Orthodox Saints of the Pre-Schism
See of Rome
30th October (NS) — 17th October (OS) 2024
ÆTHELBERHT of EASTRY and ÆTHELRED of EASTRY, brothers of St. Æbba (19th November), and grandsons of St. Æthelberht (24th February), King of Kent (r. 560–616). According to the Kentish Royal Legend (which, though it dates from the mid-eleventh century is generally considered to be reliable), these pious youths were killed (circa 640) by a royal retainer by the name of Thunor who wished to secure the succession of his patron King Ecgberht I († 673) to the throne by eliminating them from the line. They were venerated as martyrs soon after their repose, and it is said many miracles (the details of which are lost to us) were attributed to them. Their relics were translated to Ramsey Abbey in Huntingdonshire, England circa 978–92.
ANSTRUDIS (AUSTRUDE, AUSTRU) of LAON, daughter of St. Salaberga (22nd September), the founding-Abbess of the Abbey of St. John the Baptist (abbaye Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Laon) in Laon, Picardy (northern France). St. Anstrudis entered monastic life along with her mother and succeeded her as Abbess. During the time St. Anstrudis was Abbess, the tyrannical Mayor of the Palace of Neustria, Ebroin (†680/1) was maliciously persecuting the church and in addition to the tribulation he inflicted directly on St. Anstrudis and her community, Ebroin also was responsible for the assassination of her brother St. Baldwin (16th October). St. Anstrudis reposed in 688.
BERARIUS of LE MANS, a Bishop of Le Mans (north-western France). St. Berarius is best remembered for translating the relics of St. Scholastica (10th February) from Monte Cassino to Le Mans. St. Berarius reposed circa 680.
COLMÁN of KILROOT, (Sixth Century), a disciple of St. Ailbe of Emly (12th September), and later Abbot-Bishop of Kilroot near Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim in present-day Ulster.
![Orthodox Icon of St. Ignatius of Antioch, (Θεοφόρος [Theophoros]](https://drjohnhutchisonhall.com/wp-content/uploads/Ignatius_of_Antioch.png)
Icon of St. Ignatius of Antioch,
(Θεοφόρος [the God-bearer])
FLORENTIUS of ORANGE, the eighth Bishop of Orange in the south of present-day France. He was known for his piety, generosity, scholarship, and relentless defence of the faith against heresies. St. Florentius reposed circa 526.
IGNATIUS of ANTIOCH, (Θεοφόρος [Theophoros] "God-bearer"), the Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer was the second Bishop of Antioch, Succeeding St. Euodius of the Seventy (7th September). After refusing to make sacrifices to pagan idols (circa 107), Emperor Trajan ordered that St. Ignatius be transported to Rome, and be thrown to wild beasts in the amphitheatre. During the journey to Rome, St. Ignatius composed a series of letters which are an archetype of early Christian theology. The relics of St. Ignatius are enshrined at St. Peter's in Rome.
Troparion of St. Ignatius of Antioch — Tone IV
By sharing in the ways of the Apostles,
you became a successor to their throne.
Through the practice of virtue, you found the way to divine contemplation, O inspired one of God;
by teaching the word of truth without error, you defended the Faith, even to the shedding of your blood.
Hieromartyr Ignatius, entreat Christ God to save our souls.
Kontakion of St. Ignatius of Antioch — Tone III
The stirring celebration of your victorious fight
Is an announcement of the One who is to be born of the Virgin.
In your eagerness to possess Him forever,
You hastened to be devoured by the wild beasts.
Therefore, O glorious Ignatius, you were called the bearer of God!
LOUTHIERN, (Sixth Century), an Irish saint who is the patron of St. Ludgran in Cornwall, England. Beyond his name and connexion to Cornwall there is no information on this saint extant. It is highly possible he is the same saint as the possibly apocryphal St. Luchtigern (28th April) who is said to have been Abbot of Inneistymon, and associated with St. Íte (Ita) of Cluain Credail (Killeedy) (15th January).
NOTHHELM (NOTHELM) of CANTERBURY, the eleventh Archbishop of Canterbury from 735 until his repose in 739. Held in great esteem by St. Boniface of Mainz (5th June), he was also a great friend of St. Bede the Venerable (25th May). St. Nothhelm gathered source material from Canterbury, and the Papal Library, and did research on the history of Kent and the surrounding area for St. Bede the Venerable’s Historia ecclesiastica. St. Bede the Venerable wrote In regum librum XXX quæstiones (On the Book of Kings, Thirty Questions) in response to St. Nothhelm’s thirty questions on the book of Kings, and may have written De VIII Quæstionibus (The Eight Questions) for St. Nothhelm as well. During his tenure as Archbishop of Canterbury, St. Nothhelm also oversaw the reorganisation of the Mercian (central England) dioceses, established once and for all the diocese of Leicester (east Midlands, England), and served as a witness on the charter of Eadberht I, King of Kent (r. 725–762). St. Nothhelm reposed on 17th October, 739, and was buried in Canterbury Cathedral.
REGULUS (RULE, RIAGAL) of SCOTLAND, (Fourth Century), there are several conflicting versions of St. Regulus’ Life extant; though he is always described as the custodian of the relics of St. Andrew. According to the Scottish tradition, which seems to date only from the twelfth century, St. Regulus, along with a group of nuns, which included St. Triduna (8th October), translated the relics of Apostle Andrew the First-Called from his native Patras in Greece to Scotland. This he did after an angel warned him in a dream that there was a danger of Emperor St. Constantine the Great, (r. 306–337) either invading the city of Patras and taking the relics, or that St. Constantine was simply going to have the relics translated to Constantinople, either way St. Regulus was told he should move the relics as far away as he could to the ‘ends of the earth’ for safekeeping. Landing on the shores of Fife at a Pictish settlement called Kilrymont, which is now St. Andrews, St. Regulus established a monastery for his community. In time monastery became a place of great pilgrimage, and a hospital was even built to care for the pilgrims.
SOLINA of CHARTRES, a maiden from Gascony, who, to avoid marriage to a pagan, fled to Chartres. She was beheaded there circa 290.
VICTOR of CAPUA, a sixth century Bishop of Capua (southern Italy) of whom nothing is known other than a recording of the inscription from his tomb which simply stated that his episcopate of thirteen years ended upon his repose in 554. St. Victor is noted for his learning and sanctity in the Roman Martyrology.
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ÆTHELNOTH (ETHELNOTH, EGELNOTH) the GOOD, once a monk at Glastonbury, in Somerset, St. Æthelnoth went on to serve as Dean of the monastery of Christ Church Priory, at Canterbury. He then served as a Chaplain to Cnut (Canute) the Great, King of England, of Denmark, and of Norway (r. 1016–1035), as well as Dean of Canterbury, prior to being consecrated the thirty-second Archbishop of Canterbury. St. Æthelnoth ruled the See of Canterbury from 13th November, 1020 until his repose circa 29th October, 1038. Often called ‘the Good’, St. Æthelnoth was famed both for his wisdom, and the great skill with which he governed the English Church. Although the Bollandists list St. Æthelnoth in the Acta Sanctorum, and he appears on several other lists of saints, there is no evidence of a cultus ever developing at Canterbury or elsewhere.
ARILDA, (Date Unknown), St. Arilda was a holy virgin who lived in Oldbury-on-Severn, Gloucestershire, England, in the fifth or sixth century. Information on her life is scarce, however, according to tradition, St. Arilda was martyred by a youth named Municus while defending her chastity from him. Two churches in Gloucestershire are dedicated to St. Arilda, one at Oldbury-on-Severn, and the second at Oldbury-on-the-Hill. A shrine to her at St. Peter’s Abbey, Gloucester (the present-day Gloucester Cathedral) was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in England and Wales (1536–1540) by Henry VIII, King of England and Ireland, (r. 1509–1547).
CLAUDIUS of LÉON, LUPERCUS of LÉON, and VICTORIUS of LÉON, Martyrs of León, three brothers who are said—most likely apocryphally—to have been the sons St. Marcellus the Centurion (vide infra). SS. Claudius, Lupercus, and Victorius were martyred in León (north-western Spain), during the Diocletianic Persecution (303–313).
EUTROPIA of NORTH AFRICA, (Date Unknown), there is no reliable information on St. Eutropia extant. However, she is commonly believed to have been martyred in North Africa, most likely during the Valerian Persecution (257–260).
GERMANUS of CAPUA, a friend of St. Benedict of Nursa (11th July), who served as Bishop of Capua (southern Italy) for over 20 years. St. Germanus also served as the Legate of Pope Hormisdas (†523) to Emperor Justin I (r. 518–527), in 519 with a view to ending the Acacian Schism. St. Germanus reposed circa 545, St. Benedict at the moment of St. Germanus' death was blessed with a vision of St. Germanus' soul being carried to heaven.
HERBERT (HABERNE, HERBERN) of TOURS, an Abbot of Abbey of Marmoutier (abbaye de Marmoutier) in Tours (western central France) who later served as an Archbishop of Tours. There is no other information on his life extent.
LUCANUS of LAGNY, all that is known of St. Lucanus is that he was martyred during the fifth century at Lagny, just east of Paris.
MARCELLUS, a Roman centurion stationed at Tingis, Mauretania Tingitana (present-day Tangiers, Morocco), who declared himself to be a Christian and refused to take part in the pagan rituals in honour of the birthday of the Emperor Maximian (r. 286–305). St. Marcellus then removed his belt, weapons, and military insignia. He was immediately arrested and brought to court where he was sentenced to death. This sentence so outraged the court reporter, St. Cassian of Tangiers (3rd December), that he revealed himself to be a Christian as well and was arrest and soon after martyred. As noted above SS. Claudius, Lupercus, and Victorius (vide supra), are said to have been sons of St. Marcellus, however, this is most likely apocryphal.
MARTYRS of NORTH-WEST AFRICA, (Date Unknown), some one to two hundred Christians martyred in Africa Proconsularis during one of the early persecutions of Christians. No further information on their lives is extant.
NANTERIUS (NANTIER, NANTÈRE) of SAINT-MIHIEL, an Abbot of the Abbey of St. Michael (abbaye Saint-Michel de Saint-Mihiel) in Saint-Mihiel (north-eastern France). St. Nanterius reposed circa 1044.
SATURNINUS of CAGLIARI, martyred at Cagliari in Sardinia during the Diocletianic Persecution (303–313). There were reports of extant manuscripts of his Acts as late as the sixteenth century, but none exist today. It is traditionally thought St. Saturninus was beheaded during a pagan festival of Jupiter.
TALARICAN of SCOTLAND, (Sixth or Seventh Century), a missionary bishop in Scotland, working primarily in Aberdeenshire. The Aberdeen Breviary relates an old tradition, which says that whilst St. Talarican was on a pilgrimage to Rome he was consecrated to the episcopacy by St. Gregory the Dialogist (3rd September). Several churches were dedicated to him, none of which has survived, in what is now the Diocese of Moray, Ross, and Caithness of the Scottish Episcopal Church. Nothing further is known of St. Talarican’s life, though Adam King’s Kalendar calls him “bishop and confessor”.
THEONESTUS of PHILIPPI, the most common version of St. Theonestus' life says he was a Bishop of Philippi in Macedonia who was forced into exile by the Arians. He joined with St. Alban of Mainz (21st June) and companions who were sent to enlighten the area around Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany). There, the group was forced to flee in the face of a Vandal invasion, however, the Vandals caught up with them and St. Theonestus was martyred in Altino in Abruzzo (southern Italy). A less common version is that following St. Alban's martyrdom (circa 400), St. Theonestus fled to Abruzzo where he was consecrated Bishop of Altino, and was in 425 martyred by the Arians.
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.