|
What we know of the life of Patrick we owe mostly to
his own testimony "The Confession". Unfortunately it is impossible to
accurately estimate when Patrick was born. Views range from 390AD to
460AD. What we do know is that he was born into a Roman-British family,
who were practicing Christians. Again we are unsure exactly where Patrick
was born, except that it was near Bannaven Taberiae, which it is thought
was on the western coast of Britain.
When Patrick was sixteen years old, the area around where he lived was
plundered by raiders and Patrick was taken away and sold as a slave to a
man named Michu who lived in County Antrim. For six years he looked after
cows and pigs on the hills of Slemish, where he came to know God and
escaped to return to his family. For many years Patrick then educated and
immersed himself in scripture, possibly on the continent, where he had a
dream which urged him to return to Ulster. When he had completed his
training Patrick travelled back to Ulster landing near Strangford Lough.
It was at Saul that he founded his first church after converting the local
chieftain Dichu to Christ, before soon afterwards establishing another
church at Armagh. The date and place of Patrick's death are also hard to
determine. The 17th March however has become the popular date, whilst
Armagh, Downpatrick and Saul have all made claim to his burial, with
Downpatrick holding the strongest case.
Exploding the Myths
It has unfortunately been the case that Patrick has
become a mythical and fictitious figure to many people, especially Irish
nationalists. These people have been fed and have accepted an assortment
of lies with regard to the life and Christian teachings of Patrick,
despite conclusive evidence suggesting otherwise.
Here is the evidence!
Patrick was Irish
As we have already seen, Patrick himself states that he
was born in England and although he spent most of his life on the island
of Ireland, most of his missionary work was carried out in the ancient
province of Ulster, which at that time was under siege from the invading
Irish.
 He was sent to Ireland by the Pope
Firstly, nowhere in his confession does Patrick mention
the Pope or Rome, likewise the records of the Popes during Patrick's era,
make no referral to him. The fact is that Rome invented stories about
Patrick to associate him to the Roman Catholic faith.
Patrick wore a Bishops mitre and robes
For many years, Romans Catholics have kept an invented
image of Patrick to Rome however the reality is that the mitre which he is
portrayed wearing 500 years after his death and robes which he is depicted
wearing are from the 17th century.
 Patrick performed miracles
As with most legendary figures, stories of miracles are
central to the development of their mythology. The belief that Patrick
drove all the snakes from Ireland is the most cited. However we know for
certain that there were no snakes in Ireland during his time so this story
is most certainly false. Again nowhere in his Confession does Patrick
mention performing any miracle.
Patrick was of the Roman Catholic faith
We have already seen how Rome has attempted to 'claim'
Patrick as their own, but the most conclusive proof that he had no
allegiance to Rome comes from his own beliefs and teachings. Patrick took
his teachings exclusively from the Bible of which he had extensive
knowledge, and nowhere will you find a mention of Purgatory or the Papal
infallibility, not just since these do not appear in the Bible but because
such practices only emerged hundreds of years later. The reality is that
Patrick's teachings where very much in the vein of 16th Century reformers
who also believed only in the teachings of the gospel.
 Patrick and the shamrock
Not until 1645 was Patrick associated with the shamrock
and surprise, surprise shortly after it became the emblem of Ireland. Once
again at no time did Patrick mention the shamrock and this is another myth
to connect him to Roman Catholicism.
Not for the first time we have an example of how
another part of our history has been hi-jacked by the Roman Catholic
church and Irish nationalists. While St. Patrick was not a Protestant,
neither was he a believer of the Roman Catholic faith. His beliefs were
however very much in common with the teachings of the Protestant
reformers. Patrick’s message was 'Christ alone', he did not practise
superstitions or idolatry. Our advise is for everyone to use this article
to their advantage. When faced with any of the numerous lies about the
life of Patrick, your answers will probably be found in this article. |
