The Day of Saints - Day 25, Germanus

Saint Germanus - glass in St Germans Church

Germanus of Auxerre was a Bishop from Gaul was chosen by his colleagues to visit Britain shortly after the withdrawal of the Romans. It had been rumoured that the British clergy had been infected with a heresy known as Pelagianism and Germanus would stand against this and reassure the Pope that they would remain true to the Augustinian tradition. (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelagianism)

Interior of St Germans Church

Germanus has appeared in numerous poems and stories over time. The French poet Pean Gatineau makes reference to him in the 13th century, as do numerous Welsh poets of the Late Middle Ages. He is depicted as someone of great hospitality and generosity, something I have included in my own use of the myths.

More recently, Hillaire Belloc wrote in his humorous poem, The Pelagian Drinking Song :

' And then with his stout Episcopal staff So thoroughly whacked and banged The heretics all, both short and tall, They rather had been hanged.'

One major event in Germanus' visit has been widely retold. Early in the fifth century, Christian villagers on the Welsh borders were being harried by Pictish and Saxon raiders. By 430AD word came to them that an army of these was coming to slaughter them all. In their distress they pleaded with the visiting Germanus, to help them. He agreed and quickly assembled the community in a valley known for it's strange and alarming acoustics, which echoed around. As the hoard approached the community, Germanus shouted loudly three times 'Alleluia!' ('Praise the Lord!'). The community followed suit and as the surrounding hills magnified the sound in the hearing of the approaching army it sounded like a great throng. They fled, thinking, as The Venerable Bede, (or 'Venemous Bede'! 1066 And All That), the British ecclesiastical historian put it, 'the very rocks and sky were falling on them'. Without blood being shed the battle was won, leading the event to be called the 'Alleluia Battle', or 'Alleluia Victory'

Great Door detail, St German's Church

Saunders Lewis, the great Welsh dramatist and Welsh nationalist was commissioned by the BBC to write a radio drama and adapted the above story into Buchedd Garmon, ('The Life of St Germanus'). It was a ground-breaking and influential work and amounted to 'a call to arms in defence of the Welsh nation against spiritual and cultural decay and the onrush of materialism and Anglicisation'. It was controversial, however, as the author was at the time of broadcast serving time in prison for his part in torching of buildings at an RAF training centre in Pwllheli.

More recently still, Howard Huws, author of Saint Germanus of Auxerre (Orthodox Logos Pub., 2012) has translated a 'troparion' from French in his book. A troparion is a dismissal prayer in the Orthodox tradition, chanted at vespars and setting the tone for the day to come. (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troparion )

Thinking about these various strands, and sifting them with Cornish things (St Germans' is the nearest site to where I live), I have seen potential but problems here. Cornish nationalism is a significant but ambivalent reality in Cornwall, and as someone not native to Cornwall I am loathe to speak much on the subject.

Also, there has been a swing away from imagery of combat in many Christian circles because of ambivalences in war and the fallacy of unreflectively claiming, 'God on my side'. What is an 'Alleluia Victory' that avoids a misplaced sense of triumphalism? As a Christian, and someone aware of issues that beset communities in Cornwall, I want to adopt the sense of spiritual battle against those besetting things in word and deed but be careful to avoid some of these pitfalls. Hence, I have tried to draw a middle line here, and following Huw's lead I have written my own troparion on Germanus.

FOR GERMANUS

Troparion

As in former times Germanus,

Did contest the Pelagian hoards,

To silence them with kind acts and words

So we now pray, dear Lord, empower us,

With ways alike to that which he

Took to the fight in your dear name,

That round from Morwenstow to Rame

And all inside that's bounded by the sea

Where doubt would leave good faith to drown

And grief cast lives upon the shore,

Or poverty like seaweed strangle, for

church and state to each disown,

We might find again the Christian measure,

And partake of what it is to be

Christ's militant for that 'Alleluia victory',

which is the glorious Godhead's pleasure.

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St Germans Church