St John of Beverley

John of Beverley
Bishop of York
Stained glass window depicting John in Beverley Minster
Appointed	705
Term ended	resigned 717
Predecessor	Bosa of York
Successor	Wilfrid II
Orders
Consecration	translated about 705
Personal details
Born	unknown Harpham
Died	7 May 721, Beverley
Buried	Beverley Minster
Sainthood
Feast day	7 May
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church Anglican Communion Orthodox Church
Title as Saint	Bishop
Canonized	1037 by Pope Benedict IX
Shrines	Beverley Minster

John of Beverley (died 7 May 721) was an English bishop active in the kingdom of Northumbria. He was the bishop of Hexham and then the bishop of York which was the most important religious designation in the area. He went on to found the town of Beverley by building the first structure there, a monastery. John was associated with miracles during and after his lifetime, and was canonised a saint by the Catholic Church in 1037.

John was said to have been born of noble parents at Harpham, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, He is said to have received his education at Canterbury under Adrian, and not Oxford as per some sources. However, all these facts are first recorded after his canonization in 1037, and may not be reliable. He was for a time a member of the Whitby community, under St Hilda, a fact recorded by his friend Bede. He won renown as a preacher, displaying marked erudition in expounding Scripture.

In 687 he was consecrated bishop of Hexham and in 705 was promoted to the bishopric of York. Of his new activity little is known beyond that he was diligent in visitation, considerate towards the poor, and attentive to the training of students whom he maintained under his personal charge. He ordained Bede as a deacon and as a priest. He resigned perhaps about 717 and retired to a monastery which he had founded at Beverley, where he died on 7 May 721.