St. Brigid of Kildare -- A Bishop?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chris258
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
C

Chris258

Guest
Hello everyone,

I happened to look up some information on St. Brigid today and I found something quite surprising. It seems that some of the traditions that surround her imply that she carried out the functions of a bishop.
Brigit is known for being the only female bishop of the early church. It is said that upon receiving her vows Saint Mel was inspired by God to make her a bishop.
Click to expand...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Brigid

The citation for this information leads to Brigid of the Gael by Conrad Bladey, which is apparently a collection of the primary historical and hagiographical source material on St. Brigid.

Another angle I’ve heard is that at some point after taking her vows, Saint Mel (or Saint Patrick) intentionally or mistakenly used the form for ordaining a bishop (or priest), and did not try to correct any error there.
 
We Irish are known for embellishing. I’m sure this legend is but one tiny example. :shamrock2:
 
The lone Amazon reviewer of that self-published “resource” describes it as:

“I call it a booklet for lack of a better word; it doesn’t resemble a book, but is more like a report you’d put together at Kinkos”

Frankly, I would not put any stock in the claims put forth by it and I would be inclined to report the shoddy scholarship to Wikipedia for deletion from the article.

If you’re looking for reliable information on Saint Brigid, I would go to the Old Catholic Encyclopedia:

newadvent.org/cathen/02784b.htm
 
She was not an ordained Bishop. She was the Abbess of a monastery.

The mitre and crozier are signs of authority, not of ordination. People see the mitre and crozier and automatically think that the person is a Bishop but that shouldn’t be assumed.

All Abbots and Abbesses are the ordinary authority in the monastery. According to the Rule of St. Benedict the Abbess or Abbot is to be obeyed as if they are Christ. The Abbot of the Cistercian monastery near me wears the mitre and crozier to Mass every day and he is not a Bishop. Mother Angelica could carry a crozier and wear a mitre if she chose to do so.

There is a stained glass window of St. Brigid of Kildare in St. Joseph’s Church here in Georgia. The window shows her holding the crozier which is a symbol of authority. Many Icons show Abbesses with crozier and mitre or even a crown.

Mother Abbess St. Brigid of Kildare


Mother Abbess Placida von Eichendorff


Mother Abbess Venerable Hilda of Whitby
http://www.oodegr.co/english/biographies/eikones/Hilda_Whitby2.jpg

-Tim-
 
TimothyH said:
She was not an ordained Bishop. She was the Abbess of a monastery.

The mitre and crozier are signs of authority, not of ordination. People see the mitre and crozier and automatically think that the person is a Bishop but that shouldn’t be assumed.

All Abbots and Abbesses are the ordinary authority in the monastery. According to the Rule of St. Benedict the Abbess or Abbot is to be obeyed as if they are Christ. The Abbot of the Cistercian monastery near me wears the mitre and crozier to Mass every day and he is not a Bishop. Mother Angelica could carry a crozier and wear a mitre if she chose to do so.

There is a stained glass window of St. Brigid of Kildare in St. Joseph’s Church here in Georgia. The window shows her holding the crozier which is a symbol of authority. Many Icons show Abbesses with crozier and mitre or even a crown.

Mother Abbess St. Brigid of Kildare
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Stbrigid.jpg

Mother Abbess Placida von Eichendorff
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Mother_Abbess_Placida_von_Eichendorff.jpg

Mother Abbess Venerable Hilda of Whitby
http://www.oodegr.co/english/biographies/eikones/Hilda_Whitby2.jpg

-Tim-
Click to expand...
Thank you for the post! That was incredibly informative. 👍
 
Hoosier_Daddy said:
Thank you for the post! That was incredibly informative. 👍
Click to expand...
You are welcome. This comes up from time to time.

All should be aware that there are titles given to the wives of clergy where married clergy are allowed.

Presbytera - Priest’s wife
Diakonissa - Deacon’s wife

There was a title for the Bishop’s wife but I can’t remember what it is. Someone should post if they know.

It has been a long time since Bishops were married anyway. It’s just a title and she deserves to be addressed in a dignified way because of her husband’s office.

It’s the same thing in Judaism. The wife of a Rabbi is called the Rebbetzin. It doesn’t mean that she is also a Rabbi but she does share in some small way, the dignity of the office he holds.

The point is that people read about women bearing these titles and they incorrectly assume that they were clergy.

-Tim-
 
Since much of the tradition associated with St. Brigid is actually a Catholicization of a Celtic goddess, I wouldn’t think it matters much either way.
 
In addition to what others have said, the rite of blessing a new abbot or abbess resembles the consecration of a bishop in many ways. Some abbesses even exercises territorial jurisdiction over the areas around their abbeys- including authority over male priests. This may be part of the confusion.
A small correction - as far as I know no abbess is permitted to wear the mitre today. In times past some abbesses did indeed wear mitres but today the mitre is restricted to bishops, abbots, and a couple other male ordinaries.
 
The rite of blessing for an abbot or an abbess resembles, at least superficially, the consecration of a bishop. This may add to the confusion. Historically, some abbesses did wear the mitre and some even exercised ecclesiastical jurisdiction over territories surrounding their monasteries (including authority over the priests within that territory). Of course while they exercised the power of governance they never possessed the power of orders and thus did not celebrate the sacraments as a bishop would.
A correction to a point made earlier in this thread: as far as I know, abbesses are no longer permitted to wear a mitre. Today the mitre is reserved for bishops, abbots, and certain other male ordinaries.
 
As twf said above, an Abbess wouldn’t use a mitre. I don’t think she was ever permitted to do so. At the very least, not in the time of Saint Brigid. Furthermore, as a little historical note, Saint Brigid wasn’t a Benedictine and would have followed one of the old Celtic rules (which, to be blunt, makes Saint Benedict’s Rule seem tame. :D).

Now, part of the confusion can be cleared up by a proper understanding of the ecclesiastical situation in Ireland. Ireland, prior to the Norman Invasion which brought over the mendicant orders, and an invasion which was justified under the pretext of ecclesiastical reform, was culturally very different from the old Roman world. The Catholic Church in early Ireland was thoroughly monastic. The monastery and its lands carried political authority. This led to some bishops being under the thumb of abbots and, as in the case of Kildare, abbesses. It also interestingly led to the conflict in Ireland between Kildare and Armagh (about which had primatial authority in Ireland: the See of Saint Patrick of the Monastery of Saint Brigid?).

Because of the huge importance placed on monastic life in Ireland, and that cities and towns were based around monasteries, this gave monastics a huge position of influence within Irish society. Saint Brigid may have summoned bishops to her, but she never celebrated Mass or conferred Confirmations (not even abbots tried that). The sacramental authority of the bishop was absolute, but their political authority was sidelined. This was a legitimate issue in Ireland that did have to be resolved, hence the Norman ecclesiastical reform. Sadly it completely destroyed the old Catholic culture in Ireland. As another historical aside, even Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh was built up by a monastic community. 😃

Today monastic houses are rare in Ireland. There are only a handful of Benedictine convents, and there’s no monasteries that observe the old Celtic religious rules. With the Normans came the Carmelites, the Franciscans and the Dominicans. The social life of the Church was changed drastically. The old liturgies died out, urbanisation began, and a new Franco-Italian Catholic culture blossomed.

Funny thing. Ireland, during its great monastic age, was the land of saints and scholars. Hundreds of monks went out and established monasteries in Europe. Many great monasteries in Germany, France and Italy had Irish founders. But when the mendicants came, who were friars specifically dedicated to going out into the world and preaching the Gospel and establishing new religious houses, the great Irish wave ceased. 😦
 
twf said:
The rite of blessing for an abbot or an abbess resembles, at least superficially, the consecration of a bishop. This may add to the confusion. Historically, some abbesses did wear the mitre and some even exercised ecclesiastical jurisdiction over territories surrounding their monasteries (including authority over the priests within that territory). Of course while they exercised the power of governance they never possessed the power of orders and thus did not celebrate the sacraments as a bishop would.
A correction to a point made earlier in this thread: as far as I know, abbesses are no longer permitted to wear a mitre. Today the mitre is reserved for bishops, abbots, and certain other male ordinaries.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the correction about the Mitre!

After some research I found that such was the case with st. Brigid of Kildare. She shared ecclesiastical jurisdiction with the sitting bishop. In layman’s terms, she helped govern and probably helped pastor the flock with her teaching. It is impossible however, to claim that she celebrated the sacraments and to state that she was a Bishop of the Church is stretching things a bit. She was the Superior General of the Benedictines in Ireland.

-Tim-
 
QuasiCatholic said:
Since much of the tradition associated with St. Brigid is actually a Catholicization of a Celtic goddess, I wouldn’t think it matters much either way.
Click to expand...
I’m confused. Are you saying that the Church Canonized a goddess and not a real Catholic person?
 
O_Sapientia said:
As twf said above, an Abbess wouldn’t use a mitre. I don’t think she was ever permitted to do so. At the very least, not in the time of Saint Brigid. Furthermore, as a little historical note, Saint Brigid wasn’t a Benedictine and would have followed one of the old Celtic rules (which, to be blunt, makes Saint Benedict’s Rule seem tame. :D).

Now, part of the confusion can be cleared up by a proper understanding of the ecclesiastical situation in Ireland. Ireland, prior to the Norman Invasion which brought over the mendicant orders, and an invasion which was justified under the pretext of ecclesiastical reform, was culturally very different from the old Roman world. The Catholic Church in early Ireland was thoroughly monastic. The monastery and its lands carried political authority. This led to some bishops being under the thumb of abbots and, as in the case of Kildare, abbesses. It also interestingly led to the conflict in Ireland between Kildare and Armagh (about which had primatial authority in Ireland: the See of Saint Patrick of the Monastery of Saint Brigid?).

Because of the huge importance placed on monastic life in Ireland, and that cities and towns were based around monasteries, this gave monastics a huge position of influence within Irish society. Saint Brigid may have summoned bishops to her, but she never celebrated Mass or conferred Confirmations (not even abbots tried that). The sacramental authority of the bishop was absolute, but their political authority was sidelined. This was a legitimate issue in Ireland that did have to be resolved, hence the Norman ecclesiastical reform. Sadly it completely destroyed the old Catholic culture in Ireland. As another historical aside, even Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh was built up by a monastic community. 😃

Today monastic houses are rare in Ireland. There are only a handful of Benedictine convents, and there’s no monasteries that observe the old Celtic religious rules. With the Normans came the Carmelites, the Franciscans and the Dominicans. The social life of the Church was changed drastically. The old liturgies died out, urbanisation began, and a new Franco-Italian Catholic culture blossomed.

Funny thing. Ireland, during its great monastic age, was the land of saints and scholars. Hundreds of monks went out and established monasteries in Europe. Many great monasteries in Germany, France and Italy had Irish founders. But when the mendicants came, who were friars specifically dedicated to going out into the world and preaching the Gospel and establishing new religious houses, the great Irish wave ceased. 😦
Click to expand...
This is fascinating. I did not know about Celtic rules.

Not being familiar I did a quick search for “Norman invasion” and see that it was in the 11th century. The rise of scholasticism which began with St. Anselm of Caterbury in the late 11th and early 12th century certainly didn’t help slow the decline of monasticism in Ireland.

A brief read reveals that Irish monks had a large hand in keeping Christianity alive in Europe during the dark ages of 500 to 800 AD.

The Cistercians have a few books on the Irish mystics I may have to look into.

-Tim-
 
Hoosier_Daddy said:
I’m confused. Are you saying that the Church Canonized a goddess and not a real Catholic person?
Click to expand...
As I understand it, St Brigid was a real person – abbess and saint – but a lot of legends of the goddess of the same name got conflated into the saint’s hagiography.
 
John_Lazarus said:
As I understand it, St Brigid was a real person – abbess and saint – but a lot of legends of the goddess of the same name got conflated into the saint’s hagiography.
Click to expand...
Exactly (I mean assuming the early church didn’t just fabricate her entire biography … I suppose weirder things have happened.)

But just as some starting points of how St. Brigid and the goddess Brigid have gotten wrapped up together:
  • St. Brigid’s Day is Feb. 1. Imbolc (the Wiccan holiday honoring goddess Brigid) is Feb. 1 or 2 each year.
  • The abbey founded by St. Brigid was built on the site of a celtic shrine to Brigid. Both were known for sacred fires.
  • St. Brigid is, among other things, patron saint of milkmaids apparently. And Imbolc (goddess Brigid’s holiday) is a festival related to livestock providing the first new milk of the year
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top