in cornwall i came across the tale of saint piran. the story goes that this irish missionary was tied to a mill stone and thrown off a cliff in ireland into a stormy sea that became calm when he landed and he then floated across the ocean and was washed up at perranporth (perranzabuloe) in cornwall. alternative versions say it was a curragh rather than a millstone. this reminded me of the tale of saint brendan, which mark berry and community have been inspired by in telford, who set sail trusting god to guide his boat (curragh) where the spirit led. it turns out that perran is thought to have been a friend of brendan as relics of brendan were at perranzabuloe (though this depends on a connection between st kieron of saighir and st piran whom some people think was one and the same person).
perran built an oratory on the cliffs above perranporth that is now buried under the sand. it seems this was one of the earliest places of worship dating from 5th/6th century. due to the sand a new church was built in the 10th century about a quarter of a mile away. it lasted until the 1800s but now lies in ruin. st piran’s trust have worked hard to preserve the oratory and the old church site. st piran’s day (5 march) sees re-enactments of the tale of st piran in perranporth.
jen and i cycled out of perranporth and followed the trail to see the oratory and old church which was great and harry and i paid a visit later in the afternoon. fortunately this was a few hours of our time in cornwall when it didn’t rain! at the site there is also an old celtic cross with 3 holes in it. apparently it is one of only two known 3 holed crosses in cornwall and is referred to as the cross of st piran. i tried to find a bit more out about this unsuccessfully so if anyone knows more about its origins let me know. photos are on flickr.
it was fun and interesting to encounter the story of the gospel coming to the cornish through saint piran. st piran’s trust and the stories i found seemed quite focused on the buildings and history of those sites (understandably) but i couldn’t trace much of the spirituality associated with saint piran – though there is a tale of st piran’s mass in the book in the shadow of saint piran (the book that got me started on this trail as it was on the bookshelf in the house we stayed in). again if anyone knows of prayers or rituals or tales of the spirituality of this saint i’d be interested.
the notion of setting sail and trusting god seems a good thought and prayer for the new year.
i was also thinking about creative strategies and saint piran’s creative quest seems to have stemmed from disaster – being thrown off a cliff. learning to receive things thrown into our path however disastrous they seem can lead to amazing adventures as they inevitably throw us off our usual track…
Re Cornish crosses: you may find something relevant among the publications of Ian McNeil Cooke on the Men-an-Tol imprint [ http://www.menantolstudio.freeserve.co.uk ]; or from the Just Cornish [ http://www.justcornish.com] website… (they also have a very nice shop in St Just if you’re there again this year…)
Thanks for the reminder of the great saints of these islands. I first encountered Brendan at university in 2000 in the Anglo Norman version of his story. Undergoing an important development in my own spirituality at the time I found myself greatly inspired by Brendan. His journey continues to inspire me – setting out into the deep in faith, all the time adhering to the monastic traditions of prayer. I found myself encouraged that we may have to experience the same things again and again before we finally gain wisdom. This is a reminder to me to read “The Brendan Voyage” (bought last year!) which is Tim Severin’s account of his attempt to recreate the real Brendan’s voyage in a replica leather boat back in the 70’s. The Brendan tale has proved to be something of a leit motif since – was it a Brendan video loop in the New Forms cafe at Greenbelt last year? Thanks again.
As a cornishman, Im a little ashamed to admit I learnt some things about St Piran from this post, but thanks for reminding me of him. I remember someone once praying for me when I had responded to a call for people who were inspired to be missionaries overseas, and someone prayed about it using the story of St Piran.
He’s also called the first surfer of cornwall, surfing onto the beach in perranporth on his granite board! Its amazing to ride into a beach on a stone designed to kill you, only to build a church on the beach you wash up on….I wonder if he used the stone to build the church?
Last para = a word in time Jonny
blessings for the year gill whatever it throws in your path.