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25 September 2020
St. Caian. September 25
St. Caian

A saint of Wales. He was the son or grandson of the local king of Brecknock. A church at Tregaian in Anglesey is named after him.
St Caian's Church, Tregaian, also known as St Caean's Church, Tregaean, is a small medieval church dating from the 14th century in Anglesey, north Wales. It is dedicated to St Caian, a Christian from the 5th or 6th century about whom little is known. The building contains a late 14th-century east window and a late 15th-century doorway. The churchyard contains the grave of William ap Howel, who died in 1581 at the age of 105, leaving over forty children between the ages of 8 and 89 and over three hundred living descendants.
The church is still used for worship by the Church in Wales, and is one of three churches in a combined parish. It is a Grade II* listed building, a national designation given to "particularly important buildings of more than special interest",[2] in particular because it is regarded as "an excellent late Medieval rural church".[3]
Contents
- 1 History and location
- 2 Architecture and fittings
- 3 Assessment
- 4 References
- 5 External links
History and location
The date of construction of the first Christian building on this site is unknown. The church is dedicated to St Caian, a Christian from the 5th or 6th century, about whom little is known. One manuscript says that his father was St Caw, a king in northern Britain who lost his lands and sought safety in Anglesey, where the ruler Maelgwn Gwynedd gave him land in the north-east of the island, the district known as Twrcelyn.[4][5] If Caian was a son of St Caw, then his sisters included St Cwyllog, who established the nearby church of St Cwyllog, Llangwyllog, in the 6th century.[6][7] Other manuscripts say that he was active in the 5th century and was a son or grandson of Brychan, a king from south Wales.[5][8]
Caian gives his name to the hamlet of Tregaian in which the church is situated: the Welsh word tref (shortened here to tre) means "settlement", and "‑gaian" is a modified form of the saint's name – i.e. "Caian's settlement".[9] Tregaian is about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north of Llangefni, the county town of Anglesey, and the church is in the countryside by a small road.[10]
The present church is medieval, dating from the latter part of the 14th century, which is the period given to the east window. The doorway is from the late 15th century, the roof from the end of the 16th or beginning of the 17th century, and the nave windows and the panelling of the pulpit are from the 17th century.[3]It is still used for worship by the Church in Wales, as one of three churches in the combined benefice of Llangefni with Tregaean with Llanddyfnan (Talwrn).[1] It is within the deanery of Malltraeth, the archdeaconry of Bangor and the Diocese of Bangor.[11] As of 2013, the priest in charge of the parish is the Reverend J Ashley-Roberts.[1]
Architecture and fittings
The church is built from rubble masonry. The roof, which is made from slate, has a stone bellcote at the west end. Entrance is through the doorway on the south side, from the late 15th century; it has decorated surrounds and a square frame. There is no structural division between the nave (where the congregation sit) and the chancel (where the altar is located) apart from a single step up into the chancel.[3] The church is about 40 feet 6 inches (12.3 m) long by 14 feet 6 inches (4.4 m) wide.[12] The east window, from the late 14th century, is set in a pointed arch with decorative edging.[3] It has stained glass from 1916 depicting Christ crowning a knight with the words "Well done thou good and faithful servant / Take unto you the whole armour of God."[3][13] There are two pairs of square-headed windows in the south wall, dating from the 17th century. On the north side of the church, a second entrance was blocked up in the late 19th century, and there is one pair of square-headed windows, also from the 17th century; there is also a small window at the west end of the church, from the 17th or 18th century. The beams of the roof can be seen from inside the church. Behind the altar is a panelled reredosfrom the 19th century.[3]
The church has a 12th-century circular font, decorated with an irregular pattern of chevrons on the side.[3][10] The bell is dated 1717, whilst the pews are from the 19th century.[3] There are memorials tablets from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries on the walls, some of which commemorate the Lloyd family from a nearby house, Plas Tregaian.[3][10] A 1937 survey by the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire noted a plain silver cup dated 1714–15.[12] The churchyard contains the grave of William ap Howel, who died at the age of 105 in 1581. Married three times, he fathered 42 or 43 children in and out of wedlock, and more than 300 of his descendants attended his funeral. His children at his death ranged in age from 8 to 89.[10][14]
Assessment
The church has national recognition and statutory protection from alteration as it has been designated as a Grade II* listed building – the second-highest of the three grades of listing, designating "particularly important buildings of more than special interest".[2] It was given this status on 12 May 1970, and has been listed because it is "an excellent late Medieval rural church".[3] Cadw (the Welsh Assembly Government body responsible for the built heritage of Wales and the inclusion of Welsh buildings on the statutory lists) also states that it "retains a strong simple character in the retention of many early features and its original plan, with structurally undivided nave and chancel."[3]
The 19th-century antiquarian Angharad Llwyd described the church as "a small but neat edifice", and noted the "handsome" east window.[15] The 19th-century writer Samuel Lewis said that the church was "simple and primitive in its construction".[14] Writing in 1847, the clergyman and antiquarian Harry Longueville Jones said that the font was "remarkable" for having no drain, and was "hardly large enough for immersion."[16]He added that the east window was of "rather singular" design.[16]
A 2006 guide to the churches of Anglesey notes the "unusually wide" east window.[10] A 2009 guide to the buildings of the region says that the church "gives an impression of what the Anglesey parish churches were like before so many were reassembled in the 19th century" – partly because the walls lean, it adds.[13] The east window has also been compared to that of St Ceidio's Church, Rhodogeidio, also on Anglesey.[17]
St. Cadoc. September 25
St. Cadoc

A Welsh bishop and martyr, a companion of St. Gildas. Cadoc is also called Docus, Cathmael, and Cadvael. He founded Llancarfan Monastery near Cardiff, Wales, before becoming a missionary on the coast of Brittany, in France. Returning to Britain, Cadoc was involved in the Saxon occupation of the British lands. H e was martyred by the Saxons near Weedon, England.
Saint Cadoc or Cadog (Medieval Latin: Cadocus; also Welsh: Cattwg; born c. 497[1] or before) was a 5th–6th-century Abbot of Llancarfan, near Cowbridge in Glamorganshire, Wales, a monastery famous from the era of the British church as a centre of learning, where Illtud spent the first period of his religious life under Cadoc's tutelage. Cadoc is credited with the establishment of many churches in Cornwall, Brittany,[2]Dyfed and Scotland. He is known as Cattwg Ddoeth, "the Wise", and a large collection of his maxims and moral sayings were included in Volume III of the Myvyrian Archaiology. He is listed in the 2004 edition of the Roman Martyrology under 21 September. His Norman-era "Life" is a hagiography of importance to the case for the historicity of Arthur as one of seven saints' lives that mention Arthur independently of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae.[3]
Contents
- 1 Biography
- 1.1 Llancarfan
- 1.2 Scotland
- 2 Legends
- 2.1 Cadoc and Arthur
- 2.2 Other legends
- 2.3 Legendary genealogy
- 3 Liturgical celebration
- 4 See also
- 5 References
- 6 External links
Biography
Cadoc's story appears in a Vita Cadociwritten shortly before 1086 by Lifris of Llancarfan;[4] "it was clearly written at Llancarfan with the purpose of honouring the house and confirming its endowments,"[3] Consequently, it is of limited historical merit though some details are of interest. Llancarfan did not survive the intrusion of Norman power into South Wales, being dissolved about 1086.[5]
Cadoc began life under a cloud of violence. His father, Gwynllyw the Bearded, was one of the lesser kings of Wales, a brother of Saint Petroc, and a robber chieftain. He wanted to propose to Princess Gwladys, daughter of King Brychan of Brycheiniog, a neighboring chieftain, but Brychan turned away the envoys asking for Gwladys' hand. Wildly in love, Gwynllyw and Gwladys eloped from her father’s court at Brecon and escaped over the mountains[6] in a raid in which 200 of Gwynllyw's 300 followers perished.[7]
Born into the royal families of Gwynllwgand Brycheiniog, it is said, he worked miracles even before his birth. Strange lights shone in his parents’ house and the cellars were miraculously filled with food.[6]
Cadoc was born in Monmouthshire[8]around the year 497. An angel announced his birth and summoned the hermit Meuthi to baptise and teach him. A holy well sprang up for his baptism and afterwards flowed with wine and milk.[6]It is thought that he was baptised as Cathmail (Cadfael).[9] After the birth of his son, Gwynllyw went on a wild celebratory raid with a new band of fearless warriors. Among other livestock, he stole the cow of an Irish monk, St. Tathyw of Caerwent. This is probably Tathan, a reputed early abbot of nearby Caerwent whose dedications appear around Llantwit Major.[10] Tathyw was not afraid of Gwynllyw and boldly went to confront him, demanding the return of the cow. On a sudden impulse, or perhaps guided by divine inspiration, Gwynllyw decided Cadoc would go to live under the monk's care, and he was sent away to be educated at Tathyw's monastery in Caerwent. Cadoc picked up a basic knowledge of Latin and received a rudimentary education that prepared him for further studies in Ireland and Wales. Most important, Cadoc learned to appreciate the life of a monk and a priest.[7]
One day while in the Cardiff district of Glamorganshire, Cadoc was being chased by an armed swineherd from an enemy tribe. As he ran through the woods looking for a place to hide, he came upon a wild boar, white with age. Disturbed by his presence, the boar made three fierce bounds in his direction, but Cadoc's life was spared when the boar miraculously disappeared. Cadoc took this as a heavenly sign, and marked the spot with three tree branches. The valley was owned by his uncle, King Pawl of Penychen, who made a present of the land to his nephew. The location later became the site of the great church college and monastery at Llancarvan.[7]
Maches (Latin: Machuta), the sister of Cadoc according to tradition, was killed by robbers who were stealing her finest ram. Tathan, to whom the murderers confessed their crime, built a church on the spot.[11]
In adulthood Cadoc refused to take charge of his father's army, "preferring to fight for Christ". He founded his first monastery at Llancarfan in the Vale of Glamorgan, and from there he went to Ireland to study for three years. Returning to Wales, he studied with Bachan or Pachan, a teacher of rhetoric from Italy.[12] He then travelled to Scotland where he founded a monastery at Cambuslang. Back at Llancarfan, his influence helped it to grow into one of the chief monasteries in South Wales.[9]
One tradition has it that he went on pilgrimage to Rome, but more certain is the knowledge of time spent in Brittany. He settled there on an island in the Etel river, now called L'Ile de Cado, where he built an oratory, founded a monastery and devoted himself to spreading the Gospel.[9] There are chapels dedicated to him at Belz and Locoal-Mendon in Morbihan and at Gouesnac'h in Finistère, where he is called upon to cure the deaf. His name is also the basis of some thirty Breton place-names.
Llancarfan
According to Huddleston, most Welsh writers assign the founding of Llancarfan to the period of St. Germanus's visit to Britain in A.D. 447, stating further that the first principal was St. Dubric, or Dubricius, on whose elevation to the episcopate St. Cadoc, or Cattwg, succeeded. On the other hand, he notes that the Life of St. Germanus, written by Constantius, a priest of Lyons, about fifty years after the death of the saint, says nothing at all of any school founded by him or under his auspices, in Britain, nor is mention made of his presence in Wales.[13]
An alternate tradition holds that Llancarvan monastery or "Church of the Stags", in Glamorganshire, and not far from the Bristol Channel, was founded in the latter part of the fifth century by Cadoc. Here he established a monastery and college, which became the seminary of many great and holy men. The spot at first seemed an impossible one, an almost inaccessible marsh, but he and his monks drained and cultivated it, transforming it into one of the most famous and attractive religious homes in South Wales. The plan of the building included a monastery, a college, and a hospital.[14] Having got the community established, he went off to Ireland to study and teach. When he returned three years later, he found the monastery in ruins. Furious, he forced the monks back to manual labour, dragging timber from the woods to begin the work of reconstruction. Two stags came out of the forest to help them, which is said to be why the stream running past the monastery is called the Nant Carfan, the Stag Brook.[6]
Rev. Rees suggests that although the monastery was said to have been situated at Llancarfan, the particular spot on which it stood was called Llanfeithin.[15]
Scotland
About 528, after his father's death, Cadoc is said to have built a stone monastery in Scotland probably at Kilmadock, which was named for the saint, north-west of Stirling,[16] where the Annant Burn enters the River Teith about 2 miles upstream from Doune. Near the ruins of the old Kilmadock church and graveyard is Hermit's Croft, thought to be where he lived for seven years. Seven local churches that were built in his name came under the authority of Inchmahome Priory. It is also said that Cadoc's monastery was "below Mount Bannauc" (generally taken to be the hill southwest of Stirling down which the Bannockburn flows). It has been suggested that the monastery was where the town of St Ninians now stands, two kilometers south of Stirling. Scottish followers were known as "Gille Dog", the servants of Cadog, which appears as a surname, first as Dog, and later as Doig, Dock, and Doak.
Legends
Cadoc and ArthurSt Cadoc's Church, Caerleon
Cadoc came into conflict with Arthur: the Vita depicts Arthur as great and bold, but willful. Lifris writes that Cadoc gave protection to a man who had killed three of Arthur's soldiers and Arthur was awarded a herd of cattle from Cadoc as compensation. Cadoc delivered them, but when Arthur took possession of them they were transformed into bundles of ferns. Similar incidents are often described in mediaeval biographies such as those of Carannog, Padern and Goeznovius: miracles in dealings with temporal authority bolster the case for church freedom.[17] In later Arthurian Welsh Triads Cadoc, with Illtud and Peredur, is one of three knights said to have become keepers of the Holy Grail.[18]
The kings Maelgwn of Gwynedd and Rhain Dremrudd of Brycheiniog also feature in the Vita. Though Saint Cadoc's Church at Caerleon, which, though of Norman origin and much rebuilt, stands on the foundations of the Roman legion headquarters, may memorialize an early cell of Cadoc's. Caerleon was also associated with Arthur.
Other legends
A certain miraculous spot associated with Cadoc had a reputed healing effect until the time of king Hiuguel (Hywel vab weyn, who died in his old age ca. 1041–44) when, due to a malevolent influence, the spot was lost.[19]
This Cadoc, grandson of Brychan Brycheiniog, to whose offspring a large number of south-west British cult sites are dedicated, may be identical to or confused with Cadoc son of Brychan, for whom the churches at Llanspyddid near Brecon and at LlangadogCarmarthenshire, are said to be named along with a former chapel in the parish of Kidwelly.[15] According to Serenus de Cressy this Cadoc died AD 490, is buried in France, and is commemorated in the Calendar on 24 January.
The epithet of Doeth (Welsh for wise) induced some writers to confound him with St. Sophias (Greek for wisdom), bishop of Beneventum in Italy.[15] Hence he is said sometimes to have died at Bannaventa (Weedon, five kilometres east of Daventry in Northamptonshire),[20] in an episode towards the end of his vita Cadoc is carried off in a cloud from Britannia (de terra Britannie) to Beneventum, where a certain prior is warned of the coming of a "western Briton" who is to be renamed Sophias; as Sophias Cadoc becomes abbot, bishop and martyr. A magna basilica was erected over his shrine, which visiting Britons were not allowed to enter. A fictitious "Pope Alexander" is made to figure in the narrative.
Legendary genealogy
In Lives of the Cambro British saints (1853), Rev W. J Rees wrote:
The genealogy of the blessed Cadoc arises from the most noble emperors of Rome, from the time of the incarnation of Jesus Christ, Augustus Cesar, in whose time Christ was born, begat Octavianus, Octavianus begat Tiberius, Tiberius begat Caius, Caius begat Claudius, Claudius begat Vespasian, Vespasian begat Titus, Titus begat Domitian, Domitian begat Nero, under whom the apostles Peter and Paul suffered, Nero begat Trajan, Trajan begat Adrian, Adrian begat Antonius, Antonius begat Commodus, Commodus begat Meobus, Meobus begat Severus, Severus begat Antonius, Antonius begat Aucanus, Aucanus begat Aurelian, Aurelian begat Alexander, Alexander begat Maximus, Maximus begat Gordian, Gordian begat Philip, Philip begat Decius, Decius begat Gallus, Callus begat Valerian, Valerian begat Cleopatra, Cleopatra begat Aurelian, Aurelian begat Titus, Titus begat Probus, Probus begat Carosius, Carosius begat Dioclesian, who perscuted the Christians throughout the whole world; for in his time the blessed martyrs Alban, that is Julian, Aaron, and many others suffered. Dioclesian begat Galerius, Galerius begat Constantine the Great the son of Helen, Constantine begat Constantius, Constantius begat Maximianus, with whom the British soldiers went from Britain, and he slew Gratian the Roman emperor, and held the government of all Europe; and he did not dismiss the soldiers, which he brought with him from Britain to return to their country on account of their bravery, but gave them many provinces and countries, that is from the pool which is on the top of the mountain of Jupiter to the city named Cantguic, and until the western mound that is Cruc Ochideint; and from those soldiers arose a nation which is called Lettau. Maximianus therefore begat Owain, Owain begat Nor, Nor begat Solor, Solor begat Glywys, Glywys begat Gwynlliw, Gwynlliw begat the most blessed Cadoc of whom we are speaking.[21]
Liturgical celebration
In the 2004 edition of the Roman Martyrology, Cadoc is listed among saints thought to have died on 21 September, with the Latin name Cadóci. He is mentioned as follows: 'In the monastery at Llancarfan in South Wales, Saint Cadoc the Abbot, under whose name many monasteries in Cornwall and Brittany were established.'[2] He does not appear in the current Roman Catholicliturgical calendar of saints celebrated annually in Wales.[22]
21 September is, however, the feast day of the Apostle Saint Matthew, and in Cardiff, St Cadoc's Day has traditionally been kept on 25 September; on the French Île de Saint-Cado [fr], a major pardon is traditionally celebrated on the third Sunday in September. Elsewhere his traditional feast day is 24 January.[9][23
St. Austindus September 25
St. Austindus
St. Anacharius September 25
St. Anacharius
Bishop and patron of the Divine Officeand the Litany of the Saints. Anacharius was born near Orleans, France, and was educated at the court of King Guntram of Burgundy. Taking vows, he was made bishop of Auxerre, France, in 561, and promoted litanies and prayers.
St. Abadir September 25
St. Abadir
my sister Iraya [Herais] with other martyrs, Abadir with his sister, Iraja (Herais). We are children martyrs of St. Basilides' sister. Basilides' is called the Father of Kings. |
We were brought under arrest to Antinoe, Kemet, beheaded with Cluthus, a physician and priest, 3685 companions, and other martyrs. |
Abadir and Iraja are saints in the Coptic Church and the Roman Catholic Church.
They are reported to have been children of the sister of Basilides, the father of kings. According to their legendstory, Abadir and Iraja fled from Antioch to Alexandria, were arrested there, brought to Antinoe, Kemet (the Ancient African name of Egypt) and beheaded there with Cluthus, a physician and priest, and other 3,685 companions.[1] These included the following priests:
- Apa Paphnutius of Tentyra
- Apa Isaac of Tiphre
- Apa Shamul of Taraphia
- Apa Simon of Tapcho
- Sissinus of Tantatho
- Theodore of Shotep
- Moses of Psammaniu
- Philotheus of Pemdje
- Macarius of Fayum
- Maximus of Vuchim
- Macroni of Thoni
- Senuthius of Buasti
- Simeon of Thou
- Ptolemaeus, son of the Eparch, and
- Thomas of Tanphot.
Abadir and Iraja had a church dedicated to them in Asyut in Egypt. Their feast dayis on September 25 (Gregorian Calendar) and October 8 (Julian Calendar). The text of their Passion exists in both Sahidic and Bohairic Coptic and fragments can be found at the National Library, Vienna, Wiener Papyrussammlung, K2563 a-l, ed. Orlandi, 1974, the National Library, Paris, Copte 129.16.104 and the Vatican Library, Rome, Copti 63, fols. 1-65, ed. Hyvernat, 1886-1887.[2]
A summary of their lives, commemorated on Tout 28 (October 8), can be found in the Copto-Arabic Synaxarion.[3]