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Hierarch · 7th century

Cuthbert of Lindisfarne

Commemorated as

Our Father among the Saints Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne, the Wonderworker

c. 634 – 687

Also known as Cuthbert

A beloved English bishop-hermit close to the wild creatures.

Life

St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne was a seventh-century Anglo-Saxon monk, bishop, and hermit of Northumbria, remembered as one of the most beloved saints of pre-schism England and venerated in the Orthodox tradition as a Pre-Schism Western Saint. Born around 634 or 635, he rose from a shepherd's life to become prior and then Bishop of Lindisfarne, gaining such a reputation for healing and spiritual insight that he was called the 'Wonder-Worker of Britain.'

Drawn repeatedly toward solitude, Cuthbert combined an active life of missionary preaching and pastoral care with a deep love of the eremitic life, retiring at intervals to the island hermitages near Lindisfarne and on Inner Farne. He died on 20 March 687, and the discovery of his incorrupt body eleven years later established a cult that endured for centuries.

After his relics were carried away from Lindisfarne during the Danish raids of the ninth century, his community eventually settled at Durham, where his shrine became one of the great pilgrimage destinations of medieval England and the predecessor of Durham Cathedral. His remains are still interred there.

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Timeline

  1. c. 634–635 Birth in Northumbria Cuthbert was born around 634, by one account at Dunbar in Anglo-Saxon Northumbria (now in East Lothian, Scotland), perhaps into a noble or well-to-do English family. Accounts of his youth vary; one tradition holds he was raised in the Scottish lowlands by a poor widow named Kenswith.
  2. 651 Vision of St. Aidan's soul While employed as a shepherd tending sheep, Cuthbert witnessed lights in the sky, which he interpreted as an angel descending to earth. This coincided with the death of St. Aidan on 31 August 651, whose soul he beheld ascending to heaven. He soon entered the monastic life.
  3. c. 651 Enters Melrose Abbey Cuthbert joined the monastery at Melrose on the Tweed under St. Eata, studying the scriptures with Prior Boisil.
  4. c. 661 To Ripon and back to Melrose Made guest-master at Ripon, Cuthbert returned to Melrose when Wilfrid took over there, and about 662 became prior of Melrose. He survived a bout of plague that undermined his health thereafter.
  5. 664 Synod of Whitby At the Synod of Whitby, Cuthbert accepted the Roman Christian practices despite his Celtic monastic training, and remained within the reformed observance.
  6. c. 665 Prior of Lindisfarne Cuthbert went as prior to Lindisfarne, where he became renowned as a missionary, traveling widely to preach and earning his reputation for healing and spiritual insight.
  7. 676 Retires to the hermit's life Cuthbert withdrew to pursue contemplative solitude, first on St. Cuthbert's Island near Lindisfarne and then on the more remote Inner Farne.
  8. 685 Consecrated Bishop of Lindisfarne Elected at a synod at Twyford in 684, Cuthbert reluctantly accepted the see of Lindisfarne, exchanging it with Eata. He was consecrated at York by Archbishop Theodore and six bishops on 26 March 685, and as bishop devoted himself to caring for the sick, distributing alms, and working miracles.
  9. 687 Repose at Inner Farne Cuthbert resigned his see late in 686 owing to declining health and returned to his hermitage on Inner Farne, where he died on 20 March 687 after a painful illness. He was buried at Lindisfarne the same day.
  10. c. 698 Discovery of incorrupt relics When Cuthbert's sarcophagus was opened eleven years after his death, his body was found perfectly preserved, establishing his posthumous cult.
  11. 875–999 Translation to Durham Following Danish raids in 875, Cuthbert's relics were carried through various places, including Melrose and Chester-le-Street. In 995 the community settled at Durham, and his remains were enshrined in 999 in a new stone church, the predecessor to Durham Cathedral.
  12. 1104 Discovery of the St. Cuthbert Gospel When his tomb was opened in 1104, the St. Cuthbert Gospel was found — the oldest Western book to retain its original bookbinding.

Contributions & Legacy

From Shepherd to Monk

Cuthbert's path to the monastic life began in the fields. As a young man employed as a shepherd, he kept watch over his flock by night when, in 651, he saw lights in the sky and beheld the soul of St. Aidan, the apostle of Northumbria, being carried to heaven on the night of Aidan's death. Moved by this vision, Cuthbert entered the monastery at Melrose on the Tweed under St. Eata, where he studied the scriptures with Prior Boisil.

Made guest-master at Ripon, he later returned to Melrose, becoming prior about 662. A bout of plague nearly took his life and left his health weakened for the rest of his days. Around 665 he moved to Lindisfarne as prior. At the Synod of Whitby in 664 he had accepted the Roman practices over the Celtic customs of his training, and he remained faithful to that reform.

Missionary and Wonder-Worker

From Lindisfarne, Cuthbert became renowned as a missionary, traveling extensively to preach and minister, by one account from Berwick to Galloway, founding an oratory at Dull in Scotland and, possibly, establishing a church at Edinburgh. His gifts of healing and spiritual insight earned him the title 'Wonder-Worker of Britain.'

Even as bishop he gave himself to the relief of the suffering. Over roughly two years in the office he cared for the sick, distributed alms, and worked the many miracles for which he was remembered.

The Hermit of Inner Farne

Despite his renown, Cuthbert was repeatedly drawn to solitude. In 676 he retired to the contemplative life, first on St. Cuthbert's Island near Lindisfarne and then on the more remote island of Inner Farne. He was called from this seclusion in 684, when a synod at Twyford elected him bishop; he is said to have accepted the office only reluctantly.

After his consecration and brief episcopate, he resigned late in 686 as his health failed and returned to his hermitage on Inner Farne, where he died on 20 March 687 following a painful illness.

Relics & Shrines

Cuthbert was buried at Lindisfarne on the day of his death. When his sarcophagus was opened eleven years later, his body was found to be incorrupt, and this discovery established his cult.

After the Danish raids of 875, the Lindisfarne community carried his relics through a succession of resting places, among them Melrose and Chester-le-Street. In 995 they settled at Durham, where his remains were enshrined in 999 in a new stone church that was the predecessor of Durham Cathedral. When his tomb was opened in 1104, the St. Cuthbert Gospel was discovered with it — the oldest Western book to have kept its original binding. Durham Cathedral became a major medieval pilgrimage destination until the Dissolution of the Monasteries; his relics survived and remain interred there.

Legacy

By tradition Cuthbert became perhaps the most popular saint in England before the death of Thomas Becket in 1170. His cult appealed to converted Danes and was later embraced by the Normans, spreading his veneration well beyond Northumbria. In the Orthodox tradition he is honored as a Pre-Schism Western Saint.

His feast is kept on 20 March, with a secondary commemoration on 4 September marking the translation of his relics to Durham.

Related Saints

Notes

Pre-schism Western saint; incorrupt relics at Durham.

Sources: Synaxarion