A monk, St Andrew's bones and Rochester Cathedral

Rochester Cathedral from the grounds of Rochester Castle © Christopher Monk 2017

Blessed readers,

Verily, I have been blessed myself this week with a fascinating tale from the eleventh century, which I really must get to the bottom of, and which I most heartily desire to share with you. My brethren and I were so excited to hear about it yesterday morning that we almost didn't make it to matins.

It's all about a monk from Canterbury named Joseph who wangles a visit to the imperial chapel at Constantinople where he discovers the very bones of his favourite saint, St Andrew, among the treasures there. Nothing gets a monk more excited than bones!

Now I don't wish to retell the whole story here, I'd much rather you read it for yourself, but I will just say that my fellow Benedictine monk knew that he just had to obtain these relics of St Andrew to take back to England as a gift for his neighbouring brethren at Rochester Cathedral, which is, as I'm sure the more enlightened of you know, dedicated to the very same saint.

Did he succeed? Well you can find out for yourself now in your own tongue, for the most blessed Charles West has kindly produced the first translation from Latin of the the only surviving account of our intrepid monk Joseph. Just click on the button below.

Joseph the Monk

The renovated crypt inside Rochester Cathedral. Did St Andrew's bones ever make it back to the crypt in the eleventh century? © Christopher Monk 2017