St Credan
Encyclopedia
Saint Credan of Evesham is a saint
in the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church
. He is also known in Latin as Credus or Credanus.
of the Benedictine
Abbey
at Evesham
, England
, during the reign of King Offa
of Mercia
.http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=2753 His office is attested by charters in King Offa's reign, but no details of St Credan's life have been preserved. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=wb2ITWWU8AEC&pg=PA70&lpg=PA70&dq=st+credan&source=bl&ots=HZjKqTdthk&sig=DilykGzrDJRt33vwFev1Wm5n0CE&hl=en&ei=9dafSr_TGciNjAfum-3DDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=48#v=onepage&q=st%20credan&f=false
His feast day is 19 August, which was the day of his death in 780.http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=2753 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/anniversaries-1384468.html It is celebrated in the Orthodox as well as the Roman Catholic Church.http://www.holytrinityorthodox.com/calendar/index.php?year=2009&today=1&month=9&trp=0
Relics of St Credan at Evesham Abbey were put through an ordeal by fire in 1077, apparently because of Norman suspicion of this local saint, about whom little was known. The ordeal was conducted by the new Norman Abbot, Walter of Cerisy, who, after consultation with Archbishop Lanfranc
, ordered a three day fast, and had the seven penitential psalms and appropriate litanies chanted while the santity of the bones was tested by fire (see H E J Cowdrey's Lanfranc, p 177)http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=aTHc8KsxcjIC&pg=PA177&lpg=PA177&dq=st+credan&source=bl&ots=44hw1NWXea&sig=YCToVy7fl7ZZz62Brzwg0eu7UkM&hl=en&ei=9dafSr_TGciNjAfum-3DDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=29#v=onepage&q=st%20credan&f=false. According to legend, the relics not only survived, but shone like gold when moved to a place of devotion.http://www.mail-archive.com/celt-saints@yahoogroups.com/msg00269.html This may, however, be a confusion with a similar account of the uncovering of St Credan's bones by Abbot Manny when his cult was originally developed. It is said that Abbot Manny "was frequently admonished in vision to take up the holy Abbot's relics and lay them in a shrine. When at length he came with great solemnity to do this, the body was found between two others, but distinguished from them by the great rightness with which it shone." (St Egwin and his Abbey of Evesham" 1904) http://www.archive.org/stream/saintegwinandhis00unknuoft/saintegwinandhis00unknuoft_djvu.txt
The shrine established for St Credan by Abbot Walter of Cerisy in 1277 was one of only three to survive the destruction of the Abbey sanctuary when the tower of Evesham fell in 1207, and this was also thought to be miraculous (St Egwin and his Abbey of Evesham" 1904) http://www.archive.org/stream/saintegwinandhis00unknuoft/saintegwinandhis00unknuoft_djvu.txt
in Cornwall, which is named for St Credan, but there were other Cornish saints of this name whose names may have been confused with his.http://homepages.tesco.net/~k.wasley/sancreed.htm. A more likely candidate is St Credan of Cornwall, whose feastday is on 11 May.http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=0094RP This is the St Credan who is said to have "killed by misfortune his own father, with which he was so moved as abandoning the world he became a hogherd, and lived so exemplary as he was after esteemed a saint" (Roscarrock, cited in Farmer http://www.mail-archive.com/celt-saints@yahoogroups.com/msg00532.html
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
in the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. He is also known in Latin as Credus or Credanus.
Life and cult
He was the AbbotAbbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
of the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
Abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
at Evesham
Evesham
Evesham is a market town and a civil parish in the Local Authority District of Wychavon in the county of Worcestershire, England with a population of 22,000. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, during the reign of King Offa
Offa
Offa may refer to:Two kings of the Angles, who are often confused:*Offa of Angel , on the continent*Offa of Mercia , in Great BritainA king of Essex:*Offa of Essex A town in Nigeria:* Offa, Nigeria...
of Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
.http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=2753 His office is attested by charters in King Offa's reign, but no details of St Credan's life have been preserved. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=wb2ITWWU8AEC&pg=PA70&lpg=PA70&dq=st+credan&source=bl&ots=HZjKqTdthk&sig=DilykGzrDJRt33vwFev1Wm5n0CE&hl=en&ei=9dafSr_TGciNjAfum-3DDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=48#v=onepage&q=st%20credan&f=false
His feast day is 19 August, which was the day of his death in 780.http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=2753 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/anniversaries-1384468.html It is celebrated in the Orthodox as well as the Roman Catholic Church.http://www.holytrinityorthodox.com/calendar/index.php?year=2009&today=1&month=9&trp=0
Relics of St Credan at Evesham Abbey were put through an ordeal by fire in 1077, apparently because of Norman suspicion of this local saint, about whom little was known. The ordeal was conducted by the new Norman Abbot, Walter of Cerisy, who, after consultation with Archbishop Lanfranc
Lanfranc
Lanfranc was Archbishop of Canterbury, and a Lombard by birth.-Early life:Lanfranc was born in the early years of the 11th century at Pavia, where later tradition held that his father, Hanbald, held a rank broadly equivalent to magistrate...
, ordered a three day fast, and had the seven penitential psalms and appropriate litanies chanted while the santity of the bones was tested by fire (see H E J Cowdrey's Lanfranc, p 177)http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=aTHc8KsxcjIC&pg=PA177&lpg=PA177&dq=st+credan&source=bl&ots=44hw1NWXea&sig=YCToVy7fl7ZZz62Brzwg0eu7UkM&hl=en&ei=9dafSr_TGciNjAfum-3DDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=29#v=onepage&q=st%20credan&f=false. According to legend, the relics not only survived, but shone like gold when moved to a place of devotion.http://www.mail-archive.com/celt-saints@yahoogroups.com/msg00269.html This may, however, be a confusion with a similar account of the uncovering of St Credan's bones by Abbot Manny when his cult was originally developed. It is said that Abbot Manny "was frequently admonished in vision to take up the holy Abbot's relics and lay them in a shrine. When at length he came with great solemnity to do this, the body was found between two others, but distinguished from them by the great rightness with which it shone." (St Egwin and his Abbey of Evesham" 1904) http://www.archive.org/stream/saintegwinandhis00unknuoft/saintegwinandhis00unknuoft_djvu.txt
The shrine established for St Credan by Abbot Walter of Cerisy in 1277 was one of only three to survive the destruction of the Abbey sanctuary when the tower of Evesham fell in 1207, and this was also thought to be miraculous (St Egwin and his Abbey of Evesham" 1904) http://www.archive.org/stream/saintegwinandhis00unknuoft/saintegwinandhis00unknuoft_djvu.txt
St Credan of Cornwall
He is sometimes reputed to have founded the church of SancreedSancreed
Sancreed is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village is situated approximately three miles from Penzance....
in Cornwall, which is named for St Credan, but there were other Cornish saints of this name whose names may have been confused with his.http://homepages.tesco.net/~k.wasley/sancreed.htm. A more likely candidate is St Credan of Cornwall, whose feastday is on 11 May.http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=0094RP This is the St Credan who is said to have "killed by misfortune his own father, with which he was so moved as abandoning the world he became a hogherd, and lived so exemplary as he was after esteemed a saint" (Roscarrock, cited in Farmer http://www.mail-archive.com/celt-saints@yahoogroups.com/msg00532.html