Saint Birinus: The Man Who Brought Christianity to the West Saxons

Sometime around 600 AD, a boy called Birinus was born in the Kingdom of Francia (France); little did his parents know that their son would go on to quite literally change the (known) world!

As a young adult, Birinus went to Genoa (Italy), where he joined a monastic community. He clearly had a talent for the religious life, because he was subsequently consecrated as a Bishop by Archbishop Asterius, and attracted the attention of Pope Honorius I.

In 634, Birinus was sent by the Pope to England - his mission being to aid in converting the predominantly pagan Britons to Christianity. Birinus arrived by ship at 'Hamwic' (now part of Southampton), where he founded the town's first Christian Church.

The year after his arrival in Britain, the young Bishop successfully convinced King Cynegils of the West Saxons to allow him to preach in his Kingdom. Possibly in an attempt to intimidate Birinus, Cynegils had him preach his first sermon at Churn Knob (Blewbury, Berkshire) - an important pagan site. Unperturbed, Birinus duly gave his sermon, and persuaded many locals to convert. Eventually, Cynegils himself consented to being baptised, albeit only to bolster an alliance with his former rival, Oswald of Northumbria.

Cynegils awarded Birinus the town of Dorchester-on-Thames, which became his 'episcopal see' (an area in which a particular Bishop had jurisdiction). Birinus ultimately baptised three generations of the ruling family of Wessex - Cynegils, his son Cwichelm, and grandson Cuthred (Birinus was the latter's godfather).

Before he'd left Italy, the Pope had encouraged him to venture into parts of Britain which were as yet untouched by Christian missionaries; however, Birinus chose to remain in and around Wessex, as he felt that the stubbornly heathen Saxons of the Thames Valley were in the greatest need of Christian teaching!

Birinus was active in establishing numerous churches, supposedly laying the foundation stone of St Mary's in Reading. His main focus was converting the 'Gewisse' (early 7th century residents of the areas surrounding Dorchester and Abingdon). He was also successful in converting many residents of Bicester, Thame and Aylesbury during his travels around the region, to name but a few. He is commonly hailed as the man who brought the Christian faith to Bicester, and some historians even believe that the town got its name from Birinus himself, although this is disputed!

In around 647, he founded the church which would later become Winchester Cathedral.

Upon Birinus' death in 649/650 AD, his shrine and grave at Dorchester became a popular pilgrimage destination. Around 10 years later, parts of Wessex were swallowed up by the neighbouring Kingdom of Mercia, so the new 'see' for Wessex was moved to Winchester.

In 1223, monks of Dorchester Abbey located the tomb of a former Bishop, whom they believed was Birinus (who by now had been recognised as a minor Saint). Many miracles were claimed to have occurred in the presence of the Bishop's remains, such as a 'dumb' child suddenly being able to speak in both English and French!

The monks reported this to the Pope in Rome, but by the time he had received the message, the remains had supposedly been moved to Winchester. Both towns now claim to house the relics of St Birinus for this reason! Due to this, two Feast Days were observed in his honour: the 3rd and 4th December.

Above: A depiction of St Birinus. Source: Wikipedia.