ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN AUGUST
Saints celebrated on the 26th of August
SAINT BREGWIN, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
Saint Bregwin (Bregowine) of Canterbury died in 765. He was the 12th archbishop of Canterbury (761-765). According to his Life (vita) he was a Continental Saxon who went to England to receive his education at the abbey school run by St Theodore.
He received the pallium from Pope St Paul I. As archbishop he tried to recover Cookham Abbey in Berkshire from King Cynewulf of Wessex and he convened a synod.
HE WAS BURIED IN THE BAPTISTRY OF CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL
Like his predecessor St Cuthbert, he was buried in the baptistery of Canterbury Cathedral, rather than in the abbey church of St Augustine, which had been traditional.
When the baptistery was destroyed by fire in 1067, Bregwin's relics were placed in a vault over the north transept with those of the other archbishops buried there.
THE SHORT VITA BY EADMER
In 1121, a German monk called Lambert made an attempt to translate Bregwin's relics to a monastery he was planning to build. Later Bregwin's body was moved to the altar of St Gregory in the south transept of the cathedral, which was the occasion of the short Life (vita) by Eadmer, from which we have some useful information about St Bregwin.
HIS LETTERS TO ST LULLUS CAN STILL BE READ
His letters to St Lullus at Mainz can still be read. One of them refers to their friendship made during a visit to Rome, indicates regret that war had led to the loss of contact, and refers to a reliquary he was sending as a gift. His death has been cited as August 24 or 26 depending on the calendar used.
Information from Benedictine Monks of St Augustine, Ramsgate, The Book of Saints, Macmillan, 1947
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