S. TEILO, B. OF LLANDAFF.
(ABOUT A.D. 560.)
[Patron of Llandaff. His name occurs in the Salisbury Martyrology of Wytford, and in the Anglican Mart. of John Wilson, who placed him on Dec. 26th, and was followed by Ferrarius. The correct day is, however, certainly Feb. 9th. He is recorded in the Welsh triads as one of the three canonized Saints of Britain; the two others are S. David and S. Cadoc. Authorities:—The Life, by Galfredus, of Llandaff (circ. 1120); another anonymous life in Capgrave; the Regestum Landavense; and the Liber Landavensis.]
S. Teilo or Theliav was descended from a noble British stock. His father's name was Enlleu, son of Hydwn Dwn, and the place of his birth was Eccluis Cunnian, near Tenby. From his infancy he bent his neck beneath the gentle yoke of Christ, and, despising worldly vanities, was given to prayer and alms-deeds. He studied first under S. Dubricius, by whose assistance he attained great proficiency in the knowledge of the Scriptures; his next instructor was Paulinus, under whom he pursued the same study, and in whose school he was the associate of S. David. Under the patronage of Dubricius he opened a college, at Llandaff, which was called Bangor Deilo, or the great choir of Teilo; and his settlement at that place may serve to account for his appointment to fill the See of Llandaff upon the retirement of his patron to the Isle of Bardsey. The idea that he was made bishop of Llandaff at the time S. Dubricius was raised to the Archbishopric of Caerleon, is irreconcilable with chronology. The original diocese governed by S. Teilo, as ascertained by the absence of churches founded by S. David, was co-extensive with the ancient lordships of Glamorgan, containing the present rural deaneries of Croneath, Llandaff, and Newport. How long he continued to preside over this limited district is uncertain; but, in the reign of Maelgwn Cwynedd, the Yellow Plague desolated the Principality. Upon this occasion S. Teilo, with several others, retired to Cornwall, and thence into Brittany, where he was honourably received by S. Samson, Bishop of Dol. After he had remained seven years and as many months in Brittany, he returned, with several of his disciples, to his native country, and on his arrival was elected to the Archbishopric of Menevia, vacant by the death of Cynog. Like S. David, he, however, retained a predilection for the seat of his original bishopric, and, appointing Ismael to the situation of Bishop of Menevia, he removed the archbishopric to Llandaff. In order to maintain his title to the primacy undisturbed, he appears to have kept under his immediate government the whole of the diocese held before by S. David, with the exception of the part north of the river Tivy, which was henceforth attached to the diocese of Llanbadarn.
There is a story told of his having made a pilgrimage, before all this, to the Holy Land, in company with S. David and S. Padarn, and of their having received episcopal consecration from the Patriarch of Jerusalem; but it is probable that this was a story, borrowed by Giraldus from one of the lost Triads, and was invented to establish the independence of the Welsh bishops of the See of Rome.
In the Triads, S. Teilo is called one of the Three Blessed Visitors to the Isle of Britain, and he is associated with SS. David and Padarn. "They were so called," says the Triad, "because they went as guests to the houses of the noble, the plebeian, the native, and the stranger, without accepting either fee or reward, or victuals, or drink; but what they did was to teach the faith in Christ to every one without payment or thanks. Besides which, they gave to the poor and needy, gifts of their gold and silver, their raiment and provisions." His companions, or pupils, playing on his name, compared it to Helios, which, in Greek, means the sun; because, by his heavenly doctrine and example, he illumined the Church in South Wales, and warmed the hearts of the faithful. Twelve churches in the diocese of S. David's, and six in that of Llandaff, claim to have been founded by S. Teilo.[29]
A curious, late, and utterly worthless story, save as an example of the manner in which the popular tongue forges marvels, is related of his relics. At his death, three priests of different parishes were present, one from Llandaff, where he had been bishop; one of Llandeilo Fawr, where he died; and one of Penaly, near Tenby, where his ancestors had been buried. Each wished to claim the body for his church. The contention grew sharp between them, and was only terminated by the oldest of the three exhorting his brethren to leave the decision to God. Then they retired to rest, and, next morning, when they entered the room where the dead saint lay, lo! his one body had become three, perfectly identical in every particular, and each priest was able to carry off a S. Teilo to his own church. The origin of this foolish story is self-evident. It is an attempt to account, by a miracle, for the existence, in three places, of bodies of S. Teilo; a portion of his relics being probably preserved in each of these churches, and the popular tongue having magnified each portion into an entire body.
S. SABINE, B. OF CANOSI.
(ABOUT A.D. 566.)
[There is great uncertainty whether there were one or two bishops of Canosi of this name, as it is impossible to fit all that is recorded of the Acts of S. Sabine into the life of one man; as a S. Sabine of Canosi was certainly present, in 493, at the dedication of the Church of S. Michael, on Mount Gargano; and a S. Sabine of Canosi is mentioned as meeting Totila, K. of the Goths, in 549, fifty-six years after. That there were two is, therefore, most probable, the name being that of the great and wide-spread Sabine family, occurs repeatedly among the bishops and saints of Italy, and has led to much confusion. It is impossible to distinguish, from the confused Acts of S. Sabine of Canosi, which events belong to the first, and which to the second, bishop of that name. S. Sabine is the second patron of Canosi, and also of Bari, after S. Nicolas. His life was written by an anonymous writer of the eight century.]
This saint belonged to a noble family at Canosi, in the present arch-diocese of Bari, in Italy. He was elected to the see of his native city, and distinguished himself by his zeal in building and adorning churches, as also by his learning. He was one of the prelates present at the consecration of the Church of S. Michael, on the scene of the apparition of the archangel, on Monte Gargano, journeying thither in company with the blessed Roger of Canosi. And as the sun was hot in the heavens, and they fainted with the burning of its rays, Sabine raised his eyes to heaven, and prayed that a cool breeze might spring up and fan their fevered brows. But his prayer was heard and answered in other sort, for a great eagle came between the travellers and the sun, and floated over their heads with wings expanded, accompanying them, so that they walked on in the shadow. Now, Sabine's ardour in prosecuting his studies raised the suspicion of the multitude, and they denounced him as addicted to the arts of magic; so this report came to the ears of the Pope, and he summoned him to Rome, to clear his character from the aspersion cast upon it. Then Sabine hasted and went to Rome, and arrived in the evening, and was lodged in the palace of the Holy Father, who, prejudiced against him, received him coldly, and harshly bade him not set foot outside the house till his case were heard. And at midnight, a strange, unearthly music resounded through the courts, and men started from sleep to listen. Then they were aware of chanting, as of a multitude, and they rose, and the Pope also, and they followed the sound, and till they came to the door of the hall in which the Bishop of Canosi lay. And beneath the door was a streak of dazzling light. Then they burst in, and beheld the accused prelate standing in a blaze of heavenly radiance, amidst angel forms, chanting the Psalms of David. So the Pope cast himself at his feet, and acknowledged his complete innocence.
Now, on his way home, the holy bishop doubtless visited S. Benedict, at Monte Cassino, for between them there existed a warm friendship; and we find that S. Placidus, the loved disciple of Benedict, often visited and was entertained by the Bishop of Canosi, for the love he bare to the great Patriarch of the Monks of the West.