Happy Feast of Saint Andrew, Patron of Scotland
SAINT ANDREW GIVEN OFFICIAL RECOGNITION AS SCOTLAND’S PATRON SAINT
From 1180 onward, Saint Andrew was used on official seals in Scotland sometimes along with the lion rampant, which was the heraldic symbol of the Scottish crown. In 1286, during the the Scottish Wars of Independence, when Scotland was ruled by the Guardians of Scotland in the absence of a king, the saint was depicted on the Guardians’ seal, used to authenticate their legal documents and communications to the rest of Europe. The seal also included the inscription: “Andrea Scotis dux esto compatriotis” (Andrew be leader of the compatriot Scots).
Saint Andrew was first recognised as the official patron saint of Scotland in 1320 at the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath. This was an appeal to the Pope by King Robert the Bruce and the Scottish noblemen, stating their wish to be peaceful, free men, independent of English rule. It is one of the most important documents ever signed, being the first ever declaration of independence by any nation and contains remarkably advanced ideas in the areas of nationhood and kingship. With reference to Saint Andrew, this document states:
“The high qualities and deserts of these people, were they not otherwise manifest, gain glory enough from this: that the King of kings and Lord of lords, our Lord Jesus Christ, after his Passion and Resurrection, called them, even though settled in the uttermost parts of the earth, almost the first to His most holy faith. Nor would He have them confirmed in that faith by merely anyone but by the first of His Apostles – by calling, though second or third rank – the most gentle Saint Andrew, the Blessed Peter’s brother, and desired him to keep them under his protection as their patron for ever.”
SAINT ANDREW AND THE REFORMATION
The presence of Andrew’s relics meant that St. Andrews became a popular medieval pilgrimage site. In 1318, St Andrews Cathedral was dedicated to him. It was the largest church in Scotland before the Reformation.
During the 16th Century, Scotland was plunged into the Reformation. It was a time of bloodshed, and many important artifacts were destroyed. The Reformers were keen to stamp out ‘Papist Idolatry’ and smashed and defaced many Catholic images, icons, relics and even the stone sarcophagi found inside medieval churches. In what almost seems like an act of wilful vandalism to the modern mind, St. Andrew’s relics were destroyed during these turbulent times. However, in 1879, the Archbishop of Amalfi gifted Andrew’s shoulder blade to St. Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh. Pope Paul VI donated further relics in 1969. Source…
Editor writes…
Today, we might ask our patron saint to intercede for special graces for Scotland, at this turbulent point in our history.
As usual, with Feast Day threads, of course, feel free to discuss relevant issues and to share your favourite prayers, hymns, stories and jokes of the “good clean fun” variety.
A very happy Feast of Saint Andrew to one and all!
Comments (15)
Happy Feast Day! As usual, I’ll be starting the St Andrew’s Christmas Novena today:
“HAIL and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, [request], Through the merits of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen.”
– St Andrew Christmas Novena traditionally prayed 15 times per day, for your intention, from St Andrew’s Feast Day (30th November) until Christmas.
Thank you, Andrew. I think you posted that novena prayer last year as well. I’ve never seen it anywhere else. Thank you for posting it here.
Enjoyed the toddler’s dance in the intro, LOL!
Happy Feast everyone!
The kid’s dance was hilarious!
I also loved the wee toddler dancing. What a character!
Happy Feast to every on the CTS blog.
St Andrew, pray for Scotland!
Wishing everyone on the blog, a very happy Feast of St Andrew.
Happy Feast everyone – I wanted to post a joke about mean Scots (sorry!) but I found this instead and it made me laugh… The search engine obviously can’t tell the difference between Scots people and Scotch whisky!
Joke:
A Glasgow woman goes to the dentist and settles down in the chair.
“Comfy?” asks the dentist.
“Govan,” she replies.
LOL! (I should explain for non-Scots that “comfy” can be taken to mean the question “where you do come fae, come from? And Govan is a district of Glasgow.)
They say if you have to explain a joke, don’t bother telling it, LOL!
I wish everyone, a very happy Feast of Saint Andrew.
I read this article on msm and thought it worth posting here, as it has some interesting information that I didn’t know before.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/st-andrews-day-scotland-2022-facts-b2235938.html
A very happy Feast everyone!
I’m not sure if this is too political to post here but I think it’s interesting – Nicola Sturgeon heckled about her gender policy.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/shame-on-you-nicola-sturgeon-heckled-by-protester-during-speech-on-gender-violence/ar-AA14HW92?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=b7a6770b70a04f3ca31403d7b042b071
Josephine,
It’s certainly interesting 😀
A blessed feast of St. Andrew to you!
Wurdesmythe
Thank you! Nice to hear from you!
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this Feast Day thread, now closed to comments.
Comments are closed.