www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology St. Eric's Day!

Yesterday I was in in St. Louis observing with Dr. Marcy Goldstein M.D. at the Plastic Surgery Clinic he works at. He was one of the first (and in the Midwest THE first) non-asian acupuncturists in America. He has been practicing acupuncture since 1973; I was born in 1976!

Anyway, yesterday was the Feast of St. Eric IX of Sweden; my Nameday!

http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/sainte29.htm

http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/159.html

http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=3168

Dear Dr. Eric,

Happy Nameday!

Odd that your patron saint was never formally canonized. Someone should have brought his case up to Pope John Paul II, he canonized so many saints. But then again, it's doubtful that there are many Catholics in present day Sweden. :rolleyes:

Zenovia

Dr. Eric, Christ is Risen!

Belated Many Years on your feastday.

In the Risen Christ,
Father Anthony+

Zenovia,

He was pre-canonization so he was made by popular acclaim. Don't the Eastern Orthodox do the same?

At the time there were many Swedish Catholics. Sweden remained Catholic until Luther.

Dr Eric, Christ is Risen!

Yes, the Orthodox also do the same. The Act of Glorification is the formal acclamation by the church now of the Saint being added to list of saints.

In the Risen Christ,
Father Anthony+

Dear Dr. Eric you said:

I say:

Actually we do make saints by popular acclaim, but I thought that after that, the Patriarch or a bishop would proclaim a person a saint officially.

Zenovia

St. John the Baptist (was Jewish, not Baptist), St. Anne, St. Joseph, St. Stephan and the Apostles were never formally canonized. Neither was St. Patrick. And yea.......?

Mike, Christ is Risen!

We can add all the Old Testament prophets and saints to your list, etc. I am not quite sure exactly when, but the formal Act of Glorification/Canonization did not come about probably until the later part of the first millineum. I know of some cases still were the saint will be declared by popular acclamation and veneration only to be confirmed much later on by the church formally.

In the Risen Christ,
Father Anthony+

Dear Mike C,

Father Anthony is right, there would have to be an act to formally proclaim a saint. All the saints you mentioned are listed as saints...which means someone had to list them as thus.

I believe that Dr. Eric should have done something to that effect...especially considering how many Saints were canonized by Pope John Paul II....SHAME ON YOU, Dr. Eric. You know your patron saint is not going to like you very much. :p

Just joking! I know it's a long,difficult, and costly process for someone to be canonized. Do you realize that Saint Joan of Arc was not proclaimed a saint until after the First World War. Now how many years was that?

Of course if Sweden was still Catholic...who knows?

Zenovia

Dear Father Anthony,

Ulric of Augsburg was the first Canonized saint by a Pope. It was 993 and the Pope was John XV.

http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintu02.htm

Dear Zenovia,
I doubt that anyone would listen to me if I tried to get him Canonized. Furthermore, I don't think it's necessary, all saints who were proclaimed that way are already in. A confusing point is that this still must have been a local thing with Saint Ulric as St. Eric died in 1161 as a Martyr.

Another interesting tidbit. I overheard on Catholic Answers that according to the language used (don't kill the messenger!) when the Orthodox become Catholic, (like I said, don't kill the messenger!) all Orthodox Saints will automatically become Catholic Saints!

Another article on Canonization:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02364b.htm

Charles I is the only person to be Canonized by the Church of England:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canonization

Also it wasn't until 1402 that St. Simon of Treves was Canonized by Benedict VIII. That was the second Papal Canonization, so I guess there was still time for synods to Canonize someone between the 1st and 2nd Canonizations.

Dr Eric, Christ is Risen!

We won't shoot the messenger , but I think I remember reading a post recently from either Alex (Orthodox Catholic), Father Deacon Diak or Incognitus that the Church of Rome allowed +Metropolitan Andrij to accept the Orthodox Saints in his church calendar. This was sometime in the early 20th century. You may want to ask them regarding this.

In the Risen Christ,
Father Anthony+

Saint Dr. Eric...hhhmmmmm

Yes I do recall reading about the reference to the Orthodox Calendar getting the Papal nod.

St. Eric IX of Sweden
Feastday: May 18

Eric IX of Sweden (or Erik the Lawgiver or Erik the Saint. In Swedish he is simply known as Erik den helige or Sankt Erik which translates as Erik the Holy and Saint Erik respectively) (c. 1120 � 1160) was a Swedish king between 1150 and 1160. Eric was an Upland lord, son of a lord Jedvard (Edward), due to which contemporary sources call him also Eric Jedvardson. He was a rival king, from 1150, to Sverker the Elder who had ascended the throne c 1130 and was murdered 1156, after which Eric was recognized in most or all provinces. Eric's reign ended when he was murdered in Uppsala. He's said to have been murdered by Emund Ulvbane, an assassin who was hired by people working for the Sverker dynasty, in order for them to regain the control of the kingdom, or alternatively by Magnus Henriksson, another claimant, who is said in some sources to have succeeded him briefly as king. People from Svealand recognized a miracle after Erik's death, since a fountain sprang from the earth where the king's head fell after being chopped off.

He would later be made a (regionally recognized) saint whose feast day is 18 May. The relic casket of Eric is on display in Uppsala cathedral (Uppsala domkyrka). The casket contains bones of a male, with traces of injury to the neck. Eric is the patron saint of Stockholm and depicted in the city's coat of arms. He had a nationalistic church policy. Sweden honored him as national (patron) saint, although Pope Alexander III forbade his cult 1172, when his son, king Knut Ericsson quarreled with the Swedish and Roman church. It was an important asset to Eric's family to have a saint in the ancestry. The pope used a pretext that Eric was a drunk who died as result of fight in a group of drunks.

Around 1155, he is said to have made an expedition to Southwestern Finland, with an English-born cleric Henry (who became Finnish regional saint St Henry the Bishop). Later, this small and probably inconclusive expedition has been labeled as a crusade and as the start of the Swedish dominion of Finland, although history research has brought evidence that no permanent dominion or administration was built in Finland at that time.

In order to strengthen his position as king, Eric succeeded to marry Christina Bjornsdatter, a Danish noblewoman, a granddaughter of king Inge I of Sweden. Christina's father was the Danish royal son Bj�rn Ironside Haraldsson and her mother was Catherine of Sweden, youngest daughter of King Inge.

Children:

Canute I of Sweden, King of Sweden 1167-1196.
Filip
Katarina Eriksdotter, married Nils Blake.
Margareta Eriksdotter, married Sverre I of Norway.

ICXC
NIKA

Pavel,

I have a long way to go before becoming a Saint! But I don't mind becoming one as long as I do the Lord's will!

You know even more about him than I do!!! As Zenovia said, shame on me!

I'm going to learn all I can about St. Paul to outdo you, Pavel!!! :p



My Children:

Dominic Ericsson
Mia Ericsdotter
Alys Ericsdotter
Justin Ericsson

Just a bit of trivia that surnames are still done that way in Iceland.

Just to put you off the scent a wee bit. Which St Pavel was that you were going to look up?

ICXC
NIKA