Saint Serf
| Saint Serf | |
|---|---|
| Born | ~500 |
| Died | ~583 AD |
| Venerated in |
Orthodox Church |
| Feast | 1 July |
Orthodox Church
Roman Catholic Church
Saint Serf or Serbán (Servanus) (c. 500 — d. 583 AD) is a saint of Scotland. Serf was venerated in western Fife. He is called the apostle of Orkney, with less historical plausibility. Saint Serf is connected with Saint Mungo's Church near Simonburn, Northumberland (off the Bellingham Road, north of Chollerford). His feast day is 1 July.
David Hugh Farmer wrote that the legend of Serf is "a farrago of wild impossibilities" stating that Serf was the son of Eliud, King of Canaan, and his wife Alphia, daughter of a King of Arabia. Childless for a long time, they at last had two sons: the second was Serf. Serf came to Rome, carrying with him such a reputation for sanctity that he was elected and served as Pope for seven years.
He traveled to Gaul and Britain after vacating the Holy See, returning to Scotland. There, he met Adomnán, Abbot of Iona, who showed him an island in Loch Leven (later called St Serf's Inch). At the time, this island was part of the Pictish kingdom of Fib (Fife). Serf founded the eponymous St Serf's Inch Priory on the island, where he remained seven years. The priory was a community of Augustinian canons. It was founded from St. Andrews Cathedral Priory at the initiation of King David I of Scotland in 1150. From the 15th century onwards the priory began to be referred to as "Portmoak". After more than four centuries of Augustinian monastic life, the Protestant king, James VI of Scotland, granted the priory to St Leonard's College, St Andrews. Today, there are only a small amount of remains left of the priory.
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