Paulinus of York

Infobox Bishop of York
honorific-prefix =
name = Saint Paulinus of York
honorific-suffix =


caption = Statue of Paulinus at Rochester Cathedral
province =
diocese =
see =
began = 627
term_end = 633
predecessor = Founder
successor = Chad
ordination =
consecration = 627
other_post =
birth_name =
birth_date = 584 Rome, Byzantine Empire
birthplace =
death_date = 10 October 644 Rochester, Kent
deathplace =
tomb =
nationality =
religion =
residence =
parents =
spouse =
children =
ocupation =
profession =
alma_mater =

Infobox Saint
name = Saint Paulinus of York
feast_day=10 October
venerated_in=Roman Catholic Church
Anglican Communion
titles=Bishop
beatified_date=
beatified_place=
beatified_by=
canonized_date=
canonized_place=
canonized_by=
attributes=An archbishop holding a model of a small wooden church; baptizing Edwin of Northumbria
patronage=York; Rochester; those displaced from office
major_shrine=
suppressed_date=

St Paulinus (born c. 584Fact|date=March 2008; died 10 October 644) was the first Bishop of York and Bishop of Rochester in England.

Early life

Paulinus was a monk at St Andrew's Monastery in Rome, when, in 601, Pope Gregory I sent him to join Mellitus and others in the second group of missionaries to England.Walsh, Michael "A New Dictionary of Saints: East and West" London: Burns & Oates 2007 ISBN 0-8601-2438-X p. 475] Writing in 731, Bede described Paulinus as "a tall figure, slightly bent, with black hair, a thin hooked nose, and an emaciated face."quoted in Stenton, F. M. "Anglo-Saxon England" Third Edition Oxford:Oxford University Press 1971 ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5 p. 116] He was in Kent until 625, when he was consecrated as bishop by Justus on 21 July.cite book |author=Fryde, E. B. |coauthors=Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. |title=Handbook of British Chronology|edition=Third Edition, revised |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |year=1996 |isbn=0-521-56350-X|pages= p. 224 ] He then accompanied Æthelburg, the sister of King Eadbald of Kent, to Northumbria where she was to marry King Edwin.

Bede describes Paulinus as "a man tall of stature, a little stooping, with black hair and a thin face, a hooked and thin nose, his aspect both venerable and awe-inspiring".Quoted in Blair "World of Bede" p. 95] Bede probably got this description from James the Deacon, who was still living in Bede's lifetime and had been a associate of Paulinus in the north.Blair "World of Bede" pp. 95-96]

Bishop of York

According to Bede, Paulinus eventually convinced Edwin to convert to Christianity, baptizing him and many of his followers at York in 627.Ashely, Mike "The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens" New York: Carroll & Graff 1998 ISBN 0-7967-0692-9 p. 278-280] Gregory desired York to be England's second metropolitan see. So Paulinus built a small wooden church there and, with the support of Edwin, he greatly expanded the church throughout Northumbria. For example, during a stay with Edwin and Æthelburg at their palace in Yeavering, he worked incessantly for thirty-six days baptizing new converts, according to Bede, "wash [ing] them with the water of absolution in the River Glen, which is close by." [W.W. Tomlinson, "Comprehensive guide to the county of Northumberland". Reprinted 1968. (Trowbridge, UK: Redwood), 504.] He also worked in Lindsey converting the inhabitants, and built a church in Lincoln.Stenton, F. M. "Anglo-Saxon England" Third Edition Oxford:Oxford University Press 1971 ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5 p. 115-116] Among those consecrated by Paulinus was Hilda, later the abbess of Whitby,Blair "World of Bede" p. 147] as well as Hilda's successor Eanflaed.Blair "World of Bede" p. 149]

Bishop of Rochester

When Edwin was defeated and killed in battle in 633, Paulinus took the queen and her children to Kent, where he spent the remainder of his life as Bishop of Rochester. He died on 10 October 644 at Rochester,cite book |author=Fryde, E. B. |coauthors=Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. |title=Handbook of British Chronology|edition=Third Edition, revised |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |year=1996 |isbn=0-521-56350-X|pages= p. 221 ] and he was buried in the sacristy of the church there.Blair "World of Bede" pp. 97-98] Edwin's defeat led immediately to a sharp decline of Christianity in Northumbria. Although Paulinus' deacon, James, remained in the North and struggled to rebuild the Roman mission,Stenton, F. M. "Anglo-Saxon England" Third Edition Oxford:Oxford University Press 1971 ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5 p. 116] it was monks from the rival Celtic tradition who eventually re-established Christianity in the region, York eventually becoming a mere bishopric.

Legends

A legend once told in the town of Caistor concerning St. Paulinus of York states that as the saint was riding an ass along the ancient trackway that runs near the town, he met a man sowing corn. Paulinus asked for some grain to feed his ass; the man replied that he had none. Spotting a sack in the field, Paulinus asked the man what it contained. "That is no sack," the man lied, "but only a stone." "Then stone it shall be," the saint replied. The stone is now known as "Fonaby Stone" (also known as the "Sack Stone" or "Stone Sack"), which sits upon "Fonaby Top", and any attempt to move, displace, or damage is said to result in dreadful misfortune. This is said to have occurred around 627, during St. Paulinus' visit to Caistor. ["Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain" (London: The Reader’s Digest Association, 1973), 288.]

Veneration

The festival of Saint Paulinus is formally observed by English Roman Catholics on 10 October, the anniversary of his death. [ [http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintp6c.htm Paulinus of York at Patron Saints Index] accessed on 18 August 2007] The day is a Lesser Festival in the Church of England. Five ancient churches in England were dedicated to Paulinus, and there were cults of him at Canterbury and Rochester.

Notes

References

*
*Farmer, David Hugh. "The Oxford Dictionary of Saints" (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978), 318-9.
*cite book |author=Fryde, E. B. |coauthors=Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. |title=Handbook of British Chronology|edition=Third Edition, revised |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |year=1996 |isbn=0-521-56350-X
*Stenton, F. M. "Anglo-Saxon England" Third Edition Oxford:Oxford University Press 1971 ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5

External links

* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11585a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Paulinus, Archbishop of York]
* [http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/adversaries/bios/paulinus.html Early British Kingdoms: St. Paulinus of York]
* [http://www.pase.ac.uk/pase/apps/persons/CreatePersonFrames.jsp?personKey=862 Prosopography of Anglo Saxon England entry for Paulinus]

Persondata
NAME=Paulinus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Paulinus
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Bishop of Rochester; Archbishop of York; Saint
DATE OF BIRTH=c584
PLACE OF BIRTH=Rome, Italy
DATE OF DEATH=10 October, 644
PLACE OF DEATH=Rochester, Kent, England