St. Patrick, Ireland's Libertarian

St. Patrick is one of the most widely venerated saints in Christianity and this being his day, I just thought I'd point out that he had quite a libertarian moment once, which is recorded in the Confession of St. Patrick, a letter that historians generally agree was penned by the saint himself.

Apparently, a pagan king had decreed that no fire could be lit in Ireland in celebration of a certain pagan holiday until the king's fire was lit. The holiday happened to coincide with the Christian church's Pascha (or Easter), so in defiance of the tyrant's silly law that violated the Christians' freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and private property rights, Patrick lit his paschal fire (an ancient Christian tradition on Easter) at the appointed time, before the king's fire was lit. Though the king tried to find and kill St. Patrick and his followers, the vain despot was never able to.

Here's to Saint Patrick for his courage and steadfast devotion to his principles in the face of a violent and oppressive tyranny. If only there were more like him today.


Wes Messamore,
Editor in Chief, THL
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