THE NATIONAL SAINTS OF ENGLAND
1. Introduction
On 21 August 2007, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church officially recognized the Feast of the Saints of the Isles. (See the Service to these Saints on this website under ‘Hisperica Liturgica’ – Western Liturgica). This Feast is in honour of the saints of Great Britain and Ireland. The Feast will be observed, as it already has been for many years in parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia and elsewhere, on the third Sunday after Pentecost.
The Synod also decided that these saints’ names should be included in the Church Menologion, once their lives and exploits have been studied. With the examination of their lives in mind, we have thought to write the following article. We hope that it will contribute to the understanding of local, regional and national saints. In particular, we would like to consider which are the national saints of England and which therefore are of particular significance in the international Orthodox world.
2. Local Saints
The vast majority of the saints of England, nearly 250 out of 300, appear to have received and receive only local veneration, sometimes only in one town or village. As a result, we have few or no details of their lives, indeed sometimes we are not even sure of the forms of their names and when they lived. The Protestant Reformation wreaked havoc with the memory of the saints and blasphemously destroyed most records, relics and shrines.
For example, there are many Archbishops of Canterbury, who were venerated only in Canterbury. We can think of St Justus, St Deusdedit, St Aelfric and St Eadsige among them. Of the multitude of other examples of locally venerated saints, we can give the two brothers both called Arwald (for want of their real names) honoured on the Isle of Wight. Or there is the recently discovered St Beornwald of the Oxfordshire village of Bampton, St Echa of the village of Crayke in Yorkshire, St Huna the Hermit in Cambridgeshire, St Urith of the village of Chittlehampton in Devon, St Wite of Whitchurch Canonicorum, also in Devon, or St Felgild of Farne, for whom we do not even have a date of commemoration.
It should be noted that locally venerated saints are very common among the so-called ‘Celtic’ saints, that is, in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and perhaps especially Cornwall. In fact, we only have detailed and reliable lives for a handful of the thousands here, for example, for Sts Patrick, David, Columba and Columban. In many cases, it is impossible to unravel even how many saints there were in these lands. The details of their names, dates and lives are totally confused, if not entirely lost to us on earth, though not of course in heaven.
As examples of saints venerated only regionally in England, we would mention: Sts Aldhelm, Birinus and Frideswide in Wessex; St Cedd in Essex; St Erconwald in London; St Eanswyth in Kent; Sts Ethelbert, Felix and Fursey (Fursa) in East Anglia. However, our interest here is in those saints who have received nationwide veneration. Some of them have even gone on to be venerated internationally. For instance, in the eleventh century St Botolph was venerated even in Kiev. Since there is now international Orthodox interest in them, who are they?
Before we look at them, we should first make it clear that we are talking of the saints of England, not the English saints. In other words, there is no modern nationalism here. Some of the greatest saints of the English territory, from St Aidan (Irish) to St Alban (a Romano-Briton), St Augustine (Italian) to St Theodore (Greek), were not English. Also, since the period that we are concerned with is mainly well before 1054, we should realize that the historic England we speak of therefore excludes Cornwall.
3. National Saints
Before considering the list below, the following points should be noted:
1. All dates are given according to the Church calendar. Therefore thirteen days should be added to find their date of commemoration in the secular calendar.
2. Names of saints marked with an asterisk (thirteen out of twenty-six) are those for whom sources of information are wholly or mainly to be found in St Bede the Venerable’s A History of the English Church and People.
3. Alternative forms of names are given in brackets after the usual form
4. S denotes that an Orthodox Service exists for the saint (available from this website, together with other services to some locally venerated saints). We would be grateful if readers who know of canonical services to saints, who are listed below as not having services, would contact us. Many of these services have been written by the hymnographer Isaac Lambertson, who has composed services to saints for many Local Churches and from many historical periods.
5. I denotes that an Orthodox icon of the saint exists to our knowledge. We would be grateful if readers who know of canonical icons of saints, who are listed below as not having icons, would contact us. (See Icons on this website for viewing). Many excellent icons have been painted by the iconographer Aidan Hart.
6. R denotes relics (even partial or concealed) in existence. We would be grateful if readers who know of relics of saints, who are listed below as not having relics, would contact us.
An Alphabetical List of Twenty-Six Saints for National Veneration
St Aidan, first Bishop of Lindisfarne* (+ 651), 31 August SI
St Alban, Protomartyr of Britain* (+ 305?), 22 June SIR
St Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr (+ 1012), 19 April SI
St Audrey (Etheldreda), Abbess of Ely* (+ 679), 23 June SIR
St Augustine, first Archbishop of Canterbury, Apostle of the English* (c. 604), 26 May SIR
St Bede the Venerable (+ 735), 26 May SIR
St Benedict, Abbot of Wearmouth* (+ 689), 12 January S
St Boniface (Wynfrith) of Crediton, Apostle of the German Lands (+ 754), 5 June SIR
St Botolph (Botulf), Abbot of Iken (+ 680), 17 June SI
St Chad, Bishop of Lichfield* (+ 672), 2 March SIR + Akathist
St Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne, Wonderworker of Britain (+ 687), 20 March I + Akathist R
St Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury (+ 988), 19 May SI
St Edith of Wilton, (+ 984), 16 September I
St Edmund, King of East Anglia and Martyr, first Patron-Saint of England (+ 869), 20 November SIR
St Edward, King of England and Martyr (+ 978), 18 March SIR
St Edwin, King of Northumbria, Martyr* (+ 633), 12 October I
St Ethelwold, Bishop of Winchester, Father of Monks (+ 984), 1 August S
St Guthlac of Crowland, Hermit (+ 714), 11 April Akathist
St Hilda (Hild), Abbess of Whitby * (+ 680), 17 November SI
St John of Beverley, Bishop of York* (+ 721), 7 May R (Concealed)
St Oswald, King of Northumbria, Martyr* (+ 642), 5 August S
St Oswald, Archbishop of York (+ 992), 28 February S
St Paulinus, first Bishop of York* (644), 10 October S
St Swithin (Swithun) Bishop of Winchester, Wonderworker (+ 862), 2 July SR (Concealed)
St Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury* (*690), 19 September SI
St Wilfrid, Bishop of York (+ 709), 12 October I
4. Lives and Bibliographies
Apart from the thirteen saints whose lives and exploits are described in St Bede the Venerable’s History, who are marked with an asterisk in the list above, all the other saints listed have dependable and sometimes detailed lives. We particularly recommend the Lives of St Cuthbert and St Wilfrid (Penguin Books), St Guthlac (See Orthodox England Vol 11, No I, September 2007).
Several of the above saints have also been widely written on by secular academic historians and have extensive bibliographies. These include in particular Sts Augustine, Bede, Boniface, Dunstan, Edmund and Theodore. For a bibliography of academic sources we recommend The Oxford Dictionary of Saints by a Roman Catholic author, David High Farmer (Oxford 1978 and several later editions)
St Wilfrid has received Orthodox treatment in an excellent book written by an Orthodox priest. See Saint Wilfrid by Fr John Nankivell (SPCK, London 2002). The following sixteen saints also have articles on them in the journal Orthodox England or in books written by the present writer:
For
St Alban, see St Alban, Protomartyr of Britain in Orthodox Christianity
and the English Tradition, pp. 467-8.
For St Alphege, see St Alphege of Canterbury, Martyr and Patriot in
Orthodox Christianity and the English Tradition, pp. 375-379.
For St Audrey, see St Audrey of Ely, Mother of East Anglia in The
Lighted Way, pp. 15-23 and in Orthodox England Vol 2, No
4, pp. 2-6.
For St Boniface, see The 1250th Anniversary: St Boniface of Crediton,
Apostle of the German Lands in Orthodox England Vol 7, No
4, pp.2-7 and Vol 8, No 1, pp. 5-11.
For St Botolph, see From Suffolk to Kiev: St Botolph of Iken
in Orthodox England Vol 5, No 4, pp. 6-11.
For St Chad, see St Chad, Bishop of Lichfield in Orthodox Christianity
and the English Tradition, pp. 436-8.
For St Cuthbert, see St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne: the English St Seraphim
of Sarov in The Lighted Way, pp. 24-30, The English Orthodox Trust,
1999.
For St Edmund, see The Light from the East: St Edmund, England's Lost
Patron Saint in Orthodox England Vol 1, Nos 1-4, reprinted
in The Lighted Way, pp. 33-78.
For St Edward, see St Edward the Martyr and the Destiny of England
in Orthodox Christianity and the English Tradition, pp. 226-236.
For Sts Ethelwold, Dunstan and Oswald, see England's Three Holy Hierarchs
in Orthodox Christianity and the English Tradition, pp. 362-371.
For St John, see St John of Beverley in Orthodox Christianity
and the English Tradition, pp. 387-90.
For St Paulinus, see St Paulinus of York in Orthodox Christianity
and the English Tradition, pp. 380-83.
For St Swithin, see St Swithin of Winchester in Orthodox
Christianity and the English Tradition, pp. 400-407.
For St Theodore, see St Theodore of Tarsus, Maker of England
in Orthodox Christianity and the English Tradition, pp. 305-316.
See also St Theodore, Archpastor and Kingdom-Maker in Orthodox
England Vol 5, No 1, pp. 12-17.
5. A List of Saints for National Veneration in Chronological Order
St Alban, Protomartyr of Britain* (+ 305?)
St Augustine, first Archbishop of Canterbury, Apostle of the English* (c. 604)
St Edwin, King of Northumbria, Martyr* (+ 633)
St Oswald, King of Northumbria, Martyr* (+ 642)
St Paulinus, first Bishop of York* (644)
St Aidan, first Bishop of Lindisfarne* (+ 651)
St Chad, Bishop of Lichfield* (+ 672)
St Audrey (Etheldreda), Abbess of Ely* (+ 679)
St Botolph (Botulf), Abbot of Iken (+ 680)
St Hilda (Hild), Abbess of Whitby * (+ 680)
St Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne, Wonderworker of Britain (+ 687)
St Benedict, Abbot of Wearmouth* (+ 689)
St Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury* (*690)
St Wilfrid, Bishop of York (+ 709)
St Guthlac of Crowland, Hermit (+ 714)
St John of Beverley, Bishop of York* (+ 721)
St Bede the Venerable (+ 735)
St Boniface (Wynfrith) of Crediton, Apostle of the German Lands (+ 754)
St Swithin (Swithun) Bishop of Winchester, Wonderworker (+ 862)
St Edmund, King of East Anglia and Martyr, first Patron-Saint of England (+ 869)
St Edward, King of England and Martyr (+ 978)
St Ethelwold, Bishop of Winchester, Father of Monks (+ 984)
St Edith of Wilton, (+ 984)
St Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury (+ 988)
St Oswald, Archbishop of York (+ 992)
St Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr (+ 1012)
6. A List of Saints for National Veneration in Calendar Order
JANUARY
St Benedict, Abbot of Wearmouth* (+ 689), 12 January
FEBRUARY
St Oswald, Archbishop of York (+ 992), 28 February
MARCH
St Chad, Bishop of Lichfield* (+ 672), 2 March
St John of Beverley, Bishop of York* (+ 721), 7 May
St Edward, King of England and Martyr (+ 978), 18 March
St Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne, Wonderworker of Britain (+ 687), 20 March
APRIL
St Guthlac of Crowland, Hermit (+ 714), 11 April
St Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr (+ 1012), 19 April
MAY
St John of Beverley, Bishop of York* (+ 721), 7 May
St Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury (+ 988), 19 May
St Augustine, first Archbishop of Canterbury, Apostle of the English* (c. 604), 26 May
St Bede the Venerable (+ 735), 26 May
JUNE
St Boniface (Wynfrith) of Crediton, Apostle of the German Lands (+ 754), 5 June
St Botolph (Botulf), Abbot of Iken (+ 680), 17 June
St Alban, Protomartyr of Britain* (+ 305?), 22 June
St Audrey (Etheldreda), Abbess of Ely* (+ 679), 23 June
JULY
St Swithin (Swithun) Bishop of Winchester, Wonderworker (+ 862), 2 July
AUGUST
St Ethelwold, Bishop of Winchester, Father of Monks (+ 984), 1 August
St Oswald, King of Northumbria, Martyr* (+ 642), 5 August
St Aidan, first Bishop of Lindisfarne* (+ 651), 31 August
SEPTEMBER
St Edith of Wilton, (+ 984), 16 September
St Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury* (*690), 19 September
OCTOBER
St Paulinus, first Bishop of York* (644), 10 October
St Edwin, King of Northumbria, Martyr* (+ 633), 12 October
St Wilfrid, Bishop of York (+ 709), 12 October
NOVEMBER
St Hilda (Hild), Abbess of Whitby * (+ 680), 17 November
St Edmund, King of East Anglia and Martyr, first Patron-Saint of England (+ 869), 20 November
Fr Andrew
12/25 August
Afterfeast of the Transfiguration
Janbert, Archbishop of Canterbury
