Berhtwald's period as archbishop coincided with the end of Wilfrid's long struggle to regain the Bishopric of York, and the two-year delay between Theodore's death in 690 and Berhtwald's election may have been due to efforts to select Wilfrid for Canterbury.
[2] The see of Canterbury was vacant for two years after the death of Theodore before Berhtwald was elected to the office on 1 July 692.
[3] The long vacancy resulted from the disturbed conditions in the kingdom of Kent at the time, as various kings fought for control.
[4] The succession to the kingdom was disputed between rival claimants Oswine and Wihtred, and various outside kings, including Caedwalla and Swaefheard raided and plundered Kent.
[5] The vacancy may also have occurred because Wilfrid, who was at that point having problems in Northumbria, desired to become Archbishop of Canterbury.
[4] Two of these letters survive, and their authenticity has been doubted, mainly because they are only preserved as part of the post-Norman Conquest Canterbury-York dispute.
[2] Berhtwald appears to have been involved in the governance of the church, establishing the bishopric of Sherborne in Wessex and it was during his tenure that Sussex, the last pagan kingdom in England, was converted to Christianity.
[8] Berhtwald was a proponent of his predecessor's view of the archbishops of Canterbury as primates of the entire island of Britain.
The law code also dealt with other ecclesiastical matters, including marriage, Sunday observance, and pagan worship.
Theodore had taken the opportunity to divide the large see of York into a number of smaller dioceses, and Wilfrid had appealed to the papacy in Rome.
[2] This second letter also relates that Waldhere and Berhtwald had attended a synod which can be dated to sometime between 703 and 705, where the kingdom of Wessex was threatened with excommunication.