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ARCHIVE OF BRITISH SAINTS (P-R)Saint Piran, fd: 5 March St. Piran started his ministry in Ireland in the sixth century but the pagan Irish of the times were envious of his influence and, binding him to a millstone, threw him into the sea. The saint survived, landing in Cornwall at the place now known as Perranporth. St. Piran built a chapel near to where he landed and this is believed to be the oldest place of Christian worship in existence in Britain. Today it is buried, more or less preserved, in the dunes. Like other saints, Piran had an affinity with the wild creatures about him and it is said that his first disciples were a boar, a fox, a badger, a calf and a doe. He also collected many of the multi-coloured stones found in the area with which he decorated his altar and cell. Amongst these was a single large black stone used as his hearth. When he had a particularly hot fire on it, a trickle of silvery metal appeared. This was tin and although the mining of this metal and trading in it had existed for 2000 years, the saint is credited with the smelting process. He was, therefore, adopted by the miners as their patron saint. The Cornish national flag, King Mark's Flag, is also known as "St. Piran's Cross" being a white cross on a black ground; hence the light of the gospel was brought into the then darkness of pagan Cornwall. The saint is also venerated in Brittany in Northern France which is associated with Cornwall both in culture and language. In the Middle Ages "St Piran's Feast" was a holy day in Cornwall. (adapted from "The Book of Celtic Saints" by Courtney Davis and Elaine Gill). |
