1,484
edits
Changes
m
[[Image:Aidan_Statue.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Statue of St. Aidan erected in his honor on [[Lindisfarne]]]]
→External links: removed dead link (Come and See Icons)
[[Image:Aidan of Lindisfarne.jpg|right|frame|St. Aidan]]Our Father Among father among the Saints saints '''Aidan of Lindisfarne''', Enlightener of Northumbria (?-651), was the founder and first [[bishop]] of the [[monastery]] on the island of [[Lindisfarne]] off the northeast coast of England. A Christian missionary, he is credited with restoring Christianity to Northumbria (Northern England). His [[feast day]] is [[August 31]].
== Life ==
An Irishman, possibly born in Connaught, Aidan was a [[monk]] at the [[monastery]] on the island of [[Iona]] in Scotland.
Aidan chose the island of [[Lindisfarne]], close to the royal castle at Bamburgh, as his [[diocese]]. King Oswald, who spoke Irish Gaelic, often had to translate for Aidan and his monks, who did not speak English at first. When Oswald died in 642, he received continued support from King St. [[Oswin of Deira]], and the two became close friends.
[[Image:Aidan_Statue.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Statue of St. Aidan erected in his honor on [[Lindisfarne]]]]An inspired missionary, St. Aidan would walk from one village to another, politely conversing with the people he saw, slowly interesting them in Christianity. According the to legend, the king gave Aidan a horse so that he wouldn't have to walk, but Aidan gave the horse to a beggar. By patiently talking to the people on their own level, Aidan and his monks slowly restored Christianity to the Northumbrian communities. Aidan also took in twelve English boys to train at the monastery, to ensure that the area's future religious leadership would be English.
In 651 a pagan army attacked Bamburgh and attempted to set its walls ablaze. According to legend, Aidan prayed for the city, after which the winds turned and blew the smoke and fire toward the enemy, repulsing them.
*[http://www.lindisfarne.org.uk/general/aidan.htm Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne]
*[http://www.britannia.com/bios/saints/aidan.html Britannia biography of Saint Aidan]
[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:Celtic and Anglo7th-Saxon Saintscentury bishops]]
[[Category:Missionaries]]
[[Category:Monastics]]
[[Category:Wonderworkers]]
[[Category:Saints]]
[[Category:Saints of the British Isles]]
[[Category:Pre-Schism Western Saints]]
[[Category:7th-century saints]]
[[ro:Aidan de Lindisfarne]]
