BISHOPS. 275
ornaments, and a pall in 601. He was consecrated as a bishop by Augustine archbishop of Canterbury, in the year 604 14 , and accepted the bishopric which Aethelberct, king of Cent, had established at Lon- don 1 ', lie "'was present as bishop of London in a synod 1 ", holden at Rome under Boniface IV, on Wednesday 1 7th Feb. 610. On the death ofSaeberht, lung of the East Saxons, in tin- yrar 6 16. his sons re- lapsed into paganism, and expelled Mellitus from London 18 , and London remained without a bishop until the year 656, when
Cedd, Cedda, or Ceddi was invited hither by king Sigebert , who had been converted to Christianity by Finan, bishop of the Northumbrians. i\'dA waa consecrated bishop of the East Saxons by Finan about the year 656. and held the see till his (hath on 26th Oct. 664-". After his decease the sec of London remained without a bishop for nearly two years. His successor was
Wixt, bishop of Winchester ,ai , who, having been ex- pelled from that sec by Coinualch king of the West Saxons, purchased in the year 666 the bishopric of London ofWulfheri king of Mercia 22 , to whom the
l * Bed. Hist. Keel. lib. iL e. 3. '- Beda, Hist. Eccl. lib. ii. c. 5.
15 Ubi vero et ha?c provincia Upon the death of Lawrence, verbum veritatis preedicante Mel- archbishop of Canterbury, in6i9, lito accepit, fecit rex Aedilberct Mellitus succeeded to that see. in civitate Lundonia ecclesiam S. I9 Ubi fecit eum episcopum in Pauli apostoli, in qua locum sedis gentem Orientalium Saxonum. episcopalis et ipse et successores Beda, Hist. Eccl. lib. iii. c. 22. ejus haberent. Beda, Hist. Eccl. 20 He died of the plague at ii. c. 3 et Sax. Chron. ad ann. 604. Lestingbam, a monastery he had
16 The diocese of London con- founded, and over which he also sisted of the entire kingdom of presided.
the East Saxons, which embraced -' He was ordained bishop of
the city of London, the counties Winchester in 661.
of Middlesex and Essex, and a 22 Emit pretio ab eodem ( Uulf-
portion of Hertfordshire. hero) sedem Lundonise civitatis.
'" " De vita Monachorum et Beda, Hist. Eccl. lib. iii. c. 7. quiete ordinaturus."
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