Recall Later that same year, King
Wulfhere of Mercia requested a bishop. Wulfhere and the other sons of
Penda had converted to Christianity, although Penda himself had remained a
pagan until his death (655). Penda had allowed bishops to operate in Mercia, although none had succeeded in establishing the Church securely without active royal support.
Archbishop Theodore refused to consecrate a new bishop. Instead he recalled Chad out of his retirement at Lastingham. According to Bede, Theodore was impressed by Chad's humility and holiness. This was displayed particularly in his refusal to use a horse; he insisted on walking everywhere. Despite his regard for Chad, Theodore ordered him to ride on long journeys and went so far as to lift him into the saddle on one occasion. Chad was consecrated bishop of the Mercians (literally, frontier people) and of the Lindsey people (
Lindisfaras). Bede tells us that Chad was actually the third bishop agreed by Wulfhere, making him the fifth bishop of the Mercians. The
Kingdom of Lindsey, covering the north-eastern area of modern
Lincolnshire, was under Mercian control, although it had in the past sometimes fallen under Northumbrian control. Later Anglo-Saxon episcopal lists sometimes add the
Middle Angles to his responsibilities. They were a distinct part of the Mercian kingdom, centred on the middle
Trent and lower
Tame – the area around
Tamworth, Lichfield and
Repton that formed the core of the wider Mercian polity. It was their sub-king, Peada, who had secured the services of Chad's brother Cedd in 653, and they were frequently considered separately from the Mercians proper, a people who lived further to the west and north.
Monastic foundations Under the patronage of Wulfhere, many monasteries were founded by Wilfrid and the site at Lichfield was selected as the centre for the new Mercian diocese. Archbishop Theodore made Chad Bishop of Mercia in 669. The Lichfield minster was similar to that at Lastingham, and Bede made clear that it was partly staffed by monks from Lastingham, including Chad's faithful retainer, Owin. Lichfield was close to the old
Roman road of
Watling Street, the main route across Mercia, and
Icknield Street to the north. Wulfhere also gave Chad land for a monastery at
Barrow upon Humber in
North Lincolnshire. He travelled about on foot until the Archbishop of Canterbury gave him a horse and ordered him to ride it, at least on long journeys. Chad's shrine at Lichfield, sponsored by Bishop
Walter de Langton, was destroyed in 1538. Wulfhere also donated land sufficient for fifty families at a place in Lindsey, referred to by Bede as
Ad Barwae. This is probably
Barrow upon Humber: where an
Anglo-Saxon monastery of a later date has been excavated. This was easily reached by river from the Midlands and close to an easy crossing of the
River Humber, allowing rapid communication along surviving Roman roads with Lastingham. Chad remained abbot of Lastingham throughout his life, as well as heading the communities at both Lichfield and Barrow.
Ministry among the Mercians Chad then proceeded to carry out missionary and pastoral work within the kingdom. Bede tells us that Chad governed the bishopric of the Mercians and of the people of Lindsey 'in the manner of the ancient fathers and in great perfection of life'. However, Bede gives little concrete information about the work of Chad in Mercia, implying that in style and substance it was a continuation of what he had done in Northumbria. The area he covered was very large, stretching across England from coast to coast. It was also, in many places, difficult terrain, with woodland, heath and mountain over much of the centre and large areas of marshland to the east. Bede does tell us that Chad built for himself a small house at Lichfield, a short distance from the church, sufficient to hold his core of seven or eight brothers, who gathered to pray and study with him there when he was not out on business. Chad worked in Mercia and Lindsey for only two and a half years before he too died during a plague. Yet Bede could write in a letter that Mercia came to the faith and Essex was recovered for it by the two brothers Cedd and Chad. In other words, Bede considered that Chad's two years as bishop were decisive in Christianising Mercia.
Death Chad died on 2 March 672, and was buried near the Church of Saint Mary which later became part of
Lichfield Cathedral. Bede relates the death story as that of a man who was already regarded as a
saint. Bede has stressed throughout his narrative that Chad's holiness communicated across boundaries of culture and politics, to Theodore, for example, in his own lifetime. The death story is important to Bede, confirming Chad's holiness and vindicating his life. The account occupies more space in Bede's account than all the rest of Chad's ministry in Northumbria and Mercia together. Bede noted that Owin was working outside the oratory at Lichfield. Inside, Chad studied alone because the other monks were at worship in the church. Suddenly Owin heard the sound of joyful singing, coming from heaven, at first to the south-east, but gradually coming closer until it filled the roof of the oratory itself. Then there was silence for half an hour, followed by the same singing going back the way it had come. Owin at first did nothing, but about an hour later Chad called him in and told him to fetch the seven brothers from the church. Chad gave his final address to the brothers, urging them to keep the monastic discipline they had learnt. Only after this did he tell them that he knew his own death was near, speaking of death as "that friendly guest who is used to visiting the brethren". He asked them to pray, then blessed and dismissed them. The brothers left, sad and downcast. Owin returned a little later and saw Chad privately. He asked about the singing. Chad told him that he must keep it to himself for the time being: angels had come to call him to his heavenly reward, and in seven days they would return to fetch him. So it was that Chad weakened and died after seven days on 2 March, which remains his feast day. Bede wrote that: "he had always looked forward to this day, or rather his mind had always been on the Day of the Lord". Many years later, his old friend Egbert told a visitor that someone in Ireland had seen the heavenly company coming for Chad's soul and returning with it to heaven. Significantly, with the heavenly host was Cedd. Bede was not sure whether or not the vision was actually Egbert's own. Bede's account of Chad's death confirms the main themes of his life. Primarily he was a monastic leader, deeply involved in the small communities of loyal brothers who formed his mission team. His consciousness was strongly eschatological: focussed on the last things and their significance. Finally, he was inextricably linked with Cedd and his other brothers. ==Cult and relics==