"First, Patrick wasn’t Irish. Patrick was born in Dumbarton, Scotland, where he was raised to the age of 16.
Secondly, Patrick wasn’t Catholic. Patrick’s father was a deacon and his grandfather a pastor in the very early Christian Church of Britain, which had no affiliation whatsoever to the Bishop of Rome.
When Patrick was 16 years old he was captured by human traffickers (pirates, essentially) and sold into slavery in Ireland, which had yet to be Christianized. He spent six years as a shepherd, during which time he came to a personal faith in Christ after reflecting upon his religious upbringing in the midst of the Irish Druid-paganism, and then escaped back to Scotland in about 411.
It was back in Scotland where he was trained for ministry, and then in his mid 40s, considered his slavery in Ireland to have been an act of Providence, and decided to return to the pagan nation as a missionary.
Patrick was intimately familiar with the complicated clan system of Ireland, and used that knowledge for the betterment of the Gospel. Among his first converts was his former slaveholder, a clan chief. He then won the clan itself to Christ. And then, clan after clan fell to the Cross.
Patrick was commissioned by his church in Britain, and not in Rome. In fact, as Dr. J. Lewis Smith points out in his 1924 book, “Patrick of Ireland: Not a Romanist,” there is not a shred of evidence out of 140 letters from Pope Leo the Great that he nor any other Pope was even aware of Patrick or the Gospel work being done for Christendom in Ireland. Likewise, there is no Irish history source that even comes close to alleging any link between Patrick and the Papacy.
Put plainly, any attempt to Catholicize Patrick by the church of Rome is pure fiction, made up by the Harlot Beast herself.
Our hero, Patrick, took at once to evangelizing Ireland with a pure and undefiled Gospel. And he did so, as heroes often do, with a dash of pizzaz. As history tells it (as told in the Encyclopedia Britannica), on the night before Easter (which was not yet a holiday in Ireland, obviously), it happened to be the pagan festival of “Tara” in which by royal decree, no fire could be lit until the King lit the “Royal Fire” to kick off the Druid celebration. Patrick, indignant and full of
the Spirit’s power and grace, went to a nearby hill within view of the King’s castle and lit a gigantic bonfire. The Druid priests were incensed and the King himself was inquisitive as to what kind of man would have the boldness to light the unauthorized fire, and to do so in a way that all the countryside could see. The priests promised that they would destroy Patrick by sorcery if he came to the King to explain himself, which he did on Easter morning.
Patrick came to the King with his cohort of converts, singing a hymn and carrying crosses. The King was converted that Easter day, and at the end of Patrick’s 37 year ministry in Ireland, Druidism was completely eradicated and all the nation had been “Christianized.”
Patrick’s theology was stellar, and his confession began with the words, “I, Patrick, a Sinner…” Such was the preaching of Patrick.
As pointed out in Patrick of Ireland (p17-18), Patrick is cited as saying, “Go, ye, teach. Meet is the order of teaching, before baptism. For it cannot be that the body, receive the sacrament of baptism, before the soul receives the verity of faith.” Faith must precede baptism, Patrick taught.
And while we know that Patrick baptized believers only, there’s also reason to believe that he baptized by immersion. Dr. William Cathcart, in his Baptist Encyclopedia, says: “There are strong reasons for believing Patrick was a Baptist missionary and it is certain that his Baptism was immersion,” and says so from resources indicating that Patrick baptized only where there were great quantities of water, including wells, springs and fountains." Pulpit&Pen
Secondly, Patrick wasn’t Catholic. Patrick’s father was a deacon and his grandfather a pastor in the very early Christian Church of Britain, which had no affiliation whatsoever to the Bishop of Rome.
When Patrick was 16 years old he was captured by human traffickers (pirates, essentially) and sold into slavery in Ireland, which had yet to be Christianized. He spent six years as a shepherd, during which time he came to a personal faith in Christ after reflecting upon his religious upbringing in the midst of the Irish Druid-paganism, and then escaped back to Scotland in about 411.
It was back in Scotland where he was trained for ministry, and then in his mid 40s, considered his slavery in Ireland to have been an act of Providence, and decided to return to the pagan nation as a missionary.Patrick was intimately familiar with the complicated clan system of Ireland, and used that knowledge for the betterment of the Gospel. Among his first converts was his former slaveholder, a clan chief. He then won the clan itself to Christ. And then, clan after clan fell to the Cross.
Patrick was commissioned by his church in Britain, and not in Rome. In fact, as Dr. J. Lewis Smith points out in his 1924 book, “Patrick of Ireland: Not a Romanist,” there is not a shred of evidence out of 140 letters from Pope Leo the Great that he nor any other Pope was even aware of Patrick or the Gospel work being done for Christendom in Ireland. Likewise, there is no Irish history source that even comes close to alleging any link between Patrick and the Papacy.
Put plainly, any attempt to Catholicize Patrick by the church of Rome is pure fiction, made up by the Harlot Beast herself.
Our hero, Patrick, took at once to evangelizing Ireland with a pure and undefiled Gospel. And he did so, as heroes often do, with a dash of pizzaz. As history tells it (as told in the Encyclopedia Britannica), on the night before Easter (which was not yet a holiday in Ireland, obviously), it happened to be the pagan festival of “Tara” in which by royal decree, no fire could be lit until the King lit the “Royal Fire” to kick off the Druid celebration. Patrick, indignant and full of
Patrick came to the King with his cohort of converts, singing a hymn and carrying crosses. The King was converted that Easter day, and at the end of Patrick’s 37 year ministry in Ireland, Druidism was completely eradicated and all the nation had been “Christianized.”
Patrick’s theology was stellar, and his confession began with the words, “I, Patrick, a Sinner…” Such was the preaching of Patrick.
As pointed out in Patrick of Ireland (p17-18), Patrick is cited as saying, “Go, ye, teach. Meet is the order of teaching, before baptism. For it cannot be that the body, receive the sacrament of baptism, before the soul receives the verity of faith.” Faith must precede baptism, Patrick taught.
And while we know that Patrick baptized believers only, there’s also reason to believe that he baptized by immersion. Dr. William Cathcart, in his Baptist Encyclopedia, says: “There are strong reasons for believing Patrick was a Baptist missionary and it is certain that his Baptism was immersion,” and says so from resources indicating that Patrick baptized only where there were great quantities of water, including wells, springs and fountains." Pulpit&Pen
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Matthew 28:19
