This section is of a more particular nature, namely some account of how this lived tradition of sanctity has impacted the British Isles. This obviously is of special interest to those living the Orthodox life and faith in these countries. But it will also awaken others to the rich and varied tradition of holiness to be found in them.

My method has been not to trot out well-known stories of the Saints. I have made a deliberate selection of saints designed to reflect the existence of the Living Tradition. That is my focus throughout. It does not aim to mention all the saints or even to mention everything we know about those whom I have chosen. It is based on visits to the places where these saints have lived and where there is still some tangible evidence of their life.

I can only say how much my wife and I have learnt in the course of these visits and their attendant research, and how much we have enjoyed finding these sites in the first place. Like my Database on the Early Christian Church in Ireland, I hope it will inspire others to visit them, pray at them and stimulate understanding of the one way of holiness in Christ