Saint Ninian
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| Saint Ninian | |
|---|---|
| |
| Bishop | |
| Born | 360, Cumberland |
| Died | 432, Whithorn |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Major shrine | Whithorn Priory, now lost |
| Feast | September 16 |
| Attributes | crozier, book, holding a model of a white church |
| Patronage | diocese of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada; diocese of Galloway, Scotland |
Saint Ninian (c. 360 - 432) is the earliest known bishop to have visited Scotland. Neither his place and date of birth, nor his early life, are known with any certainty.
The traditional story is that he was born in Brythonic Cumbria, probably Rheged, but travelled to Rome as a young man to study Christianity. There he was made a bishop and given the task of converting the Picts by the Pope, St Siricius.
Tradition (first mentioned by Bede) states that around 397 he set up his base at Whithorn in south-west Scotland, building a stone church there, known as the Candida Casa which means the White House. From there he began work among the Northern Brythons of the surrounding area. Later he undertook a journey northwards along the east coast in order to spread Christianity among the southern Picts. The word southern is almost certainly a misnomer based on the maps of early times which mistakenly depict the east coast of Scotland as if it were the south coast. Placename evidence and local tradition suggest that he may have travelled as far as the Shetland Islands. He trained many missionaries, among whom, it is said, was the man who converted Saint Columba.
In 2001, a Glasgow University Celticist arguedT.O. Clancy, "The real St Ninian," Innes Review, 52 (2001). that St. Ninian was in fact the same man as St Finnian, likewise a mentor of St. Columba, and that the confusion is due to an 8th century scribal spelling error. Scholars seem to be accepting that this was the indeed the case.
Notes
External links
- () [Whithorn]
- redirect
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