Orthodox remember Saint Withburga in Dereham  

Subdeacon William Harrison from St Fursey’s Church in Stalham led a group of Orthodox Christians on a pilgrimage to the first resting place of an East Anglian saint.

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The pilgrimage was supported by Father Paulinus, who was for a time an assistant priest at St Fursey’s. The pilgrims paid tribute to Saint Withburga - who was said to be the daughter of the king of East Anglia, Anna, in the 8th Century.

The event took place on March 17, the anniversary of Withburga’s death. She passed away in 743, and was buried in the grounds of St Nicholas, the town’s parish church.

Half a century later her body was taken out of her tomb - said to be uncorrupted by age or decay - and was re-interred in Ely. After this, her original tomb - which is directly behind the church - became a place of pilgrimage. 

William Harrison said: “Her sister Etheldreda - Audrey - is much more famous and well known, but this group of pilgrims were determined to remember and celebrate St Withburga on the day she died.” 

St Withburga built a convent at Dereham and was said to have been helped by the Virgin Mary, who sent two wild does to supply milk to the builders. This legend is remembered on Dereham’s town sign.

Pictured above are Orthodox Christians paying tribute to St Withburga. Image: St Fursey’s. Article quotations from EDP.