Adrian of Canterbury, teacher, died circa 710

Friday, January 9, 2015
Adrian of Canterbury, teacher, died around 710

African by birth, Adrian (or Hadrian) worked with Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury, in developing the church in England. He was director of a school at which church leaders were trained.

Adrian actually turned down a request from the Pope to become Archbishop of Canterbury, England. Pope St. Vitalian accepted Adrian’s rejection of the appointment on the condition that Adrian instead served as a papal assistant and adviser. Adrian accepted this papal position which interestingly he ended up spending most of his remaining life working in Canterbury.

Although he was born in Africa, Adrian had served as an abbot in Italy when the new Archbishop of Canterbury appointed him abbot of the monastery of Saints Peter and Paul in Canterbury. Thanks to his leadership skills, the facility became one of the most important centers of learning in all of Europe. This was at a time when the centers of learning were funded and operated by the Church. Amid the demise of the Roman Empire in the West, the Church was the institution responsible for preserving history, literature and learning. Adrian’s school in Canterbury attracted many outstanding scholars from far and wide and produced numerous future bishops and archbishops. Students reportedly learned Greek and Latin and spoke Latin as well as their own native languages.

Adrian taught at the school for 40 years. He died there, probably in the year 710, and was buried in the monastery. Several hundred years later, during a reconstruction project, Adrian’s remains were rediscovered reportedly in an incorrupt state. As word spread, people flocked to his tomb. Reports circulated of miracles taking place at Adrian’s tomb including a rumor that when young schoolboys found themselves in trouble with their school masters, they could make regular visits there and face less severe punishment for their infractions.