Paulinus of York

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Saint Paulinus of York
Bishop of York
Statue of Paulinus at Rochester Cathedral
Enthroned 627
Ended 633
Predecessor Founder
Successor Chad
Consecration 627
Born 584 Rome, Byzantine Empire
Died 10 October 644 Rochester, Kent
Christianity Portal
Saint Paulinus of York
Bishop
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church
Anglican Communion
Feast 10 October
Attributes An archbishop holding a model of a small wooden church; baptizing Edwin of Northumbria
Patronage York; Rochester; those displaced from office
Saints Portal

St Paulinus (born c. 584[citation needed]; died 10 October 644) was the first Bishop of York and Bishop of Rochester in England.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Paulinus was a monk at St Andrew's Monastery in Rome, when, in 601, Pope Gregory I sent him to join Mellitus and others in the second group of missionaries to England.[1] Writing in 731, Bede described Paulinus as "a tall figure, slightly bent, with black hair, a thin hooked nose, and an emaciated face."[2] He was in Kent until 625, when he was consecrated as bishop by Justus on July 21.[3] He then accompanied Æthelburg, the sister of King Eadbald of Kent, to Northumbria where she was to marry King Edwin.[1]

[edit] Bishop of York

According to Bede, Paulinus eventually convinced Edwin to convert to Christianity, baptizing him and many of his followers at York in 627.[4] Gregory desired York to be England's second metropolitan see. So Paulinus built a small wooden church there and, with the support of Edwin, he greatly expanded the church throughout Northumbria. For example, during a stay with Edwin and Æthelburg at their palace in Yeavering, he worked incessantly for thirty-six days baptizing new converts, according to Bede, "wash[ing] them with the water of absolution in the River Glen, which is close by."[5] He also worked in Lindsey converting the inhabitants, and built a church in Lincoln.[6]

[edit] Bishop of Rochester

When Edwin was defeated and killed in battle in 633,[3] Paulinus took the queen and her children to Kent, where he spent the remainder of his life as Bishop of Rochester.[4] He died on 10 October 644 at Rochester.[7][1] Edwin's defeat led immediately to a sharp decline of Christianity in Northumbria. Although Paulinus' deacon, James, remained in the North and struggled to rebuild the Roman mission,[8] it was monks from the rival Celtic tradition who eventually re-established Christianity in the region, York eventually becoming a mere bishopric.

[edit] Legends

A legend once told in the town of Caistor concerning St. Paulinus of York states that as the saint was riding an ass along the ancient trackway that runs near the town, he met a man sowing corn. Paulinus asked for some grain to feed his ass; the man replied that he had none. Spotting a sack in the field, Paulinus asked the man what it contained. "That is no sack," the man lied, "but only a stone." "Then stone it shall be," the saint replied. The stone is now known as Fonaby Stone (also known as the Sack Stone or Stone Sack), which sits upon Fonaby Top, and any attempt to move, displace, or damage is said to result in dreadful misfortune. This is said to have occurred around 627, during St. Paulinus' visit to Caistor.[9]

[edit] Veneration

The festival of Saint Paulinus is formally observed by English Roman Catholics on 10 October, the anniversary of his death.[10] The day is a Lesser Festival in the Church of England. Five ancient churches in England were dedicated to Paulinus, and there were cults of him at Canterbury and Rochester.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c Walsh, Michael A New Dictionary of Saints: East and West London: Burns & Oates 2007 ISBN 0-8601-2438-X p. 475
  2. ^ quoted in Stenton, F. M. Anglo-Saxon England Third Edition Oxford:Oxford University Press 1971 ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5 p. 116
  3. ^ a b Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology, Third Edition, revised, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 224. ISBN 0-521-56350-X. 
  4. ^ a b Ashely, Mike The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens New York: Carroll & Graff 1998 ISBN 0-7967-0692-9 p. 278-280
  5. ^ W.W. Tomlinson, Comprehensive guide to the county of Northumberland. Reprinted 1968. (Trowbridge, UK: Redwood), 504.
  6. ^ Stenton, F. M. Anglo-Saxon England Third Edition Oxford:Oxford University Press 1971 ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5 p. 115-116
  7. ^ Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology, Third Edition, revised, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 221. ISBN 0-521-56350-X. 
  8. ^ Stenton, F. M. Anglo-Saxon England Third Edition Oxford:Oxford University Press 1971 ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5 p. 116
  9. ^ Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain (London: The Reader’s Digest Association, 1973), 288.
  10. ^ Paulinus of York at Patron Saints Index accessed on 18 August 2007

[edit] References

  • Farmer, David Hugh. The Oxford Dictionary of Saints (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978), 318-9.
  • Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology, Third Edition, revised, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X. 
  • Stenton, F. M. Anglo-Saxon England Third Edition Oxford:Oxford University Press 1971 ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5

[edit] External links

Roman Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
New Creation		 Bishop of York
627–633		 Succeeded by
Chad
Preceded by
Romanus		 Bishop of Rochester
633–644		 Succeeded by
Ithamar
Persondata
NAME Paulinus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Paulinus
SHORT DESCRIPTION Bishop of Rochester; Archbishop of York; Saint
DATE OF BIRTH c584
PLACE OF BIRTH Rome, Italy
DATE OF DEATH October 10, 644
PLACE OF DEATH Rochester, Kent, England