26. Upon his death, all immediately began to praise his holiness, and to venerate him in private and in public. So quickly did his fame for sanctity spread that in Britain, shortly after his martyrdom, Cuthbert, the Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote as follows: "With love and veneration we place him among the outstanding teachers of the true faith. Wherefore in our general synod . . . we have introduced the date of his birth in heaven and that of his companions in martyrdom, and decree that it be solemnly celebrated each year."²⁵ With like zeal did the peoples of Germany, Gaul and other nations honor him from earliest times.²⁶