IlltydA.D. 535Feast Day: November 6
Illtyd (pronounced Ichltut) of Wales was one of the more brilliant scholars and leaders produced by the Celtic church of his era. He was teacher and master to several heros of Celtic Christianity including St. David, patron Saint of Wales and bishop of Menevia. Like many of the Celtic saints, he strove to maintain a balance between life in the world of the Christian community and the solitude of prayer and self-discipline in the tradition of the Eastern desert fathers.
His life of prayer has made him a model for those engaged in spiritual warfare, i.e. wrestling with the Enemy in prayer. Converted as a soldier, after his conversion he became a monk, residing for some time in the community of St. John Cassian near Marseilles. The site of the collegiate monastic community he formed in Wales is today called Llantwit Major. There is a church dedicated to him in Caldey.
A charming legend links him with the Arthurian saga. Along with Cadoc he was said to be a guardian of the Holy Grail. The legend tells of Illtyd receiving Arthurs body at his cave and being given instructions to bury it in secret lest the burial site become a place of swearing (taking vows at the tomb). The life of St. Samson of Dol (another of his pupils) describes him as the most learned of all the Britons in the knowledge of scripture, both the Old Testament and the New Testament, and in every branch of philosophy - poetry and rhetoric, grammar and arithmetic; and he was most sagacious and gifted with the power of telling future events.
Illtyds life remains a sign for our generation of the wholeness of the Christian life. His feast day is November 6.
(Most of this information on Illtyd is drawn directly from The Celtic Year by Shirley Toulson, Element , Inc., Rockport, MA. 1993)
