Commemoration of St. Ninian
September 16
St. Ninian's (Ninias, Nynia, Ninnidh, Ninus, Dinan, Ringan, Rigna, Ringen, Trignan) exact year of birth is unknown, but is believed to be some time around 360 AD. Some traditions say his place of birth is Galloway, others say Strathclyde, other accounts say he was born in Brythonic Cumbria, probably Rheged. Since Rheged is believed to have extended into Dumfries and Galloway, and since Strathclyde was sometimes called Cumbria or Cumberland, these accounts are not necessarily in conflict.
The only written evidence about St. Ninian comes from the accounts of the Venerable Bede, writing 300 years later, and St. Aelred, writing approximately 700 years later.
However, Aelred claims to rely on an earlier account "written by a barbarian" which suggests he may have copied from an ancient source; and extensive details imply that source could have been written by a member of Ninian's community in Galloway.
Ninian travelled to Rome as a young man to study Christianity, where his eagerness to learn brought him to the notice of Pope Damasus, who decided to train the young man personally. After St. Damasus died, his successor, Pope Siricus, consecrated St. Ninian a Bishop and commissioned him to return to Britain to preach the Christian faith. Travelling from Italy back to Britain through France, Ninian heard of the great work being done by St. Martin of Tours at his abbey in Marmoutiers, and went to visit him. St. Ninian stayed at the abbey for some time and was encouraged and helped in his work by St. Martin who became his friend and left a lasting impression on him.
When St. Ninian returned to Scotland to begin an evangelical mission there, masons from St. Martin's Monastery in Tours helped with the construction of this first church. It was a whitewashed stone building at a time when most churches were wooden, and its color made it easy to see from great distances away. Ninian named his church Candida Casa (the White House), and in the language of that time it became known as Whithorn (which means "shining house"). St. Aelred (Ethelred) states that news of St. Martin's death reached Ninian while he was building Candida Casa, and as a result Ninian decided to dedicate the building to Martin. Whithorn's lasting fame rests on its claim to be the location of the first Christian Church in Scotland and the first Christian settlement north of Hadrian's wall. Although overshadowed in popular imagination by Columba and his church at Iona, Whithorn's claim to be the first church in Scotland was substantiated by the Venerable Bede in approximately 730 AD . During archaeological excavations in the late 20th century, remnants of a white plastered wall were found which some believe could be ruins from this first church. This church became Ninian's base and from it he and his monks evangelized the neighboring area.
At the time of St. Ninian, the Picts were divided into two main groups, the Northern Picts and the Southern Picts. According to Bede, the Southern Picts were converted by St. Ninian while the Northern Picts were later converted by St. Columba. The population of the north shore of the Solway Firth at the beginning of the 5th century were Picts or Goidels or a blend of both, and naturally hostile to the Romanized Britons. Bede records that Ninian preached among the Picts within the Mounth, which indicates that he was acquainted with the Pictish language. From there he began work among the Northern Brythons of the surrounding area. Later he undertook a journey northwards along the east coast in order to spread Christianity among the southern Picts. The term "Southern" is almost certainly a misnomer based on the maps of early times which were tipped on their side and mistakenly depict the east coast of Scotland as if it were the south coast. Placename evidence and local tradition suggest that St. Ninian in his mission travels worked his way up the east coast of Scotland, possibly reaching as far as the Shetland Islands. As a result, St. Ninian is referred to as the apostle of the northern Britons and Picts.
Unfortunately, his work among the southern Picts seems to have had but a short lived success. Later references indicate that after St. Ninian the Picts abandoned Christianity and returned to their old beliefs. St. Patrick, in his epistle to Coroticus, terms the Picts "apostates", and references to Ninian's converts having abandoned Christianity are found in writings of St. Columba and St. Kentigern, the first Bishop of Glasgow. As St. Columba and others had to start afresh converting the Picts in the late 500s, it would seem that either St. Ninian's Pictish converts returned to paganism after his departure, or possibly that Bede did indeed get his dates and identities confused, and St. Ninian and St.Columba were indeed operating at much the same time.
Although there is some confusion about exactly which areas he visited. there is little doubt that St. Ninian carried out his mission in Scotland. The evidence of his influence survives in the large number of churches dedicated to him throughout Scotland and in several locations in northern England. In 2001, a Glasgow University Celticist argued that St. Ninian and St. Finian were the same man, as teacher and mentor of St. Columba, and that the confusion is due to an 8th century scribal error. Some Celtic scholars accept that this was indeed the case.
Ninian was known for his miracles, among them curing a Chieftain of blindness. Other stories of healing and miraculous deeds include his punishment and cure of King Tudvael, the acquittal of a priest accused of fornication, the providential growth of leeks, the miraculous umbrella which saved his book from the rain, cures of the blind, leprous and malformed and, after his death, many cures associated with a visit to his grave. Reports of these miracles led to many conversions.
The monastery Ninian founded at Whithorn became famous as a school of monasticism within a century of his death. It is also known as "The Great Monastery," maintaining the flame of St. Martin of Tours' spiritual lineage with its ascetical training and mystical aspirations. His missionary foundation helped Christianity to grow in strength, therefore he is called the first Apostle of Christianity in Scotland. His church and shrine at Whithorn became a center of pilgrimage , and King James IV of Scotland was said to be a regular visitor. Today the Cathedral is in ruins, but pilgrimages are still made to Whithorn and St. Ninian's cave, to which it is said he retired when he needed peace to meditate and pray. Although the body of St. Ninian was buried in the church at Whithorn (Wigtownshire), no relics are now known to exist.
Ninian's feast day is celebrated on September 16.
St. Ninian Cross
St. Ninian Collect
O God, by the preaching of your blessed servant and bishop Ninian you caused the light of the Gospel to shine in the land of Britain: Grant, we pray, that having his life and labors in remembrance we may show our thankfulness by following the example of his zeal and patience; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Note on St. Ninian's top image: during demolition of part of the ruined Old Parish Church of St Congan (Turriff, Aberdeenshire) in 1861, workmen discovered this wall-painting. Although the original could not be saved, during the few days it survived a detailed record was made of it, and the Aberdeen lithographer James Gibb was able to make a watercolour copy. It is a rare example of the decoration which once enlivened the walls of medieval churches, much of which was destroyed during the religious disturbances of the 16th and 17th centuries. (Source: The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland)