Birinus (died 649 or 650), saint, was the first bishop of Dorchester in England and the "Apostle to the West Saxons."

After Augustine of Canterbury performed initial conversions in England, Birinus, a Frank, came to the kingdoms of Wessex in 634. Birinus had been made bishop by Asterius in Genoa, and Pope Pope Honorius I created the commission to convert the West Saxons. In 635, he persuaded the West Saxon king, Cynegils, to allow him to preach. Cynegils was trying to create an alliance with Oswald of Northumbria, with whom he intended to fight the Mercians. At the final talks between kings, the sticking point was that Oswald, being a Christian, would not ally himself with a heathen. Cynegils then converted and was baptized, and he gave Birinus Dorchester for his episcopal see. Birinus's original commission would have entailed preaching to all parts of the West Saxon kingdom, but he remained there in Wessex. However, in Wessex, Birinus was very active in establishing churches. After Cynegil's death, the new king, Cenwalh, invited Birinus to establish a church at Westminster. He also laid the foundations for the churches at Saint Mary's in Reading and Saint Helen's in Abingdon.

His feast day is December 3 in the Roman Catholic Church, but some churches celebrate his feast on December 5.

External link

Berkshire History site with a biography of St. Birinus