| Saint Regulus | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Patras | |
| Honored in | Scotland (unverified) |
| Major shrine | The Tower of St. Regulus |
| Feast | October 17 |
Saint Regulus or Saint Rule (Old Gaelic: Riagal) was a monk[1] of Patras who, in the fourth century, according to a Scottish legend that became current during the twelfth century (National Archives of Scotland), fled to Scotland with the bones of Saint Andrew, and deposited them at St Andrews. His feast day in the Aberdeen Breviary is October 17.
Saint Regulus[2] was galvanized into action by a visionary dream that Emperor Constantine had decided to remove Saint Andrew's relics from Patras to Constantinople.[3] Warned by an angel, he was to move as many bones as far away as he could to the 'ends of the earth' for safekeeping.
He was shipwrecked on the shore of Fife at the spot called Kilrymont, which is now St. Andrews, and was welcomed by a Pictish king, Hungus or Angus, who was actually of the eighth or ninth century. The monastery claimed to have three fingers of the saint's right hand, the upper bone of an arm, one kneecap, and one of his teeth. Within the grounds of the cathedral is the tower of St Regulus, which is all that remains of a late pre-Norman church.
The legend served to authenticate the apostle Andrew as patron saint of Scotland. "The Regulus legend was publicised by Scottish kings, nobles and churchmen from the 12th century onwards for political reasons. Scottish independence had come under threat from England since the late 11th century, and the Scottish Church was contesting a claim to primacy by the archbishop of York. In the medieval world precedence was important. By promoting the story of Saint Andrew's choice of Scotland in the 4th century, the Scots acquired a top-rank patron saint, a separate identity from England, and a date for the supposed foundation of the Scottish Church, predating the conversion of England and Ireland to Christianity by several centuries." (National Archives of Scotland)