19 September 690 A.D. Theodore of Tarsus Died—One of the Good Archbishops of Canterbury (7th of 105)…Scholarly, Pastoral, Kindly & Christian

19 September 690 A.D.   Theodore of Tarsus Died—One of the Good Archbishops of Canterbury (7^th of 105)…Scholarly, Pastoral, Kindly & Christian

Editors. “Saint Theodore of Canterbury.”  Encyclopedia Britannica.  18 Jun 2013. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/590646/Saint-Theodore-of-Canterbury.  Accessed 22 May 2014.  

Saint Theodore of Canterbury,  (born c. 602, Tarsus, Cilicia, Asia Minor—died Sept. 19, 690, Canterbury, Kent, Eng.; feast day September 19), seventh archbishop of Canterbury and the first archbishop to rule the whole English Church.

Appointed by Pope St. Vitalian, Theodore was consecrated in 668 and then set out from Rome with SS. Adrian, abbot of Nerida, Italy, and Benedict Biscop, later abbot of Wearmouth and Jarrow, Durham. In 669 they reached Canterbury, where Theodore made Adrian the abbot of SS. Peter and Paul monastery, afterward named St. Augustine’s. There they created a famous school influential in the lives of such brilliant scholars as the celebrated historian St. Bede the Venerable and the skilled church architect St. Aldhelm.

Theodore organized the English Church, many sees of which were vacant on his arrival and others of which needed to be divided. In 672 he called at Hertford the first general synod of the English Church to end certain Celtic practices and to divide dioceses. The division issue was postponed, but the synod imposed the date of the Roman Easter, established obedience for clerics and monks, forbade bishops to interfere in other dioceses, and reaffirmed the church teaching on marriage and divorce.

During this period Theodore came into sharp conflict with Wilfrid, whom he had made bishop of York but whom he soon deposed. Wilfrid went to Rome in 677/678 to protest. Meanwhile, in 678, Theodore helped settle relations between King Aethelred of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia and King Ecgfrith of Northumbria, whom Aethelred had defeated in battle. Theodore’s synod at Hatfield in 679 cleared the English Church from associations with the heresy of the Monothelites. In 686 he mended the conflict with Wilfrid by admitting his error and effecting Wilfrid’s restoration. Theodore’s Penitential, a collection of his rulings made by his disciples, became influential in England and on the Continent.

Theodore’s greatest achievement was to adapt the Roman ideal of a centralized church to English conditions. His establishment of a centralized church under the archbishopric of Canterbury in close alliance with secular rulers was maintained by his successors. No biography of Theodore has survived.

19 September 690 A.D. Theodore of Tarsus Died—One of the Good Archbishops of Canterbury (7th of 105)…Scholarly, Pastoral, Kindly & Christian

19 September 690 A.D.   Theodore of Tarsus Died—One of the Good Archbishops of Canterbury (7th of 105)…Scholarly, Pastoral, Kindly & Christian

Graves, Dan. “Theodore of Tarsus: Acceptable to Everybody.”  Christianity.com. Apr 2007. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/601-900/theodore-of-tarsus-acceptable-to-all-11629741.html.  Accessed 22 May 2014.

Theodore of Tarsus was not anyone's first choice for the post of Archbishop of Canterbury. As it proved, however, he was a good alternate.

When Deusdedit, the fifth Archbishop of Canterbury, died, Wighard, a priest recommended by King Oswald of Northumbria, proceeded to Rome to be consecrated for the vacant position. He died of plague before he could receive consecration. The pope decided to appoint his own man. In a monastery near Naples, there was an African-born abbot named Adrian who understood church discipline, classical languages and was well-read in the Bible.

Pope Vitalian ordered Adrian to become the Archbishop of Britain. But Adrian replied that he was unworthy of such an honor. He proposed a monk named Andrew instead. It turned out that Andrew had all of the qualifications except one: health. He was too ill to go. The pope told Adrian to begin packing. Again Adrian resisted; he pleaded for time to find someone else.

This time Adrian turned up a healthy, well-trained, sixty-six year old monk named Theodore. Pope Vitalian agreed that Theodore might have the job. However, Adrian must accompany Theodore to England.

The pope had several reasons for imposing this condition. First, Adrian had already traveled through France twice. His knowledge would be of help to Theodore. Second, Adrian would be able to take with some of his abbey's monks as assistants. Third, Adrian could keep an eye on Theodore to make sure he did not introduce errors among the English.

Avoiding errors was especially important. England had long been divided between Christians of the Celtic tradition and those who accepted Roman forms. Only recently, at the synod of Whitby, had the whole island adopted the Roman tradition. Resentment still ran high. Theodore could have complicated matters by introducing yet a third tradition, for he was from Tarsus in the Roman Empire's Eastern province, Celicia. In fact, Theodore had to wait four months for his hair to grow out so he could get the proper Roman haircut!

Two months after Theodore's ordination, Adrian and he set out. They were detained at Arles, waiting for authorization to travel through France. Afterward Theodore stayed with the bishop of Paris while Adrian visited several other bishops. A hard winter overtook Adrian and he had to prolong his stay among the French. Theodore then crossed the channel, but Adrian remained behind because he was sick. As a further complication, Ebrin, the King's mayor of the palace, detained Adrian on suspicion of conspiracy.

After Adrian finally joined Theodore in England, the two made a circuit of the entire nation. Theodore was well received everywhere he went; he ordained bishops and corrected abuses. Under his administration, local councils were held. Saxon historian Bede said Theodore was the "first archbishop whom all the English church obeyed." Together Theodore and Adrian taught Roman forms and the proper dating of Easter; and Adrian schooled the English in mathematics, astronomy, Latin and the Bible.

Bede considered those the happiest days of England. Theodore of Tarsus was archbishop for twenty-one years and left a united church. He is commemorated in the Anglican church on this day, September 19, each year. After Theodore died, Adrian finally accepted the archbishop post that was supposed to have been his from the start.

Bibliography:

1.      Bede. A History of the English Church and People [Ecclesiastical History of England]. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin, 1968.

2.      Hook, Walter Farquhar, 1798-1875. Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury. London, R. Bentley, 1865-1884.

3.      Hunter-Blair, D.O. "Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury." The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton, 1914.

4.      McKilliam, Annie E. A Chronicle of the Archbishops of Canterbury. London: J. Clarke, 1913.

5.      "Theodore of Tarsus." Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford, 1950.

6.      "Theodore of Tarsus, St." Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, edited by F. L. Cross, F. L. and E. A. Livingstone. Oxford, 1997.

Last updated June, 2007