ST CHAD OF MERCIA 

Our holy Father Chad was born at the end of the sixth century in Northumberland. He was a disciple of St. Aidan of Lindisfarne. After a period in Ireland spent in asceticism, he was appointed Abbot of Lastingham in Yorkshire in succession to his brother, St. Cedd.

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In 664, Bishop Tuda of York died of the plague, and it fell to King Oswy of Northumbria and his son, the Sub-King Alchfrid, to appoint a successor. His choice fell on St. Wilfrid, Abbot of Ripon, who was sent to France to be consecrated to the episcopate. However, since St. Wilfrid was away for a long time, King Oswy sent to Canterbury for consecration Chad, “a holy man,” as the Venerable Bede writes, “modest in all his ways, learned in the Scriptures, and careful to practise all that he found in them. With Chad the king sent a priest named Eadhaed, who later, during the reign of Egfrid, became Bishop of Ripon. On arriving in Kent, they found that Archbishop Deusdedit had died, and that no successor had been appointed. They therefore went on to the province of the West Saxons, consecrated Chad as bishop [in 666] with the assistance of two bishops of the British, who [kept] Pascha contrary to canonical practice between the fourteenth and twentieth days of the moon. For at that time, Wini [Bishop of the West Saxons] was the only bishop in all Britain who had been canonically consecrated.

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When he became bishop, Chad immediately devoted himself to maintaining the truth and purity of the Church, and set himself to practise humility and continence and to study. After the example of the Apostles, he travelled on foot and not on horseback when he went to preach the Gospel...; for he was one of Aidan’s disciples and always sought to instruct his people by the same methods as Aidan and his own brother Cedd.

In May, 669 St. Theodore “the Greek” arrived at his see in Canterbury. He told St. Chad that he considered his Episcopal consecration to be uncanonical, to which the saint humbly replied: “If you know that my consecration as bishop was irregular, then I willingly resign the office; for I have never thought myself worthy of it. Although unworthy, I accepted it solely under obedience.” Impressed by this reply, St. Theodore assured him that he would not have to give up his office, and himself corrected his consecration. St. Chad then returned to his monastery in Lastingham.

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The Mercians at this time were ruled by King Wulfhere, who, on the death of [Bishop] Jaruman, asked Theodore to provide him and his people with a bishop. Theodore, however, did not wish to consecrate a new bishop for them, but asked King Oswy to give them Chad as their bishop. Chad was then living quietly in his monastery at Lastingham, while Wilfrid ruled the bishopric of York, and indeed all the lands of the Northumbrians and Picts to the borders of Oswy’s realm. The most reverend Bishop Chad always preferred to undertake his preaching missions on foot rather than on horseback; but Theodore ordered him to ride whenever he undertook a long journey. He was most reluctant to forgo this pious exercise which he loved, but the Archbishop, who recognized his outstanding holiness and considered it more proper for him to ride, himself insisted on helping him to mount his horse. So Chad received the Bishopric of the Mercians and the people of Lindsey, and administered the diocese in great holiness of life after the example of the Early Fathers.

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At this time Wulfhere, son of the renowned king, Penda the Strenuous, ruled over the Mercians, and had been hailed as Bretwalda of all the Angles and Saxons. He had espoused the beautiful Ermenhilda, a daughter of the royal house of Kent, and descended from the noblest stock of the Franks. Though fair in form and lineage, she was accounted fairer still in faith and sanctity. In due time, she bore to the king four fair children: three sons, Wulfhad, Rufinus and Coenred, and one daughter, the beauteous Werburga. The boys are said to have been adorned with all the princely graces and to have excelled in all the manly exercises suited to their rank. The courtesy of their demeanour, the prudence of their conduct, and the wit of their conversation endeared them to their father’s subjects, both rich and poor...

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Their father, King Wulfhere, had been baptized many years before by the holy Bishop Finan of the nation of the Scots; and at the font, and afterwards when he led his bride to the altar, he made a vow to the Lord that he would utterly destroy the temples of the demons, and root out the idols from his realm, and extend, as far as he should be able, the faith of Jesus Christ. But when he inherited the throne of his fathers, he forgot to perform the vow which he had made, and idolatry still lingered in the kingdom of the Mercians. In this wickedness the king was countenanced by one Werbode, whom he had made his chief counsellor and friend, such as Haman the Agagite was to King Artaxerxes. They say that he was an idolater, a man of Belial, a very minister and satellite of Satan; that he was crafty in heart, wily in tongue, wanton in appetite, and arrogant in mind. Not content with the favours which the king had already bestowed upon him, he even dared in his heart to think of wooing the lovely Werburga, well knowing that she was dedicated to Christ, hoping, in his madness, thereby to succeed to the kingdom.

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The king, not heeding, consented to Werbode’s suit, but Queen Ermenhilda sharply rebuked him for his presumption and reproached him with his base lineage. And Werburga herself, as befitted a maiden who was soon to take the veil, bade him think no more of her as his bride, but rather to seek for God’s forgiveness for having conceived such a thought in his heart. Her brothers, Wulfhad and Rufinus, in more impetuous mood, threatened him with their sorest vengeance, if ever he should prefer his low-born suit to their sister. The disdainful words of these royal youths rankled in the evil mind of Werbode, and one day cost them dear, albeit, through the teaching of the holy Chad, they were to earn the crown of martyrdom, as this story showeth. For it fell upon a day, as the holy man was engaged in devout prayer and meditation in his cell, that a hart of great size and wide-spreading antlers burst forth from the forest glades into the open space which surrounded the fountain. His panting breath and quivering limbs told that the huntsman was on his track, and to slake his raging thirst, he began to drink eagerly of the cooling waters. Pitying the distress of the noble animal and moved with the bowels of compassion towards all the creatures of God, Chad covered him with the boughs and leaves of trees, to refresh him with their coolness and to conceal him from his foes, for in his inward mind he believed something wonderful would happen by means of the hart. And when the animal was somewhat recovered, it meekly suffered the holy man to put a cord round its neck, and then it wandered into the forest to crop the grass.

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Hardly had the saint recovered from the surprise occasioned by the appearance of the hart, than the blast of a horn fell upon his ear, and soon a handsome youth, in gay apparel, reined in his steed in front of the cell, whither the footprints of the hart had guided him. This was no other than Wulfhad, the king’s eldest son, who had been following the chase – to which, as became one of royal lineage, he was much addicted – and, in the eagerness of his pursuit, had lost sight of his retainers.

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On seeing the holy man, who at the sound of the horse’s footsteps had come out of his cell, the prince courteously and reverently saluted him, and enquired whether he had seen the hart of which he had been in quest since the early dawn. To whom the saint replied, ‘Am I the keeper of the hart? I do not tend or guard the beasts of the forest, or the cattle of the field, or the birds of the air, but, through the ministry of the hart, have become the guide of thy salvation. For God, Who prepared the hart, hath made know to thee the hidden things of His own mysteries, that thou mayest believe in His name, and be baptized for the remission of sins. By a beautiful foreshadowing, nay, by the witness of a sure prophecy, the hart bathed in the fountain sets forth and shows to thee beforehand the laver of wholesome Baptism, even as thouh mayest learn the mind of David from the text, ‘As the hart panteth after the fountains of water, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God. My soul thirsted for God, the mighty, the living; when shall I come and appear before the face of God?’ (Psalm 41.1-2)

Many other things also did the Saint set forth, showing him how by the ministry of irrational animals the Divine Wisdom had deigned to reveal His own Mysteries for the salvation of the faithful. By means of a dove, He announced to Noah, after the flood, that the waters which had covered the earth were dried up. By the mouth of a lowly ass, He restrained the madness of the prophet [i.e. Balaam], and by the ministry of a raven He fed the Prophet Elias. And the Lord Himself, after the custom of the Prophets, when He made His entry into Jerusalem, deigned to ride on an ass and her colt, in token of the conversion of two peoples. Nor did he forget to tell what is read of the Blessed Eustathius, how the Lord vouchsafed to appear to Him in the form of a stag; and many miracles of brute animals which have been accomplished, and which are found written in the acts of the Blessed Martin and Jerome.

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The prince is related to have replied in all courtesy to the words of the holy priest: ‘Truly, O reverend father, these testimonies might well be believed, even if they rested on your sanctity alone; but for my part, the things which you tell me would be more likely to work faith in me, if the animal which I have been pursuing which you have hidden by the fountain, and have taught to wander in the forest with a rope round his neck, should appear forthwith in our presence, in answer to your prayers or in obedience to your command.’ Immediately the holy priest prostrated himself in prayer. And lo! the above-mentioned hart, bearing the cord upon his neck, burst forth from the forest and stood before them. Then the saint said, rising from his knees, ‘Understand now in truth that all things are possible to him that believeth, and if anyone shall ask the Father anything in the Name of the Son, it shall be done unto him. Hear therefore, O my son, and see; incline thine ear to obey the Faith of Christ, to receive the Grace of Baptism, for according to the promise of the Saviour, ‘He who believeth and is baptized, shall be saved’ (Mark 16.16).

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Comforted and strengthened in the Faith, Wulfad threw himself at the feet of the man of God, and prayed that he might forthwith be baptized. The Blessed Chad, seeing him thus rooted and grounded in the Faith, returned thanks to God, and as was meet, first began to instruct him in the rudiments of the Faith of Christ. Then, having solemnly blessed the fountain, he baptized him therein in the Name of the Holy Trinity, and became, so to speak, his spiritual father. And since evening was coming on, and day was now fast reclining, the holy father made his son spend the night with him, and setting before him such frugal food as his cell afforded, entertained him with his devout conversation and instruction. At the same time was seen a thing wonderful to behold; for just as the holy Chad abode with the Prince, so the hart stood by the side of his horse, the wild animal with the tame, and slid down beside him in all gentleness and grazed on the green grass. At early dawn, the holy priest celebrated the Holy Eucharist and admitted his youthful disciple to the Body and Blood of the Lord, as a true and living member of His Church.

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Wulfad, being now entered upon the way of truth, was troubled for the salvation of his brother Rufinus, and earnestly besought Saint Chad that he would pray to God to incline his heart to embrace the Christian Faith. To whom the Saint is related, in sterner mood, to have replied, ‘Why do you ask for that to be done by me, who am of little esteem, when you can obtain this from God in a moment? For your faith shall bring about your salvation, and within the space of three days shall bring him to a knowledge of the truth; for He Who separated you from your mother’s womb will call you both by His Grace to Himself; He will justify you in Himself, He will glorify you from Himself.’ Upon this, Wulfad bade farewell to the man of God and saluted him with a holy kiss, and when he had asked and received his blessing, departed to his own home strong in the Faith.

On drawing near to his father’s house, he met his brother Rufinus, who rejoiced greatly to see him, thinking that some evil had befallen him; to whom he related all that had taken place in the forest with the man of God, and earnestly exhorted him to do the same. Rufinus heard these things gladly, declaring that he had long thought about coming to the Faith of Christ, concerning whom he had first heard the words of life from Saint Germanus, Bishop of the East Saxons. For that holy bishop had come to those parts with the saintly Ermenhilda, and living there a long time, had preached the Gospel unto many.

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The two princes thereupon resolved to visit once more the man of God, and that they might carry out their design more prudently, set out early in the morning, leaving the usual track in order to conceal their purpose from the thanes who rode with them. They had not gone far into the forest when lo! the hart which had first appeared to Saint Wulhad, having his neck still covered with the cord, showed himself to them, and led the way to the dwelling of the man of God. Rufinus followed him in his flight by his footprints, but Wulfad, knowing what these acts of the dumb animal meant, tried to bring him back with the blast of his horn, fearing lest the animal should unwittingly be killed. But the other, not hearing or understanding, urged on the chase, and arrived first at the cell of the man of God. And then the hart, as before, plunged into the fountain, with the purpose of leading the youth to understand that he would lead him to the laver of life-giving Baptism. It was said that the most holy Chad himself produced that very fountain from the bosom of the earth by his prayers, which even to this day is called ‘Chad’s Well’, and possesses the power of healing those who are afflicted with various diseases.

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The man of God, knowing in his mind what was taking place, went out of his cell into the open air, and with eyes and hands lifted to heaven, poured forth his earnest prayers for the salvation of the Prince. While the bishop was devoutly engaged in this way, Rufinus drew near, and at the first glance was immediately persuaded in his mind that it was none other than the blessed Chad, of whom he had heard Germanus say so many and such great things. ‘Art you,’ he said, ‘my lord, Father Chad, beloved of God and men, once the friend of Anna, the most Christian king of the East Saxons, the teacher and guide to salvation of my brother Wulfhad?’ ‘I am,’ he replied. Then Rufinus threw himself at his feet, beseeching him most earnestly to admit him, without delay, to Holy Baptism. The good bishop, admiring and loving him in his heart, rejoiced greatly that such devotion glowed in the breast of a youth, although he seemed to possess the wisdom of old age.

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And when Wulfad presently rode up to them, his face beamed with joy, as he praised the godly desire of his brother to receive Holy Baptism. Then the holy Chad, with exultant tongue, instructed him as was fitting, and afterwards baptized him in the same fountain, Wulfhad holding him in the manner taught by the Holy Church. After this, the priest celebrated the Mystery of the Eucharist, and these newly made lambs of Christ’s flock, ascending, as it were, from the font, he sanctified with the holy washing of the Immaculate Lamb, perceiving from many signs that they would go up to Mount Gilead, that is, to the glory of martyrdom. Nor did the holy man forget to instruct them to keep the commandments of God or to set forth to them the precepts of the Divine discipline, for well he knew they would cleanse their way by paying heed to it, according to God’s law.

The newly converted Princes, on parting from the presence of the holy bishop, to return to their own home, earnestly besought him that he would deign to take up his abode nearer to the castle of their father, at Wulpherchester, that they might the more easily profit from his holy counsel and instruction. Their request was pleasing in the eyes of the bishop, and he accordingly moved his cell nearer to the place they desire. They themselves went daily to the man of God, to assist him in his sacred duties, and often lingered in the hallowed precincts, and concealed, under the pretence of hunting, the profession of the Christian Faith which they had embraced.

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But the evil heart of Werbode, their father’s friend and counsellor, was full of enmity against the youths, because they had withstood him in his suit to their sister Werburga. And so he stealthily spied out all their ways and doings, and watched for every opportunity to inflame their father’s mind with anger against them. And when he found out for certain that they had become Christians, and were accustomed to frequent the chapel for Divine worship and to visit the man of God, he made it his business to inform the king thereof, and by setting before him that the spread of the Faith in his realm would overthrow the religion of his forefathers, under which Penda, his royal father, had been so prosperous and had gained so many victories; and that, moreover, his two sons, in embracing this Faith, were setting at nought his royal authority, he roused the king to such a pitch of fury that he swore a frightful oath that he would be revenged upon them.

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Accordingly, at the crack of dawn on the following day, when the darkness was still upon the earth, the king, having girded himself with his sword, set out with this child of the devil towards the place where the man of God dwelt. But knowing full well that he would be unable to restrain the fierceness of his anger, he told Werbode to go in advance to herald his approach to his sons, that if he happened to find them in the chapel, they might at least be so filled with fear as to flee and hide themselves. But this son of darkness had not thought of sparing the hapless youths. Approaching the chapel with stealthy steps, he looked in at the window and saw them prostrate on the ground, earnestly engaged in prayer. And then, without making a sound or uttering a word, he returned secretly to the king, and informed him that his sons continued obstinate in their purpose of worshipping Christ, and that so far from displaying any fear or showing any respect to his royal authority, they reviled him as a blasphemer and an apostate.

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At these lying words of Werbode, the king turned pale with wrath, and burning with the unnatural desire to shed the blood of his sons, he advanced with rapid strides to the precincts of the chapel. The saintly youths, on hearing the thunder of the king’s voice, were anxious for the safety of their spiritual father, fearing lest in his wrath he should lay violent hands on the most holy Chad himself, the anointed of the Lord. For well they knew that for themselves their father would have nothing but stripes and reproaches. Nevertheless, they were eager and prepared in heart to suffer revilings and terrors and various kinds of death for the Name of Jesus. But the blessed Chad, knowing that as is the roaring of a lion, so is the wrath of a king, at the earnest entreaties of the young Princes, fled from the face of Wulfhere and hid himself in the remoter parts of the forest. And this he did, not that he in any way feared death, which he counted rather as gain, but he foresaw that worthier fruit would issue to many from the life which had been spared, than if he were to rush upon instant death.

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King Wulfhere, if indeed he could be called a king who was neither willing nor able to govern himself, bursting furiously into the chapel, found his sons before the image of the Saviour, earnestly engaged in prayer. Thereupon he began to heap upon them all manner of reproaches because they had broken the laws of his realm, and set at nought his authority. And then he fiercely threatened them with his direct vengeance if they did not immediately renounce the Faith of Christ and worship the gods of their fathers. Then Wulfhad, with all Christian meekness and princely dignity, replied that they were most unwilling to break the laws of the land, but that the king had himself once professed the faith which now he renounced; that they earnestly desired to retain his fatherly affection, but that the prospect of no tortures or death could shake their fixed resolve to continue steadfast in the Faith of Christ.

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But even while the brave young Prince was yet speaking, the king, fiercer than any wild beast, drawing his sword, rushed furiously upon him, and killed him, and cut off his head, and consecrated him, albeit unwittingly, as a martyr to Christ. The younger Rufinus, seeing these things, fled, but being pursued by his father, became as fellow martyr with his brother and departed to celestial glory. And so it came to pass that those whom nature made one on earth, being united in faith and love, were made one also in heaven.

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When this terrible crime had been accomplished, the king and Werbode turned away with hurried steps from the place which was conscious of his crime. But lest the terrible deed should come to the knowledge of the queen or of the people, they agreed to destroy the chapel of the man of God during the darkness of the night and to bury the bodies of the slaughtered princes in some secret place. But their evil deeds could not remain long undiscovered. The avenger was at hand. For when the king returned with his wicked counsellor to the castle and had gone alone to his bedchamber, an evil spirit, at the very entrance of the royal palace, in the sight of many persons standing by, took the schemer of the death of the martyred princes as his own vassal. For he immediately began to tear his hands and arms with his teeth, and, shouting in an unrestrained voice, proclaimed to all men what, at his own wicked instigation, the blood-stained father had done to his son. For a long time the avenging demon did not cease to torment him, until at last he forced him to breathe forth his wicked spirit.

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The report of the terrible crime filled all men with sorrow and amazement, and when it reached the queen’s ears, a sword of unspeakable grief pierced her soul. Going to the place of her sons’ martyrdom, she took up their bodies and gave them honourable burial in one stone tomb. From that time, she resolved to leave the bed of her husband, and with her daughter Werburga, who had been the unwitting cause of her brothers’ deaths, finally retired to the monastery of Sheppey...

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Saint Sexburga and Saint Ermenhilda received the sacred monastic habit in the minster which is called Middleton or Milton in Kent, and the island of Sheppey is a dependency of Milton, and is three miles wide and seven miles long. It then please the holy Queen Sexburga to build for herself a minster within it... She had then held the kingdom for thirty years to deliver it to her son Hlothere. And she bought from him his share of the Sheppey district to be free for the use of the minster so long as Christianity should be maintained in England, and she obtained from Rome a blessing for those who for the service of God would undertake this charge. Saint Ermenhilda rests with her mother and with her mother’s sister, Saint Etheldritha, at Ely, and there their miracles are often known...

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Meanwhile, the king, overwhelmed with unavailing remorse, took to his bed, and seemed likely to die. To assuage the intolerable anguish of his mind, his friends counselled him to seek solace in hunting or in falconry, or in instruments of music. But the queen and her relatives admonished him, above all, not to despair of Divine mercy, but rather to take counsel from the holy Bishops Jarman and Chad, and to do what in their judgement would be right. The king yielded to this wiser counsel and firmly resolved to go to the holy Chad and do whatsoever he commanded. Accordingly, one morning he set out with his thanes, as if to follow the chase, hoping to meet the man of God by a chance similar to that which had befallen his sons, now, alas, martyrs. For the Blessed Chad, immediately after the murder of the saintly youths, had returned to his former dwelling-place, by the fountain, and was leading there the life of a hermit, without a single companion to relieve the dreariness of his solitude.

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When the king had reached the thicker parts of the forest, and all his attendants, by God’s will, were scattered hither and thither, and he was left alone, he saw the meek hart, so often mentioned, bounding in the distance, and having the cord around his neck as before. At this sight, being filled with joy, he followed in his track, until he came to the dwelling of the servant of God, the holy Chad. The hart, as though he had finished his task, then left the king, and plunged into the fountain, as was his custom, to cool and refresh himself. The king immediately dismounted from his horse, and approaching the window of the chapel, saw the man of God clothed in his priestly vestments standing before the altar, celebrating the Eucharist. Being led by a guilty conscience, he stood within the porch, and did not dare to enter, until he had first been absolved of his sins by the holy bishop.

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And when the bishop began the anaphora, so great a light shone forth from heaven through the apertures in the wall that priest and sacrifice and all that appertained thereto were covered with the splendour that was shed upon them. The eyes of the king were blinded by the brightness of the Light, for in comparison with this heavenly radiance the noonday sun itself seemed poor and mean. And marvellous to relate, the splendour in no way waxed dim until the celebration of the Holy Eucharist was accomplished; then the Light depart toward heaven, and the natural sun, entering in at the windows and doors, darted his rays even to the altar. The holy man knew that the king was standing outside, and what it was that he desired in his mind; for the heavenly Light shone upon him spiritually as well as corporeally. And when the Sacred Office was finished, he hastily took off his priestly vestments, and, unwittingly thinking to lay them in the place appointed for them by the side of the altar, unwittingly hung them on a sunbeam, and went to the king, who was outside the porch. But the sunbeam upheld the sacred robes that had been laid upon it, so that they did not fall to the ground, showing by a manifest miracle, as the chronicler says, that this son of light clove firmly to the Sun of Righteousness in faith and love.

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The saint, on going forth, found the king prostrate upon the earth before the porch of the church, overwhelmed with confusion on account of his sin and oppressed with intolerable anguish of mind. The bishop raised him up and, after the example of the Good Samaritan, poured into the wounds of his mind the oil of consolation mingled with the wine of sharp reproof, lest he should fall into the sin of despair. ‘Often,’ he said, ‘since that evil day, have I implored the Creator of all things that he would vouchsafe to take the sin which you have committed against your son at the instigation of the minister of death, who has already become an inhabitant of hell. And the Lord, that He might show you the riches of His goodness, has granted you the opportunity of repentance, in answer to my prayers, if you are willing to follow my counsels.’

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The king replied with great humility that he was willing in all things to be guided by his advice, and in accordance therewith, to make amends for the evil deed that he had done. Therefore Saint Chad enjoined upon him, under the seal of penance, that he should with all speed utter a public decree that all the shrines of the demons should be utterly destroyed throughout the realm of the Mercians, and that he should give command to root out idolatry, build churches, found monasteries, ordain clergy and strictly observe the ordinances of the Christian Faith. He further admonished him that he should do justice between man and man, devote himself to frequent prayers, make amends for his sins through deeds of mercy according to the exhortation of Holy Scripture, refrain from all corrupt actions and be faithful to his marriage bed.

When the man of God had spoken these and similar things, he turned a little to one side and gave himself to prayer, and motioned to the now penitent king that he also should seek the face of the Lord. And Wulfhere, chancing to lift up his eyes, saw the priestly vestments hanging upon the sunbeam, not without great wonder. Whereupon he rose from his knees and came closer, that he might see this great vision, and placed his own gloves on the beam – but they immediately fell to the ground. Being now a man of deeper insight, he understood that Saint Chad was accounted the fellow and companion of the Saints above and beloved by the Sun of Righteousness, to Whom while living on earth the sun paid such homage. When after a little while the holy bishop stopped praying, the king bade him behold the wonderful sight he had seen. Then the bishop, drawing near, took up his vestment, and, laying them on the altar, devoutly thanked and worshipped God , Who enlightens very man that comes into the world.

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The king, edified and rejoicing in the Lord, took the holy bishop with him and returned to his home and relatives. In short, he laboured diligently to accomplish what he had openly vowed to God in the presence of His servant. On the advice of the Blessed Chad, and with the help of the saintly Ermenhilda, within a short space of time the king utterly purged his realm from the contamination of idolatry; and whatever could be thought contrary to wholesome faith, he made it his care to remove. He built or caused to be built churches in suitable places; he erected many beautiful monasteries for both sexes and enriched them with ample revenues; he endowed with many lands and possessions the noble monastery of Peterborough, which he is said to have founded to expiate the crime committed against his sons... The church dedicated in this place in honour of the chief of the apostles contains the ashes of many saints, and still sends forth many good men to the holy fellowship of the citizens above ...

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Chad established his episcopal see in the town of Lichfield [i.e. ‘field of the dead’, so called because one thousand Christians, including the Priest Amphibalus, were martyred there during the Roman persecutions], where he also died and was buried, and where the succeeding bishops of the province have their see to this day. There he built himself a house near the church, where he used to retire privately with seven or eight brethren in order to pray or study whenever his work and preaching permitted. When he had ruled the Church of the province with great success for two and a half years, Divine Providence ordained a time such as is spoken of in Ecclesiastes: ‘There is a time to cast away stones, and time to gather stones together’. For heaven sent a plague which, bringing bodily death, bore away the living stones of the Church from their earthly stations to the Temple in heaven. And when death had freed many members of the revered Bishop’s Church from the burden of the flesh, the hour drew near when Chad himself was to pass out of this world to the Lord.

One day, he was alone in his house with a brother whose name was Owini, his other companions having had occasion to return to the church. This Owini was a monk of great merit, who had renounced the world with the pure intention of winning a heavenly reward, so that he was altogether a fit person to receive a revelation of God’s secrets, and one whose word everyone could trust. He had accompanied Queen Etheldritha from the province of the East Angles and had been her chief thane and steward of her household. Growing in devotion to the faith, he decided to renounce the world, which he did in no half-hearted fashion; for he rid himself so completely of worldly ties that he abandoned all his possessions, put on a simple garment, and carrying in his hand an axe and an adze, set off for the reverend Father Chad’s monastery at Lastingham. This he did to show that he was entering the monastery, not for the sake of an idle life, as some do, but in order to work, and he demonstrated this in practice; for since he found himself less able to meditate on the Scriptures with profit, he undertook a larger amount of manual labour. In short, recognizing his reverence and devotion, the bishop admitted him to his house among the brethren; and whenever they were engaged in study, he used to busy himself in essential tasks out of doors.

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One day, when Oswini was working outside and the other brethren had departed to the church, the bishop was reading and praying alone in his chapel. Suddenly, as he afterwards used to relate, he heard the sound of sweet and joyful singing coming down from heaven to earth. The wound seemed at first to emanate from the southeast, gradually coming closer to him until it centred over the roof of the chapel where the bishop was at prayer. It then entered the chapel and seemed to fill both it and the surrounding air. He listened with rapt attention to what he heard, and after about half an hour, he heard the sounds of joy rise from the roof of the chapel, and return to heaven as it had come, with inexpressible sweetness. Owini stood astonished for a while, turning over in his mind what this might portend, when the bishop threw open the chapel window, and clapping his hands, as he often used to do when someone was outside, summoned him indoors.

When he hurried in, the bishop said, ‘Go at once to the church, and fetch those seven brethren here, and come back with them yourself.’ On their arrival, he first urged them to live in love and peace with each other and with all the faithful, and to be constant and tireless in keeping the rules of monastic discipline that he had taught them and that they knew him to observe, and those that they had learned from the lives and teachings of former abbots. He then announced that his own death was drawing near, saying, ‘The welcome guest who has visited many of our brethren had come to me today, and has deigned to summon me out of this world. Therefore, return to the church and ask the brethren to commend my passing to our Lord in their prayers. And let each prepare for his own passing by vigils, prayers, and good deeds; for no man knows the hour of his death.’

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Having said this and much besides, he gave them his blessing, and they left him sadly; but the brother who had heard the heavenly music came back alone and flung himself to the ground, saying, ‘Father, I beg you to let me ask you a question.’ ’Ask what you will,’ Chad replied. ‘Tell, I pray,’ he asked, ‘What was the glad song that I heard of singers coming down from heaven upon this chapel and later returning to heaven?’ ‘Since you heard the singing and were aware of the coming of the heavenly company,’ Chad answered, ‘I command you in the Name of our Lord not to tell anyone of this before my death. The truth is that they were angelic spirits, who came to summon me to the heavenly reward that I have always longed and hoped for, and they promised to return in seven days’ time and take me with them.’ All took place as he had said. For Chad was quickly attacked by a disease which steadily grew worse until the seventh day. Then he prepared for death by receiving the Body and Blood of our Lord, his holy soul was released from the prison house of the body and, one may rightly believe, was taken by the angels to the joys of heaven. Nor is it strange that he regarded death with joy as the Day of the Lord; for he had always been careful to prepare for His coming.

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In addition to Chad’s many virtues of continence, humility, right preaching, prayer, voluntary poverty, and many others, he was so filled with the fear of God and so mindful of his last end in all that he did, that I [Bede] was told by one of his monks named Trumbert – who was one of my tutors in the Scriptures and had been trained in the monastery under Chad’s direction - that if a gale arose while he was reading or doing anything else, ne would close his book and prostrate himself on the ground, praying even more earnestly. But if there was a violent storm of wind and rain, or thunder and lightning startled earth and air, he would go to the church and devote all his thoughts to prayers and psalms continuously until the tempest had passed. When his monks asked him why he did this, Chad replied, ‘Have you not read: “The Lord thundered in the heavens, and the Most High have forth His voice. He sent out His arrows and scattered them; He shot out lightnings and discomfited them”? For God stirs the air and raises the winds; He makes the lightning flash and thunders out of heaven, to move the inhabitants of the earth to fear Him and to remind them of the judgement to come. He shatters their conceit and subdues their presumption by recalling to their minds that awesome day when heaven and earth will flame as He comes in the clouds with great power and majesty to judge the living and the dead. Therefore, we should respond to His heavenly warnings with the fear and love we owe Him,’ said Chad. ‘And whenever He raises His hand to the trembling air as if to strike, yet spares us still, we should hasten to implore His mercy, examining our inmost hearts, and purging the vileness of our sins, watching over our lives, lest we incur His displeasure.’

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This brother’s account of the bishop’s death is supported by the evidence of the most reverend Father Egbert, who lived the monastic life in Ireland with Chad when they were both youths, constantly occupied in prayer. But when Chad returned to his own country, Egbert remained an exile for God’s sake until the end of his life. A long time afterwards, Hybald, a very holy and austere man who was an abbot in the province of Lindsey, came from Britain to visit him. And while they were discussing the lives of the early Fathers, and delighting to imitate them as was fitting in holy men, the name of the most holy Bishop Chad was mentioned. Whereupon Egbert said, ‘I know a man still living in this island, who, when the bishop died, saw the soul of his brother Cedd descend from heaven accompanied by angels, and carry away his soul to the Heavenly Kingdom.’ Whether he was speaking of himself or another is uncertain; but the truth of a statement by so great a man cannot be doubted.

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Chad died on the second of March [in the year 672], and was first buried close by Saint Mary’s church; but when a church of the most blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, was built there later, his body was transferred to it. In both these places, frequent miracles of healing attested to his virtues. More recently, a madman wandering at large arrived there one evening, and passed the night church unnoticed and unheeded by the watchmen. And in the morning, to the amazement and delight of all, he left the place in his right mind, showing clearly what healing he had been granted there by the goodness of God. Chad’s burial place is covered by a wooden tomb in the form of a little house with an aperture in the wall through which those who visit it, out of devotion, may insert their hand and take out some of the dust. They mix this in water and give it to sick men or beasts to drink, by which means their ailment is quickly relieved, and they are restored to the longed-for joys of health.

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"Pray we now to the undivided Trinity, that we may be helped with the prayers of this most holy man, Saint Chad, and that we may earn for ourselves to come to the fellowship of holy bishops and blessed spirits, through the forgiveness of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Who liveth and reigneth with the Father and with the Holy Spirit, world without end.”

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The Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of Saint Chad of Lichfield on March 2, and Saints Wulfad and Rufinus of Mercia – on July 24.

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By Vladimir Moss

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