Christianity came to Britain before A.D. 200, and by 314, the church included bishops, the presence of whom was recorded at several Church councils.  But Roman troops withdrew from Britain to defend Italy early in the 5th century, and the Germanic Angles and Saxons invaded, forcing the Christian Britons west, into Wales and Cornwall.

Into this tumult Patrick was born, somewhere along the western shores of Britain.  He was raised as a Christian, but his faith meant little to him as a child.  Then, at the age of 16, he was kidnapped, taken to Ireland, and sold as a slave.  There, he spent six solitary years as a shepherd.  Alone on the hills, he began to pray, and found that the love and fear of God surrounded him more and more.  Through the years, he developed a deep communion with God and became a holy man. Then one night Patrick heard a voice:  “You are going home.  Look, your ship is ready.”  He got up the next morning and began a miraculous 200-mile walk to the coast. Once there, a ship gave him passage home.  In England, Patrick became a monastic, a priest, and eventually a bishop.  Then, in another dream he heard,  “We beg you to come and walk among us once more.”  Returning to Ireland in 432, he evangelized the Irish Celts for the next 30 years.  Patrick had a gift for using Ireland’s own culture to explain Christianity, and, in the end, shaped a distinctly Celtic Church.  Their sense of the world as holy is one of the most unique and enduring contributions of Irish Christianity:  creation belongs to, speaks of, and points to God.  Patrick died in 461, but the Church he planted continued to flourish, providing an undisturbed haven for copying and preserving the records of antiquity for 300 years, as barbarians overran the Continent.  It was also the Irish who sent missionaries to those tribes, aiding the conversion of the Germanic invaders in Britain and many parts of Europe.

In our windows, Patrick represents the Celtic tradition, with representative carvings decorating his staff.  The shamrock, a traditional Irish symbol, was used by Patrick to illustrate the Trinity.  The church in the background reminds us that Patrick founded the Church in Ireland.

Like Stars Appearing:  The Story of the Stained Glass Windows of St. George's Episcopal Church, Dayton, Ohio
copyright 2004 by Anne E. Rowland.  All rights reserved.
Stained Glass Windows copyright 2000 by St. George's Episcopal Church, crafted by Willet Stained Glass.