Saint of the Day – 12 March – St Alphege [the Elder] (Died 951) Bishop of Winchester, monastic reformer, protector and supporter. Born in England and died in Winchester of natural causes. Also known as – Alphege of Winchester, Ælfheah… Elphege… Elfego… Elpigio… (Not to be confused with St Alphege [the Younger] also the Bishop of Winchester before becoming the Archbishop of Canterbury) https://anastpaul.com/2017/04/19/saint-of-the-day-19-april-st-alphege/
Despite Alphege’s important role in the 10th Century monastic revival, little is known of St Alphege’s life.
He began his career as a Monk and was appointed as the Bishop of Winchester in 934 or 935. He was a relative of the great St Dunstan, the Archbishop of Canterbury (Died 988) and who had taken Alphege as a young man into his service. St Dunstan later Ordained Alphege as a Priest.
Alphege was an instigater of the monastic reforms and was the tutor of St Aethelwold, who became his successor in the See of Winchester and a most zealous monaster reformer.
Alphege died on 12 March 951 and was buried in Old Minster in Winchester. He was immediately revered as a Saint. Following the Norman conquest, Archbishop Lanfranc downgraded a number of Anglo-Saxon Saints, including our St Alphege to bring the Liturgical calendar into line with that of existing elsewhere in the country. However, under St Anselm’s influence, he was subsequently re-instated.
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