The Synod of Streoneshalch (later known more famously as the Synod of Whitby), 664 CE

The momentous agreement at Whitby, 30 km northeast of Farndale, which resolved the incompatibilities between Roman and Celtic Christian traditions, and placed Britain onto the European stage

Home Page Return to the Home Page of the Farndale Family Website

The Farndale Story The story of one family’s journey through two thousand years of British History

The Farndale Lineages The 83 family lines into which the family is divided. Meet the whole family and how the wider family is related

The Farndale Directory Members of the historical family ordered by date of birth

Themes Links to other pages with historical research and related material

Related Family Stories The story of the Bakers of Highfields, the Chapmans, and other related families

Dates are in red.

Hyperlinks to other pages are in dark blue.

Headlines are in brown.

References and citations are in turquoise.

Context and local history are in purple.

Aidan had come to Northumbria from Iona, bringing with him a set of practices that are known as the Celtic Rite. As well as superficial differences over the computus (calculation of the date of Easter), and the “cut of the tonsure” (the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility), these involved a pattern of Church organisation fundamentally different from the diocesan structure that was evolving on the continent of Europe. Activity was based in monasteries, which supported peripatetic missionary bishops. There was a strong emphasis on personal asceticism, on Biblical exegesis, and on eschatology. Aidan was well known for his personal austerity and disregard for the trappings of wealth and power. Bede several times stresses that Cedd and Chad absorbed his example and traditions. Bede tells us that Chad and many other Northumbrians went to study with the Irish after the death of Aidan.

Lastingham had been founded in the Lindisfarne/Iona/Celtic tradition.

There was for a time some disagreement between the Roman and Lindisfarne missions. This caused conflict within the church until the issue was resolved at the Synod of Whitby in 663 by Oswiu of Northumbria opting to adopt the Roman system.

The schism had come about because the church in the south were tied to Rome, but the northern church had become increasingly influenced by the doctrines from Iona. The Synod was held in the monastery at Streoneschalch near to Whitby.

St Cedd was at Whitby and agreed to the adoption of Roman customs.

Streanæshealh

In 657 CE, King Oswy or Oswiu, the Christian King of Northumbria, gave land at Streanæshealh, the site which later became Whitby, to Hild (614 to 680 CE) to found a monastery. Hild was its first abbess. In the eleventh century the place came to be called Prestebi (Scandinavian byr or village presta, of priests) and later white byr, or Whitby, but this was much later. Nevertheless the momentous event of 664 CE is generally referred today as the Synod of Whitby.

Streanæshealh was founded as an act of thanksgiving by Oswy after he defeated the pagan King Penda of Mercia. It was founded as a double monastery for men and women. Its first abbess, the royal princess Hild, was later venerated as a saint. The abbey became a centre of learning, and here Cædmon the cowherd started writing poems. The abbey became the leading royal nunnery of the kingdom of Deira, and the burial-place of its royal family.

Early stone cross of Streanæshealh

Celtic and Roman Christianity

St Gregory had sent Augustine to convert the Angli to Christianity in 597 CE and his focus was initially in the south. In 627 CE King Edwin of Deira had converted to Christianity at Eoforwic (York). He adopted the Roman traditions of Christianity.

When Edwin died, overall control of the Kingdom of Northumbria passed to the northern Kingdom of Bernicia.

Edwin’s successor King Oswald dominated the northern region from Bamburgh. Oswald had learned Christian practices from the monks of Iona during a visit there. He gave Lindisfarne to his Bishop Aidan who built a monastery there in 635 CE in the Iona tradition.

Aidan brought with him a set of practices that are known as the Celtic Rite. As well as differences over the computes, the science behind the calculation of the calendar including the important calculation of the date of Easter, and the cut of the tonsure, the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility, these involved a pattern of Church organisation fundamentally different from the diocesan structure that was evolving on the continent of Europe.

Celtic Christian activity was based in monasteries, which supported peripatetic missionary bishops. There was a strong emphasis on personal asceticism. Aidan was well known for his personal austerity and disregard for the trappings of wealth and power. Bede several times stresses that Cedd and Chad absorbed his example and traditions. Bede tells us that Chad and many other Northumbrians went to study with the Irish after the death of Aidan.

Lastingham had been founded in the Celtic tradition from Iona and Lindisfarne in 653 CE.

Early Christians had celebrated Easter on the same day as the Jewish Passover, held on the fourteenth day of the first lunar month of the Jewish year, called Nisan. However in 325 CE the First Council of Niceaea had ordered that Christians should not use the Jewish calendar, but should celebrate Easter on a Sunday. Which Sunday was a complex process which required the science of the computus to calculate. Celtic Christian traditions continued to adopt the older system for the calculation of Easter, based on the Jewish Passover, but Roman Christianity had moved onto the complex new computus methods.

Oswald (633 to 642 CE) was succeeded by his son Oswy (642 to 670 CE) who continued to follow Celtic traditions. However his queen was Eanflæd who was Edwin’s daughter and she had adopted Roman practices. This must have led to absurd circumstances when husband and wife celebrated Easter, the most important day of the Christian year, on different weekends. Oswy’s son, Alchfrith, was a sub king ruling over Deira, and in the early 660s he expelled Ionan monks from a monastery at Ripon and gave it to Wilfred, a Northumbrian who had recently returned from Rome. So whilst Oswy was continuing to follow the Celtic tradition, his wife and son were advocates of Roman tradition and had found a champion in Wilfred.

The Synod

In 664 CE King Oswy convened a synod at Streanæshealh to resolve these issues so that he could decide which tradition should continue to be adopted in Northumbria.

The proceedings of the council were hampered by the participants' mutual incomprehension of each other's languages, which probably included Old Irish, Old English, Frankish and Old Welsh, as well as Latin. Bede recounted that Cedd interpreted for both sides. Cedd's facility with the languages, together with his status as a trusted royal emissary, likely made him a key figure in the negotiations.

Bishop Colmán advocated the Ionan Celtic tradition and argued that it was the traditional practice of Columba, who had followed the teaching of St John the apostle.

The Roman approach was advocated by Wilfred on behalf of Agilbert since Wilfred was able to articulate in English. He argued that the Roman tradition was adopted across the world as far as Egypt. The custom of St John was an old tradition which had been superseded by the Council of Nicaea, and it was the practice of St Peter and St Paul. Columba had done his best with the knowledge he had, and his error was therefore excusable, but now knowing the correct approach, it would be wrong to continue to follow the old ways. None had authority over Peter.

In answer to Oswy’s question both sides agreed that Peter’s doctrine was the rock which superseded others. Oswy therefore decided in favour of the Roman practice.

Bede, by his time a promotor of Roman Christianity, later presented the synod as a momentous event, and he produced his own computus calculations in De Temporibus (703 CE) and later De Temporum Ratione (716 to 725 CE). The Bedean tables were later used across the Carolingian Empire and in Rome.

This might be Bede who later recorded the Synod in his Ecclesiastical History

There is a separate page about Whitby, with some references to source material.