The organisation of the early Irish church is a hotly disputed matter. The
traditional view, as presented by scholars like Kathleen Hughes, is that
the early Irish church was organized on territorial, diocesan lines but
that by the 7th century this model had been replaced by a structure
dominated by networks of powerful monasteries. This is because Ireland
being outside the Empire (Roman!), didn't have the same political and
social infrastructure to facilitate the successful implantation of a
territorially based diocesan system. More recent work, particularly that of
Colman Etchingham, qualifies this on the grounds that the sparse source
material is not conclusive on this matter. While there is no doubting the
importance of monasticism in early Irish christianity and the influence of
monastic paruchiae, the tendency now is to see the Irish model as a variant
of the situation of the church elsewhere in early medieval Europe.
It appears however that the church was initially supported by taking over
the lands previously occupied by pagan sanctuaries and this may be at the
root of the legend about Loman and Trim. In many cases these pagan
sanctuaries provided the first clergy as well and a number of local deities
went to bed gods and woke up saints.
All these legends about Irish Saints seem to need treatment with more than
usual caution; I'm still recovering fromn the shock of being told last
Thursday that my monastic patron, St Colman Mac Duagh of Kilmacduagh in
South Galway(29th October/3rd Feb)appears to be nothing more than a
localization of the cult of St Columba in my home area. It will certainly
make writing a pious article about him for the parish magazine all that
more dfficult!
-----Original Message-----
From: Pardon E. Tillinghast [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 14 March 1999 18:09
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: FEAST 17 February
Carolyn: I'm interested in this 'Loman': were you saying he needed to be
given LAND in order to found a new bpric? I thought that in the early
Irish church bprics were based on TRIBES, not on land; the idea of a
territorial bpric surely wasn't usual in Ireland at that time, was it?
Pardon Tillinghast
On Sun, 14 Mar 1999, CA Muessig wrote:
> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 1999 14:56:12 +0000 (BST)
> From: CA Muessig <[log in to unmask]>
> Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: FEAST 17 February
>
>
>
> Today, 17 February, is the feast of ...
>
> * Theodulus and Julian, martyrs (309)
> - Eusebius tells the story of these two men who were
> martyred in the wake of the killing of fellow martyrs
> Elias, Jeremy and companions (see FEAST 16 February)
>
> * Loman, bishop (c. 450?)
> - nephew of St Patrick, he accompanied his uncle to
> Ireland, and was granted land at Trim on which to found a
> new bishopric
>
> * Fintan of Cloneenagh, abbot (603)
> - an early source declares: 'Generous Fintan never consumed
> during his time aught save the bread of woody barley and
> muddy water of clay'
>
> * Finan, bishop of Lindisfarne (661)
> - an Irish monk of Iona, he succeeded St Aidan and became
> Lindisfarne's second bishop; active in conversion of the
> Middle English and the East Saxons
>
> * Silvin, bishop (c. 720)
> - worked in the north of France, preaching to non-
> Christians; spent much time and effort in ransoming slaves;
> for forty years he lived solely on herbs and fruit, and ate
> no bread
>
> * Evermod, bishop of Ratzeburg (1178)
> - converted to religious life by St Norbert, he first
> assisted Norbert in Antwerp (home of medieval-religionist
> Marleen Boel-Cre), then eventually became head of abbey
> dedicated to the Virgin Mary in Magdeburg, before becoming
> bishop, in which office he became known as an apostle of
> the Wends
>
> * Reginald of Orleans (1220)
> - one of the first Dominicans, he received the vision from
> the Virgin Mary that he and his companions should where the
> white woollen scapular; the first of the original group of
> Preachers to die, he was buried in Paris, in Notre-Dame-
> des-Champs
>
> * Luca Belludi (c. 1285)
> - Franciscan preacher, who was greatly responsible for
> popularizing the cult of St Antony of Padua
>
> * Andrea d'Anagni (1302)
> - related to popes Alexander IV and Boniface VIII, he left
> his noble lifestyle behind and became a Franciscan
> laybrother
> - a little anecdote for our list's vegetarian members (and
> others) ...
> 'One day, when [Andrea] was ill and unable to take his
> ordinary food, a friend brought him some roasted birds. The
> saint, touched with pity at the sight of the innocent
> creatures, would not eat, but, making the sign of the cross
> over them, commanded them to resume their feathers and fly
> away. He was instantly obeyed, and the little birds,
> restored to life, took flight with chirps of joy.'
>
> * Pietro da Treia (1304)
> - one of the early Franciscans, his life was marked by
> tireless preaching and by many visions and levitating
> ecstasies
>
> * William Richardson, martyr (1603)
> - the last to be martyred during the reign of Queen
> Elizabeth I
>
> ******************
> Dr Carolyn Muessig
> Department of Theology and Religious Studies
> University of Bristol
> Bristol BS8 1TB
> UK
> phone: +44(0)117-928-8168
> fax: +44(0)117-929-7850
> e-mail: [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
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