Eata of Hexham (died 26 October 686) also known as
Eata of Lindisfarne or
Saint Eata was
bishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of
LindisfarneLindisfarne is a tidal island off the north-east coast of England also known as Holy Island, the name of the civil parish. The name Lindisfarne derives from Farne meaning "retreat" and Lindis, a small tidal river adjacent to the island. It has a population of 162...
from 678 until 685, and of
HexhamHexham is a market town in Northumberland, England, located south of the River Tyne, and was the administrative centre for the Tynedale district in Northumberland from 1974–2009. Hexham is one of three major towns in Tynedale along with Prudhoe and Haltwhistle, although in terms of population,...
from then until his death. He was the first native of
NorthumbriaNorthumbria or Northhumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now north-east England and southern Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory: the Humber...
to take the bishopric of Lindisfarne.
Eata was originally taken to Lindisfarne as a boy under
Saint AidanKnown as Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne, St Aidan the Apostle of Northumbria , was the founder and first bishop of the monastery on the island of Lindisfarne in England. A Christian missionary, he is credited with restoring Christianity to Northumbria. Aidan is the anglified form of the original Old...
and trained as an
abbotThe word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
under his predecessor
Saint TudaTuda of Lindisfarne also known as Saint Tuda was Bishop of Lindisfarne for less than a year. Although raised in Ireland, he was a staunch believer in Roman Catholic practices, and wore a Roman tonsure and celebrated Easter on the Roman date. However, he was consecrated as bishop in Ireland...
and then under
Saint WilfridWilfrid was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered the religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Gaul, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and became the abbot of a newly founded monastery at Ripon...
, Bishop of York in the intervening period while there was no bishop at Lindisfarne. In 651 he was elected
AbbotThe word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
of
MelroseMelrose is a small, historic town in the Scottish Borders, historically in Roxburghshire. It is in the Eildon committee area.The town's name is recorded in its earliest form as Mailros, 'the bare peninsula' , referring to the original site of the monastery, recorded by the Venerable Bede, in a bend...
, and founded the
monasteryMonastery , a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer Monastery (plural: monasteries), a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios...
at
RiponRipon is a cathedral city, market town and successor parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located at the confluence of two streams of the River Ure in the form of the Laver and Skell. The city is noted for its main feature the Ripon Cathedral which is architecturally...
in
YorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the British Isles. Because of its great size, functions were increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have been subject to periodic reform. Throughout these changes, Yorkshire has continued to be recognised as...
from which he was expelled in 661 by Alchfrith, the under king of Deira, because of religious disagreement.
In 678,
ArchbishopIn Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop. In many Christian Churches, this means that they lead a diocese of particular importance called an archdiocese, or in the Anglican Communion an Ecclesiastical Province, but this is not always the case. An archbishop is equivalent to a bishop in...
TheodoreTheodore is an English masculine given name. It comes from the Greek name Θεόδωρος meaning "gift of god"...
split the diocese of
NorthumbriaNorthumbria or Northhumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now north-east England and southern Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory: the Humber...
into two dioceses. Eata became bishop of
BerniciaBernicia was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England....
. Bernicia had two episcopal sees, one at Hexham and the other at Lindisfarne. Eata was the bishop of the whole of Bernicia for three years, after which the See of
HexhamHexham is a market town in Northumberland, England, located south of the River Tyne, and was the administrative centre for the Tynedale district in Northumberland from 1974–2009. Hexham is one of three major towns in Tynedale along with Prudhoe and Haltwhistle, although in terms of population,...
was assigned to
TrumbertTrumbert was a monk of Jarrow, a disciple of St. Chad and later Bishop of Hexham.-Life:He was educated at Lastingham by Ceadda, and was a teacher of Bede. He was the Bishop of the See of Hexham from 681 until he was deposed in 685 and was succeeded by Eata. He had previously been a monk at Ripon...
, and Lindisfarne to St. Eata. After the death of Trumbert in 684, St. Cuthbert was elected Bishop of Hexham. The two exchanged sees shortly thereafter, and for the last two years of his life Eata occupied the See of Hexham. He died of
dysenteryDysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the feces. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal....
in 686, and was buried in the
BenedictineBenedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
Abbey of Hexham.
The only church dedicated to him in England is in
AtchamAtcham is a village, ecclesiastical parish and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is situated on the B4380 , 5 miles south east of Shrewsbury. The River Severn flows around the village...
,
ShropshireShropshire , alternatively known as Salop or abbreviated, in print only, Shrops, is a county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Wales to the west. Shropshire is one of England's most rural and sparsely populated counties with a population density of 91/km²...
.
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