saints stories

mabsoota

i have researched some saints from around the area i grew up in britain.

here are there stories:

1. Saints Aaron and Julius

The first Christians arrived in Roman Britain by 200 AD and
soon after martyrs were recorded as Christians met opposition from the locals
and some of the leaders who objected to the religious challenge of their faith.

Later writes such as the monks Saint Gildas (in 500s) and
Saint Bede (in 700s) have recorded some of their history.

Saint Gildas wrote of the saints Aaron and Julius who were
martyred in a Roman amphitheatre in the town that is now Chester, so it is
clear that they lived and died in an earlier age.

Archaeologists did not find the amphitheatre until its
foundations were discovered in the basement of a house undergoing renovation in
1929. It was eventually excavated before 1960 after funds were raised to dig in
the area and around half of it (partially rebuilt from the foundations that
were discovered) can now be visited without charge. This amphitheatre was built
around 80 AD and enlarged around 200 AD and the post to which victims were tied
is still there (2023) in its centre. It is the largest amphitheatre discovered
so far in Britain.

 

By 689, a church was built next to it (probably because of
the martyrs who were commemorated there) and parts of the old steps which lead from
the amphitheatre to its basement are still visible. This church was demolished and
rebuilt around 1000, at the time of the Norman invasion and it became the
(Catholic) cathedral of the area. Today still stands as Saint John’s church
(currently Anglican) and parts of the old walls remain from Norman times.

refs:

‘The Two Saints Way’, David Pott, Northern Eye Books 2019

Cheshire West and Chester council information signs at the
Roman amphitheatre

mabsoota

sorry - spelling mistake above - should be 'their' stories! i really like this saint:

2. Saint Chad

In the early 600s, Saint Chad desired monastic life and so studied
with Saint Aidan on the Isle of Lindisfarne and in Ireland. He then became an abbot
(head monk) at a monastery in Lastingham in the Yorkshire moors after the death
of his brother who was the previous abbot.

King Oswiu of Northumbria later recommended him to be the
bishop of York.

He preached in all the surrounding areas and famously
refused to ride a horse, as he wanted to travel on foot so that he could meet
more people on his journeys.

There was a political dispute about who should be the bishop
of York, as a previous monk who was expected to become bishop was traveling in
France when Saint Chad was appointed. As a result of the dispute, Saint Chad
resigned his post and returned to Lastingham.

In 669, he was asked by the bishop of Canterbury (then
Theodore of Tarsus) to become the bishop of Mercia (an area which is slightly
larger than the Midlands).

He was known for his humility and Godliness and persuaded
many people to become Christians, including King Wulphere of Mercia, who was
the father of Saint Werburg.

He was buried in the church of Saint Mary in Lichfield, the
site of which later became Lichfield cathedral. His bones were taken from there
in 1500s (in order to protect them from destruction) and they were later found
at Aston Hall near Stone (Staffordshire). They were finally taken to the Roman
Catholic cathedral of Birmingham and were still there at the time of writing
‘The Two Saints Way’ in 2019.

mabsoota

this one i like especially - from my hometown (which i left age 16):

3. Saint Werburg

There was a Christian princess in Kent by the name of
Ermenild, who was desired by a pagan prince called Wulphere, who wished to
marry her and to become the king of Mercia. He proclaimed Christianity in order
to persuade her family that he was a suitable husband for her but he soon
reverted to his pagan ways after the union and ensured that his sons Wulfad and
Rufin were brought up in his religion. However he allowed his wife to bring up their
daughter Werburg as a Christian.

One day Wulfad and Rufin were out hunting and found Saint
Chad, who prevented them from shooting their arrows at the stag they were
aiming at. This got their attention and they went home with him and started to
learn more about Jesus Christ.

After several secret visits, they believed and were
baptised. When their father learnt of this, he was incensed, and ordered them
to be killed and buried under a pile of stones.

The settlement that grew up at the site of their grave was
given the name ‘Stone’ because of this.

Saint Werburg and her mother remained steadfast in their
faith after their death and later Wulphere met Saint Chad, who spent time
teaching him, resulting in Wulphere’s sincere repentance and conversion to Christianity.
He allowed Werberg to enter monastic life and she entered a monastery in Ely where
she was related to the abbess. She later traveled around the area teaching the
people about eternal life through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Wulphere died in 675 and was buried in a
monastery in Hanbury founded by Saint Werburgh.

There was another monastery in Weedon (Northamptonshire)
where Saint Werburg taught the nuns, and it is there that Saint Werburg become
known for her care for geese and other wildlife. Some geese damaged crops that
were growing in one of the monastery’s fields, so she was annoyed and shut them
inside one of the buildings overnight. Having completed their punishment, she
released them the next day, but did not realise one of the geese was missing.
The whole flock of geese flew back to her to protest the loss of one of their
members, and she then found out who had stolen the goose and arranged for it to
be freed to join the rest of the flock.

The date of her death is not recorded, but there was a
Danish (Viking) invasion in 907, resulting in her remains being moved to
Chester to prevent them being scattered and these were placed in a church
dedicated to her and to Saint Oswald (a Christian king who died around the same
time). The church later became the cathedral that currently stands there.

In 1093, a Benedictine monastery was built on that site, but
this was destroyed and then rebuilt to become an Anglican cathedral in 1541.
The current cathedral contains newer buildings also and eventually a shrine was
added to the cathedral for her commemoration in the 1800s.

2 more refs:

https://www.ourladyandstwerburgh.org.uk/the-legend-of-st-werburgh.htmlhttps://www.shrewsburyorthodox.com/local-saints/saint-werburgh/