March 17 marks the feast day of Saint Patrick – Bishop of
Armagh and Enlightener of Ireland. This may come as a surprise to many
that St. Patrick was and is an Orthodox Saint centuries
before Rome split from the Holy Apostolic Church.
The rule of thumb for Orthodox Christians is that a Latin
Christian who lived after the Great Schism of 1054, while they may have lived
exemplary lives, are not saints in the full sense of the Church’s
understanding. But because he lived from c. 385 to 17 March 460/461
Patrick is considered part of the undivided Church and therefore is an Orthodox saint.
St. Patrick’s Life
The name “Patrick” is derived from the Latin “Patricius”
which means “highborn.” He was born in the village of Bannavem
Taburniae. Its location is uncertain; some scholars place it on the west
coast of England, while others place it in Scotland. His father was
Calpurnius, a Roman Decurion (an official responsible for collecting taxes) and
a deacon in the church. His grandfather, Potitus, was a priest.
This means that Patrick had a solid Christian upbringing and
was well acquainted with the refinements of Roman civilization. But he
lived on the edge of civilization at a time when the Roman Empire was under
siege by barbarians. When Patrick was sixteen he was kidnapped by
pirates, taken to Ireland, and there sold as a slave. He was put to work
as a herder of swine on a mountain in County Antrim.
Looking back on his youth, he recounts:
I was at that time about sixteen years of age. I
did not, indeed, know the true God; and I was taken into captivity in Ireland
with many thousands of people, according to our deserts, for quite drawn away
from God, we did not keep his precepts, nor were we obedient to our priests who
used to remind us of our salvation. (Confessio §1)
Although Patrick had a Christian upbringing, he took his
faith for granted. This complacency would be shaken by the calamity of
being taken into exile. For the next six years he spent much of his time
in solitude and prayer which would prepare him for life as a monastic. During
this time Patrick also learned the local language which would prepare him for
his future work as a missionary bishop.
But after I reached Ireland I used to pasture
the flock each day and I used to pray many times a day. More and more did the
love of God, and my fear of him and faith increase, and my spirit was moved so
that in a day [I said] from one up to a hundred prayers, and in the night a
like number. . . . (Confessio §16)
His escape from slavery resulted from two visions. In
the first vision it was revealed that he would return home. The second
vision told him his ship was ready. He then walked two hundred miles to
the coast, succeeded in boarding a ship, and reunited with his parents.
Sometime later Patrick studied for the priesthood under St.
Germanus in Gaul (France).
Eventually, he was consecrated as a bishop and
entrusted with the mission to Ireland. Patrick had a dream in which he
heard the Irish people begging him to come back to them. There were other
missionaries in Ireland but it was St. Patrick who had the greatest
success. For this reason, he is known as “The Enlightener of Ireland.”
Evangelizing the Irish people was not an easy task.
The Irish populace regarded him with hostility and disdain. He was a
foreigner and, worst yet, a former slave. Despite the opposition, Patrick
persevered in his missionary calling and baptized many into Christ. This
resulted in churches and monasteries all across Ireland.
In his autobiography Patrick described his motivation for
doing missionary work:
I am greatly God’s debtor, because he granted me
so much grace, that through me many people would be reborn in God, and soon
after confirmed, and that clergy would be ordained everywhere for them, the
masses lately come to belief, whom the Lord drew from the ends of the earth,
just as he once promised through his prophets: ‘To you shall the nations come
from the ends of the earth. . . . (Confessio §38)
St. Patrick’s missionary labors would result in a blessing,
not just to the Irish, but to humankind as well. How the Irish Saved
Civilization by Thomas Cahill tells how Ireland became an isle
of saints and scholars, preserving Western civilization while the Continent was
being overrun by barbarians.
American culture has been richly blessed by the presence of
the Irish. In the US, March 17th has become something close to
a national holiday. While in many instances St. Patrick’s day has become
more of an excuse for partying, it can also be made into an occasion for
renewing our faith in Christ.
Lessons From the Life of St. Patrick
One, Patrick was blessed with being born
into a family of committed believers but had drifted away from God. He
saw his captivity as punishment for his earlier sins but also as an opportunity
to return back to God. Similarly, we need to remember to be vigilant in
our spiritual life but also to be mindful that God can use hardships as a means
of spiritual growth.
Two, life is often more fragile than we
know. Patrick lived on the edge of Roman civilization where life was
often far from stable or secure. He was among the thousands who were
taken captive by the barbarians. For those of us who feel like the world
as we know it is on the verge of collapse, we need to remember God rules over
human history even while this sovereignty seems hidden from our eyes.
Patrick lived in a time when the Roman world was under siege
by barbarian forces and at a time when a new Christian society was
emerging. In 410 Rome was sacked by Alaric and soon after that the
western half of the Roman Empire slid into the dark ages. But thanks to
Emperor Constantine’s foresight the Roman Empire continued in the New Rome of
Constantinople which was founded in 330. Roman civilization would endure
another thousand years in the East until the Ottoman conquest in 1453.
Three, God worked through the tragedies in
Patrick’s life. Patrick’s abduction took him away from his Christian
surroundings into an unreached people group. His time as a slave gave him
a knowledge of Irish culture and language that would later enable him to preach
Christ. The practical skills acquired now can be used for God’s kingdom
in the future.
Four, trials and hardship can become a
means of spiritual growth. The lonely work as a goatherd prepared Patrick for
the monastic life of solitude and prayer. In our life are hidden
opportunities for prayer and meditation waiting to be discovered.
Five, the earlier hardships gave Patrick an
inner toughness and steadfastness that would enable him to preach Christ in the
face of fierce opposition. Rather than complain about our current
hardships we can allow them to teach us the inner strength to persevere and
prepare us for some future task ordained by God.
Six, Patrick’s life and mission teach us
the importance of the Great Commission to Orthodox Christianity. The
Christian faith is broad and catholic, it is meant for all peoples, not just
for particular ethnic groups.
Finally, I would be remiss
not to notice the challenge Saint Patrick presents to our Protestant friends
who are so interested in the early church fathers and the lives of the
pre-schism saints. This interest is also based on the fact that these
saints did not embrace Rome’s later innovations like forbidding priests to
marry, Mary’s immaculate conception or her being co-redemptrix for our
salvation, papal supremacy over all bishops, and papal infallibility. St.
Patrick (385-460/461) lived around the time of other great saints like Ambrose
of Milan (c. 339-397), Augustine (354-4300, Basil the Great (c. 329-3790,
Athanasius (329-373), Jerome (c. 345-c. 419), Cyril of Jerusalem (c. 310- c.
386).
Saint Patrick embraced the Orthodoxy of his day, e.g., the Liturgy,
the office of the bishop, the first and second Ecumenical Councils, the Nicene
Creed without the Filioque, the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and
monasticism. It is commendable that Protestants are using St. Patrick to
rediscover their historic roots, but one should stop to ponder whether it is
wise to pick and choose their heroes of the faith. Are they doing it
because it is the cool thing to do today or because it is part of Holy
Tradition? Wouldn’t it be better to embrace the Holy Tradition taught and
proclaimed by St. Patrick? And wouldn’t it be wiser to embrace the entire
communion of saints recognized by historic Orthodoxy? Wishing you all a
blessed St. Patrick’s Day! Text above excerpted from
an article by Robert Arakaki titled “Is Saint Patrick an Orthodox Saint?” www.orthodoxbridge.com
Pasting postings about St. Patrick from the Ortho Thought for the
Day blogspot:
