ST. PATRICK OF IRELAND (MARCH 17TH)

St. Patrick the Enlightener of Ireland

By Bp Joseph Boyd (Ancient Church of the West)

On the 17th of March, we celebrate the life, miracles, and continued intercessions of St. Patrick, Apostle to Ireland, Enlightener of the Celtic People, and Patron Saint of the Irish! 

Though enslaved by the pagan Irish as a child in the 5th Century AD, St. Patrick escaped and later became a bishop and missionary to the Irish, and established a great Church in Ireland that stands into the present day. His life was characterized by forgiveness, bravery, faithfulness to the Gospel, and great miracles done through him by God’s grace. May we learn to be like St. Patrick in our continued calling to share an Orthodox Christian Gospel all around the world! 

ST. PATRICK’S BREASTPLATE 

 

I arise today

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through a belief in the Threeness,

Through confession of the Oneness

Of the Creator of creation.

I arise today

Through the strength of Christ's birth and His baptism,

Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,

Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,

Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today

Through the strength of the love of cherubim,

In obedience of angels,

In service of archangels,

In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,

In the prayers of patriarchs,

In preachings of the apostles,

In faiths of confessors,

In innocence of virgins,

In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today

Through the strength of heaven;

Light of the sun,

Splendor of fire,

Speed of lightning,

Swiftness of the wind,

Depth of the sea,

Stability of the earth,

Firmness of the rock.

I arise today

Through God's strength to pilot me;

God's might to uphold me,

God's wisdom to guide me,

God's eye to look before me,

God's ear to hear me,

God's word to speak for me,

God's hand to guard me,

God's way to lie before me,

God's shield to protect me,

God's hosts to save me

From snares of the devil,

From temptations of vices,

From every one who desires me ill,

Afar and anear,

Alone or in a mulitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and evil,

Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,

Against incantations of false prophets,

Against black laws of pagandom,

Against false laws of heretics,

Against craft of idolatry,

Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,

Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.

Christ shield me today

Against poison, against burning,

Against drowning, against wounding,

So that reward may come to me in abundance.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,

Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,

Christ in the eye that sees me,

Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through a belief in the Threeness,

Through a confession of the Oneness

Of the Creator of creation

ST. PATRICK’S CROSIER 

An old hermit ascetic lived in a hut on the Estruscan Sea, and one night he had a very strange dream. In this dream, Jesus gave the mystic a golden crosier and told him to hold it for the man who would come asking for it. When the old man awoke, he was holding a glowing staff, made from copper, gold, and precious stones. The monk took it as a mission from God, and safely guarded the staff for many years, waiting for the one who would come asking for it.

After St. Patrick’s consecration as bishop to the Irish in Rome, the saint was given a vision where an old man gave him a crosier. When he passed by the old man’s hut on his way back to Ireland, he recognized the ascetic’s face from his dream, and he asked him if he had anything to give to him. The monk immediately ran to his hovel and pulled out the crosier, giving it to St. Patrick with the story of how it had come into his possession, telling him that it was a gift from Jesus Himself. After this, St. Patrick called the staff, “Bachal Isu”, the “Jesus Stick” in Irish Gaelic, and continued on his way with a greater sense of calling and resolve. 

St. Patrick Carrying His Mystic Crosier, a Gift from Jesus Christ Himself

Multiple accounts have come down through Church Tradition, where St. Patrick used the staff to defeat the powers of sin and darkness. He drove the Druids, the “snakes”, out of Ireland through the pastoral use of the Bachal Isu. On several occasions, the staff was credited for breaking pagan spells, and the black clouds of Druid fear were dispelled by the firm pounding of the pastoral staff on the ground by St. Patrick and the invocation of the Name of the Holy Trinity. It is very possible that this staff, and the sense of authority it gave, can be credited for the miracle of St. Patrick’s singlehanded establishment of the Church in Ireland, with over 300 parishes being founded in less than 40 years. 

After St. Patrick’s death in Saul, where he was buried in the churchyard of the first mission he established, his Gospel Book and his crosier were passed on through the lineage of Archbishops of Ireland, whose Episcopal See was in Armagh. It was a sign of authority, and only the rightful Archbishop could handle the ancient staff. Over time, it became a symbol of episcopal and secular authority, and it was used in the crowning rites of Christian Irish Kings. It was said that only the rightful king could hold the crosier, beneath the hand of the Archbishop, and that pretender kings would be struck with a plague if they touched it. Many legends speak of the consequences for liars who “swore by the staff of St. Patrick”, and, on two occasions, the land being smitten with plagues when it was stolen. 

St. Patrick's "Lorica" or "Breatplate" Invoking the Holy Trinity and the Name of Christ Against All Evil

In 1106, in dire conflict with the Normans, the Archbishop of Armagh hid the Crosier of St. Patrick, so that it would not be taken by the English conquerors. It stayed hidden until the early 1500’s, when a shepherd boy found it in the hollow of a giant oak tree. It was returned to the Archbishop until the High Reformation, over a hundred years later. Hearing that the “Staff of the Irish” had been found, and fearful that its mythic powers would unite the Irish in the face of another English purge, the Puritans hunted down the Crosier and ceremonially burnt it to ashes and scattered them on the sea, melting the gold into coin, and sending the precious stones to families that supported them. 

It is still common to hear older Irishmen swear in the colloquial Gallic - “Tugaim faoi deara ag an Bachal Isu”, or, “I swear upon the Bachal Isu.” Such an oath is supposed to show the honest truth, because of the fearful plagues associated with those who lie upon its holy crook, given by Jesus to the Irish so long ago! And so, while the Crosier of St. Patrick has been destroyed in this world, it is still present in the minds and hearts of all the Irish and their descendants today, striking to the root of godless paganism and declaring the truth of God’s Gospel to the world! 

An Episcopal Crosier Said to Be an Early Copy of the Bachal Isu, Dating from the 8th Century, Kept in the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin

COLLECT 

Almighty God, in Thy providence Thou chosest Thy servant, St. Patrick, to be the Apostle to the Irish people, to bring those who were wandering in darkness and error to the true light and knowledge of Thy Holy Gospel, and to enter into Thy Holy Orthodox Church: Grant us so to walk in the way, so as to imitate Thy blessed servant; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who livest and reignest with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

St. Patrick, Pray for Us! 

A Statue of St. Patrick from His Traditional Gravesite in Saul, Ireland