Our Father Among the Saints Aidan, Bishop of Lindisfarne, Apostle of Northumbria
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Missionary Work
Life
Aidan was an Irish monk of Iona who, in 635, was sent as missionary bishop to the kingdom of Northumbria and established his see on the island of Lindisfarne. Working from this island monastery off the Northumbrian coast, he is remembered as the chief evangelizer of the region and is honored with the title Apostle of Northumbria.
Most of what is known of his life derives from the account written by the historian Bede, who praised Aidan's ascetic simplicity, his charity to the poor, and the pastoral method by which he won the Northumbrians to the faith. He died on 31 August 651, in the seventeenth year of his episcopate, and his feast is kept on that day.
Timeline 5 moments
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c. 590Born in IrelandAidan was born in Ireland, possibly in the region of Connacht, and entered monastic life at the monastery of Iona, which had been founded by Columba.
635Sent to Northumbria as bishopAt the request of King Oswald, who had been raised in exile at Iona, Aidan was sent to evangelize Northumbria after an earlier missionary, Corman, had returned reporting the people as ungovernable. Aidan was consecrated bishop and chose the island of Lindisfarne, near the royal fortress of Bamburgh, as the seat of his diocese.
c. 634–635Foundation of Lindisfarne monasteryAidan founded the monastery on Lindisfarne, which became a center of learning and of the Christianization of Northumbria. The community was organized so that the bishop himself lived under the monastic rule alongside the monks.
642Death of Oswald and support of OswineAfter King Oswald was killed in 642, Aidan continued his work with the support of King Oswine of Deira, with whom Bede records he formed a close friendship.
31 August 651Repose at BamburghAidan fell ill and died at Bamburgh in the seventeenth year of his episcopate. His body was buried at Lindisfarne, and he was succeeded as bishop by Finan.
Contributions & Legacy
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Mission and Pastoral Method
Aidan's missionary work proceeded chiefly on foot. Bede records that he would walk from one village to another, conversing with the people he met and gradually drawing them toward the Christian faith rather than compelling them. Because Aidan and his monks did not at first speak English, King Oswald, who was fluent in Irish Gaelic from his years at Iona, often acted as their interpreter.
Over the course of his episcopate Aidan built churches, monasteries, and schools across Northumbria and trained a number of young Englishmen for future leadership in the Church. His see at Lindisfarne became a principal center from which Christianity spread through northern England.
Asceticism and Charity
Bede portrays Aidan as a man of strict personal asceticism and notable generosity. He traveled on foot rather than by horse, provided for orphans, and used gifts he received to ransom people who had been wrongfully sold into slavery. He was remembered for directing his charity toward the poor rather than the powerful.
Successors and Legacy
Aidan was succeeded at Lindisfarne by Finan, who governed the see from 651 to 661 and built a substantial timber church there. The monastery continued as a major spiritual center of the north under later bishops, including Cuthbert. Aidan himself is honored as the Apostle of Northumbria.
By tradition, in the eleventh century monks of Glastonbury obtained relics said to be those of Aidan. The principal historical source for his life remains the account of Bede.
