Paulinus of York

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Statue of Paulinus of York in Rochester Cathedral

Saint Paulinus († October 10, 644 ) was the first (medieval) bishop of York .

Although there was already a Christian community in York (Eboracum) in Roman antiquity , which had been the imperial residence in the Roman Empire, Christianity fell there with the conquest by the Anglo-Saxons . The city then belonged to the Kingdom of Northumbria .

Paulinus was a monk at St. Andrew's Abbey in Rome and was by Pope Gregory I checked for it mellitus should accompany and other missionaries to England, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, St. Augustine , should help Christianity in the British Isles to spread and build a corresponding church organization. Paulinus stayed in Kent until 625 , when he was ordained bishop of Northumbria by Archbishop Justus of Canterbury that year , as there was a prospect that King Edwin could be won over to Christianity. Paulinus accompanied Æthelburg , the (Christian) sister of King Eadbald of Kent to Northumbria, where she was married to Edwin. Edwin and with him a large number of his followers were baptized in 627, so that the conditions for the establishment of a Northumbrian diocese were created. At one meeting in Yeavering alone, Paulinus and his people are said to have spent 36 days baptizing Northumbrian pagans. The conversion of Edwin is described by Beda Venerabilis in the Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum and presented as a prime example of king conversions : Not only does the king accept Christianity, but also his entourage, with whom the conversion must be discussed so that no political damage occurs.

Paulinus' efforts suffered a setback, however, in 633 when Edwin fell in the battle of Hatfield Chase against Penda of Mercia ; a pagan reaction ensued and Paulinus, the Queen and their children had to flee the country to Kent, where he spent the rest of his life as Bishop of Rochester . Although Paulinus still left a deacon in Northumbria, who laboriously tried to maintain the Catholic tradition, the renewed triumph of Christianity in Northumbria took place from Iona , i.e. in the form of the Iona -Scottish Church, with which the Catholics in violent quarrel lay.

Paulinus died in 644; the day of his death, October 10th, is also his day of remembrance.

literature

predecessor Office successor
--- Bishop of York
627–644 		Chad
Romanus Bishop of Rochester
633–644 		Ithamar
personal data
SURNAME Paulinus of York
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Paulinus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bishop of York
DATE OF BIRTH 6th century or 7th century
DATE OF DEATH October 10, 644