Saint Edbert followed Orthodox fasts
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St. Edbert (Eadbert, Eadbeorht) Bishop of Lindisfarne
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Died May 6, 698. When Saint Cuthbert, bishop of Lindisfarne, died in
687, he was succeeded by Saint Edbert. The venerable Bede wrote that
Edbert was a man noted for his knowledge of the Scriptures and for his
obedience to God's
commandments, and especially for his generosity. Bede tells us that
Saint Edbert every year "obeyed the law of the Old Testament by giving
one tenth of all his cattle, his crops, his fruit, and his clothing to
the poor."
Eleven years after Cuthbert's death, his coffin was opened and the body
was found to be incorrupt, the joints still pliable and the clothing
fresh and bright. Edbert kissed the clothing that had covered the
saint's body, then ordered that new garments be put on the saint and a
new coffin made. The coffin, he said, must be given a place of honour.
And he instructed his monks to leave a space under it for his own grave,
which he filled within a very short time.
Edbert imitated his predecessor in other acts of godliness, spending 40
days in solitary meditation twice annually (the Lent and before
Christmas) on a small island, and building fine churches for the worship
of God. He installed a leaden roof on the wooden church built by Saint
Finan and dedicated to Saint Peter on Lindisfarne. Edbert lies, like
Cuthbert, in Durham Cathedral, for the bodies of both saints were
carried there in 875 after many years of being moved around to escape
the marauders from Scandinavia (Benedictines, Bentley, Farmer,
Husenbeth).