Will England get a new patron saint and a new national flag?
The Sunday Times July 02, 2006
St Alban is holier than St George
Christopher Morgan
England's flag is white with a red cross and is the Cross of St George and is why the England football team wear red and white.
Cross of St Alban - if this became an alternative, or the new, flag of England, the England football team would have to start wearing blue and yellow. And the flag is similar to Scotland's flag except with a yellow cross rather than a white one.
THE Church of England will debate making St Alban (who the city of St Albans in Hertfordshire is named after) an alternative patron saint because critics claim St George is too militaristic, potentially offensive to Muslims — and foreign.
Supporters of the change, to be unveiled in a General Synod motion this week, claim Alban may be more appropriate not only because he was real while George may be mythical, but because of his self-sacrifice.
Alban was a 4th century martyr who was put to death after hiding a Christian priest from the Romans in what is now the Hertfordshire city named after him.
The proposal may dismay many England fans, who have been flying George’s banner in support of their football team. The flag of St Alban would be a diagonal yellow cross on a blue background.
Philip Chester, vicar of St Matthew’s, Westminster, who is gathering support for his private member’s motion, called the choice of George, who according to legend was a Roman cavalryman from what is now Turkey, “dotty”.
He added: “We are not at all sure George even existed . . . but we are sure St Alban is a real figure. What’s more, he lived in this country.”
Chester’s motion, which needs the signatures of 100 synod members before it is debated formally, calls on Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, “to acknowledge St Alban as the patron saint of England.”
Williams appeared cautious last week. “I think St Alban is irreplaceable in the history of English Christianity. Perhaps we ought to raise his profile because it’s the beginning of the church in this country with martyrdom, wisdom and courage,” he said.
George has been England’s leading saint since knights brought his legend back from the holy land in the Middle Ages and he was adopted by Edward III as patron of the Order of the Garter in 1348.
Some modern vicars, however, shy away from marking his feast day because they dislike his association with the violence of the crusades against the Islamic world.
David Stancliffe, Bishop of Salisbury, said: “There was a time when the image of St George associated with belligerence was helpful, particularly in our imperial past. But I think there’s been a change and now we want to honour holiness.”
thetimesonline.co.uk
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saint Alban was the first Christian martyr (protomartyr) in Britain. He is listed in the Roman Catholic calendar of England and Wales for 20 June and he continues to be venerated in the Anglican Communion. The first mention of St Alban is by Constantius, in his Life of St Germanus of Auxerre, written about 480. He also appears in Gildas's 6th century polemic De Excidio Britanniae.
The Sunday Times July 02, 2006
St Alban is holier than St George
Christopher Morgan
England's flag is white with a red cross and is the Cross of St George and is why the England football team wear red and white.
Cross of St Alban - if this became an alternative, or the new, flag of England, the England football team would have to start wearing blue and yellow. And the flag is similar to Scotland's flag except with a yellow cross rather than a white one.
THE Church of England will debate making St Alban (who the city of St Albans in Hertfordshire is named after) an alternative patron saint because critics claim St George is too militaristic, potentially offensive to Muslims — and foreign.
Supporters of the change, to be unveiled in a General Synod motion this week, claim Alban may be more appropriate not only because he was real while George may be mythical, but because of his self-sacrifice.
Alban was a 4th century martyr who was put to death after hiding a Christian priest from the Romans in what is now the Hertfordshire city named after him.
The proposal may dismay many England fans, who have been flying George’s banner in support of their football team. The flag of St Alban would be a diagonal yellow cross on a blue background.
Philip Chester, vicar of St Matthew’s, Westminster, who is gathering support for his private member’s motion, called the choice of George, who according to legend was a Roman cavalryman from what is now Turkey, “dotty”.
He added: “We are not at all sure George even existed . . . but we are sure St Alban is a real figure. What’s more, he lived in this country.”
Chester’s motion, which needs the signatures of 100 synod members before it is debated formally, calls on Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, “to acknowledge St Alban as the patron saint of England.”
Williams appeared cautious last week. “I think St Alban is irreplaceable in the history of English Christianity. Perhaps we ought to raise his profile because it’s the beginning of the church in this country with martyrdom, wisdom and courage,” he said.
George has been England’s leading saint since knights brought his legend back from the holy land in the Middle Ages and he was adopted by Edward III as patron of the Order of the Garter in 1348.
Some modern vicars, however, shy away from marking his feast day because they dislike his association with the violence of the crusades against the Islamic world.
David Stancliffe, Bishop of Salisbury, said: “There was a time when the image of St George associated with belligerence was helpful, particularly in our imperial past. But I think there’s been a change and now we want to honour holiness.”
thetimesonline.co.uk
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saint Alban was the first Christian martyr (protomartyr) in Britain. He is listed in the Roman Catholic calendar of England and Wales for 20 June and he continues to be venerated in the Anglican Communion. The first mention of St Alban is by Constantius, in his Life of St Germanus of Auxerre, written about 480. He also appears in Gildas's 6th century polemic De Excidio Britanniae.
