St. Michael's shrines

After reading about the Sword of St. Michael, a line extending from Haifa (Israel-Palestine) to Skellig Michael (Ireland), I am unconvinced as to whether it exists other than as a purely chance alignment. There is also the St. Michael Line in England, first proposed in 1969 by the esotericist John Michell (1933−2009), and extending across the country from Land’s End, Cornwall, to Bury St. Edmunds, Norfolk. I remember when ley-lines were a hippie obsession, and I find it ironic that the Sword of St. Michael has now captured the imagination of so many traditionalist Christians.

I have been wondering how many ancient and important sites dedicated to St. Michael there are. If there are a huge number, any alignment could be by chance. I am also interested from the point of view of “Christian earth mysteries,” to use an expression that might sound oxymoronic, but fits in well with much of the recent talk by Christian intellectuals about “keeping Christianity weird,” and “living in wonder”. I have therefore started preparing a list. The idea is for this to be a living document, and I will add any that readers tell me about in the comments.

The first category is summit sites. These are sites that are dedicated to or associated with St. Michael, and are at the tops of mountains, hills, or large rocks. Not all the sites on the Sword of St. Michael are included, as the Stella Maris Monastery (Haifa, Israel-Palestine) is not associated with St. Michael, and the Panormitis Monastery of the Archangel Michael (Simi, Greece) is not on a hilltop.

A second category, with currently only three examples, is caves dedicated to St. Michael.

I am considering adding additional categories that are not at distinctive natural features. These could be sites that are more than a thousand years old, and sites where St. Michael is reputed to have appeared.

SUMMITS

EUROPE

Croatia

St. Michael's Fortress, Šibenik: The fortress is on the summit of a steep hill in the town of Šibenik. It is named after the oldest church in the town, which was within the fortress walls, and may have been founded during the first wave of conversion of Croatia, in the eighth or ninth century.

France

Mont St. Michel, Normandy: An 80-m-high tidal island. The first monastery was built in the eighth century. St. Michael is said to have appeared to St. Aubert, Bishop of Avranches, in 708, and instructed him to build the monastery.

St. Michel d'Aiguilhe, Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire: An 85-m-high volcanic plug. The Bishop of Le Puy-en-Velay built a chapel in 951 to celebrate his return from pilgrimage to Santiage de Compostela. There had earlier been a Roman shrine to Mercury, and before that a prehistoric dolmen.

Hungary

St. Michael Hill, Lake Balaton: A 136-m-high hill that used to be an island in the lake. A mediaeval castle was replaced in the 17th century by a chapel dedicated to St. Michael, and this was rebuilt in 1729 when some fishermen believed they had survived a devastating storm with the help of St. Michael.

Ireland

Skellig Michael, Co. Kerry: A 218-m-high rocky island 12 km from the mainland. It has had monastic cells since the eighth and perhaps the sixth century. It has been dedicated to St. Michael at least since 1044. The monasteries were destroyed by Elizabeth I in 1578.

Italy

Mt. Pirchiriano, near Turin, Piedmont: A 939-m-high mountain that is a foothill of the Alps. On the summit there is an abbey, the Sacra di San Michele, which was founded in the 10th century.

San Michele Arcangelo, Perugia, Umbria: This church is on a hilltop on the edge of Perugia, which is a hill-town. There has been a church here since the fifth or sixth century.

Santuario di San Michele Arcangelo, Foggia, Apulia: This does not appear to be on a hill-top, although it is up a steep slope on the flanks of Mt. Gargano. It is included in the cave sites.

UK

St. Michael's Mount, Cornwall: A tidal island that had a monastery from perhaps as early as the eight century, which was given to the Benedictine monks of Mont St. Michel in the mid-11th century. It now has the 15th-century Chapel of St. Michael.

Roche Rock, Bodmin Moor, Cornwall: A 20-m-high granite outcrop near the village of Roche (Norman-French for “rock”), at the top of which there is a ruined chapel dedicated to St. Michael. It is associated with the legend of Tristan and Iseult.

Rame Head, Cornwall: A coastal headland near the village of Rame. On the summit, there is a disused 14th-century chapel dedicated to St. Michael, and some evidence suggests that it is on the site of a much older hermitage.

Brent Tor, Dartmoor, Devon: A 330-m-high hill, on the summit of which there is the Church of St. Michel de Rupe, which is the parish church of the nearby village of Brentor. The church dates from the 13th century. A 19th-century church in the village is used for most services, but this church is used for occasional services, weddings, etc.

Chapel Hill, Torquay, Devon: A hill overlooking the coastal town, with the ruined St. Michael’s Chapel, dating from the 13th or 14th century, at the summit. At one time it was dedicated to the Virgin Mary rather than St. Michael.

Drake’s Island, Plymouth, Devon: A small rocky island in Plymouth Sound, off the city of Plymouth. A chapel dedicated to St. Michael was built before 1135, and it was called St. Michael’s Island, but it was later rededicated to St. Nicholas, and the island’s name was changed, only to be changed again later in honour of the English privateer Sir Francis Drake.

Burrow Mump or St. Michael’s Borough, Athelney, Somerset: A small hill, 24 m high, overlooking the very flat land of the Somerset Levels. On the summit there is a ruined 15th-century church dedicated to St. Michael, which was partly rebuilt in the 18th century.

Glastonbury Tor, Somerset: A hill 158 m high, rising from the Somerset Levels. It has had Christian use since probably the 10th century, and a church dedicated to St. Michael was built in the 11th or 12th century. This was rebuilt in the 14th century, but all except the tower, which stands today, was destroyed under Henry VIII in 1539. As well as being a traditional Christian pilgrimage site, and a Catholic one because of the martyrs under Henry VIII, the Tor and the nearby town of Glastonbury are the centre for a wide spectrum of neo-Pagan and New Age activities.

St. Michael’s Hill, Montacute, Somerset: A conical hill outside the village of Montacute (“sharp hill”), which is named after it. A Norman castle was built here, and by 1102 there was a chapel dedicated to St. Michael. The chapel outlived the castle, and remained here until the 16th century, and possibly until 1630. The tower currently on the hill is a folly (i.e. purely ornamental building), built in 1760.

St. Michael’s Church, East Peckham, Kent: This is debatable, but it is described as being at the top of a rise, with dramatic views over the Medway Valley. There has been a church on the site since 1086, and the oldest part of the present church is from the 12th century. The town gradually moved to the River Medway two miles or so away, and the church was declared redundant in 1973.

Ysgyryd Fawr, Monmouthshire, Wales: A distinctively shaped 486-m-high hill. It is known locally as the Holy Mountain, and there is a ruined mediaeval church dedicated to St. Michael on the summit. Until the early 20th century, pilgrimages to the summit were made on Michaelmas Eve.

How Hill, near Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire: A small hill, on the summit of which there used to be the Chapel of St. Michael de Monte, built in about 1200, and repaired in about 1500. In about 1720 it was replaced with a folly as part of the landscaping of the nearby Studley Royal estate.

St. Michael and All Angels’ Church, Haworth, Yorkshire: This is debatable, as it is at the top of a steep hill on three sides, and is a dramatic landmark, but the land rises behind on the fourth. The oldest part of the present church is from the 15th century, but some evidence suggests a much older church on the site. It is now mainly associated with the Bronte Sisters.

ASIA

India

St. Michael’s Chapel, Assonora, Goa: Built on a hilltop in 1885, this offers views over the entire surrounding countryside.

Philippines

St. Michael’s Church, Irosin, Sorsogon: Built on a hilltop in 1847, it is now a pilgrimage church reached by steep flights of steps.

CAVES

Gibraltar

St. Michael’s Cave: This is a network of caves near the top of the Rock of Gibraltar. It was probably named after the cave in Foggia.

Italy

Santuario di San Michele Arcangelo, Foggia, Apulia: This is widely considered to be the oldest shrine dedicated to St. Michael in Western Europe. It is said to have been founded after St. Michael appeared to the Bishop of Sipontum in 490, and there have been several later appearances here. The first church in the cave was built in 493, and it became an important pilgrimage site in the Middle Ages.

Grotta di San Michele, near Cagnano Varano, Apulia: On the other side of the Gargano Peninsula from the above cave, this has a church that was started in 1274.