Fwd: St. Chad (no, honestly!) patron of disputed elections

[Maureen Therese Anderson]

>I checked. It's true.
>
>Charles Faulhaber       The Bancroft Library    UC Berkeley, CA 94720-6000
>(510) 642-3782          FAX (510) 642-7589      cfaulhab at library.berkeley.edu
>
>
>                                           November 30, 2000
>
>             St. Chad's grace in defeat won him eternal veneration
>
>             By Robin Galiano
>             COX NEWS SERVICE
>
>
>                  "Keep us, we pray, from thinking of ourselves more highly
>             than we ought to think, and ready at all times to step aside for
>             others, in honor preferring one another, that the cause of
>             Christ may be advanced." Suggested prayer on the Feast
>             of Saint Chad.
>
>                  LONGVIEW, Texas  As if this presidential election needs
>             another twist, it turns out there is a
              patron saint of disputed elections,
>             and it's none other than St. Chad
>             of Lichfield, England.
>                  The seventh-century Anglican
>             bishop is perhaps best known for
>             not being the archbishop of York.
>             While Chad was elected and duly
>             installed as archbishop of York,
>             some bishops objected to his
>             ordination because his
>             consecration had not been rightly performed.
>                  Unlike his bickering American counterparts today,
>             however, Chad humbly withdrew in favor of the other
>             candidate to preserve unity.
>                  Rather than cause division in the church, Chad is said to
>             have told the archbishop of Canterbury: "If you decide that I
>             have not rightly received the episcopal character, I willingly
>             lay down the office; for I have never thought myself worthy of
>             it, but under obedience, I, though unworthy, consented to
>             undertake it."
>                  The archbishop of Canterbury was so impressed with
>             Chad's humility, the story goes, that he ordained Chad
>             Bishop of Lichfield instead. Chad died on March 2, 672, and
>             he was venerated as a saint soon afterward.
>                  The Rev. Jim Bass, pastor of Mission Bend United
>             Methodist Church in Houston, uncovered the ironic historical
>             twist and passed along the information to Methodist pastors
>             in the Texas conference. His tale was verified by the Oxford
>             Dictionary of Saints.
>
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