The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 1

III. Romanism Triumphs at Whitby in 664

1. AIDAN OF IONA RECOVERS ENGLAND FROM PAGANISM

Paulinus, another Roman missionary, sent by Gregory in 601 to augment the mission of Augustine, advanced northward. But facing difficulties, he abandoned the task, and the night of heathenism again settled over that section of the land. Rome’s failure became Britain’s opportunity. After the turmoil in Northumbria, Ethelfrid’s sons found refuge in Iona, and the Columbans were invited to send a teacher to instruct the people. So AIDAN (d. 651) ³⁹ of Iona, founder of the Northumbrian church, was dispatched in response to the call of King Oswy (Oswald) of Northumbria to evangelize his people. With his helpers Aidan landed in 635 at Lindisfarne, an island off the coast of Northumberland, near Berwick-on-Tweed. There he erected a church and a school, and from this center he went forth preaching, teaching, and establishing other churches and schools. Great numbers were won to the faith. Lindisfarne was now the mother monastery that furnished the missionaries. And for thirty years these missionaries went forth and won much of England to Christ. That is why Lightfoot was con strained to say, “Not Augustine, but Aidan is the true apostle of England.” ⁴⁰ PFF1 604.4

From Lindisfarne missionaries went to the other sections of England, and these efforts were supported by missionaries from Ireland. Most of Christian England was attached to the Scottish church; Wina of Wessex was in communion with British bishops, and in 664 only Kent and East Anglia were in complete communion with Rome and Canterbury. ⁴¹ PFF1 605.1

2. AUGUSTINE’S MISSION ONLY AN INCIDENT

It seems strange that Roman Catholics persistently assert that English Christianity begins with the incident of 597, the mission of Augustine, when he was sent there as a missionary by Gregory I. Obviously Augustine’s mission was merely an incident in a continuing history of what had begun centuries earlier. Britain’s spiritual inheritance clearly comes from the British churches. ⁴² PFF1 605.2

Moreover, the Papacy of Gregory’s day was vastly different from the Papacy of later centuries. The claims made later were unthinkable in Gregory’s earlier time. There is an enormous spread between the assumptions of the sixth-century Gregory I, Patriarch of the West, and the presumptuous claims of the eleventh-century Gregory VII and twelfth-century Innocent III. ⁴³ PFF1 606.1

As noted in chapter 22, though Gregory severely strained the authority of the patriarchal chair, he nevertheless denounced the title of Universal Bishop when used by the rival patriarch of Constantinople, as a proud and pestilent assumption, an act of contempt, a wrong to the entire priesthood, an imitation of Satan, who exalted himself above his fellow angels, and a token of the speedy coming of Antichrist. But as the Papacy grew in its pretensions, its influence in England spread in ever-widening circles until it prevailed. PFF1 606.2

Gregory’s attempt to extend the dominion of the Roman church through his emissary Augustine was ultimately successful. Within a few years a well-organized state church devoted to Rome was developed in the Saxon dominions of Britain. Large numbers of monasteries were founded, and during the eighth and ninth centuries Roman Catholicism was nowhere more vigorous than in those isles. The die was cast at Whitby in 664. ⁴⁴ PFF1 606.3

3. FINAL CAPITULATION TO THE ROMAN CHURCH

The tide had begun to turn as King Oswy extended his rule over Northumberland and Mercia. He married Ingoberga, a Kentish princess, who brought a Roman priest, Romulus, to York. Abbot Wilfrid, ⁴⁵ afterward bishop of York, returned from a visit to Rome (c. 653) captivated with the concept of Roman supremacy. The developing struggle between the two faiths—Celtic and Roman Catholic—became intense. Prince Alcfind, won to Romanism, persuaded Oswy to convene a conference at Whitby ⁴⁶ to decide the issues. Bishop Colman appeared for the native church, and Wilfrid for the Roman. As the authority of St. Peter seemed to the king to outweigh that of St. Columba, Oswy decided he would follow the faith and party of Rome. This he proceeded to impose upon his people. The Scottish delegation went home, however, unconverted to the Roman view. ⁴⁷ PFF1 606.4

Assurances of the rights of dissenters were given. But soon the scholarly THEODORE of Tarsus (c. 602-690), consecrated at Rome as archbishop of Canterbury in 669, came to England as head of the Roman party. He organized the church efficiently with Canterbury as the center and all parts bound to Rome. ⁴⁸ Beautiful churches were built. Rich vestments and pictures were brought from Rome, and a special teacher arrived to instruct the choirs in chanting. Schools were established to disseminate the Roman influence, which spread rapidly. PFF1 607.1

Then a pan-Anglican synod was convened in 673 at Hertford. ⁴⁹ The opposition to Romanism melted under the silver-tongued eloquence of Theodore, and the church surrendered to him as head. The outwardly united Anglo-Saxon church was now thoroughly organized, the country having been divided into dioceses, with Canterbury as the permanent seat of the archbishopric. From time to time Celtic revivals appeared, but Roman control was now too strong to be overthrown. Adamnan, abbot of Iona, ⁵⁰ submitted to reordination, but was soon deposed by his fellow monks because of this. At the beginning of the eighth century the monastery was divided into two rival factions: Romanist and British-rival abbots holding sway until 772, when the whole monastery conformed. PFF1 607.2

Somerset and Devon surrendered early in the eighth century, and North and South Wales followed. The Cornish bishops held out until in the tenth century. And in parts of Scotland, Celtic practices persisted until the eleventh century, when they were suppressed. Some parts of Ireland were not subjugated until the twelfth century. Nathaniel Bacon, reciting how the Britons had told Augustine they would not be subject to him or let him pervert the ancient laws of their church, declares: PFF1 608.1

“This was the Briton’s resolution, and they were as good as their word; for they maintained the liberty of their Church five hundred years after this time; and were the last of all the Churches of Europe that gave their power to the Roman beast.” ⁵¹ PFF1 608.2

So Whitby marked the turning point, and brought about the decline of Celtic influence. There the rivalry between Rome and Iona came to a head. Though the dispute was outwardly over unimportant matters—chiefly the style of the tonsure and the time of Easter ⁵²—the underlying issue was actually the alternative of allegiance to Rome or allegiance to Iona. The fiat of Oswy, the king, prevailed. Iona was defeated, and the Celtic brotherhood at Lindisfarne was broken up. ⁵³ In this way the Roman church came into control. In the succeeding centuries the Celtic churches, with their walls of timber and thatches of reeds, gave way to sturdy structures of stone built in Roman style. This all resulted in a sense of solidity and at least an out ward unity of the church. And this unity of the church was the first step toward the unity of the state. That is why Bede and others approved the submission to Rome. ⁵⁴ PFF1 608.3

We are now ready for the important testimony of the Venerable Bede. PFF1 609.1