The main purpose of the Council of Whitby was to settle the question of Easter, whether it was calculated in the Roman or Celtic manner. This, however, was not the only result, nor the agenda of the council. The council was convened by the two kings Oswui and his son Alchfrith, which indicated that the reasons for the council were not entirely religious; the current tensions between Oswui and Alchfrith were the hidden objectives. Alchfrith, whose intention was to strengthen his position as successor to his father Oswui, and cement his weak position with the people of his kingdom failed when his father chose in favor of the Roman church. Oswui on the other hand strengthened his hegemony and resolved many political issues that were rapidly undermining his authority at the time. The apparent conclusion already drawn on the Roman side of the Oswui debate reinforces this, however there were unforeseen consequences to this decision. The correct calculation of the date of Easter was the religious issue at stake at the Council of Whitby. Easter, being the most important celebration in the Christian calendar, was particularly important to Bede(1). Bede dedicates two chapters to the council and credits the difficulties at Oswui's court and the factions that were forming in Bernicia as the driving force for convening the council of Whitby(2). Eanflead, Oswui's wife, having been brought up in the tradition of the Roman church, and Oswui in the Celtic church, caused for many years the king to celebrate the festival of Easter at the same time as the queen was still fasting. Bede focuses primarily on the religious and not political ramifications of the decision. Alchfrith, Oswui's eldest son, was not automatically heir to his father's throne. some issues may have forced the convening of the council in 664, however the question of how to calculate Easter required resolution, before it degenerated into civil unrest and perhaps revolution. The Council of Whitby concerned only the question of Easter at face value. Oswui, however, used the unresolved issue to his advantage by crushing the position of his son Alchfrith. Alchfrith disappears from the record shortly after the Whitby council. He rebels against his father in the latter part of 664 and is never noticed again. The presumption that Oswui would choose the Celtic church over the Roman church of Alchfrith led to his downfall. Bibliography There are no sources in the current document. Ray, R. 'Bede's Vera Lex Historiae' Speculum 55 (1980) 1-21 Stephens, J. N. 'Bede's History of Ecclesiastical History 62 (1977)25-6