Vitrail représentant saint Chad
au monastère de la Sainte-Croix de
West Park (État de New York).
Saint Chad ou Ceadda de Liechfield, évêque
Frère de saint Cédric, abbé de
Lastingham, à York en Angleterre, il y pratiqua la stricte observance de la
règle de saint Columba. Evêque d'York, il sut s'effacer humblement lorsque
cette charge lui fut retirée par saint Théodore, archevêque de Cantorbéry,
et il fixa son siège épiscopal à Lichflield où il mourut peu après, en
672. Ses reliques sont conservées dans la cathédrale de Birmingham.
SOURCE : http://www.paroisse-saint-aygulf.fr/index.php/prieres-et-liturgie/saints-par-mois/icalrepeat.detail/2015/03/02/13151/-/saint-chad-ou-ceadda-de-liechfield-eveque
Saint Chad, Saint Peada et Saint Wulfhere,
entrée occidentale de la Lichfield Cathedral
Saint Chad de Liechfield
Évêque d'York (✝ 672)
ou Ceadda.
Nous le fêtons avec la Communion anglicane.
Frère de saint Cédric, abbé de
Lastingham, à York en Angleterre, il y pratiqua la stricte observance de la
règle de saint Colomba.
Evêque d'York, il sut s'effacer humblement lorsque cette charge lui fut
retirée par saint
Théodore, archevêque de Cantorbery, et il fixa son siège épiscopal à
Lichflield où il mourut peu après. Ses reliques sont conservées dans la
cathédrale de Birmingham.
À Lichfield en Angleterre, l’an 677, saint Céadde ou Chad, évêque. Dans des
circonstances difficiles, il exerça son ministère épiscopal dans la province de
Mercie et de Lindsey, et prit soin d’administrer son peuple selon les exemples
des anciens Pères, en se montrant humble, pieux, zélé et apostolique.
Martyrologe
romain
Saint Chad, vitrail de Christopher
Whall.
St.
Ceadda
(Commonly known as ST.
CHAD.)
Abbot of Lastingham, Bishop successively of York and Lichfield, England; date of birth uncertain, died 672.
He is often confounded with
his brother, St. Cedd, also Abbot of Lastingham and the Bishop of the East Saxons. He had two other brothers,
Cynibill and Caelin, who also became priests. Probably Northumbrian by birth, he was educated at Lindisfarne under St. Aidan, but afterwards went to Ireland, where he studied with St. Ecgberht in the monastery of Rathmelsige (Melfont). There he returned to help his brother St. Cedd to establish the monastery of Laestingaeu, now Lastingham in Yorkshire. On
his brother's death in 664, he succeeded him as abbot.
Shortly afterwards St. Wilfrid, who had been chosen to succeed Tudi, Bishop of Lindisfarne, went to Gaul for consecration and remained so long absent that King Oswiu
determined to wait no longer, and procured the election of Chad as Bishop of York, to which place the Bishopric of Lindisfarne had been transferred. As Canterbury was vacant, he was consecrated by Wini of Worcester, assisted by two British bishops. As bishop he visited his diocese on foot, and laboured in an apostolic spirit
until the arrival of St. Theodore, the newly elected Archbishop of Canterbury who was making a general visitation. St. Theodore decided that St. Chad must give up the diocese
to St. Wilfrid, who had now returned. When he
further intimated that St. Chad's episcopal consecration had not been rightly performed, the Saint
replied, "If you decide that I have not rightly received the episcopal
character, I willingly lay down the office; for I have never thought myself
worthy of it, but under obedience, I, though unworthy, consented to undertake
it". St. Theodore, however, desired him not to
relinquish the episcopate and himself supplied what was lacking ("ipse
ordinationem ejus denuo catholica ratione consummavit" — Bede, Hist. Eccl. IV, 2). Ceadda then returned to
Lastingham, where he remained till St. Theodore called him in 669 to become Bishop of the Mercians. He built a church and monastery at Lichfield, where he dwelt with seven or eight monks, devoting to prayer and study time he could spare from his work as
bishop. He received warning of his death in a vision.
His shrine, which was honoured by miracles, was removed in the twelfth century to the cathedral at Lichfield, dedicated to Our Lady and the Saint himself. At the Reformation his relics were rescued from profanation by Catholics, and they now lie in the Catholic cathedral at Birmingham, which is dedicated to him. His festival is kept on the 2nd of March. All accounts of
his life are based on that given by Venerable Bede, who had been instructed in Holy Scripture by Trumberct, one of St. Chad's monks and disciples.
Burton, Edwin. "St. Ceadda." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert
Appleton Company, 1908. 2 Mar. 2016<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03470c.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for
New Advent by Joseph P. Thomas.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. November 1, 1908. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of
New York.
_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1592962.jpg)
Sculpture de saint.
Chad, St. Chad's Church,
Saint Chad of Lichfield
B (RM)
(also known as Ceadda)
Born in Northumbria, England; died at Lichfield in 673.
The Venerable Bede writes
that:
King Oswy sent to Kent a
holy man of modest character, well versed in the Scriptures, and practicing
with diligence what he had learned from them, to be ordained bishop of the
church of York. . . . But when they reached Kent, they found that Archbishop Deusdedit
had departed this life and that as yet no other had been appointed in his
place.
Thereupon they turned aside
to the province of the West Saxons, where Wine was bishop, and by him the above
mentioned Chad was consecrated bishop, two bishops of the British nation, who
kept Easter in contravention of the canonical custom from the 14th to the 20th
of the moon, being associated with him, for at that time there was no other
bishop in all Britain canonically ordained besides Wine. [St. Theodore of
Canterbury had no yet arrived.]
As soon as Chad had been
consecrated bishop, he began most strenuously to devote himself to
ecclesiastical truth and purity of doctrine and to give attention to the
practice of humility, self- denial and study: to travel about, not on
horseback, but on foot, after the manner of the apostles, preaching the Gospel
in the towns and the open country, in cottages, villages and castles, for he
was one of Aidan's disciples and tried to instruct his hearers by acting and
behaving after the example of his master and of his brother Cedd.
During the tenure of Saint
Aidan as abbot, when the abbey of Lindisfarne in northern Britain was a hive of
Christian activity and the center of a brave and eager company of evangelists,
among them was St. Chad, an Angle by birth, one of four brothers all of whom
became priests, including Saint Cedd and Saint Cynibild.
As a young monk Chad had
spent some years as a missionary monk in Ireland with Saint Egbert at
Rathmelsigi, but was recalled to England to replace his brother Cedd as abbot
of Lastingham Monastery, when Cedd was appointed bishop of London. Lastingham
was a small community under the Rule of St. Columba in a remote, beautiful
village on the very edge of the north York Moors near Whitby.
As described by Bede,
within a year of his abbatial appointment Chad was named bishop of York by King
Oswy. Meanwhile, King Oswy's son King Alcfrid had appointed Wilfrid, bishop of
the same see. But Wilfrid, considering the northern bishops who had refused to
accept the decrees of Whitby as schismatic, went to France to be ordained
(consecrated?). Delayed until 666 in his return, Wilfrid found that St. Chad
had been appointed. Rather than contest the election of Chad, Wilfrid returned
to his monastery at Ripon.
When Saint Theodore became
archbishop of Canterbury in 669, he removed Chad from the see of York on the
grounds that he was improperly consecrated by Wine, and restored St. Wilfrid.
Chad's humility in accepting this change was evidenced in his reply to Theodore:
"If you consider that I have not been properly consecrated, I willingly
resign this charge of which I never thought myself worthy. I undertook it,
though unworthy, under obedience."
With that, the astonished
Theodore supplied what he thought was wanting in Chad's consecration, and soon
after made him bishop of the Mercians with his see at Lichfield. This was
Chad's greatest achievement: The creation of the see of Lichfield, which
covered 17 counties and stretched from the Severn to the North Sea. At Lichfield,
or the Field of the Dead, where once a thousand Christians had been martyred,
Chad founded his cathedral. Here, too, he built himself a simple oratory not
far from the church, where he lived and prayed when not travelling on foot
throughout his wide diocese, and here also he gathered around him a missionary
band of eight of his brethren from Lastingham.
A typical story is of how
on one occasion when two of the king's sons were out hunting, they were led by
their quarry to the oratory of St. Chad, where they found him praying, and were
so impressed by the sight of the frail old man upon his knees, his face glowing
with rapture, that they knelt and asked his blessing, and were later baptized
and confirmed. All who encountered him were similarly impressed, and many made
pilgrimage to Lichfield and to his holy well outside the city, which still
remains.
He had great qualities of
mind and spirit, but greatest of all was his sense of the presence of God and
the influence it had upon others, for it is said that all who met him were
aware of God's glory. It was this experience, no doubt, which underlies the
story that Wulfhere was so angry when his sons were converted that he slew them
and, breathing fury, sought out St. Chad, but as he approached the bishop's
cell a great light shone through its single window, and the king was almost
blinded by its brightness.
In his early days in
Northumbria, St. Chad had trudged on foot on his long missionary journeys until
Archbishop Theodore with his own hands lifted him on horseback, insisting that
he conserve his strength. This was typical of St. Chad, and he brought to his
work at Lichfield the same grace and simplicity.
In Lichfield Chad founded
monasteries including possibly Barrow (Barton) upon Humber, improved the
discipline of the cloisters, preached everywhere, and reformed the churches of
the diocese.
Many legends gathered round
his name, and the familiar one which relates to his death reflects at least the
inner beauty of his life. After two and one half years of steady, unremitting
labor, when Chad came to die, his oratory was filled with the sound of music.
First a laborer heard it, outside in the fields, and drew near in wonder, then
ran and told others. St. Chad's followers gathered outside, and when they asked
what it was, he told them that it meant that his hour had come and it was the
angels calling him home. Then he gave each of them a blessing, begged them to
keep together, to live in peace, and faithfully fulfill their calling. St.
Chad's body simply wore out.
Some of his relics are
preserved in the cathedral of Birmingham, which is named for him (Attwater,
Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Gill).
In art, St. Chad is a
bishop holding Lichfield Cathedral and a branch (usually a vine). He may also be
found (1) holding the cathedral in the midst of a battlefield with the dead
surrounding him, (2) with a hart leading hunters to him by a pool, or (3) at
the time of the conversion of the hunters (SS. Wulfhald and Ruffinus) (Roeder).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0302.shtml
St. Ceada, or Chad, Bishop and
Confessor
HE was brother to St. Cedd, bishop
of London, and the two holy priests Celin and Cymbel, and had his education in
the monastery of Lindisfarne, under St. Aidan. For his greater improvement in
sacred letters and divine contemplation he passed into Ireland, and spent a
considerable time in the company of Saint Egbert, till he was called back by
his brother St. Cedd to assist him in settling the monastery of Lestingay,
which he had founded in the mountains of the Deiri, that is, the Woulds of
Yorkshire. St. Cedd being made bishop of London, or of the East Saxons, left to
him the entire government of this house. Oswi having yielded up Bernicia, or
the northern part of his kingdom, to his son Alcfrid, this prince sent St.
Wilfrid into France, that he might be consecrated to the bishopric of the
Northumbrian kingdom, or of York; but he staid so long abroad that Oswi himself
nominated St. Chad to that dignity, who was ordained by Wini, bishop of
Winchester, assisted by two British prelates, in 666. Bede assures us that he
zealously devoted himself to all the laborious functions of his charge,
visiting his diocess on foot, preaching the gospel, and seeking out the poorest
and most abandoned persons to instruct and comfort in the meanest cottages, and
in the fields. When St. Theodorus, archbishop of Canterbury, arrived in
England, in his general visitation of all the English churches, he adjudged the
see of York to St. Wilfrid. Saint Chad made him this answer: “If you judge that
I have not duly received the episcopal ordination, I willingly resign this
charge, having never thought myself worthy of it; but which, however unworthy,
I submitted to undertake in obedience.” The archbishop was charmed with his
candour and humility, would not admit his abdication, but supplied certain
rites which he judged defective in his ordination: and St. Chad, leaving the
see of York, retired to his monastery of Lestingay, but was not suffered to
bury himself long in that solitude. Jaruman, bishop of the Mercians, dying, St.
Chad was called upon to take upon him the charge of that most extensive diocess. 1 He was the fifth bishop of the Mercians, and first fixed that see at
Litchfield, so called from a great number of martyrs slain and buried there
under Maximianus Herculeus; the name signifying the field of carcasses. Hence
this city bears for its arms a landscape, covered with the bodies of martyrs.
St. Theodorus considering St. Chad’s old age, and the great extent of his diocess,
absolutely forbade him to make his visitations on foot, as he used to do at
York. When the laborious duties of his charge allowed him to retire, he enjoyed
God in solitude with seven or eight monks, whom he had settled in a place near
his cathedral. Here he gained new strength and fresh graces for the discharge
of his functions: he was so strongly affected with the fear of the divine
judgments, that as often as it thundered he went to the church and prayed
prostrate all the time the storm continued, in remembrance of the dreadful day
on which Christ will come to judge the world. By the bounty of king Wulfere, he
founded a monastery at a place called Barrow, in the province of Lindsay, (in
the northern part of Lincolnshire,) where the footsteps of the regular life
begun by him remained to the time of Bede. Carte conjectures that the
foundation of the great monastery of Bardney, in the same province, was begun
by him. St. Chad governed his diocess of Litchfield two years and a half, and
died in the great pestilence on the 2nd of March, in 673. Bede gives the
following relation of his passage: “Among the eight monks whom he kept with him
at Litchfield, was one Owini, who came with queen Ethelred, commonly called St.
Audry, from the province of the East Angles, and was her major-domo, and the
first officer of her court, till quitting the world, clad in a mean garment,
and carrying an axe and a hatchet in his hand, he went to the monastery of
Lestingay, signifying that he came to work, and not to be idle; which he made
good by his behaviour in the monastic state. This monk declared, that he one
day heard a joyful melody of some persons sweetly singing, which descended from
heaven into the bishop’s oratory, filled the same for about half an hour, then
mounted again to heaven. After this, the bishop opening his window, and seeing
him at his work, bade him call the other seven brethren. When the eight monks
were entered his oratory, he exhorted them to preserve peace, and religiously
observe the rules of regular discipline; adding, that the amiable guest who was
wont to visit their brethren, had vouchsafed to come to him that day, and to
call him out of this world. Wherefore he earnestly recommended his passage to
their prayers, and pressed them to prepare for their own, the hour of which is
uncertain, by watching, prayer, and good works.”
The bishop fell presently into a
languishing distemper, which daily increased, till, on the seventh day, having
received the body and blood of our Lord, he departed to bliss, to which he was
invited by the happy soul of his brother St. Cedd, and a company of angels with
heavenly music. He was buried in the church of St. Mary, in Litchfield; but his
body was soon after removed to that of St. Peter, in both places honoured by
miraculous cures, as Bede mentions. His relics were afterwards translated into
the great church which was built in 1148, under the invocation of the B. Virgin
and St. Chad, which is now the cathedral, and they remained there till the
change of religion. See Bede, l. 3. c. 28. l. 4. c. 2 and 3.
Note 1. The first bishop of the Mercians was Diuma a Scot; the second Keollach,
of the same nation; the third Tramhere, who had been abbot of Gethling, in the
kingdom of the Northumbrians; the fourth Jaruman. [back]
Rev.
Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume III: March. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/3/022.html
Saint Chad of Mercia
Saint Chad of Mercia
Also known as
- Chad of Lichfield
- Ceadda of….
- Apostle of Mercia
Profile
Brother of Saint Cedd and Saint Cynibild.
Missionary
monk
to Ireland
with Saint
Egbert. Ordained in 653. Studied
Latin and astronomy. Abbot at Lastingham monastery,
Yorkshire, England; abbot to Saint Owen.
Not long after Chad
became abbot, Saint Wilfrid
of York was chosen Bishop
of Lindisfarne, a see which was
soon moved to York. Wilfrid went to Gaul for
consecration, and stayed so long that King
Oswiu declared the see
vacant and procured the election of Chad as bishop
of York. Chad felt unworthy, but threw himself into the new vocation, travelling
his diocese
on foot, evangelizing where he could. When Wilfrid returned in 666, Saint Theodore, Archbishop
of Canterbury, decided that Chad’s episcopal
consecration was invalid, and that Chad must give up the diocese to Wilfrid.
Chad replied that he had never thought himself worthy of the position, that he
took it through obedience, and he would surrender it through obedience.
Theodore, astonished at this humility, consecrated Chad himself, and appointed
him bishop
of the Mercians in Lichfield in 669.
He founded monasteries,
including those at Lindsey and Barrow-upon-Humber, evangelized,
travelled
and preached, reformed monastic
life in his diocese,
and built a cathedral
on land that had been the site of the martyrdom
of 1,000 Christians
by the pagan
Mercians. Miraculous
cures
reported at the wells he caused to be dug for the relief of travellers.
Legend says that on
one occasion two of the king‘s
sons were hunting, were led by their quarry to the oratory of Saint Chad
where they found him praying. They were so impressed by the sight of the frail old man
upon his knees, his face glowing with rapture, that they knelt, asked his blessing, and
converted.
The pagan King
Wulfhere was so angry that he slew
his sons, and hunted down Saint Chad for some of the same. But as he approached the bishop‘s
cell, a great
light shone through its single window, and the king
was almost blinded by its brightness; he abandoned his plan for revenge.
During storms,
Chad would go to chapel and pray continually. He explained, “God thunders forth
from heaven to rouse people to fear the Lord, to call them to remember the
future judgment…when God will come in the clouds in great power and majesty to judge the
living and the dead. And so we ought to respond to God‘s heavenly
warning with due fear and love so that as often as God disturbs the
sky, yet spares us still, we should implore God‘s mercy,
examining the innermost recesses of our hearts and purging out the dregs of our
sins, and behave with such caution that we may never deserve to be struck down.”
NOTE: I still get email from visitors asking if Chad is
the patron of elections, disputes, disputed elections, losers, or some other
element related to 2000‘s
disputed American presidential election. I have absolutely no evidence that
there are patrons of elections, and certainly none that Chad has anything to
do with it. It was not until 31 October 2000
that politicians and elected officials received a patron,
and that’s Saint
Thomas
More. Times were rough in 7th century
England,
but I have no record of Chad hanging, dangling, dimpled or pregnant. As you see
above, he was involved in a disputed election, but no
patronage tradition resulted. Also note that when a dispute arose, Chad stepped
aside for the greater good. Wish our current politicians
had such grace; but no one ever accused them of being saints. –
Terry
Born
- c.620
in Northumbria, England
- 2 March 672
at Lichfield, England
of natural causes after a brief illness, probably the plague
- his initial tomb was in the form of a small
wooden house
- some relics
preserved in the cathedral of Saint Chad
in Birmingham, England
- Birmingham, England,
archdiocese
of
- Lichfield, England,
diocese
of
- bishop
holding Lichfield Cathedral
and a branch, usually a vine
- bishop
holding the cathedral in the midst of a battlefield with the dead
surrounding him
- man with a hart leading
hunters to him by a pool
- converting
Saint
Wulfhald and Saint Rufinus who converted
on finding him in chapel while they were hunting
St Chad - Patron Saint of Medicinal
Springs
Dr Bruce Osborne - revised Spring 2009
The Archaeological record
There are a number of significant sites in England that celebrate the cult of
St Chad. This interesting phenomenon first identified by James Rattue in Living
Stream, (1995) is the preponderance of St Chads Wells. This list has
subsequently been consolidated by Harte (2008). The value of Harte’s work as an
authoritative publication is that it provides a gazetteer of sources and their
recording over the centuries and as such is a new prime reference point for
anyone wishing to locate and conduct further research on particular sites or
cults. The bibliography in particular gives students of Holy Wells a
substantial guide with regard to source material. Harte identifies the
following early spring/well sites dedicated to St Chad in addition to Lichfield
Cathedral itself.
In the examples the locations are given with an indication of the date of known
first recording. Tushingham in Cheshire 1301 (p.27); Lastingham in Yorkshire
19th century (p43, v2p356); Stowe near Lichfield 14th century (p44,101,
v2p325); Abbots Bromley in Staffordshire c.1300 (p.64, v2p321); Wilne in
Derbyshire medieval (p64. v2p190); Chadkirk in Cheshire c.1306 (p64, v2p178);
Chadshunt in Warwickshire 1695 (p64,79, v2p331); St Pancras in London (p.64,
v2p266); Bedhampton in Hampshire (v3p443); Stepney in London (v3p448). Chadwell
in Essex 19th century (v3p388); Chadwell Heath in Essex 19th century (v3p388);
Birdbrook in Essex 19th century (v3p388); Brettenham in Norfolk 19th century
(v3p402); Peterborough in Northamptonshire 17th century (v3p403); Warmington in
Northamptonshire 20th century (v3p404); Chadswell in Shropshire 19th century
(v3p407); Midsomer Norton in Somerset 19th century (v3p413); Chaigley in
Lancashire 20th century (v3p430); together with a number of doubtful and
spurious wells as follows: Pertenhall in Bedfordshire (v3p436); Shodwell in
Cheshire (v3p437); Prestbury in Gloucestershire 1201 (v3p442); Twyning in
Gloucestershire (v3p443); Ware in Hertfordshire (v3p444); Chaigley in
Lancashire (v3p446); Barton-upon-Humber in Lincolnshire (v3p447); South Ferriby
in Lincolnshire (v3p.448); Shadwell in Norfolk (v3p449); Broughton in
Oxfordshire (v3p450); Chatwall in Shropshire (v3p451); Shrewsbury in Shropshire
(v3p.451); Birmingham in Warwickshire (v3p454). With such an array of recorded
St Chad sites now consolidated by Harte into a single directory it raises the
question: what is the background to this popular well cult?
Early background to Chad
Ceadda was actually a pre-Christian deity of healing springs and holy wells
whose symbol was Crann Bethadh, the Tree of Life. There is some confusion as to
whether Ceadda was a god or a goddess and the celebration may also have been
originally Norse, not Celtic. Chieftains were inaugurated at the Tree of Life.
Through its roots and branches the tree connected with the power both of the
heavens and the worlds below. St Chad represents a Christianisation of this
healing spring deity.
St Chad (Anglo Saxon - Ceadda) is regarded as the missionary who introduced
Christianity to Mercia. Born circa 620 in Northumbria, he was educated at the
monastery of Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, of which he became the bishop. Upon
his canonization, St Chad became the patron saint of medicinal springs. His
year of consecration is recorded in Anglo-Saxon Chronicles at 664.
Litchfield Established AD 669
In the year AD 669, the year that the church in Lichfield, Staffordshire, UK
was established, St Chad came to Lichfield to be its first bishop. His
appointment as Bishop of Mercia was by King Wulfhere. Here he founded a
monastery beside a well of spring water. The spring was where he baptized the
converts and the church that he built was dedicated to St Mary.
The nature of St Chads appointment as a bishop gave rise to the more recent and
unfortunate use of the word Chad to signify a false election result. From
Mercia, Chad’s brother Cedd had gone to work first with the East Saxons before
going north to Lastingham (in modern-day Yorkshire) where he had been given
land for a monastery. On Cedd’s death from plague in 664, Chad succeeded his
brother as Abbot of Lastingham and both brothers have a well there named after
them.
The following year, Wilfrid, Abbot of Ripon, was sent to France to be
consecrated as bishop of the Northumbrians. Wilfrid, however, lingered in
France and Chad was summoned from Lastingham to be consecrated in his place.
Bishop Wini of the West Saxons was the only bishop of the Roman tradition left
in England, but, as three bishops were required for a consecration, two others
still following the British traditions assisted.
In 669, Theodore of Tarsus became Archbishop of
Canterbury and immediately set about reforming the English church. On
discovering two bishops in Northumbria, he declared Chad’s consecration invalid
because of the participation of the two British bishops. Chad’s reply revealed
his deep humility: “If you know I have not duly received episcopal ordination,
I willingly resign the office, for I never thought myself worthy of it; but,
though unworthy, in obedience submitted to undertake it.” Moved by this reply,
Theodore completed Chad’s consecration according to Roman rites. However,
Wilfrid remained as Bishop of York and so Chad returned to Lastingham.
This state of affairs did not last long, as later in the same year King
Wulfhere of Mercia requested a bishop and Theodore sent Chad. Although there
had been previous bishops working in Mercia, it was with Chad that the see was
fixed at Lichfield and so Chad can be correctly described as the first Bishop
of Lichfield.
The Stag Legend
The background to St Chad’s ministry in Lichfield is legendary. Wulfhere was
the Christian king who had asked Theodore, the archbishop, to provide him with
someone to be bishop in Mercia, and so Chad had come to Lichfield. According to
this legend, Wulfhere later renounced his Christian faith at the persuasion of
an evil counsellor called Werbode, and two of his sons, Wulfhad and Ruffin,
were brought up as pagans.
While out hunting one day, son Wulfhad raised a stag which he followed to St
Chad's cell at Lichfield, where it plunged into the spring there - now St
Chad's Well - before fleeing into the forest again. On reaching the spring,
Wulfhad saw Chad and asked him which way the stag had gone. Chad told him that
he was to follow the stag no further. Its purpose had been to bring him here,
to Chad's cell, so that he could be baptised in the Christian faith. Wulfhad
challenged Chad, if his God was so great, to bring the stag back by prayer.
Chad knelt and prayed, the stag returned and Wulfhad was baptised at the
spring.
The next morning, Wulfhad returned home and told his brother all that had
happened. Ruffin decided that he, too, would be baptised and the stag once more
appeared, to lead them through the forest to Chad's cell.
Thereafter, the two brothers made frequent visits to Chad to be instructed in
the Christian faith. However, the evil Werbode became suspicious and, after a
successful spying mission, reported the brothers to their father, the king. In
an uncontrollable rage, Wulfhere went to Chad's cell and demanded of his two
sons that they renounced their new faith. When they refused, he slew them both.
(Chad was saved, we are told, because on hearing their father approaching, the
brothers had persuaded him to slip away.)
Later, realising what he had done, Wulfhere was overcome by guilt and fell ill.
Eventually, he agreed to follow the advice of his wife and seek out Chad so
that he could repent and be absolved of his sin. The stag made its third
appearance, to lead Wulfhere to Chad. On arriving at the cell, Wulfhere could
hear Chad saying Mass, and, conscious of his guilt, was reluctant to go in.
When Mass was finished, Chad hung his vestments on a convenient sunbeam (or so
we are told) and came out to meet Wulfhere. As a penance for his sins, Wulfhere
was instructed to replace paganism with Christianity throughout his kingdom, to
found churches and monasteries, and to lead a Christian life.
Bede indicates that St Chad zealously devoted himself to all the laborious
functions of his charge, visiting his diocese on foot, preaching the gospel,
and seeking out the poorest and most abandoned persons in the meanest cottages
and in the fields, that he might instruct them. When old age compelled him to
retire, he settled with seven or eight monks near Lichfield. Tradition
described him as greatly affected by storms; he called thunder 'the voice of
God,' regarding it as designed to call men to repentance, and lower their
self-sufficiency. On these occasions, he would go into the church, and continue
in prayer until the storm had abated.
Stowe
There is some confusion as to whether the original church was on the site of
the Lichfield Cathedral rather than a short walk away at nearby Stowe. It is
likely that Chad’s church, dedicated to St. Mary, was somewhere on the site of
the present cathedral and that the church nearby at Stowe was the site of the
‘house near the church, where he used to retire privately with seven or eight
brethren in order to pray or study whenever his work and preaching permitted’.
St Chads church at Stowe is only about a half mile from Lichfield Cathedral.
The present day church is a 12th century and later construction, the original
Saxon one having been demolished. St Chads Well can be seen in the grounds of
the present day church. It lies beneath a canopy erected in 1951, replacing an
earlier enclosed stone built structure. Some say, St Chad was wont, naked, to
stand in the water and pray, a habit that likely led to his saintly
patronisation of cold bathing. Well Dressing here can be dated from the
nineteenth century. This practice was revived in 1995.
Chad’s Death and his relicts
After two and a half years at Lichfield, there came a time of plague which
‘freed many members of the reverend bishop’s church from the burden of the
flesh’. It is related that seven days before his death, a monk named Arvinus,
who was outside the building in which he lay, heard a sound as of heavenly
music attendant upon a company of angels, who visited the saint to forewarn him
of his end. St Chad died in 672 and his body was buried near the church of St
Mary’s. In 700 his bones were relocated to the newly completed cathedral in
Lichfield. His remains were enclosed in a rich shrine, which, being resorted to
by multitudes of pilgrims, caused the gradual rise of the city of Lichfield
from a small village. It is related that the saint's tomb had a hole in it,
through which the pilgrims used to take out portions of the dust, which, mixed
with holy water, they gave to men and animals to drink.
Chad's cult was destroyed at the Reformation and his relics were scattered,
apparently in 1538. A prebendary of Lichfield, Arthur Dudley (a relative of the
Sutton Lords Dudley and of the cadet branch of the Dudley family who held
various high offices and titles in 16th C), scooped up a few of Chad's bones.
He is said, in a document written by a Jesuit priest in mid 17th C, to have
deposited them with two sisters, members of his family, in Russells Hall,
Dudley. The sisters eventually entrusted the few bones to Henry and William
Hodgetts, recusants of Woodsetton in the neighbouring parish of Sedgley.
William died first (he apparently 'divined' thefts with a crystal ball, among
other things). Just before Henry died, in 1651 (not 1615, as the local version
has it, from an early 19th C published translation of the Latin), he gave the
relics to the Jesuit priest who administered the Last Rites. The fragments were
given by the Jesuit to a member of the Leveson family, royalists and recusants,
at least one of whom was involved in defending Dudley Castle around that time.
A Puritan raid on a Leveson house resulted in the loss of some of the bones.
The rest were hidden by other Staffordshire recusant families until religious
toleration acts were passed at the end of 18th C and beginning of 19th, and the
Cathedral for the RC Archdiocese of Birmingham was the obvious destination for
them. (supplied by Buckley C from Greenslade 1996 & 2006)
St Chad remains and are now in the hands of the Birmingham Roman Catholic
Cathedral. Carbon dating has confirmed that the remains are contemporary with
the life of St Chad.
Celebration of St Chad and cold bathing
Sir John Floyer of Lichfield, the celebrated physician to Charles II, in 1706
published a curious collection of letters about the medicinal values of cold
bathing. In his text he describes St Chad as one of the first converters of our
nation, who used immersion in the baptism of the Saxons; such immersion being
beneficial to the body as well as the soul. Floyer concludes that the well near
Stowe, which bears Chad's name, was his baptistery, it being deep enough for
immersion, and conveniently seated near the church; and that it has the
reputation of curing sore eyes, scabs, &c. Sir John Floyer, it should be
added, set up his own baths at Unite’s Well. This lay about one mile north-west
of Lichfield. He appropriately named his baths after St Chad, the water of which
he observes to be the coldest in the neighbourhood. Sir John gives a table of
diseases for which St Chads Baths was efficacious (Floyer J. 1706, p.17 - 27.).
Chamber’s “Book of Days” indicates that Chad was designated "Patron Saint
of Medicinal Springs" as a result of the miraculous healing achieved using
the dust from his shrine mixed with Holy Water. An alternative view, expressed
by Sunderland (1915) is that the designation resulted from his practice of
bathing naked in his well at Stowe, by the church.
Today’s archaeology
The cult of St Chad has resulted in the name being adopted in up to 42
instances of springs and wells and one may conclude that the patron saint of
medicinal springs was a very powerful endorsement of a well’s properties. This
may not be as clear cut as first assumed however. St Chad’s wells in some
instances are likely a transformation or hagiologising from “cealdwiella” or
cold well. (Harte p.8) Chadwell in Essex for example in 1578 was Chawdwell but
by the 20th century had adopted the nomenclature St Chad's Well. It is not
surprising that Floyer therefore took an interest in the well at Lichfield in
view of his interest in cold bathing as a cure. It would appear that St Chad
became synonymous with cold wells.
Today we find St Chad's name being used to name hospitals, doctor's surgeries
and health centres. The cult lives on. Meanwhile the St Chads Foundation Trust
strives to protect and enhance the site of St Chad’s Church and Spring at
Stowe, near Lichfield.
St Chads Feast Day is March 2nd.
B E Osborne 2009
General and detailed sources:
Pictures by S Arnold and B Osborne;
<Anglo-Saxon Chronicles Ingram J (1912
reprint 1929). p.40.
Book of Days Chambers R (1864) p.321.
Catholic Staffordshire Greenslade M (2006) Gracewing Books, Leominster
The Forgotten Cathedral Current Archaeology 205 (2006) Rodwell W,
p.9-17.
English Holy Wells – a sourcebook Harte J (2008) Heart of Albion
Loughborough. Vols 2 and 3 are the gazetteer.
History of Cold Bathing – both ancient and modern Floyer J (1706)
Walford London.
London’s Spas, Baths and Wells Sunderland S (1915) Bale, London.
p.13-16.
On Eagles Wings The Life and Spirit of St Chad Adam D (1999) Triangle
London.
Saint Chad of Lichfield and Birmingham Greenslade M W, (Archdiocese of
Birmingham Historical Commission, publication number 10, 1996)
The Living Stream – Holy Wells in Historical Context Rattue J (1995)
Boydell Woodbridge
Other sources include www.stchads.org.uk together with the archives of the Spas
Research Fellowship. James Rattue and Jeremy Harte have both aided the
preparation of this paper.
St Chad - Patron Saint of Medicinal Springs
San Ceadda (Chad) di Lichfield Abate e vescovo
† Lichfield, Inghilterra, 2
marzo 672
Patronato: Diocesi di Birmingham
Martirologio Romano: A Lichfield in Inghilterra, san Ceadda, vescovo,
che nelle allora povere province della Mercia, del Lindsey e dell’Anglia
meridionale, resse l’ufficio episcopale, impegnandosi ad amministrarlo secondo
l’esempio degli antichi Padri in grande perfezione di vita.
San Ceadda (Chad) proveniva da una famiglia molto religiosa della
Northumbria, della quale ben quattro fratelli divennero sacerdoti, due
addirittura vescovi. Egli fu discepolo di Sant’Aidano di Lindisfarne, e proprio
in quest’ultima città soggiornò per un certo periodo e ricevette dal suo
maestro un’ottima formazione. Ancora in giovane età, si trasferì in Irlanda, dove insieme al compagno
Egberto visse da monaco, immerso nella preghiera, nel digiuno e nella
meditazione delle Sacre Scritture. Ricevette l’ordinazione presbiterale
probabilmente una volta tornato in Inghilterra. Nulla sappiamo di preciso sulla
sua vita sino alla morte del fratello San Cedda. Quest’ultimo predicò il
Vangelo agli angli del centro, fu pi vescovo ed apostolo dei sassoni orientali ed
infine fondò ed amministrò il monastero di Lastingham, che poi lasciò in
eredità al fratello.
Il nuovo abate si ritrovò ben presto nel mezzo di una intricata questine
politica, che coinvolse i sovrani dei regni vicini e dei principali monasteri,
ma che sarebbe lungo ed inutile riportare nei dettagli. Da ciò Ceadda ne ricavò
la consacrazione episcopale, non solo in base a calcoli fatti a tavolino, ma
proprio perchè nessuno dubitava sulla sua santità e sulle lodevoli qualità,
come ebbe a testimoniare nelle sue memorie anche San Beda il Venerabile.
Sorserò però dei dubbi sulla legittimità della sua nomina e della sua
ordinazione, contestata da San Vilfrido che si rivolse al nuovo arcivescovo San
Teodoro di Tarso dal quale ebbe pieno appoggio. Ceadda non esitò allora a farsi
da parte per obbedienza ed umiltà, ma Teodoro commosso dalla sua reazione,
convalidò la consacrazione episcopale di Ceadda, che comunque preferì ritirarsi
a vita monastica presso Lastingham.
Quando però ben presto la Mercia rimase senza vescovi, Teodoro richiamò
nuovamente Ceadda che prese possesso della sede di Lichfield. Vicino alla
cattedrale il santo fece edificare un luogo ove portersi ritirare in preghiera
con altri monaci quando era libero da altri impegni. Ricevette inoltre in dono un
terreno presso Ad Barvae, probabilmente l’odierna Barrow nella contea di
Lindsey, ove fondare un nuovo monastero. Annunciò in anticipo ai frati la
prossimità della sua scomparsa, persuadendoli a vivere in pace con tutto e con
tutti, rimanendo fedeli alle regole monastiche apprese da lui e dai suoi
predecessori. Spirò infine il 2 marzo 672, dopo aver ricevuto la comunione
sotto le due specie, a causa di quella tremenda epidemia di peste che parecchie
vittime aveva già mietuto tra i suoi fedeli.
Il suo vecchio amico Egberto asserì che fu vista l’anima di Cedd scendere dal
cielo assieme ad uno stormo di angeli per scortare il fratello verso la vita
eterna. Dopo una primitiva sepoltura, le sue spoglie furono traslate ove oggi
sorge la cattedrale di Lichfield. Su entrambe le tombe si verificarono numerosi
miracoli, grazie ai quali il suo culto si diffuse ampiamente. Con le invasioni
normanne si pensò che le reliquie fosse andate perdute, ma alcune di esse nel
1839 furono rinvenute e deposte sopra l’altar maggiore della nuova cattedrale
di Birmingham, di cui divenne patrono. Il nome di San Chad figura nei calendari
e nelle litanie anglosassoni e ad esso vennero dedicate parecchie chiese
medioevali nell’Inghilterra centrale.
Autore: Fabio
Arduino
