St Martin of Tours is not well known in the Orthodox Church, but as a saint of the undivided church he deserves to be remembered. His feast day of 11 November (or the nearest Sunday) is also observed as Remembrance Day, for remembering those killed in wars, since it was Armistice Day in the First World War.
Martin was a soldier, but when he became a Christian he became a conscientious objector, and resigned his commission. His commanding officer accused him of cowardice, and so he offered to stand, unarmed, between the opposing sides on the battlefield. The Western Confucian has blogged this, with a suitable picture.
Martin later became Bishop of Tours where he established one of the early instances of the parish system, with churches being established in rural villages, and priests being sent from the town to be responsible for their pastoral care.
1 Comment
12 November 2007 at 12:47 am
St Martin was the mentor of another of my favourite saint, St Ninian of Whithorn, the first missionary to what is now Scotland.