The Apostle of the Far West, Saint Patrick (Patrick), was born in Britain around 383 into a Gallo-Roman family that had long converted to Christianity. His father Calpurnius was a deacon and at the same time acted as a decurion. He had a thriving estate, and he allowed his son to spend the first years of his life frivolously, not in the least caring about divine objects.

When Patricia was 16 years old, he, along with many other residents of the area, was captured by pirates. They sold it to a landowner in Ireland who commissioned Patricius to guard his flocks in the mountains. The harsh conditions of exile in these foreign lands, which were almost completely at the mercy of paganism, as well as communication with nature, turned his heart to God. He began to lead a life full of repentance, staying days and nights in prayer on his knees on the ground that was frozen or soaked from the rain, and did not experience any suffering, so much was his soul filled with divine comfort.

After six years of captivity, which turned into heavenly bliss, one night he heard a voice that said to him: “You did well to fast and pray. God heard your prayer. Now go, return to your homeland: a ship is prepared for you! " Trusting completely, he then escaped and, having walked more than 320 kilometers at random, reached the port and boarded a ship of pagan merchants.

Three days later they landed in a desolate and unknown land and went in search of some settlement. They wandered for almost a month, tormented by hunger, and finally asked Patricius to turn to his God to save them. As soon as the young Christian raised his hands, a herd of pigs immediately appeared - people were able to kill several animals and get enough. After various disasters, Patricius managed to reach his homeland, where he was again captured by pirates, but two months later he regained his freedom, as he had been predicted earlier.

When he returned to his father's house, he had a vision: a certain heavenly man named Victoria appeared before him and showed a sheaf of letters. He opened the first and read: “The Voice of Ireland! Holy youth, we pray you to come again and walk among us. " Patricius then heard the voices of people from the Foklute forest, where he spent the years of his captivity. Feeling the call of God in this, he decided to prepare himself for the enlightenment of these barbarians. To do this, he had to complete a church education, which he could not receive in his early youth. He went to Gaul and lived in various monastic centers, including Lerins. Saint Patrick spent about 15 years in Auxerre under the spiritual guidance of Saint Herman (Comm. 31 July), who ordained him to the deacon.

When Saint Herman returned from a trip to Britain, where he had fought against the Pelagian heretics (429), he was again faced with the urgent task of finding missionaries for Ireland. A little earlier, Pope Celestine I (431) ordained the deacon of the Roman Church, Saint Palladius, to bishop, so that he organized and governed the Christians scattered throughout Ireland. Palladium immediately faced great difficulties, founded only three churches, and a few months later was overtaken by death. Therefore, Saint Patrick received consecration as a bishop from the hands of Saint Herman, in order to bring the light of truth to the barbarians of Ireland. Indeed, he was well prepared for this task, not only because God had called him, but also because he knew the language and customs of these tribes. Remembering the sins of his youth, he did not dare to accept the ordination, but the new vision confirmed him that this is the will of God.

At the head of a small number of clerics, he landed on the island at the very place where Saint Palladius sailed. Saint Patrick did not hesitate to go to a large meeting, which was regularly organized by the leaders of the families. Before the fierce soldiers, he delivered a bold sermon about Christ. He managed to convert some of the elders, and after them, people from their tribes. The missionaries received plots of land to establish churches and monasteries there. Saint Patrick traveled all over Ireland, especially its northern regions, tirelessly proclaiming the word of God. As a rule, he turned first to the heads of clans and kings. This is how he was able to convert the kings of Dublin, Munster and the seven sons of King Connaught.

The preacher faced, however, the opposition of the druid priests, who used witchcraft against the apostle. But Patrick, having called for the help of the power of God, made them powerless and even converted some to Christ. The new converts then became pious elders, zealous in the enlightenment of their brothers.

After preaching in the Kingdom of Oriel, he founded a monastery at Armagh, which later became the Archbishop's See of Ireland. It was from this monastery that his long missionary trips began. Patrick resisted violence, threats and any kind of danger with complete disregard for his life and crossed these inhospitable lands, allowing God to speak through him with people. The preacher did not attach any importance to his own abilities, and, despite the fact that he disregarded the laws of rhetoric, his speech, full of quotes and references to the Holy Scriptures, possessed divine power to lead people to Christ. Among those who were subdued by the preaching of Saint Patricius were, in addition to ordinary people, also bard-philids. The bards were one of the highest castes of Celtic society in Ireland, the keepers and interpreters of the sacred oral traditions of the people, and in their position were close to the pagan priests. Having become monks, they devoted their poetic talents to the ministry of the Good News. Their chants were so beautiful that the angels were said to bow down from the heavenly heights to listen to them.

For the establishment of the new Church, Saint Patrick ordained priests and bishops, treating with respect and wisdom the distinctive character of the Irish people. The chairs of his bishops were located, as a rule, not in cities, but in monasteries, which in the next generations flourished and turned Ireland into a new Thebais. Many monks, brave missionaries and tireless travelers came from them, who made a significant contribution to the new enlightenment of Europe with the Good News after the barbarian invasions.

Saint Patrick never neglected to fulfill the daily prayer rule, whether he was in one of these monasteries-bishops or on a journey. The rule was to read aloud the entire Psalter, along with all biblical songs, as well as other inspired texts, such as the Revelation of St. John the Divine. Every hour of the day he made the sign of the cross a hundred times over himself, and when he met the sign of the cross on the way, he got off the carriage and prostrated before him. On missionary trips, he could have been killed by his opponents more than once, but an angel in the Church of Ireland delivered him from danger for the benefit of the believers.

Knowing personally the suffering caused by slavery, Patricius became the protector of the population under attack by pirates. He excommunicated Korotik, the leader of a detachment of Britons, who landed on the lands of the tribe baptized the day before, killed some of the converts, and captured others for sale into slavery. Several months later, Korotik, who refused to repent, was stricken with insanity and died in despair.

After almost 30 years of episcopal ministry, Saint Patrick, who was already 80 years old, wrote in his Confession: “I confess this before my Lord and do not feel ashamed in His presence: from the time I got to know Him in my youth, the love of God grew in me, and up to this day, by the grace of the Lord, I have kept the faith ... He, who so often forgave me my stupidity and negligence in response to what the Holy Spirit inspired me, will have mercy on me thanks to thousands and thousands of people, because He saw that I was in His power. Let it be the will of God that my children surpass me in exalted deeds and in the fruits of salvation! This will be glory for me, for a wise son makes his father happy (Prov. 10: 1). My beloved, I have sought you, not your wealth. What they gave me for free, I also gave away: to you - your blessings, and to myself - fatigue and dangers, and I went to you and everywhere for your sake, and even to those lands where no one had ever come to baptize. By the grace of God for the sake of your salvation, I endured everything in sobriety and magnanimity ... Christ the Savior became a poor man for our sake, and I, poor and unfortunate, expected every day that I would be killed, that I would fall into a trap or be turned into slavery, but thanks to heavenly Promises I was not afraid of any of this, surrendering myself into the hands of Almighty God, who chose me to fulfill this task ... How will I repay Him for all His good deeds towards me? And if I managed to do some good deed for my God, whom I love, let no one say that it was done by such an ignoramus as I am, but it was a gift from God. I asked Him to allow me to shed my blood for His name: even if I were deprived of the grave, and my corpse, torn to shreds, would be left to feed birds and prey beasts of prey» .

Before his repose, which God had announced to him, Patrick made a last trip to check church affairs. Seeing a bush on the edge of the road that was burning without burning, he approached and heard the words of an angel, who announced to him, among other promises, that he would judge the Irish people in the last days.

On March 17, 461, the saint arrived in the town of Saul, in the region of Ulad (Ulster). There he rested in peace, accompanied by the hymns of the heavenly armies. Patrick's body was put on a wagon pulled by two wild bull... They stopped at a certain place, which was later named Down Patrick. They dug his grave there.

Thanks to the labors of Saint Patrick, Ireland flourished as a Christian land and, quite deservedly, began to be called the Island of Saints. Here he is warmly revered as their main protector. More than 200 churches are dedicated to Saint Patrick. His veneration is widespread throughout the West.

Compiled by Hieromonk Macarius of Simonopetrsky,
adapted Russian translation - Sretensky Monastery publishing house

Today the Russian Orthodox Church for the first time commemorates the memory of St. Patrick, the enlightener of Ireland. The news of the introduction of new saints into the month was received ambiguously in Orthodox circles. Let's try to figure out whether we are really talking about the veneration of a "Catholic saint."

At the meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on March 9, 2017, 15 saints who had labored in the West during the period of the undivided Church - before the division into Orthodox and Catholics were included in the Russian month. Among this list is the name of the great apostle of Ireland, Saint Patrick (Patrick) († after 460). We know little about his life. Sources of descriptions of his life and exploits are his own compositions ("Confession", "Letter to Koroticus", prayer "Shield of St. Patrick" and some others) and poetic hymns written shortly after his death.

Saint Patrick was born in Britain around 383 to the family of Deacon Calpurnius. At the age of 16, he was abducted by pirates, along with many other residents, who took him to Ireland, where he was sold to a landowner who instructed Patrick to guard his flocks in the mountains.

The harsh life and close contact with nature turned his heart to God. He spent days and nights in prayer, strengthened by the Holy Spirit. After six years of captivity, by divine command, he escaped and, having walked more than 320 kilometers at random, boarded a pagan ship. After numerous misadventures, he finally managed to return to his homeland.

Soon after his return, God again called the future enlightener to the apostolic ministry in those lands where he was for some time in slavery. Patrick responded to this call and decided to prepare himself for the education of the Irish barbarians. To do this, he had to complete a church education, which he could not receive in his early youth. He went to Gaul and lived in various monastic centers, including Lerins. He spent about 15 years in Auxerre under the spiritual guidance of Saint Herman (Comm. 31 July), who ordained him to the deacon. After some time, the saint accepted the consecration of bishop from the hands of Saint Herman, after which his apostolic mission began on the Irish island.

Through his zealous and selfless ministry of evangelical evangelism, he succeeded in converting thousands of Irish people to Christ, including rulers and pagan druid priests. The latter tried to resist him with the help of witchcraft, but the power of God, acting through St. Patrick, turned their machinations into nothing. Some of them converted to Christ and even became pious elders, zealous in enlightening their brothers. Dedicating his life to missionary work in Ireland, Saint Patrick ordained new clergy, founded monasteries, preached tirelessly, and protected the common people from oppression. He himself led a strict life, constantly practicing prayer and reading the Holy Scriptures.

His "Confession", written at the end of his life, testifies to his special love for the Word of God. In this small story, he refers to the Holy Scriptures about two hundred times, explicitly or implicitly, in hints. He expresses his selflessness and love for Christ in the following words: “ I pray to God that He will give me endurance and deign to be His faithful witness until my death. And if I have ever done at least something good for the sake of the God whom I love, I pray to Him to grant me that I shed my blood with the exiled and imprisoned for His name, even if I remain unburied, or my worthless body will be torn apart in shreds by dogs and wild beasts, or exterminated by the birds of the air, because I firmly believe that if this happens, I will save both my soul and my body. For beyond any doubt on that [last] day we will rise again in the radiance of the sun, that is, in the glory of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, as children of the Living God and joint heirs of Christ, created in His image, and we will reign through Him, with Him and in Him. "

Saint Patrick peacefully reposed in the Lord in about 460 in the town of Saul after many years of apostolic service to the Irish people. Thanks to the labors of Saint Patrick, Ireland flourished as a Christian land and rightfully became known as the "Island of Saints." Here he is warmly revered as their main protector. More than 200 churches are dedicated to Saint Patrick. His veneration is widespread throughout the West.

The introduction of 15 names of saints in the Russian months was perceived ambiguously in Orthodox circles. A number of media outlets, both secular and near-church, reported with delight or, on the contrary, indignation about the unheard-of veneration by the Russian Orthodox Church of “Catholic” saints. Most of all went to Saint Patrick of Ireland, whom some resources even blasphemously called a blasphemer, seeing Catholic signs in his teaching and life. As the main argument, they say that his glorification as a saint allegedly began in the Catholic West as early as the 17th century, and the ROC, by its decision, simply recognized the Catholic canonization.

"The tendency to oppose everything Western is not new and understandable in its own way, but to bring it to such an absurdity that not to recognize the saints of God on the grounds that they lived in the West is already overstepping all boundaries."

About the ancient veneration of St. Patrick, I managed to find a little information, but this information is already enough to refute the spread of nonsense. In particular, they write that Catholics began to venerate St. Patrick only in the 17th century. This is a blatantly erroneous statement. In ancient times, there was no official canonization procedure. The church community or an individual usually received the blessing of the bishop for the preservation of the relics of the saint and for the annual celebration of his memory. Therefore, the veneration of the saints began soon after their repose. Who officially glorified Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker? I doubt that anyone will find such a formal definition. Although in the Western Church the veneration of saints was more formalized than in the East, nevertheless, the veneration of individual ascetics began without strict control by the church authorities. The first known formal act of establishing veneration is the canonization of Saint Ulrich of Augsburg in 993 . So it is historically incorrect to wait for the determination of some ancient council on the official canonization of ascetics.

So when, then, did the Orthodox Church begin to venerate the Irish bishop as a saint?

In addition, more than 2,000 cathedrals and churches around the world are dedicated to him, the most famous of which is St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, built in 1192.

Consequently, the inclusion of Saint Patrick in the month of the Russian Orthodox Church is not a recognition of Catholic canonization, but a restoration of the unjustly forgotten veneration of him by the Ancient Church.

St. John of Shanghai (+ 1966), who worked hard to restore the veneration of ancient Western saints, said that many of them, unfortunately, are completely unknown to the Russian people. According to him, " the decisions of the conferences of the Russian elders on the veneration of the saints of the West are by no means their canonization, but the establishment that the aforementioned ascetic was revered as a saint before the fall of the West, and he is a saint revered by the Orthodox Church. The absence in the East of chants and information about the saint does not mean that there is no recognition of his holiness there. After all, not all of those who are venerated in the East, the saints who shone there, have church services. For almost every day in the synaxar and prologue, the memory of the saints is indicated, not only to whom the service of that day is dedicated, but also to others. Many saints do not have a special memorial day, although they are mentioned in some services, for example, in the service to the Saints who shone forth in Lent, or they are already known and revered. The lives of the martyrs, ascetics and other saints are known to God alone. All of them are glorified together in All Saints' week, as stated in the synaxarum on the same day. The saints, hitherto unknown (or at present) in the East, but revered within the West, belong to their earthly life to different centuries and were glorified in different ways ... St. Patrickdistinguished by a very strict life and, like St. Martin, he combined the holy works with monastic exploits. During his lifetime, he became famous for many miracles that contributed to the conversion of the Irish. As a saint he is honored from the day of his death, which followed in 491 or 492 with a number of signs that testified to his holiness. "

As you already understood, for Saint John the holiness of Patrick and many other Western ascetics did not raise any doubts. He reports on the original veneration of the Irish bishop. The Council of Bishops of the ROCOR, chaired by St. John, decided to venerate the ancient saints of the Orthodox West (including St. Patrick) so that these the righteous were venerated by the entire Orthodox Church and its faithful members would turn to them in their prayers.

By the way, the oldest life of St. Patrick (end of the 7th century) was published in Russian in the book by G. Bondarenko “ Everyday life ancient Celts ”(see the appendix to the book). Well, this is for those who still strongly doubt that he was revered in antiquity.

In addition, many Western Orthodox saints were not known and revered in the East, which in no way diminishes their holiness. For example, Blessed Augustine, who was named by the V Ecumenical Council among the twelve most authoritative teachers of the Church, began to be venerated in the East after the split with the Catholics (apparently, only in the 19th century). His memory is not even in the Typikon, which does not prevent us from venerating him as an Orthodox saint.

For some reason, violent indignation began only now, despite the fact that St. Patrick and many other Western ascetics have long been venerated as locally revered saints of the ROC MP (in particular, St. Patrick in the Sourozh diocese and at the parishes of the ROC in the USA) and in the Constantinople Orthodox Church ... His name is listed in the Great Synaxar of the Greek Church. In honor of him, churches are being built in the Orthodox Church of Antioch. It's just that local veneration has become common church, as it happens with other saints.

In addition, on August 21, 2007, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church established the day of the Cathedral Remembrance of the saints who shone in the land of British and Irish, on the third Sunday after Trinity. Although the saints are not listed here by name, among the Irish saints the enlightener of this country cannot be implied.

Someone began to write that this step of the Holy Synod would encourage drinking, which in the West and in Russia accompanies the holiday of St. Patrick. In my opinion, this is a completely stupid argument. Whoever needs to find a reason for drinking, he will find it without any canonization. At this rate, all church holidays can be canceled. The Church celebrates the memory of the saints traditionally - with divine services, I do not think that in this case it will be different. The Church glorified the saint, rather than legalized a commercial celebration under his name. And I don’t think that many parishes will serve him: the memory of the Monk Alexy, the man of God, which is also celebrated on March 30, is more familiar to the Russian Orthodox person.

In the glorification of long-forgotten saints, someone may see an ecumenical policy or the imposition of Western values \u200b\u200b- you can come up with as many explanations as you like, good, our people love to make it worse. Personally, I see in this, together with St. John of Shanghai, the restoration of historical justice and the opportunity to rejoice at the thought that we have several more representatives before God. The search for negativity in everything seems to me a sign of spiritual ill health, so I urge you to better pray and honor the memory of the great apostle of Ireland, Saint Patrick, whose memory day we remember today.

Congratulations on the feast of St. Patrick, brothers and sisters!

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I am very weak in all religions and therefore was surprised to read that the Church in Russia will celebrate every year on March 30 the Day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. This decision was made in early March 2017 at a meeting of the Holy Synod in the Danilov Monastery in Moscow.

What have Ireland and Russia to do with it? For some reason I associate Saint Patrick with alcohol and with something green.

Let's find out in a little more detail what's what ...

March 17 - St. Patrick's Day - National holiday in Ireland, which has been celebrated throughout the world for many years. But St. Patrick's Day also has pagan motives. So, one of his indispensable heroes are leprechauns - fabulous shoemakers who own a hidden pot of gold. If a lucky treasure seeker manages to catch a leprechaun, then this creature must tell the person where his treasures are hidden. However, if you suddenly catch a shoemaker, then remember that you should not completely believe him - these little men are malicious and mischievous and can easily deceive a gullible treasure seeker.

It is said that leprechauns entered the celebration of St. Patrick's Day quite recently - companies that sell postcards for this holiday needed a cute character to appear in the drawings. And the stern, albeit kind, preacher Saint Patrick was not quite suitable for this role. In the drawings, leprechauns are usually dressed in a pointed hat and a leather apron. Traditionally, St. Patrick's Day parades are held. People dressed in extravagant costumes, as well as brass bands, which cannot do without the famous bagpipes, take to the streets. Popular rumor has it that this tradition was born in Ireland. New York and Boston contested the palm. New Yorkers claim that the first parade took place in 1762 in their city. Then Ireland was under the rule of the British, and it is quite possible that the inhabitants of the rebellious North American colonies thus expressed their solidarity with them.

The Russian Orthodox Church decided to include in the months "St. Patrick, the Enlightener of Ireland," as well as some other saints from Western countries who lived before the final division of the church into the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church (this event, which went down in history as the "Great Schism" , happened in 1054). Thus, St. Patrick's Day from this year is officially present in the official church calendar Moscow Patriarchate, however, it falls on March 30 - just like, for example, Christmas, it was decided to celebrate it according to the Julian calendar. In addition, the names of the Monk Genevieve of Paris, Bishop of Paris Saint Herman, Martyr Victor of Marseilles, Martyr Alban of Britain and other Western European saints were included in the month.

Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and Nigeria, much of the information about whom is gleaned from his own autobiographical works.

And here are some possible misconceptions regarding this Saint Patrick:

March 17 - the day of death

Saint Patrick is a saint of the Catholic Church, a feast in honor of which is celebrated on the day of his death and ascension to heaven, and not on his birthday. Most During his earthly life, Patrick converted the pagans of Ireland to Christianity. Saint Patrick died on March 17, 461 AD.

Was not irish

Although today St. Patrick is considered the patron saint of Ireland, he himself was not Irish, and was not even born on the Emerald Isle. Patrick's parents were Romans and lived in the territory of modern England, or rather, in Scotland or Wales (scientists cannot agree on where exactly). He was born in 385 AD. By that time, most Romans were Christians, and the Christian religion was rapidly spreading throughout Europe.

Slavery

At the age of 16, Patrick was kidnapped by Irish robbers who sold him into slavery. He lived in Ireland for several years, tending sheep, and at the age of 22 he managed to escape. After that, he reached a monastery in England, where he spent 12 years.

Shamrock - a symbol of the Holy Trinity

Many argue that the shamrock represents faith, hope and love, but it was actually used by Patrick when he taught the Irish about the Holy Trinity, i.e., using the shamrock as an example, he explained how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit can be separate individuals and at the same time as a whole. Obviously, the pagan rulers of Ireland found Patrick convincing because they quickly adopted Christianity.

Expulsion of snakes from Ireland

According to legend, Saint Patrick drove all snakes (or in some translations "toads") from Ireland. In fact, there is no evidence that snakes existed in Ireland at all, as the climate there is too harsh for them. Some scholars suggest that the term "snakes" may be figurative and refer to pagan religious beliefs and practices.

Not green ... Blue!

In fact, blue is associated with Saint Patrick, and not green, as is commonly believed. In a number of works depicting the saint, you can see his blue robes. King Henry VIII was the first to use a golden harp on a blue background as the flag of Ireland. Since that time, blue has become a symbol of the country.

Green began to be associated with the country much later, presumably due to its green landscapes (Ireland has a very high rainfall). Today the country is also known as the "Emerald Isle".

The shamrock is not a symbol of Ireland

The shamrock is a popular Irish symbol, but it is not a symbol of Ireland. Already in the Middle Ages, the image of a harp appeared on Irish tombstones and manuscripts. However, scholars believe that the harp was popular in Irish legends and culture even long before this period. During the medieval period, the harp symbolized Ireland.

King Henry VIII used the image of the harp on coins as early as 1534. Later, the harp was used on Irish flags and Irish coats of arms. The harp was also used as a symbol of the Irish people during their long struggle for freedom. When Ireland became an independent country in 1921, the harp became a national symbol.

More Irish people in the US than in Ireland

It is estimated that about 34 million Americans are of Irish descent. Some of them are purebred Irish, meaning they or their parents came from Ireland, but many more are of mixed ancestry today. Only 4.2 million people live in Ireland itself.

This is explained by the "potato famine" in Ireland, when millions of Irish people left the country, emigrating to the United States. The migration of the Irish continued throughout most of the 19th century.

St. Patrick's Day in Russia

For Orthodox believers, a new holiday will fall on Great Lent. However, the Church assumes that on this day people will not dance and drink, but still go to services and pray. Archpriest Alexander Sorokin, chairman of the information department of the St. Petersburg diocese, rector of the Feodorovsky Cathedral in the soldering of the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov: “Saint Patrick, Saint Patrick - in Slavonic. The veneration of this saint in the Russian Orthodox Church did not begin today. And not even the day before yesterday. And very long ago, when our churches were still a single whole, the Eastern and Western churches. "

March 17, until 1970, did not drink

In addition to the color green, St. Patrick's Day is associated with alcoholic libations and beer in particular. However, in Ireland from 1903 to 1970, St. Patrick's Day was considered a religious holiday. All pubs were closed during the day. This was canceled in 1970 when St. Patrick's Day was classified as a national holiday.

However, today beer parties on this day have become a tradition and, moreover, in some areas of Christianity on this day restrictions associated with fasting are relaxed and alcohol is allowed.

And how will it be interesting to us to relate to beer libations on this holiday?

Let me also remind you about or for example and. Here's another and what is this

St. Patrick's Day, the patron saint of Ireland, is celebrated annually on March 17. This holiday has long gained great popularity far beyond the borders of the Emerald Isle. On March 17, some of the residents of Argentina, Great Britain, Russia, the USA, Japan and other countries become "a little Irish".

At the end of the IV century. in Britain, then under Roman rule, in the family of Roman citizens Kalfurnius and Conchessa, a son was born - Mavin Sukkat, whom the whole world later recognized as Saint Patrick. Despite the fact that his father was a deacon of the local church, Mavin in early years his life was not an adherent of faith in one god. When he was 16 years old, he was captured by pirates. He was sold into slavery in Ireland, where he tended cattle for six years. It was there that he came to the Christian faith. According to legend, God showed him how to escape from captivity, thanks to which Mavin returned to Britain, after spending some time in the monasteries of Gaul (modern France). In Britain, he had a vision that ordered him to return to Ireland to convert its inhabitants to Christianity. Mavin returned to Gaul, where he completed his education, was ordained a deacon under the name Patrick, and was later elevated to the rank of bishop. Pope Celestine II blessed Patrick for the Christianization of Ireland, and in the 30s. V century the future saint began his mission.

It is believed that the peculiarity of the establishment of Christianity in Ireland was that it was adopted by the efforts of Patrick almost bloodlessly.

Many legends are associated with the personality of Saint Patrick and his activities as a missionary. So, it is believed that it was he who brought writing to Ireland, and also drove all the snakes from the island. There are really no snakes in Ireland. Scientists explain this fact by the fact that during the period of the spread of snakes across the territory of various continents, Ireland was already an island. In addition, the legend of how he explained to the pagans the doctrine of the Trinity using the example of a clover leaf (God is one in three persons, like three leaves growing from one stem), was widely spread. It is also believed that for the firmness of his faith, God promised Patrick that Ireland would go under water 7 years before the end of the world in order to avoid grief and disaster, and that the saint himself would judge the Irish on the day of the Last Judgment.

Patrick died on March 17, 493 (according to another version, 461). He was canonized before the division of the Church into western and eastern, therefore, he is revered as a saint in both. However, the veneration in Orthodox churches is of a local nature, since the issue of general veneration has not been resolved. Besides Ireland, St. Patrick patronizes Nigeria, as Christianity was preached there mainly by Irish missionaries.

The Irish began to celebrate St. Patrick's Day as a kind of national holiday back in the X-XI centuries, and not only in Ireland, but also in others european countrieswhere the Irish diaspora was. At the beginning of the XVII century. this day was included in the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church. A church celebration is postponed if the day of the saint's memory falls on Holy Week (the week before Easter). A secular holiday is held in almost all countries on March 17, in some it stretches for several days.

In 1903 St. Patrick's Day became a public holiday in Ireland. In the same year, a law was passed ordering the closure of bars and pubs on March 17 due to the excessive consumption of alcohol by citizens (the law was repealed in the 1970s). Subsequently, March 17 became a day off in Northern Ireland, Newfoundland and Labrador (Canadian province), as well as on Montserrat Island (an island in the Caribbean, Great Britain).

There are many different traditions associated with celebrating St. Patrick's Day, both Christian and folk. The Christian is the annual ascent of pilgrims to the holy mountain Croagh Patrick, on which the saint prayed and fasted for 40 days. It is also considered a Christian custom to attach a shamrock to clothing on this day.

The tradition of drinking at least one glass of alcohol in a pub belongs to the folk tradition. Whiskey was originally the most common drink on this day, and ale later became very popular. There is a so-called "Patrick's Cup" - a unit of measure for drinking whiskey. Before drinking the last glass of whiskey, it was necessary to put a shamrock in the glass. It was called "drain the shamrock". After drinking whiskey, the shamrock was supposed to be thrown behind his back over his left shoulder - for good luck.

According to folk tradition, on this day, it is customary to dress in green or attach a shamrock to clothes. This custom was first mentioned in 1689. Until this year, the Irish wore the crosses of St. Patrick on their chests. Until the 18th century, the custom of wearing a shamrock was considered vulgar, but over time, the tradition took root.

In addition to the trefoil, the symbols of this day are also considered to be leprechauns (fabulous creatures of small stature, sewing shoes for other fabulous creatures and being the keepers of treasures), the harp (depicted on the coat of arms of Ireland) and shileila (an oak or thorny staff with a curved end, used, in addition to its direct purpose like a curling stick).

Special meals are prepared on St. Patrick's Day. Despite the fact that March 17, as a rule, falls on Great Lent, meat is cooked on this day: there is a popular belief that on this day St. Patrick turns all cooking meat into fish. The traditional dish is cabbage with bacon or corned beef. In addition, there are many different types of beer used in the preparation of dishes.

On St. Patrick's Day, parades are held, the first of which took place in the modern United States in the 18th century. New York and Boston dispute the title of the first city to host such a parade. The holiday takes on the greatest scope in cities with a large Irish diaspora. Besides New York and Boston, these are Philadelphia, Atlanta and Chicago. It was in the United States that the tradition of friendly pinching of those who are not dressed in green on March 17 was born. In addition, many American cities have a tradition of painting water bodies green on St. Patrick's Day. The tradition is believed to have begun with workers monitoring the pollution level of the Chicago River: they dyed its waters with green plant dye in order to track illegal waste dumps.

In Ireland, the first such parade took place in 1931.

Celebrations in honor of St. Patrick's events are also held in Argentina, Canada, South Korea, New Zealand and other countries.

In Russia, the St. Patrick's Day parade was held from 1992 to 2010. The initiators of this event were the president of the Irish company "Aer Rianta" Derek Keo and Yuri Luzhkov, who was then the deputy head of the Moscow City Council. In 2011, the Irish Ambassador to Russia announced the cancellation of the parade.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources

If you're lucky enough to be Irish ...
Then you are already very lucky!
Irish proverb

Once a year, on March 17, a portal opens between the real world and the fabulous: on the green streets, fat bags leprechauns mend their shoes, fragile fairies make fun of gray-haired druids, foamy beer rivers spill over the cobblestones, and giant wolfhounds walk confidently around their owners. St. Patrick's Day, like its participants, is fanned with outlandish legends and wonderful stereotypes, some of which we will try to figure out.

Irish snake charmer

(Sicarr / Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

The greenest holiday of the year is named after the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick. Sukkat Mayvin - that was Patrick's name before he was ordained - was born in about 385 in southwestern Britain. Although Patrick's father was a deacon, the boy showed little interest in religion; his faith was awakened at age 16 when he was captured by Irish bandits and sold into slavery. In Ireland, Patrick worked as a shepherd, and therefore spent long hours among the green hills in contemplation of God. Six years later, Patrick managed to escape to Britain, where he chose the path of a clergyman and was named Patrician. Once an angel appeared to him and conveyed a letter from the Irish: they asked Patrick to return to the country of his former imprisonment. At the age of 40, he again went to Ireland, but already as a missionary, and devoted his life to the introduction of the Irish pagans to the Christian faith.

The figure of St. Patrick is covered with legends. The most famous is how he drove the serpent from the Emerald Isle. Although there is no evidence that snakes were found in Ireland at that time - they could not survive the last ice age - there is some truth in history: it could very well have been a metaphor for the former religious beliefs of the Irish, which were supplanted by true faith.

American Irish roots

St. Patrick's Day falls on March 17, the day of the death of the saint. They began to celebrate it already in the 9th century, but the celebration was limited to a quiet family dinner; the holiday reached its modern scale thanks to resourceful Irish settlers in America.

The first parades were a large-scale military event

The first large-scale celebration of Saint Patrick took place in Boston in 1737: then at the official dinner gathered large group immigrants from Ireland. 25 years later, a military parade was held in New York, in which the regimental musicians of Irish origin took part. The parade was set up to pay tribute to the roots and to uphold tradition in the new land. Gradually the holiday grew, infecting other countries with the "green virus". The pinnacle of the commercialization of St. Patrick's Day was a diplomatic gesture from the Irish ambassador: he handed the then US President, Harry Truman, a box of shamrocks. Since then it has become a tradition.

The tradition has been going on since 1952 (Photo: Lawrence Jackson)

In Ireland, everything was different: the holiday remained religious for a long time, and the first parade reached the shores of the Emerald Isle only in the early 1930s. It passed then "dry": the law prohibited the use of alcohol on that day in order to avoid general drunkenness, and therefore all pubs were closed. In 1970, following the repeal of the law, the Irish joined the worldwide American-style St. Patrick's Day celebration. In the mid-1990s, the Irish government decided to extend the parade to five days, which attracted many tourists to the country.

Global greening

The loudest celebrations of St. Patrick's Day are still held in the United States. The American champion in "green madness" is the city of Chicago: during the holiday, the local river turns green for several hours. The tradition began in 1962 thanks to Steve Bailey, the organizer of the parades and also the head of the plumbers union. He noticed how a dye designed to find pockets of pollution in the river dyed a colleague's overalls in emerald color. Then the idea was born to repaint the whole river. The plan worked flawlessly, and the city received new bait for tourists.

As if a wild fire had been spilled somewhere! And yet, such a machination is harmless for environment (Photo: Mike Boehmer / Flickr. CC-BY)

Americans know how to promote their brands - if they had turned up any other national holiday, they would have made a worldwide cult out of it, and therefore it is not surprising that St. Patrick's Day is celebrated everywhere. New Zealand, the farthest country from Ireland, meets him first.

Nigeria is also celebrating. In 1961, when the country gained independence, Saint Patrick was named its patron. Today in Nigeria there are many descendants of those who were converted to Christianity by Irish missionaries a couple of centuries ago.

Painting landmarks green is one of the most common flash mobs in the world! (Photo: Martin Falbisoner / CC-BY-SA)

With the exception of Ireland and some states in America, the only country where St. Patrick's Day is a public holiday is Montserrat. The inhabitants of the Caribbean island remember the failed uprising that took place on this day in 1768. Despite the unfortunate outcome, the riot became a cry for freedom, for getting rid of the shackles.

The Caribbean Emerald Isle and Ireland have a long-standing bond: in the 17th century, many Irish natives took refuge in Montserrat, bringing with them Irish culture. The echoes of these events are found everywhere: this is the flag of Montserrat with a woman in green robe with a crucifix and a harp, and a stamp in the passport in the shape of a trefoil, and the names of streets and entire districts. Despite the fact that many of the slave owners against whom the inhabitants of the island rebelled were Irish, Ireland is now perceived there in a positive light.

Fun with Flags by Sheldon Cooper: depiction of a girl with a harp, Erin, the female personification of Ireland - not only part of the flag, but also the coat of arms of Montserrat

In Mexico, St. Patrick's Day is a military holiday in honor of the battalion of St. Patrick (El Batallón de los San Patricios). The battalion consisted of European immigrants, mostly Irish: they deserted from the US army (largely due to the difference in religious beliefs with american soldiers) and began to fight on the side of Mexico in the war of 1846-1848. Many of them received awards for bravery - and yet Mexico was defeated in this war, and many of the battalion's soldiers were hanged and sentenced to hard labor. In memory of the bloody events of the North American intervention, Mexicans hold annual parades.

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated even in space. Astronauts of the International Space Station now and then send "green" greetings to earth: Cady Coleman played a mini-concert on an antique flute, Chris Hadfield shared a cover of the ballad Danny Boy, and this year Shane Kimbrug tweeted a photo of Dublin from space as a gift to earthlings.

Hi Dubliners from Chris Hadfield!

Russia has been celebrating St. Patrick's Day since 1992. Then in Moscow, with the assistance of the Irish, the first Duty-Free stores began to open - first in Sheremetyevo, then on the Arbat, and a bar was also built as a supplement. Soon, someone from the project team suggested making an official holiday, and the Moscow Irish held it in their usual tradition - since then, the celebrations have been held almost annually.

Capital in green colors

This year is a jubilee: the “Week of Ireland” was held in Moscow for the fifth time, the Irish Film Festival for the tenth, and the St. Patrick's Parade on the twenty-fifth. And on the eve of the "green" week, the Russian Orthodox Church recognized St. Patrick's Day - however, it will be celebrated in the old style, on March 30.

This time we were visited by musicians from Ireland, groups Realta, Leif, Waldorf and Cannonand also a group with a very correct name Streams of Whiskey... The soloists of the most famous Irish dance show also dropped in to the Muscovites Riverdance, Ashlyn Ryan and Brendan Dorris.

This year, the Moscow Week of Ireland followed the usual patterns. The film festival pleased us with novelties - the most memorable were "Damn cute" and life-affirming "Sing Street". One could get acquainted with the culture of the Green Island at the lectures on the biography of St. Patrick and the Irish language.

Irish people know how to have fun and conduct business negotiations - and St. Patrick's Day is perfect for this.

The culmination of the festival was the traditional parade, which attracts more and more Russian "Irish" with children, grandparents, which is why in Russia the holiday is transformed into a family cultural event. "Patrick" began to resemble Shrovetide: for a whole week people feast on harmful delicacies such as cheese balls and go to pubs, and on weekends they arrange round dances to the bagpipes and freeze in anticipation of the parade, sometimes warming themselves with a sip of whiskey. And the city itself is becoming greener, and Muscovites are recovering from the spring blues. Perhaps the secret of such a popularity of the holiday in Russia is that we are similar to the Irish in spirit: open-minded, we love to have fun, to talk heart to heart, and at the same time to drink.

What St. Patrick's Day would be without pipers ...

... and Irish dances!

Preparation of props

How to tell if today is St. Patrick's Day? Of course, in the crowds green people(unless, of course, this is a chickenpox epidemic): acid green shamrocks, emerald leprechaun hats with the Guinness emblem, kilts in a dark swamp cage - 50 shades of green! But few people know that in fact, Patrick's color is blue: usually in engravings, the saint is dressed in blue clothes.

The motto of the parade - "Éirinn go Brách" - is translated from Irish as "Ireland forever"

In the 17th and 18th centuries in Ireland, wearing green was considered a political provocation: it was considered the color of the Irish uprising of 1641, and the shamrock, a sign of the Irish troops, was prohibited. In America, on the contrary, wearing green was not forbidden, and people could be openly proud of their Irish heritage.

Green has another meaning - it is the color of the Catholics; Protestants prefer orange. The story goes back to the victory of William III of Orange, King of England, Scotland and Wales, over King James II, who represented Catholics. The memory of this event remained on the Irish tricolor of white, orange and green colors.

Who can you not meet on the street that day!

Another obligatory element of the "patrician" props - beer... Especially green. It was brewed first in the early 1900s by Dr. Thomas Curtin: it got a drink of bright emerald hue, sparkling in the spring sun. It is said that he did it with a couple of drops ... Wash Blue, a famous washing powder. By the way, at first, unfamiliar beer was often confused with another green beer - a drink that did not complete the fermentation process, which made its taste unpleasant and caused indigestion.

The most popular green attribute of the holiday is shamrock, which many people mistake for the symbol of Ireland instead of a graceful harp. But the shamrock is also an important part of Irish culture: according to legend, Saint Patrick and many preachers before and after him explained the idea of \u200b\u200bthe Holy Trinity to commoners using the example of the shamrock, although there is no historical evidence of this. Another legend says that the Irish attached a leaf of a clover to their clothes, and at the end of the day they “drowned” it in a glass of whiskey and drank, believing that it brings good luck.

At parades, you can see and four-leaf clover, Irish symbol of good luck. Long before the Christianization of Ireland, the Druids believed that the four-leafed leaf protects the wearer from curses and misfortunes, and the shamrock helps to see evil spirits, allowing them to escape from evil spirits in time.

The chance of finding four-leaf clover in clover valleys is 1 in 10,000. Almost nil. And some have already figured out how to make money on it!

By the way, about evil spirits. Those who have been to the parades in honor of St. Patrick must have noticed pretty young ladies dressed in leprechaun costumes. But there are no females among leprechauns! And they received the reputation of misers and deceivers undeservedly, because they earned their gold by honest labor - the painstaking work of a shoemaker.

* * *

Irish culture has given the world dozens of charming mythical creatures, fiery dances and fabulous music - all of which we can enjoy at St. Patrick's Day. True, he himself has not so much in common with the Emerald Isle. But this is an occasion to get acquainted with the history of Ireland and plunge into its legends.

How to survive St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is an ordeal for the legs, vocal cords and, of course, the liver, and therefore you need to arm yourself with a small portion of Irish magic so as not to fall asleep after a tumultuous celebration:

Upset stomach from cheese balls and garlic toasts? Tie a few sprigs of mint around your wrist.

• Only unexpected guests after a hangover can be worse than a sore stomach, and therefore be careful with a kitchen towel: if you drop it, the guest is on the way.
• The left hand itches - maybe a bag of gold from a leprechaun will fall, which will come in handy to replenish lost pockets. Right hand itches - you will meet a new friend.
• Did you manage to grab a four-leaf clover? You can make a couple of poker bets. The main thing is not to show your Irish "Felix Felicis" to anyone, otherwise luck will turn away.
• On the morning of March 18, many pairs of frayed boots dangle from wires. That's because it's a free source of luck!