SAINT ERCHADUS, BISHOP - 24 AUGUST

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN AUGUST

Saints celebrated on the 24th of August

SAINT ERCHADUS, BISHOP

A page of one of Fortunatus Hueber's
Saints' books,
"Stammenbuch..." (1693)

The Aberdeen Breviary* confirms the ecclesiastical veneration of this saint. It is said there that Saint Ternan (Ternanus) ordained Erchadus (Irchardus, Erthadus, [Erchard]).a priest because of his moral purity and that he was ordained a bishop by Pope Gregory I.

On his return journey from Rome he spent three years with the Picts and freed many from the bondage of the Gauls; he then proceeded to criss-cross England and Scotland as a zealous and loving preacher of the faith, and then, anticipating his death, died happily in the Lord. 

However, this tale raises the following question: Ternan lived in the 5th century, and Gregory I ascended the papal throne around the year 590, how could Erchadus have been ordained a priest by the first, and been consecrated a bishop by the second? The Bollandists* leave the answer to Scottish scholars, and so do we. (IV. 773.l)

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 2, Augsburg, 1861, p. 79)

*A hagiography source used by the authors 

Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Saint Erchadus may increase our devotion and promote our salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Sources of these articles (in the original German): books.google.co.uk, de-academic.com, zeno.org, openlibrary.org