Ithamar (sometimes YthamarFarmer ''Oxford Dictionary of Saints'' p. 266) was the first bishop in England to be Saxon-born rather than consecrated by the Irish or from among Augustine's Roman missionaries. He was also the first Saxon

bishop of Rochester The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury. The town of Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was foun ...

Life

Ithamar was consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Honorius, and was said by

Bede Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...

to be "of the Kentish nation, but not inferior to his piscopalpredecessors for learning and conduct of life". Bede, ''Ecclesiastical History'', 3.14 Upon consecration as bishop, Ithamar took his new name from

Ithamar In the Torah, Ithamar () was the fourth (and the youngest) son of Aaron the High Priest."Ithamar", ''Encyclopaedia Biblica'' Following the construction of the Tabernacle, he was responsible for recording an inventory to ensure that the constructed ...

, a son of

Aaron According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...

, from the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

. Although a number of new Anglo-Saxon bishops had taken new names upon either entering religious life or upon consecration as bishops, these names were usually taken from church history.Sharpe "Naming of Bishop Ithamar" ''English Historical Review'', pp. 890–891 The practice of taking a new name from the Old Testament was extremely rare in the Roman tradition, but did occur more often in the

Celtic Church Celtic Christianity ( kw, Kristoneth; cy, Cristnogaeth; gd, Crìosdaidheachd; gv, Credjue Creestee/Creestiaght; ga, Críostaíocht/Críostúlacht; br, Kristeniezh; gl, Cristianismo celta) is a form of Christianity that was common, or held ...

.Sharpe "Naming of Bishop Ithamar" ''English Historical Review'', pp. 892–894 As bishop, Ithamar consecrated Deusdedit as the first Saxon

archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

on 26 March 655.Bethell "Miracles of St. Ithamar" ''Analecta Bollandiana'' pp. 421–423

Death and legacy

Ithamar died between 655 and 664,Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 221 probably close to 656, at

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

.Walsh ''A New Dictionary of Saints'' p. 287 After Ithamar's death he was considered a saint and given a shrine at

Rochester Cathedral Rochester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an English church of Norman architecture in Rochester, Kent. The church is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rochester in the Church of England and the s ...

. His feast day is 10 June. There is no written ''Life'' detailing his biography, but a short work giving his miracles was composed in the 12th century. At that time, his remains were translated to a new larger shrine in

. The work on his miracles survives in one manuscript, MS Corpus Christi College Cambridge 161.

Citations

References

* * * * *

External links

* – listing of most contemporary and close to contemporary mentions of Ithamar in the

primary source In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under ...

s. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ithamar Bishops of Rochester 7th-century English bishops Burials at Rochester Cathedral