Dr. John (Ellsworth) Hutchison-Hall

Eastern Orthodox Christian theologian, historian, philosopher, and cultural commentator.

            

Orthodox Saints of the Pre-Schism See of Rome

AIGULPHUS (AYOU, AYOUL) of LÉRINS and COMPANIONS, monks at the Abbey of St. Benedict on the Loire (abbaye de Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire — Fleury Abbey) who were sent to retrieve the relics of St. Benedict of Nursia (11th July) from the wreckage of Abbey of Monte Cassino. St. Aigulphus later served as Abbot of the Abbey of Our Lady of Lérins (abbaye Notre Dame de Lérins) on one of the Lérins Islands in the Mediteranian Ocean off the Côte d’Azur in France, where it is said he undertook much needed reforms. His clashes with a local chieftain, led to him being taken, with four of his monks, to an island near Corsica where they were all martyred, circa 676.

AMBROSE of SENS, a Bishop of Sens (north-central France) who reposed circa 455, and about whom no further information is extant.

AUXANUS, known in Milan as Sant'Ansano, where he seems to have served as bishop for two or three years. St. Auxanus has always been held in great veneration as a Saint and an exemplar of an ideal bishop. St. Auxanus reposed in 568.

EUPHEMIA, DOROTHY, THECLA, and ERASMA, Martyrs of Aquileia, (First Century?), SS. Euphemia and Dorothy were the daughters of Valentius, a pagan nobleman in Aquileia (north-eastern Italy), and SS. Thecla and Erasma their Christian cousins. When Valentius heard that his daughters had been baptised, he had them and his nieces arrested. They were subjected to torture, then beheaded, and finally their bodies were cast into a river near Aquileia.

FRUGENTIUS the MARTYR, one of the monks martyred with St. Aigulphus (vide supra) in 675.

Orthodox Icon of Pope St. Gregory the Dialogist, Apostle of the English

Icon of Pope St. Gregory the Dialogist,
Apostle of the English

GREGORY the DIALOGIST (the GREAT), Apostle of the English, the son of St. Sylvia of Rome (4th November), and nephew of SS. Tarsilla of Rome and Emiliana of Rome (5th January), and commonly believed to have been the grandson of St. Felix II, Pope of Rome (1st March). St. Gregory was born in Rome, and having received an excellent secular education, received several high-ranking government appointments, though St. Gregory's true desire was to receive monastic tonsure. Following the repose of his father, he used his inheritance to found six monasteries, including one in Rome dedicated to the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, where he received monastic tonsure. St. Gregory spent some time in Constantinople as an emissary of the Pope of Rome; and upon his return was chosen successor of Pelagius II (†590) as Pope of Rome himself. St. Gregory's Pontificate was notable for many events, in particular sending missionaries to England, which not only brought about the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons, but also for the subsidiary effect of spreading the Faith amongst the Germanic peoples of north-west Europe.

St. Gregory was instrumental in the conversion of the Lombards and Goths, was a supporter of monasticism, and a prolific writer. St. Gregory is credited with the first written record of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts in Latin, and his Dialogues, and Regula Pastoralis are amongst the core works of any reputable theological library. St. Gregory reposed in 604, and his relics are enshrined in the Cathedral of the Holy Apostle Peter in the Vatican.

Troparion of St. Gregory the Dialogist, Pope of Rome — Tone IV

Receiving divine grace from God on high, glorious Gregory,

and strengthened with its power, you willed to walk in the path of the Gospel, most blessed one.

Therefore, you have received from Christ the reward of your labours.

Entreat Him that He may save our souls.

Kontakion of St. Gregory the Dialogist, Pope of Rome — Tone III

Father Gregory, you showed yourself to be an imitator of Christ, the chief Shepherd,

guiding the orders of monks to the fold of heaven.

You taught the flock of Christ His commandments.

Now you rejoice and dance with them in the mansions of heaven.

HERESWITH (HERESWITHA), a princess from Northumbria in England, and sister of St. Hild of Strensall–Whitby (17th November). After being widowed, St. Hereswith received monastic tonsure at the Abbey of Our Lady of Chelles (l'abbaye Notre-Dame-des-Chelles) in present-day Meaux, France. where she lived out the rest of her life, reposing circa 690.

MACANISIUS of KELLS (OENGUS MAC NISSE), according to tradition, St. Macanisius was baptised as an infant by St. Patrick of Ireland (17th March), who later consecrated him first Abbot-Bishop of Connor (sometimes known as Kells, not to be confused with Kells, Co. Meath or Kells, Co. Kilkenny) in present-day Co. Antrim, Ireland. Nothing further is known of his life; St. Macanisius reposed in 514.

MANSUETUS (MANSU, MANSUY) of TOUL, a Bishop of Toul (north-eastern France), widely believed to have been originally from Scotland. St. Mansuetus' work to spread the Faith amongst the local population was so successful that he is regarded as the Apostle of Lorraine. St. Mansuetus reposed circa 350.

NATALIS of CASALE, (Sixth Century), a native of Benevento in Campania (southern Italy), who became a priest in Casale in Piedmont (north-western Italy), and is remembered as a man of great sanctity.

REGULUS (RIEUL) of REIMS, a monk at the Abbey of St. Peter (l'abbaye Saint-Pierre de Resbacum) in Rebais (north-central France). St. Regulus succeeded St. Nivard of Reims (1st September) as Bishop of Reims (north-eastern France) in 673. He served that See until his repose in 698.

REMACLUS, a nobleman from Aquitaine (south-west France), who received monastic tonsure in 625 and shortly thereafter was ordained to the priesthood. St. Remaclus was then appointed by St. Eligius of Noyon (1st December) to serve as the first Abbot of Abbey of SS. Peter and Paul of Solignac (l'abbaye Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul de Solignac) in Solignac, Aquitaine (south-west France). As an advisor to St. Sigebert III (1st February), King of Austrasia (r. 633–656), St. Remaclus persuaded the king to establish the double-monastery of Stavelot and Malmedy (near present-day Liège, Belgium) in 648; and served as the first abbot. In 652 St. Remaclus was appointed missionary Bishop of Maastricht, in present-day Holland. Though relations between his predecessors and the local population had been difficult, to say the least, St. Remaclus was able to establish several monasteries in his See before resigning in 662, and retiring to Stavelot Abbey, where he reposed in 663.

SANDILA (SANDALUS, SANDOLUS, SANDULF) of CÓRDOBA, (Date Uncertain - Probably Mid-Ninth Century), martyred by the Moors in Córdoba. There is no further information extant.

Prior to the Schism the Patriarchate of Rome was Orthodox, and fully in communion with the Orthodox Church. As Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco +1966 said “The West was Orthodox for a thousand years, and her venerable Liturgy is far older than any of her heresies”.

Details of British Saints excerpted from Orthodox Saints of the British Isles.
Details of continental saints from these sources.

In many cases there are several spelling versions of the names of saints from the British Isles. I use the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography version as the primary version with the more prevalent version in parenthesis e.g. Ceadda (Chad) of Lichfield.