Oh this is brilliant, I'm so excited for this! We do have a spiritual amnesia in this country RE the huge collective faith that once exisited- back when a pilgrimage to Walsingham was on par with going to the Holy Land!
We can learn so much from these saints, and I've often thought that it's interesting that the Catholic Church (I'm Catholic) in England looks so towards the European Catholic saints, particularly those post the Victorian era during the emancipation of Catholicism. Wonderful saints such as Thèrése of Lisieux and Our Lady of Lourdes, but we have yet to rediscover our ancient saints, further back than even the Reformation martyrs. I hope that as a Church, we will do! There are so many ancient saints from the north of England too- my favourite being a hermit who lived on a little island in the Lake District- St Herbert. Have you come across the Litany of English saints, published on the Walsingham website? It's so striking how many there are and how few I recognise.
Thank you for this wonderful series- it's going to be such a gift to anyone and everyone who wants to know more about these forgotten saints.
Thank you Sophia! It is indeed tragic that we have collectively forgotten our own spiritual heritage. I am so looking forward to sharing this series, and to learning more about these saints myself. I haven’t seen the Litany of English Saints but it sounds like a wonderful resource so I will definitely look it up.
So excited you are writing about some of these absolute powerhouses! I have fallen in love with them so much since moving to the UK and wish their stories were more well-known… Winefried, Etheldreda, Bertha, Edith, Hilda, Eia, and so many more I want to know more about.
Thank you Kerri! St Winifred will be the first saint we look at…I got married in Shrewsbury abbey which was the location of her relics and shrine for centuries!
I'm over the moon about this series - and what a beautiful, meaningful introduction to it! There is a truly a dearth of concentration on the saints of the British isles (one of many reasons as to why I tend to focus less on the modern liturgical calendar - whatever the denomination - and more on Medieval liturgical calendars).
Also, love your foray via footnote into the early canonization-adjacent process with the translation of remains. So much of that context is lost on us today, but I think it brings about some really interesting regional, grass-roots perspectives in Christian tradition.
I'm so excited!! I'll be here with bells on!
(Also - wishing you and your husband all the best on your faith journey, as you rediscover your spirituality in new - and ancient - ways! I didn't grow up going to church, and very much appreciate the process.)
Thank you so much Kristin, I am so blown away by the positive response to this series, I really wasn’t sure how many people would share my interest so I’m thrilled! I’m starting to feel quite passionately that the Medieval period is misunderstood and unappreciated (even the word medieval is used as a pejorative) so I really appreciate the work you do on the Medieval liturgical calendar, I was taught so little about the liturgical year growing up so it feels quite daunting sometimes and you break it down so well.
The Medieval calendar is truly underappreciated! That era is so misunderstood…not that I pretend to “understand” it, but I think there’s a lot of beauty and wisdom there that we’ve lost sight of over the years.
Thanks so much for your kindess…it’s really lovely to bump into kindred spirits here!
Oh this is so exciting! A couple of years ago for Christmas my mom gave my husband Aelfric’s *Lives of the Saints* and they are wild and so fascinating. Saint Etheldreda’s was my favorite church when I went to London.
Also just for fun I wanted to share that my first exposure to St. Winifred was a couple years ago in the movie The Green Knight!!! I can't wait to learn more from your upcoming post about who she actually was! lol
I have loved learning more about her. Sadly her memory is very neglected now, but the Exeter Orthodox Church has an icon of her and we remembered her during the Divine Liturgy on Sunday.
Becca, you and your husband are on the right path home to the one holy catholic and apostolic Church of Jesus Christ, which is the Orthodox Church.
I follow Paul Kingsnorth; now I’m going to follow you, too.
You might contact Bp. Irenei, ROCOR bishop of Britain, with doctorates from Oxford. He is doing similar research into ancient British saints, I’ve heard.
(Lawrence Wheeler, Anglo-American and former Anglican priest of the Nippon Seikokai; convert to Orthodoxy.)
One, holy, catholic, and apostolic: The Four Marks of the Church, also known as the Attributes of the Church, describes four distinctive adjectives of traditional Christian ecclesiology as expressed in the Nicene Creed completed at the First Council of Constantinople in AD 381.
Thank you Haley! I was a bit nervous about pivoting like this but I figured my audience were smart enough to see why this doesn’t actually feel like a huge change of direction for me…and I knew that you would definitely see the connection.
My tour guide for New Grange in Ireland last year told us that the Celts of Ireland had a golden age while the rest of Europe was in the dark ages. These Celts traveled to Europe and established the first monasteries and centers of learning. Since the Celts did not write things down, they do not get credit for this groundwork in culture and religion. I am not a historian and have not pursued this topic since my trip. However, I do believe there is so much more to know, and I also love Paul Kingsnorth’s work on wells. Thus, given its proximity to Ireland, finding wells in England makes sense to me. There is also the well in Glastonbury, but perhaps a different time period.
Thank you for commenting, I have only read a very little about Celtic Christianity but I know there is some disagreement amongst scholars regarding the term and what it means. Certainly it seems true that Irish monasteries were centres of learning and scholarship and they definitely had a huge impact on the course of British Christianity, sending lots of missionaries and monks across to areas that are now Scotland and England.
I’m excited for this series! I have a particular affinity for these saints, especially St. Winifred as I have a Winifred of my own. She was delighted to see her patron in the stain glass image you shared.
Oh this is brilliant, I'm so excited for this! We do have a spiritual amnesia in this country RE the huge collective faith that once exisited- back when a pilgrimage to Walsingham was on par with going to the Holy Land!
We can learn so much from these saints, and I've often thought that it's interesting that the Catholic Church (I'm Catholic) in England looks so towards the European Catholic saints, particularly those post the Victorian era during the emancipation of Catholicism. Wonderful saints such as Thèrése of Lisieux and Our Lady of Lourdes, but we have yet to rediscover our ancient saints, further back than even the Reformation martyrs. I hope that as a Church, we will do! There are so many ancient saints from the north of England too- my favourite being a hermit who lived on a little island in the Lake District- St Herbert. Have you come across the Litany of English saints, published on the Walsingham website? It's so striking how many there are and how few I recognise.
Thank you for this wonderful series- it's going to be such a gift to anyone and everyone who wants to know more about these forgotten saints.
Thank you Sophia! It is indeed tragic that we have collectively forgotten our own spiritual heritage. I am so looking forward to sharing this series, and to learning more about these saints myself. I haven’t seen the Litany of English Saints but it sounds like a wonderful resource so I will definitely look it up.
So excited you are writing about some of these absolute powerhouses! I have fallen in love with them so much since moving to the UK and wish their stories were more well-known… Winefried, Etheldreda, Bertha, Edith, Hilda, Eia, and so many more I want to know more about.
Thank you Kerri! St Winifred will be the first saint we look at…I got married in Shrewsbury abbey which was the location of her relics and shrine for centuries!
I'm over the moon about this series - and what a beautiful, meaningful introduction to it! There is a truly a dearth of concentration on the saints of the British isles (one of many reasons as to why I tend to focus less on the modern liturgical calendar - whatever the denomination - and more on Medieval liturgical calendars).
Also, love your foray via footnote into the early canonization-adjacent process with the translation of remains. So much of that context is lost on us today, but I think it brings about some really interesting regional, grass-roots perspectives in Christian tradition.
I'm so excited!! I'll be here with bells on!
(Also - wishing you and your husband all the best on your faith journey, as you rediscover your spirituality in new - and ancient - ways! I didn't grow up going to church, and very much appreciate the process.)
Thank you so much Kristin, I am so blown away by the positive response to this series, I really wasn’t sure how many people would share my interest so I’m thrilled! I’m starting to feel quite passionately that the Medieval period is misunderstood and unappreciated (even the word medieval is used as a pejorative) so I really appreciate the work you do on the Medieval liturgical calendar, I was taught so little about the liturgical year growing up so it feels quite daunting sometimes and you break it down so well.
The Medieval calendar is truly underappreciated! That era is so misunderstood…not that I pretend to “understand” it, but I think there’s a lot of beauty and wisdom there that we’ve lost sight of over the years.
Thanks so much for your kindess…it’s really lovely to bump into kindred spirits here!
Oh this is so exciting! A couple of years ago for Christmas my mom gave my husband Aelfric’s *Lives of the Saints* and they are wild and so fascinating. Saint Etheldreda’s was my favorite church when I went to London.
Thank you Amelia, I really appreciate the encouragement. I need to read Aelfric myself, I’m currently re-reading Bede and am so enjoying it.
Also just for fun I wanted to share that my first exposure to St. Winifred was a couple years ago in the movie The Green Knight!!! I can't wait to learn more from your upcoming post about who she actually was! lol
I am excited to learn about St. Sidwell! I am definitely interested. Thank you for the work you are doing!
I have loved learning more about her. Sadly her memory is very neglected now, but the Exeter Orthodox Church has an icon of her and we remembered her during the Divine Liturgy on Sunday.
Becca, you and your husband are on the right path home to the one holy catholic and apostolic Church of Jesus Christ, which is the Orthodox Church.
I follow Paul Kingsnorth; now I’m going to follow you, too.
You might contact Bp. Irenei, ROCOR bishop of Britain, with doctorates from Oxford. He is doing similar research into ancient British saints, I’ve heard.
(Lawrence Wheeler, Anglo-American and former Anglican priest of the Nippon Seikokai; convert to Orthodoxy.)
Thank you for your kind comment Lawrence. I will look up Bp. Irenei, thank you.
Look again. The catholic Church of 381 was headed by the Pentarchy. Rome had primacy of honor but not universal supremacy.
One, holy, catholic, and apostolic: The Four Marks of the Church, also known as the Attributes of the Church, describes four distinctive adjectives of traditional Christian ecclesiology as expressed in the Nicene Creed completed at the First Council of Constantinople in AD 381.
Last time I looked AD 381 was Roman Catholic.
You're 'stack took a turn but I love it and can see how it's all connected :) We need the ladies of the past. What a great project!
Thank you Haley! I was a bit nervous about pivoting like this but I figured my audience were smart enough to see why this doesn’t actually feel like a huge change of direction for me…and I knew that you would definitely see the connection.
My tour guide for New Grange in Ireland last year told us that the Celts of Ireland had a golden age while the rest of Europe was in the dark ages. These Celts traveled to Europe and established the first monasteries and centers of learning. Since the Celts did not write things down, they do not get credit for this groundwork in culture and religion. I am not a historian and have not pursued this topic since my trip. However, I do believe there is so much more to know, and I also love Paul Kingsnorth’s work on wells. Thus, given its proximity to Ireland, finding wells in England makes sense to me. There is also the well in Glastonbury, but perhaps a different time period.
Thank you for commenting, I have only read a very little about Celtic Christianity but I know there is some disagreement amongst scholars regarding the term and what it means. Certainly it seems true that Irish monasteries were centres of learning and scholarship and they definitely had a huge impact on the course of British Christianity, sending lots of missionaries and monks across to areas that are now Scotland and England.
I’m excited for this series! I have a particular affinity for these saints, especially St. Winifred as I have a Winifred of my own. She was delighted to see her patron in the stain glass image you shared.
Thank you Allison! Winifred is such a lovely name, so glad your daughter enjoyed the image of her namesake.
STOKED TO KEEP UP WITH THIS SERIES
Thank you! I'm absolutely blown away by how many people seem as excited for this series as I am!
So excited for this! Thanks Becca!