Summary
Ithamar (sometimes Ythamar[1]) was the first bishop in England to be Saxon-born rather than consecrated by the Irish or from among Augustine's Roman missionaries. He was also the first Saxon bishop of Rochester.
Ithamar | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Rochester | |
| Term ended | between 655 and 664 |
| Predecessor | Paulinus of York |
| Successor | Damianus |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | before 655 |
| Personal details | |
| Died | between 655 and 664 Rochester |
| Denomination | Christian |
| Sainthood | |
| Feast day | 10 June |
| Venerated in | Anglican Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Catholic Church |
Life edit
Ithamar was consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Honorius, and was said by Bede to be "of the Kentish nation, but not inferior to his [episcopal] predecessors for learning and conduct of life".[2]
Upon consecration as bishop, Ithamar took his new name from Ithamar, a son of Aaron, from the Old Testament.[3] Although a number of new Anglo-Saxon bishops had taken new names upon either entering religious life or upon consecration as bishops, these names were usually taken from church history.[4] The practice of taking a new name from the Old Testament was extremely rare in the Roman tradition, but did occur more often in the Celtic Church.[3]
As bishop, Ithamar consecrated Deusdedit as the first Saxon archbishop of Canterbury on 26 March 655.[5]
Death and legacy edit
Ithamar died between 655 and 664,[6] probably close to 656, at Rochester.[7]
After Ithamar's death he was considered a saint and given a shrine at Rochester Cathedral. His feast day is 10 June.[7] There is no written Life detailing his biography, but a short work giving his miracles was composed in the 12th century. At that time, his remains were translated to a new larger shrine in Rochester Cathedral. The work on his miracles survives in one manuscript, MS Corpus Christi College Cambridge 161.[5]
Citations edit
- ^ Farmer Oxford Dictionary of Saints p. 266
- ^ Bede, Ecclesiastical History, 3.14
- ^ a b Sharpe "Naming of Bishop Ithamar" English Historical Review, pp. 892–894
- ^ Sharpe "Naming of Bishop Ithamar" English Historical Review, pp. 890–891
- ^ a b Bethell "Miracles of St. Ithamar" Analecta Bollandiana pp. 421–423
- ^ Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 221
- ^ a b Walsh A New Dictionary of Saints p. 287
References edit
- Bethell, D. T. (1971). "The Miracles of St Ithamar". Analecta Bollandiana. 89: 421–437.
- Farmer, David Hugh (2004). Oxford Dictionary of Saints (Fifth ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-860949-0.
- Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
- Sharpe, R. (September 2002). "The Naming of Bishop Ithamar". The English Historical Review. 117 (473): 889–894. doi:10.1093/ehr/117.473.889.
- Walsh, Michael J. (2007). A New Dictionary of Saints: East and West. London: Burns & Oats. ISBN 0-86012-438-X.
External links edit
- Ithamar 1 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England – listing of most contemporary and close to contemporary mentions of Ithamar in the primary sources.
- Hutchinson, John (1892). . Men of Kent and Kentishmen (Subscription ed.). Canterbury: Cross & Jackman. p. 78.