WESTERN SAINTS FAQ

For an ASCII, older version of this FAQ, see Western Saints FAQ

Contents:

Disclaimer

I will not be spending much time on Western saints that every Orthodox should know and love: Pope St. Gregory, St. Irenaeus, St. Augustine, St. Ambrose of Milan. Italian saints tend to be fairly well known. However, saints from Western Europe other than Italy are poorly known. Being of Dutch, French (Huegenout), and German extraction, I have an active interest in such saints. This will be a very preliminary list of sources of information: pointers to texts containing lists of saints of particular countries, places to acquires Lives (particularly those translated from texts from the same age as the saint), places to acquire icons, and the like. I plan to update it as I get more information. If you send mail to: lieuwen@allegra.att.com I will try to incorporate the improvements in a reasonable time frame.

Information contained is unaudited. I am giving it as I was given it mostly with only a small fraction of this the results of my own research. I will improve errors and ommisions in responce to your feedback.

I am missing some addresses that I do not have on-line. Providing them to me would improve the FAQ.

Reader Daniel Lieuwen

Where do I find Icons of Western Saints?
[as you can see this is sketchy, if you send me more detailed information, like lists available from each source, I will add in; I probably will at some point anyway, but if someone helps out, it'll speed this up]

For more information on icons, see the Less-Common Icon FAQ

  1. St. Vladamir's carries icons of Celtic saints
    St. Vladimir's Seminary Bookstore
    575 Scarsdale Road
    Crestwood, NY 10707
    1-800-204-2665

  2. Holy Transfiguration monastary
    278 Warren Street, Brookline, MA 02146
    800-227-1629
    carries: [I may have missed some]

    Western European Saints

    North American Saints

  3. Various Western saints can be gotten from the "New Age 'Orthodox'" Monastary in Nebraska and are sold at many places including Light and Life under the name "Windows into Heaven". I would urge that those considering buying from this source, consider carefully the warnings about these icons that appeared on the Orthodox mailing list.

  4. St. Mark's (Western Rite) Antiochian Orthodox Church in Colorado has several relevant icons (including all Saints of Britain)

  5. The late Archimandrite David of the Monastery of St Seraphim of Sarov, Walsingham, Norfolk, England, produced icons of several British Saints including Prints of these should be available.

    Mother Seraphima
    Monastery of St Seraphim of Sarov
    3 Bunkers Hill
    Egmere, Walsingham, Norfolk
    Great Britain, NR22 6AZ

  6. St. Deinio's paper icon may be ordered by writing

    the Rev. Dr. Peter J. Jagger, M.A., M.Phil., F.R.Hist.S.,
    Warden and Chief Librarian
    St. Deiniol's Library, Hawarden
    Clwyd, CH5 3DF
    North Wales, Great Britain
    Tel. 0244 532350

  7. The predominantly Russian parish, Mark Markish attends in Boston commissioned an iconographer to paint a large icon of St.Botolph, the patron of the city of Boston (Botolphstown?) in Britain and its American namesake.

  8. An icon of St. Colman, Bishop of Lindisfarne, was obtained from Orthodox America.

  9. vol. 2 of Saints of Anglo-Saxon England (St. Nectarios) has St. Dunstan's icon, but not in color (part of a four volume series by St. Nectarios Press [or at least carried by them], two of which are out). Nina is looking into getting it reproduced in color (asking its owner).

  10. Line drawing icons of many saints of Gaul can be found in Fr. Seraphim Rose's translation of VITA PATRUM

  11. St. Tikhon's Bookstore carries a nice icon of all the saints of North America recognized by the OCA and I believe other North American saints too.

  12. There is a St. Edward [the Martyr] Brotherhood in England in Woking, Surrey, England. They apparantly have some English icons (including St. Edward).

  13. [From: Clive Barbour clive35@BANGOR20.DNET.CO.UK]

    St George Orthodox Information Service
    64 Prebend Gardens
    London W6 0XU
    UK
    Tel/Fax (+44) 181 741 9262
    GOIS publishes many icon prints of British and Irish saints, and recently published as a postcard an icon I had commissioned of three local saints, Columbanus, Gall and Comgall who were associated with Bangor Abbey before evangelising parts of western Europe. The town of St Gallen in Switzerland is named after him and (I think) he might be patron of Switzerland. I have the troparia to all three saints if anyone is interested.

    The chap who runs SGOIS (and edits an occasional newsletter called "Orthodox News") is called Andrew Bond. His latest newsletter listed the following icon postcards of the Saints of the British Isles which he had, but I know he has many more than these, including eastern Saints:

  14. Holy Trinity Monastary (Jordanville) carries a variety of saints of North America. I also found a St. Columba icon there (there was only one and I bought it. I don't know if it is a regular there, but it did have their monastary stamp on its back.)

  15. [From Fr Aidan FrAidan@aol.com] I wonder if you might add the St. Hilarion Calendar to your FAQ as the most exhaustive source of Orthodox Saints who lived in the West before 1054 and who had a veneration prior to the development of the Roman church of today (Rome went back and canonised some folks that lived before 1054 but had no prior tangible veneration at any time back then, ... therefore, we have weeded those cases out of the St. Hilarion Calendar).

    Information for inclusion: 1996 St. Hilarion Calendar
    ISBN 0-923864-10-5
    $8.00 (+ $2postage and handling)
    Available from:

Where do I find Lists of Western Saints of Various Countries?

  1. The annual Calendar published in French by the Fraternite Orthodoxe (based in Paris) contains substantial lists of French saints for each day of the year.

  2. The Calendar produced by the Orthodox Fellowship of St John the Baptist (based in Britain) gives a conservative list of British (including Irish) saints for each day.

  3. The Typicon of St. John of Kronstadt Press may still list Western Saints.

  4. List of Saints of the Netherlands available in St. Herman Calendar

  5. List of Pr-schism saints of Belgium in Orthodox Tradition Vol X Num 4 1993 and Vol XI Num 1 1994

Where do I find Lives of Western Saints?
[The nicely formatted entries are from St. Nectarios' Catalog which I lifted with permission from Nina Seco]

  1. Lives of Western Saints FAQ is another FAQ I put together.

  2. THE LION, a publication of St. Mark's, Denver publishes many articles concerning Western pre-schism saints.

  3. book listing Western Saints is "The Avenel Dictionary of Saints" by Donald Attwater. 1981 Avenel Books New York. Distributed by Crown Publishers by arrangement with Penguin Books Ltd.

  4. Orthodox Life, Orthodox Word, Living Orthodoxy, and True Vine carry lives of Western saints.

  5. Lives of Saints Robert (Rupert) and Erendruda (Erentraud) of Salzburg can be gotten on-line.

  6. Richard Stanton, A MENOLOGY OF ENGLAND AND WALES...1887 was suggested as a nice source of no-longer-copyrighted material.

  7. Butler's Lives of Saints is reputed to be pretty good if you get the "old" edition. The newer edition by Attwater rewrites the lives in accord with "current research", so traditions end up being lost.

  8. The Lord willing, I'll be tracking down information on Lives of Dutch saints (with a name like Lieuwen, I have some prejudice for things Dutch!). I was given some names by Jim Forest, and hope to have more information on this score "soon". Culled fm St Herman calendar

    Boniface (shows up as N. German on the calendar, but the Dutch claim him as their own too-Friesland the ethnic entity spans the national borders)

  9. Lives of Holy Saints Ethelreda, Sexburga, and Ermenhilda of Ely in Living Orthodox March-April 1993 (actual release March 1994)

  10. Sixety Saxon Saints from Anglo-Saxon Book/ Pinner, Middlesex L2.95 May not be an Orthodox source, The Shepherd complained about its tone

  11. Nice books on Celtic saints (of which I purchased Lives of St. Columba and St. Columban through the Valaam Society Bookstore in Chico)

    Llanerch Publishers
    Felinfach, Lampeter
    Dyfed SA48 8PJ
    United Kingdom
    Reprints of (apparantly Anglo-Catholic translations I'd guess) of the second half of the last century. Include the following (and more I believe)

  12. St. Ignatius of Antioch Press
    Post Office: Grace Ministries, Inc.
    6665 Huntley Rd., Suite K
    Columbus, OH 43229
    $4.95 for 40 page books with Troparion, Kontakion, and removable small icon (each has own book) These books come from:

    Stylite Publishing Ltd.
    Hopkins Passage
    Welshpool, Powys
    United Kingdom

    Nina Seco told me that Stylite is out of business, so I don't know how much longer these books will be available. If someone else is publishing them now (or Stylite is back in business), please let me know.

  13. Ancient Christian Writers series (Blue Patristics books) carries Confessions of St. Patrick

  14. Penguin carries:

  15. ST. GREGORY OF TOURS, the great bishop of the Gallic church of the 6th century recorded many miracles and narratives of early saints in 7 volumes, 4 of which are now available in English. These short accounts provide a valuable picture of the early Church.

  16. (AS1) THE SAINTS OF ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND (9- 11th Centuries) by Vladimir Moss. A series of lives of Orthodox martyrs and strugglers from the land of England from the centuries just prior to the Norman Conquest, who are largely unknown to us. SNP

    (AS1) Vol. 1: 19 saints from 779 to 934 with an excellent historical introduction. 112pp. Illus. Paper

    (AS2) Vol. 2: This volume contains seven 10th century saints, including St. Dunstan. SNP 113pp. Paper

  17. (BEN) SAINT BENEDICT OF NURSIA, Revised Edition The Life of St. Benedict from the MENOLOGY of St. Dimitri of Rostov and the liturgical service and akathist translated by Isaac Lambertsen, together with the English text of the Rule of St. Benedict for monasteries. An excellent edition. KRON 80pp. Paper

  18. Floris Series of early Irish and Scottish saints

  19. See section below on writings of the Venerable Bede, several of which have extensive material on Anglo-Saxon saints.

  20. Everyman publishes Anglo-Saxon something or other. I saw it in Border's bookstore in the Cincinnati area (near Tri-County mall). It had several lives in addition to other material. Nina Seco isn't sure if the publisher is still in business or not. Any information in this regard would be appreciated.

  21. Norman Redington's suggestions on the Celtic Church:

  22. [From Norman Redington] Moving to the Anglo-Saxon era, Cambridge University Press publishes B. Colgrave's excellent translations of English Latin writings, including The Life of St. Guthlac, Two Lives of St. Cuthbert, and The Earliest Life of Gregory the Great. These are all actually available in paperback.

Where do I find Lives of Western Saints on Tape?

St. Nectarios Press also carries a variety of tapes including some nice ones on the lives of saints. However, the purchaser should be aware that the tapes contain comments of a polemical and controversial nature that some may find quite offensive, particularly in the Q&Asession. (My priest and myself found both edifying and offensive matters on the tapes personally. Your mileage may vary.) Many of the lives of saints can be bought individually ($5each when last I checked), however. I have found, however, that they will accept back tapes for a full refund within 30 days if for any reason you are dissatisfied, so that limits the risk in trying the material.

For more Orthodox tapes, see my Tape FAQ

Where do I find Writings of Western Saints?

  1. The writings of Western saints can be found in many of the standard patristics sets: Eerdmans' Ancient Christian Writers, Fathers of the Church etc...
  2. Books by the Venerable Bede

  3. (CASS) CONFERENCES by St. John Cassian. Selections from a wonderful work on the ideals of monasticism in the Egyptian and Syrian deserts of the fourth and fifth centuries by a great saint who brought Orthodox monasticism to the West. PAUL 208pp. Paper

  4. (PRF) PROOF OF THE APOSTOLIC PREACHING by St. Irenaeus of Lyon. Presbyter and later Bishop of Lyon in the 2nd century, St. Irenaeus composed this work which is an "exposition" of the apostolic teachings on God and His creatures, the history of redemption, and Christ in the Old and New Testaments. A very important catechetical writing. ACW Vol. 16 PAUL 233pp. Cloth

  5. (WDS) WE DON'T SPEAK GREAT THINGS - WE LIVE THEM, a contemporary rendition of two early Christian works: FIRST APOLOGY by St. Justin Martyr, and OCTAVIUS by Mark Felix. St. Justin's Apology is one of the oldest in existence, describing early worship and baptism services, and the teachings of the early Church. OCTAVIUS describes a lively debate between a pagan and a second century Christian on the Christian Faith. Both are valuable documents for understanding the Church. SCROLL 160pp. Paper

  6. (WKS) THE WORKS OF ST. PATRICK and ST. SECUNDINUS, HYMN ON ST. PATRICK trans. by Ludwig Bieler. Writings by two early fifth century western saints, including letters and sayings of St. Patrick, Canons of a local church council, Patrick's Hymn, known as Lorica, and the Hymn on St. Patrick written by his contemporary, St. Secundinus. Excellent early Christian writings. ACW Vol. 17 PAUL 119pp. Cloth LATER THEOLOGICAL WORKS

  7. (AT) THE APOSTOLIC TRADITION of St. Hyppolytus of Rome translated from the Greek by Gregory Dix and edited by Gregory Dix and Henry Chadwick. This treatise from the early third century provides some of the earliest teachings on church life and order which have come down to us. It is divided into three sections: Part I. Of the Clergy; Part II. Of the Laity and Part III. Church Observances. Contains an extensive historical introduction and discussion of texts, and copious notes. MOR 90pp. Paper

  8. (LAME) THE LAMENT OF EVE by Johanna Manley. Based upon the commentaries by early Church Fathers on the first five chapters of Genesis, this compunctionate lament by our ancestress Eve provides insights on the creation, the image and likeness of God, the tree of life, the fall and expulsion from Paradise, God's love and more... The Epilogue develops themes of love, hope, salvation, restoration through Christ. Complete index and Bibliography for further reading. 154pp Paper

  9. St. Gregory the Great

  10. [From Norman Redington] Among Continental writers, besides those mentioned by Daniel and of course the many editions of Augustine, one thinks of the Loeb Classical Library, inexpensive bilingual texts from Harvard University Press. Among those of Western Orthodox interest are the Epistles of St. Jerome and The Consolation of Philosophy by St. Severinus Boethius.

  11. [From Norman Redington] The Rule of St. Benedict is available in several editions; one I am familiar with is Fr. Luke Dysinger's translation, embedded in a "devotional commentary and workbook" by Norvene Vest entitled Preferring Christ (Source Books CA, Box 794, Trabuco Canyon, CA 92678).

  12. [From Norman Redington] Finally I want to mention the amazing online Augustine Seminar with Related Resources on the World Wide Web. (Among the resources is a brand-new translation of Gregory the Great (Dialogos) Moralia and much material on Augustine, Dialogos, Jerome, Boethius, and others.)

  13. [From H. Paul Jacobson III]

    Orthodox items of interest on the Old Catholic Homepage

  14. St. Boniface (Bonifacius-originally-Winifried, Saint, Abp. of Mainz, 680-755)
    [I'm currently researching St. Boniface's life, so any more material on his life you can suggest would be most appreciated.]

  15. [From David Coomler] Biographical Dictionary of the Saints by F. G. Holweck, published in 1924. It is a good listing of the saints of both the Eastern and Western churches, though it does contain some dating errors, I have noticed.

  16. [John F. Mahoney, Gobnait Container Lines, Inc.] SAINT GOBNAIT OF BALLYVOURNEY

    Here is a source of informatiion which is quite complete and well written dealing solely with the topic of St Gobnait, entire work is in English.

    SAINT GOBNAIT OF BALLYVOURNEY, by Eilis Ui Dhailigh,published 10 May 1983, Irish Messenger Publications, 37 Lower Lesson Street Dublin 2,

    Additional Books dealing with St. Gobnait (Majority of these work are not in English nor are translations available.)

    Daughters of Banda................Helena Concannon
    St. Brigid........................Alice Curtayne
    Owen Roe Neill....................T.S. O'Cathain
    St Gobnet of Ballyvourney.........D.O. hEaluighthe M.A.

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