The Other View

A Protestant Patrick?

By Roy Garland

A significant reluctance exists among both nominal and active Protestants/unionists in Northern Ireland in regard to St Patrick. Despite this, if my experience is anything to go by, many unionists find Irishness in general and Patrick in particular, more congenial when they are abroad.

There has recently been attempts by a few unionist politicians to rectify this by claiming that Patrick was a Protestant, and presumably that his memory should be celebrated. There is also an Orange Lodge dedicated to Patrick's memory, as well as the St Patrick's Heritage Association with Orangemen among it's prominent spokesmen. There was a time when scholars were divided in their attempts to demonstrate that either the Protestant Church of Ireland or the Roman Catholic Church, was the true inheritor of Patrick, rather than both.

Those days are rightly gone. Patrick belongs to us all, and I would include non-Christians in the 'all', because he is part of our past. Some have detected in Patrick elements both of the Catholic, in the sense of universal, and the Protestant in the sense of being evangelical. Patrick in his writings displays humility, weakness, and what some students have referred to as 'constant whinging'. He was uneducated compared to his peers, yet because of his dedicated service, he made a lasting impact on the people of this island to this day.

Patrick's life ought to be remembered and celebrated with pride especially by unionists and Protestants. Firstly, and I suppose most obviously, Patrick was a Briton. He was British in the sense that he came from the west coast of Roman Britain. His was a British church, and Patrick could not have known many of the teachings and practices that today are peculiarly Catholic. His message was based on his biblical understanding. He was a man of one book, and was so steeped in the scriptures, that verses flow from him almost unconsciously as he writes.

He was not actually Protestant, but neither was he Catholic in any sense that we would recognise today. Those divisions did not exist in his day. After coming to Ireland as a young slave from Britain, and then escaping, he determined to return even against the wishes of his home church. He displayed an apparent willingness to recklessly place himself in danger on a remote 5th century island, because he heard in a dream, the call of the Irish. He interpreted the Bible after his own fashion, and generally displayed something that could be seen as radically Protestant. Most Protestants, and particularly those enslaved to fundamentalist orthodoxies, have lost this radical edge in their commitment to supposedly orthodox opinions.

Protestants should celebrate Patrick, and if we take him seriously he will challenge our complacency. Catholics likewise will find in Patrick an inspiration and perhaps an enigma as well as a comfort. He was obsessed with his sense of inadequacy, yet could display fierce anger and fearlessness when condemning the ruthless Coroticus, a nominally Christian bandit who murdered newly baptised converts, or sold them into slavery and brothels. He demanded that no Christian would support Coroticus or his band, yet held out the hope of forgiveness. He faced death and enslavement on a daily basis and left an indelible mark on this land that will never be obliterated.

An English translation of Patrick's writings is available in booklet form by Joseph Duffy entitled, 'Saint Patrick Writes' from Diocesan Resource Centre Bookshop Donegal Street Belfast.

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