Setting the date for Easter in 7th century Britain - what was all the fuss about?

by Vanessa Griffiths

Easter is approaching and all of you have probably noticed Easter Sunday is going to be the 17th of April. You may be thinking also that it’s a late Easter this year and accept that the timing changes each year. You may even have a vague idea that Easter is linked to the lunar cycle. Well, at least we all celebrate Easter at the same time; but actually it wasn’t always the case!  In England in 663, Oswy, the King of Northumbria, was celebrating Easter while his Queen, Enfleda, was still fasting for Lent! Imagine the tensions in that household! 

How did this happen? Well, this was actually a problem way before this, in fact it was ‘rooted in the very origins of Christianity’ and was troubling the minds and hearts of many outside the Royal household.

Some history first: Anglo Saxon England was divided into many kingdoms each with its own king. A king’s position was precarious then; the ecclesiastical historian Bede records many battles with kings dying over power struggles to grab new lands. Christianity was present but there were different types and different practices with a mix of paganism worship thrown in for good measure! This gave rather a patchwork effect to Christianity - just like the landscape! Broadly speaking, there was Celtic Christianity, mainly in the Northern parts, due to missionaries such as Aidan who came from the Irish Monastery on Iona in the Hebrides. Roman Christianity set the pattern for the South of England, particularly Kent, due to the mission of Augustine, sent to England by Pope Gregory I.

Easter was seen as ‘the highest feast of the Christian year’  for all Christians; it’s just that they each had their own way of deciding when to celebrate it! In simple terms the date is based on the first full moon after the spring equinox. The problem was that it wasn’t clear when the Spring Equinox happened - the  21st or the 25th of March - or what time in the lunar month Easter would be celebrated. The Roman Christians used 15th - 21st  of the lunar month, based on a 19 year cycle of dates, whilst the Celtic Christians used 14th - 20th, based on an 84 year cycle.

So, in the Royal household, Owsy, raised in Northumbria, followed the Celtic tradition and his wife Enfleda, brought up in Kent, followed the Roman way. We can now see why they didn’t always celebrate Easter day together in 663 ! 

Oswy had another family issue - his son Ahlfrith (he ruled the kingdom of Deira in Northumbria under his father). He supported the Roman way because he had been taught by those following the Roman traditions notably Wilfred, He was a young Abbot at Ripon, who studied church doctrine in Rome and was a most learned man. He was to be the future Bishop of York! Apparently he radiated knowledge of the Roman forms of Christianity, had a good memory and cut an impressive figure. Alhfrith was ‘anxious to test his mettle against his father’  and was therefore open to Wilfred’s ideas. The bishop in Oswy‘s kingdom of Mercia was Colman, who was from Ireland and supported Celtic Christianity.  He was described as holy but out of touch and on the correct date of Easter had a rustic lack of sophistication. Tensions were building outside the royal households as these clergy whip up support for their arguments in their Sees. 

So there were both religious and political power plays going on here and for Oswy the dating of Easter became a power tool as he saw both political and financial gains if he could forge links to Rome. Hang on you’re thinking – isn’t Oswy following the Celtic traditions? Well read on to see what happened next as Oswy called what has become known as the Synod of Whitby to discuss this thorny issue of the date of Easter.

Entering the drama now is Hilda of Whitby in Northumbria, an abbess of royal birth (she was grandniece to Kind Edwin) who ran a successful monastery for men and women – perhaps the first real woman leader within the English church. Having royal blood meant kings and bishops listened to her. She had converted to the Celtic Christianity and is described as a holy woman devoted to God. Who better to host this auspicious meeting in 664 AD, the Synod of Whitby, to resolve the ‘great and active controversy about the keeping of Easter’. 

Imagine the scene: the protagonists assembling in the monastery at Whitby usually dedicated to prayer and learning. There were the kings, Oswy and Alhfrith, with their spiritual advisors by their side; Wilfrid speaking for Oswy and Colman for Alhfrith. Perhaps Hilda led them into the debating chamber with a mix of royal, clerical and lay people gathered round, all keen to see who wins! 

Oswy started the debate stressing the importance of being united before God in this matter. There followed speeches on the key arguments from all sides including the rather complex calculations of dating Easter.  Let’s look (simply!) at the crux of their arguments.

First up was Bishop Colman (for the Celtic Christians) arguing they had the backing of the apostle John, who followed Jewish customs and laws and the 84 year cycle, celebrating Easter day on the evening of the 14th  day of the first month. I expect things heated up when Wilfred suggested Colman wasn’t actually following John anyway! Wilfrid stated that Roman Christians follow St. Peter , the most blessed chief of the apostles and the 19 year cycle where Easter Sunday was the 14th  day of the lunar month. We can imagine all eyes on Wilfred as he gave his crowning speech by quoting Jesus’ words to Peter ‘..you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven..’ (Matt 16:18-19). He stressed that Peter was the ultimate authority on this question and Colman couldn’t top that. King Oswy, in a powerful speech of his own, declared that he was bound to follow St Peter to ensure the gates of heaven were not barred to him and everyone there agreed … just like that apparently!

A victory for the “Roman church” over the “Celtic Church”,  and the Easter date question settled with Wilfred’s inspired use of St Peter. Or was it?  Oswy’s had enforced his authority throughout Northumbria as he called the Synod and championed the outcome. However, Alhfrith was the prime mover in making Wilfred bishop over the entire area of Northumbria’, sending him to Rome to be consecrated as his bishop.  Remember Hilda? She favoured the Celtic way and had considerable influence being both royal and holy. 15 years after the Synod she may have been involved in trying to depose Wilfred as Bishop! Wilfred, after a delayed return to England, introduced Catholic customs to the English church which quickly spread. The Celtic tradition followers either returned to their native land or capitulated. 

Whilst the importance of the Synod of Whitby went beyond the date for Easter and helped shape Christianity in our isles, it also means we eat our chocolate eggs and celebrate the hope of the Risen Jesus on the same day.

 

Bibliography

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Bede, The Ecclesiastical History of the English People (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008)

Emerson Curtis Jr, R, An Examination of the Debate at the Synod of Whitby, 664 A.D., Thesis (1969)

McClure, J. and Collins, R., Introduction in Bede, The Ecclesiastical History of the English people (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008)

Rollason, D., To Whitby for Easter:  Wilfred’s Triumph in Not Angels but Anglicans (Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2000)

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