Synod of Whitby - Background

Background

Christianity in Britain during the seventh century existed in two forms distinguished by differing liturgical traditions, labeled the “Ionan” and “Roman” traditions. The “Ionan” practice was that of the Irish monks who resided in a monastery on the isle of Iona (a tradition within "Celtic Christianity"), whereas the “Roman” tradition kept observances according to the customs of Rome. In the kingdom of Northumbria, these two traditions coexisted, and each had been encouraged by different royal houses. Edwin of Northumbria had converted to Christianity under the influence of missionaries sent from Rome by Pope Gregory the Great and thus had established Roman practice in his realm. However, following his death and a year of political instability, Oswald of Northumbria gained the throne. He had learned Christian practice from the monks of Iona during his stay there (while a political exile in his youth), and had encouraged Ionan missionaries to further the Christianization of Northumbria, especially the famous Bishop Aidan.

One of the main differences between the two traditions, and hence a source of controversy, was the proper calculation of Easter. Early Christians had probably originally celebrated Easter concurrent with the Jewish Passover (see Passover, Christian holiday), which was held on the fourteenth day of the first lunar month of the Jewish year, called Nisan, the day of the crucifixion according to John 19:14. However, it came to be considered that Easter should be held on a Sunday, the day of the resurrection, and the First Council of Nicaea in 325 fixed the precise date for celebrating Easter so that all Christian churches in all regions should celebrate the principal festival of the Church on the same day. Calculating the proper date was a complex process (involving a lunisolar calendar), and different calculation tables developed which resulted in different dates for the celebration of Easter.

By the 660s, Ionan adherents were still using calculation tables that had been regarded as in error by Rome (ultimately in favor of the tables of Dionysius Exiguus). The Ionan tables not only often resulted in a different date for the celebration of Easter, but they also allowed Easter to be celebrated on Nisan 14 if that were a Sunday, whereas Roman custom would have Easter moved to a different week in such a year (see ecclesiastical computus). The Ionan Easter had already resulted in conflict in Gaul, in the early seventh century, between Frankish monasteries and Ionan monasteries (the latter had been founded there by the Ionan abbot St. Columbanus), and the Ionan tables had been rejected.

Likewise, synods in southern Ireland, in the 630s, had also considered the matter and accepted the Easter calculation according to the custom of Rome.

The issue was therefore a question over the proper celebration of the most significant Christian feast, and had resulted in visible disunity, even in the royal court. For instance, Queen Eanfled of Bernicia and her court observed Easter on a different day than did King Oswiu of Northumbria. While one royal faction was celebrating Easter, the other would still be fasting during Lent. Nonetheless, the disunity did not result in problems as long as the well-respected Aidan was alive. After his death, his successor Finan found himself challenged by a monk named Ronan, an Irishman who had been trained in Rome and who wished to see the Roman Easter established. It was only in the time of Colmán, the third Ionan monk elected Bishop of Northumbria, that the conflict required royal attention and resolution.