Pehthelm

Who was Pehthelm?

Pehthelm was the first historical bishop of the episcopal see of Candida Casa at Whithorn. He was consecrated in 730 or 731 and served until his demise. His name is also spelled as Pecthelm, Pechthelm, and sometimes as Wehthelm.

Prior to his elevation to bishop he had been a deacon or monk in the Kingdom of Wessex under Aldhelm, the Bishop of Sherborne and founder of the Benedictine Abbey at Malmesbury. He was evidently a person of high repute, as Boniface sought Bishop Pehthelm's advice on an ecclesiastical matter, and sent him a present of a corporal pallium. Pehthelm's historical significance is largely confined to his status as the first bishop in the newly created diocese.