Pope Eluetherius' Envoy to the British, St Fagan, and St Teilo's Church, Talybont rebuilt at St Fagans

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ST FAGAN AND ST TEILO


Pope (c. 174-189). The Liber Pontificalis says that he was a native of Nicopolis, Greece. From his contemporary Hegesippus we learn that he was a deacon of the Roman Church under Pope Anicetus (c. 154-164), and evidently remained so under St. Soter, the following pope, whom he succeeded about 174. While the condition of Christians under Marcus Aurelius was distressing in various parts of the empire, the persecution in Rome itself does not seem to have been violent. De Rossi, it is true, dates the martyrdom of St. Cecilia towards the end of this emperor's reign; this date, however, is by no means certain. During the reign of Commodus (180-192) the Christians enjoyed a practically unbroken peace, although the martyrdom of St. Appollonius at Rome took place at the time (180-185). The Montanist movement, that originated in Asia Minor, made its way to Rome and Gaul in the second half of the second century, more particularly about the reign of Eleutherius; its peculiar nature made it difficult to take from the outset a decisive stand against it (see MONTANISTS). During the violent persecution at Lyons, in 177, local confessors wrote from their prison concerning the new movement to the Asiatic and Phrygian brethren, also to Pope Eleutherius. The bearer of their letter to the pope was the presbyter Irenæus, soon afterwards Bishop of Lyons. Eventually the Pope took a stand and declared against Montanists, Gnostics and others.

The ninth-century "Historia Brittonum" sees Lucius as a translation of the Celtic name Llever Maur (Great Light), says that the envoys of Lucius were Fagan and Wervan, and tells us that with this king all the other island kings (reguli Britanniæ) were baptized (Hist. Brittonum, xviii). Thirteenth-century chronicles add other details. The "Liber Landavensis", for example (ed. Rees, 26, 65), makes known the names of Elfan and Medwy,(a stained glass window at Llandaff Cathedral dedicated to Elfan and I posted last year about St Medw, a physician, whose church at MICHAELSTONE Y F(m)EDW was built inside a Roman fort near Newport-tying it to the S Wales area) the envoys sent by Lucius to the pope, and transfers the king's dominions to Wales. "Liber Pontificalis" is authority for the statement that Eleutherius died 24 May, and was buried on the Vatican Hill (in Vaticano) near the body of St. Peter. His feast is celebrated 26 May.

Southamption University Press is publishing a new book in May, Called 'King Lucius of Britain'. Recent research by a recent scholar and archeologist, who argues that Lucius was the first Christian King of Britain and deserves far greater recognition. He is not to be confused with Sankt Luzius of Chur who was a completely different saint and martyr. Our King Lucius was Llefer Mawr who has a tomb in St Mary de Lode in Gloucester.


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So Saint Fagan was a Roman missionary , who came to Britain and porbably baptised. with Elfyn and Medw the chieftains and nobility of Britain.This is also affirmation, that when Julius and Aaron and Alban were persecuted there was already a thriving Christian Church in Caerleon-whether it was Bede's 300 persons we cannot know, but we are certain it was in the 2nd century not the third when the persecution happened, which ties in with the Julian Julianus stone in Tredunnock, which has been authenticated as second century.

Fagan set up in the Cardiff area and founded his church there, and his small monastery of the Romano-Celtic type, which attracted other Christians, although nothing like a big monastery of the later type. He was a missionary, and possibly the centre of his mission the very fields on which he Museum of Welsh Life is situated. In common with St Julius Julianus, he gives his name to a whole area of the town of Cardiff, which is a good indication of a solid presence connected to the land itself. Elfyn and Medw also set up their centres, and it is possible the unnamed Amphilabus (the 'cloaked one') and Bishop of the Silures who initially escaped the persecution, and fled to Alban actually trained and studied under one of these saints. He later became a martyr, being stoned to death at Verulanium (Now St Albans) Plainly his influence was wide, if details about him are scanty, in a curious way his name lives on, not only in the Great Communion of Saints, but also in the name of the Museum of Welsh Life.

ST TEILO's CHURCH, TAL-Y-BONT

The Museum of Welsh Life (Amgueddfa Werin Cymru) lies just outside Cardiff, in a beautiful setting near the River Taff. I wrote all about St Teilo in a previous post last year, and about the colourful transition of his relic all around the world.If you look at the boxes on the LHS, you can scroll down to all the archives from last year, and I believe it was in an April or June page.There is also a Podcast on Mary in Monmouthshirelink to all the programmes in the left hand side boxes)

In 1508, Michaelangelo was painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Ten years later, another craftsman was painting the walls of another church, Llandeilo (the Llan or holy place of St Teilo)at tal y bont. We will never know his name, but what he did has been re-erected and repainted from exact copies as it has been reproduced exactly as it would have been in the 1520's before the time of trial when all such lovely things were limewashed, which in fact preserved them over centuries, as the Welsh were unhappy about the wrecking of the beauty of the churches. All the surviving original materials have been used in the complete reconstruction of the churc and its oil paintings, and missing items have been researched by experts. Floor tiles and glass , altar furnishings and furniture have been meticulously re-created. A new, hand-carved rood screen was made and decorated. The Painting of the Doom over the Rood the most amazing as it the shock of seeing a church so brightly coloured and beautiful with paintings, and devoid of pews.The result is breathtaking. The Custodian said to me, that a woman had said to him, that if churches looked like this today they would be full, as just to gaze upon it was a vision of heaven.

St Teilos

St Teilos was originally built on the banks of the River Llwchwr near Pontardulais. (The Old CHurch on the Marsh)as it was fondly called on its original site.The full translation of the Welsh name is 'The Holy place of Teilo by the crossing point of the River) There is no longer a bridge, but the church was at one time on one of the main routes through Wales, possibly for pilgrims on their way to St David's.Travellers entered the church to pray for safe passage accross the tidal waters of the River Llwchwr (TH-oo-thoor approx pron). A painting of St Christopher was always the first thing seen in a Mediaeval Church-associated with safe travel and pilgrimage. To die after seeing an image of Christopher was associated with immediate take up into heaven. Here at Talybont, is no exception. He is photographed through the door above.The Church was a central part of Mediaeval life and one of the only large meeting places available to the community.Eisteddfods, sports and festivals and fairs took place in the graveyard!
The church's rich decoration was a vision of heaven, acting as an audio visual backdrop for the Sarum Latin Mass, celebrated there on Sundays. Further visual stimulus was provided by symbols, images and messages, all woven into the theme.

There was indeed an earlier clas or Llan established here from the sixth century, and indeed the present church (now rebuilt and restored at St Fagans) dates back to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, as does the font. During the Fourteenth century, two chapels were built on to the church, creating a cruciform or cross shaped plan.It then formed an aisle during the fourteenth and fifteenth century. 1500-1540 it was again repainted with scenes from the Passion cycle together with popular saints, St Thomas Becket,St James and inevitably Margaret of Antioch, and finally the porch was built.It was completely stripped during the time of the 'reformation' and everything whitewashed. It ceased to function as a parish church in 1852 when a new St Teilo's parish church was built in nearby Pontardulais. The old church remained in use for burials and swerview but in 1073 these ceased and the church ell into decay. The roof tiles were stolen leaving the structure exposed and compromised and in 1982 the anglican Church in Wales offered the building to St Fagans for reconstruction.It had been in use for 800 years by Catholics and Anglicans.
At St Fagans a new bell was also cast by Taylor, Eayre and Smith, Bell founders of Loughborough.(cast Great Paul at St Pauls Cathedral)1881. The bell here is obviously more modest but uses all the ancient techniques and used as a model the 15th century bell at Llantwit Major (see previous blog).It has a prayer in Latin around the crown like so many mediaeval bells

SANCTE TELIAUE ORA PRO NOBIS(St Teilo pray for us)

CARVINGS

The Rood screen used to screen off the Sanctuary-the holiest part of the church, where the Blessed Sacrament was kept, and where the oly Sacrifice of the Mass is offered from the nave, where the ordinary people sat. The nave (meaning ship) provides the image of the protected people of God, in the ark of Noah, travelling to heaven. An image of Doom was provided above, but also the righteous climbing to heaven with Peter, and the Crucifix reminding the people of the Triumph of the Cross. Also there were the Blessed Mother, Our Lady, Mary, and Christ's favourite disciple John , representing the church. John was to look after Mary and Mary was now to be his mother.Very few of the rood figures remain because of the wholesale destruction during the 'reformation'and St Fagans is lucky to have two in the Collections in the Oriel Gallery no 1.

Master Carver Emyr Hughes carved the new figures of Our Lady and St Teilo from originals in Brittany.

There are many such remnants of rood screens found in various Churches around Monmouth, the most splendid (although no longer coloured) being at Llangwn Uchaf near Usk. this one is breathtaking. Again this was another original Old Welsh monastic settlement and I blogged about it in the summer of last year.A full booklet with the complete history and pictures of the reconstruction of St Teilos is available from the folk musieum. Entrance to the museum is FREE and car parking £2.50

This is a link for the Welsh Catholic History Society in Cardiff, who are at this time updating their website and when it is up again, you will be able to find out about the special Sarum Mass recreated for the opening of the Church at St Fagans. Currently there are no plans to license it for marriages and baptisms, but demand may eventually lead to that.

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HOLY ST MEDWY THE DOCTOR AND THE ROMAN CONNECTION

On Fiday I went to visit the little restored Church of Michaelstone y Fedw near Castleton east of Cardiff.Little is known about the early history of this very ancient Church but we do have sources for its founders. St Michael is of course the powerful Archangel of God and slayer of Satan. Legend connects him to the splitting of the Skirryd mountain in the North oF Gwent at the time of the Crucifixion when the veil of the temple was rent in twain. Next Sunday, on Michaelmas, Catholics from Abergavenny will climb the Skirryd to celebrate the Feast day of the powerful Angel .

St Medwy

St Peter sent St Philip, St Joseph of Arimathea, to Northern Europe to spread the gospel of Jesus directly after the events at the Upper House. St Joseph had accompanied the Emperor Vespasian to Britain to trade for tin, so Joseph sailed to Britain, we are told, landed in Wales, possibly at the Roman fort of Caerleon (the principal port in South Wales or Cambria) Archiviragus, brother of Caractacus gave Joseph Land at Glastonbuty (The West of England was called East Wales in those days) and the family were granted land in Garth Madrun (now Talgarth in Breconshire) Jewish names are recorded in the Welsh annals at this time. Remember this was also the family of the Virgin Mary.
King Lucius(great grandson of Caractacus)-and Pope Elutherius
King Lucius British name is Llewrug Mawr. Mawr or the great luminary (hence his latinised name of Lux or Lucius).
Nickname is ‘Lleiver.’
St. Joseph's little circle of twelve disciples was kept going by anchorites – as one died another was appointed; but in course of time a certain slackness seems to have come over them. William of Malmesbury tells us that the holy spot at length became a covert of wild beasts.
He increased the Light that the first missionaries, the disciples of Christ, had brought, by sending emissaries to Eleutherius, Bishop of Rome, requesting him to send missionaries to Britain.
The Pope and the Welsh Saints
The Welsh Triads tell us that Pope Eleutherius, in response, sent St Dyfan and St Fagan, St Medwy and St Elfan, all of them British names, in AD 167.

Gildas, Liber Pontificalis,Venerable Bede

Geoffrey of Monmouth tells us that Gildas (AD 516-570) recorded the names and acts of these missionaries in a book now lost, The Victory of Aurelius Ambrosius.
The story appears again in the second revision of the Liber Pontificalis about AD 685.
The Venerable Bede,
The Venerable Bede, 673-735AD, tells the story of Lucius's appeal to Eleutherius.

Archbishop Ussher

Archbishop Ussher in his De Brittanicarum Ecclesiarum Primordiis (pp. 49-50) tell us that Medwy and Elfan were Britons who were sent as emissaries by Good King Lucius and returned with the missionaries Dyfan and Fagan.

The Monk Saints arrive at Glastonbury before they begin their ministries, Elan and Ffagan to Wales and Dyfan to the site of St Peters, Cornhill in London.Williams of Malmesbury's account ( a monk at Glastonbury Abbey, who knew its traditions)

It is noticeable that the pedigree of Dyfan, as given in the Cambrian Biography, makes him a Briton. The pedigree may be spurious, or he may have been a Briton resident in Rome. William of Malmesbury calls them Fagan and Deruvian, and Geoffrey of Monmouth Faganus and Duvanus. These missionaries journeyed through Britain and came to Glastonbury.





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The Four Saints arrive at Glastonbury

There, God leading them (wrote William of Malmesbury),
“ they found an old church built, as 'twas said, by the hands of Christ's disciples, and prepared by God Himself for the salvation of souls, which Church the Heavenly Builder Himself showed to be consecrated by many miraculous deeds, and many Mysteries of healing.... And they afterwards pondered the Heavenly message that the Lord had specially chosen this spot before all the rest of Britain as the place where His Mother's name might be invoked. They also found the whole story in ancient writings, how the Holy Apostles, having been scattered throughout the world, St. Philip coming into France with a host of disciples sent twelve of them into Britain to preach, and that there, taught by revelation they constructed the said chapel which the Son of God afterwards dedicated to the honour of His Mother; and, that to these same twelve, three kings, pagan though they were, gave twelve portions of land for their sustenance. Moreover, they found a written record of their doings, and on that account they loved this spot above all others, and they also, in memory of the first twelve, chose twelve of their own, and made them live on the island with the approval of King Lucius. These twelve thereafter abode there in divers spots as anchorites - in the same spots, indeed, which the first twelve inhabited Yet they used to meet together continuously in the Old Church in order to celebrate Divine worship more devoutly; just as the three pagan kings had long ago granted the said island with its surroundings to the twelve former disciples of Christ, so the said Phagan and Deruvian (Dyfan) obtained it from King Lucius for these their twelve companions and for others to follow thereafter. And thus, many succeeding these, but always twelve in number, abode in the said island during many years up to the coming of St. Patrick, the apostle of the Irish.
Traditionally their monastery was on the site of the Chalice Well.




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The site at Michaelstone-y-Fedw

Interestingly the Church of King Lucius, King oif he Silures lies nearby at St Mellons. If you go up to the Sanctuary area of this church and look to the left of the North wall, you can see filled in Roman arches. Two of these are Roman and probably date back to the fourth century, so we know a building stood here in Roman times.The Roman Road from Caerleon to Pembrokeshire was called the 'VIA LUCIA'the way of Light and interestingly also connected with Lucius.The Via Lucia ran within half a mile of Michaelstone and so either there was some kind of military post here, or a very early stone chapel built by St Medwy.

St Medwy was consecrated as a Doctor priest and perhaps this formed the core of his work. Maybe he ministered to the Roman Soldiers and people all around and was welcome on this account.The Reverend John Dale who wrote an excellent guide to the church, writes that very few churches were dedicated to St Michael before 495AD so the first Catholic presence in this spot was given by St Medwy right back in the third century, in full communion with the tradition of the Catholic Church in Rome.

Revd Dale writes:
'We cannot be certain but it is not impossible that hristian worship has been practised here for nearly two thousand years , whih would account for the sense of holiness and calm that everyone perceives on entering the building."

A picture of St Medwy is drawn on plaster next to the window in the North Wall. Experts ave said this is a picture of him and it ressembles others in Europe dating back to the 5th Century AD.

The Original Altar

The altar was consevrated by the Bishop of Llandaff in the 14th century and annointed in consecrated stone. In trying to destroy the relics in these stone altars during the tome when people wrecked these things, we are told it lay cracked on the floor of the chancel for many years and was only restored when the East Window was installed.

The Stained Glass WEast Window

This is a glorious 19th century (Church is now (Anglican) window depticting warrior saints (in comon with Roman Army, St Maurice, St Thomas, St Gerson and St Barbara, the patron saint of artillerymen. The window was donated by Mrs Kemys Tate Tynte in memory of her husband Colonel Charles Kemys Tate. Above, St Cecilia and St Agatha and the main depiction is of the Ascension.

The Rood Loft and Screen

The rood loft and screen was removed in 'Reformation' times and now only the steps leading up to it still remain.

The Tynte Chapel

This is called the Tynte Chapel now, but probably earlier the Kemys Chapel. This was built in the 14th century by Sir Nicholas Kemys who lived in Cefn Mably, a grand house nearby, which interestingly also had a priests Hole! The first Norman ruler of the area had a daughter called Mabel.Under the floor is a vault containing the odies of the members of the Kemys Family. Most of the bodies were wrapped in lead following the human form. Reverend Dales says they must have been very tall men, because one has a sort of hat box on top and this was the truncated body of St Nicholas who defended Chepstow Castle againt the Roundheads and was killed or beheaded(?) after the fall of the castle to the Roundheads in 1648.

His son, who held Pembroke castle in the same year, has a plaque in the vault. The family periodically open the vault to the public so that people did not forget their sacrifice.


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Pews

High pews were were installed in the church after a great fire in the church in the fifteenth century. After this a vestrey was built outside the North wall of the chapel.

The Font and the Old Oak Table

The Font dates to 16th or 17th Century. The stem is Flemish design .The serpent is probably as suggested by Reverend Dale, the emblem of the Greek god of Medicine, but also the serpent was a Celtic symbol for Christ in the Book of Kells-i.e. the snake shedding its skin as we shed off the skin of the world to become renewed in Christ.

Restoration

the church was restored between 1998 and 2005 with the nave roof and its gold bosses being beutifully restored, a new heating and lighting system , renovated organ , bells refurbished and made to ring 'full circle' A modern toilet and kitchen have also been built in the tower.

Elizabeth Mackie Hess

The tombstone on the right as you leave the porch is inscribed with the name of Elizabeth Hess, first wife of Carl Hess, whose son by his second marriage was the Nazi Party's Deputy Leader Rudolf Hess.

Please visit this agnificent church . Junction 28 of the M4 to St Mellons and then right just after Castleton (signposted) It is open regularly and the key can be obained in the next door Cefn Mably Inn.