Saint George. Martyr. Feast Day 23 April. The Patron Saint Of England.

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless otherwise stated.

Saint George.
   Martyr.
   Feast Day 23 April.

Semi-Double.
(In England: Double of The First-Class with Octave).

Red Vestments.

Martyrdom of Saint George.

Artist: Paolo Veronese (1528–1588).

Date: Circa 1564.

Current location: San Giorgio in Braida, Verona, Italy.

Source/Photographer: Web Gallery of Art

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint George, born of an illustrious family in Cappadocia (modern-day Turkey), was promoted by Emperor Diocletian to the First Ranks in the army.

When the Emperor had published at Nicomedia his first Edict against the Christians, Saint George reproached him for his cruelty. Immediately, Saint George was cast into prison and subjected to such atrocious torments that the Eastern Church calls him The Great Martyr. He was beheaded in 303 A.D.

This Patron of armies is Venerated by Greeks and Latins. Rome possesses a Sanctuary erected in his honour, where The Station is held on The Thursday after Ash Wednesday.

England chose him for her Patron in the 13th-Century. Therefore, in this Country, his Feast is a Double of The First-Class with an Octave. He is one of The Fourteen Auxiliary Saints.

Mass: Protexisti.

Saint George killing the Dragon.

Artist: Bernat Martorell (1390–1452).

Date: 1434-1435.

Source: AA.VV.,El llibre d'or de l'art català,

Edicions Primera Plana, Barcelona, 1997.

Author: Bernat Martorell (1390–1452).

(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from Wikipedia -the free encyclopædia.

Saint George, was a Soldier in the Roman army and was later Venerated as a Christian Martyr. His father was Gerontius, a Greek Christian, from Cappadocia, and an Official in the Roman army; his mother, Polychronia, was a Christian, from Lydda. Saint George became an Officer in the Roman army in The Guard of the Emperor Diocletian, who ordered his death for failing to repudiate his Christian Faith.

In hagiography, Saint George is one of the most Venerated Saints in The Catholic Church (Latin and Eastern), Anglican, Orthodox, East Syrian, and Miaphysite Churches. He is immortalised in the myth of Saint George and the Dragon and is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.

His Memorial, Saint George's Day, is traditionally celebrated on the Julian date of 23 April (currently the 6th of May according to the Gregorian Calendar), and he is regarded as one of the most prominent Military Saints.

Many Patronages of Saint George exist around the World, including Countries and Cities, as well as the Scout Movement, in addition to a wide range of professions, organisations, and disease sufferers.

Saint Soter And Saint Caius. Popes And Martyrs. Feast Day 22 April.

 

Text from “The Liturgical Year”.

   By: Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.

   Volume 8.

   Paschal Time.

   Book II.

The Palms of two Martyred Popes are intertwined with Grace this day of the Calendar. Saint Soter suffered for Christ in the 2nd-Century A.D., and Saint Caius in the 3rd-Century A.D.

A hundred years separate them and yet we have the same energy of Faith, the same jealous fidelity to keep intact the “depositum” left by Christ to His Church.

What human society ever existed that produced heroes for Century after Century ? The Society, however, which was Founded by Christ — in other words, The Church — is based on that Traditional devotedness which consists in laying down one’s life for the Faith.

And, if so, we may be sure that the spirit of Martyrdom would show itself in them that were the Heads and Fathers of this Society.

The first thirty successors of Saint Peter paid dearly for the honour of the Supreme Pontificate; they were Martyrs. How grand the throne of Our Risen Jesus, surrounded as it is by all these Kings clad in their triumphant Scarlet Robes !

Saint Soter was the immediate successor of Saint Anicetus, whose Feast we kept on 17 April. Time has effaced the details of his life. Eusebius, however, gives us a fragment of a Letter written by Saint Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, wherein thanks are expressed to the Pontiff for the Alms he sent to the Faithful of that Church, during a famine.

An Apostolic Letter was sent with these Alms; and Saint Dionysius tells us that it was read in the assemblies of the Faithful, together with the one addressed to the same Church, in the preceding Century, by Saint Clement.

The Roman Pontiffs have ever united Charity to their fidelity in preserving pure the deposit of our Faith.

With regard to Saint Caius, he suffered death in the terrible persecution under Diocletian; and little more than a mere mention of his name is given in the annals of Christian Rome.

We cannot, therefore, be surprised at the brevity wherewith the Liturgy speaks of these two Martyred Popes. We read with great interest the Lessons given in our Breviaries.

Saint Soter was born at Fondi, in Campania. He passed a Decree, forbidding Virgins consecrated to God to touch the Sacred Vessels and Palls, or to exercise the Office of Thurifer in The Church.

He also decreed that, on Maundy Thursday, the Body of Christ should be received by all, excepting those who were forbidden to do so by reason of some grievous sin.

His Pontificate lasted three years, eleven months, and eighteen days. He was crowned with Martyrdom under the reign of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, and was buried in the cemetery which was afterwards called the Cemetery of Callixtus.

In the month of December, according to the custom observed by his predecessors, he Ordained eighteen Priests, nine Deacons, and eleven Bishops, for divers places.

Saint Caius was a native of Dalmatia, and a relation of the Emperor Diocletian. he decreed that the following Ecclesiastical Orders or honours should precede the Ordination of a Bishop: Door-Keeper; Lector; Exorcist; Acolyte; Sub-Deacon; Deacon; Priest.

He concealed himself for some time in a cave, in order to escape the cruelty exercised against the Christians by Diocletian. But, after eight years, he, together with his brother, Gabinus, received the Crown of Martyrdom.

He governed The Church twelve years, four months, and five days. He Ordained in the month of December twenty-five Priests, eight Deacons, and five Bishops.

He was buried in the Cemetery of Callixtus, on the 10th of the Kalends of May (22 April). Pope Urban VIII revived his memory in Rome, restored his Church, which was in ruins, and honoured it with a Title, a Station, and the Relics of the Saint, himself.

O, holy Pontiffs ! You are of the number of those who went through “the great tribulation”, and “passed through fire and water”, to the eternal shores of Heaven.

The thought of Jesus’ victory over death gave you courage: You remembered how His Passion was followed by a glorious Resurrection. By imitating Him, in laying down your lives for your sheep, you have taught us how we also should think no sacrifice too great to be made for our Faith.

Obtain for us this heroic courage. Baptism has numbered us among the soldiers of Christ: Confirmation has given us the Spirit of Fortitude; we must then be ready for battle.

It may be that, even in our own times, a persecution may rage against The Church; at all events, we have to fight against ourselves, the Spirit of the World, and Satan; support us by your Prayers.

You were once the Fathers of the Christian people; you are still animated with the pastoral Charity which then filled your hearts. Protect us, and make us loyal to the God, Whose cause was so dear to you when here on Earth.

Chant In The Divine Office Of The Byzantine Rite.

Chant In The Divine Office Of The Byzantine Rite.

Плотію Почаївський напів

Available on YouTube

HERE

This Article is taken from, and can be read in full at, 

NEW LITURGICAL MOVEMENT

By: Gregory Dipippo.

In the Divine Office of the Byzantine Rite, a chant called the Exapostilarion is sung at the hour of Orthros between the section known as the Canon (explained here) and the Laudate Psalms.

As in every Liturgical tradition, some of the most beautiful texts and musical settings of them are found in Holy Week and Easter; here is an absolutely extraordinary version of the one for Easter, performed in a concert given in Rome in October of 2012 by the National “Dumka” Choir, which is very famous in Ukraine, conducted by Yevgeny Savchuk.

This particular chant comes from the tradition of the Monastery of The Holy Dormition, in Pochayiv, about 85 miles to the East of Lviv.

To all those who follow the Julian Calendar, and are now in the middle of Bright Week, a most blessed and happy Easter - Christ is risen !

Having fallen asleep in the flesh as a mortal man, O King and Lord, Thou didst rise on the third day, raising Adam from corruption, and destroying death: O Pascha of incorruption, the Salvation of the world!

Плотїю oуснув, яко мертвъ, Царю и Господи, тридневенъ воскреслъ еси, Адама воздвигъ от тли, и oупразднивъ смерть: Пасха нетлѣнїѧ, мира спасенїе.

Σαρκὶ ὑπνώσας ὡς θνητός, ὁ Βασιλεὺς καὶ Κύριος, τριήμερος ἐξανέστης, Ἀδὰμ ἐγείρας ἐκ φθορᾶς, καὶ καταργήσας θάνατον, Πάσχα τῆς ἀφθαρσίας, τοῦ κόσμου σωτήριον.

“The Committee On Moral Books”. Artist: Jehan Georges Vibert (1840–1902).

“The Committee On Moral Books”.

Artist: Jehan Georges Vibert (1840–1902).

Date: 1866.

Source/Photographer:

Sotheby's New York, 9 Mai 2013, lot 37

(Wikimedia Commons)

This Article was instigated by seeing the illustration on Fr. Z's Blog at FR. Z's BLOG

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,

unless stated otherwise.

Jehan Georges Vibert, or Jean Georges Vibert, (30 September 1840 – 28 July 1902), was a French academic painter.[1]

He was born in Paris, the son of engraver and publisher Théodore Vibert, and grandson of the influential rose-breeder Jean-Pierre Vibert. He began his artistic training at a young age under the instruction of his maternal grandfather, engraver Jean-Pierre-Marie Jazet.

Vibert was more interested in painting than engraving and entered the studio of Félix-Joseph Barrias and eventually the École des Beaux-Arts when he was sixteen. He remained at the École for six years under the instruction of history painter François-Edouard Picot.

Jehan George Vibert.

Date: 19th-Century.

Source: vibertfamily.com

Author: Not known.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Vibert debuted at the Salon of 1863 with La Sieste (The Siesta) and Repentir (Repentance).

During The Franco-Prussian War, Vibert became a Sharpshooter and was wounded at the battle of Malmaison in October 1870. He was awarded the Légion d'Honneur and became a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in recognition of his sacrifice. He became an Officer of The Légion d'Honneur in 1882.

Vibert submitted his work to the Salon until 1899. The popularity of his works spread, notably in America, and fetched high prices including commissions from John Jacob Astor IV and William Vanderbilt.

A large collection of works by Vibert was amassed by the heiress May Louise Maytag on behalf of, then, Bishop of Miami, Coleman Carroll, who greatly fancied them. This large cache was then donated to the Florida Seminary Saint John Vianney College, in Miami.

Saint Soter And Saint Caius. Popes And Martyrs. Feast Day 22 April.

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless otherwise stated.

Saint Soter and Saint Caius.
   Popes and Martyrs.
   Feast Day 22 April.

Semi-Double.

White Vestments.

Pope Soter.

Illustration from The Lives and Times of the Popes

by Chevalier Artaud de Montor, New York:

The Catholic Publication Society of America, 1911.

It was originally published in 1842.

Date: 6 June 2013.

Source: http://archive.org/details/livesofpopes01artauoft

Author: Artaud de Montor (1772–1849).

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Martyrdom of Pope Caius (San Gaggio).

By Lorenzo Monaco (Lorenzo di Giovanni), circa 1394.

Originally part of the Altarpiece

of the Church of San Gaggio in Florence.

Date: January 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Polylerus

(Wikimedia Commons)

Pope Soter succeeded Pope Anicetus in 161 A.D., and was Martyred ten years later under Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Pope Caius, whose Relics are kept in the Sanctuary of Saint Sylvester, at Rome, governed The Church a Century later and was put to death in 296 A.D.

Like all the Sovereign Pontiffs of the first Centuries, they united their sacrifice to that of Christ and “in Him bore much fruit” (Epistle). “God then avenged the blood of His servants and invited them to the Marriage Feast of The Lamb” (Epistle), to associate them in His Triumph and Happiness (Gospel, Offertory, Communion).

Let us honour the Blessed Martyrs Soter and Caius in order that, in Heaven, their powerful intercession may obtain for us Divine Protection (Collect).

Mass: Sancti tui.

Vespers. Compline. Salve Regina. According To The Sarum Use.

Vespers. Compline. Salve Regina.

According to the Sarum Use.

 Sung by: Antiquum Documentum.

Available on YouTube

HERE

Saint Anselm (Anselm Of Canterbury. Anselm Of Aosta. Anselm Of Bec). Bishop. Doctor Of The Church (1033-1109),

Saint Anselm. Archbishop of Canterbury.

19th-Century English Stained-Glass Window.

Source: http://www.arspublik.com/

public-domain-images-saint-anselm/

Author: Unknown.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Text from “The Liturgical Year”.
   By: Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.
   Paschal Time.
      Volume 8.
      Book II.

A Monk, a Bishop, a Doctor of The Church — such was the Saint whose Feast comes to gladden us on this twenty-first day of April. 

He was a Martyr, also, at least in desire, and, we may add, in merit, too — for he did enough to earn the glorious palm.

When we think of Anselm, we picture to ourselves a man in whom are combined the humility and meekness of the Cloister with the zeal and courage of the Episcopal dignity; a man who was both a sage and a Saint; a man whom it was impossible not to love and respect.

He left his native Country of Piedmont [Editor: Literally, “the foot of the mountain”] for the Monastery of Bec, France, where he became a Benedictine Monk.

Being elected Superior, he realised in himself the type of an Abbot, as drawn by Saint Benedict in his Rule: “He that is made Abbot”, says the holy Patriarch, “should study to give help rather than to give commands”.

We read that the love entertained for Anselm by his brethren was beyond description. His whole time was devoted to them, either in giving them spiritual direction, or in communicating to them his sublime knowledge of the sacred sciences.

After governing them for several years, he was taken from them, and compelled to accept the dignity of Archbishop of Canterbury. He was a worthy successor of Augustine, Dunstan, Elphege, and Lanfranc; and by his own noble example of courage, he prepared the way for the glorious Martyr, Thomas [Editor: Thomas Becket], who succeeded him in less than a Century.

As Bishop, his whole life was spent in fighting for the liberty of The Church. Though gentle as a Lamb by nature, he was all energy for this great cause. He used to say: “Christ would not have his Spouse [Editor: The Church] be a slave; there is nothing in this World that God loves more than the liberty of His Church”.

There was a time when The Son of God allowed Himself to be fettered with bonds in order that He might loosen us from the chains of our sins; but, now that He has risen in triumph from the dead, He wills that His Spouse should be, like Himself, free.

She cannot otherwise exercise the ministry of salvation confided to her by her Divine Lord; and yet there is scarcely a single hundred years of her existence in which she has not had to fight for this holy liberty.

The rulers of this Earth, with very few exceptions, have ever been jealous of her influence, and have sought to lessen it by every possible means. In our own times, there are numbers of her children who do not even know that she has any rights or privileges; they would be at a loss to understand you, if you told them that she is the Spouse of Christ, and, therefore, a queen.

They think it quite enough for her, if she enjoy the same amount of freedom and toleration as the sects she condemns; and they cannot see how, under such conditions as these, The Church is not the kingdom He wished her to be, but a mere slave.

Saint Anselm would have abominated all such theories as these; so does every true Catholic. He is not driven into disloyalty to The Church by the high-sounding words “progress” and “modern society”; he knows that there is nothing on Earth equal to The Church; and when he sees the World convulsed by revolutions, he knows that all comes from The Church having been deprived of her rights.

Anselm was not only the zealous and heroic defender of the rights and privileges of The Church; he was also a light to men by his learning. The contemplation of revealed truths was his delight. He studied them in their bearings one upon the other, and his writings occupy a distinguished place in the treatises of Catholic Theology.

God had Blessed him with extraordinary talent. Amidst all the troubles and anxieties and occupations of his various duties, he found time for study. Even when passing from place to place, as an exile, he was intent on the meditation of the mysteries of Religion, thus preparing those sublime reflections which he has left us on the Articles of our Faith.

Unbelievably Beautiful !!!

Unbelievably Beautiful !!!

Available on YouTube

HERE

“Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam”. “To The Greater Glory Of God”.

All Illustrations:

ALTARWORTHY HANDMADE VESTMENTS

Rising From The Flames: Paris's Notre-Dame Cathedral.

Three years after the fire (2022).

A race against time

to restore Paris’s Notre-Dame Cathedral.

From FRANCE 24.

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

This Article is taken from, and can be read in full at,

NEW LITURGICAL MOVEMENT

By: GREGORY DIPIPPO.

Rising from the flames:

Paris’s Notre-Dame Cathedral, two years on (2021).

From FRANCE 24.

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

Saint Anselm. Archbishop Of Canterbury (Reigned 1093-1109). Bishop. Confessor. Doctor Of The Church. Feast Day 21 April.

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless stated otherwise.

Saint Anselm.
   Archbishop of Canterbury (Reigned 1093-1109).
   Bishop, Confessor and Doctor of The Church.
   Feast Day 21 April.

Double.

White Vestments.

Saint Anselm. Archbishop of Canterbury.

19th-Century English Stained-Glass Window.

Source: http://www.arspublik.com/

public-domain-images-saint-anselm/

Author: Unknown.

(Wikimedia Commons)

A native of Aosta (Italy) and a Monk of Bec Abbey, Normandy, Saint Anselm became its Abbot and, later, Archbishop of Canterbury (Communion). "Filled with Divine Wisdom" (Introit) and endowed with superior talents, he endeavoured to develop the science of God by a rational method, which cleared the way for Scholastic Theologians.

"I do not try to understand in order to believe", he declared, "but I believe in order to understand". Thereby, he realised the saying of the Gospel: "You are The Light of The World" and The Church has awarded him the Title of Doctor of The Church.

"A hero for Doctrine and Virtue", declares Pope Urban II, "he was equally intrepid in fighting for The Faith". Like a courageous Pastor, he defended "in Season and out of Season" (Epistle), against the ambitious tyranny of William Rufus, the Sacred Liberty which Jesus had bought for His flock with His Blood.

"Christ", he affirms, "loves nothing so much in this World as the liberty of His Church".

Saint Anselm died at the age of seventy-three on 21 April 1109.

Let us honour Saint Anselm "so that he, who was a Doctor of Truth on Earth, may intercede for us in Heaven" (Collect).

Mass: In medio.

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless otherwise stated.

Saint Anselm of Canterbury (circa 1033 - 21 April 1109), so-called “Anselm of Aosta”, after his birthplace, and “Anselm of Bec”, after his Monastery, was a Benedictine Monk, Philosopher, and Prelate of The Church, who held the Office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109. Called the Founder of Scholasticism, he has been a major influence in Western Theology and is famous as the originator of the Ontological Argument for the Existence of God and the Satisfaction Theory of Atonement .

He entered the Benedictine Order at the Abbey of Bec, Normandy, France, in 1060, at the age of twenty-seven, where he became Abbot in 1079. He became Archbishop of Canterbury, under William II of England . He was exiled from England from 1097 to 1100 and, again, from 1105 to 1107 (under Henry I of England), as a result of the Investiture Controversy, the most significant conflict between Church and State in Mediæval Europe. Anselm was proclaimed a Doctor of The Church, in 1720, by a Papal Bull of Pope Clement XI. His Feast Day is 21 April.

The Great Seal of Anselm of Canterbury,

from A. P. Stanley’s Historical Memorials of Canterbury.

Date: 10 September 2012.

Source: File derived from: Anselm of Canterbury, seal.jpg

Author:Anselm_of_Canterbury,_seal.jpg:

The original uploader was Srnec at English Wikipedia

Derivative work: MLWatts

(Wikimedia Commons)

Anselm was born in Aosta, in the Kingdom of Arles, around 1033. His family was related, by blood, to the ascendant House of Savoy and owned considerable property. His parents were from a noble lineage. His father, Gundulf, was by birth a Lombard. His mother, Ermenberga, was related to Otto, Count of Savoy.

At the age of fifteen, Anselm desired to enter a Monastery, but could not obtain his father’s consent, and so the Abbot refused him. Disappointment brought on apparent psychosomatic illness. After recovery, he gave up his studies and lived a carefree life. During this period, his mother died. When he was twenty-three, Anselm left home, crossed the Alps and wandered through Burgundy and France.

Attracted by the fame of his countryman, Lanfranc (then Prior of the Benedictine Abbey of Bec), Anselm arrived in Normandy in 1059. The following year, after some time at Avranches, he entered the Abbey as a Novice at the age of twenty-seven, submitting himself to the Rule of Saint Benedict, which reshaped his thoughts over the next decade.

In 1063, Lanfranc was made Abbot of Caen, and Anselm was elected Prior of the Abbey of Bec, an Office he held for fifteen years, before he became Abbot at the death of Herluin, the Abbey’s Founder, in 1078. He was Consecrated Abbot, on 22 February 1079, by the Bishop of Évreux. This Consecration was rushed, because, at the time, the Archdiocese of Rouen (wherein Bec lay) was sede vacante (vacant). Had Anselm been Consecrated by the Archbishop of Rouen, he would have been under pressure to profess obedience to him, which would compromise Bec’s independence.

12th-Century Illumination

from The Meditations of Saint Anselm.

Current location: Bodleian Library, Oxford, England.

Source/Photographer: Web Gallery of Art

(Wikimedia Commons)

Under Anselm’s jurisdiction, Bec became the foremost Seat of Learning in Europe, attracting Students from France, Italy and elsewhere. It was during his time at Bec that he wrote his first works of Philosophy, the “Monologion” (1076) and the “Proslogion” (1077–1078). These were followed by “The Dialogues on Truth”, “Free Will”, and “Fall of the Devil”. During his time at Bec, Anselm worked to maintain its freedom from Lay, and Archi-Episcopal, control. Later in his Abbacy, Anselm worked to ensure Bec’s independence from Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester, and from the Archbishop of Rouen.

Anselm occasionally visited England to see the Abbey’s property there, as well as to visit Lanfranc, who, in 1070, had been installed as Archbishop of Canterbury. He made a good impression while there, and was the natural successor to Lanfranc as Archbishop.

Saint Anselm of Canterbury.

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

Upon Lanfranc’s death in 1089, however, William II of England seized the possessions and revenues of the See, and made no new appointment. In 1092, at the invitation of Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester, Anselm crossed to England. He was detained there by business for nearly four months and then refused permission to return to Bec by the King. The latter suddenly fell seriously ill at Alveston, the following year, and spurred on by his wish to make amends for his 

sinful behaviour, which he believed had caused his illness, he allowed the nomination of Anselm to the vacant See, on 

6 March 1093.

Over the course of the following months, Anselm tried to refuse, on the grounds of age and ill-health. On 24 August 1093, Anselm gave William the conditions under which he would accept the See, which amounted to an Agenda of: The Gregorian Reform; that William return the See’s land which 

he had seized; that William accept the pre-eminence of Anselm’s Spiritual Counsel; and that William acknowledge Pope Urban II as Pope (in opposition to Anti-Pope Clement III).

Alumni Hall, Saint Anselm College,

Goffstown, New Hampshire, United States of America.

Photo: 6 January 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Ericci8996

(Wikimedia Commons)

Anselm’s professions of refusal aided his bargaining position as he discussed terms with William. William was exceedingly reluctant to accept these conditions; he would only grant the first condition. A few days after, William tried to rescind even this; he suspended the preparations for Anselm’s Investiture. Under public pressure, William was forced to carry out the Appointment. In the end, Anselm and William settled on the return of Canterbury’s lands as the only concession from William.

Finally, the English Bishops thrust the Crozier into his hands and took him to the Church to be Inducted. He did homage to William, and, on 25 September 1093, he received the lands of the See and was Enthroned, after obtaining dispensation from his duties in Normandy. He was Consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury on 4 December 1093.

It has been argued whether Anselm’s reluctance to take the See was sincere or not. Scholars such as Southern[56] and Kent[55] maintain Anselm’s honest preference was to remain at Bec. Anselm had initially considered becoming a hermit [57] and, naturally drawn to contemplation, he likely would have cared little for such a political office at the best of times and disliked it all the more amid his own troubled age. [55]

Against this, Vaughn notes that feigned reluctance to accept important positions was a common practice within the Mediæval Church, as open eagerness risked earning a reputation as an ambitious careerist. She further notes that his approach improved his negotiating position and that he finally acted at the moment that gained him the greatest leverage in advancing the interests of his See and the reform movement within The Church.[58]

One of Anselm’s first conflicts with William came the very month he was Consecrated. William was preparing to fight his elder brother, Robert II, Duke of Normandy, and needed funds for doing so. Anselm was among those expected to pay him, and he offered £500. William refused the offer, insisting on a greater sum. Later, a group of Bishops suggested that William might now settle for the original sum, but Anselm told them he had already given the money to The Poor. In this episode, Anselm was careful, and managed to avoid charges of Simony.

English: Saint Anselm Church,

Saint-Anselme, Quebec, Canada.

Français: Église Saint-Anselme,

Saint-Anselme, Québec, Canada.

Photo: 23 June 2013,

Source: Own work.

Author: Bernard Gagnon

(Wikimedia Commons)

Anselm continued to agitate for reform and the interests of Canterbury. His vision of The Church was one of a Universal Church with its own internal authority, which countered William’s vision of Royal control over both Church and State. Consequently, he has been viewed alternatively as a contemplative Monastic or as a man politically engaged, committed to maintaining the privileges of the Episcopal See of Canterbury.

The Church’s rule stated that Metropolitans could not be Consecrated without receiving the Pallium from the hands of the Pope. Anselm, accordingly, insisted that he must proceed to Rome to receive the Pallium, but William would not permit it. The Anti-Pope Clement III was disputing the authority of Pope Urban II, who had been recognised by France and Normandy. It does not appear that the English King was a partisan of the Anti-Pope, but he wished to strengthen his own position by asserting his right to decide between the rival claimants.

Hence, when Anselm asked leave to go to the Pope, the King said that no-one in England should acknowledge either Pope till he, the King, had decided the matter. On 25 February 1095, the Bishops and Nobles of England held a Council at Rockingham to discuss the issue. The Bishops sided with the King, with William de St-Calais, the Bishop of Durham, even advising William to depose Anselm. The Nobles chose Anselm’s position, and the Conference ended in deadlock.

Immediately following this, William sent secret messengers to Rome. They prevailed on Pope Urban to send a Legate (Walter of Albano) to the King bearing the Archi-Episcopal Pallium. Walter and William then negotiated in secret. William agreed to acknowledge Urban as Pope, and secured the right to give permission before Clerics could receive and obey Papal Letters; Walter, negotiating for Pope Urban, conceded that Urban would send no Legates without William’s invitation.

English: Chester Cathedral, England. Stained-Glass Window (1916) depicting Saint Anselm of Canterbury (detail). Refectory: East Window.

Deutsch: Chester (England). Kathedrale: Refektorium - Ostfenster (1916): Heiliger Anselm von Canterbury (Detail).

Photo: 13 July 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Wolfgang Sauber.

(Wikimedia Commons)

William’s greatest desire was that Anselm be deposed and another given the Pallium. Walter said that “there was good reason to expect a successful issue in accordance with the King’s wishes”. William then openly acknowledged Urban as Pope, but Walter refused to depose Anselm. William then tried to extract money from Anselm for the Pallium, and was refused. William also tried to personally hand over the Pallium to Anselm, and was refused again. He compromised, and Anselm took the Pallium from the Altar at Canterbury on 10 June 1095.

Over the next two years, no overt dispute between Anselm and William is known. However, William blocked Anselm’s efforts at Church Reform. The issues came to a head in 1097, after William put down a Welsh Rebellion. He charged Anselm with having given him insufficient Knights for the Campaign and tried to fine him. Anselm resolved to proceed to Rome and seek the Counsel of the Pope, because William had refused to fulfil his promise of Church Reform, but William denied him permission. The negotiations ended with William declaring that, if Anselm left, he would take back the See, and never again receive Anselm as Archbishop. If Anselm were to stay, William would fine him and force him to swear never again to appeal to Rome: “Anselm was given the choice of Exile or total submission.”

As an Exile, in October 1097, Anselm set out for Rome. William immediately seized the revenues of the See and retained them until his death, though Anselm retained the Archbishopric. Anselm went into Exile to defend his vision of the Universal Church, displaying William’s sins against that vision. Though he had done homage to William, Anselm qualified that homage by his higher duty towards God and the Papacy.

Anselm was received with high honour by Pope Urban II at the Siege of Capua, where he garnered high praise from the Saracen troops of Count Roger I of Sicily. At a large Provincial Council, held at Bari, Italy, in 1098, which 183 Bishops attended, Anselm was asked to defend, against representatives of the Greek Church, the Filioque and the practice of using Unleavened Bread for the Eucharist. In 1099, Pope Urban renewed the Ban on Lay Investiture and on Clerics doing homage. That year Anselm moved to Lyon.

Countess Matilda meets Anselm of Canterbury

in the Presence of Pope Urban II.

Date: 1637-1642.

Artist: Giovanni Francesco Romanelli (1610-1662).

Source: IDLE SPECULATIONS

(Wikimedia Commons)

William died in a hunting accident on 2 August 1100. His successor, his younger brother, Henry I of England, invited Anselm to return, writing that he committed himself to be Counselled by Anselm. Henry was courting Anselm because he needed his support for the security of his claim to the Throne; Anselm could have thrown his support behind Henry's elder brother, instead. When Anselm returned, Henry requested that Anselm do him homage for the Canterbury Estates and receive from him Investiture in his Office of Archbishop. The Papacy had recently banned Clerics doing homage to Laymen, as well as banning Lay Investiture. Thus started Anselm’s conflicts with Henry.

Henry refused to relinquish the privilege possessed by his predecessors, and proposed that the matter be laid before the Pope. Two Embassies were sent to Pope Paschal II, regarding the legitimacy of Henry's Investiture, but Paschal reaffirmed the Papal rule on both occasions. In the meantime, Anselm did work with Henry. Henry was threatened with invasion by his brother, Robert Curthose, and Anselm publicly supported Henry, wooing the wavering Barons and threatening Curthose with Excommunication.

At Michælmas, 1102, Anselm held a Council in London, in which he prohibited marriage and concubinage to those in Holy Orders (as well as condemning Simony and reforming regulations on Clerical Dress and sobriety). He was among the first to take a public stand against the Slave Trade. In 1102, at a Church Council in Saint Peter's Church, Westminster, he obtained the passage of a Resolution against the practice of selling men like cattle.

For his part, Henry granted Anselm authority over all the Church in England, and agreed to obey the Papacy. However, because Paschal had reaffirmed the Papal Rules on Lay Investiture and homage, Henry turned once more against Anselm. In 1103, Anselm, and an Envoy from the King (William Warelwast), set out for Rome, Paschal Excommunicated the Bishops whom Henry had Invested.

English: Illuminated Initial from Saint Anselm's “Monologion”, Late-11th-Century. Preserved at The Bibliothèque Municipale de Rouen, France.

Italiano: Iniziale miniata da un manoscritto della fine

dell'XI secolo del Monologion di Anselmo d'Aosta. 

Conservato presso la Bibliothèque municipale de Rouen.

Source: Anselm of Canterbury’s “Monologion”,

Manuscripted by Hugo Pictor,

Jumièges Scriptorium, Late-11th-Century.

Author: Hugo Pictor.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Anselm withdrew to Lyon, after this Ruling, and awaited further action from Pope Paschal. On 26 March 1105, Paschal Excommunicated Henry's Chief Advisor (Robert of Meulan) for urging Henry to continue Lay Investiture, as well as Prelates Invested by Henry and other Counsellors, and threatened Henry with the same. In April 1105, Anselm threatened to Excommunicate Henry, himself, probably to force Henry's hand in their negotiations.

In response, Henry arranged a Meeting with Anselm, and they managed a compromise at Laigle, Normandy, on 22 July 1105. Part of the agreement was that Robert of Meulan's (and his associates') Excommunication be lifted (given that they Counsel the King to obey the Papacy). Anselm agreed to lift the Excommunications on his own authority, an act which he later had to justify to Pope Paschal. Other conditions of the agreement were: Henry would forsake Lay Investiture, if Anselm obtained Paschal's permission for Clerics to do homage for their Nobles; that the Revenues of his See be given back to Anselm; and that Priests not be allowed to marry. Anselm then insisted on having the Laigle Agreement sanctioned by Pope Paschal before he would consent to return to England.

By Letter, Anselm also asked that the Pope accept his compromise on doing homage to the King, because he had secured a greater victory in Henry's forsaking Lay Investiture. On 23 March 1106, Pope Paschal wrote to Anselm accepting the compromise, though both saw this as a temporary compromise, and intended to later continue pushing for the Gregorian Reform, including the custom of homage.

Even after this, Anselm still refused to return to England. King Henry travelled to Bec, in Normandy, and met with him on 

15 August 1106. Henry made further concessions, restoring to Anselm all the Churches that had been seized by King William. He promised that nothing more would be taken from the Churches.

Prelates, who had paid his controversial tax (which had started as a tax on Married Clergy) would be exempt from taxes for three years, and he promised to restore all that had been taken from Canterbury during Anselm's Exile, even giving Anselm security for this promise. These compromises, on Henry's part, strengthened the Rights of The Church against the King. Anselm returned to England following these promises.

Saint Anselm's Church, Anselmo, Nebraska,

United States of America. The Gothic Revival Church was constructed in 1928. The Saint Anselm's Complex, which includes the  Church, Rectory, and Parish Hall, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places

Photo:: 3 June 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Ammodramus

(Wikimedia Commons)

By 1107, the long dispute, regarding Investiture, was finally settled. The Concordat of London announced the compromises that Anselm and Henry had made at Bec. The final two years of Anselm's life were spent in the duties of his Archbishopric. As Archbishop, Anselm maintained his Monastic ideals, which included stewardship, prudence, and fitting instruction to his flock, as well as Prayer and Contemplation. During his service as Archbishop, Anselm maintained a habit of pressing on his Monarchs at expedient times (when they needed his help, and when he would have public support) to advance his Church Reforms.

Saint Anselm died on Holy Wednesday, 21 April 1109, in Canterbury, Kent, and was buried in Canterbury Cathedral.

Ceiling painting: The Virgin Mary appearing to Saint Anselm of Canterbury. Ossiach Monastery, Carinthia, Austria.

Artist: Josef Ferdinand.

Photo: 25 June 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: JJ55

(Wikimedia Commons)