to make her unattractive, so that no one would marry her and she could devote herself to Him alone. Soon she lost an eye and was allowed to enter a monastery. On the day that she took monastic vows, she was miraculously healed and her original beauty restored.
  Near Dublin she built herself a cell under an oak tree, which was called Kill-dara, or Cell of the Oak. Soon seven other young women joined her and established the monastery of Kill-dara, which in time became the cathedral city of Kildare. The monastery grew rapidly and became a double monastery with both men's and women's settlements, with the Abbess ranking above the Abbot; from it several other monasteries were planted throughout Ireland. (Combined men's and women's monastic communities are virtually unknown in the east, but were common in the golden age of the Irish Church).
  The Saint predicted the day of her death and fell asleep in peace in 524, leaving a monastic Rule to govern all the monasteries under her care. During the Middle Ages her veneration spread throughout Europe.

From Holy Trinity Church, Baltimore

Sanctus Valentinus

Before Valentine's Day became a celebration of the insipid and the raunchy, it was an occasion to remember the martyrdom of a bishop of the Orthodox Church. The following is from a website called the Struggler:

Yes, Virginia, there was and is a real Saint Valentine who as an early Christian martyr has taken his place in the heavenly mansions prepared by the Savior for those who love Him. He lived in Rome and so long ago when persecutions racked the Church of Christ, that virtually nothing is known of his earthly life.

Given that his name has unfortunately also been conferred upon tokens and practices that are being abused by people today, it seems important that we attempt to discover some overriding element of spiritual truth in the legend about him that has come down to us.

Read the rest here

Martyr Agatha of Palermo in Sicily

The Holy Virgin Martyr Agatha was the fifteen-year-old daughter of rich and respected Christian parents from the city of Palermo (formerly Panormos) in Sicily. During the persecution under the emperor Decius (249-251), the city prefect of Catania, Quintianus, having heard about Agatha's wealth and beauty, sent his soldiers after her to bring her to trial as a Christian.

At Catania they housed the saint with a certain rich woman, who had five daughters. They all attempted to tempt St Agatha with fine clothes, amusements and entertainment, urging her to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods, but the saint disdained all these things. The more they tried to move her, the more resolute she became. She prayed that she might soon face martyrdom.

During her interrogation under Quintianus, the holy martyr was swayed neither by the flattery, nor by the threats, and she was subjected to cruel torments. They also tried to remove her breasts with metal tongs, and when this failed, they used knives.

The holy Apostle Peter appeared to her in prison and healed her wounds. St Agatha was led to torture again, and Quintianus was astonished to see her completely healed, with no trace of cutting. Then the torture began once more.

At this moment an earthquake took place in the city, and many buildings were destroyed. Among those killed were two of Quintianus's advisors. The terrified inhabitants rushed to Quintianus, demanding an end to Agatha's tortures. Fearing a revolt by the people, Quintianus sent St Agatha back to prison. There the martyr, offering thanks to God, peacefully surrendered her soul to the Lord.

(oca.org)

St. Benedict Biscop, abbot of Wearmouth

He came from a noble Northumbrian family in Britain, and was tonsured a monk in 653 at Lerins in Gaul. In 669 he was made Abbot of the Monastery of Saints Peter and Paul in Canterbury. He traveled to Rome in 671 to be instructed in monastic practice according to the Rule of Saint Benedict (of Nursia). Returning to Northumbria he established two new monasteries, the first to follow St Benedict's Rule in the British Isles. He went to Rome once again in 678-679, this time bringing back the archcantor of St Peter's, who taught the monks of St Benedict's monasteries the chant and liturgical practices used in Rome. Under the holy abbot's guidance, these monasteries became flourishing centers of Christian worship, scholarship and art. The Venerable Bede (May 26) was one of his disciples. Saint Benedict reposed in peace in 689 or 690, having greatly strengthened the Church and the Christian faith in Britain.

From Holy Trinity Church, Baltimore, MD

King Harold II

On this date in 1066, the last Orthodox king of England, Harold Godwinson, mere days after battling Viking raiders in the north, died in defense of his homeland against the invading Norman forces in the Battle of Hastings on the southern coast of England. The leader of the invasion, William, duke of Normandy, often known today as "William the Conquerer," had long believed himself entitled to the English crown, but had found his nobles less than enthusiastic about risking an invasion. Only when William had secured a papal blessing for the invasion--in return for promising to suppress the English Church and install Norman bishops loyal to Rome--was he able to raise an army suitable for the undertaking.

Christians of Anglo-Saxon England had always recognized the Pope as their patriarch and most of them were probably not aware that, twelve years prior, the church of Rome had severed ties with the churches of the East. Thus, it must have come as a terrible shock to see their attackers, thundering toward them on their massive war horses, flying the papal banner.

On the day he died,

the God-loving King Harold, together with his loyal troops, commended themselves to God, for those whom they had honored as brethren and leaders in the Faith had foresaken them. Shouting the Orthodox English battle cry, which invoked the aid of the Holy Cross, King Harold and his faithful soldiers faced down their foes and would have had the victory in a closely matched battle...

The blessed King Harold was shot in the eye with an arrow. He plucked it out and continued to fight bravely. In the end, however, he was cut down by Norman knights and hacked to pieces. His body was desecrated, and many Norman Crusaders abused the remains of the fallen king, a thing to which not even pagans and Turks had been wont to do with the remains of their foes (Orthodox Tidings).

After the Norman invasion, English bishops were imprisoned, exiled or put to death, and were replaced by French-speaking Norman bishops. Thus England became Roman Catholic and remained so until 1534, when King Henry VIII declared himself the head of the Church of England. It is a well-known story, but one with a little-known epilogue:

To the Orthodox mind, there is an even more direct link with Hastings. Harold's daughter (born 1056) was to flee England after the Invasion for friendly Denmark and thence Russia. Here she married the future Grand-Prince of Kiev, Vladimir Monomach, in the Cathedral of Our Saviour in Chernigov in April 1074. Vladimir, himself half-Greek, was the grandson of St Anne of Novgorod, who had been baptised by the Glastonbury monk and missionary, St Sigfrid of Sweden. Among the children of Vladimir and Gytha was St Mstislav-Harold (in holy baptism, Theodore, feasted on 15 April), who bore a Slav name as well as that of his maternal grandfather. According to chroniclers, 'no woman in all the world was ever happier than her', Gytha had twelve children, another of whom, George (Yuri), founded Moscow. (Orthodox England)

Read more here:
The Fall of Orthodox England
Entry from OrthodoxWiki
Entry from Wikipedia
King Harold's Battle Force
About Bosham and the Battle
BBC article about grave of King Harold II
Royal Mystery on Brink of Solution

Good King Wenceslas

Today, Christians who observe the Old Calendar celebrate the life of King Wenceslas of Bohemia, who was martyred in 935. The Following is from Holy Trinity Church in Baltimore:

The Holy Nobleborn Prince Vyacheslav (Wenceslaus) of the Czechs was a grandson of the holy Martyress and Princess Liudmila (Comm. 16 September), and he was raised by her in deep piety. He began to rule at age 18 after the death of his father prince Bratislav (+ 920). In spite of his youthful age, he ruled wisely and justly and concerned himself much about the Christian enlightenment of the people. The holy prince was a widely educated man, and he studied in the Latin and Greek languages. Saint Vyacheslav was peace-loving. He built and embellished churches, and in the Czech capital Prague he raised up a magnificent church in the name of Saint Vitus, and he had respect for the clergy. Envious nobles decided to murder the saint and at first to incite his mother against him, and later to urge his younger brother, Boleslav, to occupy the princely throne. Boleslav invited his brother to the dedication of a church, and then asked him to tarry and stay for still another day. In spite of the warnings of his servants, the holy prince refused to believe in a conspiracy and exposed his life to the will of God. On the following day, 28 September 935, when the nobleborn Vyacheslav went to matins, he was wickedly murdered at the doors of the church by his own brother by birth and that one's servants. His body was stabbed and thrown down without burial. The mother, hearing about the murder of her son, found and placed him in a recently consecrated church at the princely court. They were not able to wash off the blood splashed on the church doors, but after 3 days it disappeared by itself. Repenting himself, the perpetrator of the fratricide transferred the relics of Saint Vyacheslav to Prague, where they were placed in the church of Saint Vitus, which the martyr himself had constructed.

St Wenceslas is also the subject of a well-known Christmas carol. The song, which recounts a legendary event in the saint's life, is really not about Christmas at all; rather it tells a story that supposedly took place on St Stephen's Day, which in the Western Church is the day after Christmas (in the Eastern Church it is two days after):

Good King Wenceslas looked out, on the Feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even;
Brightly shone the moon that night, tho' the frost was cruel,
When a poor man came in sight, gath'ring winter fuel.
"Hither, page, and stand by me, if thou know'st it, telling,
Yonder peasant, who is he? Where and what his dwelling?"
"Sire, he lives a good league hence, underneath the mountain;
Right against the forest fence, by Saint Agnes' fountain."
"Bring me flesh, and bring me wine, bring me pine logs hither:
Thou and I will see him dine, when we bear them thither."
Page and monarch, forth they went, forth they went together;
Through the rude wind's wild lament and the bitter weather.
"Sire, the night is darker now, and the wind blows stronger;
Fails my heart, I know not how; I can go no longer."
"Mark my footsteps, good my page. Tread thou in them boldly
Thou shalt find the winter's rage freeze thy blood less coldly."
In his master's steps he trod, where the snow lay dinted;
Heat was in the very sod which the saint had printed.
Therefore, Christian men, be sure, wealth or rank possessing,
Ye who now will bless the poor, shall yourselves find blessing.

Read more here.

St Alban, Protomartyr of Britain

Saint Alban was a pagan soldier in the Roman Army stationed in Britain. His exact background is unknown, but popular tradition declares him a native Briton. Bede says he lived during the religious persecutions of the Emperor Diocletian (c.AD 304), though modern historians have argued for similar circumstances which arose some years earlier, during the reigns of Decius (c.254) or Septimus Severus (c.209).

During these dangerous times, Alban received into his house and sheltered a Christian priest, supposedly named Amphibalus, and was so struck by the devotion to God and blameless life of this man whom he protected, that he placed himself under his instruction and became a Christian. A rumour having reached the governor of Verulamium (now St. Albans), that the priest was hiding in the house of Alban, he sent soldiers to search it. Alban, seeing them arrive, hastily threw the long cloak of the priest over his own head and shoulders and presented himself to the soldiers as the man whom they sought. He was immediately bound and brought before the governor who, at that moment, was standing at one of the civic altars, offering up a sacrifice.

When the cloak, which had concealed Alban's face, was removed, it was immediately revealed that he was not the priest whose arrest the governor had ordered. The latter's anger flamed hot and he ordered Alban, immediately, to sacrifice to the gods or to suffer death.

St. Alban steadfastly refused to offer to idols. Then the magistrate asked, "Of what family and race are you?""How can it concern thee to know of what stock I am?" answered Alban. "If thou desirest to know what is my religion, I will tell thee - I am a Christian and am bound by Christian obligations.""I ask thy name, tell it me immediately.""I am called Albanus by my parents," he replied, "and I worship and adore the true and living God who created all things." Then the governor said,"If thou wilt enjoy eternal life, delay not to sacrifice to the great gods." Alban rejoined,"These sacrifices which are offered to devils are to no avail. Hell is the reward of those who offer them." The governor ordered St. Alban to be scourged, hoping to shake his constancy by pain. But the martyr bore the stripes patiently and even joyously, for our Lord's sake.

When the judge saw that he could not prevail, he ordered Alban to be put to death. On his way to execution, on 20th June, the martyr had to cross a river. "There," says Bede, "he saw a multitude of both sexes, and of every age and rank, assembled to attend the blessed confessor and martyr; and these so crowded the bridge, that he could not pass over that evening. Then St. Alban, urged by an ardent desire to accomplish his martyrdom, drew near to the stream, and the channel was dried up, making a way for him to pass over."'

Then the martyr and his escort, followed by an innumerable company of spectators, ascended the hill above Verulamium, now occupied by the abbey church bearing his name. It was then a green hill covered with flowers, sloping gently down into the pleasant plain. However, the executioner refused to perform his office and, throwing down his sword, confessed himself a Christian also. Another man was detailed to deal the blow and both Alban and the executioner, who had refused to strike, were decapitated together.

St. Alban's body was buried in the adjoining cemetery and, when Christianity was legalized by the Emperor Constantine the Great, not long afterwards, he was well remembered by the local community who erected a martyrium above his grave. This almost certainly became a place of pilgrimage, even in Roman times. It was famously visited by St. Germanus of Auxere, in AD 429, and, as a small church, survived the pagan Saxon expansion, until the present abbey church was founded on the site, by King Offa of Mercia, in AD 793. Alban's relics were reverred by the devout for centuries, before they eventually disappeared during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

From EBK

Venerable Bede, the Church Historian

Saint Bede was a church historian who recorded the history of Christianity in England up to his own time. He was probably born around 673 in Northumbria. We do not know exactly where he was born, but it is likely that it was somewhere near Jarrow.

When he was seven, Bede was sent to St Benedict Biscop (January 12) at the monastery of St Peter at Wearmouth to be educated and raised. Then he was sent to the new monastery of St Paul founded at Jarrow in 682, where he remained until his death. There he was guided by the abbot St Ceolfrith (September 25), who succeeded St Benedict in 690, ruling both Wearmouth and Jarrow.

There is an incident in the anonymous Life of Ceolfrith which may refer to the young Bede. A plague swept through Ceolfrith's monastery in 686, taking most of the monks who sang in the choir for the church services. Only the abbot and a young boy raised and educated by him remained. This young boy "is now a priest of the same monastery and commends the abbot's admirable deeds both verbally and in writing to all who desire to learn them."

Grieved by this catastrophe, Ceolfrith decided that they should sing the Psalms without antiphons, except at Matins and Vespers. After a week of this, he went back to chanting the antiphons in their proper place. With the help of the boy and the surviving monks, the services were performed with difficulty until other monks could be brought in and trained to sing.

St Bede was ordained as a deacon when he was nineteen, and to the holy priesthood at the age of thirty by St John of Beverley (May 7), the holy Bishop of Hexham (687), and later (705) of York. Bede had a great love for the church services, and believed that since the angels were present with the monks during the services, that he should also be there. "What if they do not find me among the brethren when they assemble? Will they not say, 'Where is Bede?'

Bede began as a pupil of St Benedict Biscop, who had been a monk of the famous monastery at Lerins, and had founded monasteries himself. St Benedict had brought many books with him to England from Lerins and from other European monasteries. This library enabled Bede to write his own books, which include biblical commentary, ecclesiastical history, and hagiography.

His books, derived from "ancient documents, from the traditions of our ancestors, and from my own personal knowledge" (Book V, 24) give us great insight into the religious and secular life of early Britain. To read St Bede is to enter a world shaped by spiritual traditions very similar to those cherished by Orthodox Christians. These saints engage in the same heroic asceticism shown by saints in the East, and their holiness fills us with love and admiration. Christians were expected to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays, and there was a forty day Nativity Fast (Book IV, 30).

St Bede became ill in 735. For about two weeks before Pascha, he was weak and had trouble breathing, but experienced little pain. He remained cheerful and gave daily lessons to his students, then spent the rest of the day singing Psalms and giving thanks to God. He would often quote the words of St Ambrose, "I have not lived in such a way that I am ashamed to live among you, and I do not fear to die, for God is gracious" (Paulinus, Life of Saint Ambrose, Ch. 45).

In addition to giving daily lessons and chanting the Psalms, St Bede was also working on an Anglo-Saxon translation of the Gospel of St John, and also a book of extracts from the writings of St Isidore of Seville (April 4). On the Tuesday before the Feast of the Lord's Ascension, the saint's breathing became more labored, and his feet began to swell. "Learn quickly," he told those who were taking dictation from him, "for I do not know how long I can continue. The Lord may call me in a short while."

After a sleepless night, St Bede continued his dictation on Wednesday morning. At the Third Hour, there was a procession with the relics of the saints in the monastery, and the brethren went to attend this service, leaving a monk named Wilbert with Bede. The monk reminded him that there remained one more chapter to be written in the book which he was dictating. Wilbert was reluctant to disturb the dying Bede, however. St Bede said, "It is no trouble. Take your pen and write quickly."

At the Ninth Hour, Bede paused and told Wilbert that he had some items in his chest, such as pepper, incense, and linen. He asked the monk to bring the priests of the monastery so that he could distribute these items to them. When they arrived, he spoke to each of them in turn, requesting them to pray for him and to remember him in the services. Then he said, "The time of my departure is at hand, and my soul longs to see Christ my King in His beauty."

That evening, Wilbert said to him, "Dear Master, there is one sentence left unfinished."

Bede said, "Very well, write it down."

Then the young monk said, "It is finished now."

St Bede replied, "You have spoken truly, it is well finished." Then he asked Wilbert to raise his head so that he could see the church where he used to pray. After chanting, "Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit" to its ending, St Bede fell asleep in the Lord Whom he had loved.

His body was first buried in the south porch of the monastery church, then later transferred to a place near the altar. Today his holy relics lie in Durham Cathedral, in the Galilee chapel. St Bede is the only Englishman mentioned by Dante in the DIVINE COMEDY (Paradiso).

(oca.org)

See also: "Ecclesiastical History of the English People"

St. Augustine of Canterbury, evangelizer of England

He is the founder of the Church in southern England, which at that time was almost entirely pagan, though Christianity thrived in the Celtic lands of Ireland, Wales and parts of Scotland. Augustine, a monk at the monastery of St Andrew in Rome, was chosen by Pope Gregory I to lead a mission to England. He and a party of about forty monks landed in England in 597; they were received warmly by King Aethelbert, who was baptised by Augustine and thus became the first Christian king of the Anglo-Saxon people. In 601 Pope Gregory made Augustine Archbishop of Britain, and he established his cathedral at Canterbury, where he also established a monastery. Saint Augustine worked unsuccessfully to unite his churches with those of the Irish monks and hierarchs, who followed different liturgical practices, kept a different date of Pascha, and disapproved of the less severe Roman monastic practices introduced by the Archbishop. He reposed in peace.

(from Holy Trinity Church, Baltimore, MD)

Saint Æthelberht, King of Kent

Augustine [Archbishop of Canterbury], thus strengthened by the encouragement of the blessed Father Gregory [Pope of Rome], returned to the work of the Word of God, with the servants of Christ who were with him, and arrived in Britain. The powerful Ethelbert was at that time king of Kent; he had extended his dominions as far as the boundary formed by the great river Humber, by which the Southern Saxons are divided from the Northern. On the east of Kent is the large Isle of Thanet, containing, according to the English way of reckoning, 600 families, divided from the mainland by the river Wantsum, which is about three furlongs in breadth, and which can be crossed only in two places; for at both ends it runs into the sea. On this island landed the servant of the Lord, Augustine, and his companions, being, as is reported, nearly forty men. They had obtained, by order of the blessed Pope Gregory, interpreters of the nation of the Franks, and sending to Ethelbert, signified that they were come from Rome, and brought a joyful message, which most undoubtedly assured to those that hearkened to it everlasting joys in heaven, and a kingdom that would never end, with the living and true God. The king hearing this, gave orders that they, should stay in the island where they had landed, and be furnished with necessaries, till he should consider what to do with them. For he had before heard of the Christian religion, having a Christian wife of the royal family of the Franks, called Bertha; whom he had received from her parents, upon condition that she should be permitted to preserve inviolate the rites of her religion with the Bishop Liudhard, who was sent with her to support her in the faith.

Some days after, the king came into the island, and sitting in the open air, ordered Augustine and his companions to come and hold a conference with him. For he had taken precaution that they should not come to him in any house, lest, by so coming, according to an ancient superstition, if they practised any magical arts, they might impose upon him, and so get the better of him. But they came endued with Divine, not with magic power, bearing a silver cross for their banner, and the image of our Lord and Saviour painted on a board [i.e. a holy icon]; and chanting litanies, they offered up their prayers to the Lord for the eternal salvation both of themselves and of those to whom and for whom they had come. When they had sat down, in obedience to the king’s commands, and preached to him and his attendants there present the Word of life, the king answered thus: "Your words and promises are fair, but because they are new to us, and of uncertain import, I cannot consent to them so far as to forsake that which I have so long observed with the whole English nation. But because you are come from far as strangers into my kingdom, and, as I conceive, are desirous to impart to us those things which you believe to be true, and most beneficial, we desire not to harm you, but will give you favourable entertainment, and take care to supply you with all things necessary to your sustenance; nor do we forbid you to preach and gain as many as you can to your religion." Accordingly he gave them an abode in the city of Canterbury, which was the metropolis of all his dominions, and, as he had promised, besides supplying them with sustenance, did not refuse them liberty to preach. It is told that, as they drew near to the city, after their manner, with the holy cross, and the image of our sovereign Lord and King, Jesus Christ, they sang in concert this litany: "We beseech thee, Lord, for Thy great mercy, that Thy wrath and anger be turned away from this city, and from Thy holy house, for we have sinned. Hallelujah."

There was on the east side of the city, a church dedicated of old to the honour of St. Martin, built whilst the Romans were still in the island, wherein the queen, who, as has been said before, was a Christian, was wont to pray. In this they also first began to come together, to chant the Psalms, to pray, to celebrate Mass, to preach, and to baptize, till when the king had been converted to the faith, they obtained greater liberty to preach everywhere and build or repair churches. When he, among the rest, believed and was baptized, attracted by the pure life of these holy men and their gracious promises, the truth of which they established by many miracles, greater numbers began daily to flock together to hear the Word, and, forsaking their heathen rites, to have fellowship, through faith, in the unity of Christ’s Holy Church. It is told that the king, while he rejoiced at their conversion and their faith, yet compelled none to embrace Christianity, but only showed more affection to the believers, as to his fellow citizens in the kingdom of Heaven. For he had learned from those who had instructed him and guided him to salvation, that the service of Christ ought to be voluntary, not by compulsion.

The same blessed Pope Gregory, at the same time, sent a letter to King Ethelbert, with many gifts of divers sorts; being desirous to glorify the king with temporal honours. The copy of the said letter is as follows:

"To the most glorious lord, and his most excellent son, Ethelbert, king of the English, Bishop Gregory. Almighty God advances good men to the government of nations, that He may by their means bestow the gifts of His lovingkindness on those over whom they are placed. This we know to have come to pass in the English nation, over whom your Highness was placed, to the end, that by means of the blessings which are granted to you, heavenly benefits might also be conferred on your subjects. Therefore, my illustrious son, do you carefully guard the grace which you have received from the Divine goodness, and be eager to spread the Christian faith among the people under your rule; in all uprightness increase your zeal for their conversion; showing forth an example of good works, that you may obtain your reward in Heaven from Him, Whose Name and the knowledge of Whom you have spread abroad upon arth. For He, Whose honour you seek and maintain among the nations, will also render your Majesty’s name more glorious even to posterity."

Bede, Ecclesiastical History of England, Book I, Chs 25,26, 32

St Æthelwold of Farne (d. 699)

THE venerable Ethewald succeeded the man of God, Cuthbert, in the exercise of a solitary life,
which he spent in the isle of Farne before he became a bishop. After he had received the priesthood, he consecrated his office by deeds worthy of that degree for many years in the monastery which is called Inhrypum. To the end that his merit and manner of life may be the more certainly made known, I will relate one miracle of his, which was told me by one of the brothers for and on whom the same was wrought; to wit, Guthfrid, the venerable servant and priest of Christ, who also, afterwards, as abbot, presided over the brethren of the same church of Lindisfarne, in which he was educated.

"I came," says he, "to the island of Farne, with two others of the brethren, desiring to speak with the most reverend father, Ethelwald. Having been refreshed with his discourse, and asked for his blessing, as we were returning home, behold on a sudden, when we were in the midst of the sea, the fair weather in which we were sailing, was broken, and there arose so great and terrible a tempest, that neither sails nor oars were of any use to us, nor had we anything to expect but death. After long struggling with the wind and waves to no effect, at last we looked back to see whether it was possible by any means at least to return to the island whence we came, but we found that we were on all sides alike cut off by the storm, and that there was no hope of escape by our own efforts. But looking further, we perceived, on the island of Farne, our father Ethelwald, beloved of God, come out of his retreat to watch our course; for, hearing the noise of the tempest and raging sea, he had come forth to see what would become of us. When he beheld us in distress and despair, he bowed his knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in prayer for our life and safety; and as he finished his prayer, he calmed the swelling water, in such sort that the fierceness of the storm ceased on all sides, and fair winds attended us over a smooth sea to the very shore. When we had landed, and had pulled up our small vessel from the waves, the storm, which had ceased a short time for our sake, presently returned, and raged furiously during the whole day; so that it plainly appeared that the brief interval of calm had been granted by Heaven in answer to the prayers of the man of God, to the end that we might escape."

The man of God remained in the isle of Farne twelve years, and died there; but was buried in the church of the blessed Apostle Peter, in the isle of Lindisfarne, beside the bodies of the aforesaid bishops.’ These things happened in the days of King Aldfrid, who, after his brother Egfrid, ruled the nation of the Northumbrians for nineteen years.

Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Book V, Ch.1

St. Cædwalla, King of the West Saxons

In the third year of the reign of Aldfrid, Cædwalla , king of the West Saxons, having most vigorously governed his nation for two years, quitted his crown for the sake of the Lord and an everlasting kingdom, and went to Rome, being desirous to obtain the peculiar honour of being cleansed in the baptismal font at the threshold of the blessed Apostles, for he had learned that in Baptism alone the entrance into the heavenly life is opened to mankind; and he hoped at the same time, that being made clean by Baptism, he should soon be freed from the bonds of the flesh and pass to the eternal joys of Heaven; both which things, by the help of the Lord, came to pass according as he had conceived in his mind. For coming to Rome, at the time that Sergius was pope, he was baptized on the Holy Saturday before Easter Day, in the year of our Lord 689, and being still in his white garments, he fell sick, and was set free from the bonds of the flesh on the 20th of April, and obtained an entrance into the kingdom of the blessed in Heaven. At his baptism, the aforesaid pope had given him the name of Peter, to the end, that he might be also united in name to the most blessed chief of the Apostles, to whose most holy body his pious love had led him from the utmost bounds of the earth. He was likewise buried in his church, and by the pope’s command an epitaph was written on his tomb, wherein the memory of his devotion might be preserved for ever, and the readers or hearers thereof might be stirred up to give themselves to religion by the example of what he had done.

The epitaph was this :

"High estate, wealth, offspring, a mighty kingdom,
Triumphs, spoils, chieftains, strongholds, the camp, a home;
Whatsoever the valour of his sires, whatsoever himself had won,
Cædwal, mighty in war, left for the love of God, that, a pilgrim king, he might behold,
Peter and Peter’s seat, receive at his font pure waters of life,
And in bright draughts drink of the shining radiance
Whence a quickening glory streams through all the world.
And even as he gained with eager soul the prize of the new life,
He laid aside barbaric rage, and, changed in heart, he changed his name with joy.
Sergius the Pope bade him be called Peter, himself his father,
When he rose born anew from the font, and the grace of Christ,
Cleansing him, bore him forthwith clothed in white raiment to the heights of Heaven.
Wondrous faith of the king, but greatest of all the mercy of Christ,
Into whose counsels none may enter!
For he came in safety from the ends of the earth, even from Britain, through many a nation,
Over many a sea, by many a path, and saw the city of Romulus
And looked upon Peter’s sanctuary revered, bearing mystic gifts.
He shall walk in white among the sheep of Christ in fellowship with them;
For his body is in the tomb, but his soul on high.
Thou mightest deem he did but change an earthly for a heavenly sceptre,
Whom thou seest attain to the kingdom of Christ."

"Here was buried Cædwalla , called also Peter, king of the Saxons, on the twentieth day of April, in the second indiction, aged about thirty years, in the reign of our most pious lord, the Emperor Justinian, in the fourth year of his consulship, in the second year of the pontificate of our Apostolic lord, Pope Sergius."

When Cædwalla went to Rome, Ini succeeded to the kingdom, being of the blood royal; and having reigned thirty-seven years over that nation, he in like manner left his kingdom and committed it to younger men, and went away to the threshold of the blessed Apostles, at the time when Gregory was pope, being desirous to spend some part of his pilgrimage upon earth in the neighbourhood of the holy places, that he might obtain to be more readily received into the fellowship of the saints in heaven. This same thing, about that time, was wont to be done most zealously by many of the English nation, nobles and commons, laity and clergy, men and women alike.

Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Book V, Ch 7