St John of Beverley, 7/20 May
The Abbey of Whitby, while under the government of St. Hilda, was the
nursery of many holy religious, of whom no fewer than five became
Bishops of distinguished merit and holiness of life. The most
illustrious of these was ST. JOHN, Bishop of Hexham, and afterwards of
York. He was appointed to the See of Hexham on the death of Eata ; and
not to neglect the interests of his own soul, amidst the cares of the
episcopate, he prepared a place of retirement on the opposite bank of
the Tyne, to which he resorted in Lent and other times with a few
companions only.
While St. John was Bishop of Hexham he conferred the diaconate and
priesthood on the Venerable St. Bede, who was presented to him for the
purpose by his Abbot, St. Ceolfrid.
On the death of Bosa, the holy Bishop was translated to York, leaving
Hexham to St. Wilfrid, who was then permitted to return from exile.
The sanctity of his life was attested by many miracles, some of which
have been recorded by those, who benefited by them, or other eye-
witnesses. One of the most remarkable of St. John's miracles was
performed in behalf of Herebald, a young cleric in his service, whose
own narrative is related by St. Bede (Lib. v., c. 6). This Herebald
afterwards became Abbot of Tynemouth, and is himself called Saint in
some later martyrologies. St. John governed the two dioceses in
succession for the space of thirty-three years, until at length,
feeling his strength unequal to the burden, he ordained St. Wilfrid
the Younger to be his successor at York, and retired to his Monastery
at Beverley. There he spent the last days of his life in great
holiness, and there he gave up his soul to God, and was buried in the
Church of the Minster.
His shrine soon became illustrious from the miracles wrought there,
and was one of the chief places of devotion in England. King Athelstan
attributed to his intercession his victory over the Scots, and rebuilt
the church, which had been destroyed by the Danes. Henry V. also
declared that he owed the victory of Agincourt to him, and upon that
occasion a synod ordered the festival to be observed throughout
England. The translation of his relics by Alfric, Archbishop of York,
took place in A.D. 1037, and is commemorated on the 25th October,
which is now the day of his festival in England.
Richard Stanton, A Menology of England and Wales (1892), 200-201.
available online at the Internet Archive :
http://www.archive.org/details/menologyofenglan00stanrich
|
