Celtic and Old English Saints 5 November =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * St. Kanten of Wales * St. Kea of Devon and Cornwall * St. Bertila of Chelles =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
[ JULIAN CALENDAR -- These lives can be received on the Julian Calendar if desired. Please write to me at emrys @ globe.net.nz ] St. Kanten (Cannen) of Wales ---------------------------------------------------------------- 8th century. Founder of Llanganten Abbey (Brecknock) (Benedictines). St. Kea, Bishop of Devon and Cornwall (Kay, Ke, Kenan, Quay) ---------------------------------------------------------------- 6th century. The British saint Kea left his name to Kea in Cornwall and Landkey in Devon, where he is still venerated. He passed some of his life and died in Brittany, where he is venerated as Saint Quay (at Saint-Quay in northern Brittany and Saint-Quay-Portrieux near Saint Brieuc). The details of his life are very uncertain; however, it is possible that as Kea, Fili, and Saint Ruadan (f.d. April 15) travelled from Glastonbury into Devon and Cornwall they founded churches and monasteries. Less certain is Kea's noble parentage and association with Saint Gildas (f.d.January 29), who is said to have made his bells (Benedictines,Farmer). In art he is depicted as a bishop ploughing with seven stags (in pictures from Brittany); sometimes waters gushes from a rock that he has struck (Roeder). Saint Kea is invoked against toothache (Farmer). Another Life < http://homepages.tesco.net/~k.wasley/stkea.htm > About the Fifth century, a young Irish monk watched with anguish as his brother monks sailed away from the southern shore of Ireland to preach the word of God to the heathen in England. Such was his distress at being left behind that he fell in a swoon while praying upon a hollow granite boulder and, on wakening, found to his amazement that his kneeling Stone was floating. This continued to do, day and night through storm and tempest, until it finally drifted gently ashore on the bank of the river Fal at what is known as Churchtown Creek. There he founded a monastery. His name was Kea. History There was indeed a young monk named Kea, also known as Che, Lan-te-Ke, and Landegea, and he was one of the lesser known Cornish Saints. He was a son of noble parents and was admitted to the priesthood at an early age because of ability in the sciences, rising quickly to the dignity of Bishop. However, he gave up position , distributed his wealth to the poor, and took up the life of a hermit. While praying for guidance, he was told to seek a bell with which he should travel until such time as it rang of its own accord. Obeying this instruction he found a bell-founder Gildas, who made him a bell with which he travelled until he crossed an inlet from the sea and entered a forest. There the bell rang, and there he built a chapel and cells for himself and his companions. There he stayed for some years until , after the settlement of a dispute with a certain Theodoric, he received money sufficient for him to enlarge the establishment to a full monastery. After this he went to Brittany, where he eventually died at Cleder on the first Saturday in October, about 495. A Holy well dedicated to him is to be found there. A Monastery is Known to have existed at Old Kea in Cornwall. St Kea was probably one of several monks who came from Glastonbury to found centres of Christian worship in the West Country. Among his companions would of been Fili and Rumon. The names of Kea and Fili are also linked in other parts of the west of England, Kea may have been a descendant of Paternus (or Padarn) King of Cornwall, and there are references to links with King Arthur and some of his Knights. His Feast Day is the anniversary of his death, the Sunday after the first Saturday in October, and his help is sometimes invoked to cure toothache. Troparion of St Kea tone 1 Thou wast unsparing in thy missionary labours/ in Brittany and Cornwall, O Hierarch Kea./ As thou didst make the flame of the orthodox Faith burn brightly in the face of defiant paganism,/ pray to God for us,/ that we devote our lives to confronting the paganism of our times/ for the glory of Christ's Kingdom and the salvation of men's souls. St. Bertila (Bertilla) of Chelles, Virgin ---------------------------------------------------------------- Born in Soissons; died c. 705. With the encouragement of Saint Ouen (f.d. August 24), Bertila convinced her parents to allow her to enter the convent at Jouarre, near Meaux, in Brie, France. There she was trained in sanctity at the school of Saint Columbanus (f.d. November 21) and later was received as a professed nun by Saint Thelchildes (f.d. June 28). Bertila was convinced that she could never deserve to be the spouse of Jesus Christ, unless she endeavoured to follow him in the path of humiliation and self-denial. By her perfect submission to all her sisters, she seemed everyone's servant. Her whole conduct was a model of humility, obedience, regularity, and devotion. She held the offices of infirmarian, headmistress of the convent school, and prioress. When Saint Bathildis (f.d. January 30), the English wife of Clovis II, restored the convent of Chelles, she asked the abbess to send to it her most experienced and virtuous sisters. Saint Bertila was made its first abbess and she governed it for half a century. Many placed themselves under her direction, including Queen Bathildis herself, when Clotaire reached his majority. The Venerable Bede writes that many Anglo-Saxon girls, including Saint Hereswitha (f.d. September 3), wife of King Anna of the East Angles, sister of Saint Hilda (f.d. November 17), and mother of Saints, Sexburga (f.d. July 6), Withburga (f.d. July 8), and Ethelburga (f.d. October 12), were also attracted to Chelles under her governance. Thus, two holy queens vied with Bertila to outdo one another in submission, charity, and humility (Benedictines, Encyclopaedia, Husenbeth, Walsh). Lives kindly supplied by: For All the Saints: http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/ss-index.htm Icons of Western Saints http://www.allmercifulsavior.com/icons/Western.html These Lives are archived at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celt-saints ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
