DOCSLIB.ORG

Ecclesiastical History Book 5: Notes

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Ecclesiastical History Book 5: Notes ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY BOOK 5: NOTES Problematic as history book: there’s very little history in it; so what’s it about? • It brings matters to completion – 1: most obviously, the Easter date issue. 2: it looks beyond the 6th Age towards the Second Coming. • There is a strong focus on mission and the related concepts of pilgrimage and exile. • The pivotal character for Book 5 is Egbert. • It is miracle-heavy, as compared with Books 1-4. Ch 1: Oethelwald, Cuthbert’s successor on the Farne Island hermitage. Book 4 had concluded with Cuthbert (7 chapters), to his death and on to post-exhumation miracles. Structurally, this opening makes the link with Book 4; thematically it says that Cuthbert’s legacy lives on, and the miracle validates this. Ch 2-6: Cut to Bishop John of Beverley Wildfrid’s successor in Hexham; his work as a bishop; each episode marked by a miracle. The juxtaposition sets the two people in balance: • As Oethelwald is to Cuthbert, so John is to Wilfrid; both legacies live on. Book 4 had presented two great exemplars: Cuthbert, embodying those values of austerity and integrity embedded in Lindisfarne by Aidan; Theodore, the Archbishop of Canterbury, active in the world as a bishop. As we move now into another generation, both of these sets of values hold good for the church, with Oethelwald on the one hand and John, as Wilfrid’s successor, now embodying the active contribution of the bishop. Ch 7: Kings Caedwalla and Ine of Wessex Both retire from kingship to make the pilgrimage to Rome, Caedwalla for baptism, where they both die: from the Rome of St Peter they go to God. Ch 8: Death of Theodore and succession of Berhtwald His continuing legacy is already established by reference to John (2-6); this records his death at the correct place in the chronological flow of the narrative. (Although there is little hard history, Bede still observes the chronology.) Chs 9 – 11 the central pivot of the book, drawing together the main themes. Ch 9: Egbert, living in Ireland as exile, with aspirations to pilgrimage and intent on mission. He is destined not to lead a mission to Frisia: his mission is to be close to home, to bring Iona around to the proper observance of Easter (the great underlying theme of the whole work). His companion Wihtberht, also exile in Ireland, does conduct mission in Frisia, but fails. Ch 10: Mission continued: Egbert sends Willibrord to Mission; mission succeeds. Following his example, the brothers Hewald (also English living in exile in Ireland) also take up the mission; they are martyred: mission is sanctified by martyrdom; a spring bursting froth at the place of martyrdom is the sign of this. We recall the account of St Alban and the spring at the site of his martyrdom (1.7). The Britons, having come to Christ (and before they fell away) ‘attained the great glory of bearing faithful witness to God’ (1.6); the martyrdom of Alban is the ultimate witness. The martyrdom of the Hewalds parallels this. Colm O’Brien for Explore, March 2018: Book 5 Ch 11: Willibrord’s mission develops; a bishopric is established for Swithberht (note the involvement of Wilfrid here); Willibrord is still active to this day: his mission endures. The word of God has been received in Britain at the ends of the world (remember the geography of 1.1), and from here continues to be transmitted to the edges of Europe in mission. Christ’s injunction to his disciples, given in the Acts of the Apostles, to take the Word out to Judea and Samaria and beyond to the edges of the world is coming towards fulfilment: we can begin to look towards the end of the Sixth Age (though we know not when this will come). Ch 12: Drythelm’s out-of-body experience and apocalyptic vision. Through this, we are given a glimpse beyond the Sixth Age, to the parallel dimension of the Seventh Age, where we see the mouth of hell and some of the souls of the damned; the place where those who are not yet ready for heaven are made ready through chastisement; the place where the virtuous but not perfect await admission to the presence of Christ at the day of judgement, the day of the second coming at the end of time and the completion of the Sixth Age, ushering in the Eighth Age of eternity. (Bede had given account of these Ages in an earlier work, ‘On the Reckoning of Time’.) Ch 13-14: Two bad deaths Immediately after this apocalyptic vision, Bede gives us two warnings as to what happens to those who do not die a good death. The second affords a contrast with the death of St Stephen, the first martyr. Bede himself knew the second man, but will not give his name. These stories have purpose: that they should have ‘aroused many people to do penance for their sins without delay’. All heavily didactic: no finesse here. Ch 15-17 Adomnan and the holy places After the chilling visions of 12 – 14, we are brought back to present matters, and Bede begins to prepare the ground for the eventual resolution of the Easter matter. Adomnan, abbot of Iona, accepts the true Easter, but he cannot yet get his people to accept. Bede now allows himself to ride a hobby horse; it again brings to the fore the theme of pilgrimage: Adomnan has written an account of the pilgrimage of Arculf to the Holy Land; Bede here gives some summary. Adomnan had visited Bede’s abbot, Ceolfrith, in the 680s and had donated a copy of the book to the monastery library; Bede had read it and had written an abbreviated version for dissemination: he is an enthusiast. Ch 18: AD 705, a catch-up chapter To note the death of king Aldfrith and the succession of his son Osred (Bede hasn’t wholly forgotten to keep in touch with Northumbrian history). Catch-up also on some bishoprics. Miracles happen at the place where bishop Haedde died; they remind us of miracles of Oswald and Cuthbert: the miraculous power of the earth at the place where Oswald died and where the water from washing the body of Cuthbert spilled to the ground. Ch 19: Kings Cenred and Offa; then Wilfrid More kings on pilgrimage to Rome. The pilgrimage theme is here linked explicitly to the idea of exile (note Egbert and the others - above, living in exile in Ireland for the sake of Christ) Colm O’Brien for Explore, March 2018: Book 5 with a scriptural reference (Mark 10, 29-10) to leaving home for Christ in order to receive life a hundredfold. AD 709, Bede is still keeping the chronology on track, and so he notes the death of Wilfrid and the obit follows. (We considered this last week.) He is buried at Ripon, in St Peter’s Church; not in Rome, as those pilgrim kings achieved, but in the presence of St Peter nevertheless. Ch 20: another catch-up chapter. AD 710. The death of Abbot Hadrian. He had come to England along with Theodore in 669; it’s a coda to ch 8 and the notice of Theodore’s death. Acca succeeded as bishop in Hexham; another of Wilfrid’s successors (cp John in ch 2-6; John was by now bishop of York). His works for the church: fabric; works of art; library; vessels, lamps etc; church music, are reminiscent of Benedict Biscop’s contributions to Wearmouth, which Bede had recorded in one of his earlier works ‘The Lives of the Abbots’. Ch 21: King Nechtan Back, at length and in detail (!), to the Easter matter. King Nechtan of the Picts asks Bede’s abbot Ceolfrith for advice on the matter. This is an even longer treatment of the matter than the account of the Synod of Whitby (3.25); a different style: not rhetorical and argumentative, as in the debate, but more of a dissertation on the topic. The outcome, that the Picts adopt the correct practices. One more in the fold; only one to go now. Ch 22: Iona comes around AD 716 At last! Iona comes into line, and it is Egbert who has achieved this. We all-but hear Bede breathing a sigh of relief. Only the Britons now stand out against the truth (but they already stand condemned from Book 1 and so we need not be concerned with them). The poetic, and indeed providential, circumstance that when Egbert eventually died in 729, he did so on Easter day. The great issue which has run as a thread through the book, has come to completion, effected by the character whose actions have run as a thread through the book. With this now settled, we can begin to look towards the fulfilment of the greater theme of the working out of God’s purposes in world history, as previewed in Drythelm’s vision. Ch 23: Wrap-up Rounding up some more history; check-list of the bishoprics. AD 729, two comets appear: portents pointing towards the end of the Sixth Age; implied cross-reference back to Drythelm’s vision. Bede signs off with a rosy glow. Ch 24: re-cap and personal Chronological re-cap and then Bede’s statement about himself: a single paragraph of autobiography and his (very impressive) bibliography Colm O’Brien for Explore, March 2018: Book 5 .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • LEARNING FOCUS 1: the Communion of Saints: Showing People What God Is Like
    LEARNING FOCUS 1: The Communion of Saints: showing people what God is like. We have just heard about Eric and the kindness he shows to his family. He is part of the worldwide community we all belong to. Christians, whether they are living on earth or in heaven, belong to what is called the Communion of Saints. Communion means to belong together and saints are those who follow God’s way. They show us something about God. They may be kind, generous, loving, faithful, forgiving and caring. In the first letter of St John, where he is encouraging his readers to follow God’s way, he offers some ideas about how we can all become a bit more like God, a saint: See what great love the Father has for us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! Dear friends, we are already children of God, we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in Christ, will try to be loving and kind and keep away from anything that is wrong. 1 John 3:1−3 God’s Story 3, page 149. We are all called to be saints and there are some people who are given a special title of saint because of the life they have led. These saints may have a special feast day during the year like St Andrew, St David, St Francis or St Margaret. On 1 November every year the Church celebrates the Feast of All Saints, that is all the holy women and men who have followed God’s way.
    [Show full text]
  • Gendered Networks and Communicability in Medieval
    GENDERED NETWORKS AND COMMUNICABILITY IN MEDIEVAL HISTORICAL NARRATIVES APREPRINT S D Prado, S R Dahmen A L C Bazzan, Instituto de F´ısica Instituto de Informatica´ Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Porto Alegre, 91501-970, Brazil Porto Alegre, 91501-970, Brazil M MacCarron J Hillner Department of Digital Humanities Department of History University College Cork University of Sheffield Cork, T12 YN60, Ireland Sheffield, S3 7RA, UK February 5, 2020 ABSTRACT One of the defining representations of women from medieval times is in the role of peaceweaver, that is, a woman was expected to ’weave’ peace between warring men. The underlying assumption in scholarship on this topic is that female mediation lessens male violence. This stance can however be questioned since it may be the result of gender-based peace and diplomacy models that relegate women’s roles to that of conduits between men. By analysing the concept of communicability and relevance of certain nodes in complex networks we show how our sources afford women more complex and nuanced social roles. As a case study we consider a historical narrative, namely Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, which is a history of Britain from the first to eighth centuries AD and was immensely popular all over Europe in the Middle Ages. Keywords Gendered Networks · Communicability · Node Relevance · Medieval History 1 Introduction In the last few years we have witnessed an explosion in the use of networks as a quantitative tool with which one may analyse and quantify interpersonal relationships in human societies [1, 2].
    [Show full text]
  • Sarum Calendar 2018
    Sarum Kalenday 2018 AD. Year 2-G. JANUARY [PICA] Circumcision of Our Lord. Lesser 1 Mon Double ix. Lessons. Octave of S. Stephen, Double 2 Tues Invitatory, iii. Lessons with Rulers of the Choir. Octave of S. John. Double Invitatory, 3 Wed iii. Lessons, with Rulers of the Choir. Octave of the Holy Innocents, 4 Thur Double Invitatory, iii. Lessons, with Rulers of the Choir. Vigil. 5 Fri Mem. of the Octave of S. Thomas. Mem. S. Edward, Conf. Epiphany of Our Lord. Principal Of the Feast. 6 Sat Double Feast, ix. Lessons. Sunday within the Octave of the 7 Sun The Keys of Septuagesima. Epiphany Lucian, Priest, and Comps., Marts. Mem. Of the Octave. 8 Mon only. 9 Tues Of the Octave. 10 Wed Of the Octave. 11 Thur Sun in Aquarius. Of the Octave. 12 Fri Of the Octave. Octave of the Epiphany. ix. Lessons. Of the Octave. 13 Sat Triple Invit. Middle Lessons of S. Hilary. First Sunday after the Octave of S. Felix, Priest and Mart. iii. 14 Sun the Epiphany. Lessons. Domine ne in ira . mem, middle lessons of Felix. Lauds all ants. S. Maurus, Abbot and Conf. iii. 15 Mon Lessons. S. Marcellus, Pope and Mart. iii. Commemoration. 16 Tues Lessons. S. Sulpicius, Bp. and Conf. iii. Commemoration. 17 Wed Lessons. 18 Thur S. Prisca, Virg. and Mart. iii. Lessons. Commemoration. S. Wulfstan, Bp. and Conf. ix. 19 Fri Lessons. SS. Fabian and Sebastian, Marts., ix. 20 Sat Lessons. no exposition. Second Sunday after the Octave of S. Agnes, Virg. and Mart. ix. Lessons.
    [Show full text]
  • St John of Beverley... … a Sermon for the Civic Service
    St John of Beverley... … a sermon for the Civic Service A sermon given on 8th May 2020, by the Rt Rev James Jones, in the Online Service to commorate the 75th Anniversary of VE Day and to celebrate St John of Beverley I shall never forget my first sight of Beverly Minster. I had just been interviewed by the Archbishop of York, John Habgood, about becoming Bishop of Hull and was driven from Bishopthorpe to Beverley. As we approached the town, there sailing towards us across the fields, was the minister, a ship of faith, a sermon in stone, reminding us of the faith and the values that have over many centuries moulded our common life. Indeed, our language, our literature, our laws, our liberty, our learning, our leisure and our very landscape have been shaped by the faith that built this glorious minister. Here in this church, as in the other historic churches of the East Riding of Yorkshire, over the years thousands have come to fulfill the promise we make every year on Remembrance Sunday, 'We will remember them.' If it were not a promise, then we would say, 'We might remember them.' But a promise is a promise, and so we will remember them, today and tomorrow, the service men and women and the civilians who died as the bombs rained down: we call them heroes; they, of course, saw themselves simply as ordinary people doing their duty. But in these sacred buildings, we sanctify their memory. We turn them into our heroes, with our thanksgiving for their sacrifice, and we cherish their values, those values that secured for us and for our future generations both liberty and peace.
    [Show full text]
  • An Analysis of Eddius Stephanus' Life of Wilfrid: the Struggle for Authority Over the English Church in the Late Seventh Century
    Intro to the Early Middle Ages Fall 2000 Stefanie Weisman Prof. Kosto An Analysis of Eddius Stephanus' Life of Wilfrid: The Struggle for Authority Over the English Church In the Late Seventh Century In the year 664,1 a multitude of English bishops, abbots and priests -- as well as Oswiu and Alhfrith, the kings of Northumbria -- convened at the Abbey of Whitby.2 Their purpose, according to the monk Eddius Stephanus in his Life of Wilfrid, was to decide when Easter should be celebrated.3 At the time, there were two ways of calculating the date of this holiday. One method was sanctioned by the Apostolic See in Rome and used by clerics throughout Christendom.4 The churchmen of northern England, Ireland and Scotland, however, determined the date in a slightly different manner.5 Although the two methods produced dates that varied by no more than a day,6 this was enough to merit the gathering of this synod in Whitby. In Stephanus’ Life, King Oswiu asks the question that was at the heart of the matter for those assembled at the abbey: “which is greater in the Kingdom of Heaven, Columba or the apostle Peter?”7 The Irish saint Columba represented the Celtic tradition of Christianity and its rules, such as the unique way of calculating Easter, which had dominated the Church of northern England for several decades.8 Saint Peter, who was the first bishop of Rome, symbolized the distant Apostolic See and its laws and practices.9 Oswiu’s question, therefore, implies that the churchmen in Whitby had to make the following decision: would the English Church be subject to Rome and obey the tenets of the Pope, or would it remain relatively independent of the Holy See and follow the Celtic discipline? The synod resolved to celebrate Easter according to the Roman method.10 Their decision was based largely on the belief that the Messiah had granted primacy over all of Christendom to the Apostolic See.
    [Show full text]
  • ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND Her Mon Mæg Giet Gesion Hiora Swæð
    CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND Her mon mæg giet gesion hiora swæð EXECUTIVE EDITORS Simon Keynes, Rosalind Love and Andy Orchard Editorial Assistant Dr Brittany Schorn ([email protected]) ADVISORY EDITORIAL BOARD Professor Robert Bjork, Arizona State University, Tempe AZ 85287-4402, USA Professor John Blair, The Queen’s College, Oxford OX1 4AW, UK Professor Mary Clayton, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland Dr Richard Dance, St Catharine’s College, Cambridge CB2 1RL, UK Professor Roberta Frank, Dept of English, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA Professor Richard Gameson, Dept of History, Durham University, Durham DH1 3EX, UK Professor Helmut Gneuss, Universität München, Germany Professor Simon Keynes, Trinity College, Cambridge CB2 1TQ, UK Professor Michael Lapidge, Clare College, Cambridge CB2 1TL, UK Professor Patrizia Lendinara, Facoltà di Scienze della Formazione, Palermo, Italy Dr Rosalind Love, Robinson College, Cambridge CB3 9AN, UK Dr Rory Naismith, Clare College, Cambridge CB2 1TL, UK Professor Katherine O’Brien O’Keeffe, University of California, Berkeley, USA Professor Andrew Orchard, Pembroke College, Oxford OX1 1DW, UK Professor Paul G. Remley, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-4330, USA Professor Paul E. Szarmach, Medieval Academy of America, Cambridge MA 02138, USA PRODUCTION TEAM AT THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Sarah Westlake (Production Editor, Journals) <[email protected]> Daniel Pearce (Commissioning Editor) <[email protected]> Cambridge University Press, Edinburgh Building, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 8BS Clare Orchard (copyeditor) < [email protected]> Dr Debby Banham (proofreader) <[email protected]> CONTACTING MEMBERS OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD If in need of guidance whilst preparing a contribution, prospective contributors may wish to make contact with an editor whose area of interest and expertise is close to their own.
    [Show full text]
  • Codex Amiatinus
    LOCAL STUDIES CENTRE FACT SHEET NUMBER 23 The Codex Amiatinus Abbot Ceolfrith, who succeeded Benedict Biscop as Abbot of the twin monastery of Wearmouth-Jarrow. The Bibles were made in the monastic scriptorium during his abbacy, 690-716 AD. It was a remarkable thing to undertake at the time; usually copies of books of the Bible were produced as single volumes (eg, the Book of Psalms) or volumes containing a small number of books (eg, the four Gospels). Ceolfrith intended to carry the Codex Amiatinus to Rome in AD 716 as a gift to Pope Gregory II. He left Wearmouth with an entourage of 80 followers, intending to spend his last days in Rome, but died in Langres monastery in France en route. Some of his followers took the Codex Amiatinus on to Rome and presented it to the Pope to fulfil Ceolfrith’s wishes. The later history of the book is unknown until it reappeared at the monastery of San Salvatore at Monte Amiata in Italy, where it was highly prized and thought to be a 6th century Italian work. When the monastery was closed in the 18th century it was Illustration of Ezra, the Old Testament scribe The History of the Codex Amiatinus The Codex Amiatinus was one of three great single- volume Bibles made at Wearmouth-Jarrow, written in the 8th century. It is the earliest one-volume Latin Bible to survive in the world. Wearmouth-Jarrow had been established in the late 7th century by the nobleman Benedict Biscop. After visiting Rome, Biscop, inspired by the architecture, art, treasures, music and books of the Roman church, endeavoured to bring the best of the continent back to his native Northumbria.
    [Show full text]
  • Beverley and Its Minster
    UA 5195 I B46l\i72 NOLLOTH BEVERLEY AND ITS MINISTER THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES A^/. ., BEVERLEY AND ITS MINSTER BY THE REV. CANON NOLLOTH, D.D. WITH SIX ILLUSTRATIONS LONDON : GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD. RUSKIN HOUSE 40 MUSEUM STREET W.C. PRICE SIXPENCE NET Dictionaries and Reference Books ENGLISH QUOTATIONS. By Col. P. H. DaLBIAC Demy 8vo, cloth. 75. 6d. Cheap Edition, 3a. 6d. net [Fifth Edition. CLASSICAL QUOTATIONS. By T. B. Harbottle. Demy 8vo, cloth, 74. 6d. [Second Edition. CONTINENTAL QUOTATIONS (French and Itauax). By CoL P. H. Dalbiac and T. B. Harbottle. Demy 8vo, cloth. 74. Cd. FRENCH QUOTATIONS. Crown 8vo, cloth. 3s. td. net. ITALIAN QUOTATIONS. Crown 8vo, cloth. 3s.6d.net. GERMAN QUOTATIONS. By L. Dai.biac. Demy 8vo. 74. M. Cheap Edition, crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. net. SPANISH QUOTATIONS. By Major M. HUME and T. B. Harbottlk. Demy 8vo, cloth. 7s. td. LATIN QUOTATIONS, By T. B. HARBOTTLE. Crown 8vo, cloth. 3i.6d.neL ORIENTAL QUOTATIONS (ARABIC AND PERSIAN). By CLAUD FIELD. Large crown 8vo. 7J. 6d, DICTIONARY OF CONTEMPORARY QUOTATIONS (ENGLISH). With Authors and Subjects Indexes. By Helena Swan. Small Demy 8vo, cloth, 7s. 6d. Crown 8vo Edition. 3*. 6d. net. WHAT GREAT MEN HAVE SAID ABOUT GREAT MEN: A DiCTIONART OP Quotations. By William Wale. Demy 8vo, cloth. 7s. 6d. DICTIONARY OF HISTORICAL ALLUSIONS. By T. B. Harbottle. Demy 8vo, cloth, 7s. 6d. Crown 8vo, cloth. 35. 6d. net. DICTIONARY OF BATTLES. By T. B. HARBOTTLE. Demy 8vo, cloth, 7s, 6d. Cheap Edition, crown 8vo. 34. 6d. net.
    [Show full text]
  • Archbishop of Canterbury, and One of the Things This Meant Was That Fruit Orchards Would Be Established for the Monasteries
    THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY And yet — in fact you need only draw a single thread at any point you choose out of the fabric of life and the run will make a pathway across the whole, and down that wider pathway each of the other threads will become successively visible, one by one. — Heimito von Doderer, DIE DÂIMONEN “NARRATIVE HISTORY” AMOUNTS TO FABULATION, THE REAL STUFF BEING MERE CHRONOLOGY “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project Archbishops of Canterb HDT WHAT? INDEX ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY 597 CE Christianity was established among the Anglo-Saxons in Kent by Augustine (this Roman import to England was of course not the Aurelius Augustinus of Hippo in Africa who had been in the ground already for some seven generations — and therefore he is referred to sometimes as “St. Augustine the Less”), who in this year became the 1st Archbishop of Canterbury, and one of the things this meant was that fruit orchards would be established for the monasteries. Despite repeated Viking attacks many of these survived. The monastery at Ely (Cambridgeshire) would be particularly famous for its orchards and vineyards. DO I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION? GOOD. Archbishops of Canterbury “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY 604 CE May 26, 604: Augustine died (this Roman import to England was of course not the Aurelius Augustinus of Hippo in Africa who had been in the ground already for some seven generations — and therefore he is referred to sometimes as “St. Augustine the Less”), and Laurentius succeeded him as Archbishop of Canterbury.
    [Show full text]
  • Ss. Peter & Paul
    3rd Sunday After Pentecost Tone 2 June 17, 2018 SS. PETER & PAUL Lorain, OH | www.OrthodoxLorain.org | (440) 277-6266 Rev. Joseph McCartney, Rector Cell (440) 668 - 2209 ~ Email: [email protected] ~ Home (440) 654-2831 Gospel Reading ~ Matthew 6:22-33 Epistle Reading ~ Romans 5:1-10 All Saints of Britain and Ireland This Week at a Glance Gospel Meditation Wed, June 20th In today’s Gospel, Jesus says that the light of the body is the eye. If 6:00 pm - Akathist to Ss Peter the eye is light, so the body will be light. But if the eye is dark, so the body & Paul will be dark. By 'eye' is meant the soul, for the eye is the window of the soul. In these words Our Lord says that we are not to blame our bodies for our Sat, June 23rd sins. Our bodies are the servants of our souls. If our souls are corrupted, then 6:00 pm - Great Vespers so also will be our bodies. On the other hand, if our souls are clean, then our bodies will also be clean. It is not our bodies which control our lives, or even Sun, June 24th our minds, but our souls. And it is our souls that we are called on to cleanse, 9:00 pm - 3rd & 6th Hours cultivate and refine first of all. It is the spiritual which has primacy in our 9:30 am - Divine Liturgy lives. Once our souls are clean, then our minds and our bodies will also be cleaned. Neither can we serve two Masters, the master of the material world Parish Council and the master of the spiritual world.
    [Show full text]
  • DOCUMENTING MIRACLES in the AGE of BEDE by THOMAS EDWARD ROCHESTER
    SANCTITY AND AUTHORITY: DOCUMENTING MIRACLES IN THE AGE OF BEDE by THOMAS EDWARD ROCHESTER A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of History School of History and Cultures College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham July 2017 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract This doctoral dissertation investigates the writings of the Venerable Bede (673-735) in the context of miracles and the miraculous. It begins by exploring the patristic tradition through which he developed his own historical and hagiographical work, particularly the thought of Gregory the Great in the context of doubt and Augustine of Hippo regarding history and truth. It then suggests that Bede had a particular affinity for the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles as models for the writing of specifically ecclesiastical history. The use of sources to attest miracle narratives in six hagiographies known to Bede from Late Antiquity are explored before applying this knowledge to Bede and five of his early Insular contemporaries. The research is rounded off by a discussion of Bede’s use of miracles in the context of reform, particularly his desire to provide adequate pastoral care through his understanding of the ideal bishop best exemplified by Cuthbert and John of Beverley.
    [Show full text]
  • Bede As a Classical and a Patristic Scholar,” Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 16 (1933): 69-93
    M.L.W. Laistner, “Bede as a Classical and a Patristic Scholar,” Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 16 (1933): 69-93. Bede as a Classical and a Patristic Scholar1 M.L.W. Laistner, M.A., F.R.Hist.S. [p.69] Read 11 May, 1933. Along the many and complex problems with which the history of Europe in the Middle Ages―and especially the earlier period of the Middle Ages―teems is the character of the intellectual heritage transmitted to medieval men from classical and later Roman imperial times. The topic has engaged the attention of many scholars, amongst them men of the greatest eminence, so that much which fifty years ago was still dark and uncertain is now clear and beyond dispute. Yet the old notions and misconceptions die hard, especially in books approximating to the text book class. In a recently published volume on the Middle Ages intended for university freshmen there is much that is excellent and abreast of the most recent investigations; but the sections on early medieval education and scholarship seem to show that the author has never read anything on that subject later than Mullinger’s Schools of Charles the Great. Even in larger works it is not uncommon to find the author merely repeating what the last man before him has said, without inquiring into controversial matters for himself. Years ago Ludwig Traube pointed the way to a correct estimate of Greek studies [p.70] in Western Europe during the earlier Middle Ages, and subsequent research, while it has greatly added to the evidence collected by him, has only fortified his general conclusions.
    [Show full text]