Saints

There were two early English saints with this name. St Edburga of Bicester died around 650. She was a nun and probably an abbess. The base of a shrine dedicated to her can still be seen in the church at Stanton Harcourt in Oxfordshire. Her namesake, St Edburga of Winchester, lived 300 years later. She was a daughter of Edward the Elder, King of Wessex and grand daughter of King Alfred the Great.... Read More

Called the 'Man of God'. According to a contemporary account, he was a nameless man who died at the hospital of Edessa in Mesopotamia in 430. Later poems in Greek and Latin call him Alexis. He had lived by begging and shared the alms he was given with other poor people. He is also said to have performed many healings. After his death it was learned that he was the son of a Roman patrician who h... Read More

Monk. Born in Rome, in 354, Arsenius is said to have been a deacon, and later a tutor to the Emperor Theodosius' children in Constantinople. He was rewarded with money, servants and possessions and lived a luxurious life. But after ten years he felt God calling him and gave everything away, to join a group of desert monks near Wadi Narun in Egypt. According to ancient accounts, when he arrived i... Read More