Celtic and Old English Saints 2 February =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * St. Columbanus of Ghent * St. Feock * St. Laurence of Canterbury * St. Ronan of the Isle of Man =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
St. Columbanus of Ghent, Hermit --------------------------------------------- Died February 15, 959. Saint Columbanus was probably an Irish abbot who led his community to Belgium following the constant raids of the Norsemen. On February 2, 957, Columbanus became a hermit in the cemetery near the church of Saint-Bavo at Ghent, where he acquired a wide reputation for holiness. He is buried in the cathedral and is one of the patrons of Belgium (Benedictines, D'Arcy, Fitzpatrick2, Montague). St. Feock, Virgin ----------------------------------------------- Date unknown. Nothing is known of Saint Feock's life but her name is perpetuated by a church dedication in Cornwall, England. She may have been an Irish immigrant. Some have postulated that the name is a variation of Saint Fiace (Fiech; f.d. October 12) or Saint Vougas of Brittany (f.d. June 15) (Benedictines). St.Feock's church, Cornwall http://homepages.tesco.net/~k.wasley/feock.htm St. Laurence of Canterbury ----------------------------------------------- Died 619. Laurence was one of the monks who had accompanied S.Augustine on his mission to the Kingdom of Kent and, once King Ethelbert was baptised and the Christian Faith was firmly established in his kingdom, he became the Archbishop's chief assistant. Augustine was worried that in the event of his death the new converts might return to paganism and so he consecrated Laurence as his coadjutor bishop to succeed him when he died. Laurence was industrious when he became Archbishop and renewed Augustine's efforts to win over the Celtic Church to the customs of the Roman, but the mission suffered a severe setback, for with the death of Ethelbert the people of Kent began to fall away from their new faith. This was largely due to Eadbald, the new king, who had not followed his father in becoming a Christian and had offended against Church law by marrying his stepmother. The remonstrations by the Archbishop only served to make the king more determined in his heathen practices and Laurence began to despair, deciding with his fellow bishops, Mellitus of London and Justus of Rochester, to abandon the English nation as beyond redemption. Mellitus and Justus left the country and Laurence was to follow them on the next day. For his last night he had a bed prepared in the abbey church before the High Altar, and after he had said his prayers he went to sleep. At the dead of night he was awoken by a vision in which the Apostle Peter scourged him with a great whip, asking him the reason for his desertion. "Why do you forsake the flock committed to you?" he asked. "To what shepherds are you leaving Christ's sheep, who are among wolves? Have you forgotten my example, who for the sake of these little ones that Christ gave me as a token of His affection, suffered at the hands of unbelievers chains, beatings, imprisonment, tortures and finally crucifixion that I might be crowned with Him?" In the morning Laurence went to Eadbald and showed him the scars of the beating that he had received, and the King was horrified to learn that hands had been laid upon such a holy man, demanding to know who had presumed to use him so. When the Archbishop told him, the King was greatly impressed and, renouncing his marriage, was baptised into the Christian Faith. Mellitus and Justus returned, and St. Laurence continued to build up the Church of Christ in England. When he died his body was interred in the abbey church, where he had had his vision, and he was remembered by a hospital in the Old Dover Road, which is part of Watling Street, now replaced by the County Cricket Ground still bearing his name. St. Ronan of the Isle of Man ------------------------------------------------------ According to Kneen Marown refers to St Ronan - the prefix 'Ma' (or 'Mo') being just the Irish honorific 'my' (as in my lady). The Calendar of Angus refers to 'Bishop Ronan the Kingly'.. However there are many Ronan's mentioned in the various Martyrologies. A.W.Moore links him with the Scottish Abbot Ronan of Cinngrad (Kingarth) in Bute who died 737 and is commenorated in many places in the Hebrides. The Manx Tradionary Ballad, verse 20, places him as the third Bishop after Maughold and buried in Keeill Ma Rooney i.e. Kirk Marown; thus it is possible that Ronan is a local 'saint' who later became linked with his more famous namesake. http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/fulltext/ballad.htm Connaghan then came next, And then Marown the third; There all three lieth in Marown, And there for ever lieth unmolested Farmer gives four St. Ronans: a Scottish hermit of the 7th century whom tradition claims settled on the island of North Rona where a fine, and unique, oratory of that time still exists. Legend has it he was told to escape the evil tongues of the women of Eoroby (Lewis) and that he was transported to North Rona by whale where he defeated various diabolical assaults on his person. A church dedicated to him stands in Eoroby. A second Ronan is the Scottish bishop of Kilmaroren in Lennox, implausibly identified with the Irish monk who defended the Roman calculation of Easter at Whitby as described by Bede. This Ronan has the 7 Feb feastday and is celebrated by St Ronan's Well at Innerleithen in Peeblesshire, as popularised by Sir Walter Scott, where according to tradition the saint came to the valley and drove out the Devil Two other Ronans are a Bishop who died in Brittany after working in Cornwall and the Bishop celebrated at Canterbury whose monastery possessed an arm as relic - he may be Romanus, deacon and exorcist of Caesarea whose feast day is 18th November. D.H.Farmer The Oxford Dictionary of Saints 1978 Patron saint of Marown Parish http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/parishes/mn/marown.htm Troparion of St Ronan Tone 4 As one endowed with the beauty of speech,/ thou didst Preach Christ's saving Gospel to the inhabitants of Man, O Hierarch Ronan./ Wherefore O Saint, being mindful of the power of words,/ pray that our every utterance may be to the glory of God/ that at the end He will grant us great mercy. Kontakion of St Ronan Tone 6 We sing thy praises, O righteous Ronan,/ praying for grace to emulate thee,/ that the example of our lives/ may proclaim the love of God to those around us. Sources: ===== Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate. (1966). The Book of Saints. NY: Thomas Y. Crowell. Browne, G.F. St. Augustine and his Companions. 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. For All the Saints: http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/ss-index.htm An Alphabetical Index of the Saints of the West http://www.orthodoxengland.btinternet.co.uk/saintsa.htm These Lives are archived at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celt-saints Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celt-saints/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celt-saints/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
