Above:  All Saints’ Church, Margaret Street, London, England

Image Source = Google Earth

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RICHARD REDHEAD (MARCH 1, 1820-APRIL 27, 1901)

Anglican Composer, Organist, and Liturgist

Richard Redhead, a musical pioneer and a leading light of the Oxford Movement, comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses:  An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via many hymnals.

Redhead, born in Harrow, Middlesex, England, on March 1, 1820, spent his life in music.  He sang in the choir at Magdalen College and studied the organ.  Our saint, a Tractarian, came to the attention of Canon Frederick Oakeley (1802-1880), also of the Oxford Movement.  Oakeley arranged for Redhead to become the organist and choir director at Margaret Street Chapel (later All Saints’ Church, Margaret Street, London) in 1839.  Redhead provided daily choral services at the “Tractarian cathedral” until 1864.  Redhead and Oakeley also edited an influential volume, Laudes Diurnae:  The Psalter and Canticles in the Morning and Evening Service in The Church of England:  Set and Pointed to the Gregorian Tones (1843).

Redhead served as the organist and choir director at St. Mary Magdalene Church, Paddington, from 1864 to 1894.  Then he retired.

Our saint wrote many hymn tunes.  You, O reader, may have sung some of them.  Redhead named each tune according to a formula.  The first part of the hymn tune name was his last name.  The second part was a number.  Other people have assigned a variety of names to Redhead’s tunes.  For example, REDHEAD 76 has received the names PETRA, AVALON, and GETHSEMANE.

Redhead’s published volumes included the following:

1. The Psalter and Proper Psalms, from The Book of Common Prayer, Pointed, and Set to The Ancient Tones (1850);
2. Church Hymn Tunes, Ancient and Modern, for the Several Services of the Church Year (First Series, 1853; Second Series, 1859);
3. Ancient Hymn Melodies and Other Church Tunes as Used at All Saints’ Church, Margaret Street, Arranged, Composed, and Harmonized by Richard Redhead, Organist (1859);
4. The Canticles for The Book of Common Prayer, Pointed as They Are Set to Be Sung in Churches and Adapted to the Ancient Psalm Chants, with an Accompaniment for the Organ (1865);
5. Church Hymns (1871); and
6. The Order for Morning and Evening Prayer and Litany, Together with the Psalter and Proper Psalms, from The Book of Common Prayer, Pointed as They Are to Be Said or Sung in Churches (1877).

Redhead, aged 81 years, died in Hellingly, Sussex, England, on April 27, 1901.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 16, 2022 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JOHN DIEFENBAKER AND LESTER PEARSON, PRIME MINISTERS OF CANADA; AND TOMMY DOUGLAS, FEDERAL LEADER OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY

THE FEAST OF SAINT ALIPIUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF TAGASTE, AND FRIEND OF SAINT AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO

THE FEAST OF JOHN COURTNEY MURRAY, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND THEOLOGIAN

THE FEAST OF JOHN JONES OF TALYSARN, WELSH CALVINISTIC METHODIST MINISTER AND HYMN TUNE COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF MATTHIAS CLAUDIUS, GERMAN LUTHERAN WRITER

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Holy God, whose majesty surpasses all human definitions and capacity to grasp,

thank you for those (especially Richard Redhead)

who have nurtured and encouraged the reverent worship of you.

May their work inspire us to worship you in knowledge, truth, and beauty.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

1 Chronicles 25:1-8

Psalm 145

Revelation 15:1-4

John 4:19-26

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 27, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES INTERCISUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR

THE FEAST OF HENRY SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGIAN

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Above:  The Flag of England

Image in the Public Domain

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EDWARD DEARLE (MARCH 2, 1806-MARCH 20, 1891)

Anglican Organist and Composer

Edward Dearle comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses:  An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via two hymnals and their companion volumes.  The first hymnal, in chronological order, is The Hymnal 1940 (1943), of The Episcopal Church.  The second volume is The Methodist Hymnal/The Book of Hymns (1966), of The Methodist Church then The United Methodist Church.

Our saint, son of John Dearle and Harriet Harrison Dearle, entered the world at Cambridge, England, on March 2, 1806.  He, a chorister at St. John’s College, Cambridge, earned the Bachelor of Music degree from there in 1836.  Six years later, Dearle earned the Doctor of Music degree from Cambridge, too.

A career in church music followed.  Dearle served as the organist at St. Paul’s, Deptford (1827-1830); Blackheath, Wisbeach (1830-1832); and St. Mary’s, Warwick (1832-1833).  Then, until 1864, our saint served as the organist of St. Mary Magdalene Church and as the master of the song school, Newark-upon-Trent.  He moved to Camberwell, London, in 1864.  Eleven years later, Dearle helped to found Trinity Church, London.

Dearle composed oratorios, anthems, and service music.  Services included Evening Service in A, Evening Service in G Minor, and Morning Service in C.  Israel in Egypt was one of his oratorios.  Our saint won the Gresham Prize for his anthem, Turn Thee Again, in 1837.  A hymn tune, PENITENTIA, composed for Samuel John Stone‘s text, “Weary of Earth, and Laden with My Sin,” debuted in Church Hymns with Tunes (1874), edited by Arthur Sullivan.

The Hymnal 1940 (1943) and The Methodist Hymnal/The Book of Hymns (1966) pair PENITENTIA with “Here, O My Lord, I See Thee,” by Horatius Bonar.

Our saint, husband of Catherine (Mullins) Dearle (1817-1880) and father of eleven children, died in Camberwell, London, on March 20, 1891.  He was 85 years old.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 29, 2022 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS MARY, MARTHA, AND LAZARUS OF BETHANY, FRIENDS OF JESUS

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Holy God, whose majesty surpasses all human definitions and capacity to grasp,

thank you for those (especially Edward Dearle)

who have nurtured and encouraged the reverent worship of you.

May their work inspire us to worship you in knowledge, truth, and beauty.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

1 Chronicles 25:1-8

Psalm 145

Revelation 15:1-4

John 4:19-26

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 27, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES INTERCISUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR

THE FEAST OF HENRY SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGIAN

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The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.

Above:  The Flag of Scotland

Image in the Public Domain

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GEORGE WISHART (CIRCA 1513-MARCH 1, 1546)

Scottish Calvinist Reformer and Martyr, 1546

Also known as George Wisehart

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WALTER MILNE (CIRCA 1476-LATE APRIL 1558)

Scottish Protestant Martyr, 1558

Also known as Walter Mill and Walter Myln

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–Tertullian (150-220)

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I, after taken a detour into drafting lectionary-based devotions (for publication at other weblogs, starting in March) and writing about episodes of Starhunter Redux for a few months, return to augmenting this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses:  An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, with new posts about saints with feast days in March.  The first five posts cover six saints, four of whom died as Roman Catholics.  Today, however, we have two saints who died because they insisted on being Protestants.

George Wishart came from a prominent family and received a fine education.  He, born circa 1513 in Kincaidineshire, Scotland, was a son of James Wishart (d. 1525) and Elizabeth Learmont.  Our saint finished growing up under the guidance of his mother and his uncle, Sir James Learmont.  Wishart (M.A., King’s College, Aberdeen; then University of Leuven, Belgium, 1531) began to study Reformed theology in Europe.   He worked as the schoolmaster and a teacher of the New Testament (in Greek) at Montrose, Angus, until 1538, when the Bishop of Brechin terminated that employment for suspicion of heresy.

Allegations of heresy pursued Wishart for the remainder of his life.  He arrived in England in 1538, and left the following year; Thomas Cromwell investigated him for heresy.  Wishart, after traveling in Germany and Switzerland, returned to England by 1542.  That year he was studying and teaching at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.  The following year, however, Wishart returned to Scotland and resumed teaching at Montrose.  From 1544 to 1546 Wishart was an itinerant preacher, often traveling with his protégé, John Knox, who, in 1560, founded The Church of Scotland (Presbyterian).  Wishart’s life was in danger due to charges of heresy.  Cardinal David Beaton (1494-1516), the Archbishop of St Andrews (1539-1546), ordered Wishart’s arrest.

Cardinal Beaton, one of the bêtes noires of this account, suppressed alleged heresy ruthlessly.  Another target was Walter Milne (born circa 1476), a Scottish priest who, while in Europe, had imbibed Protestant theology then returned to the homeland as a changed man.  Milne, not wanting to burn at the stake, fled.  He also married.

Beaton and his agents caught up with Wishart in 1546.  Patrick Heaton, Lord Bothwell, had Wishart arrested at Ormiston, East Lothian, in January.   Our saint, eventually taken to St Andrews, received a show trial from Beaton.  Burning at the stake followed on March 1.  Wishart was about 33 years old.

This execution backfired on Beaton and helped to cause his assassination on May 29, 1546.

John Hamilton (1512-1571), the next Archbishop of St Andrews as not a paragon of religious toleration either.  He also sought out heretics so he could have been burned at the stake.  Among his victims was Walter Milne, who became a prisoner on April 20, 1558, at Dysart, Fife, Scotland.  Milne, defiant to the end, died at the stake before the end of the month.  He was the last Scottish Protestant martyr prior to 1560.

Milne’s widow, still alive in 1573, began that year to receive an income from benefices.

I write to highlight the piety and the unjust executions of George Wishart and Walter Milne, not to condemn the Roman Catholic Church.  One may know that Holy Mother Church has acknowledged and repented of these and many other sins; I accept the apology.  One may also know that, within Christianity alone, the Roman Catholic Church has no monopoly on martyring Christians.  My adopted tradition, the Anglican Communion, has the blood of Roman Catholic martyrs on its hands, for example.  Furthermore, the blood of many Anabaptist martyrs stains the hands of more than one Protestant tradition.  Here, at my Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, one may read of Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, and Anglican martyrs.

I also write to condemn the practice of executing heretics, whether actual or alleged.  Depending on the circumstances, the accused may or may not be heretics, but executing the accused makes one a heretic.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 12, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, YEAR A:  THE BAPTISM OF OUR LORD

THE FEAST OF SAINT BENEDICT BISCOP, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT OF WEARMOUTH

THE FEAST OF SAINT AELRED OF HEXHAM, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT OF RIEVAULX

THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTHONY MARY PUCCI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST

THE FEAST OF HENRY ALFORD, ANGLICAN PRIEST, BIBLICAL SCHOLAR, LITERARY TRANSLATOR, HYMN WRITER, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND BIBLE TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARGUERITE BOURGEOYS, FOUNDRESS OF THE SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME

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Gracious Lord, in every age you have sent men and women

who have given their lives for the message of your love.

Inspire us with the memory of those martyrs for the Gospel

[like George Wishart and Walter Milne]

whose faithfulness led them in the way of the cross,

and give us courage to bear full witness with our lives

to your Son’s victory over sin and death; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Ezekiel 20:40-42

Psalm 5

Revelation 6:9-11

Mark 8:34-38

–Adapted from the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 37

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Above:  A Family Tree

Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

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SAINT CYBI (CIRCA 483-NOVEMBER 8, 555)

Welsh Prince, Priest, Bishop, and Abbot

His feast transferred from August 13 and November 8

son of

SAINT WENNA THE QUEEN (CIRCA 472-OCTOBER 18, 544)

Queen of Cerniw

Also known as Saint Gwen

Her feast transferred from October 18

sister of 

SAINT NON (BORN CIRCA 475)

Welsh Nun

Also known as Saint Nonna, Nonita, and Nonnita

Her feast transferred from March 2, 3, and 5

mother of

SAINT DAVID OF WALES (DIED CIRCA 601)

Welsh Abbot and Primate

Also known as Saint Dewi

His feast = March 1

Half-Nephew of

SAINT SAMSON OF DOL (CIRCA 485-JULY 28, 565)

Welsh Priest, Abbot, Hermit, Bishop, and Missionary

son of

SAINT ANNA OF OXENHALL (BORN CIRCA 445)

Welsh Princess

Mother of Saints Samson of Dol, Wenna the Queen, and Non

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Work on this post began when I started taking notes on St. David of Wales, the patron saint of Wales.  His feast day is March 1.  Of that we can be certain; this is more than we can say about other portions of his official biography.  While taking notes on this saint I read references to many other Celtic saints, including five relatives.  I could have included many more saints than I did in this post, but I decided to keep it relatively simple and to focus on three generations of one family instead.  I, as one trained in history, have noticed discrepancies between dates in various sources.  I have done my best to honor chronology.  I have also done my best to recognize the difference between legend and objective reality.  King Arthur recurs in the hagiographies of some of these saints.  He was, of course, a composite figure and a legend–a fish story, if you will, O reader.  Instead of one big fish, fishes of various sizes existed.  By focusing on six members of one family I can be coherent while fulfilling one of my goals for the renovation of my Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days.    That goal is to emphasize relationships and influences.

The first of six saints was St. Anna of Oxenhall (born circa 445), mother of three other saints and grandmother of two more.  She, a daughter of Vortimer Fendigaidof, King of Gwertheflyrwig (now Gwent, Wales), married twice.  Her first husband was Cynyr the Fair-Bearded, Lord of Coer Goch.  According to legends, they were the foster parents of Uther Pendragon, father of King Arthur.  St. Anna’s first marriage produced at least six children, including St. Wenna the Queen (born circa 472) and St. Non (born circa 475).  The widowed St. Anna married Amon Ddu, Prince of Brittany.  They had several children, including St. Samson of Dol (circa 485-565).  The other two children also entered religious life.  Amon ended his days as a monk.

St. Wenna the Queen married Salom, King of Cerniw (now Cornwall, England).   Among their children was St. Cybi (circa 483-555), heir to the throne.  He received a fine education and became a priest, a bishop, and the Abbot of Caer Gybi.  At the age of 27, upon returning from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, St. Cybi learned that his father was dead and that he was the new king.  Our saint declined royal authority and opted instead to serve God via the Church.  He founded congregations throughout the Celtic world as political circumstances forced him to relocate.  St. Cybi also interacted with his esteemed cousin, St. David of Wales.  Among St. Wenna’s pious deeds was the founding of a Christian congregation in Morval, in the Cornwall region of England.

St. Non became a nun.  Scandal affected her when Sant (a.k.a. Sanctus), Prince of Ceredigian, raped and impregnated her.  Thus she became the unwed mother of Dewi Sant, a.k.a. St. David of Wales.  Mother and son founded a convent at Hanon.  Late in life she moved to Cerniw, to be close to her sister, St. Wenna the Queen.

The hagiographies of St. David are legion.  Many of them contain contradictory information.  For example, was the year of his birth closer to 500 or to 544?  I conclude that the former option is probable, based on issues of chronology.  Also, did he died closer to 589 or 601?  And, while we are pondering different chronologies, did the Synod of Brefi occur closer to 520, 550, or 560?  550 or a few years prior seems like a probable year to me, based on relevant facts.  560 is too late, due to the death of St. Dubricius circa 550.  Furthermore, I reject obviously legendary stories out of hand.  For example, I refuse to accept that a hill once rose while he was speaking, so that the audience could hear him better.  Horatio, friend of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, was correct that heaven and earth hold more than human philosophies attest, but even saints and land adjacent to them must obey the laws of nature.

St. David rose to become the primate of Wales.  As a young man he founded the first of a series of monasteries.  Our saint, an ascetic who survived on water and vegetables, required his monks to care for travelers, engage in study, and perform manual labor.  He was also a priest and, in time, a bishop–by whose hands, where, and when are matters of dispute.  An oft-repeated story tells us that St. David’s rebuttal of the Pelagian heresy (that people can save themselves from damnation by their free will alone) at the Synod of Brefi led to the installation as the primate of Wales.  Or perhaps that was not how he became the primate, becoming the handpicked successor of St. Dubricius.  Regardless of the reality of St. David’s life, he was an influential and respected figure in the Celtic Church.

St. David’s half-uncle (half-brother of Sts. Non and Wenna) was St. Samson of Dol (circa 485-565), a child of St. Anna of Oxenhall and her second husband, Prince Amon Ddu.  St. Samson studied at the Abbey of Llanilltud Fawr, Glamorganshire, Wales.  His teacher was St. Illtud (born circa 480), a former soldier and the founder of that monastery.  St. Samson had to depart that abbey because he had become unpopular with his teacher’s nephews.  St. Samson relocated to a monastery on Caldey Island, Wales.  Eventually he became the abbot there and reformed the abbey.  Next our saint spent time as a hermit before becoming a missionary bishop in the region of Cerniw.  Eventually St. Samson moved to Brittany, where he made Dol his see city.  He also founded monasteries at Dol and at Pental, Normandy.

People influence each other directly and indirectly.  Regardless of where reality ended and legends began with regard to the events of our six saints’ lives, a few concluding statements are certain:

1. The faith that St. Anna of Oxenhall and her husbands instilled in their children took root;
2. Those children passed that faith down to others; and
3. The legacy of St. Anna of Oxenhall, her husbands, and their faithful descendants continues to influence Christian faith in people, frequently without them knowing it.

That is impressive.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 1, 2017 COMMON ERA

THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

THE EIGHTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS:  THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS

WORLD DAY OF PEACE

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Almighty God, you have surrounded us with a great cloud of witnesses:

Grant that we, encouraged by the good example of your servants

Saint Cybi,

Saint Wenna the Queen,

Saint Non,

Saint David of Wales,

Saint Samson of Dol, and

Saint Anna of Oxenhall,

may persevere in running the race that is set before us,

until at last we may with them attain to your eternal joy;

through Jesus Christ, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Micah 6:6-8

Psalm 15

Hebrews 12:1-2

Matthew 25:31-40

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 724

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Above:  Icon of Sts. Anne and Mary

Image in the Public Domain

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BLESSED ROGER LEFORT (CIRCA 1277-MARCH 1, 1367)

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bourges

The renovation of my Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days resumes, this time with saints with feast days in March, as 2016 passes the torch to 2017.

Blessed Roger Lefort was an important yet relatively observe (by current standards) saint.  He, of French noble origin, was the nephew of a cardinal.  In 1321 Lefort was a sub-deacon.  Also during that year the See of Orleans became vacant.  Certain clergymen competed to become the next Bishop of Orleans.  Lefort disapproved of such political maneuvering.  Although he did not seek the position and even considered himself unworthy to hold it, he became the next Bishop of Orleans in 1321.  The Holy Spirit had spoken, some claimed.  Lefort had, prior to his selection, joked that he would be a good bishop.  What he intended as sarcasm a sufficient number of people interpreted as truth.  Lefort was a capable bishop, one who translated to Limoges in 1328 then became the Archbishop of Bourges in 1343.

Liturgically Lefort pioneered the observance of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary in France.  The idea of Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception was not new; it derived from the writings of certain Church Fathers, including St. Justin Martyr (circa 100-circa 165) and St. Irenaeus of Lyons (circa 130-circa 200), both of whom thought of her as the “new Eve.”  St. Andrew of Crete (circa 660-740) and St. John of Damascus (circa 675-circa 749) considered Our Lady to have been sinless.  The annual observance of St. Mary’s conception dated to the 600s (in the East) and began to spread throughout the West (starting at Naples) in the 800s.  In the 1100s, when commemorations began in France, they prompted controversy.  Theologians including St. Albert the Great (circa 1200-1280), St. Thomas Aquinas (circa 1225-1274), and St. Bonaventure (circa 1217-1274) rejected the idea of Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception.  She was not immune from original sin, they argued.  The position Lefort supported became the official position of the Roman Catholic Church in time.  The Council of Basle (1439) declared the Immaculate Conception to be theologically sound.  A decade later the Sorbonne became the first university to require its candidates to defend the doctrine.  Pope Sixtus IV established the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, with its own propers, in 1476.  Pope Clement XI made the observance a Feast of Obligation in the Roman Catholic Church in 1708.  Finally, in 1854, Pope Pius IX declared the Immaculate Conception to be a dogma.

Lefort died, aged 90 years, on March 1, 1367.  He left his estate for the education of poor boys.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 1, 2017 COMMON ERA

THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS, YEAR A

THE EIGHTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS:  THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS

WORLD DAY OF PEACE

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The Feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8)

Father, you prepared the Virgin Mary

to be the worthy mother of your Son.

You let her share beforehand in the salvation

Christ would bring by his death,

and kept her sinless from the first moment of her conception.

Help us by her prayers to live in your presence without sin.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Proverbs 8:22-35

Romans 8:29-30

Psalm 113

Luke 1:26-28

–Compiled from The Book of Catholic Worship (1966), pages 301-302, and Christian Prayer:  The Liturgy of the Hours (1976), pages 1332-1334

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Above:  The Union Jack

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EDWIN HODDER (DECEMBER 13, 1837-MARCH 1, 1904)

English Biographer, Devotional Writer, and Hymn Writer

Edwin Hodder, born in Staines, Middlesex County, England, in 1837, migrated to New Zealand in 1856, when he was nineteen years old.  Five years later he returned to his homeland and commenced a career in the Civil Service, retiring in 1897.  His hobbies obviously included researching and writing, for Hodder produced an impressive line of of books (http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupname?key=Hodder%2c%20Edwin%2c%201837-1904), from biographies (http://archive.org/details/lifeofsamuelmorl00hodduoft and http://archive.org/details/lifeworkofsevent00hoddiala) to histories of missions (http://archive.org/details/cu31924023021755, http://archive.org/details/cu31924073052809, and http://archive.org/details/conquestsofcross03hodd) to histories (http://archive.org/details/historysouthaus03hoddgoog and http://archive.org/details/historyofsouthau02hodd) to The New Sunday School Hymn Book (first edition, 1863; revised and enlarged edition, 1868).

I have posted one of Hodder’s hymns, “Thy Word is Like a Garden, Lord,” at my GATHERED PRAYERS blog.  According to the hymn, God’s Word is like, in sequence, a garden, a glorious choir, an armory, and a trusty sword.

Careers can be ways to serve God and to help one’s fellow human beings.  And so can hobbies.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 18, 2013 COMMON ERA

PROPER 15–THE THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR C

THE FEAST OF ERDMANN NEUMEISTER, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT HELENA, MOTHER OF EMPEROR CONSTANTINE I

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM PORCHER DUBOSE, EPISCOPAL THEOLOGIAN

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God of grace and glory,

you have given a rich variety of interests and talents to us; thank you.

Thank you for those who have served you and helped their fellow human beings

in their daily lives habitually via their vocations yet most memorably their avocations,

and for those who do so.

May we, reminded of and encouraged in our responsibilities to you and each other by their examples,

continue faithfully in the endeavors you assign us.

In the name of Jesus, who came to serve, not to be served.  Amen.

Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 38:24-34a

Psalm 33

Romans 14:7-8

Matthew 5:13-16

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 14, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM CROFT, ANGLICAN ORGANIST AND COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF JONATHAN MYRICK DANIELS, EPISCOPAL SEMINARIAN AND MARTYR

THE FEAST OF SAINT MAXIMILLIAN KOLBE, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR

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Revised on December 23. 2016

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Daffodil

Image Source = Bertil Videt

1 (Anna of Oxenhall and Her Faithful Descendants, Wenna the Queen, Non, Samson of Dol, Cybi, and David of Wales)

• Edward Dearle, Anglican Organist and Composer
• Edwin Hodder, English Biographer, Devotional Writer, and Hymn Writer
• George Wishart, Scottish Calvinist Reformer and Martyr, 1546; and Walter Milne, Scottish Protestant Martyr, 1558
• Richard Redhead, Anglican Composer, Organist, and Liturgist
• Roger Lefort, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bourges

2 (Shabbaz Bhatti and Other Christian Martyrs of the Islamic World)

• Aidan of Lindisfarne, Celtic Missionary Bishop; Caelin, Celtic Priest; Cedd of Lastingham, Celtic and Roman Catholic Priest, Bishop of Essex, and Abbot of Lastingham; Cynibil of Lastingham, Celtic and Roman Catholic Priest and Monk; Chad of Mercia, Celtic and Roman Catholic Priest, Abbot of Lastingham, Bishop of York/the Northumbrians and of Lichfield/the Mercians and the Lindsey People; Vitalian, Bishop of Rome; Adrian of Canterbury, Roman Catholic Abbot of Saints Peter and Paul, Canterbury; Theodore of Tarsus, Roman Catholic Monk and Archbishop of Canterbury; and Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, Celtic and Roman Catholic Monk, Hermit, Priest, and Bishop of Lindisfarne
• Daniel March, Sr., U.S. Congregationalist and Presbyterian Minister, Poet, Hymn Writer, and Liturgist
• Engelmar Unzeitig, German Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1945
• John Stuart Blackie, Scottish Presbyterian Scholar, Linguist, Poet, Theologian, and Hymn Writer
• Ludmilla of Bohemia, Duchess of Bohemia, and Martyr, 921; her grandson, Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, and Martyr, 929; Agnes of Prague, Bohemian Princess and Nun; her pen pal, Clare of Assisi, Founder of the Poor Clares; her sister, Agnes of Assisi, Abbess at Monticelli; and her mother, Hortulana of Assisi, Poor Clare Nun

3 (Katharine Drexel, Founder of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament)

• Antonio Francesco Marzorati, Johannes Laurentius Weiss, and Michele Pro Fasoli, Franscican Missionary Priests and Martyrs in Ethiopia, 1716
• Gervinus, Roman Catholic Abbot and Scholar
• Henry Elias Fries, U.S. Moravian Industrialist; and his wife, Rosa Elvira Fries, U.S. Moravian Musician
• Teresa Eustochio Verzeri, Founder of the Institute of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

4 (Charles Simeon, Anglican Priest and Promoter of Missions; Henry Martyn, Anglican Priest, Linguist, Translator, and Missionary; and Abdul Masih, Indian Convert and Missionary)

• Christoph E. F. Weyse, Danish Lutheran Organist and Composer
• Henry Suso, German Roman Catholic Mystic, Preacher, and Spiritual Writer
• John Edgar Park, U.S. Presbyterian then Congregationalist Minister and Hymn Writer
• Marie-Louise-Élisabeth de Lamoignon de Molé de Champlâtreux, Founder of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Louis
• Thomas Hornblower Gill, English Unitarian then Anglican Hymn Writer

5 (Karl Rahner, Jesuit Priest and Theologian)

• Ambrose Phillipps de Lisle, English Roman Catholic Convert, Spiritual Writer, and Translator of Spiritual Writings; Founder of Mount Saint Bernard Abbey
• Christopher Macassoli of Vigevano, Franciscan Priest
• Eusebius of Cremona, Roman Catholic Abbot and Humanitarian
• Ion Costist, Franciscan Lay Brother
• John S. Stamm, Bishop of The Evangelical Church then the Evangelical United Brethren Church

6 (Martin Niemoller, German Lutheran Minister and Peace Activist)

• Chrodegang of Metz, Roman Catholic Bishop
• Fred B. Craddock, U.S. Disciples of Christ Minister, Biblical Scholar, and Renowned Preacher
• Jean-Pierre de Caussade, French Roman Catholic Priest and Spiritual Director
• Jordan of Pisa, Dominican Evangelist
• William Bright, Anglican Canon, Scholar, and Hymn Writer

7 (James Hewitt McGown, U.S. Presbyterian Humanitarian)

• Drausinus and Ansericus, Roman Catholic Bishops of Soissons; Vindician, Roman Catholic Bishop of Cambrai; and Leodegarius, Roman Catholic Bishop of Autun
• Edward Osler, English Doctor, Editor, and Poet
• Maria Antonia de Paz y Figueroa, Founder of the Daughters of the Divine Savior
• Paul Cuffee, U.S. Presbyterian Missionary to the Shinnecock Nation

• Perpetua, Felicity, and Their Companions, Martyrs at Carthage, 203

8 (Edward King, Bishop of Lincoln)

• Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
• John Hampden Gurney, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
• John of God, Founder of the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God
• William Henry Sheppard, Lucy Gantt Sheppard, and Samuel N. Lapsley, Southern Presbyterian Missionaries in the Congo

9 (Harriet Tubman, U.S. Abolitionist)

• Emanuel Cronenwett, U.S. Lutheran Minister, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator
• Frances of Rome, Founder of the Collatines
• Johann Pachelbel, German Lutheran Organist and Composer
• Pacian of Barcelona, Roman Catholic Bishop of Barcelona
• Sophronius of Jerusalem, Roman Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem

10 (Marie-Joseph Lagrange, Roman Catholic Priest and Biblical Scholar)

• Agripinnus of Autun, Roman Catholic Bishop; Germanus of Paris, Roman Catholic Bishop; and Droctoveus of Autun, Roman Catholic Abbot
• Alexander Clark, U.S. Methodist Protestant Minister, Hymn Writer, and Hymnal Editor
• Folliot Sandford Pierpoint, Anglican Educator, Poet, and Hymn Writer
• John Oglivie, Scottish Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1615
• Macarius of Jerusalem, Roman Catholic Bishop

11 (John Swertner, Dutch-German Moravian Minister, Hymn Writer, Hymn Translator, and Hymnal Editor; and his collaborator, John Mueller, German-English Moravian Minister, Hymn Writer, and Hymnal Editor)

• Aengus the Culdee, Hermit and Monk; and Maelruan, Abbot
• Eulogius of Spain, Roman Catholic Bishop of Toledo, Cordoba; and Leocrita; Roman Catholic Martyrs, 859
• Francis Wayland, U.S. Baptist Minister, Educator, and Social Reformer
• Mary Ann Thomson, Episcopal Hymn Writer
• Pal Prennushi, Albanian Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1948

12 (Trasilla and Emiliana; their sister-in-law, Sylvia of Rome; and her son, Gregory I “the Great,” Bishop of Rome)

• Henry Walford Davies, Anglican Organist and Composer
• John H. Caldwell, U.S. Methodist Minister and Social Reformer
• Maximillian of Treveste, Roman Conscientious Objector and Martyr, 295
• Rutilio Grande, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1977
• Theophanes the Chroncler, Defender of Icons

13 (Yves Congar, Roman Catholic Priest and Theologian)

• Heldrad, Roman Catholic Abbot
• James Theodore Holly, Episcopal Bishop of Haiti, and the Dominican Republic; First African-American Bishop in The Episcopal Church
• Plato of Symboleon and Theodore Studites, Eastern Orthodox Abbots; and Nicephorus of Constantinople, Patriarch
• Roderic of Cabra and Solomon of Cordoba, Roman Catholic Martyrs, 857

14 (Fannie Lou Hamer, Prophet of Freedom)

• Albert Lister Peace, Organist in England and Scotland
• Harriet King Osgood Munger, U.S. Congregationalist Hymn Writer
• Nehemiah Goreh, Indian Anglican Priest and Theologian
• Vincenzina Cusmano, Superior of the Sisters Servants of the Poor; and her brother, Giacomo Cusmano, Founder of the Sisters Servants of the Poor and the Missionary Servants of the Poor
• William Leddra, British Quaker Martyr in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1661

15 (Zachary of Rome, Bishop of Rome)

• Jan Adalbert Balicki and Ladislaus Findysz, Roman Catholic Priests in Poland
• Jean Baptiste Calkin, Anglican Organist and Composer
• Ozora Stearns Davis, U.S. Congregationalist Minister, Theologian, and Hymn Writer
• Vethappan Solomon, Apostle to the Nicobar Islands

16 (Adalbald of Ostevant, Rictrudis of Marchiennes, and Their Relations)

• Abraham Kidunaia, Roman Catholic Hermit; and Mary of Edessa, Roman Catholic Anchoress
• John Cacciafronte, Roman Catholic Monk, Abbot, Bishop, and Martyr, 1183
• Megingaud of Wurzburg, Roman Catholic Monk and Bishop
• Thomas Wyatt Turner, U.S. Roman Catholic Scientist, Educator, and Civil Rights Activist; Founder of Federated Colored Catholics
• William Henry Monk, Anglican Organist, Hymn Tune Composer, and Music Educator

17 (Patrick, Apostle of Ireland)

• Ebenezer Elliott, “The Corn Law Rhymer”
• Henry Scott Holland, Anglican Hymn Writer and Priest
• Jan Sarkander, Silesian Roman Catholic Priest and “Martyr of the Confessional,” 1620
• Josef Rheinberger, Germanic Roman Catholic Composer
• Maria Barbara Maix, Founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

18 (Leonides of Alexandria, Roman Catholic Martyr, 202; Origen, Roman Catholic Theologian; Demetrius of Alexandria, Roman Catholic Bishop; and Alexander of Jerusalem, Roman Catholic Bishop)

• Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop, Theologian, and Liturgist
• Eliza Sibbald Alderson, Poet and Hymn Writer; and John Bacchus Dykes, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
• Paul of Cyprus, Eastern Orthodox Martyr, 760
• Robert Walmsley, English Congregationalist Hymn Writer

19 (JOSEPH OF NAZARETH, HUSBAND OF MARY, MOTHER OF GOD)

20 (Sebastian Castellio, Prophet of Religious Liberty)

• Christopher Wordsworth, Hymn Writer and Anglican Bishop of Lincoln
• Ellen Gates Starr, U.S. Episcopalian then Roman Catholic Social Activist and Reformer
• Maria Josefa Sancho de Guerra, Founder of the Congregation of the Servants of Jesus
• Samuel Rodigast, German Lutheran Academic and Hymn Writer
• Simon William Gabriel Bruté de Rémur, Roman Catholic Bishop of Vincennes

21 (Johann Sebastian Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and Johann Christian Bach, Composers)

• Lucia of Verona, Italian Roman Catholic Tertiary and Martyr, 1574
• Mark Gjani, Albanian Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1947
• Nicholas of Flüe and his grandson, Conrad Scheuber, Swiss Hermits
• Serapion of Thmuis, Roman Catholic Bishop

22 (Deogratias, Roman Catholic Bishop of Carthage)

• Emmanuel Mournier, French Personalist Philosopher
• James De Koven, Episcopal Priest
• Thomas Hughes, British Social Reformer and Member of Parliament
• William Edward Hickson, English Music Educator and Social Reformer

23 (Gregory the Illuminator and Isaac the Great, Patriarchs of Armenia)

• Meister Eckhart, Roman Catholic Theologian and Mystic
• Metodej Dominik Trčka, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1959
• Umphrey Lee, U.S. Methodist Minister and President of Southern Methodist University
• Victorian of Hadrumetum, Martyr at Carthage, 484
• Walter of Pontoise, French Roman Catholic Abbot and Ecclesiastical Reformer

24 (Oscar Romero, Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Salvador; and the Martyrs of El Salvador, 1980-1992)

• Didacus Joseph of Cadiz, Capuchin Friar
• George Rawson, English Congregationalist Hymn Writer
• George Rundle Prynne, Anglican Priest, Poet, and Hymn Writer
• Paul Couturier, Apostle of Christian Unity
• Thomas Attwood, “Father of Modern Church Music”

25 (ANNUNCIATION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST)

• Dismas, Penitent Bandit

26 (Margaret Clitherow, English Roman Catholic Martyr, 1586)

• Austin C. Lovelace, United Methodist Organist, Composer, Hymn Writer, and Liturgist
• Flannery O’Connor, U.S. Roman Catholic Writer
• James Rendel Harris, Anglo-American Congregationalist then Quaker Biblical Scholar and Orientalist; Robert Lubbock Bensly, English Biblical Translator and Orientalist; Agnes Smith Lewis and Margaret Dunlop Smith Gibson, English Biblical Scholars and Linguists; Samuel Savage Lewis, Anglican Priest and Librarian of Corpus Christi College; and James Young Gibson, Scottish United Presbyterian Minister and Literary Translator
• Ludger, Roman Catholic Bishop of Munster
• Rudolph A. John, German-American Evangelical Minister, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator

27 (Charles Henry Brent, Episcopal Missionary Bishop of the Philippines, Bishop of Western New York, and Ecumenist)

• Nicholas Owen, Thomas Garnet, Mark Barkworth, Edward Oldcorne, and Ralph Ashley, Roman Catholic Martyrs, 1601-1608
• Peter Lutkin, Episcopal Composer, Liturgist, and Music Educator
• Robert Hall Baynes, Anglican Bishop of Madagascar
• Rupert of Salzburg, Apostle of Bavaria and Austria
• Stanley Rother, U.S. Roman Catholic Priest, Missionary, and Martyr in Guatemala, 1981

28 (James Solomon Russell, Episcopal Priest, Educator, and Advocate for Racial Equality)

• Elizabeth Rundle Charles, Anglican Writer, Hymn Translator, and Hymn Writer
• Guntram of Burgundy, King
• Katharine Lee Bates, U.S. Educator, Poet, and Hymn Writer
• Richard Chevenix Trench, Anglican Archbishop of Dublin
• Tutilo, Roman Catholic Monk and Composer

29 (Charles Villiers Stanford, Composer, Organist, and Conductor)

• Dora Greenwell, Poet and Devotional Writer
• John Keble, Anglican Priest and Poet
• Jonas and Barachisius, Roman Catholic Martyrs, 327
• Julius Ewald Kockritz, German-American Evangelical Minister, Hymn Writer, and Christian Educator

30 (Innocent of Alaska, Equal to the Apostles and Enlightener of North America)

• Cordelia Cox, U.S. Lutheran Social Worker, Educator, and Resettler of Refugees
• John Wright Buckham, U.S. Congregationalist Minister, Theologian, and Hymn Writer
• Julio Alvarez Mendoza, Mexican Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1927
• Maria Restituta Kafka, Austrian Roman Catholic Nun and Martyr, 1943

31 (Maria Skobtsova, Russian Orthodox Martyr, 1945)

• Ernest Trice Thompson, U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Renewer of the Church
• Franz Joseph Haydn and his brother, Michael Haydn, Composers
• Joan of Toulouse, Carmelite Nun; and Simon Stock, Carmelite Friar
• John Donne, Anglican Priest and Poet
• John Marriott, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer

 

Floating

• The Confession of Saint Martha of Bethany (the Sunday immediately prior to Palm Sunday; March 8-April 11)

 

Lowercase boldface on a date with two or more commemorations indicates a primary feast.