Christian History - An evaluation of the Synod of Whitby (AD 664) with reference to the political and historical context of contemporary Northumbria.
Rev. Graham Louden, M.A., Dip.Ed. (Oxon), B.A., A.C.P., (Hon.) D.D.
It has long been traditional amongst historians of the period to represent the Synod of
Whitby and its outcome as a momentous event in English history and a definitive
turning point in the identity and allegiance of the English church. This inter-
pretation of the Synod has endured over the centuries to the extent that, only
recently, the historian Patrick Wormald expressed his frustration trenchantly in
the following paragraph written in 2005,
'From the days of George Buchanan, supplying the initial propaganda for the
makers of the Scottish kirk, until a startlingly recent date, there was warrant
for the anti-Roman, anti-episcopal and, in the nineteenth century, anti-
establishment stance in the Columban or 'Celtic' church…..The idea that there
was a 'Celtic Church' in something of a post-Reformation sense, is still
maddeningly ineradicable from the minds of students.'
This enduring interpretation may well be due to the limited scope and intent of the
source material available and also to the desire of ecclesiastical historians over the
centuries to give primacy to the overarching theme of the evolution of the church
universal and its relentless expansion. Any detailed account of the Synod derives
almost exclusively from that provided by the Venerable Bede in his Historiam
Ecclesiastical Gentis Anglorum completed in 731 supplemented by a hagiographical
Life of Wilfred written by Eddius Stephanus (Stephen of Ripon) around 710. Both
of these works were written at some distance although Bede did have access to the
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the work by Eddius and is also said to have known surviving participants in
the synod such as Acca of Hexham whom he described as the 'dearest of all prelates
upon earth', It is also possible that Bede's reputation and stature as an historian, to
an extent the 'father' of history, has come to overshadow and repress informed
scrutiny of the Synod. Bede's insistence on the importance of accurate chronology
wherever possible, his elegant and stylish deployment of the Latin language, his
faithful attribution of sources and his ability to blend homiletic material seamlessly
into the narrative all mark him out as a biblical scholar and historian of renown but
his work was intended as an 'ecclesiastical' history and it would not be surprising if
he had been minded to give additional prominence to those events which he
considered important staging posts in the advancement of the church. The Paschal
controversy was, indeed, an issue in which Bede, as a biblical scholar, especially
interested himself and had addressed in his works, De Temporibus (703) and De
Temporum Ratione (725).
A corrective to the assumption that Bede's account of the Synod is accepted as being
an accurate record of the proceedings may be found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle,
prepared around 891 in the time of Alfred which, curiously, makes no mention of the
Synod; instead, both the Parker Chronicle and the Laud Chronicle include the same
entry for the year 664, viz. 'Colman with his companions went to his native land' but
provide no explanation for this happening although interestingly, the year 671 was
noted as the year of 'the great mortality of birds'! Given the quantity of material
pertaining to Northumbrian history that is detailed in the Chronicle, this omission
does appear odd if the Synod was contemporaneously regarded as a pivotal moment.
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In general, historical events involve a complex mixture of antecedents, motivation
and personalities. The Synod of Whitby needs to be studied and understood against a
background of political instability in Northumbria and parallel uncertainty in the
sphere of shifting religious allegiance. The kingdom of Northumbria had come
into being after the victory of Aethelfrith at the Battle of Degsastan. After his death,
he was succeeded by Edwin of Deira (a Roman Christian) and the Bernician dynasty
founded by Aethelfrith was forced to take refuge in Pictish and Scottish territory
where many were baptised into the 'Celtic' Christian faith practised by their hosts.
In 633, the Bernician prince Oswald regained the throne and turned to Iona for help
with the conversion of his people. Aidan and a small band of monks responded and
founded a monastery at Lindisfarne; later they were joined by many more Scottish
monks and began to extend their missionary activity into Mercia (where the baptism
of Peada in 653 was a signal success) and the East Saxon lands. Their work was
zealous and effective and it is well nigh impossible to say how much of the
conversion of the English was achieved by Roman or Celtic missions. The pure and
ascetic life style of the Celtic missionaries was greatly admired and contrasted
strongly with the organisation and panoply of the Roman church with its growing
desire for universal authority. The Celtic church had been largely isolated from Rome
for 150 years and was possibly offended by the assumptions and perceived arrogance
of the papacy as indicated in the attitude of Augustine towards Celtic bishops whom
Pope Gregory had described (probably out of ignorance) as 'unlearned, weak and
perverse'.
Nevertheless, by the mid-seventh century, the Roman church had come to realise the
value of uniformity and of a universal church ruled from Rome and felt that the
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existence of a powerful group of Christians who did not acknowledge papal
supremacy could no longer be tolerated Already, too, some in the Celtic church
were beginning to realise that they could not ignore indefinitely the benefits of
closer linkage with Rome and an emergence from their isolation.In addition, Roman
practices were steadily advancing northwards as a result of the activities of Augustine
of Canterbury. In 633, the southern Irish had accepted the Roman method for
calculating Easter while these practices were often introduced into the Celtic sphere
of influence as a result of trade, travel and exile. A prime example of this was the
wife of King Oswiu, Eanfled, who had been removed to Kent during the reign
of Oswald but returned on her marriage to Oswiu with her Roman entourage and
customs. This precipitated a crisis at court where it became necessary to celebrate
Easter twice at different times. By this time, the saintly Aidan was dead and, without
the constraint of his presence, it seemed appropriate to resolve this anomaly by
means of a Synod at which advocates of both persuasions would argue the case
before the king after which he would rule on the issue. The occasion was the
Synod of Whitby in 664 (or 663 according to Stenton chronology).
Bede's account of the proceedings at Whitby suggest a stylised and highly civilised
debate which is not altogether convincing given the controversial nature of the
issues and the heat which such matters could generate. One has only to study the
records of debates involving Martin Luther at the time of the Reformation to discern
the passion and polemic that they could engender. At Whitby, the Celtic persuasion
was represented by king Oswiu, bishop Cedd of the East Saxons, the Abbess Hild at
whose monastery at Streanaeshalch the meeting was held and Colman, bishop of
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Lindisfarne who acted as their spokesman. The Roman party comprised Alchfrith
son of Oswiu and sub-king of Deira, Agilberht , bishop of the West Saxons, James
the Deacon and Wilfrid of Ripon who was then ruling a monastic community at
Ripon. Alchfrith's motives in playing a prominent role in the summons of the synod
are not touched upon but it is, perhaps, legitimate to speculate that he wished to
enhance his power within the kingdom and considered that closer links with Rome
and the patronage of the ambitious Wilfrid would forward his ambitions.
In the course of the debate as contained in Bede's historical narrative, the two
principal advocates, Colman and Wilfrid, both argued forcefully that their method of
calculating Easter was based upon worthy precedent. According to Colman, the
Celtic practice could be traced back to the apostle John to which Wilfrid retorted
that the Roman practice had been handed down by both Peter and Paul and had been
followed from the outset by their churches. He also argued that, even if it were the
case that John had used the Celtic practice, this would have been only a provisional
dispensation to suit a particular congregation at a particular period in the evolution
of the church. From the historical perspective, it is quite clear that both practices had
co-existed for some centuries but that the tide was already turning in favour of the
Roman method. The calculation of Easter involved a complicated system intended
to reconcile the solar and lunar years by means of a cycle of years. At various
times, cycles of 8, 11, 19 and 84 years had been used for this purpose and it seems
probable that the tables based upon an 84-year cycle had been brought to Britain by
Celtic bishops who had attended the Council of Arles in 314. In 455, Rome accepted
and ordered the use of the 19 year cycle as advocated by Victorius of Acquitaine and
this was implemented by those parts of England controlled by Canterbury and, after
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633, by the southern Irish. Clearly, by the time of the Synod, there was absolutely
no possibility that the Celtic tradition could supplant the Roman within the wider
church and this was underlined by Wilfrid in the speech attributed to him when he
stressed the folly of resisting the authority of St.Peter and refusing to follow the
example of all the rest of Christendom. Although Bede states that the only point
at issue in the Synod was date of celebrating Easter (and the tonsure issue), the fact
that he records Wilfrid as emphasising this wider context and significance,
suggests that he was fully aware of the implications of any decision on the Celtic
branch of the church. Wilfrid's 'triumph' was based upon two main points: firstly,
he referred to contemporary practice and pointed out that even the followers of
the apostle John now celebrated Easter according to the Roman fashion and,
secondly, he rebutted Colman's question as to how such holy men as Columba
and Anatolius could have erred so greatly as claimed over the Easter dating by
stating that Peter, as the rock on which the church is built and the keeper of the
keys, must be a superior authority. Oswiu reportedly turned to Colman and
asked whether he could say properly attribute any similar authority to Columba;
Colman's 'nihil' was conclusive and Oswiu ruled in favour of the Roman
practice saying that he would not risk a hostile reception from Peter himself at
the gates of heaven. After a brief visit to Lindisfarne to bid farewell to his
community, Colman and his fellow monks returned to Ireland where they could
still practice their religion according to their preference. The 'Roman' victory was
complete.
The scale of this victory, however, is debatable as Oswiu's decision applied only
to Northumbria and many decades were required for the complete implementation
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of the Roman ways. At the centre, York immediately supplanted Lindisfarne as
the episcopal centre of Northumbria with Wilfrid as its bishop (664-78) but even
within the kingdom and more so beyond the borders, the process of Romanisation
was slow and painstaking. Britain was a complex patchwork of shifting kingdoms
(twelve existed around 600 AD) with disputed boundaries and frequent changes of
ruler. Strenuous efforts and reforming zeal were required to extend the Roman
mandate throughout the lands and much of this work was carried out by Wilfrid,
Theodore of Tarsus and Benedict Biscop. Their especial concern was the lack of
effective leadership at a time (669) when only three men were known to have been
in bishop's orders in the whole of England. The Synod of Hertford, summoned by
Theodore in 672 issued a number of canons relating to the conduct of bishops, in
particular enjoining them to remain within their sees and concentrate on their duties.
After 669, Theodore appointed a number of new bishops (initially to Winchester,
Dunwich and Rochester and then proceeded to create new sees at North Elmham,
Worcester, Hereford and Lindsey to supplement the existing ones. This work was
the key to disseminating the messages of Whitby and Hertford and the broader thrust
of the Roman establishment. Paradoxically, it was in Northumbria that the task was
most difficult due to the stubborn stance of Wifrid who opposed any diminution of
his immense power as sole bishop of Northumbria. A love of pomp and panoply
which would not have disgraced Cardinal Wolsey centuries later, did not endear
him to his contemporaries and he was twice expelled from Northumbria (in 677 and
691) and only half-heartedly supported by the Pope to whom he appealed on both
occasions. The work of Romanisation proceeded, apace despite the distraction
posed by Wilfrid who was often his own worst enemy; his first expulsion, for
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example came about when he persuade the king's beloved wife to retire to a convent,
a triumph which, unsurprisingly was not pleasing to Ecgfrith ! Nevertheless, by
the second decade of the eighth century, when Nechtan, king of the Picts enforced
the recommended Easter tables on the Pictish Church after consultation with
Ceolfrith, abbot of Monkwearmouth and Jarrow (Bede's home monastery), the
authority of Rome was almost universally acknowledged, except for some areas of
the north of Ireland. Iona, itself, had capitulated around 716 due to the efforts of
Adamnan and Egbert.
The importance of Whitby, therefore, lies not so much in an immediate and wide-
spread change of allegiance but in the clear message that it gave to the Celtic church
that the tide was turning against it and that it faced a future of isolation and retreat
accompanied by increasing pressure from the Roman church. Over the next fifty
years, the Celtic church became more peripheral and, by its very nature, it was
unable to organise itself with the same flair and zeal that was second nature to the
Roman church. We cannot easily say what was the most important issue at the
Synod of Whitby; to some, no doubt, it was the embarrassing schism at court, to
others such as Alchfrith, it involved political manoeuvring, for many it did focus
upon the central issue of the celebration of Easter and, by extension, the universalist
aspirations of the Roman pontiff.
Bede, himself, seems quite clear that the Easter controversy was the fons et origo of
the Synod despite the fact that his own account alludes to the wider issue of a
uniform doctrine and papal authority. Even his most distinguished editor,, Charles
Plummer, in the introduction to his magisterial edition of 1896, professes himself
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puzzled by Bede's insistence on this point and a degree of unwonted asperity in his
style. He writes,
'And yet we cannot help feeling that the question occupies a place in Bede's
mind out of all proportion to its real importance. It is sad that he should think
it necessary to pause in the middle of his beautiful sketch of the sweet and
saintly character of Aidan to say that 'he much detests' his mode of keeping
Easter; it is strange that he should apply to this question the words which
St. Paul used with reference to such infinitely more important matters,
expressing the fear lest he 'should run or have run in vain'…..But the holiest
men have their limitations, and questions even less important have divided
Christians ere now.'
Bede is a wonderful literary and historical source and starting point for any study
of the Synod of Whitby but, as ever, it underlines the need, wherever possible, for
the widest possible array of sources in order to arrive at a balanced verdict. The
spread of the early church in Britain followed by the imposition of the Roman
dispensation is a long and complex story further complicated by the plethora of
kingdoms, the paucity of source material and the fragmented nature of society
at the time. Without Bede, however, we would lack an introduction to this event,
couched in impeccable Latin and underpinned by an unwavering desire to write
truthfully for the benefit of posterity. At the very least, his account of the Synod
is exactly how we would wish the event to have proceeded, in the spirit of Christian
humility and informed debate.
Bibliography
Baedae Opera Historica, Plummer, Oxford 1896
Anglo-Saxon England, P. Hunter Blair, Cambridge 1962
Anglo-Saxon England, F.M.Stenton, Oxford History of England vol. II
Life of Bishop Wilfrid, B. Colgrave, OUP 1969
Rev. Graham Louden
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