St Elphin's, Warrington

Many of the churches at which I call are locked when I arrive; I have mainly learned to shrug this off, but I sometimes feel like I have missed a treat. St Elphin’s in Warrington was such a one. Rather imposing against the grey sky, I had difficulty dating it, but recognised a medieval chancel. The rest seemed pre-modern but post medieval. Later research demonstrated that its gigantic tower was late seventeenth and its nave eighteenth with some nineteenth for good measure. So a confusing building to comprehend which only added to its curiosity and my disappointment.

“Who on earth was St Elphin?”, I asked myself. The name is clearly not biblical, but neither did he transpire to belong to some middle eastern hermit, Spanish mystic or Counter Reformation apostate. Elphin of Warrington was the church’s first minister, appointed by King Oswald of Northumbria, whose friend he was and in whose territory early Warrington was found. The original wooden church would have been much smaller, of course, though the location is likely the same. Oswald was killed by the pagan king Penda in AD642, a possible contender for the naming of Pendle Hill, and poor Elphin succumbed to martyrdom in 679. The Anglo-Saxons were still largely pagan in that era and they seemed to delight in killing Christians, much as the pagan Danes would later delight in the killing of Christian Saxons.

My Oxford Dictionary of Christian Saints is rather sparing on details about Elphin on account of scarcity of information, not even knowing if he was Irish or British. Although the early medieval church was rather corrupted, particularly at the higher levels, it is possible that genuine piety and evangelical truth still existed at parish level, and that Elphin was a true believer, especially if he was prepared to die for the cause of Christ. Were he given the opportunity to return to Warrington and see this great church in place of his little wooden one, he might be duly impressed. Yet this is nothing compared to what His Saviour had planned for him upon his arrival at heaven.

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Matthew chapter 5, verses 10-12