Deusdedit of Canterbury

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Saint Deusdedit of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
Birth name	Frithona
Enthroned	655
Ended	July 14, 664
Predecessor	Saint Honorius
Successor	Wighard
Born	unknown England
Died	July 14, 664

Sainthood

Venerated in	Eastern Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion
Commemorated	14 July
Saints Portal

Saint Deusdedit (d. July 14, 664) was the sixth (and first Saxon) Archbishop of Canterbury.

1 Life
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

Also called Adeodatus, he was known as Frithona^[1] or Frithuwine^[2] until his consecration by Ithamar, Bishop of Rochester, on 26 March 655 AD.^[3]^[4] He was the first native born archbishop, as he was a West Saxon.^[5] He was appointed to the see of Canterbury by Eorcenberht of Kent.^[6] The name Deusdedit means "dedicated to God."^[2]

The see of Canterbury seems, at this time, to have been passing through a period of comparative obscurity;^[7] for during the nine years of the pontificate of Deusdedit, all the new English Bishops, with one exception, were consecrated by Celtic or foreign Bishops. Deusdedit, however, did found a nunnery in the Isle of Thanet and had some share in the foundation of Medeshampstede Abbey, later Peterborough Cathedral, in 657.^[8] Deusdedit was long overshadowed by Agilbert, who was bishop to the West Saxons.^[9]

The Synod of Whitby which debated whether the Northumbrian Church should follow the Roman or the Celtic Church, was held in 664.^[10] Due to his affliction with the plague, Deusdedit does not appear to have been present for the victorious Romanist party and his death took place only a few months later.^[1]^[11] He was regarded as a saint after his death, and his feast day is July 14.^[6] He was buried in the church of St. Augustine's in Canterbury, but was translated to the new abbey church in 1091.^[7]

List of Archbishops of Canterbury

^ ^a ^b Walsh, Michael A New Dictionary of Saints: East and West London: Burns & Oates 2007 ISBN 0-8601-2438-X p. 184
^ ^a ^b Ashely, Mike The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens New York: Carroll & Graff 1998 ISBN 0-7967-0692-9 p. 218-219
^ Powicke, F. Maurice and E. B. Fryde Handbook of British Chronology 2nd. ed. London:Royal Historical Society 1961 p. 209
^ Bede A History of the English Church and People translated by Leo Sherley-Price London:Penguin Books 1988 ISBN 0-14-044042-9 p. 176
^ Hindley, Geoffrey A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons: The beginnings of the English nation New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers 2006 ISBN 978-0-78671738-5 p. 45
^ ^a ^b Delaney, John J. Dictionary of Saints Second Edition Doubleday: New York 2003 ISBN 0-385-13594-7 p. 177
^ ^a ^b Thacker, Alan "Deusdedit (d. 664)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press, 2004 Online edition accessed November 7, 2007
^ Hindley, Geoffrey A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons: The beginnings of the English nation New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers 2006 ISBN 978-0-78671738-5
^ Stenton, F. M. Anglo-Saxon England Third Edition Oxford:Oxford University Press 1971 ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5 p. 122
^ Hindley, Geoffrey A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons: The beginnings of the English nation New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers 2006 ISBN 978-0-78671738-5 p. 79-81
^ Stenton, F. M. Anglo-Saxon England Third Edition Oxford:Oxford University Press 1971 ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5 p. 129

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Saint Honorius	Archbishop of Canterbury 655–664	Succeeded by Wighard

Persondata
NAME	Deusdedit
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Deusdedit of Canterbury
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Archbishop of Canterbury
DATE OF BIRTH
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH	July 14, 664
PLACE OF DEATH