[Christopher Nyerges is
author of several books, such as Extreme Simplicity: Homesteading in the
City (co-author), and How to Survive Anywhere. He has led wilderness expeditions since
1974. He can be reached at Box 41834,
Eagle Rock, CA 90041 or via ChristopherNyerges.com]
On
the 17th of this month, we celebrate “Saint Patrick’s Day,” that day
when people pinch each other if they’re not wearing green, when Trader Joe’s
starts selling little potted shamrocks, and where the local bars sell green
beer. But what’s this really all about?
First,
a little wake-up call about “Saint Patrick.”
Patrick was not Irish, had nothing to do with leprechauns, almost
certainly was not a drunkard, and didn't drive all the snakes out of
Ireland. In fact, there were believed
to be no native snakes in Ireland, though this story is generally regarded as
an analogy for driving out the so-called “pagans,” or, at least, the pagan
religions.
Patrick
was one of the "greats" of history who nearly single-handedly
preserved the best of Western culture when much of Europe was devolving into
chaos and ruin. He deserves far better
than remembering him in the silly ways we do today, such as wearing green,
pinching each other, and getting drunk.
Rather, he deserves an accurate memory, and our emulation. Unfortunately, like all true Saviors of
history, they are either killed off, or relegated to the closet of
ridicule.
So
who exactly was Saint Patrick? Will the
real Saint Patrick please stand up?
His
real name was Maewyn Succat, born around 385 A.D., somewhere in Scotland, or
possibly somewhere else, as there is conflicting historical data on his exact
date and place of birth. His baptismal
name was Patricius.
Around
age 16, he was sold into slavery in Ireland and worked for the next 6 years as
a shepherd. Keep in mind that human
slavery, as well as human sacrifice, was considered “normal” for those times.
After
his six years in slavery, he believed that an angel came to him in a dream,
prompting him to escape and seek out his homeland. He actually walked about 200 miles to the coast, where his dream
indicated a ship would also be waiting for him. He successfully escaped, found the ship he dreamed about, and
spent the next twenty years of his life as a monk in Marmoutier Abbey. There he
again received a celestial visitation, this time calling him to return to the
land where he’d been enslaved, though now with a mission as a priest and
converter.
Patrick
was called to Rome in 432, where Pope Celestine made Patrick a Bishop, and sent
him off on his mission.
Patrick
returned to Ireland with 24 supporters and
followers. They arrived in the
winter of 432. In the spring, Patrick
decided to confront the high King of Tara, the most powerful King in Ireland.
Patrick knew that if he had the King's support, he would be free to take his
Christian message to the people of Ireland.
Patrick
and his followers were invited to Tara by the King of Laoghaire. It was there
that he was said to have plucked a shamrock from the ground as he tried to
explain to the Druids and the King that the shamrock had three leaves just like
the idea of God’s three aspects, the Trinity: The Father, The Son and the Holy
Ghost.
Of
course, triads and trinities were a common concept among the Druids. In fact, one could argue that the trinity (a
term not found in the Bible) was a concept given to Christianity by the Druids,
rather than the other way around.
Nevertheless, whatever momentousness Patrick conveyed, King Laoghaire was very impressed with
Patrick, and chose to accept Christianity. He also gave Patrick the freedom to
spread Christianity throughout Ireland.
When
Patrick returned to Ireland, he treated the "pagans" with the respect
implicit in his dream. Part of this respect was attempting to communicate with
the Druids on their terms, which is why he used the shamrock as a teaching
tool. He also blended the Christian
cross with the circle to create what is now known as the Celtic cross. He used bonfires to celebrate Easter, a Holy
Day that Christianity supplanted with the already-existing spring equinox
commemoration. In fact, he incorporated many of the existing “old religion”
symbols and beliefs into his Christian teachings.
He
spent his last 30 years in Ireland, baptizing the non-Christian Irish,
ordaining priests, and founding churches and monasteries. His persuasive powers
must have been astounding, since Ireland fully converted to Christianity within
200 years and was the only country in Europe to Christianize peacefully.
Patrick's Christian conversion ended slavery, human sacrifice, and most
intertribal warfare in Ireland.
Patrick was also unique in that he equally valued the role
of women in an age when the church ignored them. He always sided with the
downtrodden and the excluded, whether they were slaves or the “pagan” Irish.
According
to Thomas Cahill, author of How the Irish Saved Civilization, Patrick's
influence extended far beyond his adopted land. Cahill's book, which could just
as well be titled How St. Patrick Saved Civilization, contends that
Patrick's conversion of Ireland allowed Western learning to survive the Dark
Ages. Ireland pacified and churchified as the rest of Europe crumbled.
Patrick's monasteries copied and preserved classical texts. Later, Irish monks
returned this knowledge to Europe by establishing monasteries in England,
Germany, France, Switzerland, and Italy.
When the lights went out all over Europe, a candle still burned in
Ireland. That candle was lit by Patrick.
Veneration
of Patrick gradually assumed the status of a local cult. He was not simply remembered in Saul
and Downpatrick, he was worshipped!
Indeed, homage to Patrick as Ireland's saint was apparent in the eight
century AD. At this time Patrick's status as a national apostle was made
independently of Rome. He was claimed
locally as a saint before the practice of canonization was introduced by the
Vatican. The high regard in which the Irish have held St Patrick is evidenced
by the salutation, still common today, of "May God, Mary, and Patrick
bless you".
