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Whitby, Synod of
Whitby, Synod of (664), the setting for the resolution of a local flare‐up of the paschal controversy in Northumbria. Oswald, king of Northumbria (634–42), was baptized in Iona and introduced missionaries from there to establish the church in his kingdom. His brother king Oswiu (642–70), according to Bede, ‘thought nothing could be better than Irish teaching, having been instructed and baptized by the Irish and having a complete grasp of their language’. By this time the Irish churches were themselves divided on the paschal question, and an argument erupted in England between Bishop Fínán of Lindisfarne, originally from Iona, and a southern Irishman Rónán, ‘who had been instructed in Gaul and Italy in the authentic practice of the church’. Their dispute divided the king, who followed the Celtic practice, and the queen, from Kent, who followed the Roman method. At a synod in Whitby, the centre piece of Bede's Ecclesiastical History, the queen brought the English Bishop Wilfrid and a Frankish bishop Agilbert, trained in the south of Ireland, to dispute with Fínán's successor Colmán, and King Oswiu agreed to adopt the Roman practice. The Iona clergy left Northumbria at this point, and Bishop Wilfrid toured England to spread the Roman practice there. The notion that this synod represented the end of an entity that could be called the Celtic church, independent of Roman control, derives from a simplistic Protestant reading of Bede's work.
Richard Sharpe |
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"Whitby, Synod of." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Whitby, Synod of." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O245-WhitbySynodof.html "Whitby, Synod of." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O245-WhitbySynodof.html |
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Whitby, Synod of
Whitby, Synod of, 664. The Northumbrian church, which began with Paulinus and Roman Christianity, was revived by Aidan, who introduced Celtic customs from Iona. The most controversial difference, the dating of Easter, was the main issue at Whitby. Bede highlights the inconvenience when King Oswiu's Celtic Easter conflicted with his queen Eanflæd's Roman observance. As the dates rarely diverged, it is possible the debate was prompted by political tension between Oswiu and his son Alhfrith, subking of Deira. Influenced by Wilfrid, whom he made abbot at Ripon, expelling Celtic adherents, Alhfrith had recently adopted Roman practices.
Key Northumbrians representing the Celtic cause at Whitby were Abbess Hilda, Cedd, bishop to the East Saxons, and Bishop Colman of Lindisfarne. Wilfrid was spokesman for the visiting Frankish bishop Agilbert from Wessex, and his priest Agatho, main advocates for Rome. Oswiu's decision to conform with the greater body of Roman Christianity may have been politically expedient. He probably defused a situation created by Alhfrith, and won vital papal acknowledgement of his supremacy in England. Whitby prepared the way for unification of the English church by Theodore, next archbishop of Canterbury. Audrey MacDonald |
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JOHN CANNON. "Whitby, Synod of." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Whitby, Synod of." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-WhitbySynodof.html JOHN CANNON. "Whitby, Synod of." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-WhitbySynodof.html |
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Synod of Whitby
Synod of Whitby called by King Oswy of Northumbria in 663 at Whitby, England. Its purpose was to choose between the usages of the Celtic and Roman churches, primarily in the matter of reckoning the date of Easter (see calendar ; Celtic Church ). Among those involved in the synod were Cædmon, the poet, and St. Hilda , the abbess of Whitby, who favored the Celtic usages. St. Wilfrid , Abbot of Ripon was the chief spokesperson for the Roman usages. Oswy decided for the Roman usages and in so doing determined that the English church would be associated with the Roman in the main stream of Western European Christianity. Only a few of the Celtic clergy returned to the monastery of Iona and to their old ways. The traditional date (from Bede) of 664 has recently been interpreted as Sept. or Oct., 663. |
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"Synod of Whitby." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Synod of Whitby." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Whitby-S.html "Synod of Whitby." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Whitby-S.html |
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Whitby, Synod of
Whitby, Synod of (664) A church council that resolved the differences between the Celtic and Roman forms of Christian worship in England, particularly the method used for calculating the date of Easter. The Celtic Church had its own method of fixing the date of Easter; this was a matter of dispute after the arrival of St AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY's mission. The Celtic case was presented by St Colman, Bishop of Lindisfarne. The Roman case was put forward by St Wilfrid of Ripon, whose arguments were finally accepted by King OSWY of Northumbria. This decision was crucial, severing the connection with the Irish church and allowing for the organization of the English church under Roman discipline. Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury, summoned an assembly of the whole English church at Hertford in 672.
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"Whitby, Synod of." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Whitby, Synod of." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-WhitbySynodof.html "Whitby, Synod of." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-WhitbySynodof.html |
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Whitby, Synod of
Whitby, Synod of, 664. The Northumbrian church, which began with Paulinus and Roman Christianity, was revived by Aidan, who introduced Celtic customs from Iona. The most controversial difference, the dating of Easter, was the main issue at Whitby.
Key Northumbrians representing the Celtic cause at Whitby were Abbess Hilda, Cedd, bishop to the East Saxons, and Bishop Colman of Lindisfarne. Wilfrid was spokesman for the visiting Frankish bishop Agilbert from Wessex, and his priest Agatho, main advocates for Rome. King Oswiu's decision to conform with the greater body of Roman Christianity may have been politically expedient. The synod prepared the way for unification of the English church by Theodore, next archbishop of Canterbury. |
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JOHN CANNON. "Whitby, Synod of." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Whitby, Synod of." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-WhitbySynodof.html JOHN CANNON. "Whitby, Synod of." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-WhitbySynodof.html |
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Whitby, Synod of
Whitby, Synod of a conference held in Whitby in 664 that resolved the differences between the Celtic and Roman forms of Christian worship in England, in particular the method of calculating the date of Easter. The Northumbrian Christians had followed the Celtic method of fixing the date while those of the south had adopted the Roman system. King Oswy (612–70) of Northumbria decided in favour of Rome, and England as a result effectively severed the connection with the Celtic Church.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Whitby, Synod of." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Whitby, Synod of." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-WhitbySynodof.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Whitby, Synod of." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-WhitbySynodof.html |
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Whitby, Synod of
Whitby, Synod of (664), a council held by King Oswiu of Northumbria to establish unity of practice in the date of observing Easter (see PASCHAL CONTROVERSIES) and the style of the tonsure within his territory. Oswiu decided to follow the tradition of St Peter. Northumbria adopted the Roman practice and those clergy who would not change withdrew to Iona and later to Ireland. Despite the view of historians, there is little reason to think that the Synod had much influence outside Northumbria.
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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Whitby, Synod of." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Whitby, Synod of." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-WhitbySynodof.html E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Whitby, Synod of." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-WhitbySynodof.html |
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