Celtic and Old English Saints 13 May
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* St. Abban of Abingdon
* St. Erconwald of London
* St. Mael of Bardsey
* St. Merewenna of Rumsey
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St. Abban (Abben) of Abingdon
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2nd century. This early saint gave his name to Abingdon, formerly
Abbendun, in Berkshire England. The use of "dun" ("fortress" or "seat")
indicates a Celtic origin, which, if true, would make Abban the earliest
Irish saint. He is saint to have come from Ireland to England, where he
was baptized about 165 AD. He preached effectively and received a
generous land grant in Berroccense (Berkshire) on which he founded a
monastery. Another monastery, funded by Prince Cissa and founded by
Hean, replaced this one in 685 (D'Arcy, Fitzpatrick, Montague,
O'Hanlon).
St. Erconwald (Erkenwald), Bishop of London & Abbot of Chertsey
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Born in East Anglia; died in London, c. 686 or 693; second feast day on
April 30.
Believed to be an early convert of the mission led by S. Mellitus,
Erconwald founded two religious houses on either side of the Thames, on
the pattern that was later adopted by St. Benedict Biscop, when he built
the twin monasteries of S. Peter, Monk Wearmouth and St. Paul, Jarrow.
The abbey Erconwald built at Chertsey he presided over, as Abbot, but
the other, at Barking, he gave to his sister S. Ethelburga, recalling
St.
Hildelid from France to train her in the religious life and to guide her
in the governance of this double monastery of monks and nuns. His sister
remained very close to him and later, when he was Bishop of London, used
to accompany him on his journeys. Latterly, he was incapacitated by gout
and had to be helped into a wheeled litter, the fore-runner of the
Bath-chair, and the remains of this was preserved in Old St Paul's and
shown as a relic.
On the death of St. Cedd, in the plague of 664, Erconwald, who was
descended from the house of Uffa, the royal family of the East Angles,
was recommended by King Sebbi, to Archbishop Theodore, as the new Bishop
of London. His ministry for the next eleven years was to be one of
reconciliation. His diocese still contained some Britons who had
remained, when the land was overrun by the Saxons, but the invaders were
the predominant population. They had received the Christian Faith first
of all through the Roman clergy sent by St. Gregory, but it had been
established by the monks from Lindisfarne under St. Cedd, who were of
the Celtic Church, so the see had a mixed tradition. Moreover, there was
a certain amount of resistance to the reforms being introduced by St.
Theodore, and Erconwald had a share in healing the divisions in the
English Church as a whole, for the quarrel between Wilfrid and Theodore
was finally settled in Erconwald's house just before the Archbishop's
death.
St. Erconwald's sanctity and peacemaking earned him an enduring place in
the hearts of Londoners, and there are also many stories of miracles. A
curious tale has been preserved of how, during the rebuilding of St
Paul's, a coffin was discovered containing the body of a man wearing a
crown and with a sceptre in his hand. There was no indication to whom
this well preserved body belonged and, on the following day, St.
Erconwald said mass for him and then asked who he was. The corpse
immediately replied that he had been a judge of the New Troy, the
legendary name for London, and because he was so renowned for his
exemplary judgements he had earned the name of King of the Judges. The
bishop asked him where he was now, and the judge answered that, because
he had died without baptism, he was denied entrance into the Eternal
City. St. Erconwald was so distressed by this that he began to weep
saying how much he wished that he could have baptised him in the Name of
the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Some of the tears fell
upon the face of the righteous judge, and with a great cry of joy, he
thanked the saint for releasing him from his earthly state by the
washing with tears in the Name of the Trinity, and straight away his
body disintegrated into dust.
St. Erconwald died at his sister's abbey at Barking, and there was
contention between the priests of St Paul's and the monks of Barking as
to where he was to be buried. A great storm broke out, and there was
flooding of the river, but then the sun broke through the clouds,
seeming to point a golden path to the Cathedral. His body was interred
in the crypt, but when the church was rebuilt in 1148 it was translated
to a shrine behind the High Altar. It was a favourite place of
pilgrimage until the sixteenth century and his feast day was kept on
April 30th, the day of his death, with great splendour. November 14th
was observed as the feast of the translation (Baring Gould, Bowen,
Stanton, Shortt).
Icon of Saint Erconwald
http://www.orthodoxengland.btinternet.co.uk/erkenwal.htm
St. Mael (Mel, Mahel) of Bardsey
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6th century. Saint Mael followed Saint Cadfan (f.d. November 1) from
Brittany into Wales, where he became one of the solitaries of the isle
of Bardsey (Benedictines).
Troparion of St Mael tone 5
O holy Mael,/ worthy disciple of Bardsey's Founder Cadfan/, and hermit
on the Isle of Saints:/ together with thy fellow monastics/ who have
attained to glory,/ pray for us to Christ our God/ that He grant us His
great mercy.
St. Merewenna (Merwenna, Merwinna) of Rumsey, Abbess
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Died c. 970; original feast day was February 10, feast of translation is
October 23.
Merewenna was the first abbess of Rumsey convent in Hampshire, when it
had been restored under King Edward the Peaceful (or Edgar?) refounded
it in 967. Under her direction the monastery prospered and attracted
princesses, including Saint Elfleda (f.d. October 23) by whom she lies
in the abbey church (Benedictines, Farmer).
Sources:
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Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate.
(1947). The Book of Saints. NY: Macmillan.
Bowen, Paul. When We Were One: A Yearbook of the
Saints of the British Isles Complied from Ancient Calendars.
D'Arcy, M. R. (1974). The Saints of Ireland. Saint Paul,
Minnesota: Irish American Cultural Institute.
Farmer, D. H. (1997). The Oxford Dictionary of Saints.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Fitzpatrick, B. (1922). Ireland and the Making of Britain. New
York: Funk and Wagnalls.
Montague, H. P. (1981). The Saints and Martyrs of Ireland.
Guildford: Billing & Sons.
O'Hanlon, J. (1875). Lives of Irish Saints, 10 vol. Dublin.
Roeder, H. (1956). Saints and Their Attributes, Chicago: Henry
Regnery.
Shortt, L. M. (1914). Lives & Legends of English Saints.
Methuen & Co. Ltd.
Stanton, R A. (1887) Menology of England and Wales.
Burns & Oates.
