Throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, as well as other parts of the globe, the name of “St. Patrick” is widely known. Millions and millions of people observe March 17th as “St. Patrick’s Day” by a variety of traditions. Some of the more common ways in which people commemorate St. Patrick’s Day is through wearing green clothing, marching in parades, eating corned beef and cabbage, claiming Irish heritage [at least for that one day], drinking beer [that might have been tinted green], or wearing T-shirts or jewelry that have been decorated with shamrocks or leprechauns.
     The question is: Was St. Patrick a real person, or was he imaginary? If he really existed, did he have anything to do with shamrocks, leprechauns, good luck or hidden pots of gold? When did he live and what did he do that made him famous? Did he really drive all the snakes out of Ireland? Was Patrick a Catholic? Exactly who was St. Patrick?
     The fact is that Patrick truly was a real, historical man who lived about 1600 years ago. However, Patrick had nothing whatsoever to do with leprechauns or shamrocks. ‘Saint’ Patrick was most definitely not a Roman Catholic. [By the way, there never were any snakes in Ireland to begin with.]

The Real St. Patrick

     Patrick’s birth name was Maewyn Succat. He was born in southern Scotland in about 390 AD. His father, Calpurnius, was a deacon in the Celtic church. Calpurnius was a Roman citizen with a minor political office that was similar to a present day city councilman. Succat’s grandfather was an Elder of the church. Maewyn Succat’s Roman name was Patricius – and we know him as Patrick.
     At age 15 he was kidnapped by Irish pirates, and taken to Ireland and made a slave. For six years Maewyn Succat was a slave who tended herds. While he was a slave, he called upon the LORD to deliver him from bondage. Eventually, Succat escaped with some traders and went to Gaul [modern day France].
     While in Gaul he studied at least one center of the primitive church. There he earnestly learned the Bible and doctrine, and was eventually ordained into the ministry.
     Southern Gaul was a region in which the primitive or original church flourished, beginning during the years while the original Apostles still lived. The Galatians to whom Paul wrote his famous epistle were most probably a community of saints who lived in southern Gaul [also known as Galatia]. Tradition holds that Joseph of Arimathea [believed to have been an uncle of Jesus], along with some of Jesus’ family, as well as some other disciples established the first Christian colony in what is now France. It is believed that the apostle Phillip became the spiritual leader of the church in Gaul.
    At about age 30, Patrick felt the urge to return to Ireland, to minister the gospel to the Druids. Along with a few dozen others, he made the journey. In Ireland Patrick shared the gospel with the heathen, and strengthened the faith of the saints who were already living there. Tradition says that he made it a point to share the gospel with his former captor. Patrick established many congregations throughout Ireland.

The Celtic Church

     Patrick was not the first to take the gospel to Ireland. There were a few congregations of the church already in existence by the second century. They had spread there from England and Scotland. The doctrine and practices of church among the Celtic people of Scotland and Ireland is very familiar to us. They kept the weekly Sabbath on the seventh day of the week, from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday. They also observed the annual holy days or feasts that are commanded in the Torah [the first 5 books of the Bible]. The Celtic church did not baptize infants or small children, but only those who had come to the knowledge of the gospel and repented of their sins. They practiced baptism by full immersion. They laid hands on the sick for healing, and the other ordinances of the gospel. They observed the law of clean and unclean meats. They conscientiously kept the Ten Commandments.
     Patrick was also a Sabbath-keeper. The congregations that he established kept the Sabbath, the feasts, and the Ten Commandments. The Celtic church had a book of laws called the Liber ex Lege Moisi, which contained the Ten Commandments, and selections from the various laws contained in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
     Maewyn Succat Patrick established churches that kept Sabbath - not Sunday that the Catholics promoted. Church members during the first few centuries in Scotland, Ireland, and some of England, were very staunch commandment-keepers.
     In fact, when the Catholics did first send emissaries into Ireland [which was not until nearly 600 AD], the members of the churches that had originally been established by Patrick refused to associate with them! They considered the members of the Roman church pagans and apostates, and would have nothing to do with their teachings. The Roman church leaders promoted and practiced very strange doctrines. They honored Sunday instead of Sabbath. They baptized infants. They baptized by sprinkling instead of immersion. The ministers wore robes, and they had offices within the ministry that were not Scriptural. The Roman Church was heavily intermingled with politics and the affairs of state.
     The Celts could not understand why the others chose to obey the doctrines of the Pope instead of the teachings of the Bible. The Catholic priests and bishops dressed lavishly and acted as if they were royalty, whereas the Celtic ministers were plain and common. The Roman church observed strange holidays that they had borrowed from the heathen nations. They almost completely ignored the Old Testament, considering that its laws had been done away with. The Celtic church members could not eat with the Roman Catholics, because they ate unclean meats.

The Invention of St. Patrick

     There was enormous resistance to the establishment of the Catholic Church in Scotland and Ireland. It took literally hundreds of years and many military battles before the Sabbath-keeping Irish and Scots were mostly wiped out by papal-backed armies.
     One of the strategies the Catholic Church was used to gain popularity was the re-invention of Patrick. He became “Saint Patrick”, and various stories were made up about his history and ministry. He had been  such a popular figure among the Irish members of the Celtic Church that the Catholics eventually decided to claim him as their own!  For example, they said that he used the shamrock to teach the concept of the Trinity – a doctrine which Patrick never taught. They said that he drove the snakes out of Ireland, and that shamrocks sprouted from his body when he died! {The Catholic Church treated Columba, a very famous commandment-keeping Scottish missionary, the same way – creating fables about him and making it appear as if he had been Catholic.}
     St. Patrick’s Day became popular in the United States in the middle 1800s. Irish immigrants celebrated and paraded through the streets of some cities on March 17th [which might have been the day on which Patrick died]. St. Patrick’s Day became a time of showing Irish pride. The Irish immigrants were treated very badly, and St. Patrick’s Day was a time of being proud of one’s heritage. The leprechauns were part of Irish pagan mythology. Corned beef and cabbage and potatoes were a commonplace meal among the poor class of Irish. The celebration of St. Patrick’s Day in America is, in fact, done on a much grander scale than it is in Ireland, with over 100 major U.S. cities holding parades.
     The origin of the custom of wearing something green for St. Patrick’s Day? It was invented in the United States – not in Ireland! And the custom of getting pinched if you aren’t wearing something green? That one started with American school children.

Should We Celebrate?

     It is good for us to fondly remember those who have been the valiant prophets, missionaries, ministers, and saints who have gone before us in centuries past. From time to time we ought to consider the lives of those who heroically served the Messiah by dedicating their hearts and their lives to him, often in the face of persecution.
     Maewyn Succat Patrick was one of those long ago who faithfully shared the gospel message with thousands of people. We can find encouragement in his example of missionary zeal. We also feel a sense of camaraderie with him, as a faithful commandment-keeper.
     Ought we to participate in St. Patrick’s Day with leprechaun buttons, green beer, green  fingernails, shamrocks on cupcakes, or by pretending to be Irish? Certainly those who have covenanted to observe the Commandments of the Covenant ought not! We appreciate the men and women of God who have gone before us, but we do not hold parades or parties or decorate in their honor!
     We should certainly not remember Patrick in the way the world does. But we should  always be alert for opportunities to share the importance of commandment-keeping with others on that day, by telling them the story of the real St. Patrick.


David Bruce Clark
Lion of God Ministries
PO Box 33 Oak Grove MO 64075
www.lionofgod.com