Bosa of York
Encyclopedia
Bosa was a Northumbria
n, educated at the great Abbey of Whitby
under the abbess Hilda
. He later joined the brethren there as a monk and became a noted scholar.
In 678, when Wilfrid
was ejected from the bishopric of York and banished from Northumbria, Bosa was given his diocese over which to preside. Wilfrid declared that he was unable to work with Bosa because he considered Bosa not a member of the Catholic Church. His episcopate lasted nine years, but with Wilfrid back in favour in 687, Bosa was removed just like his predecessor. He was returned once more in 691. He is regarded as a saint
, with a feast day of 9 March. While archbishop, Bosa introduced a communal life for the clergy of the cathedral, and set up a continuous liturgy in the cathedral.
Bosa was still alive in 704; the date of his death is not known. He appears as a saint in an eighth century liturgical calendar from York, but this is the only sign that he was venerated as a saint before the Norman Conquest of England
. The 16th century English antiquary John Leland listed Bosa on his list of saint's resting places in England, giving it as York. His feast day is on 9 March.
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East 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 Estuary.Northumbria was...
n, educated at the great Abbey of Whitby
Whitby Abbey
Whitby Abbey is a ruined Benedictine abbey overlooking the North Sea on the East Cliff above Whitby in North Yorkshire, England. It was disestablished during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under the auspices of Henry VIII...
under the abbess Hilda
Hilda of Whitby
Hilda of Whitby or Hild of Whitby was a Christian saint and the founding abbess of the monastery at Whitby, which was chosen as the venue for the Synod of Whitby...
. He later joined the brethren there as a monk and became a noted scholar.
In 678, when Wilfrid
Wilfrid
Wilfrid was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered 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...
was ejected from the bishopric of York and banished from Northumbria, Bosa was given his diocese over which to preside. Wilfrid declared that he was unable to work with Bosa because he considered Bosa not a member of the Catholic Church. His episcopate lasted nine years, but with Wilfrid back in favour in 687, Bosa was removed just like his predecessor. He was returned once more in 691. He is regarded as a saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
, with a feast day of 9 March. While archbishop, Bosa introduced a communal life for the clergy of the cathedral, and set up a continuous liturgy in the cathedral.
Bosa was still alive in 704; the date of his death is not known. He appears as a saint in an eighth century liturgical calendar from York, but this is the only sign that he was venerated as a saint before the Norman Conquest of England
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
. The 16th century English antiquary John Leland listed Bosa on his list of saint's resting places in England, giving it as York. His feast day is on 9 March.