Romanus (bishop of Rochester)
7th-century Bishop of Rochester
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Romanus (died before 627) was the second bishop of Rochester and presumably was a member of the Gregorian mission sent to Kent to Christianize the Anglo-Saxons from their native Anglo-Saxon paganism. Romanus was consecrated bishop around 624 and died before 627 by drowning. Little is known of his life beyond these facts.
Romanus | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Rochester | |
| Term ended | before 627 |
| Predecessor | Justus |
| Successor | Paulinus of York |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | c. 624 by Justus |
| Personal details | |
| Died | before 627 |
Career
Presumably, Romanus came to England with Augustine of Canterbury's mission to Kent.[1] He would have arrived either in 597 with the first group of missionaries or in 601 with the second group.[2] He was consecrated as bishop by his predecessor Justus in 624,[1] after Justus became Archbishop of Canterbury.[3] He was the second bishop at Rochester.[4]
Romanus died before 627,[3] probably about 625.[4] He drowned in the Mediterranean Sea off Italy while on a mission to Rome for Justus.[3] Presumably this happened before Justus' death in 627.[1] He was certainly dead by 633, when Paulinus of York became bishop at Rochester after fleeing Northumbria.[3]
Nothing else is known of Romanus' life beyond these facts.[3] The medieval writer Bede is the primary source of information, as Romanus is mentioned twice in the Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum; the first time in connection with his consecration, where Bede says that Justus "consecrated Romanus as Bishop of Rochester in his place".[5] The second mention concerns Romanus' death after Paulinus had left Northumbria. Bede says that "[a]t this time, the church of Rochester was in great need of a pastor, since Romanus its bishop who had been sent by Archbishop Justus to Pope Honorius I as his representative, had been drowned at sea off Italy."[6] Romanus is further mentioned in both the Winchester Manuscript (Version A) and the Peterborough Manuscript (Version E) of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle,[7] but the reference is not likely to be contemporary and probably draws on Bede for its information.[8]