Celtic Saints

[LiturgyInDMinor]

As per a couple of people here in TAW requesting of me to give some info about the Celtic Saints, I'll start slow with one Saint and here goes:


Saint Ithamar of Rochester was the first Anglo-Saxon bishop of the English Church.
He died in 656. He sought to permit Celtic traditions to remain viable in the Church of his diocese along with Roman practices.

An honorary Celt in my book!

 

[LiturgyInDMinor]

Ok here's one more!

On June 9th in the year 597,
Saint Columba of Iona went home to the God he so much loved. Although Irish by
birth, he is the most celebrated of the Scottish saints. Born in 521 at Garcian
in Donegal of a royal clan, he was educated by monks and then founded
monasteries at Derry, Durrow, and Kells. In 565 he left Ireland with twelve
companions setting out for the island of Iona off the southwest coast of
Scotland. There he established the famous monastery of Iona. He devoted himself
to the training of monks, spiritual direction, peacemaking among civil rulers,
and copying sacred texts. He remained in Scotland the rest of his life. From
Iona missionaries traveled far and wide among the Scots and Picts spreading the
Gospel message.

Christians in these lands upheld the Celtic Columban traditions in liturgy and
discipline. When popes attempted to change these and substitute Roman styles to
these accepted ways, great disputes arose. The Synod of Whitby in 664 decided in
favor of Roman practices, but the Celtic ways endured for 150 years after in
Wales, Scotland, Cornwall, and Brittany. Columba's rigorous monastic Rule was
followed by many monasteries in western Europe for over five hundred years.

 

[Michael G]

Thank you for posting these. Most Orthodox do not realize there are hundreds of Celtic and Brittish Orthodox saints.

 

[Thekla]

Ok here's one more!

On June 9th in the year 597,
Saint Columba of Iona went home to the God he so much loved. Although Irish by
birth, he is the most celebrated of the Scottish saints. Born in 521 at Garcian
in Donegal of a royal clan, he was educated by monks and then founded
monasteries at Derry, Durrow, and Kells. In 565 he left Ireland with twelve
companions setting out for the island of Iona off the southwest coast of
Scotland. There he established the famous monastery of Iona. He devoted himself
to the training of monks, spiritual direction, peacemaking among civil rulers,
and copying sacred texts. He remained in Scotland the rest of his life. From
Iona missionaries traveled far and wide among the Scots and Picts spreading the
Gospel message.

Christians in these lands upheld the Celtic Columban traditions in liturgy and
discipline. When popes attempted to change these and substitute Roman styles to
these accepted ways, great disputes arose. The Synod of Whitby in 664 decided in
favor of Roman practices, but the Celtic ways endured for 150 years after in
Wales, Scotland, Cornwall, and Brittany. Columba's rigorous monastic Rule was
followed by many monasteries in western Europe for over five hundred years.

Thank-you for sharing these

(We have a son named Oran There was a St. Oran who was a companion of St. Columba's, and another who was St. Patrick's charioteer.)

 

[Etsi]

St Aidan of Lindisfarne and St Brigid of Ireland

 

[Sphinx777]

Celtic Christianity or Insular Christianity refers broadly to the Christianity of Britain and Ireland before and during the sub-Roman period of the Early Middle Ages, when the Roman withdrawal and the Anglo-Saxon invasion reduced contact with Continental Europe. It is distinguished by traditions and practices used across the Celtic region that differed from those of the greater Christian world; these include a system for determining the dating of Easter, a style of monastic tonsure, a unique system of penance, and the popularity of going into "exile for Christ". Additionally, there were other practices that developed in certain parts of the Celtic world, but which are not known to have spread beyond a particular region. Rituals associated with Celtic Christianity are now almost completely lost, though two books, the Bobbio and the Stowe Missals, contain the Irish Ordinary of a daily Mass in late, Romanized form.

The term "Celtic Church" is deprecated by many historians as it implies a unified and identifiable entity entirely separate from the mainstream of Western Christendom. Others prefer the term "Insular Christianity". As Patrick Wormald explained, “One of the common misconceptions is that there was a ‘Roman Church’ to which the ‘Celtic’ was nationally opposed.” Celtic-speaking areas were part of Latin Christendom as a whole at a time in which there was significant regional variation of liturgy and structure with a general collective veneration of the Bishop of Rome that was no less intense in Celtic areas.

Nonetheless, it is possible to talk about the development and spread of distinctive traditions, especially in the sixth and seventh centuries. Some elements may have been introduced to Ireland by the Briton St. Patrick, later others spread from Ireland to Britain with the Irish mission system of Saint Columba. The histories of the Irish, Welsh, Scots, Breton, Cornish, and Manx Churches diverge significantly after the eighth century (resulting in a great difference between even rival Irish traditions).

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[Mary of Bethany]

St Columba's Feast Day was yesterday.

Troparion - Tone 5

By your God-inspired life
You embodied both the mission and the dispersion of the Church,
Most glorious Father Columba.
Using your repentance and voluntary exile,
Christ our God raised you up as a beacon of the True Faith,
An apostle to the heathen and an indicator of the Way of salvation.
Wherefore O holy one, cease not to intercede for us
That our souls may be saved.

Mary

 

[Catherineanne]

St Cuthbert, c. 634–20 March 687

Patron Saint of Durham and all those from Durham, buried at Durham Cathedral.




Cuthbert of Lindisfarne - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[LiturgyInDMinor]

St Columba's Feast Day was yesterday.



Mary

It sure was.

 

[AoibhinnGrainne]

We lived in Ely, England for three years; my Daughters attended the Cathedral School there.

Princess Etheldreda, daughter of King Anna, a prominent member of the ruling family of the Kingdom of East Anglia, was born in 630. She wanted to be a nun but agreed to a political marriage with a neighbouring King, Egfrith, on condition that she could remain a virgin. When the King tried to break the agreement, she fled back to Ely, where, as well as founding a religious community, she also built a magnificent church on the ruins of one founded by the efforts of St Augustine himself but laid waste by war.

Etheldreda was quite a revolutionary. She set free all the bondsmen on her lands and for seven years led a life of exemplary austerity. After her death in 679, devotion to her spread rapidly, as people received help and favours through what they were convinced was her powerful intercession in Heaven. And when, through popular demand, it was decided to remove her to a more fitting tomb, it was found that even after 15 years in wet earth her body was still in a perfect state of preservation. When the Normans began building the present Cathedral at Ely and moved her body in 1106, it was again reported to be still incorrupt. That was nearly 450 years after her death.

If you go to Ely Cathedral today, there is an inscription on the floor marking the location of her shrine, -


HERE STOOD THE SHRINE OF ETHELDREDA, SAINT AND QUEEN, WHO FOUNDED THIS HOUSE AD 673

 

[Etsi]

I would like to see St Margaret become accepted by the EO...she is one of those Saints that is being reviewed as she was born "pre-schism" and died "post-schism", but while the British Isles were still fairly Orthodox.

 

[Sphinx777]

St Margaret

Saint Margaret of Scotland

 

[LiturgyInDMinor]

Good stuff guys!

 

[Thekla]

Here is the life of St. Oran (Odhran):

Today the calendars commemorate Saint Odhran, whom tradition associates with Saint Patrick's household. Indeed, Saint Odhran is credited with being Saint Patrick's chariot driver and of willingly accepting martyrdom to save the life of his master.

... continued here Under the Oak: Saint Odhran 19 February

Here is a picture of St. Oran's Chapel (Reilig Oran) on the island of Iona
(this is the "other" St. Oran, who some say preceded St. Columba to Iona, and is buried there).

Also, Synaxis Press publishes a 10 volume set on the Lives of Saints for (older) children. Vol 5 is dedicated to the Orthodox Saints of the British Isles:
Synaxis Press

 

[LiturgyInDMinor]

Here is the life of St. Oran (Odhran):

... continued here Under the Oak: Saint Odhran 19 February

Here is a picture of St. Oran's Chapel (Reilig Oran) on the island of Iona
(this is the "other" St. Oran, who some say preceded St. Columba to Iona, and is buried there).

Also, Synaxis Press publishes a 10 volume set on the Lives of Saints for (older) children. Vol 5 is dedicated to the Orthodox Saints of the British Isles:
Synaxis Press

Awesomely breathtaking!

 

[LiturgyInDMinor]

Saint Tochumra is the patron of women in childbirth. She is venerated as a virgin in the former diocese of Kilmore in County Cavan, Ireland. Nothing more is known of her.

 

[Mary of Bethany]

We commemorated St. Kevin of Glendalough in Liturgy last Thursday. I didn't know anything about him, but there's a lot of information, including hymns for him, on Kevin of Glendalough - OrthodoxWiki.

Our venerable father Kevin of Glendalough, Wonder-worker of Ireland (also Coemgen, Caoimhghin, Coemgenus, and Kavin) was the abbot of Glendalough Monastery. He was born in 498, and fell asleep in the Lord in 618 at the age of 120 years. His feast day is celebrated on June 3.

 

[Thekla]

We commemorated St. Kevin of Glendalough in Liturgy last Thursday. I didn't know anything about him, but there's a lot of information, including hymns for him, on Kevin of Glendalough - OrthodoxWiki.

Our venerable father Kevin of Glendalough, Wonder-worker of Ireland (also Coemgen, Caoimhghin, Coemgenus, and Kavin) was the abbot of Glendalough Monastery. He was born in 498, and fell asleep in the Lord in 618 at the age of 120 years. His feast day is celebrated on June 3.

Thank-you !

Our oldest daughter loves this Saint !
(Conciliar Press has a lovely children's book on him )

 

[Mary of Bethany]

Nice! I really like that Icon because of the Gaelic alongside the English. Not that I know Gaelic or anything, I just like the fact that there are icons in Gaelic now.

Our choir director speaks Irish Gaelic, and she sings Gaelic music so beautifully!

Mary

 

[Thekla]

Nice! I really like that Icon because of the Gaelic alongside the English. Not that I know Gaelic or anything, I just like the fact that there are icons in Gaelic now.

Our choir director speaks Irish Gaelic, and she sings Gaelic music so beautifully!

Mary

Oh ! what a treasure to hear ! The language itself seems like music

There was such a risk of Irish dying out, before the Gaeltachts were protected and other measures taken. Now, to have someone in the US who knows it !