Sæward was the joint king of the Kingdom of Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

 from 616 to 617 along with his brother Sexred

Sexred of Essex

Sexred, or Sexræd, , was a king of the East-SaxonsSexred was the son of Sebert the first Christian king of the East Saxons. He refused to accept Christianity, and when he succeeded his father in 616, reigning conjointly with his two brothers, Saeward and another, said on no good authority to have...

 after the death of their father Sæbert. Their father converted to Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 in 604. After his death they repressed the Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 religion in favor of the indigenous English religion

Anglo-Saxon polytheism

Anglo-Saxon paganism, or as it has also been known, Anglo-Saxon heathenism,The religion has been referred to as "paganism" by most scholars, such as David M. Wilson and Martin Carver , but as "heathenism" by some others, like Brian Branston...

, allowing the worship of their people's native gods. They banished Mellitus

Mellitus

Mellitus was the first Bishop of London in the Saxon period, the third Archbishop of Canterbury, and a member of the Gregorian mission sent to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons from their native paganism to Christianity. He arrived in 601 AD with a group of clergymen sent to augment the mission,...

, Bishop of London

Bishop of London

The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...

, from the kingdom after he refused them the sacramental bread

Sacramental bread

Sacramental bread, sometimes called the lamb, altar bread, host or simply Communion bread, is the bread which is used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist.-Eastern Catholic and Orthodox:...

.

In 617 Sexred and Sæward were killed in a battle against the forces of Wessex

Wessex

The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...

. Sæward's son Sigeberht

Sigeberht I of Essex

Sigeberht the Little was king of Essex from 617 to 653. He was the son of Saeward, who was slain in battle against forces from Wessex.After his death, he was succeeded by his relative Sigeberht the Good....

 succeeded them as king of Essex.