Whitby chooses a paschal calculation for Northumbria
About this date: Date of the Northumbrian gathering; it did not instantaneously resolve every Easter dispute throughout Britain and Ireland.
A royal and ecclesiastical gathering debates differing calculations of Easter. Bede describes Oswiu choosing the practice defended by Wilfrid.
Historical context
Disagreement could mean members of one royal household observing different parts of the season. The meeting concerns an already Christian society, not a conversion from one modern denomination to another.
Key points
- Whitby's monastic setting is associated with Hild.
- Both parties argue through inherited Christian authorities.
- Both sides celebrate on Sunday; the argument concerns the reckoning that identifies the appropriate Sunday.
- Colman's subsequent departure shows that the decision had consequences for leadership.
People
- Hild of Whitby
- Oswiu
- Colman
- Wilfrid
Scripture
- Matthew 16:18-19 — Bede's narrative reports Wilfrid and Oswiu appealing to Peter and the keys near the close of the debate. This identifies a reported historical argument, not agreement among all later traditions about its implications.
Sources and further reading
- Ecclesiastical History: Whitby
The established Timeline reading link is retained. - Bede's account of the differing paschal reckonings
The chapter begins with earlier disagreements before narrating Whitby. The dialogue explicitly distinguishes Sunday celebration from the permitted lunar days.