Saint Eanswythe was born around 614, the only daughter of King
Eadbald of Kent and his wife Emma, who was a Frankish princess. At the
time of Eanswythe’s birth, her father was probably a pagan, while her
mother was almost certainly a Christian. Therefore, it is highly likely
that Eanswythe was baptized and raised as a Christian.
When she
was two years old, her paternal grandfather King Ethelbert of Kent
(February 25) died. St Ethelbert had been baptized at St Martin’s church
in Canterbury by St Augustine of Canterbury (May 28). It was St
Augustine who came to England in 597 with several monks in order to
re-establish Christianity, which had almost been wiped out by the pagan
Anglo-Saxons. These monks carried out their missionary work under the
protection of King Ethelbert.
Eanswythe’s father King Eadbald
offered no opposition to Christianity while his father was alive. When
St Ethelbert died, however, Eadbald’s attitude changed. Not only did he
embrace idolatry, he also married his father’s second wife (Bede,
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH PEOPLE Book 2, ch. 1). While this
practice was prohibited by Church law, it was quite common among the
pagan royalty.
About this time, King Sabert of the East Saxons
(and a convert to Christianity) passed away. His three sons were pagans,
and so idolatry returned to that territory as well.
St Laurence
of Canterbury (February 3), St Mellitus of London (April 24), and St
Justus of Rochester (November 10) held a council to determine what they
should do. They decided that they should not waste their time among the
pagans, and to go where people would be more receptive to their
preaching. Appalled by the King’s behavior and by the rise of paganism,
Sts Mellitus and Justus went to Gaul.
The night before he was to
leave Canterbury, St Laurence decided to sleep in the church of Sts
Peter and Paul. St Peter appeared to him and rebuked him for even
thinking of leaving his flock. He also beat St Laurence, who remained
with his flock and even converted King Eadbald.
The king ended his
unlawful marriage and was baptized. Within a year, St Justus returned
to Rochester. The people of London, who lived in the realm of the East
Saxons, refused to accept St Mellitus back to his See. Following the
death of St Laurence in 619, St Mellitus succeeded him as Archbishop of
Canterbury.
From her childhood, St Eanswythe showed little
interest in worldly pursuits, for she desired to dedicate her virginity
to God and to serve Him as a nun. Her father, on the other hand, wanted
her to marry. St Eanswythe told him that she would not have any earthly
suitor whose love for her might also be mixed with dislike. There was a
high rate of mortality for children in those days, so she knew it was
likely that at least some of hers would also die. All of these sorrows
awaited her if she obeyed her father. The young princess told her father
that she had chosen an immortal Bridegroom Who would give her unceasing
love and joy, and to Whom she had dedicated herself. She went on to say
that she had chosen the good portion (Luke 10:42), and she asked her
father to build her a cell where she might pray.
The king
ultimately gave in to his daughter, and built her a monastery in
Folkestone in Kent. While the monastery was under construction, a pagan
prince came to Kent seeking to marry Eanswythe. King Eadbald, whose
sister St Ethelburga (April 5) married the pagan King Edwin (October 12)
two or three years before, recalled that this wedding resulted in
Edwin’s conversion. Perhaps he hoped that something similar would happen
if Eanswythe married the Northumbrian prince. Eanswythe, however,
insisted that she would not exchange heavenly blessings for the things
of this world, nor would she accept the fleeting joys of this life in
place of eternal bliss.
Around the year 630, the building of the
monastery was completed. This was the first women’s monastery to be
founded in England. St Eanswythe lived there with her companions in the
monastic life, and they may have been guided by some of the Roman monks
who had come to England with St Augustine in 597.
St Eanswythe was
not made abbess at this time, for she was only sixteen years old. We do
not know of any other abbess before St Eanswythe, but a few experienced
nuns may have been sent from Europe to teach the others the monastic
way of life. A temporary Superior could have been appointed until the
nuns were able to elect their own abbess.
There are many stories
of St Eanswythe’s miracles before and after her death. Among other
things, she gave sight to a blind man, and cast out a demon from one who
had been possessed.
We know few details about the rest of St
Eanswythe’s life. Following the monastic Rule, she prayed to God day and
night. When she was not in church, she spent her waking hours reading
spiritual books and in manual labor. This may have consisted of copying
and binding manuscripts. The nuns probably wove cloth for their
clothing, and also for church vestments. They cared for the sick and
aged nuns of their own community, as well as for the poor and infirm
from outside. Then there was the daily routine of cooking and cleaning.
According
to Tradition, St Eanswythe fell asleep in the Lord on the last day of
August 640 when she was only in her mid-twenties. Her father King
Eadbald also died in the same year.
The monastery at Folkestone
did not last very long after the saint’s death. Some say it was
destroyed by the sea, while others say it was sacked by the Danes in
867. St Eanswythe’s holy relics were moved to the nearby church of Sts
Peter and Paul, which was farther away from the sea. In 927 King
Athelstan granted the land where the monastery had stood to the monks of
Christchurch, Canterbury.
As time passed, the sea continued to
encroach on the land. In 1138 a new monastery and church, dedicated to
St Mary and St Eanswythe, were built farther inland. The relics of St
Eanswythe were transferred once again, this time from the church of Sts
Peter and Paul to the new priory church. During the Middle Ages, this
second transfer of her relics was celebrated on September 12, which is
the present Feast Day of the church of St Mary and St Eanswythe.
On
November 15, 1535 the priory was seized by the officers of the King,
who plundered the church of its valuables. The shrine of St Eanswythe
was destroyed, but her relics had been hidden to protect them.
On
June 17, 1885 workmen in the church discovered a niche in the walls
which had been plastered up. Removing the plaster, they found a
reliquary made of lead, about fourteen inches long, nine inches wide,
and eight inches high. Judging by the ornamentation on the reliquary, it
dated from the twelfth century. A number of bones were found inside,
which experts said were those of a young woman. Today the niche is lined
with alabaster, and is covered by a brass door and a grille.
At
first, the holy relics were brought out for veneration every year on the
parish Feast Day. This practice ended when several parishioners accused
the Vicar of “worshiping” the relics. Although St Eanswythe’s relics
are no longer offered for public veneration, candles and flowers are
sometimes placed before the brass door where they are immured.
An Orthodox iconographer has presented the parish of St Mary and St Eanswythe with an icon of the saint.
Source-Oca.org
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