 When Bede was about 17 years old , Adomnan , the abbot of Iona Abbey , visited Monkwearmouth and Jarrow . Bede would probably have met the abbot during this visit , and it may be that Adomnan sparked Bede 's interest in the Easter dating controversy . In about 692 , in Bede 's nineteenth year , Bede was ordained a deacon by his diocesan bishop , John , who was bishop of Hexham . The canonical age for the ordination of a deacon was 25 ; Bede 's early ordination may mean that his abilities were considered exceptional , but it is also possible that the minimum age requirement was often disregarded . There might have been minor orders ranking below a deacon ; but there is no record of whether Bede held any of these offices . In Bede 's thirtieth year ( about 702 ) , he became a priest , with the ordination again performed by Bishop John . 
