Saint Twrog of Meirionnydd
If your enjoyed our posts about mushrooms (here and here), you may like this story from the life of Twrog of Meirionnydd, a Welsh saint who lived in the 6th century. His memory is celebrated on June 26 according to the Julian calendar (July 9 on Gregorian calendar).
When Saint Twrog arrived in Maentwrog it was still inhabited by heathen, and they worshipped a she-devil at an altar in the middle of the village. Twrog, who would not allow her to claim the souls of the villagers, challenged the she-devil to a wrestling match. For fully half a day they tussled in the clearing, and neither one could get the upper hand on the other. They called a temporary truce, and Saint Twrog withdrew himself.
While the she-devil sat in the midst of the clearing, Twrog ascended into the Moelwynion to pray and recover his strength. Hearing his prayers, a shining angel of God appeared before him, greeting him in Christ’s name. The angel led Twrog into a small lea where grew a færie ring of mushrooms, and bade him eat. Once Twrog had eaten the mushrooms, he found his physical strength had grown tenfold, and so too his eyesight. He could see the she-devil down in the valley from where he stood, and so he picked up a boulder and hurled it into the air at her. The massive stone hurtled through the air in a long arc, and smashed into the altar, wrecking it. It rolled to rest between the she-devil’s thighs.
Twrog’s opponent, knowing that he had received divine aid, flew into a rage. Her true nature was revealed as she sprouted horns and wings, and took to the air, never to return to that valley. Twrog founded his church where the boulder now stood. The boulder is still there, at the corner of the church in Maentwrog, with the handprint of the saint still pressed into it.
Source: https://heavyangloorthodox.blogspot.com/2019/06/venerable-twrog-of-merioneth.html
The church founded by Saint Twrog in the village of Maentwrog, Wales
Saint Twrog’s stone
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