Cedd, Missionary and Bishop

by CCW | 26 October 2026 01:01

The collect for a Bishop or Archbishop, on the Feast of St. Cedd (c. 620-664), Abbot of Lastingham, Bishop of the East Saxons, from The Book of Common Prayer[1] (Canadian, 1962):

[2]O GOD, our heavenly Father, who didst raise up thy faithful servant Cedd to be a Bishop in thy Church and to feed thy flock: We beseech thee to send down upon all thy Bishops, the Pastors of thy Church, the abundant gift of thy Holy Spirit, that they, being endued with power from on high, and ever walking in the footsteps of thy holy Apostles, may minister before thee in thy household as true servants of Christ and stewards of thy divine mysteries; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Lesson: Acts 17:22-31[3]
The Gospel: St. Luke 10:1-16[4]

Saint Cedd was an Anglo-Saxon missionary and bishop whose work helped establish Christianity in parts of seventh-century England. Born around 620, he was one of four brothers, including Chad, who also became a prominent church leader. Cedd studied and served at Lindisfarne, a major center of Northumbrian Christianity shaped by Irish monastic traditions.

Cedd initially served as a missionary in Essex, where he helped restore Christianity and founded a monastery at Bradwell. In 654, he was appointed bishop of the East Saxons. He later established another monastery at Lastingham, in Yorkshire, which became an important centre of religious life and learning.

In 664, Cedd attended the Synod of Whitby as an interpreter, acting for the Celtic party that favoured Irish customs, including the Irish calculation of Easter. After the Synod ruled for Roman practice, he accepted the decision. Later that year, Cedd contracted the plague at Lastingham and died on 26 October. His brother Chad succeeded him as abbot there.

His life is primarily known from Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People.

Source URL: https://christchurchwindsor.ca/2026/10/26/cedd-missionary-and-bishop-10/

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