Dr. John (Ellsworth) Hutchison-Hall

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

            

Orthodox Saints of the Pre-Schism See of Rome

ACTINEA and GRAECINA of VOLTERRA, two martyrs of the Diocletianic Persecution (303–313). No further information is extant.

AURELIAN, Archbishop of Arles (southern France), and Papal Vicar of Gaul (France) from 546 until his repose in 551. While Archbishop, St. Aurelian founded a monastery for women and another one for men, and assisted at the Fifth Council of Orléans which was held in October 549.

AUREUS, JUSTINA, and COMPANIONS of MAINZ, (Date Uncertain), St. Aureus was a Bishop of Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany) who was murdered at the altar by Huns whilst saying the Mass. His sister St. Justina, and all in attendance were slaughtered at the same time.

BERTHALDUS (BERTAUD), an anchorite in the Ardennes region (north-eastern France), St. Berthaldus was priested by St. Remigius (1st October). The village of Chaumont in the Archdiocese of Rheims, France grew up around his titular abbey and church. St. Berthaldus reposed circa 540.

CETTIN (CETHAGH) of ORAN, St. Cettin was a disciple of St. Patrick of Ireland (17th March), who consecrated him bishop to assist with the latter’s apostolic work. St. Cettin reposed in the fifth century; his shrine at Oran, Co. Roscommon, Ireland survived until the end of the eighteenth century.

COLMAN MCROI, (Sixth Century), St. Colman was a deacon and disciple of St. Columba of Iona (9th June) and the founder, circa 530, of a monastery on Lambay Island, off the coast of north Co. Dublin in Ireland.

CURIG of WALES, it is generally believed that St. Curig was a sixth century Bishop of Llanbadarn in Wales, where there are several churches dedicated to him. It is extremely difficult to accurately trace his history. Even distinguishing him from other saints bearing similar names is problematic.

FELIX and MAURUS of SAN FELICE, (Sixth Century), father and son originally from the Holy Land who, after a pilgrimage to Rome, settled at the place now called San Felice, after St. Felix, near Narni in central Italy. A few sources list them as bishops, albeit without further details.

FERREOLUS and FERRUTIO of BESANÇON, St. Ferreolus, a priest or possibly a bishop, and Ferrutio, a deacon, were two brothers sent by St. Irenaeus of Lyons (28th June) to preach the Gospel in Besançon and environs near the present-day border of France and Switzerland. After a very fruitful three decades evangelising, SS. Ferreolus and Ferrutio were martyred circa 212.

ISMAEL of MENEVIA, (Sixth Century), St. Ismael was a disciple of St. Teilo of Llandaff (9th February), and was consecrated bishop by him. No further information on his life remains.

SIMILIAN (SAMBIN) of NANTES, St. Gregory of Tours (17th November) testified to the holiness of St. Similian, the third Bishop of Nantes (western France). He reposed 310.

SIMPLICIUS of BOURGES, a layman whose reputation for holiness of life led to him being chosen Bishop of Bourges (central France). St. Simplicius was a staunch defender of the Church against the Arian Visigoths, he reposed in 477.

URSICINUS of RAVENNA, the reliability of extant acta of St. Ursicinus is questionable. However, according to tradition, St. Ursicinus was a physician in Ravenna (northern Italy) who was arrested and sentenced to death for being a Christian. Whilst in prison awaiting execution, St. Ursicinus is said to have struggled with the temptation of renouncing Christ, but encouragement from St. Vitalis of Milan (28th April) gave St. Ursicinus the strength to accept martyrdom, circa 67.

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.