By the year 600, Christianity had spread from Palestine to parts of northern Europe. The
zeal for Christ was very much present in the people of the British Isles, despite their
distance from the Holy Land. Many holy people dwelled in what is now modern day England,
Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. One such person was Saint Cuthbert.
Cuthbert was born in 634 in the kingdom of Northumbria to an Anglo-Saxon family. He tended
sheep in the southern uplands but also reveled in youthful pranks and games with his fellows.
Such games were in play when one day a three-year old child foresaw the young Cuthbert’s saintly
destiny. Upon witnessing the eight year old Cuthbert's foolish behavior the lad proclaimed,
“O holy bishop and priest Cuthbert, these unseemly stunts in order to show off your
athletic ability do not become you or the dignity of your office.” Cuthbert did not
fully understand the prophetic words but accepted them and amended his life in earnest, spending
more time in prayer and solitude.
This and other moments seemed to point the way forward. Such as the day Cuthbert, still
in his teens, walked along the River Tyne and observed several monks on a raft being
dangerously swept out to sea. Cuthbert knelt in prayer until a strong gust of wind pushed
the raft safely ashore, the rabble of onlookers wrapped in astonishment.
A few years later, Cuthbert kept watch over his flock at night amid the Lammermuir Hills
when suddenly he beheld the vision of a stream of light in the sky, with angels rising to
heaven and carrying aloft a globe of fire. No doubt, he thought, the soul of a holy man
or bishop is now departing. True, for at that same moment, as he later learned, the holy
Bishop Aidan of Lindisfarne had fallen asleep in the Lord.
This revelation stirred Cuthbert and sealed his decision to become a monk. He visited
the monastery of Mailros, which lay on a bend in the River Tweed and, like the monastery
at Lindisfarne, was based on the Celtic model.
At Mailros, there dwelled two who eventually became saints, the abbot Eata and the prior
Boisil. Boisil possessed great foresight and, upon seeing Cuthbert for the first time, remarked,
“Behold, a servant of the Lord.” Cuthbert excelled at Mailros, being zealous in learning
and prayer, remaining ever vigilant and obedient for seven years.
In 659, Eata, now bishop, asked Cuthbert to assist him in establishing a monastery at
Ripon. He appointed Cuthbert as guest master, where it is said that Cuthbert once even entertained
in the guesthouse an angel of the Lord who was sent to test his devotion.
Cuthbert also accompanied Bishop Eata on missionary journeys meant to encourage the faithful and
to preach the Gospel to those still in darkness. Upon entering a town they drew many unto the
Lord, speaking against the arcane and profane ways of the past, against amulets, incantations,
and assorted superstitions and instead preached faith in Christ.
Despite the growth of Celtic monasticism, there were also monks in the kingdom who followed
the practices of Rome. One such monk was St. Wilfrid, who arrived at Ripon in 660 and imposed
the Rule of St. Benedict. Eata, Cuthbert, and several other monks preferred to remain
under the Celtic rule and thus returned to Mailros.
Soon after Cuthbert’s return to Mailros, Boisil foresaw his own death due to the plague.
He asked Cuthbert to spend seven days with him in the study of the Gospel of John. Here,
they spoke simply about the scriptures even while Boisil revealed to Cuthbert things to
come, including Cuthbert’s appointment as bishop which occurred over twenty years later.
After Boisil’s passing, Cuthbert replaced him as the abbot of Mailros.
Now in his thirties, Cuthbert doubled his ascetic efforts in an effort to draw closer
to God.
He continued his missionary journeys as well. One such trip saw him travel
to the double monastery of Coldingham upon the request of the Abbess. He visited and
opened up to them the path of righteousness, as much by his deeds as by his words. In the
evening, Cuthbert descended the cliffs and headed toward the ocean, although not alone.
A curious monk followed and observed Cuthbert wading into the sea until the waves rose
up to his neck. He spent the night in vigil, singing praises to the sound of the waves.
At dawn, he walked ashore and knelt in prayer, while two otters came from the sea and fell
prostrate at his feet, warming and drying them before once again slipping into the sea.
When the monk later confessed to Cuthbert what he witnessed, Cuthbert remarked,
"I forgive you for watching on the sole condition that you please tell no one what you witnessed
until after my death.”
Cuthbert also displayed remarkable foresight, like the time he journeyed with his attendant
who worried aloud that they were without food at such a late hour. “Learn, my dear son,”
Cuthbert remarked, “always to have faith and trust in the Lord; for he who serves God
faithfully never perishes of hunger.” He then pointed to an eagle and said that it
was even possible for such a bird to refresh them if God wills it. Later, as they walked
along the river they were met by an eagle who, having caught a large fish from the river,
left it at their feet.
In 664, the debate over whether the kingdom would follow Celtic or Roman practices was
settled at the Synod of Whitby. The Bishops decided that the church would calculate the
date of Easter and perform monastic tonsure in the manner of the Roman practice. Cuthbert,
seeking peace and uniformity, encouraged the Celtic monks to accept the decision and won
many through his modesty and patience.
Despite Cuthbert's modesty, the people recognized him as a wonder worker and genuine holy man.
Saint Bede recorded many of these wonders in his biography of Cuthbert.
Yet after such a blameless active life, Cuthbert yearned for the solitary life of divine contemplation.
In 676, he retired to the remote island of Inner Farne and built a small cell and guest
house. He remained on these stony rocks in near solitude for nine years, often spending
whole nights in prayer. When he did receive visitors, he cured them of their afflictions.
His very countenance also excited them to a love of virtue. Yet he always remembered
the prophetic words of Boisil and knew that he couldn’t remain in solitude forever.
And so it was that in 684, Cuthbert was elected bishop. Letters and messengers were sent to
inform him of the synod’s decision, but he refused to leave the island. Only after
a visit from the king and bishop begging him in the name of Christ to accept did he submit
to the will of the synod. As bishop, Cuthbert remained humble and avoided any excesses in
his office. He devoted himself to his diocese, preaching and working wonders among the people.
After two years as bishop, Cuthbert sensed the time of his death approaching. He laid
aside his arch pastoral duties and retired to the solitude of his cell on Inner Farne
shortly after Christmas in 686. He prepared his flock for their time without him, encouraging
them to welcome visitors and offer hospitality, and warning them to avoid heretics.
After passing the evening of March 20th, 687 in prayer, Cuthbert sat up and received Holy
Communion for the last time and then surrendered his soul to God. The monks buried his body
at Lindisfarne Monastery.
Ten years later, they opened Cuthbert’s tomb and discovered his relics to be incorrupt,
a sign of his sanctity. Yet while they knew him to be a fervent intercessor in heaven,
his earthly remains were yet to find a final place of rest. Viking invaders destroyed the
Lindisfarne monastery a century later save for the tomb of St. Cuthbert. The monks moved
his body to sites throughout Northumbria over the next hundred years in order to shield
it from invaders, eventually settling in Durham in the late 900s where it rested with many
other saints of his time. The tomb was opened again on August 24, 1104, and the incorrupt
and fragrant relics were placed in a newly-completed cathedral.
By the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, reports spread about Saint Cuthbert curing nobles
and paupers, lay and religious, from across England and Scotland. A collection of treasures
is displayed in the museum of Durham Cathedral, including his iconic pectoral cross. Cuthbert’s
image and symbols are displayed in the British Isles even today. Many schools are named after
him, and several Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant churches have taken him as their patron saint.
Because of his love for God’s creation, there is even a species of duck known as the
Cuddy Duck named after him.
Saint Cuthbert is not well known outside of the United Kingdom, but those who have heard
his story cannot help but be inspired by his love for and dedication to God. Saint Cuthbert
provides us the perfect example of a man who took seriously God’s calling and who devoted
himself toward the service of God, his flock, and his fellow man.