Paulinus, Missionary and Archbishop
The collect for today, the Feast of St. Paulinus (c. 584-644), Monk, first Archbishop of York, Missionary (source):
Almighty and everlasting God, we thank thee for thy servant Paulinus, whom thou didst call to preach the Gospel to the people of northern England. Raise up, we beseech thee, in this and every land evangelists and heralds of thy kingdom, that thy Church may proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
With the Epistle and Gospel for a Bishop or Archbishop, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):
The Epistle: 1 Timothy 6:11-16
The Gospel: St. Luke 12:37-43
Paulinus of York was an Italian monk and missionary associated with Pope Gregory the Great’s mission to convert the Anglo-Saxons. Probably born in Rome around 584, he was sent to England in 601, tasked with supporting Augustine of Canterbury in converting the pagan kingdoms.
In 625, Paulinus was consecrated bishop and accompanied Æthelburh, a Christian Kentish princess, to Northumbria for her marriage to King Edwin. Paulinus’s diplomatic and evangelical efforts led to Edwin’s baptism at York in 627, where a wooden church—the predecessor to York Minster—was erected. Paulinus then preached and baptised widely throughout the kingdom. He established churches across Northumbria, serving as the first Bishop of York.
After Edwin’s death in 633, political instability forced Paulinus to return to Kent with the queen and her daughter. He became Bishop of Rochester, where he died on 10 October 644.
The St. Paulinus stained glass was made by the firm of C.E. Kempe of London and installed in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, St. John’s, Newfoundland, in 1913. Photograph taken by admin, 7 September 2009.