Ecumenical Patriarchate
Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain
The Orthodox Church of St. Cosmas & St. Damian
Ipswich Suffolk
British and Irish Saints
(Including saints having a connection with these lands)
"When the Church in the British Isles begins to venerate her own saints, then the Church there will grow" – St Arsenios of Paros. (1877)
JULY
1st Julius and Aaron, Protomartyrs of Wales (c 304).
St Gildas, an historian of the fifth century, wrote of the protomartyrs Alban, and of Julius and Aaron who lived at Caerleon in Wales. They are also mentioned, albeit briefly, by St Bede. Very little is known of them but tradition has it that they were martyred circa 303 AD, probably at Caerleon. This was a large Roman city near Newport on the south Wales coast. Despite so little being known about Julius and Aaron, their veneration was popular in the Middle Ages, though tending to be local.
1st St Serf, Apostle of Western Fife (6th).
He is thought to have been an Irishman who was consecrated bishop by St Palladius. He travelled to Scotland and founded a monastery at Culross. He is the patron of the Orkney Islands, but it is not known for sure whether he actually went there.
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2nd St John (Maximovich), Bishop of Shanghai and Archbishop of San Francisco (1966).
A much loved and widely venerated saint of the twentieth century, St John is especially connected with the USA. St John had to leave Shanghai after the communist takeover of China, and he was appointed Archbishop of Western Europe in 1951. Though based in Paris and Brussels, he visited England, basing himself in London. There are accounts of miracles of healing during visits to England.
3rd St Germanus, Bishop of the Isle of Man (c 474).
For those who may not know, the Isle of Man is an autonomous part of the British Isles located in the Irish Sea. It is not part of the UK and was not part of the EU. It has its own Celtic language (not widely spoken), is self-governing, having its own parliament, the Tynwald, which is claimed to be over one thousand years old. St Germanus was Bishop of Man in the fifth century. He was born in Brittany in the early fifth century and travelled to Ireland to study with Saint Patrick who may have been his uncle. Germanus later spent some time in St Illtud's abbey in southern Wales before returning to Ireland to be ordained by Patrick and sent to the Isle of Man as bishop. He is thought to have died in Normandy in the late fifth century.
5th St Morwenna, Patron of Morwenstow (6th).
Morwenna, one of many local Cornish saints, was a daughter of the Welsh king, Brychan, and St Nectan of Hartland was her brother. She was instructed in the Christian faith in Ireland, and then crossed over to Cornwall, settling in her own hermitage at Hennacliff which was later renamed Morwenstowe (the word ‘stowe’ in Old English means ‘holy place’). She built the village church, dedicated to St John the Baptist, so that the people had a place of worship. A Norman church, perhaps of the late eleventh century, replaced the original church, and was rededicated to St Morwenna and St John the Baptist.
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6th St Sexburga (Seaxburga), Abbess of Ely (c 700).
She was the sister of St Etheldreda, her father was a king, and she married a king, Erconbert. Though a happy marriage which produced four children (including two daughters who are saints), on the death of her husband, Seaxburga sought the cloistered life, and retired to a small monastery she had earlier founded. She later moved to Ely but her desire for a solitary life was not fulfilled since the monastics at Ely obliged her to accept their wish that she be their Abbess. She remained as such until her departure to the Kingdom of Heaven. She was widely venerated until the Reformation.
7th St Palladius of Rome, Bishop in Ireland (c 432).
Palladius was active in Rome and Sicily before being sent to Ireland where he was the first Bishop of the Irish, preceding St Patrick. He also had some missionary success in Scotland. Back in Ireland, he was mainly active in the north and west of the country. The date of his death is conjectural, though 432 as given in the Calendar and Lectionary seems too early.
7th St Hedda, Bishop of the West Saxons (705).
Hedda was born in West Yorkshire and became a monk at the famous monastery at Whitby. He was consecrated Bishop by St Theodore of Tarsus, and was given the see of Wessex which, being so large an area, was later split into two. He established Winchester as the centre of his see. He became the trusted chief advisor to King Ina of Wessex, helping him to organise the legal system in Wessex. St Bede wrote that he was a good and just man, who in carrying out his duties was guided rather by an inborn love of virtue than by what he had read in books. After his repose in the Lord, miracles occurred and he was greatly venerated in the Middle Ages. His relics survived the Reformation and are still in Winchester Cathedral.
7th St Willibald, Bishop of Eichstatt (786).
St Willibald, Bishop of Eichstatt (786). He was born in Essex. His father was probably Richard, King of the Saxons. Having been educated at Waltham Abbey he travelled to the Holy Land and Syria visiting monasteries and hermitages. It was here that he spent some time held prisoner by the Saracens. In 730 he went to Rome and spent the next ten years at Monte Cassino under St Petronax, helping with the restoration of the monastery. Later he was sent to Bavaria to help Boniface with the missionary work there. After being ordained by Boniface he was then consecrated Bishop of Eichstatt and founded a double monastery at Heidenheim. This monastery was first ruled by his brother, Winebald and later, by his sister Walburga. His episcopate lasted 44 years. After a long and fruitful ministry, he died and was buried at Eichstatt. An account of his wanderings in the Holy Land is thought to be the first travel book in the English language.
8th St Edgar the King, ‘’the Peaceable’’ (975).
Edgar was born around 943 or 944 and was the youngest son of King Edmund I. He was educated by St Dunstan and became King at the age of sixteen. As King, Edgar initiated great reforms of both the Church and the Kingdom of England, for example, standardising the coinage. He promoted religion and the religious life and as a result about thirty monasteries were founded during his reign. As a result, England became unified, well governed and prosperous as never before. He also developed trade with countries on the Continent. King Edgar made peace within England and with European powers. He also recalled St Dunstan from exile and had him made Archbishop of Canterbury. The English coronation service proper was drawn up by St Dunstan for the grand coronation of Edgar at Bath Abbey. The order of service devised by St Dunstan drew on the coronation rites of the Holy Roman emperors and of Byzantine emperors and was seen at the recent coronation of His Majesty King Charles III.
9th St Evereld, Abbess of Everingham (c 700).
She was of the royal house of Wessex but little is known about her: what we do know of her comes from the York breviary. The community of which she was abbess grew to about 80 before she died. She had settled on land owned by St Wilfrid at a spot called the Bishop’s Farm which is identified as the village of Everingham, about 18 miles east of York. The village church is dedicated to her.
11th St Sophrony of Essex (the Athonite) (1993).
Our Father in God, Sophrony was distinguished by many exceptional virtues and achievements, as his life reveals. Born in Russia, he later went to Mount Athos and there undertook the solitude and great suffering of ascetic life. Having been ordained to the priesthood he exercised the ministry of spiritual fatherhood in various monasteries there. Afterwards he founded the Stavropegic monastery of St John the Baptist in Essex and served there as a true shepherd of the community, and a spiritual father and guide in Christ. People from all nations came to receive his teaching and warm-hearted care. He reposed on 11th July 1993. It is an inestimable blessing to have had him in our locality in such recent times.
13th St Just, monk in Cornwall (5th).
Very little is known about St Just although some sources suggest that he was one of a group of monks sent to England with St Augustine, by Pope Gregory. St Just, one of the most ancient mining districts in Cornwall may derive its name from St Just, the monk.
13th St Mildred, Abbess of Minster in Thanet (c 700).
Mildred was of the Royal House of Kent. Her mother, in 670 AD, founded a double monastery at Minster-in-Thanet in north-east Kent, and Mildred became its abbess in 700 AD. The monastery was dissolved by Henry VIII and became a private house. In 1937, a group of Benedictine sisters from Bavaria acquired the former abbey buildings, and it continues to be a Benedictine convent.
15th St Swithun, Bishop and Wonderworker of Winchester (862).
Swithun was born in Wessex, England, and was educated at the old monastery in Winchester, where he was ordained. He became chaplain to King Egbert of the West Saxons, who appointed him tutor to his son, Ethelwulf, and was one of the King's counsellors. Swithun was named Bishop of Winchester in 852 when Ethelwulf succeeded his father as king. Swithun built several churches and was known for his humility and his aid to the poor and needy. A long-held superstition declares it will rain for forty days if it rains on his feast day of July 15, but the reason for, and origin of this belief are unknown.
16th Martyr Helier of Jersey (6th).
Little is known for certain about St Helier. He is said to have been born in Belgium, though he eventually crossed to the Island of Jersey. He evangelised the local people but was ultimately killed by pirates. He is the patron saint of Jersey.
17th Child-Martyr Prince Kenelm (c 821).
He was the son of the King of Mercia, King Coenwulf (Kenulf), the kingdom comprising much of central England. His father died when Kenelm was seven years of age. It is said that after some years as King, his elder sister, Quendreda, had him killed so that she could reign as queen. He was very devout and was widely venerated throughout the Middle Ages. He is especially associated with the county of Oxfordshire.
20th St Ethelwida, widow of King Alfred the Great (9th).
Also called Ealhswith, she was a Mercian princess and married King Alfred the Great. She was known for her piety and as a generous benefactor of monasteries. She survived King Alfred on his death in 899, and went into a monastery, dying in 901 (or 902). On the orders of Alfred’s successor, King Edward, she was buried next to King Alfred at the monastery in Winchester.
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24th St Declan (Irish Deaglán), Bishop of Ardmore (5th).
Ardmore is on the south coast of Ireland in Co Waterford. Declan was born in Co Waterford to a royal dynasty. He journeyed to Rome for his education and was ordained priest and bishop by the Pope (it is not known which). On returning to Ireland, he met St Patrick whom he acknowledged as the pre-eminent hierarch in Ireland. They agreed that Declan should advance the Christian faith in the south of Ireland. Accordingly, St Declan established the monastery at Ardmore as his base. He became highly popular and much venerated in the south of Ireland and is esteemed to this day. There are substantial remains of his monastery, with later additions: there is a round tower (characteristic of Irish monasteries), a small cell where he was buried, and a walk to St Declan’s Well. Declan is a popular boy’s name among the Irish and those of Irish origin.
28th St Samson Bishop of Dol in Brittany (c 565).
A Welsh saint, who was born in Glamorgan. He received his education in the famous monastery centre of St Illtud at Llantwit Fawr in South Wales. It was here that he was made a deacon and ordained priest. After a succession dispute, Samson left the monastery to live as a hermit under Piro on Caldey Island, off the coast of Pembrokeshire. He was joined by his father and uncle, and on Piro’s death he was appointed abbot. Later, he was consecrated bishop by Dubricus and travelled through Cornwall and the Scilly Isles founding monasteries and establishing churches. At Dol in Brittany he founded monasteries. He was appointed Bishop of Dol by King Childebert. He was a Celtic travelling monk-bishop.
31st St Neot, Hermit in Cornwall (c 877).
St Neot was English, and a monk at the famed Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset. Quiet and retiring by nature, he was much admired by the brethren of the Monastery. He went on pilgrimage to Rome and was instructed by the Pope to establish a monastery in Cornwall. Pilgrims were attracted to the new monastery due to St Neot’s wisdom and skill in pastoral matters. One person in particular visited him a number of times for counsel, that being none other than King Alfred the Great. St Neot gave his name to a village on the southern edge of Bodmin Moor in Cornwall.
31st Righteous Joseph of Arimathea (1st century).
Joseph is mentioned in all four Gospels. He witnessed the Crucifixion and gained Pilate’s permission to obtain Christ’s body for burial, wrapping it, with spices, in fine linen and placing it in his own tomb. He was a virtuous man who held high office and was a secret believer, for fear of the Jews at that time. It is thought that he came to Gaul along with Philip in order to preach the gospel. From there, according to one tradition, he was sent with twelve missionaries to Britain.