Finan of Lindisfarne also known as Saint Finan, was an Irish monk

Monk

A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...

, trained at Iona

Iona

Iona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides off the western coast of Scotland. It was a centre of Irish monasticism for four centuries and is today renowned for its tranquility and natural beauty. It is a popular tourist destination and a place for retreats...

 in Scotland, who became Bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 of Lindisfarne

Lindisfarne

Lindisfarne is a tidal island off the north-east coast of England. It is also known as Holy Island and constitutes a civil parish in Northumberland...

 from 651 until 661. Originally from Ireland, he founded a cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 on Lindisfarne and converted the king

Monarch

A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...

s Sigebert of Essex

Sigeberht II of Essex

Sigeberht II, nicknamed the Good or the Blessed , was King of the East Saxons , in succession to his relative Sigeberht I the Little...

 and Peada of the Middle Angles

Peada of Mercia

Peada , a son of Penda, was briefly King of southern Mercia after his father's death in November 655 until his own death in the spring of the next year.In about the year 653 Peada was made king of the Middle Angles by his father...

 to Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

. Bede

Bede

Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...

 is the main source for Finan's life.

Finan was active for some time at a monastery on Church Island on Lough Currane

Lough Currane

Lough Currane is a lough of County Kerry, Ireland. Waterville lies on its western bank, close to the Atlantic Ocean and Raheen lies on its southern bank. The lake had the St. Finan Cam monastery on Church Island. To the south of the lake is Inis Uasal , an island dedicated to St. Finan...

 in County Kerry

County Kerry

Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...

; today it is known as St. Finan's Church. To the south of the lake is Inis Uasal (Noble Island), an island which is dedicated to him.

External links

• Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Book 1, L.C. Jane's 1903 Temple Classics translation. From the Internet Medieval Sourcebook.
• Bede's Ecclesiastical History and the Continuation of Bede (pdf), at CCEL, edited & translated by A.M. Sellar.
• Saint Finan at the Catholic Encyclopedia
  Catholic Encyclopedia
  The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...
  
  
• Catholic Online Saints and Angels
• Patron Saints Index
• Prosopography of Anglo Saxon England entry for Finan