Ecumenical Patriarchate
Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain

Holy and Glorious Hieromartyr and our Father among the saints Bishop Kessog is Venerated and Commemorated on the March 10. Bishop and Martyr St Kessog of Lennox, also known as Mackessog; Kessag; Kassog.

St Kessog was martyred at Bandry, just to the south of Luss, about 520 - 30 A.D. on the March 10.This Holy Bishop, Confessor and Glorious Martyr was venerated, and not unmeritedly, in the churches in Scotland and Ireland throughout the many centuries. There, while he was living on earth, as his main longing he sought out the true way of living for ever in heaven. St Kessog was in fact one of the very first Christian missionaries and confessors in Scotland and he became one of the first martyrs in Scotland. For that and other reasons it sets out his claim as Scotland's first Patron Saint according to his life and death. St Kessog was kept as a Patron Saint of the Scotland long before the Holy and Glorious the First called Apostle Andrew was granted this title.

St Kessog is kept as Patron saint of Lennox. The small village Luss on the bank of the Loch Lomond was the principal centre of his settlement in Scotland, the very place of his life and preaching, with a later sanctuary granted to the name of St Kessog by the King, Robert the Bruce.

St Kessog was born into the royal family of Munster in Southern Ireland in approximately 460 A.D. Even as a child he revealed himself to be very pious and holy, and we are told of one occasion when he was playing with neighbouring princes while their fathers visited Munster. There was a terrible accident and all the princes drowned except St Kessog. When the visiting kings discovered what had happened, they were very angry and a major war was only averted by St Kessog who, after a night of prayer, brought the princes back to life. Such was his holiness that he was sent to a monastery to be educated. St Patrick sent Kessog to the monastery of another saint, Mo Chaoi, often written as Malachoi, which was located at Nendrum in County Down. Mochaoi, whose real name was Caolan, had been sent by Patrick to establish the monastery which lasted until the Vikings sacked it in the 10th century. Later, having been ordained a monk and then a bishop, it was decided that Kessog should go to the land of the Scoti, to the Irish tribes who had made their home in what is now Argyll, creating a kingdom which is known as Dalriada.In due course, and as a sign of respect, St Kessog was sent to area of Lennox to carry on the missionary work of St Machaloi. At that time Lennox was the northern kingdom of the lands of Strathclyde, which stretched as far south as Northern Wales. Lennox was considerably larger than now and reached as far east as Stirling and Dunblane and as far north as the Great Glen. To the west of Lennox, in what we now call Argyll and Bute lay the kingdom of the Dal Riata, or the Scots as they were to become known. This was the people who eventually were to conquer the whole of North Britain and give their name to our Kingdom. To the east of Lennox lay the lands of the Picts - a loose confederation of clans and petty kingdoms. Thus, Lennox lay on the boundary of the three nations. The Lennox would not become a recognised earldom until many centuries later, but Kessog appears to have become the Apostle of the Lennox area, preaching the Christian faith all around Loch Lomond and through into Perthshire and as far north as modern Inverness. St Kessog arrived at Luss at the beginning of the sixth century. Who gave him the land we do now know. But the choice was brilliant. The Island lies in a very strategic spot governing all traffic on the Loch. It also has a strange mystic beauty which William Wordsworth for one discovered to be most moving.

St Kessog led his life according to the teachings of his blessed teachers and by example of Christ Himself. Very soon he became much loved by local people and was followed by them. He founded Church in the area of Luss and a monastery on an island in Loch Lomond, Inchtavannach, which means island of the “monk’s house.” He had this place as his base. Local tradition has it that Inchtavannach’s highest point Tom nan Clag, the hill of the bell, got its name from Kessog installing a bell on the summit which with he summoned monks and laity to prayer. Certainly, there was a bell associated with Kessog as it was listed in the funeral investitures of the Earldom of Perth as late as 1695. Going north, a hill near the River Teith in Perthshire is known as Tom na Chessaig or Hill of Kessog, and there were mediaeval churches named after Kessog in Auchterarder and Comrie.

It’s been known that St Kessog was mostly active in the west and central Scotland, the Lennox area from the Firth of Clyde inland to Callander, Stirling and Glasgow. There are also some references to him having a session with ‘Brude’, the Pictish King at Inverness, and a ferry to the Black Isle was called the St Kessog’s ferry. More recently the Kessock Bridge (1982) and the Kessog Oil field (2000).  The St Kessog’s Well formed the division between Leddriegreen and Ballewan estates in Strathblane.  There is also a ‘well’ at the Honey Holm between Balfron and Fintry called St Kessog’s Well where he baptised his converts. This indicates that St Kessog were also traveling around greater areas as his own base camp. His name is widely documented through ancient Gaelic names and territories. This is interesting because it means that he was involved in missionary work among the Northern Picts, whose capital was near there, forty or fifty years before St Columba, who is credited with bringing Christianity to them. He also travelled extensively in Kintyre and Cowal.The Celtic Church of this time was quite distinct from the official Roman Church. The missionaries and monks in Scotland of that time including St Kessog, as monastics in the basic were following a very simple lifestyle, as renouncing personal wealth and comfort as they were spending more of their time in prayers, meditation and worship, building places for this purpose and for the missionary and educational works around. This contrasts with the gaudy wealth of the Roman Church and its adherents, who also followed a secular role which was alien to the Celts. In this way of life St Kessog’s and his brethren’s successful mission to the people around Loch Lomond angered the local pagans possibly led by druids. They are said to have either killed Kessog themselves or bribed mercenaries to do it. St Kessog was martyred at Bandry, just to the south of Luss, about 520 - 30 A.D. The place of his martyrdom is traditionally at Bandry Bay near Luss village on the Lochside – well known as the location for Glendarroch. A cairn of stones marked the site of his death for centuries. This cairn was removed in the 18th. century to allow the road to be widened. Inside they found an ancient font and effigy which was taken to be a middle-age reproduction of St Kessog. It now stands in the Church of MacKessog in Luss, but it now seems that it was of Robert Colquhoun, a Bishop of Argyll in the 15th. century, and was probably put inside the cairn during the troubles of the reformation to prevent it being damaged. This Small village called Luss has long been associated with St Kessog, as he founded a church there in 510. The church was later named after him.

Very sadly we have lost track of the holy relics of St Kessog. His crozier was in the trust of the Colquhouns who were the hereditary dewars or guards of St Kessog and who may even be descended from him. It was probably hidden or destroyed at the time of their massacre by the MacGregors in 1603, if not before.His bell, which used to stand on Tom na Clas (hill of the bell) and called the faithful to prayer from all over the Loch, was sold to the Earl of Perth in 1675, who probably bought the ancient hereditary title of Thane of Lennox at the same time. A smaller bell was in service until the nineteenth century, before being moved to a memorial near the shore opposite Inchtavannach before then going missing, presumably stolen.The reason for the great reverence of St Kessog in pre-Reformation Scotland is difficult to explain.

For reasons unknown to us he captured the imagination of the common people in a way as it happened with all the saints living among others. It may have been that because he lived and worked among the people, and they were able to identify themselves with him as good and desirable example to follow and to acquire his goodness and qualities for their personal likeness. St Kessog lived his life as a part of the community of local people and was a great encouragement to them and soon after his death became very much honoured and became the first Patron Saint for Scotland unlike the Apostle Andrew who was not known at that time as good as today. This exchange from St Kessog to St Andrew were imposed and happened at the time as a political compromise by Kenneth MacAlpin - the Scot who united Dal Riata with the Pictlands.

St Kessog was greatly followed by local people at his lifetime, and he was greatly venerated after his death throughout the whole Scotland for many centuries. We may only wonder for that at some point, as official history holds not many accounts and evidence of St Kessog’s personality and his lifestyle. We may only guess and imagine of his spiritual strengths and his intellect as a Royal descendant and at the same time through Christ’s love, humility and simplicity in his daily life which joined together with his bravery working and serving God for many years on the boundary of three Kingdoms which often were at war with each other.

We may never know exactly why, but within a short time of his death his Name was the rallying cry to troops all over Scotland and at the famous battle of Bannockburn, King Robert himself incited the troops with the memory of St Kessog. His holy crozier and relics led the victorious Scots into the battle which was to set Scotland free. Before the reformation, Luss on Loch Lomond was one of the major centres of pilgrimage in Scotland. People came from far and wide to worship at the shrines and holy places associated with Saint Kessog. Since then, however, the veneration of St. Kessog has declined and been eclipsed by others, notably St Ninian, St Columba, St Mungo and of course Apostle St Andrew.

The Bruce took refuge at Luss in 1306 and was cared for by a local laird. As king he would later grant a charter to John of Luss “for the reverence and honour of our patron, the most holy man, the blessed Kessog”. In 1323 the king made the church of Luss and its surroundings a place of sanctuary “to God and the blessed Kessog”, as the charter states. Nothing remains of St Kessog's monastery, though very old ruins suggest a later building on the same site. There was also an ancient monastic graveyard, and late last century it was not uncommon for the farmer to plough up human bones. There was also a cave on the island known as St Kessog's cave, which was sadly destroyed in 1860 (?) when the area was blasted to provide building materials.Village of Luss survived and itself is a magical place. Its name means herb or plant, and one legend speaks of St Kessog being killed abroad and returned wrapped in sweet herbs which, after his burial, sprouted. Attractive as this is, there is no evidence to substantiate it. It is more likely that it derives its name simply from the fact that there are rich grazing grounds nearby. In the 17th and 18th century it was located a day's ride from Dumbarton and a half day from Tarbet and was famous for the length people lived to. Thomas Penmann in 1769 found six people, including a minister and his wife, aged between 86 and 94. Thirty years later Robert Heron in his book 'Scotland Delineated' says that Luss is 'noted for the longevity more than number of its inhabitants'.

In art, St Kessog is shown in a soldier's habit, holding a bow bent with an arrow in it. Now is our time to venerate and commemorate this great Saint of the Scotland.

 

Through the prayers of Saint Kessog, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us.