Orthodox Saints of the Pre-Schism
See of Rome
11th November (NS) — 29th October (OS) 2024
COLMÁN of KILMACDUAGH, upon completion of his education at St. Enda of Aran’s (21st March ) monastery on Inis Mór (Inishmore) one of the Aran Islands off the western coast of Ireland, and ordination to the priesthood St. Colmán went to live as a hermit at Arranmore, an island off the west coast of Co. Donegal, north-western Ireland. There he built two churches, which form the present ruins at Kilmurvey. At some point, St. Colmán reluctantly accepted elevation to the episcopacy and founded Kilmacduagh Monastery. Kilmacduagh was the foundation of the modern Roman Catholic Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh, and Kilfenora. St. Colmán reposed 632. Though the Martyrology of Donegal lists his feast as being 2nd February, for as long as can be recalled, the practice of the Diocese of Kilmacduagh has been to keep it on the date of his repose 29th October.
Troparion of St. Colmán of Kilmacduagh — Tone VIII
Rejecting the nobility of thy birth, O Father Colmán,/
thou didst seek God in the solitude of desert places./
Thy virtue like a beacon, drew men unto thee/
and thou didst guide them into the way of salvation./
Guide us also by thy prayers, that our souls may be saved.
ERMELINDA (ERMELINDIS) of MELDAERT, an anchoress in Meldaert in present-day Belgium who reposed circa 595. St. Ermelinda's relics are enshrined in Meldaert.
EUSEBIA of BERGAMO, niece of St. Domnio of Bergamo (16th July). Like her uncle, St. Eusebia was martyred by beheading during the Diocletianic Persecution (303–313).
HYACINTH, QUINTUS, FELICIAN, and LUCIUS, Martyrs of Lucania, (Date Unknown), nothing more than the names of these martyrs has survived to the present. They were martyred at Lucania—present-day Basilicata—in the south of Italy.
JOHN of AUTUN, (Date Unknown), a Bishop of Autun in Burgundy (east-central France) who has been venerated since time immemorial along with the other bishops of that See who are numbered amongst the saints. Nothing further is known of St. John's life.
KENNERA, (Fourth Century), a Scottish anchoress from whom Kirkinner, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland gets its name. There is no record of St. Kennera's existence, aside from a brief mention in the Acta Sanctorum by the pre-eminent hagiographic scholars of the Société des Bollandistes (the Bollandists) and listing in Forbes’ Kalendar of Scottish Saints.
Troparion of St. Kennera — Tone VIII
Bright beacon of purity and Light of Galloway, O holy Kennera,/
as thou didst preserve thyself in virginity for love of Christ,/
pray to Him, that despite our corrupt condition
He will grant us great mercy.
SIGOLINUS (SIGHELM) of STAVELOT, a seventh century Abbot of the Princely Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy (Fürstabtei Stablo-Malmedy) in present-day southern Belgium. St. Sigolinus reposed circa 670.
STEPHEN of CAIAZZO, an Abbot of the Territorial Abbey of San Salvatore Maggiore in the present-day Diocese of Reiti, north-east of Rome. In 979, St. Stephen was consecrated Bishop of Caiazzo (southern Italy). St. Stephen reposed 1023.
TERENCE of METZ, an early sixth century Bishop of Metz (north-east France). He is remembered for his devotion to maintaining orthodox doctrine in the face of the heresies of the day. St. Terence reposed in 520.
THEODORE (THEUDAR) of VIENNE, a disciple of St. Caesarius of Arles (27th August). St. Theodore was a priest in the Diocese of Vienne (south-eastern France), as well as abbot of one of the monasteries in that See. In addition to the great amount of time St. Theodore spent caring for the poor, sick, and imprisoned, he also is responsible for the building of several churches and monasteries in the diocese. In the final years of his life, St. Theodore lived as a hermit in the church of St. Laurence in Vienne, where he reposed circa 575.
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BARTHOLOMEW of ROSSANO, though born in Rossano, Calabria (south-western Italy), St. Bartholomew was of Greek ancestry. He was a disciple of St. Nilus the Younger (26th September) and received monastic tonsure and was one of the founding monks at the Monastery of Santa Maria (Greek Abbey of Saint Nilus) in Grottaferrata, part of present-day metropolitan Rome in Italy. Following St. Nilus' repose in 1005, St. Bartholomew became Abbot finishing the work St. Nilus had begun at Grottaferrata; to the point that St. Bartholomew is often referred to as the 'second founder'. In addition to the construction, education, and manuscript work which took place during his abbotship, St. Bartholomew also convinced the depraved Pope Benedict IX to finally resign the Papacy, renounce his claims to it, and to live out the rest of his life in penance as a humble monk at Grottaferrata. St. Bartholomew reposed in 1065.
BERTUIN (BERTHUIN) of MALONNE, an Anglo-Saxon bishop who emigrated to the area that is present-day Malonne near Namur in Belgium, where he established a church and abbey. St. Bertuin reposed circa 698.
CYNFRAN of WALES, (Fifth Century), a son of the great King St. Brychan of Brycheiniog (6th April), St. Cynfran founded of a church at Llysfaen, Clwyd, Wales, where there is a holy well known as Ffynnon Gynfran (St. Cynfran’s Well). St. Cynfran is patron saint of Llysfaen.
Troparion of St. Cynfran of Wales — Tone VIII
Today we rejoice, celebrating in thine honour, O Father Cynfran,/
and, as thou hast bestowed on countless generations the miracle of healing,/
intercede with Christ our God for the healing and salvation of our souls.
Icon of St. Martin of Tours
MARTIN of TOURS, born in Upper Pannonia to a pagan Roman officer and his pagan wife, St. Martin was raised in Pavia in Lombardy (northern Italy). In his early teens he became a catechumen, and at 15 joined the Roman Imperial Army. Though he was initially assigned to a ceremonial unit, later St. Martin was made a cavalry officer, and posted to Gaul. Probably the most well-known story of St. Martin is of him encountering a beggar at Amiens and cutting his cloak in half St. Martin gave half to the beggar. Later his had a vision of Christ wearing the cloak. After leaving the army, St. Martin became a disciple of St. Hilary of Poitiers (13th January) and lived as a hermit just south of Poitiers (west-central France) for a decade. During this time other monks gathered round St. Martin's hermitage, forming the nucleus of what became the Abbey of St. Martin of Ligugé. In 372 St. Martin was consecrated the third Bishop of Tours (west-central France). Shortly after consecration St. Martin founded a monastery at Marmoutier 3km / 2mi outside the walls of Tours, where he lived for the duration of his episcopacy and life. St. Martin had the gifts of prophecy and wonderworking and was the first non-martyr to have a cultus of sainthood develop. St. Martin reposed in 397, initially he was buried, by his request, in the paupers' cemetery, however, his relics were later enshrined in the Basilica of St. Martin, Tours (Basilique Saint-Martin de Tours).
MENNAS of SANTOMENNA, (Sixth Century), a sixth century hermit at Santomenna (south-western Italy).
RHEDIW, (Date Unknown), Eglwys Sant Rhedyw (Church of St. Rhedyw) in the village of Llanllyfni, Gwynedd, Wales is dedicated to St. Rhediw. Nothing further is known about this saint.
VALENTINE of RAVENNA, FELICIAN of RAVENNA, and VICTORINUS of RAVENNA , Martyrs of Ravenna, three Christians martyred at Ravenna circa 305. Nothing further is known of them.
VERANUS, a fifth century Bishop of Lyons (east-central France) of whom nothing further is known.
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.