Finan of Lindisfarne (died 10^[1] or 17 February 661), also known asSaint Finan, was an Irishmonk, trained atIona Abbey in Scotland, who became the secondbishop ofLindisfarne from 651 until 661.

Finan was appointed to Lindisfarne in 651,^[2] to succeedAidan.

Originally from Ireland, he built on Lindisfarne, a cathedral "in the Irish fashion", employing hewn oak, with a thatched roof. Later ArchbishopTheodore of Tarsus dedicated to St. Peter.^[3] Finan also foundedSt. Mary's Priory at the mouth of the River Tyne.^[4] He also participated in the founding ofGilling Abbey, established by QueenEanflæd in memory of her kinsmanOswine of Deira.^[3]

He converted thekingsSigebert of Essex^[5] andPeada of the Middle Angles toChristianity.^[6]Bede is the main source for Finan's life.^[5] He is specially noted by Bede as having borne an important part in the conversion of the northern Saxons.^[7]

The breviary of Aberdeen styles him "a man of venerable life, a bishop of great sanctity, an eloquent teacher ... remarkable for his training in virtue and his liberal education, surpassing all his equals in every manner of knowledge as well as in circumspection and prudence, but chiefly devoting himself to good works and presenting in his life, a most apt example of virtue".^[4] Finan ordained St.Cedd bishop of the East-Saxons, having called two other bishops to assist at his consecration.

The Abbey of Whitby, his chief foundation, was the scene of theSynod of Whitby, which resulted in the withdrawal of the Irish monks from Lindisfarne.^[4]

Finan was active for some time at a monastery on Church Island onLough Currane inCounty Kerry; 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.^[8]

Finan died in 661,^[2] and was buried at Lindisfarne, having held that see ten years.

Finan's feast day is celebrated upon 9 January.^[7] He is venerated in theEastern Orthodox Church, theScottish Episcopal Church (celebrated on 17 February), and theRoman Catholic Church.

• Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996).Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
• Kirby, D. P. (2000).The Earliest English Kings. New York: Routledge.ISBN 0-415-24211-8.
• Walsh, MichaelA New Dictionary of Saints: East and West London: Burns & Oats 2007ISBN 0-86012-438-X

• Finan 1 atProsopography of Anglo-Saxon England
• Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Book 1, L.C. Jane's 1903 Temple Classics translation. From theInternet Medieval Sourcebook.
• Bede's Ecclesiastical History and the Continuation of Bede, atCCEL, edited & translated by A.M. Sellar.
• Catholic Online Saints and Angels
• Patron Saints Index

• 661 deaths
• Northumbrian saints
• Bishops of Lindisfarne
• 7th-century English bishops
• Irish Christian monks
• 7th-century Christian saints
• Medieval Irish saints
• Colombanian saints
• 7th-century Irish bishops
• People from County Kerry
• Burials at Lindisfarne

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