Alban 			June 22
First Martyr of Britain
Alban is the earliest British Christian known to us by name and martyred for the faith. He was beheaded on 22 June 304 during the persecution ordered by the Emperor Diocletian. Recent studies, however, suggest it may even have been at an earlier date of 209, during the persecution under the emperor Septimus Severus. A Christian priest, fleeing for safety, came to the house of a pagan named Alban in Verulamium (present day St Albans). Alban gave him shelter over several weeks, and was so struck by the beauty of the religion the fugitive professed that he himself was converted to the Christian faith.
When the officers of the Roman army came to Alban’s house searching for the priest, Alban exchanged garments with the priest and sent him away to safety, allowing himself to be arrested instead. When the governor of Verulamium heard what had happened and discovered that Alban also had become a Christian and that he refused to renounce his faith, he ordered him to be flogged and tortured. When he realised that Alban had no intention of renouncing his new faith, the governor sentenced him to be executed. Alban was beheaded near where St Alban’s Cathedral now stands.
The cult of St Alban grew, particularly with the increasing significance of the abbey at St Albans. Legends and miracles associated with Alban multiplied.
For Liturgical Use
Alban, the first British martyr, was beheaded on the orders of the Roman governor of Verulamium for concealing a Christian priest and then converting to the Christian faith. When soldiers came to arrest the priest, Alban surrendered himself in the priest’s place. This is traditionally dated in 304 during the empire-wide persecution of Christians, but it may have been earlier. St Alban’s Abbey is near the site of Alban’s burial, and the cult of St Alban was popular in Britain for a long time.
Sentence
We know love by this; that Christ laid down his life for us - and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. 	1 John 3:16
Collects
God of love,
by your grace your servant Alban
gave himself up for his friend
and suffered death for the sake of Christ;
grant that for love of others
we may be ready
to defend the weak,
support the truth,
and lay down our lives;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour.

God of love, you helped Alban
to substitute himself for a hunted Christian
and to show a love like yours;
give us courage to accept and face injustice.
Psalms	30	31:1-9
Readings
2 Maccabees 6:18,21-31	Eleazar’s martyrdom
1 Peter 2:19-24		The example of Christ
Matthew 10:16-22		Enduring to the end
Post Communion Sentence
Jesus said, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”	John 12:24