St. Patrick may be thought of almost universally as a Roman Catholic figure, but a church in Grevena, in northern Greece, has always celebrated Ireland’s beloved patron saint.
While revelers in Irish pubs in Athens, Thessaloniki and elsewhere paint the town green with Guinness, while listening to lively Celtic music, others stay true to the day’s religious roots.
The Greek Orthodox congregation in Grevena celebrates the Welsh-born saint’s mission to bring the Gospels to the Irish on his feast day every year, and an icon of the famous holy man is on display in the church there every March 17th.
Patrick is usually thought of as a Latin figure, but the Grevena priest declares “Sainthood does not have national barriers.”
“Patrick is not Greek, but he is a saint and a child of God,” he added.
The Greek-Irish Society arranges a variety of celebrations around Greece, including concerts, parties, and receptions. In major cities like Athens, many local tavernas as well as Irish pubs offer traditional Irish fare, green beer, and music.
Although Patrick is usually associated with the Catholic Church — and is also credited with banishing all of Ireland’s snakes — he is also an Orthodox saint because he lived and performed his great missionary work when what later became the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches were one united church.
Patrick was born circa 385 AD and died on March 17, 460/461 AD, putting him unquestionably in the unified Christian church, which was later divided by 1054’s Great Schism.
A recent biography on Patrick shows a late fourth-century date for the saint is not impossible. According to tradition dating from the early Middle Ages, Patrick was the first bishop of Armagh and Primate of Ireland, and is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland, converting a pagan society in the process. He has been generally so regarded ever since, despite evidence of some earlier Christian presence.
According to Patrick’s autobiographical Confessio, when he was about sixteen, he was captured by Irish pirates from his home in Britain and taken as a slave to Ireland. He writes that he lived there for six years as an animal herder before escaping and returning to his family.
After becoming a cleric, he returned to spread Christianity in northern and western Ireland. In later life, he served as a bishop, but little is known about where he worked. By the seventh century, he had already come to be revered as the patron saint of Ireland.
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in many places on March 17, typically with a parade and lots of other festivities.
In Irish cities like Dublin, Belfast, and Derry, the annual celebrations are a big deal. The first Parade actually took place in Boston, Massachusetts, back in 1737; the city is known for its high percentage of residents who claim Irish ancestry.
