St Martin de Tours - Grouville Parish Church
Our church is dedicated to St Martin of Tours. He has been called “the Soldier Saint” and you will soon see why. His Saint’s day is 11th November, a date that he shares with Remembrance Day. It is an intriguing link! As you read this article, hold a certain question in the back of your mind: “Who is the patron saint of soldiers?”
Martin was born in about 316AD in the town of Sabaria in a region called Pannonia. That is now Hungary – at that time it was part of the Roman Empire. Martin’s parents were pagans, and his father named him after Mars, the god of war. His father was a soldier in the Roman army – a soldier who was rising through the ranks and becoming something of a veteran. He became an officer, a Tribune, and the family moved to Italy. Although his parents were pagans, Martin, of his own will, started to learn about the Christian faith. At the age of 10 he became a catechumen (novice), but since he was not baptised he was not yet technically a Christian. At the age of 15 he was conscripted into the army. It was against his will but, by law, as the son of a veteran, he had to join the army. He had no wish to be a soldier and it was not in keeping with his character. His biography, written by his friend Sulpicius Severus, says that Martin was of a very mild and genial disposition from early years.
At the age of 18 came the incident that was to change his life – the story that has been repeated more than any other about St Martin (see our north chapel window.) During a bitterly cold winter, outside the city of Amiens, Martin came upon a near-naked beggar at the city gate. Martin had nothing with him except his military gear, so he took off his cloak, cut it in two with his sword, and gave one half to the beggar. At that time a soldier’s uniform belonged half to Caesar and half to the individual. Martin could not give away what did not belong to him. That night Martin had a dream. He saw Jesus Christ wearing the half of the cloak that had been given to the beggar. It proved to be a turning point in Martin’s life. The biography says that he hurried to be baptised and became a Christian. He now wanted to leave the army, but it did not happen immediately. His chance came at the age of 20.
Quoting from the biography: “The barbarians were invading the Gallic provinces. Assembling an army, Emperor Julian prepared to distribute a bonus to his troops. The men were called up in the customary manner, one by one, until Martin’s turn came. He recognised the moment as a suitable time to ask for his discharge, and he did not think it would be honest for him to accept the bonus when he did not intend to fight. He said to Caesar ‘I have fought for you up to this point. Now let me fight for God. As for your bonus, let someone who is going to join the battle receive it. I am a soldier of Christ: combat is not permitted me.’ The emperor exploded with rage and called Martin a coward. Martin said, ‘If my act is set down to cowardice rather than faith, tomorrow I shall stand unarmed before our lines. In the name of the Lord Jesus and protected only by the sign of the cross, without shield or helmet, I shall penetrate the enemy’s ranks and not be afraid.’” The emperor had Martin put under guard, to make sure he would make good his promise. But early next day the enemy sent messengers to sue for peace, handing themselves over to the Romans. As the biography puts it: “From this can anyone doubt that the victory was due to the blessed Martin!”
Now there was no war to fight, so Martin got his discharge. He wanted to pursue his vocation in solitude and St Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, gave him a piece of land for a hermitage at Ligugé, nears Tours. Martin wanted to live as a hermit but he was soon joined by others. He taught them as his disciples and together they founded the first monastery in Western Europe. Martin began a campaign of evangelism and the whole area was converted from paganism to Christianity. He has been called the “Apostle of the Gauls”. In 371AD the people of Tours called for Martin to be their bishop. So he was made Bishop of Tours, and remained so until his death.
He died at the age of about 80, on 8th November in the year 397, at Candes (now Candes-Saint-Martin, on the Loire). He was buried on 11th November at Tours. Due to his reputation, he was one of the most-loved saints of the Middle Ages. His shrine in Tours became a major point of pilgrimage – in the end it was a great basilica, but it was then destroyed in the French Revolution. Many would claim that Martin is the patron saint of France, although other names are also put forward. Certainly a very large number of churches in France are dedicated to St Martin. Not only in France but also in England. The oldest existing church in England (just outside Canterbury) is dedicated to St Martin. And of course here in Jersey we have St Martin le Vieux and St Martin de Gouray, as well as St Martin de Grouville. One theory is that in earlier times, the whole of the east of the island was dedicated to St Martin – the part of Jersey closest to France.
But who is the patron saint of soldiers? Some say St George, some, St Joan of Arc, but the more you read about him, the more you will be persuaded that it is St Martin. Some say St George is the patron saint of the cavalry, and St Joan of Arc is the patron saint of servicewomen, while St Martin is the patron saint of the infantry. It seems that the Italian infantry was the first to seek the formal appointment of Martin as their patron. This was granted by Pope Pius XII. Within a year Martin was also declared patron saint of the French infantry.
Not surprisingly, Martin is also the patron saint of beggars and of the poor. In the Netherlands, 11th November is known as “beggars’ day” and children go from house to house acting as beggars (actually asking for sweets). Elsewhere, for example in Germany, children hold processions by lantern light on St Martin’s day. It is a day that was, for centuries, a major landmark in the European calendar.
Other odds and ends. Did you know that Martin Luther was named after St Martin – having been baptised on 11th November 1483? The symbol for St Martin is the goose – in artistic depictions of Martin, you will often see a goose included somewhere (see north chapel window). 11th November is during the migration of geese and, when fat geese are in their prime, goose is the traditional food eaten on St Martin’s day. 11th November falls shortly after the grape harvest, at the time when the new wine is first drawn off the lees and tasted. St Martin is the patron saint of wine-makers! As for clothing, Martin is the patron saint of weavers and leather-workers, of tailors, hatters and shoe-makers. It is rather curious for those in the clothing industry – their patron is someone who cut his clothing in two – or, rather, someone for whom the value of his clothing was as nothing compared to the needs of a poor beggar.
What happened to that cloak? The surviving portion became one of the most sacred religious relics of the time. Kings going into battle would have it marched out in front of them, thinking it would assure them of victory! When not in use, the cloak was kept at a certain shrine, looked after by an attendant. The Latin word for that type of cloak is the word cappella. The French word is chape. The shrine where it was kept came to be called a chappelle – and the attendant was a chapelain. Our English words “chapel” and “chaplain” are derived from Martin’s famous cappella!
Kept until last, is an item that you may find very moving. It is called Remembrance Day in the British Commonwealth, Armistice Day in France, Poppy Day in southern Africa, and Veterans’ Day in America – 11th November, when the Great War came to an end. Why did they choose to sign the armistice on that day?
Admittedly, war was coming to an end around then – September/October 1918 – with different parties calling for an armistice – but why did they choose 11th November specifically? Here is a quotation from an article on Armistice Day:
“WWI came to an end by an armistice arranged to occur at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918. The date and time, selected at a point in history when memories ran much longer, represented a compliment to St. Martin, patron saint of soldiers, and thus a tribute to the fighting men of both sides.”
Remembrance Day is on 11th November because they chose to end hostilities on St Martin’s Day!
Collect for St Martin
(The special prayer for St Martin’s Day)
God all powerful,
who called Martin from the armies of this world
to be a faithful soldier of Christ:
give us grace to follow him
in his love and compassion for the needy,
and enable your Church to claim for all people
their inheritance as children of God;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
AMEN
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