Orthodox Saints of the Pre-Schism See of Rome
20th February
BOLCAN (OLCAN), St. Bolcan was baptised by St. Patrick (17th March), who then sent him to study in Gaul. After his return to Ireland, St. Patrick consecrated him Bishop of Derkan (which was most likely near Armoy) in Ulster. St. Bolcan also founded a school in his See, which was one of the most eminent of its day. He reposed circa 480.
COLGAN, a renowned Abbot of Clonmacnoise, and one of the many of his era called ‘the Wise’, St. Colgan was also called ‘the Chief Scribe of the Irish’. He was a friend of the eminent Anglo-Saxon scholar/educator Alcuin of York (†804) and venerated as a saint even during his lifetime. Some of the prayers he composed are still extant. St. Colgan reposed circa 796.
ELEUTHERIUS of TOURNAI, generally considered to have been the first Bishop of his native city of Tournai (in present-day Belgium). Following his consecration St. Eleutherius worked to eradicate the Arian heresy from his See. The Arians responded by killing him in 532. St. Eleutherius’ relics are enshrined in the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Tournai.
EUCHERIUS, a native of Orléans and an extremely educated and God-fearing youth. St. Eucherius received monastic tonsure at the Abbey of St. Peter of Jumièges (l'abbaye Saint-Pierre de Jumièges) in Normandy circa 714. Following the repose of his uncle Suaveric in 721, St. Eucherius was consecrated his successor as Bishop of Orléans. However, conflict with Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia Charles Martel (†741) over the expropriation of church properties led to his exile to Cologne. Initially warmly welcomed in Cologne, St. Eucherius was later exiled to Hesbaye in present-day Belgium, living at St. Trudo's Abbey until his repose in 743.
FALCO, a Bishop of Maastricht who, according to tradition, ruled that See from 495 until his repose in 512.
LEO of CATANIA, known in Sicily as 'St. Leo the Wonderworker'; St. Leo was an eighth century Bishop of Catania in Sicily. His ardent opposition to the iconoclastic policy of Byzantine Emperor Leo III the Isaurian (r. 717–741) led to an order of arrest being issued for St. Leo. He fled to the mountains where he lived the rest of his life as a hermit. St. Leo reposed in 787.
Troparion of
St. Leo of Catania
Tone I
You were shown forth as a resplendent priest,
a teacher of godliness and a wonderworker, blessed hierarch Leo;
by the light of heavenly virtue you were enriched with the power of the Spirit,
and heal the souls and bodies of those who hasten to you.
Glory to Christ who has glorified you!
Glory to Him who has crowned you!
Glory to Him who through you works healing for all!
Kontakion of
St. Leo of Catania
Tone II
With hymns of praise let us crown Leo,
who was consecrated to the Lord from early childhood;
he received grace while still a babe in swaddling clothes.
He is a brightly shining star in the Church:
its valiant defender and firm support!
VALERIUS, (Date Unknown), said by St. Gregory of Tours (17th November) to have been the first Bishop of Couserans in Gascony.
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.