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3] ST. RICHARD was Bishop of Chichester about the middle | of the thirteenth century. His parents, Richard and Alice de Wiche, resided on an estate near Worcester, to which he was heir. But from his earliest years he showed a strong inclination for study and devotion, and studied successively at Oxford, Paris, and Bologna. After having held the Professorship of Civil Law at Bologna for a short time, he returned to Oxford, and was made Chancellor of the University, and subsequently of the diocese of Canterbury, under St. Edmund, with whom he went into exile in France. Here he studied for a while in a Dominican convent, and it was not till this period of his life that he was ordained priest. Returning again to England, he served as a parish priest in the diocese of Canterbury, and resumed the office of Chancellor under Archbishop Boniface. The see of Chichester falling vacant, A.D. 1244, one of those disputes between King and Pope, which were then so common, arose about the appointment. The chapter elected one Robert Passelaw, Archdeacon of Chichester; but the Archbishop declined to confirm the election, as being that of an unfit person. He declared the nomination void, and appointed Richard de Wiche to the vacant see. The King then confiscated the revenues, and a strong party of courtiers and others set themselves against the new Bishop. He however appealed to Rome, and got a Papal decision in his favour, which naturally incensed the King all the more. The Bishop however applied himself diligently to the duties of his office, and in his case was fulfilled the text, "When a man's ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him;" for, after two years, the King relented, and restored his lands. In A.D. 1253, he was preaching a crusade in the south of England, and when at Dover consecrated a church there, on Mid-Lent Sunday, in honour of his former patron, St. Edmund of Canterbury. While thus engaged he was seized with his last illness, and departed during the week following. Simon of Tarring, a Sussex gentleman, who had protected him during the displeasure of the King, and other friends, were present with him during his last hours. After lying in state for some days, his body was buried before the altar of St. Edmund, in Chichester Cathedral, and some years afterwards removed to a place of greater honour in the same church. He is represented as a Bishop, usually with a chalice at his feet; in allusion to a tradition that, in his old age, falling with the chalice, its contents were not spilled. [Sar. Ep. and Gosp.: Ecclus. xliv. 17. 20-23, and xlv. 6, 7. 15, 16. St. John xv. 1-7.]

4] ST. AMBROSE is commemorated on this, the day of his death, in accordance with English usage; but in the Latin and Greek Churches his feast is kept on the 7th of December, the day of his ordination. He was born about A.D. 340, in Gaul, where his father held the office of Prætorian Prefect. Paulinus affirms that while he was in his cradle a swarm of bees settled on his lips, and that this, as in the case of Plato, was thought to predict his future eloquence. After the death of his father he was educated at Rome, where he attained to great proficiency in Greek and Civil Law, which led to his appointment to the Governorship of Liguria. He also practised as an advocate, and displayed so much wisdom and judgment in this capacity during a severe contest between the orthodox and the Arians, relative to an appointment to the see of Milan, that he was, although as yet unbaptized, strongly pressed to accept the office himself-the whole multitude taking up the cry, "Ambrose is Bishop"-first uttered, it is said, by a child. He reluctantly consented, and, after baptism, was ordained and consecrated, Dec. 7, A.D. 374. Having made over to the church of Milan all his estates, he devoted himself to his duties. He had constant difficulties in consequence of the prevalence of the Arian and Apollinarian heresies, and wrote many theological works, both controversial and devotional. St. Ambrose is spoken of with the most affectionate reverence by St. Augustine in his Confessions, as having been greatly instrumental in the work of his conversion. The saying, "When I am at Rome, I do as they do at Rome," is attributed to St. Ambrose, who replied to St. Augustine, when he consulted him about the different modes of observing Saturday at Rome and Milan: "When I come to Rome I fast on the

Saturdays, as they do at Rome; when I am here I do not fast. So likewise you, to whatsoever Church you come, observe the custom of that place, if you mean not either to give or take offence."

But in matters which involved principle, St. Ambrose did not shrink from his duty. It is well known how he excommunicated the Emperor Theodosius, for a cruel abuse of power during an insurrection at Thessalonica; and how he shut the gates of the church of Milan against him, exhorting him with such effect that he became a true penitent. He is said to have introduced metrical hymns into the Offices of the Church, and, like St. Gregory, to have paid great attention both to the construction of these Offices, and to the music used in them, the "Ambrosian rite" having a very distinct character of its own, like the English. He is also reckoned as one of the four great doctors of the Western Church. He died, A.D. 397, on the 4th of April, and his body still lies under the high altar of the basilica dedicated to him at Milan. [Sar. Ep. and Gosp.: Ecclus. xlvii. 8-11. St. Matt. xxiv. 42-47.]

19] ST. ALPHEGE was an English saint. He was born of a noble family, about A.D. 954, and while very young retired to a monastery, and afterwards became abbot of a house at Bath. In 984 he was made Bishop of Winchester, and in 1006 translated to Canterbury. In 1011 the Danes broke in upon the city, and imprisoned the Archbishop, offering to set him free for the treasures of the church. He refused to give them up, and after having held out for several months, was stoned, and finally slain with a battle-axe, calling upon God, like St. Stephen, to receive his soul, and, like Christ, for the forgiveness of his murderers. This took place on the site of the present parish church of Greenwich, which is dedicated to him. His body was buried first in the Cathedral of St. Paul in London, but afterwards translated to Canterbury. He is represented as an Archbishop, with stones in his vestment, and sometimes with the battle-axe. [Sar. Ep. and Gosp.: Heb. xiii. 9-16. St. John xv. 1--7.]

23] The history of ST. GEORGE of Cappadocia, the Patron of England, has been from time to time mixed up with that of George, the Arian bishop of Alexandria, and is so obscure that some have doubted his existence. But churches were dedicated to him under the first Christian Emperors, and his office is found in the Sacramentary of St. Gregory. The Greek Church calls him the Great Martyr, and keeps his festival as a holyday of obligation. He was born in Cappadocia in the latter half of the third century, of noble Christian parents, entered the army, and was rapidly advanced by the Emperor Diocletian. He was himself imprisoned, tortured, and beheaded: being, apparently, the same young man who tore down the edicts for persecution, as related by Lactantius and Eusebius. He was first acknowledged as the Patron of England at the Synod of Oxford, A.D. 1220, and has been regarded as the patron of military men partly on account of his own profession, and partly because of his alleged appearance to Richard Cœur de Lion in his expedition against the Saracens. Hence, no doubt, the old battle-cry, "St. George for England!" Under his name King Edward the Third [A.D. 1330] instituted the Order of the Garter, the most ancient and most noble order of knighthood in Europe. The stalls and insignia of these knights are at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, where special prayers are offered for them in the Daily Service, as well as a special service on "Obit Sunday." St. George is usually represented in conflict with a dragon, in allusion to the legend of his having fought with a dragon to save the daughter of a king, though it may be better understood of the conflict of the Christian soldier with Satan on behalf of the Church. He is represented as a young warrior, fully armed, and bearing a red cross on his shield or on a banner. This is the famous cross of St. George, and is incorporated with that of St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, in the national flag called the "Union Jack." There are more than 162 churches of ancient foundation dedicated to St. George, and his name was retained in the Calendar in the time of Queen Elizabeth, when almost all the other "black-letter" saints had been struck out. [Sar. Ep. and Gosp: St. James i. 2-12. St. John xv. 1-7.]

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3] INVENTION OF THE CROSS.-This festival commemorates the finding the Cross on which our Lord suffered, by the Empress Helena, about A.D. 326. At this time the Jews and Pagans together had effaced nearly every trace of the scenes of our Lord's Passion and Resurrection, the Holy Sepulchre had been paved over, and heathen temples built on the spot. It was supposed that the crosses of our Lord and of the two thieves were buried near the place where they suffered, and after a long and difficult search they were found. Macarius, Bishop of Jerusalem, in order to distinguish that of our Lord, suggested that the three crosses should be carried to a sick lady, and after much prayer applied them singly to her. By the touch of one of them the sick lady recovered, as those did to whom were brought handkerchiefs and aprons from St. Paul's body. The Empress, full of joy at the discovery, enclosed the precious relic in a silver shrine, and built on the spot a church in which it might be preserved. She also carried a large piece to Rome, and deposited it in a church which she had built there in honour of the Holy Cross. [See Sept. 14.] This account has not been disproved. [Sar. Ep. and Gosp.: Gal. v. 10-12, and vi. 12-14. St. John iii. 1-15.]

6] ST. JOHN ANTE PORTAM LATINAM.-This festival was instituted in memory of the miraculous deliverance of St. John from death, when he was cast into a cauldron of boiling oil before the Latin Gate of Rome, by order and perhaps in the presence of Domitian. Our Lord had promised that deadly things should not hurt those who believed in Him, and thus His word was fulfilled, as it had been before when St. Paul took up the serpent at Melita; and as it had been by anticipation when the form of the Son of God was seen walking with the three young men in the fiery furnace at Babylon. The Emperor attributed the Apostle's deliverance to the power of magic, and banished him to Patmos, where he received and recorded the Apocalypse. There has been a church at Rome on the spot where the event above mentioned occurred, ever since the time of the first Christian Emperors. The day is kept as a great festival at St. John's College, Cambridge, and at the more recent foundation of St. John's Hurstpierpoint. [Sar. Ep. and Gosp.: Eccl. xv. 1-6. St. John xxi. 19-24.]

19] ST. DUNSTAN.-This Saxon Saint was born about A.D. 924, at Glastonbury, of Christian parents holding a high position in society. He was educated in his native town, under a society of Irish monks there resident, and lived for some time with Athelmus, Archbishop of Canterbury, his uncle, who introduced him to the notice of King Athelstan. At court he for a time enjoyed the highest favours, but some who envied him maligned him to the King, and he was banished from the royal presence. He was then urged to take monastic vows by Alphege the Bald, Bishop of Winchester, and after a time became a monk, and was also ordained priest. He served the church at Glastonbury, dwelling in a small cell attached thereto. Here he fasted and prayed, and worked at copying and illumination, and at the fabrication of vestments, censers, and other church furniture. Athelstan was succeeded by his brother Edmund, who recalled Dunstan; but he soon again fell into disgrace at court, and retired to the Benedictine monastery of Fleury in France. After a few years he was recalled, and made Superior of the house at Glastonbury. Here he refounded the church and convent on a larger scale, established a rule based on that of St. Benedict, and became himself the first Abbot on the new foundation, and nineteenth from St. Brithwald. King Edmund after a reign of six years and a half was murdered, and his sons, Edwy and Edgar, being too young for the throne, his brother Edred succeeded him, and followed the advice of St. Dunstan in all things. He dying in 955, was succeeded by Edwy, a profligate youth, whose vices St. Dunstan was obliged to reprove even on the day of his coronation. In revenge he banished the Abbot, persecuted the Monks every where, and devastated all the abbeys that had been spared by the Danes except Glastonbury and Abingdon. After a year's exile in Flanders, Dunstan was recalled by Edgar, who had been placed on the throne instead of Edwy, deposed by the Mercians. This young King made Dunstan his principal counsellor, and in A.D. 957 he was made Bishop of Worcester, and shortly afterwards of London. Edwy still

reigned over the southern provinces for three years longer; but on his death Edgar became monarch of all England, and Dunstan was raised to the see of Canterbury, being also appointed Papal legate by Pope John XII. He exerted himself greatly in the restoration of discipline, and in conjunction with Ethelwold, Bishop of Winchester, and Oswald, Archbishop of York, re-established most of the chief monasteries. He exercised a rigid control over the secular clergy, ejecting many who were married, and enforcing celibacy on others. At one time King Edgar having fallen into a scandalous crime, he boldly reproved him, and brought him to repentance. He went about preaching and instructing the people in the churches of his diocese, and would sometimes repair to his old retreat at Glastonbury for solitude and contemplation. His last sickness came upon him at Canterbury, where, after preaching thrice on Ascension Day, A.D. 988, he died on the Saturday following, and was buried in his own cathedral. Some of his bones were said to have been translated to Glastonbury in 1012, but the greater part of them were found under his tomb in 1508. His distinguishing emblems are a pair of pincers and a harp. Six churches in Kent, six in Middlesex, and six elsewhere, are dedicated to him, including the well-known city churches of St. Dunstan near Temple Bar, and St. Dunstan in the East. [Sar. Ep. and Gosp.: Eccl. xliv. 47. 20, 21-23; xlv. 6, 7. 15, 16. St. Matt. xxv. 14-23. During Easter-tide, St. John xv. 1–7.]

26] ST. AUGUSTINE, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, has been called the Apostle of England, from the great work which he accomplished in restoring the Church in the south-east part of the country, after the old Clergy had been entirely rooted out by the Saxons. Nothing is known of his history until the time when he was sent on his mission by Gregory the Great. He was then Prior of St. Andrew's Monastery at Rome. [See March 12.] He landed in Kent A.D. 596, and went through the Isle of Thanet towards Canterbury, by invitation of King Ethelbert. The manner in which St. Augustine and his missionary brethren came towards the heathen King is thus recorded by the Venerable Bede: "He came chanting Litanies, and beseeching the Lord for the everlasting weal, as well of themselves, as of those for whose sake he had come. . . . . And when they drew near that city, they chanted the Litany with one accord in these words;- That it may please Thee to turn away the fury of Thy wrath from all Thy people, and chiefly from this city, we sinners beseech Thee to hear us, O Lord.' Then being admitted into the royal presence, they proclaimed their mission before the King: and he, having already some acquaintance with Christianity (through his wife Bertha, and her chaplain, Luidhard, Bishop of Senlis), received them kindly, and bade them welcome to his city." Kent had returned almost entirely to heathenism, and the coming of these missionaries was a great blessing to it. They restored to its proper use the old church of St. Martin, and thus made Christian worship familiar again to the eyes of the people. They converted large numbers of the Saxon conquerors, and eventually the King himself, who afterwards laboured earnestly for the perfect establishment of the Church among his people, during the twenty remaining years of his life.

But when the new missionaries extended their work into a wider circle, they came into contact with the ancient Church of England, of which in the conquered part of the island they had found only dormant remains. To men of polished education and exact ritual habits the ancient Church of the land presented features which were distasteful to them: and in their own fervent zeal and high prosperity, they seem to have appreciated at too low a value the energies of a depressed and persecuted Clergy. Augustine endeavoured to enforce a Roman ritual and jurisdiction upon the native Bishops; and this they resisted, claiming to possess independent Episcopal jurisdiction, and to have a ritual as Apostolic in its origin as that of Rome itself. These heart-burnings lasted until long after the death of St. Augustine, which happened A.D. 604; and tended in some degree to mar the good work which he had so well begun. Yet it cannot be doubted that England owes a debt of gratitude to him as a second founder of her Church, and the great see of Canterbury is an enduring monument of his missionary zeal. Dying on May 26th, 604,

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