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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: SAC-SAR |
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SAINT (lat. sanctus, " holy ") , the term originally applied, e.g. in the New Testament and in the most ancient monuments of Christian thought, to all believers. In this sense it is still used by those modern Christian sects which profess to base their polity on the Bible only (e.g. the Mormons or " Latter Day Saints "). In ancient inscriptions it often means those souls who are enjoying eternal happiness, or the martyrs. Thus we find inscriptions in the Catacombs such as vivas inter sanctos, refrigera cum spiritu sancto, and people were buried ad sanctos. For a long time, too, sanctus was an official title, particularly reserved for bishops (v. Analecta Bollandiana, xviii. 410-411). It was not till almost the 6th century that the word be-came a title of honour specially given to the dead whose cult was publicly celebrated in the churches. It was to the martyrs that the Church first began to pay special honour. We find traces of this in the 2nd half of the 2nd century, in the Martyrium Polycarpi (xviii. 3) in connexion with a meeting to celebrate the anniversary of the martyr's death. Another passage in the same document (xvii. 3) shows clearly that this was not an innovation, but a custom already established among the Christians. It does not follow that it was henceforth universal. The Church of Rome does not seem to have inscribed in its calendar its martyrs of an earlier date than the 3rd century. The essential form of the cult of the martyrs was that of the honours paid to the illustrious dead; and these honours were officially paid by the community. They consisted in a gathering at the martyr's tomb on the anniversary of his death. St Cyprian, speaking of the confessors who died in prison, wrote to his priests, " Denique et dies eorum, quibus excedunt, adnotate, ut commemorationes eorum inter memorias martyrum celebrare possimus" (Epist. xii. 2). The list
The calendars at first included only martyrs, but their scope was gradually widened. The first to find a place in them were the bishops. Apparently they were at first arranged in a series of anniversaries separate from that of the martyrs, as seems to be shown by the existence at Rome of the Depositio episcoporum side by side with the Depositio martyrum; the two lists seem to have been combined, as in the calendar of Carthage, which includes the dies nataliciorum martyrum et depositions episcoporum. Some of the most famous bishops also ended by passing from one calendar into the other. Finally, the ascetics came to share in the honours paid to the martyrs, and we see in the Historia religiosa of Theodoret how quickly this assimilation took place. In times of persecution the martyrs were buried among the rest of the faithful, but one can understand that their tombs, at which gatherings took place at least on the day of their anniversary, were distinguished from the ordinary tombs by some sign. When the peace of the Church permitted it, they were enshrined in chapels and often in sumptuous basilicas. In the West these buildings were raised over the tomb, which was left intact; but in the East there was no hesitation in disturbing the graves of the saints and removing the bodies to a basilica built to receive them. It is in this way that the relics of St Babylas were placed in the sanctuary built by Gallus at Daphne (Socrates, Hist. eccl. iii. 18; Sozomen, Hist. eccl. v. 19). As a matter of fact, the discipline of the Eastern churches with regard to the relics was, from the very beginning, much less severe than that of Rome and a great number of the Western churches. From the 4th century on are recorded cases of translation of the bodies of saints, and they did not even shrink from dividing the sacred relics. In the West the principle already laid down by St Gregory the Great in his letter to Constantia, namely that of not disturbing the bodies of the saints, was for a long time the rule in all cases, and the portions distributed to the churches were simply brandea, that is to say, linen which had lain upon the tomb of the saint, or, in other words, representative relics. But as early as the 7th century there is proof of a relaxation of this rule which had so well safeguarded the authenticity of the relics. It was finally disregarded altogether; in the 9th century translations of relics were extremely frequent, and led to inextricable confusion in the future. As to the belief in the efficacy of the prayers of the saints for those still living on earth, and similarly in the efficacy of the prayers addressed to the saints, St Cyril of Jerusalem indicates in the following words the advantages of the commemoration of the saints: " Then we make mention also of those who have fallen asleep before us, first of patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, that God would at their; prayers and intercessions receive our supplication " (Cat. Myst. v. 9). It is difficult to understand a much-discussed passage of Origen (De oratione, 14), except as applying to prayer addressed to the saints. The Fathers of the 4th century, and notably the Cappadocian Fathers, provide us with a quantity of evidence on this subject, which leaves no doubt as to the practice of the invocation of saints, nor of the complete approval with which it was viewed. St Basil, for example, says: " I accept also the holy apostles, prophets and martyrs, and I call upon them for their intercession to God, that by them, that is by their mediation, the good God may be propitious to me, and that I may be granted redemption for my offences " (Epist. 360). The cult of the saints early met with opposition, in answer to which the Church Fathers had to defend its lawfulness and explain its nature. The Church of Smyrna had early to explain its position in this matter with regard to St Polycarp: " We worship Christ, as the Son of God; as to the martyrs, we love them as the disciples and imitators of the Lord " (Martyrium Polycarpi, xvii. 3). St Cyril of Alexandria defends the worship of the martyrs against Julian; St Asterius and Theodoret against the pagans in general, and they all lay emphasis on the fact that the saints are not looked upon as gods by the Christians, and that the honours paid to them are of quite a different kind from the adoration reserved to God alone. St Jerome argued against Vigilantius with his accustomed vehemence, and especially meets the objection based on the resemblance between these rites and those of the pagans. But it is above all St Augustine who in his refutation of Faustus, as well as in his sermons and elsewhere, clearly defined the true character of the honours paid to the saints: " Non eis templa, non eis altaria, non sacrificia exhibemus. Non eis sacerdotes offerunt, absit, Deo praestantur. Etiam apud memorias sanctorum martyrum cum offerimus, nonne Deo offerimus ? . . Quando audistis dici apud memoriam sancti Theogenis: offero tibi, sancte Theogenis: aut ? offero tibi Petro, aut: offero tibi Paule?" (Serino, 273. 7; cf. Contra Faustum, xx. 21). The undoubted abuses which grew up, especially during the middle ages, raised up, at the time of the Reformation, fresh adversaries of the cult of the saints. The council of Trent, while reproving all superstitious practices in the invocation of the saints, the veneration of relics and the use of images, expresses as follows the doctrine of the Roman Church: " That the saints who reign with Christ offer to God their prayers for men; that it is good and useful to invoke them by supplication and to have recourse to their aid and assistance in order to obtain from God His benefits through His Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, who alone is our Saviour and Redeemer " (Secs. xxv.). At the present day the canonization (q.v.) of saints is reserved in the Roman Church to the sovereign pontiff. The Anglican Church, while still commemorating many of the Catholic saints, has not, since the Reformation, admitted any new names to the authoritative list
See D. Petavius, De theologicis dogmatibus, De incarnatione, 1., xiv. ; F. Suarez, Defensio fidei catholicae (against King James I.) ; L. Duchesne, Les Origines du culte chretien, ch. viii. ; E. Lucius, Die Anfange des Heiligenkults (Tubingen, 1904) ; H. R. Percival, The Invocation of Saints (London, 1896) ; A. P. Forbes, An Explanation of the Thirty-nine Articles (Oxford, 1878). (H. DE.) ST AFFRIQUE, a town of Southern France, capital of an arrondissement in the department of Aveyron, on the Sorgues, 68 m. N.N.W. of Beziers on a branch line of the railway to Clermont Ferrand. Pop. (1906) town, 4473; commune 6571. An old bridge over the Sorgues and some megaliths in the neighbourhood, especially, the dolmen at Tiergues, are of antiquarian interest
St Affrique grew up in the 6th century around the tomb of St Africain, bishop of Comminges. In the 12th century a fortress was built on the neighbouring rock of Caylus. The possession of St Affrique was vigorously contested during the wars of religion. It was eventually occupied by the Huguenots till 1629, when it was seized and dismantled by a royal army. ST ALBANS, EARLS AND DUKES OF. The English title of earl of St Albans was first borne by Richard Bourke, or de Burgh, 4th earl of Clanricarde (d. 1635), who was lord president of Connaught from 1604 to 1616 and governor of Galway in 1616. In 1624 he was made Baron Somerhill and Viscount Tunbridge in the English peerage, and in 1628 earl of St Albans, Baron Imanney and Viscount Galway. He ,became the third husband of Frances, dowager countess of Essex, whose first husband had been Sir Philip Sidney, and his English titles became extinct on the death of his only son, Ulick, 2nd earl of St Albans and marquess of Clanricarde, in 1657. The second creation of an earl of St Albans was in 1660, when Henry, Baron Jermyn, was made an earl under this title; but again it became extinct on his death in 1684. The dukedom of St Albans was created in 1684 in favour of CHARLES BEAUCLERK (1670-1726), a natural son of Charles II. by Nell Gwynne. Born in London on the 8th of May 1670, Charles was made Baron Hedington and earl of Burford in December 1676. He became colonel in the 8th regiment of horse in 1687, and took service with the emperor Leopold I., being present at the siege of Belgrade in 1688. After the battle of -Landen in 1693, William III. made him captain of the gentlemen pensioners, and four years later gentleman of the bedchamber His father had given him the re-version of the office of hereditary master falconer and that of hereditary registrar of the Court of Chancery, which fell vacant in 1698. His Whig sentiments prevented his advancement under Anne, but he was restored to favour at the accession of George I. He died at Bath on the loth of May 1726. His wife Diana, daughter and heiress of Aubrey de Vere, last earl of Oxford, was a well-known beauty, who became lady of the bedchamber to Caroline, princess of Wales, and survived until the 15th of January 1742. Charles was succeeded by his eldest son, CHARLES BEAUCLERK, 2nd duke of St Albans (1696-1751), while his youngest son, Lord Aubrey Beauclerk (c. 1710-1741), became a captain in the royal navy, and perished in a fight in the West Indies on the 22nd of March 1741. The second duke's son and heir , GEORGE BEAUCLERK, 3rd duke (1730-1736), was followed by his second cousin, George Beauclerk (1758-1787), 4th duke, who died unmarried, and was succeeded as 5th duke by his cousin, Aubrey Beauclerk (1740-1802). He was succeeded by his son Aubrey, the 6th duke (1765-1815), whose infant son Aubrey, 7th duke (b. 1815), died within a year of his father. The 8th duke, William (1766-1825), was the second son of the 5th duke. His son William (1801-1849), the 9th duke, married the actress Harriot Mellon, widow of the banker Thomas Coutts. She was celebrated for her beauty, and was painted by Romney . Her fortune derived from her first husband passed to her granddaughter Angela, Baroness Burdett-Coutts in her own right. The 9th duke was succeeded by his son by a second marriage, William Amelius Aubrey de Vere (1840-1898), whose son, Charles Victor Albert Aubrey de Vere, became the 11th holder of the title.ST ALBANS, HENRY JERMYN, EARL of (c. 1604-1684), was the third son of Sir Thomas Jermyn of Rushbroke, Suffolk. At an early age he won the favour of Queen Henrietta Maria, whose vice-chamberlain he became in 1628, and master of the horse in 1639. He was a consummate courtier, a man of dissolute morals, and much addicted to gambling. He was member for Bury St Edmunds in the Long Parliament and an active and reckless royalist. He took a prominent part in the army plot of 1641, and on its discovery fled to France. Returning to England in 1643, he resumed his personal attendance on the queen, and after being raised to the peerage as Baron Jermyn of St Edmunds-bury in that year, he accompanied Henrietta Maria in 1644 to France, where he continued to act as her secretary. In the same year he was made governor of Jersey
ST ALBANS, a city, municipal borough, and market town in the St Albans parliamentary division of Hertfordshire, England, on the main line of the Midland railway and on branches of the London & North-Western and the Great Northern lines, 20 M. N.W. of London. Pop. (1891) 12,898; (1901) 16,019. St Albans became the seat of a bishop in 1877; the diocese covering the greater part of Essex and Hertfordshire, with small portions of Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. The great cathedral, or abbey church, is finely situated on the steep hill, above the small river Ver, on which the central part of the city is placed. Grimthorpe, some of whose work was, and remains, the subject of much adverse criticism. The abbey's extreme 'length outside is 55o ft., which is exceeded by Winchester by 6 ft. The nave (292 ft.) is the longest Gothic nave in the world and exceeds that of Winchester by about 20 ft. The length of the transepts is 175 ft. inside. The monastic buildings have all disappeared except the great gateway. St Michael's church, within the site of Verulamium, was originally constructed in the loth century. Considerable portions of the Norman building remain. The church contains the tomb of Lord Chancellor Bacon. St Stephen's church, dating from the same period, contains some good examples of Norman architecture. St Peter's church has been in great part rebuilt, but the Early Perpendicular nave remains. The restored clock-house in the market-place was built by one of the abbots in the reign of Henry VIII. There is an Edward VI. grammar school. The principal modern buildings are the corn exchange, the court-house, the prison, the public baths, a technical school and the public library. There are two hospitals (one for infectious diseases), a dispensary and almshouses founded in 1734 by Sarah, duchess of Marlborough. The principal industries are the manufacture of silk, straw-plaiting, brush-making, letterpress and chromo-lithographic printing. There are also breweries and iron-foundries. A public park of 24 acres was opened in 1894, and a recreation ground in 1898. The increase in population is largely due to the growth of a residential district on the outskirts, owing mainly to the convenient proximity to London. The city is governed by a mayor, 4 aldermen, and 12 councillors. Area, 997 acres. To the south-west of the present city of St Albans stood the ancient Verulamium (q.v.), one of the oldest towns in Britain, on Watling Street. The ruins served as a quarry not only to the builders of the Abbey, but also for the other churches and the monastic buildings of St Albans, and Roman bricks are found even in the fabric of the churches of neighbouring villages, as at Sandridge, 22 M. N.E. After being burnt by Boadicea, Verulamium revived, and its church was famous early in the 8th century. The origin of the royal castle of Kingsbury is variously assigned to the 6th and 8th centuries. In the 9th and loth centuries the abbots enlarged the town, which was confirmed to them as a borough by Henry II. In 1253 a charter gave borough jurisdiction to the good men of St Albans; but the borough court was, apparently, discontinued for about 200 years after the rebellion of 1381. A charter of 1533, confirmed in 1553 and 1559-1560, incorporated the mayor and burgesses. Charters of 1663, 1664 and 1685, and the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835, altered the form of the corporation ; and in 1877 St Albans became a city. Two burgesses were returned to the parliament of 1306-1307, and to others, until, after 1336, such right fell intoabeyance until its resumption in 1553. Its abolition, as a result of corrupt electioneering practices, took place in 1852. During Wat Tyler's insurrection the monastery was besieged by the townspeople, many of whom were executed in consequence. At St Albans the Lancastrians were defeated on the 21st of May 1455, their leader, the duke of Somerset, being killed, and Henry VT. taken prisoner; here, too, Queen Margaret defeated the earl of Warwick on the 17th of February 1461. During the civil wars the town was garrisoned for the parliament. On a printing press, one of the earliest in the kingdom, set up in the abbey the first English translation of the Bible was printed. See Victoria County History, Herts, vol. ii.; Peter Newcome, The History of the Abbey of St Albans (London, 1793) ; and Chronica monasterii S. Albani, edited by H. T. Riley for the " Rolls " series (1863-1876). End of Article: SAINT (lat. sanctus, " holy ") If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
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