Asaph | |
---|---|
Bishop | |
Born | early 6th century what is now Northern Wales, UK |
Died | St Asaph, Flintshire (historically), Denbighshire (modern) | 1 May 596
Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church [1] Roman Catholic Church Anglican Communion |
Major shrine | St Asaph Cathedral, Flintshire (destroyed) |
Feast | 1 May, 5 May, 11 May |
Attributes | Bishop with a book, or monk carrying hot coals |
Patronage | St Asaph |
Saint Asaph (or Asaf, Asa) was, in the second half of the 6th century, the first Bishop of St Asaph, i.e. bishop of the diocese of Saint Asaph.
No traditional Welsh account devoted to the life of Asaph exists. He is, though, well-attested to through place names. Local tradition points out many landmarks attested to him; his ash tree, his church, his well and his Valley. Many local names bear the "asa" associated with his name; Onnen Asa, Ffynnon Asa, Llanasa, Pantasa. All these sites are near Holywell in Tegeingl (Flintshire), indicating probably that the saint may once have had a hermitage in that area. [2] The Bonedd y Saint tells us that he was a son of King Sawyl Penuchel from the Old North or Yr Hen Ogledd; his mother was said to be Gwenaseth, daughter of Rhufon Rhufoniog. [3]
The want of a Welsh Life, however, is in part compensated for by Jocelyn of Furness's Life of St. Kentigern, which tells the story of Cyndeyrn (Kentigern) alias Saint Mungo, the founder of the Diocese of Glasgow. During his exile (c. 545), Kentigern took himself to Wales and there founded the Celtic Monastery of Llanelwy (the church on the River Elwy), as the Welsh still call the city of St Asaph. Llanelwy is among the best documented of Celtic monasteries: the church was described as built "of smoothed wood, after the fashion of the Britons, seeing that they could not yet build of stone". The 965 disciples, of whom Asaph was one, were divided into three groups: 300 of the unlettered farmed the outlying lands, 300 worked in the offices around the monastery, and 365 (the number corresponds to the days of the year) attended to the divine services. Of these the oldest assisted Kentigern in the government of the diocese, and the rest were subdivided into three choirs. "As soon as one choir had terminated its service in church, immediately another entering commenced it: and that again being concluded another entered to celebrate." [2]
Kentigern would frequently pray standing in the icy cold river. On one occasion, having suffered very severely under this hardship, he sent the boy, Asaph, who was then attending him, to bring a brand of blazing wood to burn and warm him. Asaph instead brought him live coals in his apron, and the miracle revealed to Kentigern the sanctity of his disciple. So when the old man was recalled to Strathclyde, after the Battle of Arfderydd, in 573 Asaph was consecrated bishop to succeed him, and became the first Welsh bishop of the see. [2]
Asaph is said to have died in 596. [4]
In the 2004 edition of the Roman Martyrology, Asaph is listed under 1 May with the Latin name Asáphi. He is described simply as 'bishop and abbot of Elvae (Elwy) in Wales, after whom the see is named'. [5] Although the traditional date of his death is recognised as 1 May, the current Roman Catholic liturgical calendar for Wales [6] keeps his memorial on 5 May, the 1st being designated for St Joseph the Worker.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church [7] indicates that St Asaph's feast, though now celebrated on 5 May, was previously celebrated on 11 May.
Asaph is also recognized as founder of the church of Llanasa in Flintshire. [3]
There are streets in Brockley, South East London; Christchurch, New Zealand; Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania; and in Alexandria, Virginia, and Leominster, Massachusetts named in his honor.
A hymn tune used with the Scottish paraphrase 'How bright these glorious spirits shine' is called St Asaph. It was first published in 1825 in a collection by the Edinburgh musician Robert Archibald Smith, and attributed by him to Giovanni Marie Giornovichi 1745–1804.
Kentigern, known as Mungo, was a missionary in the Brittonic Kingdom of Strathclyde in the late sixth century, and the founder and patron saint of the city of Glasgow.
The Culdees were members of ascetic Christian monastic and eremitical communities of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England in the Middle Ages. Appearing first in Ireland and then in Scotland, subsequently attached to cathedral or collegiate churches; they lived in monastic fashion though not taking monastic vows.
The Church in Wales is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses.
St Asaph is a city and community on the River Elwy in Denbighshire, Wales. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 3,355, making it the second-smallest city in the United Kingdom in terms of population and urban area. It is in the historic county of Flintshire.
Saint Deiniol was traditionally the first Bishop of Bangor in the Kingdom of Gwynedd, Wales. The present Bangor Cathedral, dedicated to Deiniol, is said to be on the site where his monastery stood. He is venerated in Brittany as Saint Denoual. In English and Latin his name is sometimes rendered as Daniel.
Saint Máedóc of Ferns, also known as Saint Aidan, Saint Madoc or Saint Mogue, was an Irish saint who was the first Bishop of Ferns in County Wexford and the founder of thirty churches. His birth name was Áed, the name of the Irish god of the underworld, meaning "fire". The name Aidan is a diminutive form of Aed or Aodh, and was also a form of the Latin name Dominus. Máedóc and Mogue are other pet forms of Aed or Aodh, formed from the Irish affectionate prefix mo- and the diminutive suffix -óg, meaning "young", making for something like "my dear little Aodh".
The Diocese of Saint Asaph is a diocese of the Church in Wales in north-east Wales, named after Saint Asaph, its second bishop.
Finnian of Clonard – also Finian, Fionán or Fionnán in Irish; or Finianus and Finanus in its Latinised form (470–549) – was one of the early Irish monastic saints, who founded Clonard Abbey in modern-day County Meath. The Twelve Apostles of Ireland studied under him. Finnian of Clonard is considered one of the fathers of Irish monasticism.
The Bishop of St Asaph heads the Church in Wales diocese of St Asaph.
The River Elwy is a river in Wales forming a tributary to the River Clwyd. Though the source of the river may be on the northern flank of Moel Seisiog, south-east of Llanrwst, the river only receives the name Elwy at the village of Llangernyw, where three rivers meet.
Saint Beuno, sometimes anglicized as Bono, was a 7th-century Welsh abbot, confessor, and saint. Baring-Gould gives St Beuno's date of death as 21 April 640, making that date his traditional feastday. In the current Roman Catholic liturgical calendar for Wales, he is commemorated on 20 April, the 21st being designated for Saint Anselm.
The Cathedral Church of Saints Asaph and Cyndeyrn, commonly called St Asaph Cathedral, is a cathedral in St Asaph, Denbighshire, north Wales. It is the episcopal seat of the Bishop of St Asaph. The cathedral dates back 1,400 years, while the current building dates from the 13th century. The cathedral is part of the Church in Wales and part of the Anglican Communion of Wales.
There is archaeological evidence of insular monasticism as early as the mid 5th century, influenced by establishments in Gaul such as the monastery of Martin of Tours at Marmoutier, the abbey established by Honoratus at Lérins; the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel; and that of Germanus at Auxerre. Many Irish monks studied at Candida Casa near Whithorn in what is now Galloway in Scotland.
John Wynne was Bishop of St Asaph (1715–1727) and of Bath and Wells (1727–1743), having previously been principal of Jesus College, Oxford (1712–1720).
Nicholas Stratford was an Anglican prelate. He served as Bishop of Chester from 1689 to 1707.
Llanasa is a village and community in the county of Flintshire, north-east Wales. Llanasa is described as one of the ancient parishes of Flintshire. It originally comprised the townships of Gronant, Gwespyr, Kelston, Golden Grove, Picton, Trewaelod, Axtyn and Trelogan. The modern community also includes Ffynnongroyw and Glan yr afon.
Nidan was a Welsh priest and, according to some sources, a bishop, in the 6th and 7th centuries. He is now commemorated as a saint. He was the confessor for the monastery headed by St Seiriol at Penmon, and established a church at what is now known as Llanidan, which are both places on the Welsh island of Anglesey. He is the patron saint of two churches in Anglesey: St Nidan's Church, Llanidan, built in the 19th century, and its medieval predecessor, the Old Church of St Nidan, Llanidan. Midmar Old Kirk in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, is also dedicated to him: Nidan is said to have helped to establish Christianity in that area as a companion of St Kentigern. St Nidan's, Llanidan, has a reliquary dating from the 14th or 16th century, which is said to house his relics.
Thomas Vowler Short was an English academic and clergyman, successively Bishop of Sodor and Man and Bishop of St Asaph.
Bleiddud was Bishop of St David's in Wales from 1061 to 1071. Little is known of him. His name is sometimes given as Bedwd.
A clas was a native Christian church in early medieval Wales. Unlike later Norman monasteries, which were made up of a main religious building supported by several smaller buildings, such as cloisters and kitchens, a clas was normally a single building. The building was run by a community of clergy and headed by an abod. Clasau were autonomous and were administered locally.