Ecumenical Christian Library

  • Loading…

Book III, Chapter 20. How, when Honorius died, Deusdedit became Archbishop of Canterbury; and of those who were at that time bishops of the East Angles, and of the church of Rochester. [653 a.d.]

7313 min read

In the meantime, Felix, bishop of the East Angles, dying, when he had held that see seventeen years,1 Honorius ordained Thomas his deacon, of the province of the Gyrwas,2 in his place; and he being taken from this life when he had been bishop five years, Bertgils, surnamed Boniface,3 of the province of Kent, was appointed in his stead. Honorius4 himself also, having run his course, departed this life in the year of our Lord 653, on the 30th of September; and when the see had been vacant a year and six months, Deusdedit5 of the nation of the West Saxons, was chosen the sixth Archbishop of Canterbury. To ordain him, Ithamar,6 bishop of Rochester, came thither. His ordination was on the 26th of March, and he ruled the church nine years, four months, and two days; and when Ithamar died, he consecrated in his place Damian,7 who was of the race of the South Saxons.

← III.19 How Fursa built a monastery among the East Angles, and of his visions and sanctity, to which, his flesh remaining uncorrupted after death bore testimony. [Circ. 633 a.d.] · Contents · [[BEH III.21|III.21 How the province of the Midland Angles became Christian under King Peada. [653 a.d.] →]]

Footnotes

  1. Circ. 647. The rapid increase in the number of native bishops may be seen from this chapter. The only one before Thomas was Ithamar (cf. c. 14, p. 164). ↩

  2. The Fen country. The province included part of the counties of Lincoln, Northampton, Huntingdon, and Cambridge. ↩

  3. Such changes of name were frequent: cf. Benedict for Biscop (IV, 18), Boniface for Winfrid (v. “Continuation”), Clement for Wilbrord (V, 11), and cf. infra, “Deusdedit.” ↩

  4. II, 15, note. ↩

  5. The first archbishop of English birth. He died in 664 (v. IV, 1). His original name is said to have been Frithonas; Deusdedit is the Latin form of Theodore. There was a Pope of the same name, 615-618 (v. II, 7). Similar names were common in the African Church, e.g., “Adeodatus,” “Habetdeus,” “Quodvultdeus,” “Deogratias.” ↩

  6. Cf. c. 14, and note. ↩

  7. Cf. IV, 2. It has been supposed that he died of the plague of 664. After his death the see was vacant for several years. It is remarkable that he came of a race which had not yet become Christian. The South Saxons continued to be pagan till Wilfrid evangelized them, 681-686 (IV, 13). ↩

Backlinks