From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   July 8th - Sts. Kilian, Colman, and Totnan, Martyrs   
      
   Kilian (Killion, Killian, Kilian) was born to noble parents in approximately   
   the year 640. Reportedly died on July 8, 689. Some accounts give his   
   birthplace in Ireland as Mullagh, County Cavan. Other sources claim a   
   birthplace in Scotland. Matters are further confused by the fact that   
   medieval records sometimes used Celtic place names interchangeably,   
   especially in the use of the word Scotland to also mean parts of Ireland.   
      
   In his childhood Kilian was distinguished for piety and love of study, and   
   embraced the monastic life while still a young man. Some records state that   
   Kilian served as a monk in the celebrated monastery at Hy, Hy being an early   
   name for what was later known as Iona. Medieval Scottish historian   
   Trithemius also states that Kilian was one of the abbots of Hy, but few   
   other sources support this assertion. There are conflicting accounts about   
   when Kilian was consecrated bishop; one version claims he was raised to the   
   purple before leaving his native land, a later source says his consecration   
   occurs during his famous sojourn in Rome. In accordance with the custom then   
   prevailing in the Irish Church, he was assigned to no particular diocese,   
   but was a district bishop or Travelling bishop.   
      
   One day he made up his mind to be a missionary, left his native country with   
   eleven companions, and set out for Europe. They travelled through Gaul,   
   arrived at Aschaffenburg on the Rhine and then sailed up to the River Main   
   and Würzburg. The castle of Würzburg was at that time inhabited by the   
   Frankish Duke Gosbert (Gospert, Gozbert), who was, like his people, still   
   pagan. Kilian resolved to preach the Gospel here, but first journeyed with   
   his companions to receive guidance from the pope. Kilian and his companions   
   arrived in Rome in the autumn of 686, expecting to receive his missionary   
   faculties from Pope John V, but John V had died and had been succeeded by   
   Pope Conon. Fortunately the trip was not in vain: Kilian and his companions   
   were granted permission from Conon to pursue their evangelistic mission.   
      
   On the return from Rome, the original group separated. St. Kilian came back   
   to Würzburg with two companions, the priest Colman (Coloman, Colonat) and   
   the deacon Totnan. The other nine Travellers carried out their missionary   
   work in other areas. Kilian took Wurzburg as the base of his activity, which   
   also extended over an ever-increasing area in East Franconia and Thuringia.   
   He converted Duke Gosbert to Christianity, along with a large number of his   
   subjects. The account of the baptism of Gosbert in a large wooden tub has   
   been recorded by ancient sources.   
      
   Kilian confronted the ruling class on matters of Christian ethics and Roman   
   Catholic canon law, and these acts of virtue and character were ultimately   
   responsible for his death. Like most Irish missionaries, the trio of Kilian,   
   Colman and Totman spoke out fearlessly against any breach of faith or   
   morals. Concerning the cause of the martyrdom of the three missionaries,   
   early documents supply the following information: After Duke Gosbert became   
   a Christian, Kilian openly rebuked him for his irregular marriage to his   
   brother's widow. St. Kilian explained to him that his marriage with his   
   brother's widow Geilana was unlawful under the Christian dispensation, and   
   Gosbert promised to separate from her.   
      
   When Geilana learned that Gosbert was planning to leave her because their   
   marriage was forbidden by the Church, she plotted fatal vengeance against   
   the saint. Legend says she paid the castle cook and the castle warden to do   
   the killing while Duke Gosbert was away on a military expedition. Kilian,   
   Colman and Totman were beheaded, and their corpses were buried at the scene   
   of the crime together with all their sacred vessels, vestments, and holy   
   writings. Although opinions vary as to the exact year, the date of this   
   event is generally held to have happened on 8 July. The just punishment for   
   this atrocity was not long in coming. After the Duke's return, Geilana at   
   first denied any knowledge of what had become of the missionaries; one of   
   the murderers went mad, confessed his crime, and both murderers were   
   stricken by a miserable death. Geilana was said to be possessed by a demon   
   and went insane.   
      
   After Killian's death, a strong cultus was immediately established in   
   Germany and spread as far as Vienna, Austria, and Ireland. Even today, the   
   Kilianfest is one of the better known festivals of the German peoples,   
   including German-Americans. Many pre-Reformation cathedrals in Germany and   
   Austria were dedicated in honor of Kilian, pre-eminent among them the   
   cathedral at Würzburg, since that is the place of his martyrdom. A New   
   Testament belonging to St. Kilian was preserved among the treasures of   
   Würzburg Cathedral until 1803, and since then has been in the university   
   library. This same Bible is exposed on the high altar of that cathedral on   
   his feast day, which is celebrated each year with great solemnity, including   
   a mystery play of the events of his life.   
      
   Some historians doubt the authenticity of the account of Kilian's journey to   
   Rome, and also call into question the detailed descriptions of the cause and   
   immediate circumstances of the martyrdom of the three missionaries. Some say   
   that the Franks dwelling on the middle Main were no longer a pagan people   
   and Kilian's labors with respect to that people were not those of a   
   missionary, strictly speaking. However, his missionary labors elsewhere   
   throughout Eastern Franconia and the central fact of his martyrdom are   
   accepted without question by all sources. Many of the Celtic saints who left   
   the islands for missionary work in other parts of the world are no longer   
   recognized as "Celtic". Kilian, Colman, and Totman are rare exceptions to   
   this in that the Irish themselves continue to show veneration for these   
   expatriates, rather than their usual disinterest. All accounts agree that   
   Kilian came from Ireland to preach the Gospel of Christ and met death   
   because of his faith. Therefore, Saint Kilian deserves to be remembered with   
   the host of other noted missionaries who carried the light of Christianity   
   from the Celtic lands to Europe and throughout the then-known world.   
      
   Concerning the form of the name "Kilian" the following seems to be well   
   established. Irish names ending in an, iane, ene are often nicknames. As we   
   have seen with other saints, the prefix and suffix cell, cill and celle   
   signify a person who lived in the cell of a monastery, a church, or a   
   self-made hermitage. As a result, variations on the names Cellan and Cillene   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)