Ireland's Apostle Patrick,

alias Padraig or Sucat, was the

covenant child of the Christian
Church's Deacon Calpum, and
grandson of Presbyter Pottitt
from the village of Banna
Ventabumiae. There Patrick
was too born, around A.D. 385
- probably in northem
Britannia's Cumbria (south of
the Solway in Britain's
Strathclyde),
Raised in a Bible-believing
Christian community which
normally spoke Brythonic
Cumbrian but could
hundreds of congregation he
established, .
After many years, soldiers of
the Brythonic King Coroticus
cruelly kidnapped some of the
Christian Irish whom Patrick
had converted - and attempted
to sell them to the then-still-
pagan (jaelic Scots and Ancient
Pids in what is now Scotland.
Patrick protested, in his Epistle
to Coroticus.
In his famous Hymn of the
Deer's Cry, Patrick's trinitarian
theology and puritan piety is
Christians Irenaeus of Lyons
and Vidorianus of Pettau, as
well as with those of the great
Carthaginian Christians
Cyprian and Augustine.
In his autobiographical
Confession, Sucat writes: "I am
Patricius, a sinner - most
unleamed; the least of all the
faithful... My father was
Deacon Calpomius, son -of
Presbyter Potitus of the village
Banna Ventabumiae, He had a
country-seat nearby, and there I
was taken captive.
also read Latin, Patrick
was captured by
pirates - and sold
into slavery in Ireland
when but sixteen,
After having leamed
some (jaelic Irish, and
escaping from captivity
PATRICK &
HIS WRITINGS
"I was. then about
sixteen years of age ... 1
was taken into
captivity to Ireland
with many thousands
of people - and
deservedly so, because
in Antrim six years
later, he retumed to Britain.
There, like his grandfather, he
became a Presbyter.
Heeding a divine call to
retum to the (jaelic Irish,
Patrick went and preached to
them for several decades - and
even secured the conversion of
Ireland as a whole. Patrick won
much of the family of the Irish
High-King, and most of
Ireland's under-kings and the
chieftains of her independent
states and regions, for Christ -
and so too many of the Druids.
Indeed, he also christianized
and codified Irish Law - and
. ordained especially from the
converted Druids at least one
Minister of the Word and
Sacraments for each of the
ev. prof. Dr. F. N. Lee
clearly set out. This is also seen
in the ' patrician' poem of his
nephew the Presbyter Sechnall
(alias Secundinus) - and
further in the ancient Irish
moming prayer known as the
Lorica, taught by Patrick to his
followers. Finally, Patrick's
autobiography or Confession -
apparently written just before
his death at a very old age -
discloses the divinely-donated
discipline of this godly man.
Patrick's extant writings
quote from many of the Biblical
books of the Old Testament,
and also from fully 23 of the 27
books of the New Testament.
In addition, his writingsfurther
show some acquaintance with
the works of the (jallic
16 t THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon t July/August, 1996
we had tumed away
from (jod and did not
keep His
Commandments and did not
obey our Presbyters who used
to remind us of our salvation, So
the Lord brought over us the
wrath of His anger, and
scattered us among many
nations - even unto 'the
utmost part of the Earth' where
my littleness is placed among
strangers.
"There, the Lord opened the
sense of my unbelief - so that I
might at least remember my
sins, arid be converted with all
my heart to the Lord my (jod,
He had regard to my abjection,
and had mercy on my youth
and ignorance. He watched
over me before I knew Him,
and before I was able to
distinguish between good and
evil. He guarded and comforted
me as a father does his son.
"Hence I cannot be silent-
rior, indeed, is it expedient -
about the great benefits and the
great grace which the lord
designed to bestow upon me in
the land of my captivity. For
this we can give to Ciod in
return, after having been
chastened by Him - to exalt
and praise His wonders before
every nation that is anywhere
under Heaven!
"Because there is no other
Ciod, nor ever was, nor will be
- than Ciod the Father
unbegotten; without beginning,
from Whom all beginnings
exist. He is, as we have been
taught, the lord of the
Vniverse ...
"His Son Jesus Christ ... we
declare to have been always
with the Father - spi!itually
and ineffably begotten by the
Father before the beginning of
the World, before all
beginnings .. . By Him all things
visible and invisible have been
made. He was made man and,
having defeated death, was
received into Heaven by the
Father ... He has given Him all
power over all names in
Heaven, on Earth, imd under
the Earth - and every tongue
shall confess to Him that Jesus
Christ is lord and Ciod. We
believe in Him Whose
advent ... we expect - Judge of
the living and of the dead, Who
will render to every man
according to his deeds ...
"He has poured forth upon
us abundantly the Holy Spirit, '
the Ciift and Pledge of
immortality - Who makes
those who believe and obey,
sons of Ciod and joint-heirs
with Christ ... Him do we
confess and adore - one Ciod
in the Triunity of the Holy
Name.
"For He Himself had said
through the Prophet: . Call upon
Me in the day of your trouble,
and I will deliver you, and you
shall glorify Mel' And again,
He says: 'It is honourable to
reveal and confess the works of
Ciod' ...
"I know well the testimony
of my lord Who in the Psalm
declares: 'You will destroy them
that speak a lie.' And again, He
says: The mouth that lies, kills
the sou\. '
"And the same lord says in
the Ciospel: 'Every idle word
that men shall speak, they shall
render an account for it on the
day of judgement!' And so I
should dread exceedingly, with
fear and trembling, this
sentence on that day when no
one will be able to escape or
hide - but we all, without
exception, shall have to give an
account even of our smallest
sins before the judgement seat
of the lord Christ ...
"I long had in mind to
write .. . I have not studied like
others who thoroughly imbibed
Law and Sacred Scripture, and
never had to change from the
language of their childhood
days, but were able to make it
still more perfect. In our case,
what I had to say, had to be
translated into a tongue (I!ish)
foreign to me ...
'This betrays how little
instruction and training I have
had in the art of words. For, as
Scripture says, 'by the tongue
will be disclosed - the wise
man, and understanding, and
knowledge, and the teaching of
the truth' ...
" Now, in myoid age, I
strive for something that I did
not acquire in youth. It was my
sins that prevented me from
fixing in my mind what before I
had barely read through ...
"Almost as a boy not able to
speak, I was taken captive ...
Today, I blush and fear
exceedingly to reveal my lack of
education ... (Yet) I would not
be silent - because of my
desire to give thanks! .. , After
all, it is written: 'The
stammering tongues shall
'quickly learn to speak peace' ...
"We earnestly strive to do
this - we who are, as Scripture
says, 'a letter of Ch!ist for
salvation unto the utmost part
of the Earth'; although not yet
an eloquent one ... ' written in
your hearts not with ink but
with the Spirit of the living
Ciod' ... Again, the Spirit
witnesses that' even rusticity
was created by the All-
Highest'...
"Before I was humiliated, I
was like a stone lying in the
deep mire ... He Who is mighty
came, and in His mercy lifted
me up and raised me aloft ...
Therefore, then, be astonished
- you great and little who fear
Ciod, and you men of letters!
.. . He encouraged me - me,
the outcast of this World,
July/August, 1996 l THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon " 17
before others to be the man ...
who with fear and reverence
and without blame should
faithfully selVethe (Irish) people
to whom the love of Christ
conveyed and gave me for the
duration of my life ...
"In the light therefore of our
faith in the Trinity, I must make
this choice ... I must make
known the gift of Ciod and
everlasting consolation.
Without fear and frankly, I
must spread everywhere the
Name of Ciod - so that after
my decease I may leave a
bequest to my brethren and sons
whom I have baptized in the
Lord, so many thousands of
people."
"I was not worthy ... that the
Lord should grant this to His
servant; that...after my
captivity, after the passage of so
many years, He should give me
so great a grace in behalf of that
nation ...
"After I came to Ireland,
every day I had to tend sheep
and many times a day I prayed.
The love of Ciod and His fear
came to me more and more, .
and my faith was strengthened.
And my spirit was moved, so
that in a single day I would say
as many as a hundred prayers
- and almost as many in the
night, and this even when I
was staying in the woods ... I
used to get up for prayer before
daylight- through snow,
through frost, through rain ... I
felt no harm, and there was no
sloth in me - as I now see,
because the Spirit within me
was then fervent ...
"One night I heard in my
sleep a voice saying to me: 'It is
well that you fast. Soon you
will go (back) to your own
country (Britain) ... Your ship is
ready' ... It was not near, but" at
a distance of perhaps two
hundred miles (in Wicklow) ...
"I had never been there. Nor
did I know a living soul there ...
Then I took to flight, and I left
the man with whom I had
stayed for six years. And I went
in the strength of Ciod ...
"As I went, I began to pray.
And before I had ended my
prayer, I heard someone
shouting behind me: 'Come,
hurry, we shall take you on in
good faith! Make friends with
us!' ... And so, on that day
I ... hoped they would come to
the faith of Jesus Christ -
because they were pagans. And
thus I had my way with them ...
"After three days, we
reached land ... We travelled
through deserted country ... The
next day, the captain said to me:
Tell me, Christian - you say
that your Ciod is great and all-
powerful! Why then do you not
pray for us! As you can see, we
are suffering from hungerl' ...
"I said to them full of
confidence: 'Be truly converted
with all your heart to the Lord
my Ciodl Because nothing is
impossible for Him; so that this
day He may send you food ...
Suddenly a herd of pigs
appeared on the roads before '
oUT eyes, and they killed many
of them ... They also found wild
honey, and offered some of it to
me ...
18 l THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon l Jnly/Angust, 1996
"Thanks be to Ciodl ... I was
upheld by Christ my Lord ...
His Spirit was even then crying
out on my behalf ... It will be so,
on that day of my tribulation.
As is written in the Ciospel:
'On that day,' the Lord
declares, 'it is not you that speak
- but the Spirit of My Father
Who speaks in you!'
"Once again, after many
years, I fell into captivity ... On
the sixtieth night thereafter, the
Lord delivered me ... 'Then
again, after a few years, I was
in Britain with my people -
who received me as their son
and sincerely besought me that
now at last, having suffered so
many hardships, I should not
leave them and go elsewhere.
"But there I saw in the night
the vision ora man ... coming as.
it where from Ireland ... I heard
their voice ... They (the Irish) did
cry out as with one mouth: 'We
ask you, boy - come and walk
among us once again!' ...
" I woke up, and
remembered the Apostle
saying: 'The Spirit helps the
infirmities of our prayer. For we
do not know what we should
pray for as we ought. But the
Spirit Himself asks for us, (and '
in .us,) with unspeakable
groanings which cannot be
expressed in words: And again:
'The Lord our Advocate asks for
usl' ...
"When I had been fifteen
years old, I did not trust in the
living Ciod. Nor did I do so
from my childhood. But I lived
in death and unbelief, until I
was severely chastised and
really humiliated by hunger and
nakedness - and that, daily ...
"I did not go to Ireland of my
own accord - not until' had
nearly perished! But this was
rather for my own good. For
thus was I purged by the Lord,
and He made me fit so that I
might be now what was once
far fonn me - so that I should
care and labour for the salvation
of others ...
'Therefore I give thanks to
Him Who has strengthened me
in evel)'thing ... He did not
frustrate the journey upon
which' had decided, and the
work which I had learned from
Christ my Lord ... I rather felt,
after this, no little strength --
and my trust was proved right,
before God and men ...
"I must not, however, hide
God's gift which He bestowed
upon me in the land of my
captivity. Because then, I
earnestly sought Him. And
there' found Him, and He
saved me from all evil -
because ... of His Spirit Who
keeps on dwelling in me .. .
"I give unwearied thanks to
God Who kept me faithful in
the day of my temptation, so
that today I can confidently
offer Him my soul as a living
sacrifice - to Christ my Lord,
Who saved me out of all my
trouble.
'This I can say: 'Who am I,
o Lord, and to what have you
called me- You who assisted
me with such divine power that
today f constantly exalt and
magnify Your Name ... not only
in good days but also in
tribulations!' So indeed f must
accept with equanimity
whatever befalls me, be it good
or evil, and always give thanks
to God Who taught me to trust
in Him always, without
hesitation.
"He must have heard my
prayer. So I, however ignorant I
was, in recent days dared to
undertake such a holy and
wonderful work - thus
imitating somehow those who,
as the Lord once foretold, would
preach His Gospel for a
testimony to all nations, prior to
the end of the World ...
"It would be tedious to give a
detailed account of all my
labours, or even a part of them.
Let me tell you briefly how the
merciful God often freed me
from slavery, and from twelve
dangers in which my life was at
stake - not to mention
numerous plots, which I cannot
express in words ...
'" do not want to bore my
readers. But God is my witness,
Who knows all things even
before they come to pass ... He
used to forewarn even me, poor
wretch that' am, of many
things, by a divine message.
"How did f come by this
wisdom which was not in me? I
knew neither the number of my
days nor what God was!
Whence was given to me
afterwards the gift so great, so
salutary - to know God and to
love Himl Although at the
price of leaving my country and
my parents! ...
"I came to the people of
Ireland to preach the Gospel
and to suffer ... I am prepared to
give even my life without
hesitation, and most gladly, for
His Name. And it is there that
I wish to spend it, until I die ...
'" am very much God's
debtor - Who gave me such
great grace that many people
were born again in God, and
afterwards con finned through
me ... Ministers were
ordained ... everywhere, for a
people just coming to the faith . .
"The Lord took them 'from
the utmost parts of the Earth' -
as He once had promised
through His Prophets: 'To You
the Gentiles shall come from
the ends of the Earth' ... And
again: 'I have set You as a light
among the Gentiles, so that
You may be for salvation unto
the utmost part of the Earth!'
"And there I wish to wait for
the promise of Him Who surely
never deceives. As He promises
in the Gospel: 'They shall come
from the East and the West,
and shall sit down with
Abraham and Isaac and Jacob'
- as we believe the faithful
will come, from all the World.
"For that reason therefore we
ought to fish well and
diligently ... The Lord exhorts in
advance, and teaches, saying:
'You must come after Me, and I
will make you to be fishers of
men!' And again He says
through the Prophets: 'Behold, ,
send many fishers and
hunters' ...
"The Lord in the Gospel
states, exhorts, and teaches,
saying: 'Even while going, you
must teach all nations -
baptizing them in the Name of
the Father and the Son and the
Holy Spirit -. teaching them to
observe all things whatsoever I
]uly/AugU$t, 1996 t THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 'f 19
have commanded you. And
behold, I am with you all days
- even to the consUl:nmation of
the World!'
U And again He says: 'You
must therefore go into the
whole World, and preach the
(jospel to every creature! He
who believes and is baptized;
shall be saved; but he who does
not believe, shall be
condemned: And again: 'This
(jospel of the Kingdom shall be
preached in the whole World
for a testimony to all nations,
and then shall the end cornel'
U And so to the Lord
announces through the Prophet,
and says: 'And it shall come to
pass in the last days,' says the
Lord, ' I will pour out of My
Spirit upon all Resh. And your
sons and your daughters shall
prophesy, and your young men
shall see visionsl and your old
men shall dream dreams. And
upon my servants indeed, and
upon my handmaids, f will
pour out of My Spirit in those
days, and they shall prophesy:
"And in Hosea, He says: 'I
will call "My people" that
which was not My people ...
And her that had not obtained
mercy, (I will call) "one that has
obtainedmercyl" And instead
of where it was said: "You are
not My people" - they shall be
called "the sons. of the living
(jod!"
"Hence, how did it come to
pass in Ireland, that those who
never had a knowledge of
(jod ... have now been made a
people of the Lord and are
called 'sons of (jod'l .. , (How
did it come to pass) that sons
and daughters of the kings of
the Irish - are seen to be ... bom
again there, so as to be of our
kindl I do not know ...
"I could have wished to
leave them and go (back) to
Britain. And how I would have
loved to go to my country and
my parents, and also to (jaul in
order to visit the brethren and to
see the face of the saints of my
LordI For (jod knows I much
desired it. But I am bound by
the Spirit Who would give
evidence against me, were I to
do this _. telling me I would be
guilty. And I am afraid of
losing the labour which I have
begun - nay, not I, but Christ
the Lord Who bade me come
here and stay with them for the
rest of my life ...
'This, I presume, I ought to
do! But I do not trust myself, as
long as , am in this body of
death .. . From the time' came to
know Him in my youth, the
love of (jod and the fear of
Him have grown in me - and
up to now, thanks to the grace
of (jod, 'have kept the faith ...
He knows eveTYlhing, even
before the times of the World!
"Hence' ought unceasingly
to give thanks to (jod Who
often pardoned my
foolishness .. . and on more than
one occasion spared His great
wrath, upon me who was
chosen to be His helper - and
who was slow to do as was
shown me, and as the Spirit
suggested. But the Lord had
mercy on me, thousands and
thousands of times ... Would
20 f THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon l' July/August, 1996
that you too would strive for
greater things, and do better!
This will be my glory. For a
wise son is the glory of his
father."
"You know, and so does
(jod, how' have lived among
you from my youth in the true
faith and in sincerity of heart, .. ,
have been faithful...for fear that
through me the Name of the
Lord be blasphemed. For it is
written: 'Woe to the man
through whom the Name of the
Lord is blasphemed!'
"For although I be rough in
all things, nevertheless' have
tried somehow to keep myself
safe .. . When I baptized so many
thousands of people, did I
perhaps expect from any of
them as much as a tiny coinl
Tell me, and I will give it back!
.. . On the contrary, I spent
money for you - so that they
might receive me. And I went
to you and everywhere for your
sake in many dangers, even to
the farthest districts ... May (jod
powerfully grant me afterwards,
that I myself may be spent -
for your souls!
"Indeed, I call (jod to
witness upon my soul- that'
do not lie ... Sufficient is the
honour that is not yet seen but
is anticipated in the heart.
'Faithful is He Who promised!'
I For 'He never lies!'
"But' see myself exalted
even in the present World,
beyond measure, by the Lord.
And I was not worthy, nor
such that He should grant me
this ... Poverty and misfortune
behooves me better than riches
and pleasures. For Christ the
Lord too was poor, for our
sakes. And I, unhappy wretch
that I am, have no wealth -
even if I wished for it.
"Daily I expect murder,
fraud, or captivity - or
whatever it may be. But I fear
none of these things, because of
the promises of Heaven. I have
cast myself into the hands of
Ciod Almighty, Who rules
everywhere. As the Prophet
says: 'Cast your thoughts upon
Ciod, and He shall sustain
you!' ...
"So now, I commend my
soul to my faithful Ciod, for .
Whom I am Ambassador ...
Ciod accepts no person, but
chose me for this Office - to
be, although among His least,
one of His Ministers.
"Hence let me give back to
Him, because of all He has
done for me! But what can I say
or what can I prpmise to my
Lord - as I can do nothing that
He has not given mel
"May He search 'the heart
and reins! ... I pray to Ood to
give me perseverance, and to
deign that I be a faithful
witness to Him - to the end of
my life, for my Ciod! .
"And if ever I have done any
good for my Ood Whom I love,
I beg Him to grant that I may
shed my blood with those exiles
and captives for His Name -
even though I shOUld be denied
a grave; or my body be
woefully tom to pieces limb
from limb by hounds or wild
beasts; or the fowls of the air
devourjt.
"I am firmly convinced that
if this shoulq happen to me, I
would have gained my soul-
together with my body. Because
on that day, without doubt we
shall rise in the brightness of the
sun - that is, in the glory of
Christ Jesus our Redeemer, as
sons of the living Ood and
joint-heirs with Christ- to be
made conformable to His
image. For of Him, and by
Him, and in Him - we shall
reign!
"For this sun which we see,
rises daily for us - because
Ood commands this ... We
believe in, and worship, the
true Sun - Christ - Who will
never perish! Nor will he who
does His will. But he will abide
for ever, even as Christ abides
for ever Who reigns with Ood
the Almighty Father and the
Holy Spirit.- before time; and
now; and unto all eternity.
Amen!
"Behold, again and again
would I set forth the words of
my Confession. I testifY in truth
and in joy of heart, before Ood
and His holy angels, that I
never had any reason except the
Ciospel and its promises (as to)
why I should ever return to the
(Irish) people from whom once
before I barely escaped.
"I pray those who trust fear
Ood, whosoever begins to look
at or receive this writing which
Patrick, an unlearned sinner,
composed in Ireland - that no
one should ever say it was my
ignorance if I did or showed
forth anything however small
according to Ood's good
pleasure. But let this be your
conclusion and let it so be
thought that - as is the perfect
truth - it was the gift of Ciod!
TI)is is my Confession, before I
die."
Yet before Patrick did die,
soldiers of the Brythonic King
Coroticus would cruelly kidnap
some of the Irish Christians
whom Patrick had. converted.
The plan of those kidnappers
was to sell those kidnapped, to
then-still-pagan Ciaelic Scots
and to by-then-apostate Ancient
Picts in what is now Scotland.
Many years earlier, Patrick
had himself been kidnapped
from Britain by the Scots in
Ireland - and then sold into
slavery to the then-pagan Irish.
So noW, in his Epistle to
Coroticus, Sucat vehemently
protests against these fresh
kidnappings - as follows:
"I, Patricius, an unlearned
sinner - resident in Ireland-
declare that I am Presiding
Elder. Most assuredly, I believe
that what I am, I have received
.. from Ciod. And so llive ... (as) a
stranger and an exile, for the
love of Ciod. He is a witness
that this is so ...
"I am impelled by the zeal
for Ciod ... The truth of Christ
has wrung it from me, out of
love for my neighbours and
sons for whom I gave up my
country (Britain). and parents,
and my life to the point of
death .. . For my Ood, I live -
in order to teach ...
"I have written and
composed these words - to be
given, delivered, and sent to the
soldiers of Coroticus ... , allies of
the (infidel) Scots and the
apostate Picts. Dripping with
blood, they wallow in the blood
July/August, 1996 t THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon t 21
of innocent Christians -
whom (by and from the Holy
Spirit) I have regenerated into
the number for Ood, and
confirmed in Christ. .. I ask
them to let us have some of the
booty, and the baptized they
have made captives ...
"Those whom the devil has
mightily ensnared (the soldiers
of Coroticus themselves) ... will
be slaves in Hell in an eternal
punishment. For he who keeps
on committing son, is a slave,
and will be called' a son of the
deviL'
'Therefore, let every Ood-
fearing man know that they are
the enemies of me and of Christ
my Ood, for Whom I am an
Ambassador. Patricidel
Fratricide' Ravening wolves
that eat the people of the Lord
as they eat bread' As I said,
The wicked, a Lord, have
destroyed Your Law' - which
but recently He had excellently
and kindly planted in Ireland,
and which had established itself
by the grace of Ood ...
"I share in the work of those
whom He called and
predestined to preach the
, Oospel amidst grave
persecutions 'unto the end of
the Earth' - even if the enemy
(Satan) shows his jealousy
through the tyranny of
Coroticus, a man who has no
respect for Ood nor for His .' C'
Presbyters whom He chose and
to whom He gave the
highest...and sublime power so
that whom they should bind
upon Earth would be bound
also in Heaven .. ,
"You who are hdly and
humble of heart, it is not
permissible to court the favour
of such people nor to take food
or drink with them nor even to
accept their alms - until they
make reparation to
Ood, .. through repentance with
shedding of tears, and set free
the baptized servants of Clod
and handmaids of Christ for
whom He died and was
crucified.
'The All-Highest
disapproves the gifts of the
wicked ... It is written: The
riches which he has gathered
unjustly, shall be vomited up
from his belly' ... The angel of
death drags him away ... By the
fury of dragons he shall be
tormented. The viper's tongue
shall kill him. 'Vnquenchable
fire keeps on devouring him:
And so - 'Woe to those who
keep on filling themselves with
what is not their own!' Or:
'What does it profit a man, that
he gain the whole World-
and suffer the loss of his own
soul!'
"It would be tedious to
discuss and set forth all in
detail, to gather from the whole
Law testimonies against such
greed. Avarice is a deadly sin.
'You shall not covet your
neighbour's goods! You shall
not kill!' '
"A murderer cannot be with
hates his
brother, is accounted a
murderer: Or: 'He that does
not love his brother, abides in
death. ' How much more guilty
is he who has stained his hands
with the blood of the sons of
22 t THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon t July/August, 1996
Ood, whom He has of late
purchased in 'the utmost part of
the Earth' through the call of
our littleness!
"Did I come to Ireland
without Oodl ... I am bound by
the Spirit. .. I was freeborn
according to the flesh. I am the
son of a Decurion' But I sold my
noble rank - I am neither
ashamed nor sorry - for the
good of others. Thus lam a
servant in Christ to a foreign
nation, for the unspeakable
glory of everlasting life which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
"And if my own people do
not know me - 'a Prophet has
no honour in his own countryI'
Perhaps we are not of the same
fold - and do not have one
and the same Ood as Father!
As it is written: 'He who is not
with Me, is against Me, and he
who does not gather with Me,
scatters' ... 'One keeps on
destroying, another keeps on
bUilding up: I do not seek the
things that are mine. "It is not
my grace, but Ood Who had
given this solicitude unto my
heart - to be one of His
hunters or fishers whom Ood
once foretold would come ...
What shall I do, Lordi ... Your
sheep around me are being tom
to pieces and driven away ... by
these robbers, by the orders of
the hostile-minded Coroticus!
"Far from the love of Ood is
a man who hands over
Christians to the Piels and
Scotsl Ravening wolves have
devoured the flock of the Lord,
which in Ireland was indeed
splendidly with the
greatest care ... I cannot count
the number of the sons and
daughters of their kings who
were .. . of Christ...
"You prefer to kill and sell
them to a foreign nation that
has no knowledge of (jod. You
betray the members of Christ,
as it were into a brothel! What
hope have you in (jod, or
anyone who thinks as you do,
or converses with you in words
of flatteryl (jod will judge! For
Scripture says: 'Not only they
that do evil are worthy of
condemnation, but they too
who consent to them ...
"Scripture says: 'Weep with
them that weep!' And again: 'If
one member be grieved, let all
members grieve with it!' Hence
the Church mourns' arid laments
her sons and daughters whom
the sword has not yet slain, but
who were removed and carried
off to faraway lands where sin
abounds ...
"Perhaps they do not believe
that we have received one and
the same baptism, .. . It is
written: 'Have you not one
(jod! Have you, every one of
you, forsaken his neighbourl'
"Therefore I grieve with you
(the first-enslaved and then-
deceased Irish Christians). I
grieve, my dearly beloved. But
again ... , thanks be to (jod that
you have left the World and
have gone to Paradise as
baptized faithful!
"I see you. You have
journeyed to where 'night shall
be no more; nor mourning; nor
death: But 'you shall leap like
calves loosened from their
bonds. And you shall tread
down the wicked, and they
shall be ashes under your feet! '
'You will reign with the
Apostles and Prophets and
Martyrs, You will take
possession of eternal kingdoms,
As He Himself testifies, saying:
'They shall come from the East
and from the West, and shall sit
down with Abraham and Isaac
and Jacob in the Kingdom of
Heaven: 'Outside are dogs and
sorcerers and whoremongers
and murderers and idolaters and
whosoever loves lies:
"Perjurers and 'liars shall
have their portion in the pool of
everlasting fire: Not without
reason does the Apostle say:
'Whereas the just man shall
scarcely be saved - where
shall the sinner and ungodly
transgressor of the Law find
himself!'
"Where then will Coroticus
with his criminals, rebels
against Christ - where will
they see themselves, they who
distribute baptized women as
prizes! In a miserable temporal
kingdom, which will pass away
in a moment! 'As a clol,ld or
smoke that is dispersed by the
Wind, so shall the wicked perish
at the presence of the Lord!'
'But the just shall feast with
great constancy' - with Christ!
'They shall judge the, nations'
- and rule over wicked kings
for ever and ever. Amen,
" 'I testilY before (jod and
His angels' that it will be so ...
It is not my words that I have
set forth ... but those of (jod and
the Apostles and Prophets who
have never lied. ' He who
believes, shall be saved, but he
who does not believe, shall be
condemned: (jod has spoken!
"I ask earnestly that whoever
is a willing servant of (jod, be a
carrier of this letter - so that on
no account it be suppressed or
hidden by anyone, but rather be
read before all the people and in
the presence of Coroticus
himself. May (jod encourage
them at some time to recover
their senses for (jod -
repenting, however late, of their
heinous deeds!
'They are murderers of the
brethren of the Lord. May they
set free the baptized women
whom they took captive - in
order that they may ... live to
(jod, and be made whole - ,
here, and in eternity! Peace be
to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit! Amen."
The above is Patrick's own
testimony in his
autobiographical Confession
and in his hortatory Epistle to
Coroticus. The same kind of
testimony is seen also in the
poem of his nephew, the
Presbyter Sechnall (SecundinusJ.
The latter wrote that Patrick
was" steadfast in his faith" and
that "the gates of hell will not
prevail against him."
Sechnall also wrote of his
uncle Patrick that "he gives the
good - an apostolic example
and model... He encourages, by
good conduct ... Humble is he of
mind and body, because of his
fear of (jod .. . In his holy body,
he bears the marks of Christ ...
"He preserves his body
chaste, for the love of the Lord,
This body he has made a
July/August, 1996 t THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon t 23
temple for the Holy Spirit. .. He
keeps it such, by purity in all his
actions. He offers it as a living
sacrifice, acceptable to the Lord ...
"He frees captives from a
twofold servitude. The great
numbers, he liberates from
bondage 10 men. These countless
ones, he frees from the yoke of
the devil.
"He sings hymns and the
Revelation and the Psalms of
Ciod - and explains them for the
edification of Ciod's people. He
tells them he believes in the
Trinity of the Holy Name -
and teaches them that there is
only one substance, in Three
Persons:
This dynamic trinitarian faith
is seen also in Patrick's Moming
Prayer, known as the Lorica (or
Hymn of the Deer's Oy) -
which Sucat got also his disciples
to sing. There, commencing with
the by-now-familiar Ancient-
Irish words Atomriug indiu niurt
tren, Patrick taught them:
"Today I arise through Ciod's
great strength and draw close to
my Lord Triune.
By grace through faith, I know
He's One - Jehovah - ere
time began.
Yet there's Three Who create -
even Elohim -
the Father and Son and Spirit.
"Today I arise, through the
baptism of Chrisl-
His cross; and His grave,
resurrection; ascension;
and final descent, for the
judgment of doom!
'Today I arise, while Ciod's
angels serve -
I heed all His heralds, through
reading His Word.
He makes His saints pure, in
labours and love.
'Today I arise, before the sun's
flame,
before the winds rush; before
lightning strikes.
For Ciod's sea is deep; and His
land like a rock!
'Today I arise, through Ciod's
strength to guide me!
Ciod's might shall uphold me;
Ciod's wisdom shall lead me;
Ciod's eye looks before me, Ciod's
ear shall hear for me,
Ciod's Word shall speak through
me, Ciod's hand shall protect me
Ciod' s way is before me.
"Ciod's hosts shall defend me
against snares of devils;
against tests of vices, against lusts
of nature;
'gainst all who would harm.me,
from far or from near-
with few, or with many.
"Christ now protects me 'gainst
poison, 'gainst buming;
'gainst drowning; 'gainst
wounding; and even' gainst
falling-
that I may receive an
abundant reward.
24 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon July/August, 1996
"For Christ now is with me,
before, and behind me;
Christ is within, and beneath,
and above me.
Christ's on my right; and
Christ's on my left.
Christ's where I sit; and
Christ's where I sleep.
"Christ's where I rise, each
day I get up.
Christ's in the hearts of all
who recall me.
Christ's in the mouth of all
who address me.
Chrisi's in the eye of all who
behold me.
Chrisi's in the ear of all who
do hear me.
'Today I arise in the strong
Name of Ciod,
to the Triune Jehovah I come!
I pray every day, to Elohim
strong-
to my Ciod Who is Three but
yet One.
From Him all of nature has
had her creation -
by Father; by Spirit; by Word
o praise to Jehovah the Ciod
of salvation!
For I'm saved by Jesus, the
LordI" Q