(October 19th according to the Church Calendar) is the feast of St Frideswide, patroness of the city of Oxford.

St Frideswide was born to Didanus (an Anglo-Saxon king) and his wife Safrida around AD 650. Frideswide founded a monastery while still young, becoming its abbess. This monastery was to become, in later years, the site of the Cathedral of Oxford, and Christ Church, the largest and most prestigious of the colleges of the University of Oxford.

According to the life of the saint, Algar, a Mercian king, tried to Persuade St Frideswide to marry him, in spite of her having received the monastic tonsure. When the saint refused him, Algar tried to take her by force, but she hid in a nearby forest (at the present-day village of Binsey) to escape him. Algar continued to pursue the saint, but was struck blind. According to tradition, St Frideswide felt compassion for Algar and prayed to the Great Martyrs Margaret (Marina) of Antioch and Catherine of Alexandria, who instructed her to hit the ground with her abbess's staff. Once the saint did this, the ground gave way to reveal a well, whose water she used to cure Algar's blindness. This well can still be found today at the Church of St Margaret, which marks the site of St Frideswide’s cell at Binsey, where she reposed in the Lord on October 19, AD 735.

This year, the feast of St Frideswide was marked in the Parish of St Nicholas by a festal liturgy, which was also a memorial liturgy, on account of the feast coinciding with the Demetrius Saturday of the departed.

After the Divine Liturgy a panikhida was served, followed by a parish breakfast. Then a group of parishioners made their way to Christ Church Cathedral, which lies at the heart of the historic University of Oxford. A molieben was served at the shrine of St Frideswide, beneath which it is believed the relics of the saint still lie.

After the molieben, the group proceeded to Christ Church Library, to view a special exhibition of manuscripts containing the ealiest lives and iconography of St Frideswide. They were welcomed by Dr Cristina Neagu, the organiser of the exhibition.

From Christ Church, the group made its way to Binsey, where the lesser blessing of the waters was served at the holy well. The faithful were sprinkled with water from the holy well, before visiting the ancient church.

Click here, for additional photographs of the feast.