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ON THIS DAY: MARCH
This month we remember, among others, an Italian Dominican
monk, a shepherd lad who became a missionary bishop
and a Christian theologian.
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1 March:
David
David was said to be of a noble family, to have become
a priest and to have founded no less than 12 monasteries.
The abbey he founded at Mynyw modeled a life of extreme
asceticism modeled on that of the Egyptian monks. He
is the patron saint of Wales. He is said to have opposed
Pelagianism, which denied that men and women were born
sinful and that they were capable of contributing to
their own salvation. His shrine at Ty-Dewi (St David’s)
became a considerable place of mediaeval pilgrimage.
He died circa 601.
Also on this day: George
Wishart. George Wishart was a Scotsman born circa
1513, who studied at Louvain. Subsequently as a schoolmaster
in Montrose from 1543, he taught the New Testament in
Greek. Later at Cambridge he was described as 'glad to
teach, desirous to learn'. Becoming known as a preacher,
| he toured widely in Scotland,
including in East Lothian where he was joined by
John Knox. He was particularly remembered for his
tenacity in preaching in Dundee during a time of
plague. His advocacy of the principles which had
led to the Reformation on the continent of Europe
(he translated one of the key documents, the First
Helvetic Confession), including the belief
that the scriptures should be opened up to the people
of the church and his espousal of the doctrines
revealed in the new studies, led to his arrest and
his martyrdom at St Andrews at the hands of cardinal
Beaton. |
Portrait of George Wishart
|
He died at the stake, the spot marked by his initials
on the pavement, in 1546. To find out more about the life
of George Wishart from the George Wishart Society website
click
here. Please note this link will take you out of the
Church of Scotland website and open a new browser window.
2 March:
John Wesley
John Wesley was born in 1703, one of many children of
a Church of England rectory, scholarly (he was given
a fellowship at Oxford) and devout. As an Anglican clergyman,
he became a leader of the late eighteenth century Evangelical
Revival. He travelled around the country preaching (he
was not allowed entry into churches) he became the,
albeit reluctant, founder of Methodism - the name deriving
from its emphasis on methodical study and devotion -
which won many of the poorest to Christianity, and with
its emphasis on personal conversion and social concern
was an antidote to the excesses of the French Revolution.
He made no less than 22 visits to Scotland, being given
the freedom of Perth and of Arbroath, but in spite of
a warm reception not many joined his 'societies'. Part
of the reason may have been Wesley's preference for
Arminianism (the belief that human beings were able
to co-operate with God in their salvation) over the
prevailing Calvinism, which preferred the idea that
the gift and reception of God's grace in salvation was
not strengthened or facilitated in any way by human
response or human worth. He died in 1791.
Also on this day: World
Day of Prayer. World day of Prayer is a worldwide
movement of Christian women of many traditions in over
170 countries. Though symbolised by an annual day of
celebration on the first Friday of March, to which all
people are welcome, it is a movement which brings together
women of various races, cultures and traditions in closer
fellowship, understanding and action throughout the
year. Through the World Day of Prayer, women affirm
that prayer and action are inseparable and that both
have immeasurable influence in the world. More information
can be found at www.worlddayofprayer.net
Please note this link will take you out of the Church
of Scotland website and open a new browser window.
3 March:
Ailred
Ailred was a remarkable all-rounder, known as both a
scholar and a statesman, and ultimately a Cistercian
monk. He was friendly with King David whose realm stretched
across the border to Ailred's Hexham birthplace and
subsequently held political office. His Life
of St Ninian became the standard biography and
his other religious writings were both learned and deeply
spiritual. Overwork and painful illness brought about
his death, then abbot of Rievaulx, in 1166.
Also on this day: George
Adam Smith. George Adam Smith was born in Calcutta
1856, where his father was a journalist and editor.He
came from the Free Church tradition and it was in Free
and United Free Church colleges that he served as lecturer
in Hebrew and Old Testament. He became professor in
Glasgow but then returned to his original teaching place,
as principal of the University of Aberdeen. Earlier
he had been minister in Queen's Cross Church in the
same city. Ac coding to some his historical geography
of the Holy Land (which he had visited) was influential.
Some believe he caused controversy with his belief that
the best way to learn from scripture was to take a critical
approach, carrying study to behind the text and not
just the text itself; for this the United Free General
Assembly of 1901 accused him of undermining the truthfulness
of scripture, but they did not prevail. He was made
Moderator of the United Free Church General Assembly
in 1916. He died in 1942.
4 March: Adrian
Adrian was possibly an Irish missionary bishop who settled
with others on the Island of May. He was killed in a Danish
invasion in the ninth century. David I later founded a
monastery on the island, with May becoming a place of
pilgrimage. Adrian seems to have had several names, Magirdle
being one and Muggins another. These crop up not in the
vicinity of the Isle of May but where Fife meets Perthshire,
like the Mugdrum cross at Abernethy or the group of stones
beside the Tay at Flisk known as St Muggin's Seat.
6 March:
Baldred
East Lothian coastline, Bass Rock
|
Baldred was born in East Lothian who
lived for a good part of his life on the Bass Rock,
although the appearance of his name up and down
that coast suggests associations with other places.
He is said to have been a follower of St Kentigern.
According to some his life may have lacked memorable
incident, but it nevertheless became a powerful
symbol of Christian devotion. He died in 756. |
7 March:
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas was an Italian Dominican monk.
Though ignorant of Hebrew and Greek, he had a spiritual
insight as a biblical commentator and a scholar. His
Summa Theologica was
the first attempt at a complete theological system.
A most devout man but with prodigious concentration
and energy he was also a hymn writer. He had the belief
that the bread and wine used in the Mass became the
flesh and blood of Jesus, he was revered in his day
as authoritative; his legacy of thought has been immense
especially with Roman Catholics. He died at Fossa Nuova
in 1274.
8 March: Duthac
Duthac was born in Tain, Easter Ross. He is said
to have studied in Ireland and to have spent his later
life there. Some time after his death there, his shirt
was brought back to Tain to his shrine, which became an
important place of mediaeval pilgrimage (James IV was
one such pilgrim). The shirt was believed to protect the
wearer from death; when the Earl of Ross was killed at
the battle at Halidon Hill, the English king returned
the shirt to the Scots. Duthac died in 1068.
9 March:
Gregory of Nyssa
| Gregory of Nyssa was
born around 330, brother of Basil the Great. He
was a scholar and the author of many works, in which
doctrines now standard in the church were given
early definition. One of these was the doctrine
of the Trinity, in which he argued the position
taken up by the council of Nicea, against the supporters
of Arianism, insisting on Christ's equality with
God. Regarded as an important link in transmitting
Origen’s thought to later ages and as an authoritative
spiritual writer, Gregory travelled widely in the
near East as a preacher. He was bishop of Nyssa,
but spent part of his term of office in exile when
the (now considered heretical) Arians were in ascendancy.
He died circa 395. |
Gregory of Nyssa
|
10 March:
Kessog
Kessog was said to be Irish but spent most of his missionary
life in Scotland, particularly around Loch Lomond (he
is patron of Luss). Tradition says he was martyred abroad
and his body brought back wrapped in sweet herbs (Luss
means 'herb'). Annual fairs in his memory were held
in Callander and Cumbrae. He died in 520.
Also on this day:
John Ogilvie. John Ogilvie was born circa 1579.
He was the only Roman Catholic judicially condemned
and executed in Scotland for his religion. When studying
abroad he converted to Catholicism and having been ordained
as a priest he taught in continental universities before
returning to Scotland. It was not long before he was
arrested for spreading Catholic doctrines and was interrogated
in Glasgow by Archbishop Spottiswoode, and then in Edinburgh
before the lords of the council. His persecution is
not likely so much to have been as a result of what
he taught as such but because he was espousing publicly
and promoting teachings which went against royal decree.
He was condemned for treason and hanged on this day
in 1615.
11 March: Alexander
Fleming
Alexander Fleming
|
Alexander Fleming was born in Darvel
and worked as a shipping clerk before studying medicine
in London and becoming a specialist surgeon. He
was the first to use anti-typhoid vaccines on humans,
to employ salvarsan against syphilis, and was the
discoverer of the antiseptic powers of lysozyme,
but according to some he is most remembered as the
brilliant bacteriologist who in 1928 recognised
the antibiotic powers of a culture which in time
led to penicillin, and which has cured and saved
millions of people. He was later knighted and awarded
the Nobel Prize. |
Also on this day: Constantine
of Govan. Constantine of Govan
is reputed to have come to Scotland from Cornwall
but other traditions suggest he may have been Constantine
I of Strathclyde, the son of King Kenneth MacAlpin,
who reigned from 862 to 877. Constantine converted to
Christianity and established a monastery at Govan under
the rule of St Columba. The story goes that he was set
upon by thieves while on his way to Kilchouslan, and
cut to pieces as a martyr. He was taken to the church
at Govan and his body placed in a sarcophagus where
his remains still lie to this day.
14 March: New
English Bible (New Testament)
The New English Bible (New Testament) was published on
this day in 1961. The full translation appeared in 1970.
This version of the Bible raised eyebrows when the New
Testament books were published in 1961. It was commissioned
by the Church of Scotland after an overture was made to
the General Assembly by Stirling and Dunblane Presbytery
in 1946 asking the Assembly "to recognise the need
for a new translation of the Bible in the language of
the present day." It was the first British translation
to be produced by an ecumenical group with representatives
from the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Church of England, the Church of Scotland, the Congregational
Church in England and Wales, the Council of Churches for
Wales, the Irish Council of Churches, the London annual
meeting of the Society of Friends, the Methodist Church
of Great Britain, the Presbyterian Church of England,
the British and Foreign Bible Society, the National Bible
Society of Scotland and observers from the Roman Catholic
Church in England. Three groups of biblical scholars translated
the original texts into modern language and boldly used
colloquial english phrases and idioms, their interpretation
and style differing greatly from contemporary American
translations of the time.
17 March:
Patrick (Celtic/nickname Succat)
Patrick was
born to a Christian family circa 389 at Banavem Taberniae
(some have placed this as near Dumbarton but it is more
likely that his birthplace was south of the current
border with England, although still in Britain) and
became the great Apostle of Ireland. Carried at 16 as
a slave to Ireland, he escaped after six years to France,
becoming a monk at Tours and then at Lerins. At 45 years
old he went as a bishop to Ireland (succeeding Palladius?)
and travelled extensively and preached widely making
special approaches to the chiefs and taking advantage
of clanship. After 20 years as a missionary when he
was credited with baptising thousands and with establishing
a considerable network of churches, he fixed his sights
on Armagh (454). Various hymns and many legends are
attributed to him. He died circa 461.
Also on this day: D.
P. Thomson. D. P. Thomson was born in Dundee
in 1896. While a First World War officer, 'D. P.' as
he came to be widely and popularly known began an unofficial
ministry among the men under his charge. The loss of
two brothers and five cousins and his own invaliding
out gave him a purpose. He was ordained to the parish
ministry, serving in Dunfermline and Cambuslang. He
was essentially an evangelist and was ultimately appointed
as such by the Church. Many saw him as vigorous, energetic,
and inspiring, he was promoted to seaside mission, the
Tell Scotland Movement,
and particularly lay training. This latter led to the
founding of St Ninian’s, Crieff, of which he became
warden. Glasgow University recognised the worth of his
special ministry, characterised by much preaching and
writing. He died on this day in 1974.
18 March:
Fra Angelico
Fra Angelico born Guido di Pietro circa 1400, was a
Dominican friar who became celebrated as the precursor
of the Florentine artistic renaissance. His most famous
works were painted at St Marco in Florence. As well
as important public commissions, he and his assistants
painted about 50 frescos in the friary in which they
lived seen as the expression of and a guide to the spiritual
life of the community, many of them in the friars' cells,
intended as aids to devotion. His work is marked by
vivid colour, life-like portraiture, and realistic background.
Some believe that despite his virtuosic brilliance,
is talent was dedicated to inculcate unearthly beauty
and to arouse devotional feeling. To Ruskin he was "not
an artist properly so-called but an inspired saint."
He died on this day in 1455.
19 March: Thomas
Ken
| Thomas Ken was born in 1637 in England,
and became a royal chaplain and was later bishop
of Bath and Wells. With other bishops he was imprisoned
for refusing to read the Declaration
of Indulgence (in favour of Roman Catholics).
He was also deprived of his office for refusing
the Oath of Allegiance to William of Orange. He
was a notable hymn writer, whose hymns are still
sung (e.g. Awake my soul,
and with the sun, All
praise to Thee, my God, this night, Praise God from
whom all blessings flow.) He died in 1711. |
Thomas Ken
|
Image of Thomas Ken courtesy of The
Cyber Hymnal. Please note this link will take you
out of the Church of Scotland website and open a new browser
window.
Also on this day: Joseph
of Nazareth. Joseph of Nazareth is remembered
as the husband of Mary, mother of Jesus. A pious Jew
descended from King David, he worked as a carpenter.
With few references in the New Testament, stories grew
up round him in later centuries, celebrating him as
a man of holiness. He became known also as the patron
of a good death.
Also: Cuthbert
of Lindisfarne. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne was a
shepherd lad in the Scottish Borders who became a missionary
bishop. He is associated with Old Melrose, Hexham and
especially with the monastery of Lindisfarne (Holy Isle)
and as hermit on the Farne Islands. As a missionary
in Northumbria and with a reputation for holiness, and
was regarded by some as one of the most highly regarded
English 'saints'. A concern for birds places him among
early conservationists. Regarded as a great miracle
worker, his remains were later removed to Durham where
the Cathedral was built as a pilgrimage church over
his shrine. He died on this day in 687.
21 March:
Benedict of Nursia
Benedict of Nursia was born circa 480 and educated at
Rome. He is regarded as the father of western monasticism
by virtue of his establishing many small but very disciplined
monastic communities. His rule for life within a monastery
(circa 515) became authoritative and widely accepted.
His fame is also due to his establishing Monte Cassino,
near Naples, regarded as one of the richest and most
famous of all monasteries (and the scene of great conflict
in World War II). He was never ordained. He died circa
550.
Also on this day: Robert
Wodrow. Robert Wodrow was born to a covenanting
family in 1679 and became the faithful parish minister
of Eastwood, which he served all his days. He was regarded
as distinguished not only as an antiquary but as a reliable
and candid Scottish church historian. According to some
his greatest accomplishment was The
History of the Sufferings of the Church of Scotland
from the Restoration to the Revolution. He also
left a considerable amount of manuscript material. Though
his works have been criticised, he recognised that "facts
are ill-natured things" and that the truth, particularly
of covenanting times, would be unwelcome to many. A
society in his name was set up in 1841 for the publication
of the works of the fathers and early writers of the
Reformed Church of Scotland. He died in 1734.
March 22:
Jonathan Edwards
Jonathan Edwards was born in 1703. He was an
American Puritan preacher and theologian. His associations
with Scotland were lifelong and he influenced many Scots
theologians and preachers. He is associated with The
Great Awakening, a revivalist movement which
emerged in his Massachusetts church 1734 to 1735, which
was thought to have influenced a Scottish revival movement
around 1740, experienced particularly in Easter Ross
and in Cambuslang. A strict Calvinist he served briefly
before his death as president of the College of New
Jersey (Princeton). His chief work was The
Careful and Strict Enquiry into the Modern Prevailing
Notions of the Freedom of the Will. He died in
1758.
24 March:
Irenaeus
Irenaeus was the first great Christian theologian, born
at the time when the core Christian beliefs were still
settling. His contribution to the debates of the time
was to challenge the Gnostics who had developed an alternative
understanding of Christianity as 'secret knowledge'
and that all Christians were placed on a hierarchy of
achievement or insight. Christ came to bring that insight,
but he himself was not fully human but disguised as
such. This, what was seen as a heresy, had a very powerful
following and Irenaeus was one of those who finally
enabled orthodox belief to prevail. He himself became
bishop of Lyons. He did not know the apostles but "knew
a man who did", hearing in his youth the preaching
of Polycarp of Smyrna. He died circa 200.
Also on this day: Oscar
Romero. Oscar Romero was born in 1917 and was
Sculpture of Oscar Romero by John Roberts
|
known as a pious and fairly conservative
Roman Catholic bishop who as archbishop of San Salvador
was virtually converted (partly because of a friend’s
assassination) into becoming an opponent of the
unjust oligarchy of his country and a strong advocate
for the poor and oppressed. The 'conscience' of
his nation, he was opposed by his fellow bishops
and was distrusted by Rome, and, anticipating assassination,
declared, "As a Christian, I do not believe
in death but in resurrection. If they kill me, I
shall rise again in the Salvadoran people."
Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize he was killed
at the altar by a single rifle shot on 24 March
1980. |
(Image of Oscar Romero by John Roberts courtesy of www.westminster-abbey.org/)
25 March:
Murray McCheyne
Murray McCheyne was born in 1813, was a brilliant student
at Edinburgh University who was to exercise a saintly,
evangelical, and fruitful ministry in the new working
class parish of St Peter’s Dundee. He was a very
powerful and gifted preacher but his influence went
far beyond his own parish. Church extension was one
of his interests, and he accepted many invitations as
an evangelist to visit many parts of Scotland. A visit
to the Holy Land, and what he published as a result,
kindled an enthusiasm in the church for Jewish mission
and led to work among Jews in Europe, especially Hungary.
His health was not good and he died in 1843 at the age
of only 30.
Also on this day The
Annunciation. Also known as Lady
Day, this commemorates the announcement of the
Incarnation to Mary by the angel Gabriel and the conception
of Christ. It did not become a festival until around
the fifth century.
29 March:
Samuel Rutherford
Samuel Rutherford was born in 1600 and by the age of
23 had become a professor of humanity in Edinburgh.
He was dismissed for having 'fallen in fornication'
he went on to become the godly minister of Anworth and
eventually held positions of great influence in the
church. He was a commissioner and contributor to the
Westminster Assembly, a professor at St Andrews and
later rector, with an international reputation. A great
advocate of Presbyterian policy, he fell foul of the
Episcopalian structures prevailing at the time. According
to some he is one of Scotland’s greatest theologians,
asserting the authority of the church as over against
the state, and her reliance on scripture as authoritative.
In his Lex Rex, he argues that there are limits to royal
power. Summoned at the restoration of Charles II for
treason (he died in 1661 before he could be executed)
he replied from his deathbed: "I have got summons
already before a superior judge and judicatory, and
I behove to answer to my first summons, and here your
day come, I will be where few kings and great folks
come."
| Also
on this day: Charles
Wesley. Charles Wesley was the eighteenth
child of an English rectory and, born in 1707, younger
brother of John Wesley. A college tutor at Oxford,
he became ordained and was a preacher for Methodism
though much attached to the Church of England. He
has been described as one of the world’s greatest
and prolific hymn writers. Among his 6500 hymns
are Love divine, all loves
excelling, Hark, the herald angels sing, Jesus,
love of my soul, Christ the Lord is risen today,
which, along with many others, continue to educate,
stimulate, and inspire millions across all denominations.
He died in 1788. |
Portrait of Charles Wesley
|
To find out more about Charles Wesley visit Wholesome
Words Christian Biography Resources website here.
Please note this link will take you out of the Church
of Scotland website and open a new browser window.
Also on this day:
John Keble. John Keble was an anglican clergyman
and founder of the influential Oxford Movement (at its
beginnings known as the Tractarian
Movement) which, related to the romantic revival,
promoted the Christian year, ritualism, and a high church
polity in the Church of England. It also emphasized
the importance of the early church fathers. All of these
recoveries had later effect on the Church of Scotland.
Keble, who was also professor of poetry at Oxford, is
also remembered for his hymns eg. New
every morning is the love, Blest are the pure in heart,
Sun of my soul, thou Saviour dear, many of which
appeared in his The Christian
Year of 1827. He lived from 1792 until 1866.
31 March:
John Donne
John Donne, who lived from 1571 until 1631, was a regarded
by some as a great English metaphysical poet whose works
are characterised by passion and piety, doubt and faith.
In them, however, he often used scientific imagery,
like the references in Teach
me, my God and King to the invention of the telescope
and the contemporary search for the philosopher's stone
which would turn all base metals to gold. Originally
a Roman Catholic he converted to Protestantism and in
time became dean of St Paul’s where his sermons
drew large numbers.
Also on this day: William
Robertson Smith. William Robertson Smith was
a precocious child (he was born in 1846 in Aberdeenshire)
and all round student who entered the Free Church ministry,
becoming at 23 years of age a professor of Hebrew at
the Aberdeen College. Influenced by German scholarship
(Ritschl, Wellhausen
etc) his article on The Bible
in the Encyclopaedia Britannia
(1875) popularised a more critical and influential
approach to scripture with which his name became synonymous
in the English speaking world. Charged but acquitted
of heresy he was deprived of his chair. He was to be
considered for a variety of chairs, including mathematics,
logic etc but moved to Cambridge where he held a succession
of important posts, finally the chair of Arabic. His
career came to an end at the age of 47 in 1894.
Also this month
Sunday 2 March is the
fourth Sunday in Lent and Mothering
Sunday. Click here
to find out more about the season of Lent.
Sunday 9 March is the
fifth Sunday in Lent.
Click here to find out more about the season of
Lent.
Sunday 16 March is the
sixth and last Sunday in Lent and Palm/Passion
Sunday. Click here
to find out more about Lent.
Sunday 23 March is the
Easter Day. Click
here to find out more about Easter.
Sunday 30 March is the
second Sunday of Easter,
Low Sunday. Click here
to find out more about the season of Easter.
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