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Saint Chad

Okay, okay, so I am not saint. Not by title, nor by behaviour.

That much is obvious. 

But today is the feast day of Saint Chad. A day I like to remember for a couple reasons. One, well, because he has the same name as me. :) But also because he represents a time in Church history many of us North Americans forget about. It is a time often referred to as the Dark Ages (AD 500-1000). 

This is a very negative title for a time period in which faith and culture continued to grow in the world, just not in the historic centres of power (Rome, Greece, etc). One of my favourite books of this era is How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe. In it Thomas Cahill argues that the Irish preserved Western Civilization during the time of political and cultural upheaval that marks that era. He also highlights the role of clergy during that time. 

Clergy like Saint Patrick, or like Chad. 

Chad studied in Lindisfarne under Saint Aidan. The place which produced the incredible illuminated manuscript "The Lindisfarne Gospels" which is now at the British Library. It is amazing, you should check out some of the pictures. 

What has always impressed me about these clergy was their absolute dedication to spreading the good news of Jesus in a way which connected to the people they were sharing that good news with. 

I think we can learn a lot from the way these Christians worked and witnessed among a culture which was at least indifferent to the message of the gospel, if not antagonistic.