Ss. Auxilius, Isserninus, and Secundius of Ireland

6 December


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5th century. Fellow workers under Saint Patrick in the evangelization of Ireland. The decree signed by the four, reminding the Irish clergy that appeals from the judgement of Armagh may be made to Rome, is still extant (Benedictines).

This is one of the canons of the so-called First Synod of Patrick, which contains decrees to the clergy by bishops Patricius, Auxlius, and Iserninus. It can be found in The Irish Penitentials. Ed. Ludwig Bieler, with an appendix by David Binchy. Dublin: The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1963, and perhaps also John T. McNeill and Helena M. Gamer, Medieval Handbooks of Penance. New York: Columbia University Press, 1938.

I don't have either text on hand and so can't compare it to the regulations at the end of the Liber Angeli in the Book of Armagh. These are primarily concerned with Armagh's pre-eminence in the Irish church, but the last declares that if Armagh can't solve something, the matter is to be referred to Rome. It can be found in Bieler. The Patrician Texts in the Book of Armagh. Scriptores Latini Hiberniae. Dublin: The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1979, pp. 188-191 (facing pages in Latin and English):

"Further, any exceptional difficulty which may arise, (the law on which) is unknown to all the judges of the Irish people, is by law to be referred to the see of the archbishop of the Irish, that is (the see) of Patrick, for examination by its bishop; if, however, such a suit in the said litigation cannot easily be decided there by wise men, we decree that it is to be sent to the apostolic see, that is, to the see of Peter the apostle, who has authority over the city of Rome*. These are (the men) who have made this decree, that is, Auxilius, Patrick, Secundinus, Benignus; after the death of the holy Patrick his disciples have frequently copied his books."

* It is interesting that while Rome is obviously thought of as an appellate court, the Irish Canons reference the see of Peter as having authority over the city of Rome, and not the whole world



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