30
September 653 A.D. Honorarium Dies—5th of 105 Senior
Pastors of Canterbury
Graves,
Dan. “Honorable St. Honarius of
Canterbury.” Christianity.com. Apr 2007. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/601-900/honorable-st-honorius-of-canterbury-11629729.html?utm_source=nextArticleBox&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=next-article-box. Accessed 16 May 2014.
Looking into the lives of
prominent persons such as kings and archbishops, we get a snapshot of their
day. The life of St. Honorius of Canterbury shows us a land in turmoil but a church
steadily expanding.
Honorius is thought to have been one of the
Benedictine Monks sent by Pope Gregory I to convert the English. Whether he
traveled there with St. Augustine of Canterbury in 596 or was sent with the
second group in 601 is not certain. In fact, little is known of him, except
that by his fervent and holy life he helped convert the people of Kent to Christianity.
When Archbishop Justus of Canterbury died around
627 or 628, Honorius was chosen to fill his place. In theory, this should have
been done by bishops of his own diocese, but that was impossible. Such were the
storms of the time that London and Rochester were both without bishops. The
only bishop in England who could consecrate Honorious (preserving the apostolic
succession) was Paulinus of York,* who was engaged in mission work in
Northumbria.
Paulinus and Honorius met in Lincoln, where the
former consecrated the latter as the fifth Archbishop of Canterbury.
In those days, delays in communication with Rome
were lengthy. The two wrote to Rome, asking for the pope to send them their
pallia--cloths of wool that bishops wore on their shoulders as a symbol that
their authority was recognized by the pope. The pope sent the pallia and also
gave them written permission to appoint each others successors in event of
death. That letter made Paulinus the first Bishop of York.
He would not enjoy his position long. The pagan
king, Penda of Mercia, marched across Northumbria, slaughtering its newly converted
Christian king and many other people, burning towns as he went. Paulinus fled
south, where Honorius made him Bishop of Rochester.
During Honorius' days as Archbishop, King Oswald,
reared by monks on the island of Iona, ascended to the throne of Northumbria
and invited Aidan, who was of the Celtic tradition, to preach to his people.
Aidan founded Lindisfarne. Soon the Roman and Celtic traditions would clash.
While the north was being Christianized by Celts,
Honorius sent his own missionary to East Anglia. This was Felix and he
accomplished his goal. His see was at Dunwich, but the ocean has since washed
it away.
Honorius broke the race barrier, consecrating at
different times, the first three English-born bishops for the church. These
were Ithamar, Thomas and Beretgils. When Honorius died on this day, September
30, 653, he was buried at Canterbury. After a wait of eighteen months, his
place was taken by Deusdedit, the first English-born Archbishop of Canterbury.
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*York was the capital of Northumbria. Founded by the Romans, they called it Eboracum but when Danes captured it they named it Jorvik from which we got the name York.
*York was the capital of Northumbria. Founded by the Romans, they called it Eboracum but when Danes captured it they named it Jorvik from which we got the name York.
Bibliography:
1. "Honorius." The
Dictionary of National Biography, founded in 1882 by George Smith; edited by
Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee. London: Oxford University Press, 1921 - 1996.
2. Hook, Walter Farquhar, 1798-1875.
Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury. London, R. Bentley, 1865-1884.
3. Keating, Joseph. "St.
Honorius." The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton, 1910.
4. McKilliam, A. E. A Chronicle of
the Archbishops of Canterbury. London: James Clarke and Co., 1913.
5. Various short internet articles.
Last updated July, 2007
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