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Life of St Wilfrid
Eddius Stephanus, tr. Colgrave, 1927
How Peace Was Made Between Our Bishop and Archbishop Theodore
At this time also, Theodore, archbishop by the grace of God, being troubled by fears, honoured the authority of the Apostolic See by which he had been appointed, and did not delay, though he had waited so long, to make friends with the blessed Wilfrid, our bishop, who had long been an impoverished exile. For when the Archbishop Theodore, in the fulness of his years, began to be troubled by recurrent infirmity, he summoned to London the holy bishops Wilfrid and Erconwald. When they had come, the archbishop prudently and frankly revealed to them the whole course of his life, making confession before God and saying, “And this troubles me most, what I did to your hurt, most holy bishop, when I consented to the kings who robbed you of your property for no fault and drove you into long and grievous exile to the grief of your own people; woe is me! And now I make confession to God and to the holy Apostle Peter. And you, my fellow-bishops, be witnesses: for the remission of my sin I will unite all my royal friends and their chief men in friendship with you, Wilfrid, constraining them by every means, whether they be willing or not. For I know that after this year the end of my life draws near, in accordance with the revelation of the Lord. And I adjure you, by God and St Peter, to agree to my appointing you while I am still alive to my archiepiscopal see as my successor and heir. For indeed I have recognized you to be the most learned of your race in all manner of wisdom and in the statutes of the Romans.”
Then the holy Bishop Wilfrid said, “May God and St Peter the Apostle grant you remission for all the controversy you have aroused against me, and, as you have made confession, I will ever be your friend and pray for you. Only first send messengers with letters, in all directions, to your friends, that they may know of our reconciliation in the Lord and that I was formerly, without guilt of mine, deprived of my possessions and that thay may restore to me some part of my substance by your adjuration in the Lord and in accordance with the orders of the Apostolic See, and afterwards, if God will, let us consider in a greater council who is worthy, with your consent, to receive the episcopal see after you.”
Then, when the archbishop had made a pact of real peace, he sent letters to Aldfrith, King of the North, in which he begged him, for fear of the Lord, in accordance with the precepts of the rulers of the Apostolic See, and for the sake of the redemption of the soul of King Ecgfrith, who was the first to rob our bishop of everything and drive him, though innocent, from his fatherland, to deign to come to a reconciliation with him in a treaty of peace for the sake of the salvation of many. Moreover this king was not the only one whom the archbishop stirred up to make a settlement, but on every hand he diligently sought to make friends for him where once he had made enemies. He sent his letters to Aelffled, the holy virgin and abbess, urging her, in accordance with the authority of the Apostolic See, to make peace unhesitatingly with St Wilfrid the bishop; and Aethilred, King of the Mercians, he charged as follows, adjuring him by his love for himself and for Christ to receive him according to his former intention:
“To the most glorious and excellent Aethilred, King of the Mercians, Theodore, by the grace of God, Archbishop:—Everlasting salvation be yours in the Lord. Most beloved son, may your wondrous holiness know that I have made peace in Christ with the venerable Bishop Wilfrid, and therefore, beloved, I urge you with paternal love, and I charge you by the love of Christ, to grant your protection to his holy devotion to the utmost of your ability, with the help of God, all your life long, as you have always done; because for a long time, while deprived of his own possessions, he has laboured much in the Lord among the heathen. And so I, Theodore, a humble bishop, in my declining years, suggest this to your blessedness, for the Apostolic authority commends this as you know; and the most holy man I have named possesses his soul in patience even as the Scripture says, following in humility and gentleness his Head the Lord and Saviour, and awaiting a relief of the wrongs unjustly inflicted upon him. And if I have found grace in your sight, though it may seem difficult for you on account of the length of the journey, I would that my eyes could see your pleasant face and that my soul might bless you before I die. And now, my son, do as I have prayed you concerning this same most holy man, because, if you obey your father who, before long, will be departing from this world, it would greatly avail towards your salvation. Go in peace, live in Christ, and continue in the Lord. The Lord be with you.”
What more shall I say? Afterwards King Aethilred, on account of the authority of the most blessed popes, to wit, Agatho, Benedict, and Sergius, who assumed successively the dignity of the Apostolic See, received our bishop gladly and in a canonical manner, returned him many monasteries and lands in his own right, treated him with the utmost respect, and continued his faithful friend without ceasing until the end of his life.