Reformed Churchmen

We are Confessional Calvinists and a Prayer Book Church-people. In 2012, we remembered the 350th anniversary of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer; also, we remembered the 450th anniversary of John Jewel's sober, scholarly, and Reformed "An Apology of the Church of England." In 2013, we remembered the publication of the "Heidelberg Catechism" and the influence of Reformed theologians in England, including Heinrich Bullinger's Decades. For 2014: Tyndale's NT translation. For 2015, John Roger, Rowland Taylor and Bishop John Hooper's martyrdom, burned at the stakes. Books of the month. December 2014: Alan Jacob's "Book of Common Prayer" at: http://www.amazon.com/Book-Common-Prayer-Biography-Religious/dp/0691154813/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417814005&sr=8-1&keywords=jacobs+book+of+common+prayer. January 2015: A.F. Pollard's "Thomas Cranmer and the English Reformation: 1489-1556" at: http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Cranmer-English-Reformation-1489-1556/dp/1592448658/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420055574&sr=8-1&keywords=A.F.+Pollard+Cranmer. February 2015: Jaspar Ridley's "Thomas Cranmer" at: http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Cranmer-Jasper-Ridley/dp/0198212879/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422892154&sr=8-1&keywords=jasper+ridley+cranmer&pebp=1422892151110&peasin=198212879

Monday, June 30, 2014

30 June 888 A.D. Aethelred Died—18th of 105 Archbishops of Canterbury


30 June 888 A.D.  Aethelred Died—18th of 105 Archbishops of Canterbury

Bevans,  G. M. “Aethelread (Died AD 888).”  Brittania.com.  N.d. http://www.britannia.com/bios/abofc/aethelred.html.  Accessed 7 May 2014.

Bevans,  Portraits of the Archbishops of Canterbury. Toronto, ONT:  University of Toronto Libraries, 2011. Available here: http://www.amazon.com/Portraits-Archbishops-Canterbury-Gladys-Bevan/dp/B005HI57FS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399493248&sr=8-1&keywords=bevans+portraits+of+archbishops+of+canterbury

Aethelred
(Died AD 888)
Archbishop of Canterbury
Died: 30th June AD 888

A monk of Canterbury, named Aethelred, was appointed to the Archbishopric in AD 870. His pontificate derives lustre from the conflicts and victory of King Alfred the Great and the reception of a great multitude of Danes into the Church.

A mission was also sent, by Alfred to the Christians of India in AD 883. Aethelred died in AD 888.

Edited from G.M. Bevan's "Portraits of the Archbishops of Canterbury" (1908).

30 June 888 A.D.  Aethelred Died—18th of 105 Archbishops of Canterbury

Æthelred (or Ethelred; died 30 June 888) was an Anglo-Saxon Archbishop of Canterbury in medieval England. Although one source states that he was Bishop of Wiltshire prior to his elevation to Canterbury, this has been shown to be false. Much of Æthelred's time in office was spent dealing with the dislocations caused by the invasion of England by Vikings. There were also conflicts with King Alfred the Great over ecclesiastical matters as well as the desire of the papacy to reform the English clergy.

Contents 



Biography


Some sources, including the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in the F version of that work, state that Æthelred was transferred in 870 from the Bishopric of Wiltshire to the see of Canterbury. However, the transfer has now been proven to be taken from the life of Ælfric of Abingdon, who was archbishop from 995 to 1005. Although the story of his transfer is false, Æthelred was consecrated as archbishop in 870.[1] Why he was selected for Canterbury is unknown, as there is no contemporary information on his election.[2]

Most of Æthelred's time as archbishop was spent dealing with the effects of Viking raids, but he also had a conflict with King Alfred the Great over royal control of ecclesiastical affairs. It was during Æthelred's archbishopric that the Golden Gospels, a still-surviving 8th century gospel book, was ransomed from a raiding army and donated to Canterbury.[1] Pope John VIII also urged Æthelred and Archbishop Wulfhere of York to reform the dress of the English clergy. The Anglo-Saxon clergy wore the short tunic that was the normal costume of the laypeople of Britain. The Roman custom, however, was to wear long clerical robes or habits, and the Anglo-Saxon custom was opposed by the papacy and other continental clergy. Whether Æthelred and Wulfred took steps to try to change the dress of their clergy is unknown, but the clothing customs of the Anglo-Saxon clergy did not change.[2]

Around 877, Æthelred wrote to Pope John VIII to complain about King Alfred's conduct towards Canterbury. The exact nature of the dispute is not clear, but the reply from the pope to the archbishop still exists. The pope told the archbishop that Canterbury had papal support and that the pope had written to the king urging the king to respect the rights of the archbishop.[3] The writer Justin Pollard sees this letter as evidence of papal support for the deposition of Alfred, which Pollard alleges occurred at Christmas 878 and that the deposition was supported by Æthelred.[4] Other historians, however, do not agree that there was a deposition of the king supported by the archbishop at this time.[5][6]

Æthelred also reached an agreement with Ælfred, an ealdorman, where Ælfred was granted the life use of a Canterbury estate in return for bequeathing one of his estates to Canterbury after his death. The document that records this agreement is not dated, however, so it is unknown when exactly during Æthelred's episcopate the document was drawn up.[2] Another problem for the archbishop was a decline in the abilities of the scribes at Canterbury, which is dramatically illustrated by the document, which has a number of errors and duplications. Other documents of the period show that some of the scribes had little knowledge of Latin.[7]

Æthelred died 30 June 888.[8]

Citations


1.       ^ Jump up to: a b Wareham "Æthelred (d. 888)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

2.       ^ Jump up to: a b c Brooks Early History of the Church of Canterbury pp. 149–152

3.       Jump up ^ Abels Alfred the Great p. 244

4.       Jump up ^ Pollard Alfred the Great pp. 160–166

5.       Jump up ^ Wormald "Alfred (848/9–899)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

6.       Jump up ^ Abels Alfred the Great pp. 150–155

7.       Jump up ^ Brooks Early History of the Church of Canterbury pp. 172–173

8.       Jump up ^ Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 214

References



External links


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