Bible and Saints

Stephen was the first person to lose his life because he was a follower of Jesus Christ.

In about AD 34, St Stephen became the first person to be executed for his belief in Jesus Christ. Most of what is known about him comes from St Luke in his ‘Acts of the Apostles’, though Eastern tradition adds a little more.

Read

Nicholas used his inheritance to help three vulnerable girls escape a life of exploitation.

St Nicholas (d. 330) came from Patara in Lycia, now in south east Turkey. The following story is the basis of the ‘Santa Claus’ legend, but there is nothing whatever improbable about it; on the contrary, it fits perfectly with the society and values of pagan Rome at the time.

Read

St Adamnán worked tirelessly to secure protection, rights and dignity for the women of Ireland.

St Adamnán was Abbot of Iona, an island on the west coast of Scotland, in the 7th century. The traditional culture of what was still in many places a pagan land had treated women as disposable property.

Read

After surviving a terrible storm, a crew-member on St Nicholas’s ship met with a tragic accident.

St Nicholas (d. 343), who became Bishop of Myra in Asia Minor, is known as the patron of seamen, and it is a pity that a sea-faring nation such as Britain should have largely forgotten about him. Here is one of many miracles attributed to him.

Read

Elfric, Abbot of Eynsham in the reign of Æthelred the Unready, reflects on two appearances of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament.

Elfric was Abbot of Eynsham near Oxford during the reign of Æthelred the Unready. Here, he reflects on the Baptism of Christ and on Pentecost, explaining why the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus as a dove, but on the Apostles as tongues of fire.

Read

The story of an unexpected escape through the heart of a hill.

This tale is not as far-fetched as it may sound. The hills about and the ground beneath the chapel of St John are riddled with spectacular caves and passages leading away from the church.

Read