The Council of Whitby’ in Relation to The Easter Question

The council of Whitby’s’ main aim was to resolve the Easter question, whether it be calculated in the Roman or Celtic manner. This however this was not the only outcome, or agenda of the council. The council was convened by the two kings Oswui and his son Alchfrith, this indicated that the reasons for the council were not wholly religious; the current tensions between Oswui and Alchfrith were the hidden agendas. Alchfrith whose intention was to reinforce his position as the successor to his father Oswui, and cement his tenuous position with the people of his kingdom backfired when his father chose in favour of the Roman church. Oswui on the other hand reinforced his hegemony and sorted many political questions that were fast undermining his authority at the time. The apparent pre drawn conclusion on the Romans side of the debate from Oswui reinforces this, however there were unforseen consequences to this decision.

The correct computation of the date of Easter was the religious issue at stake at the council of Whitby. Easter, being the most important celebration in the Christian calendar was particularly important to Bede(1). Bede devotes two chapters to the council, and blames the difficulty at the court of Oswui, and the factions that were forming in Bernicia, as the driving force to convene the council of Whitby(2). Eanflead the wife Of Oswui, having been brought up in the tradition of the Roman church, and Oswui in the Celtic church, meant that in many years the King was celebrating the Easter feast at the same time the queen was still fasting. Bede’s focuses on mainly the religious and not the political ramifications of the decision.

Alchfrith, the eldest son of Oswui, was not automatically the heir to his father’s throne....

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...the political issues may have forced the convening of the council in 664, none the less the question of how to calculate Easter required resolution, before it escalated into civil unrest and possibly revolution.

The council of Whitby was at face value only about the Easter question. Oswui however, used the unresolved issue to his advantage by squashing his son Alchfriths position. Alchfrith disappears from record shortly after the council of Whitby. He revolts against his father in the latter part of 664 and is not noted again. Presumption that Oswui would chose the Celtic church over the Roman church from Alchfrith led to his downfall.

Bibliography

There are no sources in the current document.

Ray, R. ‘Bede’s Vera Lex Historiae’ Speculum 55 (1980) 1-21

Stephens, J.N. ‘Bede’s Ecclesiastical History’ History 62 (1977)25-6