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Presentation: The Cult of Saint Andrew
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Not necessarily clear when and how his cult came here to
Scotland. What I intend to do is to look at the evidence,
discuss the ways in which the cult probably came here and then
how and when Andrew became the national saint.
The Evidence:
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The evidence we have are primarily two accounts of the St.
Regulus legend. Both state that Regulus brought the bones
to a Pictish king Hungus son of Ferlon, but differ in almost
every other detail, despite being produced here within about 10
years of one another (we Think). Although there may be some
truth to some of the details, I think we should concentrate on
what they have in common. As for St Regulus, one of the
legends tells of an unnamed saint bringing the relics here, then
discussing the king, then going back and naming the saint- so it
is thought that Regulus was later added as the likely candidate,
since he had been in 4th century Greece and had a very
similar name to a local Irish saint - therefore the only reliable
evidence is that there was some sort of connection of the cult
with this King Hungus.
St. Andrew in
England:
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To understand how the cult reached Scotland we must look toward
England. When St. Augustine came to Britain, he established
a second bishop’s see at Rochester which was dedicated to
St. Andrew.
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We see 7/84 churches in 7th & 8th C
dedicated to Andrew- This was third after Peter and Mary.
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In the Mid-7th C there was a conflict in Northumbria
between Roman and Columban Churches. Bishop Wilfred, who argued
successfully for the Roman Church at Witby, had been to Rome and
acquired ‘relics’ (?) there. He also founded
monasteries such as Oundle, which was dedicated to St. Andrew,
and as bishop he spent most of his time at Hexham, which was also
dedicated to St. Andrew.
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So what we see by the end of the 7th C is that the
Roman Church is well established in Northumbria and that St.
Andrew is not only well known and popular but also associated
with the catholic Roman Church. There also may have been
relics of Andrew in Northumbria. The cult’s presence in
England is significant because Northumbria was the main influence
on the Pictish church following the expulsion of Iona.
St. Andrew comes to
Scotland:
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It has been suggested that the relics were sent through Russia to
Scotland from the Emperor Leo III in the 8th C in
order to gain the support of the Celtic church against the
papacy, but this seems a bit far fetched to me.
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The Legends say that his relics were brought here by St. Regulus
in 4th C but not only is this highly unlikely but it
does not match up with the rule of either Angus, believed to be
the king mentioned in the legends.
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Furthermore, Bede, writing in 731, makes no mention of a cult of
St Andrew in Pictland, just St Peter who was encouraged by King
Nechtan. Nechtan brought the Roman practices to Pictland
and expelled the Ionan community in 717. So we can assume
the Cult of St. Andrew was either not present or insignificant at
this time.
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Both legends mention a “Hungus son of Ferlon,”
generally believed to be Angus son of Fergus. This gives us
good reason to believe that something significant to the cult in
Scotland took place during Angus’ reign. The problem
with this is that there were two kings with this name during this
period, Angus I and Angus II.
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It has been argued that Andrew’s relics were brought from
Hexham in 732 during the reign of Angus I. Bishop Acca of
Hexham apparently collected the relics of St. Andrew, but was
forced to flee, possibly to Fife. It is thought that he may
have brought the relics with him. This timing fits with
Bede, since it was a year after he wrote on the subject.
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It is also argued that the king in the Legend was Angus II who
ruled from 820 to 834. He is said to have founded
“kilrimont” in one legend. There are, however,
several reasons why it may not have been Angus II. First of
all, the note, found in a King List, may date from as late as
1130. Secondly, there is a reference of an abbot of Cennrigmonaid
dying in 746 in the Irish Annals of Tigernach. Although
this has no reference to Andrew being the patron saint of
“Kilrimont,” it does suggest that the monastery at that
location dates from Angus I at the latest. Furthermore,
Constantine I ruled between the Anguses, and his name may be
linked with the Roman Emperor through the connections with the
cult of St. Andrew in Greece.
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One attempt to reconcile these two views states that the original
monastery at Kilrimont was founded or existed in the time of
Angus I, but was re-founded by Angus II, this time possibly with
Andrew as its patron. Angus II ruled in a time when the
cults of major saints were growing in popularity elsewhere and
after popes Paul and Paschal I had advocated the transport of
saints’ relics to recently converted peoples to strengthen
their faith. So perhaps Kilrimont was founded under Angus I
with St. Andrew as its saint but the relics were brought there
under Angus II. We can unfortunately do little more than
speculate.
Andrew becomes the
National saint:
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First evidence we have of the importance of Kilrimont is in 906
when Constantine II met with Bishop Cellah to confirm that the
church would adhere to the customs of the Scots. I would
argue that the cult was already well established by this date
since the Bishop of Kilrimont appears to be the head of the
church in Pictland and his successor is called “bishop of
the islands of Scotland.” The primacy of Kilrimont
must have derived to a great extent from its veneration of an
apostle and the Bishops would have used Andrew, and presumably
his relics, to assert control over the other churches.
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By the mid tenth century we can be sure that Kilrimont and St
Andrew have a national importance since Constantine II retired to
“the house of the apostle” at Kilrimont. A few
years later in 965 we find evidence of an Irish prince buried at
Kilrimont on pilgrimage and by the time of Malcolm III we see
considerable amounts of pilgrims coming to St. Andrews.
In Conclusion:
The cult came to Scotland sometime between 731 and 834. I
think that relics of some sort were likely brought here, probably
under Angus II. And, as in other places, the cult started
as popular veneration of Andrew and grew as bishops and kings
found it to be to their advantage to associate themselves with
this popular devotion. Thank you.