Readings:
Psalm 84:7-12 or 23
Philippians 4:10-13
Luke 14:1,7-14Preface of a Saint (2)
PRAYER (traditional language)
Almighty God, whose servant Chad, for the
peace of the Church, relinquished cheerfully the honors that
had been thrust upon him, only to be rewarded with equal
responsibility: Keep us, we pray thee, from thinking of
ourselves more highly than we ought to think, and ready at
all times to give place to others, (in honor preferring one
another,) that the cause of Christ may be advanced; in the
name of him who washed his disciples' feet, even the same
thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with
thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for
ever.
PRAYER (contemporary language)
Almighty God, whose servant Chad, for the
peace of the Church, relinquished cheerfully the honors that
had been thrust upon him, only to be rewarded with equal
responsibility: Keep us, we pray, from thinking of ourselves
more highly than we ought to think, and ready at all times
to step aside for others, (in honor preferring one another,)
that the cause of Christ may be advanced; in the name of him
who washed his disciples' feet, your Son Jesus Christ our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, now and for ever.
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Last updated: 18 Jan. 2002
CHAD OF LICHFIELD
(2 MAR 672)
Chad,
Bishop of Lichfield, is perhaps best known for NOT being Archbishop of
York. He was elected and duly installed, but various persons raised objections,
and rather than cause division in the Church he withdrew in favor of the
other candidate, Wilfrid (see 12 Oct). (The objection was that some of
the bishops who had consecrated him--although not Chad himself--were holdouts
who, even after the Synod of Whitby had supposedly settled the question
in 663, insisted on preserving Celtic customs on the date of celebrating
Easter and similar questions, instead of conforming to the customs of
the remainder of Western Christendom.) He was soon after made Bishop of
Lichfield in Mercia. There he travelled about as he had when Archbishop
of York, always on foot (until the Archbishop of Canterbury gave him a
horse and ordered him to ride it, at least on long journeys), preaching
and teaching wherever he went. He served there for only two and a half
years before his death, but he made a deep impression. In the following
decades, many chapels, and many wells, were constructed in Mercia and
named for him. (It was an old custom to dig a well where one was needed,
and to mark it with one's own name or another's, that thirsty travellers
and others might drink and remember the name with gratitude.)
by James Kiefer
Another short biography of St. Chad is available from St. Chad's College of the University of Durham.