Celtic and Old English Saints 2 May =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * St. Gennys of Cornwall * St. Germanus of Normandy * St. Gluvias of Cornwall * St. Neachtain * St. Ultan of Peronne =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
St. Gennys --------------- Date unknown. Saint Gennys is often confused with Saint Genesius of Arles, but the patron of Cornwall has his own feast today, which may point to the fact that he is a different individual and an obscure, local founder. He may more properly be identified with Saint Genesius the Martyr, whose head was translated on July 19 to Lismore. To add to the confusion, the famous Germanus of Auxerre is also known as Gennys or Genewys (Benedictines, Farmer). Saint Genny's Church in Cornwall http://homepages.tesco.net/~k.wasley/StGennys.htm The church is situated in a dell amongst the high cliffs of the North Cornish Coast that look over the ever-surging sea- High Cliff to the south west towering over "The Haven" is 730 ft high and the tallest in Britain. This secluded isolated spot so solitary for a parish church is because its origins go back to the years of the Celtic Church. Sometime in the mid 7th Century a Celtic Monk (hermit) arrived here, on foot or by boat, and chose our site for its solitude and its ready supply of water. The locals must have been very quickly attracted to the "Holy Man" and he in due time taught them the Christian message and baptised them in his source of water which became known as "The Holy Well" so the site was established as the Holy Place in the locality. A stone cross set up close by & a tiny wooden hut for the priest or monk to live in. The services would be held in the open air. On the right hand -side of the path that leads to the church the green drops away steeply. A careful look down and across, or a jaunt over the grass will reveal an old well - its is not so long ago the water from here was still on domestic use - however this is the spot or very close to it where the Holy Well of St Gennys was located. Here from the 600's people have been baptised. 926 - After King Athelstan's final conquest of Cornwall, it is almost certain a small Saxon church was built on this site and it is possible at this point the dedication to St Genesius probably originates. St. Germanus (Germaine) of Normandy, Bishop Martyr ------------------------------------------------------- Died c. 460. It may be hard to believe that someone named Germanus of Normandy originated either in Ireland or Wales, but it is true. Today's saint was converted by Saint Germanus of Auxerre, whose name he took, when the bishop was visiting Britain. Today's saint worked as a bishop with Saint Patrick and is alleged to have evangelized in Wales, Spain, Gaul, and the Isle of Man. Some regard Germanus as the Apostle of the Isle of Man. He was martyred in Normandy (Benedictines, Montague). St. Gluvias (Glywys) --------------------------- 6th century. Saint Gluvias may have been sent to Cornwall by his brother, Saint Cadoc of Llancarfan. There he laid the foundation for a monastery and a parish commemorates his name (Benedictines). The church stands on the site of the hermitage of its patron, Gluvias, who belongs to that great tide of saints which swept down from Wales and overspilled into Brittany. He is the brother of S.Cadoc, which would make him the son of St.Woolos of Newport and St.Gladys, one of the daughters of Brychan. St.Petroc, the founder of Padstow and Bodmin, was uncle to Cadoc and Gluvias, and St.Keyne would have been their great aunt. St.Keyne gives her name to Keynsham between Bristol and Bath and to the parish in Cornwall between Looe and Liskeard. These family connections are a feature of the Celtic saints, but of St.Gluvias himself we know little except that he chose this fertile valley for his retreat, famous for its flowers as well as its granite. His church looks down over Penryn, which lies at the side of Falmouth, and although it is probably older and more distinguished than its neighbour, it has not grown so large. It now has no church of its own, but once it was a famous place of learning, receiving scholars from Oxford to join the canons of its famous Glasney College, founded by Bishop Bronescombe. It had a great collegiate church, dedicated to St.Thomas of Canterbury, but there are few traces of the church and college buildings, which were once "strongly walled". Glasney College might have become a university if it had survived the sixteenth century, but during the middle ages it had a great influence on the life of the Church in Cornwall, and some of the miracle plays in Cornish, which were composed there, are extant. Among some of the manuscripts that have survived is a reference to St.Gluvias as a martyr, but there is no indication of the manner in which he glorified Our Lord by his death (Bowen, John, Mee). "The Saints of Cornwall" - Catherine Rachel John. "The King's England - Cornwall" - Arthur Mee. The church of Saint Gluvias in Cornwall Present structure dates from1883, with sections from earlier centuries. http://homepages.tesco.net/~k.wasley/St_Gluvias.htm Troparion of St Gluvias Tone 2 O glorious Father Gluvias,/ thou didst bring the light of Christ to Cornwall/ while thy brother holy Cadoc enlightened Wales./ As thou dost intercede for all mankind,/ pray to Christ our God to grant us His great mercy. St. Neachtain ------------------- 5th century. Saint Neachtain was present at the death of his near relative Saint Patrick of Ireland (Benedictines). St. Ultan of Peronne, Abbot Bishop -------------------------------------- Died c. 686. Ultan, an Irish monk like his brothers Saints Fursey and Foillan, went with them on a missionary journey to East Anglia. There, with Fursey, he founded Burghcastle Monastery near Yarmouth but migrated to France and the Abbey of Saint-Quentin, then to Belgium, to escape raiding Mercians. His brother Foillan built and became abbot of Fosses Monastery on land given to him by Blessed Itta and her daughter Saint Gertrude of Nivelles. During this time Ultan was chaplain to Gertrude's convent and taught them chant. He succeeded his brother in the abbacy at Fosses and later he became abbot of a monastery at Perrone, where he died. He was buried in Fosses Abbey (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Montague). Sources: ======== Attwater, D. (1983). The Penguin Dictionary of Saints, NY: Penguin Books. 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. Delaney, J. J. (1983). Pocket Dictionary of Saints, NY: Doubleday Image. Farmer, D. H. (1997). The Oxford Dictionary of Saints. Oxford: Oxford University Press. John, C. R. (1981). The Saints of Cornwall Lodenek Press Ltd. Mee, A. The King's England - Cornwall. (41 vols). Hodder & Stoughton. 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 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/
