Subj : =?UTF-8?Q?19_April_=E2=80=93_St_Alphege?= To : All From : rich Date : Sun Apr 18 2021 10:20:59 From: rich 19 April =E2=80=93 St Alphege (also known as St Alphege of Winchester/Canterbury/Bath) (c953-1012) =C2 MARTYR and Bishop, Monk, Hermit, Abbot, educator, apostle of charity =E2=80=93 his body is incorrupt.=C2 Patron of=C2 Greenwich, England,= =C2 kidnap victims,=C2 Solihull, England. Attributes =E2=80=93=C2 bishop holding= an axe, bishop with an axe in his head,=C2 carrying stones in his chasuble. Alphege was born in 953 and became a monk at the Deerhurst Monastery of Gloucester, England. After a few years, he asked to become a hermit, received permission and retired to a small hut near Somerset, England. In 984, Alphege moved to Bath and became abbot at the abbey founded by St. Dunstan. Many of Alpege's companions from Somerset joined him at Bath. In that same year, Alphege was appointed bishop of Winchester and served there for two decades. He was famed for his care of the poor and for his own austere life. King Aethelred the Unready used his abilities in 994, sending him to mediate with invading Danes. The Danish chieftain Anlaf converted to Christianity as a result of his meetings with Alphege, although he and the other chief, Swein, demanded tribute from the Anglo-Saxons of the region. Anlaf vowed never to lead his troops against Britain again. In 1005 Alphege became the successor to Aleric as the archbishop of Canterbury, receiving the pallium in Rome from Pope John XVIII. He returned to England in time to be captured by the Danes pillaging the southern regions. The Danes besieged Canterbury and took Alphege captive. The ransom for his release was about three thousand pounds and went unpaid. Alphege refused to give the Danes that much, an act which infuriated them. He was hit with an ax and then beaten to death. Revered as a martyr, Alphege's remains were placed in St. Paul=E2= =80=99s Church in London. The body, moved to Canterbury in 1023, was discovered to be incorrupt in 1105. Relics of St. Alphege are also in Bath, Glastonbury, Ramsey, Reading, Durham, Yorkminster and in Westminster Abbey. He was canonised by St Pope Gregory VII in 1078. St Thomas a Becket himself endorsed a parallel between himself and the Anglo-Saxon martyr, when he spoke about Alphege in the sermon he preached on Christmas Day 1170, four days before his own martyrdom: =E2=80=9CYou already have a martyr here,=E2=80=9D he said, =E2=80=9CAlphege= , beloved of God, a true saint. The Divine Mercy will provide another for you; it will not delay.=E2=80=9D https://anastpaul.com/2017/04/19/ Saint Quote: "To do God's will--this was the goal upon which the saints constantly fixed their gaze. They were fully persuaded that in this consists the entire perfection of the soul. " --St Alphonsus de Liguori Bible Quote: "Therefore remain in him now, children, so that when he appears we may be fearless and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.=C2 If you know that he is upright you must recognize that everyone whose life is upright is a child of his." [1 John 2:28-29] <><><><> O loving God, whose martyr bishop Alphege of Canterbury suffered violent death because he refused to permit a ransom to be extorted from his people: Grant, we pray thee, that all pastors of thy flock may pattern themselves on the Good Shepherd, who laid down his life for the sheep; through him who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .