A True Easter: The Synod of Whitby 664 AD

by Benedicta Ward

Often presented as a clash between Irish and Roman missionaries representing two different kinds of Christianity, the Synod of Whitby held in 664 decided the date of Easter in the English church. Yet Benedicta Ward shows that in fact the traditions were mingled and that a common faith and a common devotion to Easter as the central feast of the Resurrection enabled participants to resolve difficulties caused by a difference between calendric calculations.

22 pages, Paperback

First published June 10, 2008

About the author

Benedicta Ward, SLG was a British Anglican nun, theologian, and historian who specialized in early Christian spirituality and medieval theology. She was a lifelong member of the Community of the Sisters of the Love of God at Fairacres in Oxford.

Ward is best known for popularizing the Apophthegmata Patrum through her translation, The Sayings of the Desert Fathers: The Alphabetical Collection, alongside major contributions to the study of St. Anselm of Canterbury, the Venerable Bede, and medieval miracles, including The Prayers and Meditations of St. Anselm and Miracles and the Medieval Mind.

Reviews

[R C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easter and Charity

Sister Ward has written a very compassionate description of the Synod of Whitby. Even all these years since this piece was written I thought Whitby had been an acidic argument. I happy to be disabused of this notion and informed of the various aspects of the discussion. Short but well worth a read.