Monastic
Chapel 1920, Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, New York. This is the Christian
saint Aidan in stained glass form. He was born in Ireland and helped spread
Christianity in Great Britain, especially in Northumbria. He is a possible
candidate for patron saint of Great Britain.
Saint Aidan de Lindisfarne
Évêque-abbé (✝ 651)
Moine missionnaire irlandais venant du monastère fondé par Saint Colomba sur l'île de Iona, il établit la religion chrétienne dans le district de Lindisfarne en Angleterre et devint, vers 635, évêque du pays qu'il avait converti.
A lire: saint Aidan, premier habitant de Holy Island de Lindisfarne - site en anglais.
À Lindisfarne en Northumbrie, l’an 653, saint Aidan, évêque et abbé. Homme de grande piété, d’extrême mansuétude et de sage autorité, il fut appelé du monastère d’Iona par le roi saint Oswald, et il établit dans cette île son siège épiscopal et son monastère, pour travailler efficacement à répandre l’Évangile dans ce royaume d’Angleterre.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1767/Saint-Aidan-de-Lindisfarne.html
Saint AEDAN
L'évêque Aedan est
né en Irlande à la fin du 6ème siècle, et mourut en 651. Saint Aidan fut
disciple de saint Senan (8 mars) sur l'Ile Scattery, mais on ne sait rien de
plus de certain sur sa vie antérieure à son entrée comme moine à Iona. Il fut
bien accueillit par le roi saint Oswald (9 août), qui avait vécut en exil parmi
les moines Irlandais à Iona et y avait demandé des moines pour évangéliser son
royaume. Le premier missionnaire, Corman, n'eut pas de succès à cause de la
rudesse de ses méthodes; dès lors Aidan fut envoyé pour le remplacer. Oswald
accorda l'île
de Lindisfarne ("Ile sainte") à Aidan pour y fonder son
siège épiscopal; son diocèse s'étendra du Forth jusqu'à l'Humber.
Par ses actions, il montra que jamais il ne chercha ni n'aima les biens de ce
monde; les présents que le roi ou les riches lui offraient, il les donnait aux
pauvres. Il vint rarement à la table royale, et jamais sans y emmener l'un ou
l'autre de son clergé, et se hâtant toujours de quitter pour rejoindre ses
tâches. Le centre de son activité était Lindisfarne, au large de la côte du
Northumberland, entre Berwick et Bamburgh. Là, il établit un monastère sous la
Règle de saint Columcille (Columba d'Iona); il n'était pas inapproprié
de l'appeler l'Iona anglais, parce que de là, le paganisme fut progressivement
éliminé en Northumbrie et les coutumes barbares sapées. La communauté n'était
pas autorisée à accumuler des richesses; les surplus étaient utilisés pour les
besoins des pauvres et le rachat avec affranchissement des esclaves
(manumission). De Lindisfarne, Aidan voyagea à pied à travers le diocèse, visitant
son troupeau et fondant des centres missionnaires.
L'apostolat d'Aidan fut facilité par des miracles innombrables, rapportés par
saint Bede (25 mai) qui rédigea sa biographie. Il fut aussi aidé par le fait
qu'Aidan prêcha en Irlandais et que le roi fit la traduction. Saint Aidan fit
entrer 12 jeunes Anglais dans son monastère, pour les y élever, et il était
infatigable pour s'occuper du bien-être des enfants et des esclaves, et pour
l'affranchissement de ces derniers, il utilisa pour leur manumission nombre des
aumônes qu'on lui accorda.
Le grand roi saint Oswald assista son évêque de toutes les manières possibles
jusqu'à sa mort à la bataille contre le roi païen Penda en 642. Une belle
histoire préservée par saint Bède nous rapporte qu'Oswald était attablé pour
dîner un jour de Pâques, saint Aidan à ses côtés, quand on lui apprit qu'un
grand groupe de pauvres demandait l'aumône à la porte. Prenant un plat en
argent massif, il le chargea avec la viande de sa propre table et ordonna de la
distribuer parmi les pauvres, puis qu'on brisa le plat d'argent et qu'on en
partagea les morceaux entre les pauvres. Aidan, nous dit Bède, prit la main
droite du roi, disant "Que jamais cette main ne périsse!" Sa
bénédiction s'accomplit. Après la mort d'Oswald, son bras droit incorrompu fut
conservé comme sainte relique.
Saint Oswin (20 août), le successeur de saint Oswald, soutint aussi l'apostolat
d'Aidan. Et lorsqu'en 651, Oswin fut assassiné par Gilling, Aidan ne lui
survécut que 11 jours. Il mourût au château royal de Bamburgh, qu'il utilisait
comme centre missionnaire, gisant contre un mur de l'église où une tente avait
été dressée pour l'abriter. Il fut d'abord enterré dans le cimetière de
Lindisfarne, mais quand la nouvelle église Saint-Pierre fut achevée, on y transféra
son corps. Les moines de Lindisfarne, fuyant les attaques répétées des Vikings,
abandonnèrent leur sainte île en 875, emportant les reliques de saint Oswald et
saint Aidan placées dans le cercueil contenant le corps incorrompu de saint
Cuthbert. Durant 100 ans, les moines errèrent, s'installant de ci de là, et
fondant des églises. En 995, craignant une nouvelle attaque des envahisseurs
Danois, les moines s'enfuirent à nouveau avec leurs précieuses reliques. Selon
la tradition, quand les moines approchèrent de la ville de Durham, le cercueil
devint de plus en plus lourd, et un moine eut un songe dans lequel Cuthbert dit
que son corps trouverait son repos final à "Dunholme". Aucun des
moines ne connaissait un tel lieu mais, interrogeant les villageois, ils
entendirent 2 femmes parler d'une vache perdue qui se serait égarée dans
"le Dunholme". Les moines investiguèrent ce détail et découvrirent
que c'était un promontoire boisé sur une boucle de la Rivière Wear, où de nos
jours se trouve la cathédrale de Durham.
Les moines de Glastonbury affirmèrent que dès le 11ième siècle, ils possédaient
les ossements de saint Aidan de Lindisfarne (Northumberland). Nous savons que
ce n'était pas le corps entier, car il est reconnu que la moitié du corps se
trouve à Iona en Écosse, et une partie du restant se trouve à la cathédrale de
Durham. Saint dont le corps n'était pas entier et pourtant le plus ancien
enregistré, il semble qu'Aidan est le seul saint "nordique" dont les
reliques furent amenées au sud à Glastonbury par Tyccea, bien qu'apparemment
pas sous la menace Viking.
Saint Bède loue hautement l'Irlandais Aidan qui fit tant pour porter l'Évangile
à ses frères Anglo-Saxons. "Jamais il ne rechercha ni n'aima quoique ce
soit de ce monde, mais fit ses délices à distribuer immédiatement aux pauvres
quoique ce soit que rois ou riches du monde lui donnèrent. Il traversa villes
et pays à pied, jamais à cheval, sauf si pressé par une urgente nécessité.
Partout où il rencontrait quelqu'un, riche ou pauvre, il l'invitait, si païen,
à embrasser le mystère de la Foi; ou s'il s'agissait d'un croyant, il cherchait
à le renforcer dans leur Foi, exhortant par des paroles et actions pour les
aumônes et bonnes oeuvres."
Il écrivit que saint Aidan "était un homme d'une gentillesse remarquable,
bon et modéré, zélé pour Dieu; mais pas complètement selon la
connaissance..." Par cela, Bède veut dire qu'Aidan suivait et enseignait
la Liturgie et les coutumes disciplinaires des Chrétiens Celtes, qui
différaient de ceux de la Chrétienté continentale romaine. Montague note qu'un
des efforts de l'éducation anglo-saxonne dirigée par les moines Irlandais était
que l'écriture anglaise se distinguait par son orthographe irlandaise. Aidan
amena en Irlande la coutume du jeûne du mercredi et du vendredi (voir Didachè).
Dans l'art, on représente Saint Aidan en évêque avec en main le monastère de
Lindisfarne et un cerf à ses pieds (parce que la tradition rapporte que sa
prière rendit invisible un cerf poursuivit par des chasseurs). Il peut aussi
être représenté
(1) tenant une torche allumée;
(2) donnant un cheval à un pauvre;
(3) calmant une tempête; ou
(4) éteignant un incendie par sa prière. Il est particulièrement vénéré à
Glastonbury, Lindisfarne, et Whitby
SOURCE : http://stmaterne.blogspot.ca/2008/08/saint-aidan-de-lindisfarne-abb-vque-et.html
St.
Oswald bei Freistadt ( Oberösterreich ). Pfarrkirche hl. Oswald - Bronzeportal
(1989) mit Szenen aus dem Leben des heiligen Oswald, von Jakob Kopp: König
Oswald beruft den heiligen Aidan von Lindisfarne zum Bischof von Northumbria.
St.
Oswald bei Freistadt (Upper Austria). Saint Oswald parish church - Bronze
portal (1989) showing scenes of the life of Saint Oswald of Northumbria, by
Jakob Kopp: King Oswald making Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne bishop of
Northumbria.
Saint Aidan, évêque de
Lindisfarne (651)
Saint Aidan naquit en
Irlande (alors appelée Ecosse) au septième siècle. Comme moine du monastère
fondé par Saint Columba, sur l'île d'Iona, il était connu pour son ascétisme
rigoureux. Lorsque le saint roi Oswald de Northumbrie voulut convertir son
peuple au christianisme, il se tourna vers les moines celtes d'Iona, plutôt que
vers le clergé romain de Cantorbéry. Saint Aidan fut consacré évêque et envoyé
en Northumbrie pour prendre en charge la mission. Le roi Oswald lui donna comme
siège épiscopal l'île de Lindisfarne près de la résidence royale de Bamburgh.
Saint Aidan y fonda le célèbre monastère de Lindisfarne en 635.
Comme évêque, saint Aidan
était réputé pour son humilité et sa piété, c'était un modèle à suivre pour les
autres évêques et prêtres. Il n'était pas attaché aux choses de ce monde, il ne
cherchait pas les trésors terrestres. Chaque fois qu'il recevait des cadeaux du
roi ou des hommes riches, il les distribuait aux pauvres. Les mercredis et
vendredis, il avait l'habitude de jeûner de tout aliment jusques à la neuvième
heure, sauf pendant la saison pascale.
De Lindisfarne, saint
Aidan voyagea partout en Northumbrie, visitant son troupeau, et établissant des
missions. Oswald, qui connaissait le gaélique depuis le temps où lui et sa
famille furent exilés à Iona, servit d'interprète pour l'évêque Aidan, qui ne
parlait pas anglais. Ainsi, le roi joua un rôle actif dans la conversion de son
peuple.
Un an, après avoir
assisté aux offices de Pâques, le roi Oswald était attablé à un repas avec
l'évêque Aidan. Au moment même où l'évêque était sur le point de bénir la
nourriture, un serviteur entra et informa le roi qu'un grand nombre de gens
dans le besoin étaient dehors et demandaient l'aumône. Le roi ordonna que sa
propre nourriture soit servie aux pauvres sur des plateaux d'argent, et que les
plats d'argent du service soient brisés et leur soient distribués.
Saint Oswald fut tué au
combat en 642 dans sa trente-neuvième année. Saint Aidan fut profondément
affligé par la mort du roi, mais son successeur le saint et pieux roi orthodoxe
Oswin fut aussi très cher à son cœur. Saint Aidan prédit la mort du roi Oswin, disant
que son peuple ne méritait pas un tel bon souverain. La prophétie ne tarda pas
à être accomplie, car saint Oswin fut assassiné le 20 août 651.
Saint Aidan rejoignit le
Seigneur le 31 août, moins de deux semaines plus tard. Il mourut à Bamburgh,
près du mur ouest de l'église. La poutre sur laquelle il s'appuyait pour se
soutenir, existe encore, malgré le fait que l'église ait été détruite par le
feu à deux reprises. La poutre peut encore être vue au plafond de l'église
actuelle, au-dessus des fonts baptismaux.
Dans un premier temps, le
saint évêque Aidan fut enterré à Lindisfarne sur le côté droit de l'autel dans
l'église de Saint-Pierre. Plus tard, les reliques du saint ont été transférées
à Iona, le monastère où il avait d'abord embrassé la vie monastique.
Sa fête est au 31ème jour
du mois d'août.
Version française Claude
Lopez-Ginisty
d'après
http://www.oodegr.com/english/biographies/
Voir aussi:
http://allmercifulsavior.com/icons/Icons-Aidan.htm
SOURCE : https://orthodoxologie.blogspot.com/2010/05/saint-aidan-eveque-de-lindisfarne-651.html
Statue
of St Aidan, Lindisfarne Priory
Statue of St Aidan, Lindisfarne Priory
Modern
statue of St. Aidan beside the ruins of the medieval
priory on Lindisfarne
Also
known as
Apostle of Northumbria
Aedan of Lindisfarne
9
June (Lutherans)
Profile
Monk at Iona, Scotland. Studied under Saint Senan at
Inish Cathay. Bishop of Clogher, Ireland.
Resigned the see to
became a monk at Iona c.630. Evangelizing bishop in Northumbria, England at
the behest of his friend the king, Saint Oswald
of Northumbria. Once when pagans attacked Oswald‘s
forces at Bambrough, they piled wood around the city walls to burn it; Saint Aidan prayed for
help, and a change in wind blew the smoke and flames over the pagan army.
Aidan was known for his
knowledge of the Bible, his eloquent preaching,
his personal holiness, simple life, scholarship, and charity. Miracle worker.
Trained Saint Boswell.
Founded the Lindesfarne monastery that
became not only a religious standard bearer, but a great storehouse of European literature and
learning during the dark ages. Saint Bede is
lavish in his praise of the episcopal rule
of Aidan.
Born
31
August 651 at
Bamburg, England of
natural causes
the young Saint Cuthbert
of Lindisfarne, a shepherd in
the fields at the time, saw Aidan’s soul rise to heaven as a shaft of light
calming a storm
extinguishing a fire
holding up a
lighted torch
with a stag at
his feet
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Dictionary
of National Biography
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Dictionary
of Saints, by John Delaney
Our
Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
Saint
Aiden’s Orthodox Church, Manchester, England
Saint
Aidan Anglican, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
images
sitios
en español
Martirologio
Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
Readings
O holy Bishop Aidan,
Apostle of the North and light of the Celtic Church, glorious in humility,
noble in poverty, zealous monk and
loving missionary,
intercede for us sinners that Christ our God may
have mercy on our souls. – troparion of Saint Aidan
Thou didst teach and
preserve Christ’s doctrine and didst spread the faith throughout Northumbria,
O holy Hierarch Aidan. Unceasingly pray to God for
us for thou dost worship before His throne for ever. – kontakion of Saint Aidan
MLA
Citation
“Saint Aidan of
Lindesfarne“. CatholicSaints.Info. 25 July 2020. Web. 9 January 2021.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-aidan-of-lindesfarne/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-aidan-of-lindesfarne/
Andreas Meinrad von Au (1712–1792). King Oswald of Northumbria translates the sermon of Aidan into the Anglo-Saxon language, 1778. Ceiling fresco in St. Oswald, Otterswang, Bad Schussenried, Germany
St. Aidan of Lindisfarne
An Irish monk who
had studied under St.
Senan, at Iniscathay (Scattery Island). He is placed as Bishop of Clogher by
Ware and Lynch, but he resigned that see and became a monk at Iona about
630. His virtues,
however, shone so resplendantly that he was selected (635) as first Bishop of Lindisfarne,
and in time became
apostle of Northumbria. St.
Bede is lavish in praise of the episcopal rule of St. Aidan, and
of his Irish co-workers
in the ministry. Oswald, king of Northumbria, who had studied in Ireland,
was a firm friend of St. Aidan, and did all he could for the Irish missioners
until his sad death at Maserfield near Oswestry, 5 August, 642. St. Aidan
died at Bamborough on the last day of August, 651, and his remains were
borne to Lindisfarne. Bede tells
us that "he was a pontiff inspired
with a passionate love of virtue,
but at the same time full of a surpassing mildness and gentleness."
His feast is
celebrated 31 August.
Grattan-Flood,
William. "St. Aidan of Lindisfarne." The Catholic
Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton
Company, 1907. 31 Aug.
2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01233d.htm>.
Copyright © 2021 by Kevin
Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01233d.htm
St
Aidan's parish church, Bamburgh, Northumberland, England
Aidan (Aedan) of
Lindisfarne B (RM)
Born in Ireland; died
651. Saint Aidan is said to have been a disciple of Saint Senan on Scattery
Island, but nothing else is known with certainty of his early life before he
became a monk of Iona. He was well received by King Oswald, who had lived in
exile among the Irish monks of Iona and had requested monks to evangelize his
kingdom. The first missioner, Corman, was unsuccessful because of the roughness
of his methods, so Aidan was sent to replace him. Oswald bestowed the isle of
Lindisfarne (Holy Island) on Aidan for his episcopal seat and his diocese
reached from the Forth to the Humber. By his actions he showed that he neither
sought nor loved the things of this world; the presents which were given to him
by the king or other rich men he distributed among the poor. He rarely attended
the king at table, and never without taking with him one or two of his clergy,
and always afterwards made haste to get away and back to his work.
The center of his
activity was Lindisfarne, off the coast of Northumberland, between Berwick and
Bamburgh. Here established a monastery under the Rule of Saint Columcille; it
was not improperly been called the English Iona, for from it the paganism of
Northumbria was gradually dispelled and barbarian customs undermined. The
community was not allowed to accumulate wealth; surpluses were applied to the
needs of the poor and the manumission of slaves.
From Lindisfarne Aidan
made journeys on foot throughout the diocese, visiting his flock and
establishing missionary centers. Aidan's apostolate was advanced by numerous
miracles according to Saint Bede, who wrote his biography. It was also aided by
the fact that Aidan preached in Irish and the king provided the translation.
Saint Aidan took to this monastery 12 English boys to be raised there, and he
was indefatigable in tending to the welfare of children and slaves, for the
manumission of many of whom he paid from alms bestowed on him.
The great king Saint
Oswald assisted his bishop in every possible way until his death in battle
against the pagan King Penda in 642. Oswald's successor, Saint Oswin, also
supported Aidan's apostolate and when in 651, Oswin was murdered in Gilling,
Aidan survived him only 11 days. He died at the royal castle of Bamburgh, which
he used as a missionary center, leaning against a wall of the church where a
tent had been erected to shelter him. He was first buried in the cemetery of
Lindisfarne, but when the new church of Saint Peter was finished, his body was
translated into the sanctuary.
Saint Bede highly praises
the Irish Aidan who did so much to bring the Gospel to his Anglo-Saxon
brothers. He wrote that Saint Aidan "was a man of remarkable gentleness,
goodness, and moderation, zealous for God; but not fully according to knowledge.
. . . " By which Bede means that he followed and taught the liturgical and
disciplinary customs of the Celtic Christians, which differed from those of
Continental Christianity. Montague notes that one effort of Anglo-Saxon
education being conducted by Irish monks was that English writing was
distinguished by its Irish orthography. Aidan brought to Ireland the Roman
custom of Wednesday and Friday fasts (Attwater, Benedictines, Encyclopedia,
Montague, Walsh).
In art, Saint Aidan is
portrayed as a bishop with the monastery of Lindisfarne in his hand and a stag
at his feet (because of the legend that his prayer rendered invisible a deer
pursued by hunters). He might also be portrayed (1) holding a light torch; (2)
giving a horse to a poor man; (3) calming a storm; or (4) extinguishing a fire
by his prayers (Roeder), He is especially venerated at Glastonbury,
Lindisfarne, and Whitby (Roeder).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0831.shtml
St
Aidan's Church, Roundhay Road, Leeds, West Yorkshire
St. Aidan, or Ædan,
Bishop of Lindisfarne, Confessor
WHEN the holy king Oswald 1 desired
the bishops of Scotland to send him a person honoured with the episcopal
character to preach the faith to his Anglo-Saxon pagan subjects, and plant the
church among them, the first person who came was of a rough austere temper, and
therefore could do little good, and being soon forced to return home again, he
laid the fault on the rude indocile dispositions of the English. Hereupon the
Scottish clergy called a synod to deliberate what was best to be done. Aidan,
who was present, told the prelate, on his blaming the obstinacy of the English,
that the fault lay rather in him, who had been too harsh and severe to an
ignorant people, who ought first to be fed with the milk of milder doctrine,
till they should be able to digest more solid food. At this discourse the whole
assembly turned their eyes upon him, as one endued with prudence, the mother of
other virtues; and he was appointed to the great and arduous mission.
Aidan was a native of
Ireland, (then called Scotland,) and a monk of Hij, the great monastery which
his countryman, St. Columba, had founded, and to which the six neighbouring
islands were given, as Buchanan mentions. He was most graciously received by king
Oswald, who bestowed on him for his episcopal seat the isle of Lindisfarne. 2 Of
his humility and piety Bede gives an edifying account, and proposes him as an
excellent pattern for succeeding bishops and clergymen to follow. He obliged
all those who travelled with him, to bestow their time either in reading the
scriptures, or in learning the psalms by heart. By his actions he showed that
he neither sought nor loved the good things of this world; the presents which
were made him by the king, or by other rich men, he distributed among the poor,
or expended in redeeming captives. He rarely would go to the king’s table, and
never without taking with him one or two of his clergy, and always after a
short repast made haste away to read or pray in the church, or in his cell.
From his example even the laity took the custom of fasting till none, that is,
till three in the afternoon, on all Wednesdays and Fridays, except during the
fifty days of the Easter time. Our venerable historian admires his apostolic
liberty in reproving the proud and the great, his love of peace, charity, continence,
humility, and all other virtues, which he not only practised himself, but, by
his spirit and example, communicated to a rough and barbarous nation, which he
imbued with the meekness of the cross. 3 Aidan
fixed his see at Lindisfarne, and founded a monastery there in the year of our
Lord 635, the hundred and eighty-eighth after the coming of the English Saxons
into Britain, the thirty-ninth after the arrival of St. Augustine, and the
second of the reign of king Oswald. From this monastery all the churches of
Bernicia, or the northern part of the kingdom of the Northumbers from the Tine
to the Firth of Edinburgh, had their beginning; as had some also of those of
the Deïri, who inhabited the southern part of the same kingdom from the Tine to
the Humber. The see of York had been vacant thirty years, ever since St. Paulinus
had left it; so that St. Aidan governed all the churches of the Northumbers for
seventeen years, till his happy death, which happened on the 31st of August in
651, in the royal villa Bebbord. He was first buried in the cemetery in
Lindisfarne; but when the new church of St. Peter was built there, his body was
translated into it, and deposited on the right hand of the altar. Colman when
he returned into Scotland, carried with him part of his bones to St. Columb’s
or Hij. 4 He
is named on this day in the Roman Martyrology. See Bede: Leland Collect. t. 1.
p. 512. alias 366.
Note 1. See his life
on the 5th of August. [back]
Note 2. Lindisfarne,
so called from the river Lindis, is eight miles in circumference; it is only an
island at high water, and remains a peninsula when the tide leaves the strand
dry. From the great number of saints who lived and lie buried there, it was
called by our ancestors holy island. [back]
Note 3. Bede relates
many miracles and prophecies of St. Aidan, (l. 3, c. 15,) and gives the
following portrait of the clergy and people of this nation soon after their
conversion to the faith: “Wherever a clergyman or monk came, he was received by
all with joy as a servant of God; and when any one was travelling on his way,
they would run up to him, and, bowing down, would be glad to be signed by his
hand, or blessed by his prayer. They gave diligent attention to the words of
exhortation which they heard from him, and on Sundays flocked with great
eagerness to the churches or monasteries to hear the word of God. If any priest
happened to come into a village, the inhabitants presently gathering together
were solicitous to hear from him the words of life; nor did the priests or
other ecclesiastics frequent the villages on any other account but to preach,
visit the sick, and take care of souls; and so free were they from any degree
of the bane of avarice, that no one would receive lands or possessions for
building monasteries, unless compelled to it by the secular power.” (Hist.
l. 3, c. 26.) [back]
Note 4. The
discipline of the Scottish monks, and of Lindisfarne, was derived from the
oriental monastic rules, and very austere. Roger Hoveden, Simeon of Durham, and
Leland in his Collectanea, (t. 2, p. 158, alias 171,) tell us that the monks of
Lindisfarne used no other drink than milk and water till wine and beer were
allowed them, from the rules of the western monks in 762, when Ceolwulph, king
of the Northumbers, in the ninth year of his reign, resigned his kingdom to his
nephew, and became a monk at Lindisfarne. He was buried at Ubba, and his body
afterwards translated to the church of Northam, where it is said to have been
honoured with miracles. He is mentioned in the English Martyrologies on the
28th of October. Finan, the second bishop of Lindisfarne, built a new church
there of hewn oak, which he covered with reeds; it was consecrated by St.
Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury; Eadbert, bishop of Lindisfarne, afterwards
covered it all over with lead. Finan died and was buried at Lindisfarne, having
held that see ten years. Colman succeeded him, and in the synod at Strenesbault
refusing to receive the Roman custom of celebrating Easter, which St. Wilfrid
maintained, having been bishop three years, returned into Scotland. Colman
retired with many English and Scottish monks that followed, from the western
islands of Scotland into the west of Ireland, where he built a monastery for
them in an island called, in the Scottish or Irish language, Inisbofin, i.
e., the island of the white calf. Tuda, a southern Scottish monk,
succeeded him, but died of the plague in a year. Eata, one of the twelve
English youths whom St. Aidan educated, was chosen to succeed him first as
abbot, afterwards also in the bishopric. Having governed this see fourteen
years, he was removed to Hexham, and St. Cuthbert chosen bishop of Lindisfarne.
Eadbert succeeded him in 687, and died in 698. Eadfrid, then Ethelworth, and
eight other bishops held this see, till the monastery and church being burned
down by the Danes, bishop Eardulf translated this see to Cunecester or Chester
upon the Street; and, in 995, Aldhun, the eighth from him, removed this see
from Chester to Durham. This prelate, with the assistance of the Earl of
Northumberland, and the people of the country, cut down a great wood which
surrounded the spot which he chose for the church, and built a large city and
stately church, into which he, three years after, translated the uncorrupted
body of St. Cuthbert, in the three hundred and thirty-ninth year after his
death, and the three hundred and sixty-first from the foundation of the see of
Lindisfarne by St. Aidan, as Leland relates. (In Collectan. t. 1, p. 528, ex
Hist. aur. Joan Eborac.) The see of York having been restored in St. Cedde, St.
Wilfrid, and their successors; a bishopric being also erected at Hexham under
Eata, Bosa, and St. John of Beverley, and their successors, till this church
and city being laid waste by the Danes about the year 800, the see of Hexham
became extinct in Panbricht, the last bishop who governed this see, though some
give him a successor named Tidfrid, (Lel. Collect. t. 2, p. 159, alias 174,)
and the see of Carlisle in 1133, in the person of Athelwold, and lastly that of
Chester in 1542, the thirty-third of Henry VIII. the bishopric of Lindisfarne
is long since parcelled out into many. [back]
Rev. Alban
Butler (1711–73). Volume VIII: August. The Lives of the
Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/8/314.html
w:Church of St. Aidan (Toronto),
Canada
Calendar
of Scottish Saints – Saint Aidan, Bishop
Article
A.D. 651. This saint was
a native of Ireland, where, after some years of monastic life at Inniscattery
in the Shannon, he was consecrated bishop. Later on he entered the monastery of
Iona. He became the first bishop of Lindisfarne, and the helper of Saint Oswald
in the conversion of Northumbria. His life was one of great poverty and
detachment, and his example had a wonderful effect on his flock. He used to
travel about his diocese on foot, accompanied by his clergy, spending the time
occupied by the journey in prayer and holy reading. His alms were abundant, and
his manner to all with whom he came in contact kind and fatherly. His miracles,
even during life, were many and striking.
Saint Aidan was the
founder of Old Melrose, which stood a short distance from the site of the more
modern Cistercian Abbey whose ruins are familiar to travellers. He also
assisted the Abbess, Saint Ebba, in the foundation of the celebrated monastery
of Coldingham, which consisted of two distinct communities of men and women.
After ruling his see for
seventeen years, he died at Bamborough in a tent which he had caused to be
erected by the wall of the church. Saint Cuthbert, then a youthful shepherd, as
he kept his flock on the hills, had a vision of the soul of Saint Aidan being borne
by angels to Heaven. It was this vision which determined him to seek admission
to Melrose. Many churches bear Saint Aidan’s name. Among them are those of
Cambusnethan in Lanarkshire and Menmuir in Angus. At the latter place is the
saint’s holy well, which was renowned for the cure of asthma and other
complaints. Another holy well called after Saint Aidan is to be found at Fearn
in Angus. The ancient church of Kenmore, Perthshire, was known as Inchadin.
Keltney Burn in the same neighbourhood, is called in Gaelic “Saint Aidan’s
Stream.”
MLA
Citation
Father Michael
Barrett, OSB.
“Saint Aidan, Bishop”. The Calendar of Scottish
Saints, 1919. CatholicSaints.Info.
12 August 2017. Web. 9 January 2021. <https://catholicsaints.info/calendar-of-scottish-saints-saint-aidan-bishop/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/calendar-of-scottish-saints-saint-aidan-bishop/
Saint
Aidan's Church and Rectory, 207 Freeman and 158 Pleasant Sts. Brookline,
Massachusetts
St. Aidan
(Died AD 651)
Bishop of Scattery Island
Bishop of Lindisfarne
Died: 31st August AD 651 at Bamburgh, Northumberland
When King
Oswald of Bernicia called upon his old educational institution, the
great Scottish monastery of Iona, to provide him with a spiritual guide who
would help him convert his people to Christianity, the monks asked St. Aidan if
he would oblige. Aidan was an Irish bishop, who gave up his see on Scattery
Island in order to undertake this prestigious, yet dangerous, appointment.
It must have been late in
the year AD 635 when Aidan arrived from Iona. King Oswald, at once, assigned
him, as his episcopal see, Lindisfarne (alias Holy Island), off the
Northumberland coast, a few miles north of his own rocky fortress of Bamburgh.
Here the bishop made his home, to which he loved to retire from time to time,
for the sake of private prayer and solitude; but his active work was done on
the mainland, where he ever found a ready and willing helper in the King. So
the two worked hand-in-hand in the spread of Christianity, much as Edwin and
Paulinus had done before them. Bede has
given us a graphic sketch of their labours:
"The King, humbly
and willingly giving ear to the Bishop's admonitions, most industriously
applied himself to build and extend the Church of Christ in his kingdom; and
when the Bishop, who did not perfectly understand the English tongue, preached
the Gospel, it was most delightful to see the King himself interpreting the
Word of God to his commanders and ministers; for he had perfectly learned the
language of the Scots during his long banishment. From that time, many from the
region of the Scots came daily into Britain, and with great devotion preached
the Word of Faith to those provinces of the English over which King Oswald
reigned, and those among them who had received priest's orders administered to
the believers the grace of baptism. Churches were built in several places; the
people joyfully flocked together to hear the Word; possessions and lands were
given of the King's bounty to build monasteries; the younger English were, by
their Scottish masters, instructed; and there were greater care and attention
bestowed upon the rules and observance of regular discipline."
Well did Aidan understand
the value of education and, upon his first coming into the country, he
established a school in which he trained up twelve Northumbrian boys, some of
whom, in after days, carried on the good work which he had begun: amongst them,
the famous St.
Chad. So, too, he ever promoted the building of monasteries, the best
schools throughout the Middle Ages; and delighted occasionally to spend a few
days in quiet with their inmates. Nor was he less earnest in the active work of
preaching and pastoral visitation: journeying over hill and dale, generally on
foot, he exhorted all he met, "whether rich or poor, if unbelievers,
to embrace the mystery of the faith, or, if already Christians, he would
strengthen them in the faith and stir them up, by words and actions, to alms
and good works…He was accustomed not only to teach the people committed to his
charge in church, but also feeling for the weakness of a new-born faith, to
wander round the provinces, to go into the houses of the faithful, and to sow
the seeds of God's Word in their hearts, according to the capacity of
each."
Caring nothing for the
World or for the things of the World, his own life was a better lesson than any
that he could teach by his sermons. In him, men saw one whose only thought was
how to serve God himself, and how to win others to him. When not engaged in
teaching, he was always to be found employed in prayer and reading the
Scriptures; and when forced occasionally to dine at Court with the king, "he
went with one or two clergy and, having taken a small repast, made haste to be
gone with them, either to read or to pray." Generous and liberal
almost to a fault, "he delighted in distributing to the poor whatever
was given him by the kings or rich men of the World." The generosity
of Aidan was imitated by King Oswald, as shown by the famous story of his incorruptible
arm, but his successor in Deira, Oswin,
though a close friend of Aidan, was not so spontaneously charitable. It is said
that Aidan's lavish generosity was such that on one occasion when King Oswin
had given him a particularly fine horse for his own use, a poor man met him and
asked for alms, upon which he immediately dismounted, and ordered the horse,
with all his Royal trappings, to be given to the beggar. Perhaps it was only
natural that the King should be somewhat annoyed at the prompt way in which his
gift was disposed of, but Aidan pointed out to him, "that man, made
in the image of God, was of more value than his fine horse," and
Oswin threw himself at his feet exclaiming, "that he would never
again grudge anything to the children of God."
Aidan did not long
survive King Oswin who was murdered on the orders of King Oswiu of Bernicia.
Twelve days afterwards, probably whilst visiting the Royal Court at Bamburgh in
order to denounce the latter's actions, Aidan was seized with a sudden illness.
He preferred to stay at the parish church, a little way in land and here a tent
was pitched to shelter him, against the west wall of the church. There he died
on 31st August AD 651, with his head leaning against a post that served as a
buttress. The church was twice burnt in after days, but each time this post
escaped the fire - a fact that was naturally set down as miraculous.
Consequently, chips of the post were reputed efficacious for the cure of
diseases. His body was buried at Lindisfarne, but was partly transferred to
Iona by Bishop Colman upon his resignation in AD 664. Other relics apparently
survived until the Viking destructions of AD 793, after which they were
recovered from the cathedral-priory ruins and eventually
moved to Glastonbury
Abbey in Somerset.
Bede, who did not agree
with Aidan in all things, particularly in the timing of the Celtic Easter
celebrations, has borne willing and ungrudging testimony to his saintly life
and concludes his account with an admirable passage:
"I have written thus
much of the person and works of the aforesaid man, in no way commending or
approving what he imperfectly understood in relation to the observance of
Easter; nay, very much disliking the same, as I have clearly shown in another
book; but, like an impartial historian, simply relating what was done by or
through him, and commending such things as are praiseworthy in his actions and
preserving the memory thereof, for the benefit of my readers: namely, his love
of peace and charity; his chastity and humility; his mind superior to anger and
avarice, and despising pride and vain glory; his industry in keeping and
teaching the heavenly commandments; his diligence in reading and watching; his
authority becoming a priest in reproving the haughty and powerful, and, at the
same time, his tenderness in comforting the afflicted and relieving and
defending the poor. To say all, in a few words, as near as I could be, informed
by those who knew him, he took care to omit none of all those things which he
found enjoined in the apostolic or prophetic writings, but to the utmost of his
power endeavoured to perform them all in his actions."
Edited from ECS Gibson's
"Northumbrian Saints" (1884).
SOURCE : https://web.archive.org/web/20180512005004/http://www.britannia.com/bios/saints/aidan.html
St
Aidan's Anglican church at Berrigan, New South Wales, Australia.
Dictionary
of National Biography – Aidan
Article
Aidan, Saint (died 651),
was the first bishop of Lindisfarne. Oswald, who became king of Northumbria in
635, had been converted to Christianity during his exile at the monastery of
Hii or Iona. His first duty as king was to repulse the heathen Welsh. His
success enabled him to persuade his people to accept the christian faith. He summoned
missionaries from the monastery of Hii, which had been founded by the Irish
monk Columba. The monks of Hii sent a bishop of austere temper, who was soon
dispirited by the obstinacy of the Northumbrian people. He returned to Hii and
reported his ill success. The monks sat in silence, which was broken by one of
the brethren, Aidan. ‘Were you not too severe,’ he said, ‘to unlearned hearers?
Did you not feed them with meat instead of milk?’ All agreed that Aidan should
be sent to Northumbria as bishop. He set out at the end of 635.
Aidan was the founder of
the Northumbrian church. He was the fast friend of King Oswald, who acted as
his interpreter when he began to preach at the court, and the thegns heard him
gladly. Faithful to the traditions of his youth, Aidan chose as the seat of his
church the island of Lindisfarne, which in some measure reproduced the features
of Iona. It lies off the Northumbrian coast, to which it is joined at low tide
by an expanse of two miles of wet sands; at high tide it becomes an island. As
it was close to the royal vill of Bamborough, Aidan could vary a monastic life
with missionary journeys to the mainland, and frequent intercourse with the
king. Monks from Iona flocked to Lindisfarne, and thence carried monastic
civilisation along the Tweed, where Boisil founded the monastery of Old
Melrose. The zeal of Oswald and the piety of Aidan went hand in hand. Churches
were built, and the Northumbrian folk flocked to hear the new teachers. The
personal characters of Oswald and Aidan were the chief means of commending
Christianity to the people. Aidan taught no otherwise than he lived, and
impressed his own standard upon his followers. The gifts which he received from
the king and his thegns were at once distributed amongst the poor. He had no
care for worldly pleasures, but spent his time in study and in preaching. His
life was simple: he traversed the country on foot, and preached to every one
whom he met. His friendship with King Oswald continued unbroken. One Easter day
Aidan sat at dinner with Oswald, when the royal almoner came in to say that he
had not enough to satisfy all the needy. Oswald ordered the food to be taken
from his own table, and his silver dish to be broken in pieces and distributed.
Aidan seized the outstretched hand of the king and blessed him, saying, ‘May
this hand never perish!’ When Oswald fell in battle against the heathen Penda
in 642, his right hand and arm were found severed from his body, and men said
that through Aidan’s blessing they remained uncorrupted, and were a relic of
the church of York.
Oswald’s defeat by the
heathen king of Mercia threatened to sweep away Northumbrian Christianity.
Deira, under Oswini, submitted to Penda; but Bernicia under Oswiu, Oswald’s
brother, still made resistance. Penda ravaged the land and laid siege to the
rocky fortress of Bamborough. Finding it impregnable by assault, he gathered
all the wood and straw of the neighbourhood to the foot of the rock, and,
waiting for a favourable wind, fired it. The sparks would easily have set on
fire the wattled houses of the little town. Aidan, from his retirement in a
hermitage on the isle of Farne, just opposite Bamborough, saw the cloud of
smoke arise. ‘See, Lord,’ he cried in an agony of prayer, ‘what evil Penda is
doing.’ His prayer was heard. The wind changed, and the smoke and flames were
blown back on the besiegers. Their plan failed, and Bamborough was saved.
In these years of trouble
in Bernicia, Aidan found more scope for his missionary activity in the Deiran
kingdom, where he exercised over King Oswini the same spell as had charmed
Oswald. Oswini gave Aidan a valuable horse to aid him in his journeys. Soon
afterwards Aidan met a poor man who asked for alms; having nothing else to give
him, he gave him the horse. Oswini, when next they met, gently chid him for his
unthinking charity. ‘Is the foal of a mare,’ said Aidan, ‘more valuable in your
eyes than the Son of God?’ Oswini stood by the fire and reflected; presently he
fell at Aidan’s feet and asked pardon for his thoughtless speech. Aidan raised
him, but sat in deep sorrow. When asked the cause, he answered, ‘I grieve
because I know that so humble a king is too good to live long.’ Aidan’s
prediction was soon verified. Oswiu had regained the Bernician kingdom, and
longed to unite again under himself the dominions of Oswald. He marched against
Oswini, who was murdered by a treacherous thegn. Aidan’s heart was broken when
he heard of his friend’s death. He only survived him twelve days, and died on
31 August 651. When he felt that death was approaching, he had a hut built
against the west wall of the church of Bamborough. There he died, leaning
against a post which had been erected to buttress the wooden wall. On the night
on which he died, a shepherd lad, Cuthbert, as he watched his sheep on the
Lammermoor hills, saw stars falling from the sky. When he heard the news of
Aidan’s death, he recognised them as angels bearing heavenward Aidan’s soul.
Moved by the marvel, he entered Boisil’s monastery of Melrose.
The body of Aidan was buried
at Lindisfarne, and was afterwards translated to the right side of the high
altar. When, after the synod of Whitby in 664, the Columban Church was defeated
by the Church of Rome, Bishop Colman departed to Iona. He carried with him part
of the bones of Aidan, and left only a portion for the ungrateful land which
had forsaken Aidan’s ritual.
MLA
Citation
Mandell Creighton.
“Aidan”. Dictionary of National Biography, 1885. CatholicSaints.Info.
6 April 2019. Web. 9 January 2021.
<https://catholicsaints.info/dictionary-of-national-biography-aidan/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/dictionary-of-national-biography-aidan/
Sant' Aidano di
Lindisfarne Vescovo
Irlanda ? – Bambourgh,
Inghilterra, 31 agosto 651
Di Aidano ci è giunta una
descrizione a opera del monaco anglosassone Beda il Venerabile, che nacque 20
anni dopo la sua morte. È sconosciuto il luogo e la data di nascita di Aidano,
ma si crede che fosse irlandese. Nel 635 fu nel monastero di Iona nell'omonima
isola e centro missionario dell'epoca. In quell'anno il re di Northumbria,
Oswald desideroso di diffondere il cristianesimo nel suo regno, si rivolse
all'abate di Iona, dove era stato convertito e battezzato, affinché mandasse un
missionario. Dopo il fallimento del vescovo Cormano, fu mandato lo stesso
Aidano, che intanto era stato consacrato vescovo missionario. Accolto dal re
Oswald gli concesse l'isola di Lindsfarne nel Mare del Nord per fondarvi un
monastero e una sede episcopale. Aidano ebbe un aiuto costante da parte del re
Oswald e quando questi morì nel 642, il successore Oswin, continuò ad
appoggiarlo nella sua opera di apostolato missionario. Undici giorni dopo la
morte del re Oswin assassinato, anche Aidano morì a Bambourgh il 31 agosto 651
e sepolto nel suo monastero. (Avvenire)
Etimologia: Aidano =
splendido capo, dall'antico normanno
Emblema: Bastone
pastorale
Martirologio
Romano: A Lindisfarne nella Northumbria, in Inghilterra, sant’Aidano,
vescovo e abate, che, uomo di somma mansuetudine, pietà e rettitudine di
governo, dal monastero di Iona fu chiamato dal re sant’Osvaldo a questa sede
episcopale, dove fondò un monastero per attendere efficacemente
all’evangelizzazione del regno.
Di s. Aidano ci ha
lasciato una sua memorabile descrizione, il monaco anglosassone s. Beda il
Venerabile (672-735), Dottore della Chiesa, nella sua “Historia Ecclesiastica
Gentis Anglorum”, e che nacque 20 anni dopo la sua morte, quindi abbastanza
vicino al suo tempo.
È sconosciuto il luogo e
la data di nascita di Aidano, ma ragionevolmente si crede che sia irlandese; lo
si ritrova nel 635 nel monastero di Iona, fondato nel 563 da s. Colombano
nell’omonima isola e centro missionario dell’epoca, al tempo del quinto abate
Seghino.
In quell’anno 635, il re
di Northumbria, Osvaldo (604-642) desideroso di diffondere il cristianesimo nel
suo regno, si rivolse all’abate di Iona, dove era stato convertito e
battezzato, affinché mandasse un missionario.
Fu inviato prima il vescovo
Cormano, il quale fallì perché considerò il popolo di Northumbria barbaro ed
ostinato; Aidano monaco anch’egli ad Iona, non fu d’accordo con Cormano,
ritenendo che il suo agire era stato troppo rigido e non comprensivo
dell’ignoranza di quelle genti, alle quali bisognava far conoscere “il latte di
una dottrina più umana”.
La tesi di Aidano fu
accettata dall’abate e così consacrato vescovo missionario, sempre nel 635 fu
mandato in Inghilterra, accolto favorevolmente dal re Oswald, il quale visto i
successi desiderati in conversioni, gli concesse l’isola di Lindsfarne nel Mare
del Nord per fondarvi un monastero con la regola di s. Colomba e una sede
episcopale di fronte alla residenza reale di Bambourgh.
L’isola di Lindsfarne, fu
poi conosciuta come l’Isola Santa (Holy Island) per il gran numero di monaci e
cristiani che l’abitavano. Nel 664 fu riconosciuta la sua primazia
sull’Inghilterra cristiana. Aidano ebbe un aiuto costante da parte del re
Oswald e quando questi morì nel 642, il successore Oswin, continuò ad
appoggiarlo nella sua opera di apostolato missionario.
Beda descrive la sua
opera infaticabile, che lo portò a fondare chiese, scuole, monasteri,
rafforzando lo ‘sciptorium’ di Lindsfarne, anche se Aidano mantenne gli usi
celtici per la celebrazione della Pasqua, introducendoli in Inghilterra.
Uomo virtuoso, dedito
all’astinenza, alla carità, alla preghiera e allo studio delle Scritture, seppe
nel contempo combattere con vigore i ricchi ed i potenti, che viziosi
opprimevano i poveri.
Viaggiava sempre a piedi,
evitava di sedersi alla tavola del re, distribuiva ai poveri i doni ricevuti,
accontentandosi dello stretto necessario. Si guadagnò per la santità di vita,
la stima dei grandi ecclesiastici del tempo; fu direttore spirituale della
badessa Ilda.
Undici giorni dopo la
morte del re Oswin assassinato, anche Aidano morì a Bambourgh il 31 agosto 651
e sepolto nel suo monastero, ma poi le sue reliquie furono traslate nella
chiesa di S. Pietro a Lindsfarne; una parte di esse nel 664, furono portate a Iona,
dal suo successore Colmano.
Gli studiosi inglesi lo
considerano “l’apostolo dell’Anglia”; a lui è attribuita la vocazione di s.
Cutberto (637-687), il quale divenne monaco e poi vescovo di Lindsfarne.
Si raccontano alcuni
prodigi da lui compiuti; placò una tempesta versando nel mare dell’olio
consacrato e durante una guerra tra il re della Mercia e quello della
Northumbria, con le sue preghiere, ritorse addosso ai nemici le fiamme che
questi avevano appiccato a Bambourgh.
Venerato particolarmente
nell’Argyll e in Scozia, la sua festa è al 31 agosto.
Autore: Antonio
Borrelli
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/68275
Voir aussi : http://www.irelandseye.com/irish/people/saints/aidan.shtm
https://www.lindisfarne.org.uk/general/aidan.htm
