Justinian

Saint Justinian (in Welsh Stinan, Iestin) was a hermit of the sixth century on Ramsey Island, near Saint David's in Wales.

According to tradition he was a Breton nobleman who settled on the island as a hermit and would pray for hours standing in the cold sea. Saint David, impressed by his holiness, made him his confessor and abbot of the monastery on the mainland. Dissatisfied with the conduct of the monks there, Justinian returned to Ramsey Island, where he founded a stricter community, and the loyal monks followed him. Legend says that he was murdered by servants or monks displeased with his strict rule, by beheading. It is told that he picked up his head and crossed Ramsey Sound over the water, and his body was buried in the small chapel on the mainland, which still stands; his bones were later moved to Saint Davids Cathedral. In 1538 his relics and those of Saint David were removed from the cathedral by Bishop William Barlow.

Justinian is listed in very ancient Welsh calendars. His memory is kept in several Welsh place names, from the bay of Porthstinian to the church at Llanstinan. He is a saint of the undivided Church and is commemorated on 5 December (New Calendar).