Honorius of Canterbury

Infobox Archbishop of Canterbury
Full name = St Honorius


caption =
began=unknown
birth_name =
consecration = 627
term_end = 30 September 653
predecessor = Justus
successor = Deusdedit of Canterbury
birth_date =
birthplace =
death_date = 30 September 653
deathplace =
tomb = Church of St. Augustine, Canterbury Infobox Saint Archbishop of Canterbury
feast_day=30 September
venerated_in=Eastern Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion
titles=Archbishop of Canterbury
beatified_date=
beatified_place=
beatified_by=
canonized_date=
canonized_place=
canonized_by=
attributes=
patronage=
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suppressed_date=
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Honorius (died 30 September 653) was an Archbishop of Canterbury from 627 to 653.Fryde, et. al. "Handbook of British Chronology" p. 213]

Life

A Roman by birth, he may have been one of those chosen by Gregory the Great for the original evangelization of England, although it seems more likely that he was a member of the second party of missionaries, sent in 601.Delaney "Dictionary of Saints" p. 303] Hindley "A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons" p. 43-45] Stenton "Anglo-Saxon England" p. 112-113] In 627, he was consecrated as archbishop by Paulinus of York at Lincoln.Bede "A History of the English Church and People" p. 134] Blair "World of Bede" p. 96] Honorius wrote to Pope Honorius I asking the pope to raise the see of York to an archbishopric, so that when one archbishop in England died, the other would be able to consecrate the deceased bishop's successor. The pope agreed, and sent a pallium for Paulinus, but by this time, Paulinus had already been forced to flee from Northumbria.Hunt "Honorius [St Honorius] (d. 653)" "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography"] When Paulinus, after the death of King Edwin of Northumbria, fled Northumbria, he was received by Honorius and appointed to the bishopric of Rochester.Bede "A History of the English Church and People" p. 139]

Honorius consolidated the work of converting the English by sending St Felix, a Burgundian, to DunwichBede "A History of the English Church and People" p. 131] Brooks "Early History of the Church of Canterbury" p. 65-67] after Felix came to the archbishop and made known his desire to go to East Anglia as a missionary. Honorius may have consecrated Felix as the first bishop of East AngliaWalsh "A New Dictionary of Saints" p. 268] or Felix may have already have been consecrated on the continent.Blair "World of Bede" p. 107] It is possible that King Sigeberht of East Anglia, who converted to Christianity while he was in exile on the continent, had already met Felix and was behind Felix's journey to Honorius. As well as his help to Felix, Honorius consecrated the first Anglo-Saxon bishop, Itahamar of Rochester, and his successor was also a native of England.

Honorius died on 30 September 653. He was buried at the Church of St. Augustine's in Canterbury. He was later revered as a saint, with his feast day being 30 September.

Notes

References

* Bede, Leo Sherley-Price, and R. E. Latham. "A History of the English Church and People". Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. 1968. ISBN 0140440429
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* Delaney, John J. "Dictionary of Saints" Second Edition Doubleday: New York 2003 ISBN 0-385-13594-7
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* Hindley, Geoffrey. "A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons: The beginnings of the English nation" New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers 2006. ISBN 9780786717385
* Hunt, William "Honorius [St Honorius] (d. 653)" rev. N. P. Brooks, "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography" Oxford University Press, 2004; [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/13664 online edn, Oct 2005] accessed 7 November 2007
* Stenton, F. M. "Anglo-Saxon England" Third Edition Oxford:Oxford University Press 1971 ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5
* Walsh, Michael J. "A New Dictionary of Saints: East and West". London; New York: Burns & Oates. 2007. ISBN 086012438X

Further reading

* Bevan, Gladys Mary. "Portraits of the Archbishops of Canterbury". London: Mowbray. 1908. OCLC 7409358

External links

* [http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=3800 Catholic Online Saints and Angels: Honorius of Canterbury]
* [http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/sainth4y.htm Patron Saints Index Honoratus]
* [http://www.pase.ac.uk/pase/apps/persons/CreatePersonFrames.jsp?personKey=853 Prosopography of Anglo Saxon England Database Entry for Honorius]

Persondata
NAME=Honorius
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Honorius of Canterbury
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Archbishop of Canterbury
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=30 September 653
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=