So, Bede demonstrated his bona fides to Ann: Texas A&M soundly beat Missouri 38-17, and Ann was in a buoyant mood on our travel devotional drive to Whitby. Although, she insisted she hadn’t actually prayed to Bede or Cuthbert but to the Lord.
Bede’s backstory on Whitby
Whitby is a town on the northeastern coast of England, and our drive from York took us through rolling moors lands shrouded in fog. I’m sure I heard cries of “Heathcliff! Heathcliff!”
Then as if in a time-lapse photograph, the fog quickly dissipated, revealing the valley below and the coast on the horizon.
Whitby is where Abbess Hilda first founded a monastery in 657 A.D. on land given her by King Oswiu. Hilda was the great niece of King Edwin, whom we met through Bede a few days ago in York. Hilda was actually one of the 180 others baptized the same day with King Edwin in York. At the time Hilda was 13 years old.
Hilda became a remarkable woman, devoted to God and discipling others. People came from Europe to hear her godly wisdom. Bede says this of Hilda, which is particularly relevant to our travel devotional trip to Whitby (formerly known as Streanaeshalch):
The aforesaid daughter of King Oswiu, thus dedicated to God, was put into the monastery, called Heruteu, or, “The island of the Hart,” where, at that time, the Abbess Hilda presided, and, two years after, having acquired a possession of ten families, at the place called Streanaeshalch, she built a monastery there, in which the aforesaid king’s daughter was first a learner, and afterwards a teacher of the monastic life; till, being sixty years of age, the blessed virgin departed to the nuptials and embraces of her heavenly bridegroom.
Bede, Ecclesiastical History, Bk III, Chp. XXIV
The site of the Synod of Whitby
The monastery Bede mentions is where the Synod of Whitby would be held in 664 A.D. to settle differences between the Celtic church and the Roman church. Christianity had spread in Ireland, Scotland, and Northern England through the efforts of the likes of St. Patrick, Columba, Aidan, and Cuthbert, but because the Romans had withdrawn from England in 410 A.D., the Celtic church grew independent of, and in isolation from, Rome.
After Pope Gregory the Great sent Augustan to Kent in 597 A.D., the Christianity that took hold in southern England was of the Roman flavor. Two differences between the Celtic and Roman churches were over the date for celebration of Easter and the tonsure of monks.
That a division over a holiday and a haircut merited a synod shows how important unity was the to the church then. It seems silly to us today after so many splits over doctrine since the Great Schism and the Reformation, but we should not be so quick to scoff at the medievals.
Division in the church is not a trivial matter, as Paul reminds the Corinthians.
Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.
I Corinthians 1:10.
In the car on the way to Whitby, we discussed the various sides of the debate over Easter and the tonsure of monks. Ann and The Wife chose the side of the schismatics. I chose the side of church unity, which coincidentally is the side King Oswiu chose, when presiding over the Synod of Whitby.
The lesson from Whitby
What is interesting is that it took a Christian king to resolve the controversy the church could not. This is remarkably similar to Constantine’s work in presiding over the Council of Nicaea to resolve the Arian controversy.
Two controversies the church lacked the wisdom and humility to resolve took an earthly ruler to resolve. While this may seem tragic, perhaps it is a reminder that ultimately the church is not sovereign, only God is, and He works through earthly rulers. Romans 13:1 ( ” . . . . For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.”).
What remains on the site of the monastery Hilda founded are now the ruins of Whitby Abbey, a stunning 11th century Norman abbey perched on the highest point on the coast in Whitby. After walking through the museum, we walked amongst the ruins taking pictures we knew would not do justice to the grandeur of the building it is or once was.
The 199(?) steps to St. Mary’s Church
After seeing Whitby Abbey, the rest of the team was cold and ready to leave, but I wanted to traverse the famous 199 steps.
The 199 steps were first mentioned in records in 1340, and represent a pilgrimage from Whitby’s old town up to St. Mary’s Church and Whitby Abbey on the high cliffs of the coast. Because the rest of the GSB team was clamoring and complaining, I descended the 199 steps alone, and to my surprise I counted 206 steps. I counted again on the way back up and, again, counted 206 steps. If you ever visit here, I encourage you to fact-check me.
Our ChatGpt generated itinerary called on us next to visit St. Hilda’s Priory (and the Order of the Holy Paraclete) and to “join the Sisters in worship” But Ann, less than 24 hours removed from her answeredd tomb-side prayers refused to do so, and The Wife supported her.
Instead, we ate a late lunch/early dinner at a fish restaurant on the coast in Whitby. The meal was wonderful but turned into a 2-hour detour that effectively ended the sightseeing for the rest of the day.
Although it left us with a two-hour drive back to York in the dark (the sun sets here at 4:30 p.m. in November), the fresh fish capped a memorable day at Whitby, a place we might never have visited but for our faithful guide, the Venerable Bede.
Until tomorrow. GS
