Aidan of Lindisfarne
Oswald was converted to Christ at Iona as a young man when he sought refuge there after a rival king slew his father in battle.

Some of the leaders at Iona thought the Northumbrians were too stubborn to be converted. When the Irish monk Aidan suggested that their assessment was unreasonably harsh, the other leaders immediately put him forward as the right missionary for the job.

When St Aidan arrived in 635 with twelve other monks, he was given the tidal island of Lindisfarne to built a monastery and establish a base of operations for the evangelization of the nation.

Aidan walked through the land, conversing with the people he met and slowly introducing them to Christ. When the king gave him a horse for his travels, Aidan gave it to a beggar seeking alms. This angered the king and he demanded an account for his actions. Aidan responded, “Is the son of a mare more important to you than a son of God?” The king repented and promised never to interfere with Aidan’s missionary work again.

Aidan and the king worked together to establish God’s Kingdom in Northumbria. The church historian Bede described their partnership in his biography of Aidan.

“The King applied himself to build and extend the Church of Christ in his kingdom; and when Aidan, who did not perfectly understand the English tongue, preached the Gospel, it was most delightful to see the King himself interpreting the Word of God to his people; for he had perfectly learned the language of the Scots during his long banishment. From that time, many from the region of the Scots came daily into Britain, and with great devotion preached the Word of Faith to those provinces of the English over which King Oswald reigned, and many believers received the grace of baptism. Churches were built in several places and the people joyfully flocked together to hear the Word.”