Russian Orthodox Church of St Aidan and St Chad
Nottingham
We are part of the Diocese of Sourozh under the Hierarchy of His Grace, Bishop Matthew.
Our parish is diverse, including people of various origins, nationalities, and languages. Everyone is welcome.
Living of the patrons of our Churh St Chad and St Aidan
Saint Aidan (born, Ireland—died Aug. 31, 651, Bamburgh, Northumberland, Eng.; feast day August 31) was an apostle of Northumbria, monastic founder, and the first bishop of Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, off the coast of Northumberland.
Aidan was a monk at Iona, an island of the Inner Hebrides in Scotland, when King Oswald of Northumbria requested that he be made bishop of the newly converted Northumbrians. Consecrated in 635, Aidan settled on Lindisfarne, where he established his church, monastery, and see near the royal stronghold of Bamburgh. A his direction and that of his successors, Lindisfarne flourished as a leading ecclesiastical centre until the Danish invasions began in 793.
From Lindisfarne, Aidan evangelized northern England. He founded churches, monasteries, and, on Lindisfarne, a school for the training of ministers, among whom were Chad (first bishop of Lichfield), his brother Cedd (who converted the East Saxons), and Eata, abbot of Melrose. The Anglo-Saxon historian and theologian Bede praised Aidan for his learning, charity, and simplicity of life.
After Oswald’s death in 641, Aidan’s protector became the next king, Oswin. He died soon after Oswin’s martyrdom (Aug. 20, 651)
Saint Chad (died March 2, 672, Lichfield, Mercia, England; feast day, March 2) was a monastic founder, abbot, and first bishop of Lichfield, who is credited with the Christianization of the ancient English kingdom of Mercia.
With his brother St. Cedd, he was educated at the great abbey of Lindisfarne on Holy Island (off the coast of Northumbria) under its founder, Abbot St. Aidan, and later apparently studied with St. Egbert, a monk at the Irish monastery of Rathmelsigi. Cedd recalled Chad to England to assist in establishing the monastery of Laestingaeu (now Lastingham, North Yorkshire). Upon Cedd’s death in 664, Chad succeeded him to become the second abbot of Laestingaeu, and, probably late in the same year, at the request of King Oswiu (Oswy) of Northumbria, he was consecrated bishop of the Northumbrians (with his see at York).
An ecclesiastical dispute arose because St. Wilfrid had already been chosen bishop of York and had gone to Gaul for his consecration, a mix-up recorded in Venerable Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People (considered to be the best source for Chad’s life). The issue remains confusing. When in 669 the new archbishop, St. Theodore of Canterbury, arrived in England, he charged Chad with improper ordination. On Wilfrid’s return in the same year, Chad resigned York and retired to Laestingaeu. Theodore, however, was so impressed with Chad’s humility that when the bishop of Mercia died he asked King Oswiu to appoint Chad as the bishop’s successor. The king approved, and Chad, having been reconsecrated by Theodore in 669, chose Lichfield, where he built a church and monastery, as the new seat of his diocese.
During the last three years of his life, Chad founded a monastery in Lindsey, on land given him by King Wulfhere of Mercia. In the same area Chad supposedly founded another monastery, at Barrow-upon-Humber. He is noted as having conducted his apostolate zealously, traveling much on foot. He died of plague, and numerous miracles were reported as having taken place at his tomb. His relics, originally in the Cathedral of Lichfield, were saved by Roman Catholics during the Reformation and transferred to St. Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "history of early Christianity". Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Mar. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-early-Christianity. Accessed 19 June 2025.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Saint Chad". Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 Feb. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Chad. Accessed 19 June 2025.
