16 September Saint Ninian, Scotland’s first Saint, (died 432)
Known as ‘The Apostle of the Southern Picts’, 397 is traditionally given as
the start of his mission, although there is no verification or connection to any
known person. First mentioned by Bede ca 731, there is also a 9th century
poem, a vita of 1160 by Alfred of Riveaux. and a 1630 history by James
Ussher, Archbishop of Armargh, who gives the date of Ninian’s death as 16
Sept 432. He was said to have been a Briton, to have studied in Rome, and
his Episcopal seat was St Martin in Tours. He founded the first monastery in
Scotland, at Whithorn, Galloway, where he was buried. Alfred, who claimed
that Ninian was the son of a Christian king, had a political interest since he
had a connection to the Scottish Royal family. Ussher believed that Ninian
was Irish and died there although his source material is largely fictional.
21 September St Matthew the Apostle
Among the early followers of Jesus, he was from Capernaum and was
brought into the circle of the twelve. Called Levi and the son of Alpheus, he
may have collected taxes for Herod Antipas; Jews who collected taxes were
despised, but he would be literate in Aramaic and Greek. He was one of the
witnesses of the Resurrection and the Ascension. Later Church Fathers
claimed that Matthew preached the Gospel to the Jewish community in
Judea before going to other countries. Muslim tradition says that he went to
Ethiopia with Andrew. There is a tradition that he died a martyr. Consensus
in the Middle Ages (e.g. Augustine of Hippo) puts the Gospel of Matthew at
about 15 years after the Ascension and being the first. Modern scholars
think that the Gospel was originally written in Greek by a non-eyewitness,
whose name is unknown and depended on sources like Mark (and Q).
30 September St Jerome (ca 347-420)
Jerome was a Latin Christian priest, theologian and historian who became a
Doctor of the Church. He is best known for his translation of the Bible into
Latin, the ‘Vulgata’ and for commentaries to the ‘Gospel of the Hebrews,’
thought to be by Matthew. Born in Stridon, he went to Rome to study in 366.
He was converted to Christianity in Rome, travelled to Gaul and settled in
Trier to study theology. About 373 he went on a long journey through Asia
Minor and to Antioch. He devoted himself there to study the Bible, learning
Hebrew to translate the ‘Gospel of the Hebrews’ into Greek. Ordained in 378
in Rome, he worked for the Pope and undertook a revision of the Latin Bible
based on Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. Forced to leave Rome,
he went back to Antioch and by 388 to Jerusalem. He spent the rest of his
life as a hermit in a cell near Bethlehem. He is the most voluminous writer of
Latin Christianity. He died near Bethlehem in 420, his remains were later
taken to Rome. He is often depicted with a lion, after the story of his removal
of a thorn from the lion’s paw. He is the Patron Saint of translators,
librarians and encyclopaedists.
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