Saints in Anglicanism

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The provinces of the Anglican Communion commemorate many of the same saints as those in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints, often on the same days.

Contents 1 Early Christianity 2 English Saints 3 The English Martyrs 4 The Ugandan Martyrs 5 Modern saints 6 Examples of Traditional Anglican saints 7 Examples of Modern Anglican saints and heroes of the Christian Church 8 See also 9 References

[edit] Early Christianity

Like the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion has special holy days in honor of Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Apostles. Many of the parishes churches in the Communion have the names Christ Church, and St. Mary the Virgin.

The same can also be said for the four great patrons of the United Kingdom: Saint George (Patron of England), Saint David (Patron of Wales), Saint Patrick (Patron of Ireland), and Saint Andrew (Patron of Scotland).

[edit] English Saints

English and local saints are often emphasized, and there are differences between the provinces' calendars. King Charles I of England is the only person to have been canonized as a saint by the Anglican Church after the English Reformation.^[1]

[edit] The English Martyrs

There are several persons commemorated in the modern Anglican calendars who were opposed to the English Reformation. Of particular note are John Fisher and Thomas More, executed by Henry VIII for not assenting to his Act of Succession. These two were later canonised by Pope Pius XI.

The Oxford Martyrs, Thomas Cranmer, Nicholas Ridley, and Hugh Latimer, are also commemorated for their faith in the English Reformation, and their belief in a separate Church of England.

[edit] The Ugandan Martyrs

In the 19th century a group of Anglican and Roman Catholic converts were martyred together in Uganda. On 18 October 1964, Pope Paul VI canonised the 22 Ugandan martyrs who were Roman Catholics.

[edit] Modern saints

Anglican Churches also commemorate various famous (often post-Reformation) Christians. The West front of Westminster Abbey, for example, contains statues of 20th century martyrs like Maximilian Kolbe, Martin Luther King, Oscar Romero, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

[edit] Examples of Traditional Anglican saints

• William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury
• Aelred of Hexham, Abbot of Rievaulx
• Benedict Biscop, Abbot of Wearmouth
• Kentigern, Bishop of Cumbria
• Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester
• Richard Rolle of Hampole, Spiritual Writer
• Charles, King and Martyr
• Brigid, Abbess of Kildare
• Chad, Bishop of Lichfield
• Felix, Bishop, Apostle to the East Angles
• Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne
• William of Ockham, Friar, Philosopher
• Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr
• Anselm of Canterbury, Archbishop of Canterbury
• Mellitus, first Bishop of London
• Julian of Norwich, Spiritual Writer, Mystic
• Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury
• Alcuin of York, Deacon, Abbot of Tours
• The Venerable Bede, Monk at Jarrow, Scholar, Historian
• Aldhelm, Bishop of Sherborne
• Augustine of Canterbury, first Archbishop of Canterbury
• Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, Scholar
• Petroc, Missionary to the West Country
• Columba, Abbot of Iona, Missionary
• Richard, Bishop of Chichester
• Alban, Protomartyr of Britain
• Etheldreda, Abbess of Ely
• Swithun, Bishop of Winchester
• Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury
• Oswald, King of Northumbria, Martyr
• Aidan, Bishop of Lindisfarne, Missionary
• Birinus, Bishop of Dorchester, Apostle of Wessex
• Ninian, Bishop of Galloway, Apostle of the Picts
• Hildegard, Abbess of Bingen, Visionary
• Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury
• William Tyndale, Translator of the Scriptures, Martyr
• Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln, Philosopher, Scientist
• Paulinus, Archbishop of York, Missionary
• Wilfrid, Bishop, Missionary
• Edward the Confessor, King of England
• Alfred the Great, King of the West Saxons, Scholar
• Cedd, Abbot of Lastingham, Bishop of the East Saxons
• Willibrord of York, Bishop, Apostle of Frisia
• Margaret, Queen of Scotland, Mystic
• Edmund Rich of Abingdon, Archbishop of Canterbury
• Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln
• Hilda, Abbess of Whitby, 680
• Edmund, King of the East Angles, Martyr
• Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr
• John Wyclif, Reformer

[edit] Examples of Modern Anglican saints and heroes of the Christian Church

The ninth Lambeth Conference held in 1958 clarified the commemoration of Saints and heroes of the Christian Church in the Anglican Communion. Resolution 79 stated:

• In the case of scriptural saints, care should be taken to commemorate men or women in terms which are in strict accord with the facts made known in Holy Scripture.
• In the case of other names, the Kalendar should be limited to those whose historical character and devotion are beyond doubt.
• In the choice of new names economy should be observed and controversial names should not be inserted until they can be seen in the perspective of history.
• The addition of a new name should normally result from a wide-spread desire expressed in the region concerned over a reasonable period of time.

The following have been identified as heroes of the Christian Church in the Anglican Communion:

• George Herbert, Priest, Poet
• Thomas Bray, Founder of the SPCK
• Edward King, Bishop of Lincoln
• John Donne, Priest, Poet
• Frederick Denison Maurice, Priest
• William Law, Priest, Spiritual Writer
• George Augustus Selwyn, Bishop of New Zealand
• John and Charles Wesley, Evangelists, Hymn Writers
• Josephine Butler, Social Reformer
• Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells
• Evelyn Underhill, Spiritual Writer
• Joseph Butler, Bishop of Durham, Philosopher
• Bernard Mizeki, Apostle of the MaShona, Martyr
• John Keble, Priest, Tractarian, Poet
• William Wilberforce, Social Reformer
• John Mason Neale, Priest, Hymn Writer
• John Henry Newman, Priest, Tractarian
• Jeremy Taylor, Bishop of Down and Connor
• Florence Nightingale, Nurse, Social Reformer
• John Bunyan, Spiritual Writer
• Edward Bouverie Pusey, Priest, Tractarian
• Lancelot Andrewes, Bishop of Winchester, Spiritual Writer
• Richard Hooker, Priest, Anglican Apologist
• William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury
• Samuel Seabury, first Anglican Bishop in North America
• Isaac Watts, Hymn Writer
• Nicholas Ferrar, Deacon, Founder of the Little Gidding Community

[edit] See also

• List of Anglican Church Calendars

[edit] References

1. ^ Major, Richard (2006). Anglican heroics? Sermon for the feast of King Charles the martyr (pdf). Rector, St Mary's Episcopal Church, Staten Island, New York. Retrieved on February 22, 2007.

• 1958 Lambeth Conference resolution on The Commemoration of Saints and Heroes of the Christian Church in the Anglican Communion
• The Commemoration of Saints and Heroes of the Faith in the Anglican Communion; the report of a Commission appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury. London, S.P.C.K., 1957.