St. Acca's Cross, Hexham Abbey

near to Hexham, Northumberland, Great Britain

St. Acca's Cross, Hexham Abbey

'The modern inscription on the plinth of the tall, intricately carved cross (in the south transept) says "The cross which stood at the head of the grave of Acca Bishop of Hexham AD 709-732 who died AD 740". The cross is worn and weathered, its inscription is no longer readable, and it lacks nearly a metre of the shaft and three parts of the cross-head. But what remains is a significant remnant from the 8th century. To the right of Acca's Cross is a section of another cross, known as the Spital Cross because it once stood near the site of the mediaeval Hospital of St Giles.' [Source: (adapted from) Hexham Abbey Leaflet No.8]

SAINTS ACCA AND ALCMUND OF HEXHAM

Our holy Father Acca as a young man joined the household of Bosa, bishop of York, and later became a disciple of the great St. Wilfrid, bishop of York and later of Hexham. For thirteen years he accompanied his teacher on his journeys through England and on the continent, and was a witness at his holy repose. And when Wilfrid died, in 709, he became his successor as abbot and bishop of Hexham in Northumbria.

The Venerable Bede called Acca "the dearest and best loved of all bishops on this earth." Bede also praised his theological library and dedicated several of his works to him. On becoming bishop of Hexham Acca completed three of Wilfrid's smaller churches and splendidly adorned his cathedral at Hexham, providing it with ornaments of gold, silver and precious stones, and decorating the altars with purple and silk. Moreover, he invited an excellent singer called Maban who had been taught church harmony at Canterbury to teach himself and the people. He himself was a chanter of great skill.

In 732 Acca either retired or was expelled from his see, and later became bishop of Whithorn in Southern Scotland. He died on October 20, 740, and was buried near the east wall of his cathedral in Hexham. Parts of two stone crosses which were placed at his tomb still survive.

In about 1030, Alfred Westow, a Hexham priest and a sacrist at Durham, translated the relics of St. Acca, following a Divine revelation, to a place of more fitting honor in the church. At that time the saint's vestments were found in all their pristine freshness and strength, and were displayed by the brethren of the church for the veneration of the faithful. Above his chest was found a portable altar with the inscription Almae Trinitati, agiae Sophiae, sanctae Mariae. This also was the object of great veneration. Many miracles were wrought through this saint. Those attempting to infringe the sanctuary of his church were driven off in a wondrous and terrible manner, and those who tried to steal relics were prevented from doing so.

A brother of the church by the name of Aldred related the following story. When he was an adolescent and was living in the house of his brother, a priest, he was once asked by his brother to keep an eye on some relics of St. Acca which he had wrapped in a cloth and laid on the altar of St. Michael in the southern porch of the church. Then it came into the mind of Aldred that a certain church (we may guess that it was Durham) would be greatly enriched by the bones of St. Acca. So, after prostrating himself on the ground and praying the seven penitential psalms, he entered the porch with the intention of taking them away. Suddenly he felt heat as of fire which thrust him back in great trepidation. Thinking that he had approached with insufficient reverence and preparation, he again prostrated himself and poured forth still more ardent prayers to the Lord. But on approaching a second time he felt a still fiercer heat opposing him. Realizing that his intention was not in accordance with the will of God, he withdrew.

Our holy Father Alcmund was bishop of Hexham from 767 to 781, reposed on September 7, 781, and was buried next to St. Acca. In 1032, he appeared by night to a certain very pious man by the name of Dregmo who lived near the church at Hexham. Wearing pontifical vestments and holding a pastoral staff in his hand, he nudged Dregmo with it and said

"Rise, go to Alfred, son of Westow, a priest of the Church of Durham, and tell him to transfer my body from this place to a more honorable one within the church. For it is fitting that those whom the King of kings has vested with a stole of glory and immortality in the heavens should be venerated by those on earth."

Dregmo asked: "Lord, who are you?"

He replied: "I am Alcmund, bishop of the Church of Hexham, who was, by the grace of God, the fourth after blessed Wilfrid to be in charge of this place. My body is next to that of my predecessor, the holy bishop Acca of venerable memory. You also be present at its translation with the priest."

After saying this, he disappeared. The next morning, Dregmo went to the priest Alfred and related everything in order. He joyfully assembled the people, told them what had happened, and fixed a day for the translation. On the appointed day they lifted the bones from the tomb, wrapped them in linen and placed them on a bier; but since the hour for celebrating the Divine Liturgy had passed, they placed the holy relics in the porch of St. Peter at the western end of the church, intending to transfer them the following day with psalms and hymns and the celebration of the Divine Liturgy.

But that night, the priest Alfred, who was keeping vigil with his clerics around the holy body, rose when the others were sleeping and took a part of the finger of the saint, intending to give it to the Church of Durham. The next morning a great multitude came to the translation. But when the priest and those with him came to lift the body, it was immovable. Thinking themselves unworthy, they retired, and others came up. But they, too, were unable to lift it. When no one was found who could lift it, the people looked at each other in consternation, while the priest, still ignorant that he was the cause, exhorted them to pray to God to reveal who was to blame for this. That night, St. Alcmund appeared a second time to Dregmo, who had suddenly been overwhelmed with sleep, and with a stern face said to him

"What is this that you have wanted to do? Did you think to bring me back into the church mutilated, when I served God and St. Andrew here in wholeness of body and spirit? Go, therefore, and witness in the presence of all the people that what has unwisely been taken away from my body should be restored, or else you will never be able to remove me from this place in which I now am."

And when he had said this, he showed him his hand with part of the finger missing. The next day, Dregmo stood in the middle of the people and told them all that had been revealed to him in the night, vehemently urging that the person who had presumed to do this should be punished. Then the priest, perceiving that he was at fault, prostrated himself in the midst of the people and revealed to them the motives for which he had committed the crime. Begging for forgiveness, he restored that which he had taken away. Then the clerics who were present came up and without any effort lifted the holy body and transferred it into the church on August 6.

Later, Alfred translated a portion of the relics of Saints Acca and Alcmund, together with portions of the relics of the other Northumbrian saints: the hermits Baldred and Bilfrid, the Martyr-King Oswin, St. Boisil of Melrose, St. Ebba of Coldingham and the Venerable Bede, to his church of Durham.

Holy Fathers Acca and Alcmund, pray to God for us!

By Vladimir Moss. Posted with permission.

(Sources: The Venerable Bede, Ecclesiastical History; Eddius Stephanus, Life of St. Wilfrid; Simeon of Durham Opera Omnia, ed. T. Arnold, Rolls Series, 1882-85, vol. II, pp. 36-37, 51-52; History of the Church of Durham, ch. 42; David Farmer, The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, Oxford: Clarendon, 1978)

Anglican Options: Rome or Orthodoxy?

I can still remember the confusion and pain at Nashotah House Seminary when the news began to spread that the 1976 General Convention had passed, by a razor thin margin, a canon to permit the ordination of women to the priesthood and episcopate. The 100th Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey, was teaching theology at the seminary in the fall of 1976. His powerful presence had an almost spell-like effect on everyone and we all looked to him for guidance and wisdom. In true Anglo-Catholic fashion, most, but not all of us, decided to stay and suffer through! We rallied around Lord Ramsey and other sound bishops, like Robert Terwilliger, and we made our threats to stay and not leave!     There are days now, when I wish that I had been able to recognize that the Anglican house was no longer  inclusive enough to find room for orthodox Christians. It would take me another 18 years before it became clear that I truly no longer had a place at the family table in the Anglican Communion, which had been the very place where I had been formed as an orthodox Christian.     In my case, I fell victim to an Episcopalian bishop who totally ignored the Eames Commission, Lambeth pronouncements and the so-called conscience clause by trying to force me to stand with a woman priest to renew ordination vows. This action was not long after his promise not to force the issue with his clergy who held theological objections to female ordinations.     The scene was set at the 1993 Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Kansas, meeting in Dodge City (a great place for a show-down). When Canon Joseph Kimmett and I failed to show for the renewal of vows with the woman priest, we were charged with breaking communion with our bishop and the rest of the diocese. This is a serious charge by the bishop, who admitted that no canons had been violated, but his own rules had been broken! Faced with this charge, Canon Kimmett and I found ourselves alone, with absolutely no support from the small group of orthodox bishops who were left in PECUSA. I had watched this sort of thing happen, time and time again. My family and I now knew that we would soon be joining the ever growing list of orthodox Anglicans who were being forced from their ecclesiastical home. We were truly victims of the PECUSA policy of ethnic cleansing!     When your house is on fire, you have a moral obligation to warn as many as possible who are in the house with you, but you do not have a moral obligation to stay with those who refuse to leave and to burn up with them! The question was which road would we walk? Like most traditionalist Anglicans, I had been checking out my options.     I  had watched the pitiful hissing and fighting within the Continuing Anglican churches for years. I had come to the conclusion that the main vocation of these various groups was to serve a kind of chaplaincy to small elderly congregations. I had admired Bishop A. Donald Davies for his courage in starting the Episcopal Missionary Church, but again, for a younger priest, this body was a cul-de-sac.     The real issue was becoming more and more clear for me. It was really an ecclesiastical issue. I wanted to be, without any debate, a member of the Church of the Apostles. The curse of Henry VIII had become active and I had to admit, with much regret, that Anglicanism is now and always had been a Protestant Church1.     Rome has been the answer for many former Anglicans who have reached an understanding of this truth about our Anglican heritage. There are many who have walked in the footsteps of Cardinal John Henry Newman, and the 11 November 1992 vote in the General Synod of the Church of England to approve the ordination of women is converting this steady stream into a fast flowing river. Recent converts include Charles Moore, the editor of The Sunday Telegram, the Duchess of Kent, author and priest William Oddie and, of course, the most senior prelate ever to have left the Church of England, Graham Leonard, sometime Bishop of London. Surely then, this is the logical road to walk for people who, according to the  branch theory, are part of the Western Catholic Church2? Personally speaking, as a former member of the Society of the Holy Cross, re-union with Rome was a formal part of the rule of life which I faithfully lived.     I had learned from Archbishop Michael Ramsey that the Anglican Communion wasprovisional by nature. I had heard the 102nd Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, say that our vocation as Anglicans was to put ourselves out of business3. We were a part seeking to be united with the whole.     The efforts towards corporate re-union in the last century, under the leadership of Lord Halifax and the Malines Conversations, were a rightful inheritance. In our own time we watched our hopes rise and fall with the Anglican/Roman Catholic International Commission. The work of ARCIC is now dead. The Pope has made it clear that the ordination of women is a most serious obstacle to re-union, calling it a new and insuperable barrier to Christian unity.     So, why did I not walk the Newman path to Rome? Why did I not take the Pastoral Provision for married clergy, now provided by the Vatican? Surely, Episcopal laity would feel more at home in the Roman liturgy, when comparing it to the Byzantine Rite, now used by my convert laity?     When wrestling with these questions, I was often reminded of the old Anglican cure for Roman Fever. The cure was always simply to attend a Roman Mass! Post Vatican II Catholicism has a liturgical style, which most Anglicans find simply dull and uninspiring. I too was reminded of something a priest friend often said, which was: I liked Rome better when Rome didn’t like us!     Those Anglicans looking to join the Church of Rome need to remember that the much touted book Ungodly Rage was written not about the state of The Episcopal Church, but of the Roman Catholic Church4. While exploring the Roman Church, with my own ears I had heard radical nuns invoking Sophia and the Mother God. Time and again, in theological conversation with Roman Catholics, priests, nuns and laity, I would find myself defending the Pope and Cardinal Ratzinger! Did I want to spend the rest of my life doing what I have been doing in The Episcopal Church, only in a larger circle?     As I contemplated my concern that a jump to Rome was from the fat to the fire, I was reminded of a saying from the Eastern Orthodox Church—Rome is simply the flip-side of the Protestant coin. It seems to me, and many others, that Rome is experiencing a re-discovery of the Protestant Reformation with people like Archbishop Weakland of Milwaukee, Anna Quindlen, Rosemary Radford-Reuther and Richard McBrien leading the charge much like a new vision5 of Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and Cranmer!     I remember one Roman priest telling me that Anglo-Catholics were medievalists caught in a time warp. My own Anglican theological formation by-passed the Council of Trent, looking for roots in the Fathers and the Ecumenical Councils. Being a Patristics man was far more natural for an Anglican than to be a medievalist. I had to remember that the Western Patriarchy, the Papacy, has been in schism since 1054. Any Church historian can tell you that the vote at the time of the Great Schism was four to one. If schism is sin, as several Episcopalian bishops have told me, then the Western Church has been in this sin for nearly a thousand years!     In 1992, I was asked to present a paper at the special convocation marking the 150th Anniversary of Nashotah House Seminary. The focus of this paper centered on two great bishops, Charles Chapman Grafton and the newly canonized St. Tikhon of Moscow. Grafton was deceiving to the eye. He looked every inch a Roman prelate, but to read his theology is to find a strong anti-Roman strain of thought. Grafton wrote that in times of theological confusion it is natural for Anglicans to turn to the East to find our way. Both Grafton and St. Tikhon shared a common vision of Anglican/Orthodox unity in the Faith, but Grafton had few fellow Anglicans who shared his vision.     There were, and still are, a handful of great Anglican bishops who professed that a strong East wind had affected their own theological thought. Men like Michael Ramsey, Robert Terwilliger and Stanley Atkins come quickly to mind. Canon H. Boone Porter, writing in a forum published in The Evangelical Catholic wrote: …the Eastern Churches embody many of the unachieved goals of Anglicanism6; I believe that the great Anglican bishops have known this to be true.     Orthodoxy is not strange and foreign reading for classical Anglicans. Father Carl Bell (now Father Anthony Bell, an Orthodox priest), again writing in the options forum in The Evangelical Catholic, makes a strong case showing that the  Anglican way and the Orthodox way are one and the same with the appeal to Sacred Scripture and Holy Tradition. Orthodoxy is the best of classical Anglicanism preserved in our day, with an unquestioned link to the Apostolic Church7.     Anglicans have sought the stamp of approval and validity from the Orthodox Church, almost from the very beginning of the Church of England. Great progress was made, especially in the early part of this century, but, as with Rome, our own actions dashed any formal Orthodox recognition of Anglican validity8.     Modern Orthodox theologians had become an anchor for so many orthodox Anglicans, and I was no exception. Lossky, Schmemann, Meyendorff and Hopko are only a few of the Orthodox theologians quoted often in traditionalist Episcopalian circles. I cannot count the number of times I have heard traditionalists repeat how much they felt at home reading Orthodox theologians but they could never become Orthodox because the Byzantine Rite was just too exotic!     There was a time when I would also nod my head in an understanding gesture when this kind of comment was made, so I expect many doubters when I now, in all honesty, after six months as an Eastern Rite priest, write what follows. I understand your concerns, but I can tell you that the Liturgies of St. John Chrysostom and St. Basil no longer seem complicated and long. They are now exciting and re-newing. Having made a choice between the modern Roman Rite, formal BCP worship, and the Byzantine Rite, I am now delighted and thankful to worship with the Fathers. Orthodoxy is right belief and right worship.     As a married priest, my wife and family also had to look at options. The Roman Pastoral Provision would have made my wife an exception. She is, indeed, exceptional, but she is not an exception! That she is a vital part of my life and ministry is fully understood in Orthodoxy. In the Orthodox tradition the priest’s wife is, in fact, highly exalted. My wife is learning the wonderful role of being the Khouria9. So often the married Anglican priest who takes the Pastoral Provision is not given a parish. In Orthodoxy, parish priests are normally married.     Children are also normative in Orthodox clergy families and what a joy it is to see the high priority that young people have in the Orthodox Church. My eldest son was excluded from Episcopalian campus activities due to his conservative Christian views. He found the Roman campus ministry just as secularized and strange as Canterbury House. The only difference was that it was so much bigger. Now, as an Orthodox student, he finds that he is in complete theological harmony with his fellow Orthodox students and faculty. He is, in fact, the President of the University of Kansas Orthodox Student Fellowship, which is a far cry from the reception he got in the other places. In Orthodoxy I no longer worry about what my children will experience or be taught when they attend a church function away from their own parish. I could not say the same if we were part of the Roman Catholic Church. Who can guess what strange ideas Roman nuns promote these days at Catholic Youth events?     In a reflection paper, written by Fr. Peter Geldard, former General-Secretary of the English Church Union, three questions are put to Anglicans who are looking at their options. They are as follows: Does the Church in which I wish to be sustained guarantee me the continual grace and comfort of the sacraments as they were instituted by Christ? Does my choice work for the building-up and the unity of the Church or its further disintegration? Is it a Church into which I wish to inculcate my children and grand-children because I am convinced of its future and its ability to convert our nation10?     In Holy Orthodoxy I can give a most vigorous Yes! to each of these questions. I could not give the same response if I were part of the current American Roman Catholic scene. In the Roman Church, I would still be defending the Church of God. I would be finding like minded groups striving to be the Church within the Church. As a member of the Orthodox Church, I no longer defend the Church; She defends me. Endnotes 1. For a recent theological history on the nature of Anglicanism see: Aidan Nichols, O.P., The Panther and the Hind; Edinburgh 1993. 2. See Gregory Mathews-Green, Whither the Branch Theory, The Anglican/Orthodox Pilgrim, Vol. 2, No. 4. 3. Comments made at the 1989 North American Conference of Cathedral Deans in response to questions regarding ecumenism. See also: Robert Runcie, The Unity We Seek; London 1989. 4. Donna Steichen, Ungodly Rage: The Hidden Face of Catholic Feminism, San Francisco 1994. 5. See E. C. Miller, Jr., Toward A Fuller Vision, Wilton, Ct. 1984, for a complete development of this Anglican/Orthodox vision. 6. H. Boone Porter, An Unexplored Territory, The Evangelical Catholic, Vol. XIV, No. 8, March/April 1992, p. 14. 7. Fr. Carl Bell, A New and Unknown World, The Evangelical Catholic, Vol. XIV, No. 8, March/April 1992, p. 11. 8. See address by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomaio to the Church of England General Synod, November 1993. Eastern Churches Journal, Vol. 1, No. 1, Winter 1993/94. 9. Khouria is the Arabic term for the wife of a priest. Presbytera is the common term for Greek Orthodox Christians and Matushka for Russian Orthodox. Thus, just as I would be addressed as Fr. Chad, my wife would be addressed as Khouria Shelley. 10. Unpublished paper written by Peter Geldard; Exploring the Future, 1994. By Fr. Chad Hatfield From the now defunct periodical Anglican Orthodox Pilgrim, Vol. 3, No. 1 http://www.westernorthodox.com/options.htm

Anglo-Saxon England: The English Orthodox Church (597-1066)

According to historians, during this period St. Non, the mother of St. David of Wales, and the daughter of the nobleman Cynyr of Caer Goch of Pembrokeshire, reposed and St. Materiana of Cornwall, April 9, reposed early 6th-century at Minster of Cornwall. St. Augustine, Archbishop of Canterbury, Apostle of the English. 597 Gregory the Great sends Augustine[note 16] and forty monks to Britain to convert the Kingdom of Kent; Augustine first preaches in the Isle of Thanet to King Ethelbert, receiving license to enter the Kingdom of Kent; King Ethelbert is converted and on Christmas day 10,000 of the king's subjects were baptized; Augustine was consecrated Abp. at Arles, and establishes the See of Canterbury. 598 Brandon mac Echac (d. 603) convence a synod at which the Diocese of Ferns is made an episcopal see and Aedan of Ferns is made the first Bishop; Glastonbury Abbey founded; the Church in the British Isles numbers 120 bishops, hundreds of monasteries and parishes organized under a Primate with his See at Menevia. 7th c. Celtic missions are launched in Northumbria (Aidan, Cuthbert). ca.600 Emergence of Insular art, also known as the Hiberno-Saxon style, produced in the post-Roman history of the British Isles, originating from the Irish monasticism of Celtic Christianity, or metalwork for the secular elite; the most important centres were in Ireland, Scotland and the kingdom of Northumbria in Northern England. 601 Death of David of Wales, Bishop of Menevia; Gregory sends the St Augustine Gospels to Augustine of Canterbury[note 17] 602 Augustine repares the church of our Saviour and builds the monastery of St. Peter the Apostle, "Peter" is the first abbot of the same. 603 Death of Kentigern of Glasgow; Ethelfrid, king of the Northumbrians, having vanquished the nations of the Scots, expels them from the territories of the English. 604 First Bishop of London, Mellitus consecrated by Augustine in the province of East Saxons; Repose of Saint Augustine of Canterbury "Apostle to the English;" Saint Laurence of Canterbury consecrated as the second Archbishop of Canterbury; Bp. Mellitus founded the first St. Paul's Cathedral, traditionally said to be on the site of an old Roman Temple of Diana (although Christopher Wren in the 17th c. found no evidence of this). Aidan of Lindisfarne, Enlightener of Northumbria. 612 Death of Dubricius of Caerleon, Archbishop and Confessor of Caerleon and Wales, one of the greatest of Welsh saints. 614 Death of Kentigern of Glasgow, Apostle of northwest England and southwest Scotland. 616 Death of Æthelberht (Ethelbert), King of Kent, the first Christian king of the Anglo-Saxons. 618 Death of abbot Donnan & his monk companions in Eigg. 619 Death of Laurence of Canterbury; Mellitus consecrated as third Archbishop of Canterbury. 624 Death of Mellitus, first Bishop of London. 628 Benedict Biscop born in Northumbria. 630 Audrey of Ely born in West Suffolk. 632 Death of Aed of Ferns,[note 18] Bishop of Ferns in Ireland. 635 Cuthbert born in Britain. 640 Death of Constantine of Strathclyde; death of Beuno the Wonderworker, Abbot of Clynnog.[note 19] 647 Repose of Felix of Burgundy, Apostle of East Anglia. 650 The Book of Durrow illuminated manuscript Gospel Book is begun at Durrow Abbey, Ireland in the Insular style; (Fursey of Lagny); citation needed 651 Cuthbert of Lindisfarne witnesses the soul of St. Aidan of Lindisfarne reposing as a light in the night sky and leaves for Melrose Abbey to become a monk; Repose of St. Aidan of Lindisfarne, enlightener of Northumbria of Northern England. 653 Benedict Biscop and Wilfred the Elder set off to visit Rome. 657 Whitby Abbey (Benedictine) is founded by the Anglo-Saxon King of Northumbria, Oswy (Oswiu). 661 Cuthbert of Lindisfarne and Eata join a monastery at Ripon. St. Cuthbert the Wonderworker, Bishop of Lindisfarne. Folio 27r from the Lindisfarne Gospels contains the incipit from the Gospel of Matthew. 664 Synod of Whitby; Cuthbert stricken by the great pestilence; death of St. Boisil, abbot of Melrose Abbey, Scotland;[note 20] death of St. Cedd, Apostle of Essex. 668 Gerald of Mayo follows Colman and settles in Innisboffin. 669 Theodore of Tarsus arrives in Kent at the age of seven. 670 Colman founds an English monastery, separate from the Irish, the "Mayo of the Saxons,"[note 21] with Gerald of Mayo as the first abbot. 672 Death of Chad of Lichfield and Mercia. 673 Historian Bede born. 675 Death of Ethelburgh, first abbess of the Convent of Barking 676 Cuthbert becomes a solitary on Farne Island; Malmesbury Abbey (Benedictine) is founded at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England, by the scholar-poet Aldhelm, a nephew of King Ine of Wessex. 679 Death of Audrey of Ely. 680 Death of Botolph of Iken; Repose of St. Hilda of Whitby; Sussex is the last part of England to be converted to Christianity. 681 Death of Caedmon,[note 22] 682 Foundation of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Abbey in England. 685 Cuthbert of Lindisfarne consecrated Bishop of Lindisfarne, by St. Theodore 686 Death of Cuthbert of Lindisfarne. 689 Death of Benedict Biscop, abbot, in Wearmouth, Co Durham. 690 Death of Theodore of Tarsus, eighth Archbishop of Canterbury. 694 Death of Sebbe, founder of the monastery of Westiminster. 693 Death of Erconwald, Bishop of London. 696 Incorrupt body of Audrey of Ely found. 697 Gerald of Mayo resigns as abbot of the "Mayo of the Saxons" in favour of St. Adamnan; Relics of Cuthbert of Lindisfarne revealed to be incorrupt. 703 Gerald of Mayo resumes the abbacy of the "Mayo of the Saxons". 705 The Saxon Diocese of Sherborne was founded by King Ine of Wessex, who set Aldhelm as first Bishop of the see of Western Wessex, with his seat at Sherborne. 709 Death of Wilfrid, Bishop of Hexham. 712 Glastonbury Abbey is founded as a stone church in Glastonbury, Somerset, England, under the patronage of Saxon King Ine of Wessex, although the abbey itself was founded by Britons dating to at least the early 7th century. 714 Death of Guthlac of Crowland, the hermit. ca. 715 Lindisfarne Gospels produced in Northumbria (Northern England). 716 Death of Donald of Ogilvy, Confessor of Scotland, whose nine daughters all entered a monastery in Abernethy, founded by Ss. Darlugdach and Brigid, where they became known as the Nine Maidens, or the Nine Holy Virgins. 717 In Scotland, the Iona monks were expelled by the Pictish king Nechtan son of Derile. St Bede, or the Venerable Bede, Monk of Jarrow, biblical scholar (+735). 725 During his pilgrimage to Rome, King Ina of the West Saxons first gives the tribute or alms knows as "Peter's-Pence" (otherwise called in the Saxon Romefeoh).[note 23] 731 Death of Gerald, Bishop of Mayo and english monk; Bede writes "The Ecclesiastical History of the English People"' 735 Death of Venerable Bede; See of York achieves archepiscopal status. 747 Witenagamot of England again forbids appeals to the Roman Pope; Council of Clovesho I adopts Roman calendar, observance of the feasts of Gregory the Great and Augustine of Canterbury, and adopts the Rogation Days. ca.750-800 Book of Mulling composed, an Irish pocket Gospel Book. 768 Wales adopts Orthodox Paschalion and other decrees of the Synod of Whitby at teaching of Elfoddw of Gwynedd. 781 King Charlemagne of the Franks summons Alcuin of York to head palace school at Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle) to inspire revival of education in Europe. 785 Synod of Cealchythe erects the Archbishopric of Lichfield. 787 Two councils held in England, one in the north at Pincanhale, and the other in the south at Chelsea, reaffirming the faith of the first Six Ecumenical Councils (the decrees of the Seventh having not yet been received), and establishing a third archbishopric at Lichfield. Book of Kells, Folio 183v, Text from Mark. Viking Age (793-1066) 793 Sack of Lindisfarne Priory, beginning Viking attacks on England. 794 Vikings sack the Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Abbey; Offa, King of the Mercians, offers the tribute or alms known as "Peter's Pence" (Romefeoh). 795 In the earliest recorded Viking raid on Ireland, they attack Iona, Inisbofin and Inismurray. ca.800 Book of Kells is completed by the Celts. 802 The Vikings sack Iona. 803 Council of Clovesho II abolishes archbishopric of Lichfield, restoring the pattern of the two metropolitan archbishoprics (Canterbury and York) which had prevailed before 787, and requires the use of the Western Rite amongst the English speaking peoples. 806 Vikings kill all the inhabitants on the religious island of Iona, Scotland, UK. 807 The Christianized Vikings (Danes) land on the Cornish coast, and form an alliance with the Cornish to fight against the 'heathen' West Saxons. 815 Egbert of Wessex ravages the territories of the west Welsh (Cornwall). 824 Death of Óengus of Tallaght (Óengus the Culdee), held to be the author of the Félire Óengusso ("The Martyrology of Óengus") and possibly the Martyrology of Tallaght. 825 Egbert of Wessex defeats Beornwulf of Mercia at Ellandun; Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Essex submit to Wessex and East Anglia acknowledges Egbert as overlord. 828 Egbert of Wessex becomes the first King of England. ca.830 Historia Brittonum written (known for its list of 12 battles of King Arthur). 836 Egbert of Wessex is defeated by the Danes. 838 Death of Bp. Winnoc (Gwynog, Guinoch) of Scotland, a counsellor to King Kenneth, whose prayers helped the king to vanquish the Picts in seven battles on a single day; at Hingston Down, Egbert of Wessex beats the Danish and the West Welsh. 843 Kenneth I (Cináed mac Ailpín), King of the Scots, also becomes King of the Picts, thus becoming the first monarch of the new nation of Scotland; the Alpin dynasty of Scottish kings begins to reign. Edmund the King-Martyr of East Anglia (+869). 851 Vikings plunder London and Canterbury. 852 St. Swithun becomes Bp. of Winchester, England. 855 King Æthelwulf of Wessex grants churches in the kingdom of Wessex the right to receive tithes. 866 Vikings raid and capture York in England. 869 Martyrdom of King Edmund of East Anglia. 870 Death of Ss. Beocca and Hethor, the two martyrs of Chertsey; the Great Summer Army invades England led by Bagsecg and conquers East Anglia; the buildings destroyed by the Danish invaders include the abbey of Ely and the monastery of Peterborough. 875 The Danes capture Lindisfarne and arrive in Cambridge. 878 King Alfred the Great of Wessex defeats Vikings; the Treaty of Wedmore divides England between the Anglo-Saxons and the Danes (the Danelaw). 886 St Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, captures London from the Danes. 888 Shaftesbury Abbey is founded in Dorset, England. 890 Bede's Ecclesiastical History was translated into Old English at the insistence of Alfred the Great. 899 Death of King Alfred the Great. 903 Relics of King Alfred the Great[note 24] translated to New Minster Abbey. 904 King Constantine II of Scotland (900-943) is victorious at the Battle of Scone, after which the Vikings were forced to withdraw from Scotland; according to the Fragmentary Annals of Ireland, the defeat of the Norsemen is attributed to the intercession of Saint Columba following fasting and prayer. 906 Synod at Scone, reported by the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba, where King Constantine II of Scotland and Bp. Cellach I of Cennrígmonaid met "upon the hill of credulity near the royal city of Scone, [and] pledged themselves that the laws and disciplines of the faith, and the rights in churches and gospels, should be kept in conformity with the [customs of the] Gaels". 911 Normans convert to Christianity: in the Treaty of Saint Clair-sur-Epte with King Charles the Simple, Viking leader Rollo pledged feudal allegiance to the king, changed his name to the Frankish version, and converted to Christianity, probably with the baptismal name Robert. 934 Death of Birnstan of Winchester. 935 Relics of St. Branwallader (or Brelade translated by King Athelstan to Milton Abbey.[note 25] 943 King Constantine II of Scotland retires and becomes a monk. 945 Dunstan becomes Abbot of Glastonbury. 955 Death of King Edred of England. 960 Dunstan becomes Archbishop of Canterbury, reforming monasteries and enforcing rule of Benedict; Church of St. Dunstan, Mayfield is founded in East Sussex by St. Dunstan. Edward the Martyr, King of England (+978). 971 Translation of St. Swithun's relics into an indoor shrine (previously buried outside); the ceremony is said to have been marred by 40 days of torrential rain. 972 The monastery at the site of Peterborough Cathedral is rebuilt; St. Edburga of Winchester (+960) is canonized. 977 St. Æthelwold of Winchester, Bishop of Winchester, rebuilds the western end of the Old Minster, Winchester, with twin towers and no apses. 978 Death of King Edward the Martyr. King Harold II Godwinson, last Orthodox king of England. ca.980-1000 Ramsey Psalter illuminated manuscript is produced at Winchester, intended for use at the Benedictine monastery of Ramsey. 982 Greenland is discovered by Erik the Red. 988 Death of St. Dunstan of Canterbury, Bishop of London. ca.988-1023 The Bosworth Psalter is compiled at Canterbury, including a calendar of the Orthodox Church from among the Saints of Western, especially English origin who reposed before the West fell away from Orthodoxy. 1002 Death of St. Wulsin, renewer of the Monastery of St. Peter; St. Brice's Day massacre . 1005 Irish King Brian Boru visited Armagh, confirming to the apostolic see of Saint Patrick, ecclesiastical supremacy over the whole of Ireland (as recorded in the Book of Armagh). 1006 St. Alphege goes to Pope John XVIII at Rome for his pallium and becomes Archbishop of Canterbury. 1010 Death of Ælfric of Eynsham, abbot of Eynsham and a prolific writer in Old English of hagiography, homilies, biblical commentaries. 1012 Death of St. Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury martyred to the east of London at Greenwich. 1014 Abp. Wulfstan preaches his Latin homily, "Wulf's Address to the English". 1018 Buckfast Abbey is founded at Buckfastleigh, Devon, England. 1020 Canute the Great codifies the laws of England. ca.1020 Harley Psalter illuminated manuscript is produced, probably at Christ Church, Canterbury. 1022 Aethelnoth, Archbishop of Canterbury, is received at Rome; Gloucester Abbey (Benedictine) is founded in the city of Gloucester, England, dedicated to St. Peter. 1030 Relics of St. Boisil (Boswell), Prior of Melrose (+661), are translated to Durham Cathedral by the priest Ælfred. 1043 Edward the Confessor crowned King of England at Winchester Cathedral. 1045 Edward the Confessor begins construction of Westminster Abbey. 1050 Exeter Cathedral is founded, dedicated to Saint Peter, dating from 1050, when the seat of the Bp. of Devon and Cornwall was transferred from Crediton because of a fear of sea-raids; Leofric is enthroned as Bp. of Exeter on St. Peter's Day, with King Edward the Confessor in attendance; 1065 Westminster Abbey is consecrated on December 28, 1065, only a week before Edward the Confessor's death and subsequent funeral and burial; it was the site of the last coronation prior to the Norman conquest of England, that of Harold II Godwinson.

The Orthodox experience from the British Isles

On Sunday, January 24th 1999, Fr Kyrillos Leret-Aldir concelebrated with Fr Theoklitos and Deacon Fr Emmanuel the Divine Liturgy at Sts Constantine and Helene, in Perth, Western Australia. Fr Kyrillos visited Perth from the Archbishopric of Thyateira and Great Britain. The following is transcript of an interview with Fr Kyrillos after the Divine Liturgy.

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Question: Thyateira is not a city in Great Britain, how was the Metropolis named?

The Thyateira and Great Britain is an Archbishopric or, in other words, an Archdiocese; it is much more important that a Metropolis. Many Greeks have lived in Great Britain for many centuries, and during the time of the Reformation in western Europe there was a Greek Orthodox Church in London, but it had to close because of problems with the Protestants. When the Greeks had to abandon Asia Minor at the beginning of this century, they spread throughout the world, including to Great Britain.

The Ecumenical Patriarch Meletios in 1923 established a series of Metropolis and Episcopacies using the titles from the lands of Asia Minor that were lost. Thyateira was one of the great dioceses of the Christian Church, and one of the dioceses of the Apocalypsis; you may recollect from the Book of Apocalypse (Revelation) that God sent a message to the angel of the Church in Thyatira. The name of Thyateira was given to the whole of western Europe, however London was the centre of the Metropolis. The Metropolis became an Archdiocese in the 1960's and includes the whole of the United Kingdom and Malta. Other European countries are now Metropolis' or Archdioceses in their own right.

During and after the Second World War a great influx of Polish Orthodox Christians came with the Polish armies to fight against Nazi Germany. Many of these people, including their Archbishop Sava and Bishop Matthew, settled in England and created parishes under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and acted as 'auxiliary' Bishops of Thyateira.

There is Orthodox churches spread throughout United Kingdom today, many of which are now 'Anglicised'. It must be emphasised that we also use Greek in our Divine Liturgies, because this is the language of the Bible and of the ancient prayers. My parish in Weston super-Mare, for example, is very Cypriot and is like a little village. The church has about 110 families and we use mainly Greek in the Church. In my parish in Bristol, on the other hand, the Church is Polish and includes other nationalities and around 1000 students from throughout the world who attend the universities and colleges in Bristol. The Divine Liturgy is largely in English, but we still use Greek on a regular basis.

Question: Looking at your name, Leret-Aldir, one can safely assume that you are not from Greece or eastern Europe. How did you meet the Orthodox world?

Indeed, it is very difficult to determine my origin from my name. I come from Spain and was born in Madrid, and both the Leret and Aldir families are very small and restricted geographically in Spain. The Aldir family members are descendants of Jewish and Arabic communities in Spain, and became devout and good Christians many centuries ago. The name Leret originally comes from France then Cuba. My grandfather was an officer in Cuba and came with his young wife to Spain after 1898, when Spain lost Cuba...

I went to England in 1962 on a teacher exchange agreement between the British and Spanish governments. The exchange was supposed to be for only a year, but I ended up living there since. I married in Britain, and my children were born in Britain. In 1972, I was received as an Orthodox Christian.

Question: How has the encounter with Orthodoxy and being a devout Orthodox Christian affected your life?

As a Catholic, I think I would have been as fervent as I possibly am now, but I would not have been a priest because I was a married man. Therefore, my life was changed dramatically, because I was ordained as a deacon in 1980 and soon after to the priesthood. My life as a priest became totally and unexpectedly different, but, as an Orthodox Christian and a priest, the most important thing or aspect of Orthodoxy that has modified my life is the discovery of the texts of prayer of the Orthodox Church. The Orthodox Church has a very rich and active literature that is prayed. Therefore, when we read the prayers of the Church, the verses of the Canons, Orthos, Hours etc, have the power to modify our lives. Being an Orthodox Christian opens us up and immerses us in a wealth of prayer that brings us closer to God.

A more elemental thing is that a Christian is no longer a man or a woman; a Christian is more than that. A new Christian is a new creation, as St. Paul says. We should be offended to be called a man or woman, because we not only have the knowledge of the cosmos through the sciences, our common sense and imagination, we also have the knowledge of God given by Christ.

Jesus Christ did not only come to redeem us from sin but, what is more important still, He came to give us the power to become the children of God, therefore, equal in some ways to Jesus Christ. We are not only equal, we are completely transformed and taken over by Jesus Christ. This makes us, in some way, participants of the Holy Trinity of God and we are included in the inner life of God. We, however, do not completely participate in this life, because it is an adoption and a gift.

That means, we are no longer men or women, but we have become children of God. We have entered a process of life that is partly provided by God through the Holy Sacraments, the Holy Scriptures, and through the prayers and tradition of the Church, which She received and gives to us. On our part, we also participate and collaborate with, and totally surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, not as men or women but as children of God fulfilling all the Commandments of God. We thus must deny ourselves and take up our cross, everyday, to follow Jesus Christ.

This transformation has obviously modified my life. I, as an old man, can see all this process of transformation into Jesus Christ or process of divinisation, as the Holy Fathers of the Church put it, happening with the aid of Orthodoxy, which is the purity of the tradition of Jesus Christ. This is why we have to be faithful to maintain Orthodoxy, which we must never change. If, one day our Bishops decide to modify and shorten our Services in any way it would be disastrous for the Church, because She has transformed me, you and all the Holy Fathers and Saints of the Church. The richness of Orthodoxy transforms those attending Liturgical prayers.

That is why, the greatest treasure given to me by Orthodoxy is Her Liturgical books. With these books, I quietly pray at home from the day I was Chrismated. Not only do I now live as a Christian, but as a priest I also pour out the treasury of Life and Light of Jesus Christ to other Christians who receive Him during the Sacrament of Baptism. This adoption will modify us beyond our imagination, as we live a Christian life and obey God's commandments.

My prayers for you will always be in my heart, and when I celebrate the Services of the Orthodox Church, you will be there. Therefore, the blessings of the Lord and His mercy will be with you always.

Orthodox Christianity and the English Tradition (On this day King Harold fell) Excerpt from: Orthodox Christianity and the English Tradition

55. Hastings - 1066-1993
'King Harold was slain, and Leofwine and Gyrth, his brothers, and many good men. This battle took place on the feast of St. Callistus.'
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Before us a field full of dread,
Bodies in hundreds lying dead,
Steeds riderless wandered at will,
Swords, armour, gnashing, groaning shrill.

Death it was that flew above this field,
Over the fallen and swords steeled.
Death I see, as it drifts and flies,
The souls it seems, yearn to rise
But dare not yet their bodies leave -
Yea, souls these are, not shades of eve.
(Translated from Vladimir Monomach and Gytha, Harold's Daughter, by I. Avtamonov)
Accompanied by Malcolm Dunstall, I made a private visit to the site of the Battle of Hastings on 27 October this year. Malcolm Dunstall is the founder of 'The English Companions', a 300-strong society whose aim is to promote interest in and the values of Anglo-Saxon England. I was thus able to realise a childhood ambition, to go and pray for those who were slain at Hastings by the Invader of 1066 and died calling on the Holy Cross.
Having requested and received permission from 'English Heritage', I was able to serve the Orthodox memorial service with the Canon for Slain Orthodox Warriors. This took place at the Harold-stone, the very site where 927 years ago the fate of the English nation, and so the British Isles and the whole future English-speaking world, was to be sealed.
It is our earnest hope and prayer that by the grace of God this historic anniversary commemoration, taking place on the very site and day of the fateful battle, 14 October according to the Orthodox / Julian / Old English calendar might yet become a regular and public event.
Despite the individual excommunication of Pope Leo IX twelve years before the battle, in 1054, we should not forget that the England of the period was still in communion with those who had not fallen away from the Orthodox Church, in the East. This is proved by the fact that the Norman Invasion was blessed by the Papacy and witnessed to by the many contacts after 1066 between Saxon England and Constantinople, where many thousands of Old English fled with their priests to escape the oppression of the Norman tyrant.
To the Orthodox mind, there is an even more direct link with Hastings. Harold's daughter (born 1056) was to flee England after the Invasion for friendly Denmark and thence Russia. Here she married the future Grand-Prince of Kiev, Vladimir Monomach, in the Cathedral of Our Saviour in Chernigov in April 1074. Vladimir, himself half-Greek, was the grandson of St Anne of Novgorod, who had been baptised by the Glastonbury monk and missionary, St Sigfrid of Sweden. Among the children of Vladimir and Gytha was St Mstislav-Harold (in holy baptism, Theodore, feasted on 15 April), who bore a Slav name as well as that of his maternal grandfather. According to chroniclers, 'no woman in all the world was ever happier than her', Gytha had twelve children, another of whom, George (Yuri), founded Moscow.
In his 200-page epic on Vladimir and Gytha (printed with the blessing of Bishop Hilarion), the Russian poet Igor Avtamonov writes the following:

From sundry lands, like weeds lost root,
With promises of power and loot,
William scraped the scum of the earth,
To steal our homes, land of our birth,
Our wives and kinfolk and cots dear,
To rule as lords and despots here.
The poet concludes Part II, Chapter III, entitled 'At Hastings', with these words:

Harold the King died without fear,
But told us before the slaughter
That if he were to perish here,
We should save Gytha his daughter,
And give to her Old England's crown
That we might cast the Normans down!
May the Lord look down upon us sinners and grant us, who have followed Gytha spiritually and sought to cast the demons down, eternal crowns in the unfading light of His Heavenly Kingdom.
In the sleep of the blessed grant, O Lord, eternal repose to the souls of Thy servants departed this life, Harold, last King of the Old English, his brothers Leofwine and Gyrth, his thegns, and all those who laid down their lives upon this field of battle for the Faith and England and grant them - ETERNAL MEMORY!
October 1993

The Ecclisiastical History of The English Nation

The Ecclesiastical History of England examines the religious and political history of the Anglo-Saxons from the fifth century to 731 AD. St. Bede's

 historical survey opens with a broad outline of Roman Britain's geography and history. St. Bede pays special attention to the disagreement between Roman and Celtic Christians, the dates and locations of significant events in the Christian calendar, and political upheaval during the 600's. St. Bede collected information from a variety of monasteries, early Church and government writings, and the oral histories of Rome and Britain. This book is useful to people looking for a brief survey of religious and political figures and events in Anglo-Saxon history. Readers should recognize that St. Bede's religious and political biases are subtly reflected in his historiography, diminishing its objectivity. Nonetheless, his Ecclesiastical History of England is one of the most important texts of the Anglo-Saxon history. The book's historical import is evidenced by the fact that nearly 200 hand written copies were produced in the Middle Ages. St. Bede's text has since been translated into several different languages.