CHAPTER 26: His journey takes him to Friesland
CHAPTER 26
His journey takes him to Friesland
FAR from being molested, our holy bishop and his companions were gently wafted on by a westerly breeze and, with prows dipping towards the east, arrived after a pleasant journey at the coast of Friesland, to be received with all ceremony by King Aldgisl and vast crowds of the heathen. With the king’s permission Wilfrid preached daily to the people in the open air, telling them openly about the true God, the Father Almighty, and Jesus Christ His Only Begotten Son and the Holy Spirit who is co-eternal with Him. He preached one baptism for the remission of sin and the resurrection after death to life everlasting. In the pagans’ eyes his doctrine gained strong backing by the fact that his arrival was marked by an unusually large catch of fish. Indeed the year was an abnormally fruitful one for every kind of produce. All this they attributed to the glory of the God whom the holy man was preaching. So his preaching was accepted and that year he baptized all but a few of the chiefs and many thousands of the common people, thus laying like the Apostle of the Gentiles the foundation of the faith upon which his son is still building. By his son I mean Willibrord, who was nurtured at Ripon and is now, by God’s grace, a bishop. At present he is wearing himself out with toil, but shall have his reward above.1