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7th-century Bishop of Rochester and saint From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 by Honorius of Canterbury |
Personal details | |
Died | between 655 and 664 Rochester |
Denomination | Chalcedonian Christianity |
Sainthood | |
Feast day | 10 June |
Venerated in | Anglican Communion, Eastern Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic Church |
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]
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]
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