Looking for someone to walk through Lent with?
The days of the year can be a reminder of the cloud of brothers and sisters we live in an eternal communion with. The whole Church year is structured to tell the gospel story too, linked with the northern hemisphere seasonal changes!
The chunk of time called Lent is 40 days of preparation leading up to Easter Sunday as part of this organising of time. The list of saints below starts in January though because that is more familiar for most people.
As Quartz we are encouraging people to pick a travelling companion.
Some of us might be happy chatting with them like they are sitting next to us. In what ways might the discussion become two way? For others the journey might work more like a research project. Those of us in Dumfries are going to meet up and discuss how it is going and help each other that way. If you are part of our diverse online community then please use the comments and e-mail to join in.
We will post reports and suggestion here too!
To get going, here is a list of the saints especially recognised by the Scottish Episcopal Church (taken from Wikipedia – and that is where clicking the links will take you). Some are ancient, some were born around the same time as my gran.
Who would you pick?
January
- 2 Seraphim of Sarov, 1833
- 10 William Laud, Bishop, 1645
- 11 David, King of Scots, 1153
- 14 Hilary of Poitiers, Bishop and Teacher of the Faith, c. 367
- 17 Anthony of Egypt, Abbot, 356
- 21 Agnes, Martyr, c. 304
- 24 Francis de Sales, Bishop, 1622
- 27 John Chrysostom, Bishop and Teacher of the Faith, 407
- 28 Thomas Aquinas, Teacher of the Faith, 1274
- 30 Charles I, King, 1649
- 31 Charles Mackenzie of Central Africa, Bishop, Missionary, Martyr, 1862
February
- 1 Brigid of Kildare, Abbess, c. 525
- 3 Saints and Martyrs of Europe
- 6 Paul Miki, Priest, and the Martyrs of Japan, 1597
- 10 Scholastica, Religious, 543
- 14 Cyril, Monk, 869, and Methodius, Bishop, 885, “Apostles of the Slavs”
- 15 Thomas Bray, Priest and Missionary, 1730
- 17 Finan of Lindisfarne, Bishop, 661
- 18 Colman of Lindisfarne, Bishop, 676
- 19 Martin Luther, 1545
- 23 Polycarp of Smyrna, Bishop and Martyr, 156
March
- 1 David, Bishop, Patron of Wales, c. 544
- 2 Chad of Lichfield, Bishop, 672
- 3 John and Charles Wesley, Priests, 1791, 1788
- 4 Adrian of May Island, Abbot, and Companions, Martyrs, 875
- 6 Baldred, Bishop, 608
- 7 Perpetua and her Companions, Martyrs, 203
- 8 Duthac, Bishop, 1068
- 10 Kessog, Bishop, c. 700
- 16 Boniface of Ross, Bishop, 8th century
- 18 Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Teacher of the Faith, 386
- 20 Cuthbert, Bishop, 687
- 21 Thomas Cranmer, Bishop, 1556
- 22 Thomas Ken, Bishop, 1711
- 24 Paul Couturier, Priest, 1953
- 28 Patrick Forbes, Bishop, 1635, and the Aberdeen doctors, Teachers of the Faith
- 29 John Keble, Priest, 1866
April
- 1 Gilbert of Caithness, Bishop, 1245
- 9 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Theologian and Martyr, 1945
- 10 William Law, Priest, 1761
- 11 George Augustus Selwyn, Bishop and Missionary, 1878
- 12 William Forbes, Bishop, 1634
- 16 Magnus of Orkney, Martyr, c. 1116
- 17 Saint Donnan, Abbot, and Companions, Martyrs, c. 617
- 20 Máel Ruba of Applecross, Abbot, 722
- 21 Anselm of Canterbury, Bishop and Teacher of the Faith, 1109
- 23 George, Patron of England, Martyr, c. 303
- 26 Albert Ernest Laurie, Priest, 1937
- 29 Catherine of Siena, Mystic and Teacher of the Faith, 1380
May
- 2 Athanasius of Alexandria, Bishop and Teacher of the Faith, 373
- 8 Julian of Norwich, c. 1413
- 12 Thomas Rattray, Bishop, 1743
- 21 Helena, c. 330
- 23 William of Perth (or Rochester), 1201
- 25 Bede, the Venerable, of Jarrow, Teacher of the Faith, 735
- 26 Augustine of Canterbury, Bishop, c. 604
June
- 1 Justin of Rome, Martyr, c. 165
- 3 Charles Lwanga and his companions, 1886, Janani Luwum, Bishop, 1977, Martyrs of Uganda
- 4 John XXIII, Bishop of Rome, Reformer, 1963
- 5 Boniface of Mainz, Bishop, Missionary and Martyr, 754
- 8 Ephrem the Syrian, Deacon and Teacher of the Faith, 373
- 12 John Skinner, Priest, 1807, and John Skinner, Bishop, 1816
- 14 Basil of Caesarea, 379; Gregory of Nazianzus, 390; Gregory of Nyssa, 394, Bishops and Teachers of the Faith
- 18 Bernard Mizeki, Martyr, 1896
- 20 Fillan, Abbot, c. 750
- 22 Alban, Martyr, c. 209
- 25 Moluag of Lismore, Bishop, c. 592
- 26 Robert Leighton, Bishop, 1684
- 27 Alexander Jolly, Bishop, 1838
- 28 Irenaeus of Lyons, Bishop and Teacher of the Faith, 202
July
- 1 Serf, Bishop, c. 500
- 6 Palladius, Bishop, c. 450
- 7 Boisil, Prior of Melrose, c. 642
- 11 Benedict of Nursia, Abbot, c. 550
- 12 Drostan of Deer, Abbot, c. 600
- 17 Jane Haining, Missionary and Martyr, 1944[1]
- 21 William Wilberforce, 1833
- 26 Anne and Joachim, Parents of Mary, Mother of the Lord
- 27 John Comper, Priest, 1903
- 29 Martha and Mary of Bethany
- 30 Silas, Companion of Saint Paul
- 31 Ignatius Loyola, Priest and Religious, 1556
August
- 5 Oswald of Northumbria, Martyr, 642
- 7 John Mason Neale, Priest, 1866
- 8 Dominic, Priest and Friar, 1221
- 10 Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr, 258
- 11 Clare of Assisi, Religious, 1253
- 12 Blane, Missionary, c. 590
- 13 Jeremy Taylor, Bishop, 1667
- 14 Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr, 1940
- 20 Bernard of Clairvaux, Abbot and Teacher of the Faith, 1153
- 25 Ebba of Coldingham, Abbess, 683
- 27 Monica, Mother of Augustine of Hippo, 387
- 28 Augustine of Hippo, Bishop and Teacher of the Faith, 430
- 31 Aidan of Lindisfarne, Bishop, 651
September
- 2 The Martyrs of New Guinea, 1942
- 3 Gregory the Great, Bishop and Teacher of the Faith, 604
- 13 Cyprian of Carthage, Bishop and Martyr, 258
- 17 Hildegard of Bingen, Abbess, 1179
- 20 John Coleridge Patteson, Bishop and Martyr, 1871
- 23 Adamnan of Iona, Abbot, 704
- 25 Finnbar of Caithness, Bishop, c. 610
- 27 Vincent de Paul, Priest, 1660
- 30 Jerome, Priest and Teacher of the Faith, 420
October
- 1 Gregory the Enlightener, Bishop, “Apostle of Armenia”, c. 332
- 4 Francis of Assisi, Deacon and Friar, 1226
- 8 Alexander Penrose Forbes, Bishop, 1875
- 11 Kenneth, Abbot, 600
- 12 Elizabeth Fry, 18456
- 15 Teresa of Avila, Teacher of the Faith, 1582
- 17 Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr, c. 115
- 19 Henry Martyn, Priest and Missionary, 1812
- 29 James Hannington, Bishop, and Companions, Martyrs, 1885
November
- 3 Richard Hooker, Priest and Teacher of the Faith, 1600
- 7 Willibrord, Bishop and Missionary, 739
- 9 George Hay Forbes, Priest, 1875
- 10 Leo the Great, Bishop and Teacher of the Faith, 461
- 11 Martin of Tours, Bishop, c. 397
- 12 Machar, Bishop, c. 600
- 17 Hugh of Lincoln, Bishop, 1200
- 18 Fergus, Bishop, c. 750
- 19 Hilda of Whitby, 680
- 21 Columban, Bishop, 615
- 22 Cecilia, Martyr, c. 230
- 23 Clement of Rome, Bishop and Martyr, c. 100
- 24 Lucy Menzies, 1954
December
- 1 Charles de Foucauld, Priest and Hermit, 1916
- 2 Nicholas Ferrar, Deacon, 1637
- 3 Francis Xavier, Priest and Missionary, 1552
- 4 Clement of Alexandria, Teacher of the Faith, c. 210
- 6 Nicholas of Myra, Bishop, 4th century
- 7 Ambrose of Milan, Bishop and Teacher of the Faith, 397
- 14 John of the Cross, Priest, Teacher of the Faith, 1591
- 29 Thomas of Canterbury, Bishop and Martyr, 1170
- 30 Josephine Butler, 1905
- 31 John Wycliffe, Priest, 1384
You can get the whole SEC calendar on your phone if you visit this page.