Reflection
a reflection on St. Alban, first Marytr of Britain
My life as a Christian began, I suppose, when for several consecutive Easter Mondays in my late teenage years, I went, with my then girlfriend, on the St. Albans Diocesan Youth Pilgrimage. All the various groups of young people started from their hometowns and villages across the Diocese and walked from there into St. Albans. Our group stated from Wheathampstead, about 5 miles from St. Albans only about an hour and away. I believe that the furthest group from far north in the Diocese came from Sharnbrook Deanery and had actually begun their walk the previous day and camped en route!
Upon arrival in the grounds of the Abbey, close to the ruins of the Roman Verulamium, the various groups came together and formed up into a long procession into the Abbey itself. On one such occasion, a very hot day, one of our particular little group was the daughter of John Trillo who was the suffragan Bishop of Bedford. As the procession formed up we, mostly wearing very light casual clothes, began to voice our sympathy for the assembled clergy who were all superbly dressed in full clericals. “You don’t need to worry about my Dad,” loudly remarked his daughter, “He hasn’t got anything on underneath!” The services were always absolutely superb and very moving, both spiritually and literally as we continued to process round the Abbey singing as we all visited the Shrine to St. Alban.
Alban, the first Christian martyr in Britain, who died about 209 AD, was a local soldier in Verulamium who gave shelter to a priest and took his place to die in his stead. The great abbey stands on the site of his martyrdom and St Alban's shrine stands at the heart of the abbey today.
St. Bede, in his A History of the English Church and People, says,
“When these unbelieving Emperors were issuing savage edicts against all Christians, Alban, as yet a pagan, gave shelter to a Christian priest fleeing from his pursuers. And when he observed this man's unbroken activity of prayer and vigil, he was suddenly touched by the grace of God and began to follow the priest's example of faith and devotion. Gradually instructed by his teaching of salvation, Alban renounced the darkness of idolatry, and sincerely accepted Christ. But when the priest had lived in his house some days, word came to the ears of the evil ruler that Christ's confessor, whose place of martyrdom had not yet been appointed, lay hidden in Alban's house. Accordingly he gave orders to his soldiers to make a thorough search, and when they arrived at the martyr's house, holy Alban, wearing the priest's long cloak, at once surrendered himself in the place of his guest and teacher, and was led bound before the judge.
The judge ordered Alban to be flogged, but when he saw that no torture could break him or make him renounce the worship of Christ, he ordered his immediate decapitation.
Saint Alban suffered on the twenty-second day of June near the city of Verulamium. Here, when the peace of Christian times was restored, a beautiful church worthy of his martyrdom was built.”
I have much to be thankful for to Saint Alban and to the Diocese which bears his name by way of an introduction to the Christian Life. Close to the day upon which Alban is widely remembered across the Church will you now join with me in praying this Collect:
O God, who hallowed the Church in Britain by the blood of its first martyr St Alban: Grant that we who venerate his memory on earth, may, when our earthly course is run, be made fellow-citizens with him in heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.