This presentation covers the appointment of Augustine to evangelize the Anglo Saxons in England and Augustine' s relationship with King Ethelberht.

1. Augustine of Canterbury
and Early English Catholicism
Adult Christian Education Committee
2023

2. Encouraged Pre-Work
Watch “Life of St. Augustine of Canterbury”, YouTube video
circa 2009, by Trevor Critchlow. 6 minutes.
This is a brief overview accompanied by some beautiful
stained glass at the church bearing his name in Wembley.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJYW26BV8JY

3. The Two St. Augustines
● Born/lived in modern-day Algeria
● Extraordinarily intelligent
● Late conversion to Christianity
● Bishop of Hippo
● Christian scholar and philosopher,
perhaps second only to Paul
● Ardent Trinitarian
● Influenced Protestant Reformation
● Born two centuries later,in Italy
● Benedictine monk and Prior
● Extraordinarily intuitive
● Sent to evangelize Anglo-Saxons
● Not really a scholar / philosopher
● The first Archbishop of Canterbury
● Established the English church
AUGUSTINE
OF CANTERBURY
?? - 604

5. Breton A Celtic ethnic group native to Brittany.
Britain The island containing England, Wales and Scotland.
Britannia The Roman province covering the southern 2/3 of
Britain (i.e. England and Wales).
British Isles The archipelago containing Britain and Ireland.
Britons People of Celtic language and culture who inhabited
Great Britain from at least the British Iron Age
Brittany A peninsula in the far northwest of what is now France,
inhabited by many refugee Britons in the 5th century.
Great Britain The political union between England and Scotland
(later joined by Wales).
Geographical Nomenclature

6. Anglo-Saxons Two Germanic tribes who settled Britain ca. 5-600 AD.
Caledonia The Roman name for the northern 1/3 of Britain (i.e. Scotland).
Celts Tribes of Gauls, Britons and other groups who spoke Celtic languages
Celtic A group of languages (and now, a soccer team in Glasgow).
Celtics A basketball team in Boston.
England The largest nation component of Great Britain and of the UK.
Gaul An ancient region of Europe containing present-day France, Belgium
and Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, Italy and Germany.
Scotland The northern nation component of Great Britain and of the UK.
Wales The western nation component of Great Britain and of the UK.
United Kingdom A modern nation comprised of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern
Ireland. Ireland was a former component but withdrew.
Geographical Nomenclature

7. Religion in Pre-Roman Britain
● Before the Romans arrived, Britain was a pre-Christian society.
● The religious practices of pre-Roman Britons were varied, but generally fall under the
broad category of Celtic paganism.
● Celtic paganism was polytheistic, with elements of animism and nature worship.
● Celtic priests were called Druids.
● Druids led worship services that included the burning of incense and, at times, animal
sacrifices to please individual gods.

8. Roman Conquest of Britain
● The Roman invasion of Britain was an extension of
Rome’s conquest of Gaul (northwestern Europe)
● The Roman Empire had an expansionist bent because
stolen lands, resources and people (slaves) improved
the Roman standard of living
● The conquest of Britain began in about 43 AD under
Emporer Claudius
● Romans vs. Celtic tribes
● The conquest widened over 40 years across most of
what is now England, Wales and a part of Scotland
● The conquest peaked in 83 AD
● It is estimated that between 100,000 and 250,000 Celtic
Britons, out of a population of less than 2 million, died
during the conquest.
● Much of Britannia pacified easily thereafter, and
integrated into Roman culture

9. Hadrian’s Wall
● Built in 122-128 AD by the Romans to defend against the unconquered Caledonians
● From Wallsend on the River Tyne (near the North Sea) to the Solway Firth on the Irish Sea
● Forts were built in regular intervals along the wall
● Fort ruins and the wall itself are still very visible and a major tourist destination today.

10. Britannia under Roman Rule
● Roman conquest followed the conquest
of Gaul as unconquered Celts retreated.
● Efforts to conquer Caledonia met with
very limited success and were
abandoned. Rome made no effort to
conquer Hibernia
● Rome ruled from 43 AD to 410 AD
● Londinium (London) was established as
the provincial capital.
● Roman citizens from across the Empire
settled in Britannia.
● A distinctive Romano-British culture
emerged as the Romans introduced
improved agriculture, urban planning,
industrial production, and architecture

11. Roman Christianization of Britannia
● Britannia’s maritime
economy brought it in
contact with mediterranean
merchants who re-told
Christian stories.
● 260 AD Christianity
decriminalized by Gallienus.
● 313 AD Edict of Milan issued
by Constantine.
● 314 AD three British bishops
attend Council of Arles.
● ca. 385 St. Patrick born in
Britannia.
The Chi-Rho fresco in Lullingstone Roman
Villa, Kent, dates back to 360 AD. So it
precedes Augustine of Canterbury.

12. The Fall of Roman Britannia
● 306 AD Constantius dies battlling Caledonians;
his son, Constantine, rises to be Emporer of
Rome.
● Attempts to conquer Caledonia were
abandoned.
● Rome’s military overextension led to fiscal
problems and internal political conflict.
● Governance of far-away Britannia was seen as
being of lesser importance.
● 4th century saw the beginning of Anglo-Saxon
invasions of Britannia.
● 395 AD death of Theodosius split the Roman
Empire east and west, creating an independent
Byzantine Empire.
● 410 AD Rome sacked by Visigoths
● 5th century sees gradual decline of Empire.
● 476 AD the last Roman emperor, Romulus
Augustulus, is deposed.
Visigoths Sack Rome in 410

13. Settlement of the Anglo-Saxons

14. In the Time of King Ethelbert
● Divided principalities, each with their own
king
● Britons were Celtic tribes dating back to the
Iron Age (prehistoric)
● Jutes and Frisians were germanic tribes
from present-day Denmark and coastal
Germany and Holland
● Angles were germanic peoples from land
north of present-day Hamburg
● Saxons were germanic peoples from the
same area as the Angles, but settled
further south in Brittania

15. Augustine of Canterbury
Essential Facts
● Born in Italy in early 6th century
● A Prior in a monastery in Rome
● In 597 was sent by Pope Gregory to
England to evangelize the
Anglo-Saxons
● Befriended King Ethelbert of Kent
● Established Christ Church Canterbury
● First Archibishop of Canterbury
● Died in Kent in 604
● Venerated by Orthodox, Roman
Catholic and Anglican churches
● Patron Saint of England

16. King Ethelberht of Kent
● King of Kent from c. 589-616 AD
● Married Bertha, the Christian daughter of
Charibert I, king of the Franks, thus
building an alliance with a powerful state
in contemporary Western Europe
● Bertha's influence may have led to Pope
Gregory I's decision to send Augustine as
a missionary from Rome
● Was one of Augustine’s first converts to
Christianity, probably on Pentecost in 597.
● Later canonized for his role in establishing
Christianity among the Anglo-Saxons
Æthelberht
c. 550 - 616 AD

17. Meeting at Ramsgate

18. Royal Patronage
● Ethelberht provided property for the
construction of a church at
Canterbury.
● He helped to fund a school and a
library at the Abbey.
● Pope Gregory sent books from
Rome to fill the library.
● Ethelberht also provided his legal
and physical protection to
Augustine’s church.
● Ethelberht helped to make it
possible for the church to plant
itself in other friendly principalities
in southeastern Britain.

19. Augustine’s Ministry / Episcopate
● Baptized King Ethelberht in 597
● Founded the monastery of Saints Peter
and Paul, which later became St
Augustine's Abbey
● Conducted a mass baptism of thousands
on Christmas 597
● Established episcopal see in Canterbury,
NOT in London
● Oversaw the baptism of more kings
● More missionaries sent by Rome in 601
● Struggled to convert Romanized Britons
beyond the Anglo-Saxon settlements
● Overly cautious, he sought Pope
Gregory's advice on many issues

20. Augustine’s Legacy

21. Discussion Questions
● What skills do you think
would be necessary to
be a successful
evangelist?
● Who do you think would
be a greater challenge to
convert: Roman pagans
or Anglo-Saxon pagans,
and why?

22. Recommended Further Study
Read “Augustine of Canterbury:
Leadership, Mission and Legacy”,
by Robin Mackintosh, published
by Canterbury Press Norwich,
2013. 208 pages.