(A.D. 709.)
[Anglican and some of the German Martyrologies. Life in Bede,
Eccles. Hist., lib. iv., c. 1, 2; lib. v. c. 20.]
"Deusdedit," says the Venerable Bede, "the sixth Bishop of the church of
Canterbury, died on the 14th July, 665. The see then became vacant for
some considerable time, until the priest Wighard, a man skilled in
ecclesiastical discipline, of the English race, was sent to Rome by King
Egbert (of Kent), and Oswy, King of the Northumbrians, with a request
that he might be ordained Bishop of the Church of England; sending at
the same time presents to the Apostolic Pope, and many vessels of gold
and silver. Arriving at Rome, where Vitalian presided at that time over
the Apostolic see, and having made known to the aforesaid Pope the
occasion of his journey, he was not long after snatched away, with
almost all his companions that went with him, by a pestilence which
happened at that time.
"But the Apostolic Pope, having consulted about that affair, made
diligent inquiry for some one to send to the Archbishop of the English
Churches. There was then in the Niridian monastery, which is not far
from the city of Naples, an abbot called Adrian, by nation an African,
well versed in holy writ, experienced in monastic and ecclesiastical
discipline, and excellently skilled in both Greek and Latin. The Pope,
sending for him, commanded him to accept the bishopric, and repair to
Britain; he answered that he was unworthy of so great a dignity, but
said he would name another, whose learning and age were fitter for the
ecclesiastical office. And having proposed to the Pope a certain monk,
belonging to a neighbouring monastery of virgins, whose name was Andrew,
he was by all that knew him, judged worthy of a bishopric; but bodily
infirmity prevented his being advanced to the episcopal office. Then
again Adrian was pressed to accept the bishopric, but he desired a
respite for a time, to see whether he could find another fit to be
ordained bishop.
"There was at that time, in Rome, a monk called Theodore, well-known to
Adrian, born at Tarsus, in Cilicia, a man well instructed in worldly and
divine literature, as also in Greek and Latin; of known probity of life,
and venerable for age, being sixty-six years old. Adrian offered him to
the Pope to be ordained bishop, and prevailed; but upon these
conditions, that he should conduct him into Britain, because he had
already travelled through France twice upon several occasions, and was,
therefore, better acquainted with the way, and was, moreover,
sufficiently provided with men of his own; as also that, being his
fellow labourer in doctrine, he might take special care that Theodore
should not, according to the custom of the Greeks, introduce anything
contrary to the true faith into the Church where he presided. Theodore,
being ordained sub-deacon, waited four months for his hair to grow, that
it might be shorn into the shape of a crown; for he had before the
tonsure of S. Paul[37] the Apostle, after the manner of the Easterns. He
was ordained by Pope Vitalian, in the year of the Lord 668, on Sunday,
the 26th of March, and on the 27th of May was sent with Adrian into
Britain.
"They proceeded by sea to Marseilles, and thence by land to Arles, and
having delivered to John, Archbishop of that city, Pope Vitalian's
letters of recommendation, were by him detained, till Ebroin, the king's
mayor of the palace, sent them a pass to go where they pleased. Having
received the same, Theodore repaired to Agilbert, Bishop of Paris, and
was by him kindly received, and long entertained. But Adrian went first
to Emme, and then to Faro, Bishops of Sens and Meaux, and lived with
them a considerable time; for the hard winter had obliged them to rest
wherever they could. King Egbert, being informed by messengers, that the
bishop they had asked of the Roman prelate was in the kingdom of France,
sent thither his praefect, Redford, to conduct him; who, being arrived
there, with Ebroin's leave, conveyed him to the port of Quentavic (S.
Quentin); where, being indisposed, he made some stay, and as soon as he
began to recover, sailed over into Britain. But Ebroin detained Adrian,
suspecting that he went on some message from the Emperor to the kings of
Britain, to the prejudice of the kingdom, of which he at that time took
especial care; however, when he found that he really had no such
commission, he discharged him, and permitted him to follow Theodore.
"As soon as he came, he received from him the monastery of S. Peter the
Apostle, where the Archbishops of Canterbury are usually buried; for at
his departure, the Apostolic Lord had ordered that Theodore should
provide for him in his diocese, and give him a suitable place to live in
with his followers.
"Theodore arrived in his church the second year after his consecration,
on Sunday, May 27th. Soon after, he visited all the island, wherever the
tribes of the Angles inhabited; and everywhere attended and assisted by
Adrian, he taught the right rule of life, and the canonical custom of
celebrating Easter. This was the first Archbishop whom all the English
Church obeyed. And forasmuch as both of them were well read in both
sacred and secular literature, they gathered a crowd of disciples, and
there flowed from them daily rivers of knowledge to water the hearts of
their hearers; and, together with the books of Holy Writ, they also
taught them the arts of ecclesiastical poetry, astronomy, and
arithmetic. A testimony of which is, that there are still living at this
day some of their scholars, who are as well versed in the Greek and
Latin tongues as in their own, in which they were born. Nor were there
ever happier times since the English came into Britain; for their kings,
being brave men and good Christians, were a terror to all barbarous
nations, and the minds of all men were bent upon the joys of the
heavenly kingdom of which they had just heard; and all who desired to be
instructed in sacred reading had masters at hand to teach them."
S. Adrian died A.D. 709, after having spent thirty-nine years in
Britain. His tomb was famous for miracles wrought at it.