Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury
19 September -- Commemoration
If celebrated as a Lesser Festival,
Common of Missionaries, page 503
Theodore was born at Tarsus in Cilicia in about the year
602. He was an Asiatic Greek and had been educated in
Athens before being appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by
the pope. He was raised straight from being a sub-deacon to
the archiepiscopal see but proved his worth by immediately
undertaking a visitation of the whole of England soon after
his arrival. He set about reforming the Church in England
with the division of dioceses and summoned the Synod of
Hertford on 24 September 673, probably the most important
Church council in the land, as it issued canons dealing with
the rights and obligations of both clergy and Religious: it
restricted bishops to working in their own diocese and not
intruding on the ministry of their prelate neighbours; it
established precedence within the episcopacy; it ensured
that monks remained stable to their monastery and obedient
to their abbot; and many other matters were dealt with to
effect the good order of the Church. The canons were based
on those of the Council of Chalcedon. Theodore proved to be
the first Archbishop of Canterbury to have the willing
allegiance of all Anglo-Saxon England. He died on this day
in the year 690 and was buried close to St Augustine at
Canterbury.