Saint
Kentigern has been venerated for many centuries as one of the apostles of
Scotland and patron-saint of Glasgow. He is best known in Scotland as Mungo,
which means "darling", or "beloved one". Unfortunately,
very little genuine information on this 6th-century saint has survived. His
later life was composed by a Cistercian monk, Jocelyn of Furness, late in the
12th century, but earlier traditions about the saint are more authentic.
The
future saint was born in about 518 or 528 in Culross in Scotland. His mother
was the holy princess Theneva, who is also venerated as patron-saint of
Glasgow, and a Russian Orthodox parish in Edinburgh is dedicated to her. From
his childhood St. Kentigern became a disciple of St. Serf, a great missionary
among the Picts, who gave him the second name "Mungo". Young
Kentigern began to live a very austere ascetic life and decided to become a
missionary as well. He first began to preach the Gospel in the Cathures region
on the River Clyde, where the city of Glasgow now stands. The ascetic,
following the Irish monastic tradition, fervently prayed day and night, kept a
very strict fast and lived in extreme poverty in a tiny cell, where he slept on
a rock. He often retreated to the River Clyde to pray there for several hours.
With time, he was consecrated the first bishop of the Britons who lived in the
small kingdom of Strathclyde (now the Strathclyde region on the River Clyde).
The bishop worked very energetically, developing his large diocese, building many
churches and monasteries. Specifically, he founded a church in Glasgow, which
was later to become very famous. St. Kentigern served in Strathclyde for 13
years, converting local people to Christ by his preaching as well as by example
of his holy life.
However,
in the year 565 a strong pagan reaction began in that part of Scotland and St.
Kentigern was exiled from the country for a while. According to the tradition,
during the period of exile St. Kentigern first worked for several years in
Cumbria, in present-day north-western England, with the city of Carlisle as its
centre. St. Kentigern is remembered in a number of places in Cumbria to this
day, in particular there is a Greek Orthodox missionary parish in the town of
Keswick, dedicated to local saints: Sts. Bega, Mungo (Kentigern), and Herbert.
Tradition says that after Cumbria, Kentigern travelled to Wales where he worked
for some time with its patron—St. David, and then founded a great monastery in
Llanelwy in north Wales, in the present-day county of Denbighshire. The first
Abbot of Llanelwy after St. Kentigern was Saint Asaph, so, with time, the town
where the monastery was situated became known as St. Asaph (as it is called to
this day). It was recorded that 1,000 monks lived in this great monastery
founded by St. Kentigern at the same time.
St.
Kentigern's Cathedral in Glasgow
Finally,
under the new king of Strathclyde, who supported Christianity, St. Kentigern
was allowed to return to Scotland. On his return, the saint worked for some
time in the place called Hoddom in the Galloway region in the south-west of the
country (now the county of Dumfries and Galloway); he founded a monastery
there, as well as at Ecclefechan in Dumfries. Then he made Glasgow his main
missionary centre and episcopal see. A large community of monks and disciples
grew around the bishop. Wherever the preacher travelled, he always erected
crosses and built churches. The town (later city) of Glasgow began to rise
around the church, or the monastery, established by St. Kentigern, and it can
be said that the present famous city owes its existence to this saint in many
ways. In the 12th century a magnificent Cathedral of St. Mungo appeared on the
site of his original church in Glasgow.
St.
Kentigern was much loved and venerated by the people for his gift of working
miracles. Once he brought back to life a tame robin of St. Serf, which had been
killed by jealous monks. Another time he miraculously lit a fire in St. Serf's
monastery, which had earlier gone out. The saint also miraculously helped the
Queen of Strathclyde find her wedding ring that she had accidentally lost. The
King of Strathclyde accused her of unfaithfulness because of the loss of the
ring and was going to execute her. But when the ring was found, through the
prayers of St. Kentigern, in the stomach of a salmon caught in the river Clyde,
her innocence was proved. St. Kentigern considered the venerable Columba of
Iona as his close spiritual friend. The first meeting of these two great saints
took place in the Scottish village of Kilmacolm (the present-day Inverclyde
council area), where a church of St. Columba still stands in memory of the
event. The last meeting of Sts. Kentigern and Columba was in 597, shortly
before St. Columba's death, and then both saints exchanged their pastor's
staffs. According to tradition, St. Kentigern, like many other Celtic saints,
had his own bell; a replica of his original bell, made in the 17th century, is
kept in Glasgow Cathedral to this day. Over the many years of his long life St.
Kentigern devoted himself to the establishment of Christianity, monasticism and
Church life in Scotland. The saint reposed in 612 (according to another, though
less probable version, 603), aged about 85.
Tomb of St. Mungo in Glasgow Cathedral
His
veneration as a great missionary, wonderworker, builder of monasteries and
enlightener of Strathclyde began immediately after his death. Pilgrims from all
over the country flocked to his relics, which were enshrined in Glasgow
Cathedral till the Reformation. Now this ancient Cathedral is Presbyterian, but
it is still dedicated to St. Kentigern. The relics of St. Kentigern most likely
lie in the tomb of the lower crypt of the Cathedral and are again being visited
by numerous Orthodox and Catholic pilgrims; and at the back of the crypt there
is an ancient holy well, connected with the saint. There is also a Russian Orthodox
parish of St. Kentigern in Glasgow. All the parish churches (among them are
several ancient ones) in Scotland, which bear the name of St. Kentigern, are
officially dedicated to "St. Mungo". Many of them are situated in the
places where the saint preached or built chapels and churches.
No fewer
than nine Anglican and Catholic churches in the north of England, particularly
in Cumbria, are dedicated to St. Kentigern. Thus, there are a very early church
of St. Mungo and a holy well in the village of Bromfield in Cumbria (near
Hadrian's Wall, the church is even probably of Roman origin); there are also an
ancient church and a holy well of St. Mungo in the village of Caldbeck in the
same county (the well may date back to the 6th century); another ancient church
of St. Kentigern stands in the Cumbrian village of Crosthwaite, just outside
Keswick (the original name was Crosfeld; the saint most certainly preached
here)—nine ancient crosses were found near this church and one more ancient
cross inside it. Together with his mother St. Theneva, St. Kentigern is
venerated as the patron-saint of Glasgow. He is also considered the apostle of
northwestern England and southwestern Scotland. Together with Sts Columba of
Iona and Ninian of Whithorn he is also considered to be one of the greatest
saints and enlighteners of the Scottish land.
Holy
Hierarch Kentigern, pray to God for us!
By Dmitry Lapa
Source:
http://pravoslavie.ru/67850.html
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