Cedd

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Saint Cedd
Saint Cedd, Bishop
Evangelist of Middle Anglia and Essex
Born	c.620, Northumbria
Died	26 October 664, Lastingham
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church; Anglican Communion
Major shrine	Lastingham Priory, now destroyed
Feast	26 October
Attributes	Bishop holding a model of the church at Bradwell-on-Sea
Patronage	Essex; Lastingham; interpreters
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Saint Cedd (c. 620 – 26 October 664) was the evangelist of Middle Anglia and Essex in England.

The little that is known about Saint Cedd comes to us mainly from the writing of Saint Bede in his Ecclesiastical History Of The English People. Cedd was born in the kingdom of Northumbria and brought up on the island of Lindisfarne by Saint Aidan. He was one of four brothers: Chad (originally Ceadda), Cynibill and Caelin being his siblings. In 653, he was sent by King Oswiu with three other priests, to evangelise Middle Anglia, part of Mercia. In Mercia, Peada, son of Penda was king and had agreed to become a Christian in return for the hand of Oswiu's daughter, Alchflaed, in marriage.

After a recall to Lindisfarne, Cedd went to Essex as a missionary at the request of King Sigeberht to convert his people. He became bishop of the East Saxons. Cedd founded many churches. He also founded monasteries at Tilaburg (probably East Tilbury, but possibly West Tilbury) and Ithancester (almost certainly Bradwell-on-Sea). Later, he went on to found the monastery of Lastingham in his native Northumbria at the request of the new king of Northumbria, Aethelwold. At Lastingham, Cedd became the first abbot, while maintaining his position of bishop to the East Saxons.

Although Cedd had been brought up in the Celtic Rite which differed from the Roman Rite, both in the accepted form of the tonsure (i.e. the shaven patch of scalp adopted by Christian monks) and in the method of calculating the date of Easter, Cedd reluctantly adopted the Roman Rite after attending the Synod of Whitby, where he acted as interpreter. When the council ended, he returned to Essex. A short time later, he travelled again to Northumbria, this time to the monastery at Lastingham, where he fell ill with the plague and died.