Saint augustine canterbury biography of william

6th-century missionary, archbishop, and saint

Not to be confused with Augustine exhaust Hippo.

Augustine of Canterbury (early 6th century – most likely 26 May 604) was a Christian monk who became rank first archbishop of Canterbury in distinction year 597. He is considered distinction "Apostle to the English".

Augustine was the prior of a monastery prosperous Rome when Pope Gregory the State chose him in 595 to remove a mission, usually known as honourableness Gregorian mission, to Britain to Christianise King Æthelberht and his Kingdom catch sight of Kent from Anglo-Saxon paganism. Kent was likely chosen because Æthelberht commanded older influence over neighbouring Anglo-Saxon kingdoms timetabled addition to his marriage to Bertha, a Frankish princess, who was fixed to exert some influence over multifaceted husband. Before reaching Kent, the missionaries had considered turning back, but Pope urged them on, and in 597, Augustine landed on the Isle have fun Thanet and proceeded to Æthelberht's basic town of Canterbury.

King Æthelberht committed to Christianity and allowed the missionaries to preach freely, giving them sod to found a monastery outside description city walls. Augustine was consecrated gorilla a bishop and converted many holiday the king's subjects, including thousands generous a mass baptism on Christmas Weekend away in 597. Pope Gregory sent further missionaries in 601, along with exhortative letters and gifts for the churches, although attempts to persuade the natural British bishops to submit to Augustine's authority failed. Roman bishops were traditional at London, and Rochester in 604, and a school was founded come to train Anglo-Saxon priests and missionaries. Theologian also arranged the consecration of reward successor, Laurence of Canterbury. The archbishop probably died in 604 and was soon revered as a saint.

Background to the mission

After the withdrawal give evidence the Romanlegions from their province pleasant Britannia in 410, the inhabitants were left to defend themselves against say publicly attacks of the Saxons. Before rectitude Roman withdrawal, Britannia had been protected to Christianity and produced the asceticPelagius.^[4][5] Britain sent three bishops to leadership Council of Arles in 314, near a Gaulish bishop went to magnanimity island in 396 to help install disciplinary matters.^[6] Material remains testify fifty pence piece a growing presence of Christians, unexpected result least until around 360.^[7] After justness Roman legions departed, pagan tribes group the southern parts of the ait while western Britain, beyond the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, remained Christian. This native Nation Church developed in isolation from Malady under the influence of missionaries plant Ireland^[4][5] and was centred on monasteries instead of bishoprics. Other distinguishing properties were its calculation of the swamp of Easter and the style splash the tonsure haircut that clerics wore.^[5][8] Evidence for the survival of Religion in the eastern part of Kingdom during this time includes the animation of the cult of Saint Alban and the occurrence in place manipulate of eccles, derived from the Person ecclesia, meaning "church".^[9] There is cack-handed evidence that these native Christians run-down to convert the Anglo-Saxons.^[10][11] The invasions destroyed most remnants of Roman culture in the areas held by righteousness Saxons and related tribes, including blue blood the gentry economic and religious structures.^[12]

It was dispute this background that Pope Gregory Irrational decided to send a mission, commonly called the Gregorian mission, to exchange the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity in 595.^[13][14] The Kingdom of Kent was ruled by Æthelberht, who had married neat Christian princess named Bertha before 588,^[15] and perhaps earlier than 560.^[16] Bertha was the daughter of Charibert Crazed, one of the Merovingian kings build up the Franks. As one of goodness conditions of her marriage, she submit a bishop named Liudhard with bitterness to Kent.^[17] Together in Canterbury, they restored a church that dated suck up to Roman times^[18] – possibly the current St Martin's Church. Æthelberht was a pagan bogus this point but allowed his partner freedom of worship. One biographer archetypal Bertha states that under his wife's influence, Æthelberht asked Pope Gregory ought to send missionaries.^[17] The historian Ian Storied. Wood feels that the initiative came from the Kentish court as be a bestseller as the queen.^[19] Other historians, subdue, believe that Gregory initiated the vastness, although the exact reasons remain unintelligible. Bede, an 8th-century monk who wrote a history of the English cathedral, recorded a famous story in which Gregory saw fair-haired Saxon slaves bring forth Britain in the Roman slave handle and was inspired to try beat convert their people.^[b][21] More practical whack, such as the acquisition of advanced provinces acknowledging the primacy of say publicly papacy, and a desire to energy the emerging power of the Jutish kingdom under Æthelberht, were probably involved.^[18] The mission may have been slight outgrowth of the missionary efforts dispute the Lombards who, as pagans final Arian Christians, were not on moderately good relations with the Catholic church crucial Rome.^[22]

Aside from Æthelberht's granting of selfgovernment of worship to his wife, illustriousness choice of Kent was probably compelled by a number of other low-down. Kent was the dominant power squash up southeastern Britain. Since the eclipse celebrate King Ceawlin of Wessex in 592, Æthelberht was the bretwalda, or lid Anglo-Saxon ruler; Bede refers to Æthelberht as having imperium (overlordship) south observe the River Humber. Trade between goodness Franks and Æthelberht's kingdom was pitch established, and the language barrier betwixt the two regions was apparently single a minor obstacle, as the interpreters for the mission came from decency Franks. Lastly, Kent's proximity to magnanimity Franks allowed support from a Christianly area.^[23] There is some evidence, as well as Gregory's letters to Frankish kings donation support of the mission, that heavygoing of the Franks felt that they had a claim to overlordship run some of the southern British kingdoms at this time. The presence elaborate a Frankish bishop could also keep lent credence to claims of overlordship, if Bertha's Bishop Liudhard was change to be acting as a rep of the Frankish church and put together merely as a spiritual advisor pack up the queen. Frankish influence was shriek merely political; archaeological remains attest confront a cultural influence as well.^[24]

In 595, Gregory chose Augustine, who was greatness prior of the Abbey of Cheer on Andrew in Rome, to head rank mission to Kent.^[13] The pope designated monks to accompany Augustine and hunted support from the Frankish royalty lecturer clergy in a series of calligraphy, of which some copies survive spitting image Rome. He wrote to King Theuderic II of Burgundy and to Preference Theudebert II of Austrasia, as select as their grandmother Brunhild, seeking encouragement for the mission. Gregory thanked Functional Chlothar II of Neustria for contributory Augustine. Besides hospitality, the Frankish bishops and kings provided interpreters and European priests to accompany the mission.^[25] Uninviting soliciting help from the Frankish kings and bishops, Gregory helped to shelter a friendly reception for Augustine hit down Kent, as Æthelbert was unlikely adopt mistreat a mission which visibly difficult the support of his wife's kinfolk and people.^[26] Moreover, the Franks pleasant the chance to participate in life work that would extend their influence divide Kent. Chlothar, in particular, needed pure friendly realm across the Channel disclose help guard his kingdom's flanks be against his fellow Frankish kings.^[27]

Sources make cack-handed mention of why Pope Gregory chose a monk to head the program. Pope Gregory once wrote to Æthelberht complimenting Augustine's knowledge of the Physical, so Augustine was evidently well not cognizant. Other qualifications included administrative ability, need Gregory was the abbot of Phrase Andrews as well as being holy father, which left the day-to-day running promote to the abbey to Augustine, the prior.^[28]

Arrival and first efforts

Augustine was accompanied stomach-turning Laurence of Canterbury, his eventual peer to the archbishopric, and a grade of about 40 companions, some have power over whom were monks.^[15] Soon after notice Rome, the missionaries halted, daunted by means of the nature of the task beforehand them. They sent Augustine back terminate Rome to request papal permission trial return. Gregory refused and sent Theologiser back with letters encouraging the missionaries to persevere.^[29] In 597, Augustine slab his companions landed in Kent.^[15] They achieved some initial success soon back their arrival:^[22][28] Æthelberht permitted the missionaries to settle and preach in diadem capital of Canterbury where they secondhand the church of St Martin's portend services.^[30] Neither Bede nor Gregory mentions the date of Æthelberht's conversion,^[31] on the other hand it probably took place in 597.^[30][c] In the early medieval period, large-scale conversions required the ruler's conversion pass with flying colours, and Augustine is recorded as assembly large numbers of converts within shipshape and bristol fashion year of his arrival in Kent.^[30] Also, by 601, Gregory was penmanship to both Æthelberht and Bertha, employment the king his son and referring to his baptism.^[d] A late unenlightened tradition, recorded by the 15th-century archivist Thomas Elmham, gives the date fairhaired the king's conversion as Whit Advantageous, or 2 June 597; there court case no reason to doubt this submerge, although there is no other residue for it.^[30] Against a date neat 597 is a letter of Gregory's to Patriarch Eulogius of Alexandria dense June 598, which mentions the enumerate of converts made by Augustine, however does not mention any baptism farm animals the king. However, it is plain that by 601 the king challenging been converted.^[32] His baptism likely took place at Canterbury.^[33]

Augustine established his stenographic see at Canterbury.^[22] It is shout clear when and where Augustine was consecrated as a bishop. Bede, chirography about a century later, states rove Augustine was consecrated by the European Archbishop Ætherius of Arles, Gaul (France) after the conversion of Æthelberht. Modern letters from Pope Gregory, however, advert to Augustine as a bishop beforehand he arrived in England. A slay of Gregory's from September 597 calls Augustine a bishop, and one antiquated ten months later says Augustine difficult been consecrated on Gregory's command induce bishops of the German lands.^[34] Justness historian R. A. Markus discusses honourableness various theories of when and locale Augustine was consecrated, and suggests powder was consecrated before arriving in England, but argues the evidence does call for permit deciding exactly where this took place.^[35]

Soon after his arrival, Augustine supported the monastery of Saints Peter deed Paul, which later became St Augustine's Abbey,^[22] on land donated by position king.^[36] In a letter Gregory wrote to the patriarch of Alexandria tag 598, he claimed that more outweigh 10,000 Christians had been baptised; depiction number may be exaggerated but nearby is no reason to doubt range a mass conversion took place.^[15][28] Notwithstanding, there were probably some Christians by then in Kent before Augustine arrived, call round of the Christians who lived sieve Britain in the later Roman Empire.^[11] Little literary traces remain of them, however.^[37] One other effect of representation king's conversion by Augustine's mission was that the Frankish influence on righteousness southern kingdoms of Britain was decreased.^[38]

After these conversions, Augustine sent Laurence hinder to Rome with a report catch the fancy of his success, along with questions put paid to an idea the mission.^[39] Bede records the kill and Gregory's replies in chapter 27 of his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum; this section of the History crack usually known as the Libellus responsionum.^[40][41] Augustine asked for Gregory's advice educate a number of issues, including degree to organise the church, the disciplining for church robbers, guidance on who was allowed to marry whom, don the consecration of bishops. Other topics were relations between the churches capture Britain and Gaul, childbirth and inauguration, and when it was lawful supply people to receive communion and inform a priest to celebrate mass.^[41]

Further missionaries were sent from Rome in 601. They brought a pallium for Father and a present of sacred fleet, vestments, relics, and books.^[e] The mantle was the symbol of metropolitan eminence, and signified that Augustine was instantly an archbishop unambiguously associated with glory Holy See. Along with the epidermis, a letter from Gregory directed prestige new archbishop to consecrate 12 bishop bishops as soon as possible stall to send a bishop to Dynasty. Gregory's plan was that there would be two metropolitans, one at Dynasty and one at London, with 12 suffragan bishops under each archbishop. Gorilla part of this plan, Augustine was expected to transfer his archiepiscopal observe to London from Canterbury. This edit never happened; no contemporary sources afford the reason,^[45] but it was maybe because London was not part spend Æthelberht's domains. Instead, London was break free of the kingdom of Essex, ruled by Æthelberht's nephew Saebert of County, who converted to Christianity in 604.^[18][46] The historian S. Brechter has not compulsory that the metropolitan see was in fact moved to London, and that energetic was only with the abandonment shambles London as a see after greatness death of Æthelberht that Canterbury became the archiepiscopal see. This theory contradicts Bede's version of events, however.^[47]

Additional work

In 604, Augustine founded two more bishoprics in Britain. Two men who abstruse come to Britain with him buy 601 were consecrated, Mellitus as Rector of London and Justus as Father of Rochester.^[18][48][49] Bede relates that Saint, with the help of the active, "recovered" a church built by Exemplary Christians in Canterbury.^[50][f] It is grizzle demand clear if Bede meant that Father rebuilt the church or that Saint merely reconsecrated a building that difficult to understand been used for pagan worship. Archeologic evidence seems to support the tide interpretation; in 1973 the remains capacity an aisled building dating from righteousness Romano-British period were uncovered just southern of the present Canterbury Cathedral.^[50] Righteousness historian Ian Wood argues that dignity existence of the Libellus points promote to more contact between Augustine and grandeur native Christians because the topics cold in the work are not closed to conversion from paganism, but too dealt with relations between differing styles of Christianity.^[53]

Augustine failed to extend climax authority to the Christians in Princedom and Dumnonia to the west. Hildebrand had decreed that these Christians forced to submit to Augustine and that their bishops should obey him,^[54] apparently believing that more of the Roman lawgiving and ecclesiastical organisation survived in Kingdom than was actually the case.^[55] According to the narrative of Bede, nobleness Britons in these regions viewed Doctor with uncertainty, and their suspicion was compounded by a diplomatic misjudgement judge Augustine's part.^[56] In 603, Augustine ground Æthelberht summoned the British bishops collect a meeting south of the River. These guests retired early to perform with their people,^[57] who, according harangue Bede, advised them to judge Doctor based upon the respect he displayed at their next meeting. When Theologist failed to rise from his headquarters on the entrance of the Country bishops,^[58] they refused to recognise him as their archbishop.^[57][59] There were, nonetheless, deep differences between Augustine and illustriousness British church that perhaps played unblended more significant role in preventing plug agreement. At issue were the tonsure, the observance of Easter, and impossible and deep-rooted differences in approach monitor asceticism, missionary endeavours, and how say publicly church itself was organised.^[56] Some historians believe that Augustine had no occur understanding of the history and lex non scripta \'common law of the British church, damaging diadem relations with their bishops.^[59] Also, at hand were political dimensions involved, as Augustine's efforts were sponsored by the Jutish king, and at this period goodness Wessex and Mercian kingdoms were elastic to the west, into areas retained by the Britons.^[60]

Further success

Gregory also intelligent Augustine on other matters. Temples were to be consecrated for Christian use,^[61] and feasts, if possible, moved dealings days celebrating Christian martyrs. One inexperienced site was revealed to be dexterous shrine of a local St Sixtus, whose worshippers were unaware of trivia of the martyr's life or brusque. They may have been native Christians, but Augustine did not treat them as such. When Gregory was knowledgeable, he told Augustine to stop nobleness cult and use the shrine expend the Roman St Sixtus.^[62]

Gregory legislated error of judgment the behaviour of the laity service the clergy. He placed the latest mission directly under papal authority duct made it clear that English bishops would have no authority over European counterparts nor vice versa. Other directives dealt with the training of feral clergy and the missionaries' conduct.^[63]

The King's School, Canterbury claims Augustine as sheltered founder, which would make it dignity world's oldest existing school, but class first documentary records of the primary date from the 16th century.^[64] Father did establish a school, and before long after his death Canterbury was slowmoving to send teachers out to finance the East Anglian mission.^[65] Augustine commonplace liturgical books from the pope, on the other hand their exact contents are unknown. They may have been some of primacy new mass books that were paper written at this time. The alert liturgy that Augustine introduced to England remains unknown, but it would possess been a form of the Greek language liturgy in use at Rome.^[66]

Death and legacy

Before his death, Augustine sacred Laurence of Canterbury as his equal to the archbishopric, probably to test out an orderly transfer of office.^[67] Tho' at the time of Augustine's grip, 26 May 604,^[22] the mission only extended beyond Kent, his undertaking not native bizarre a more active missionary style snag the British Isles. Despite the under presence of Christians in Ireland other Wales, no efforts had been prefabricated to try to convert the European invaders. Augustine was sent to moderate the descendants of those invaders, humbling eventually became the decisive influence withdraw Christianity in most of the Land Isles.^[56][68] Much of his success came about because of Augustine's close pleasure with Æthelberht, which gave the archbishop time to establish himself.^[69] Augustine's sample also influenced the great missionary efforts of the Anglo-Saxon Church.^[70][71]

Augustine's body was originally buried in the portico rivalry what is now St Augustine's, Canterbury,^[36] but it was later exhumed direct placed in a tomb within rectitude abbey church, which became a intertwine of pilgrimage and veneration. After greatness Norman Conquest the cult of Mend Augustine was actively promoted.^[22] After high-mindedness Conquest, his shrine in St Augustine's Abbey held a central position scheduled one of the axial chapels, flanked by the shrines of his lickety-split Laurence and Mellitus.^[72] King Henry Berserk of England granted St. Augustine's Convent a six-day fair around the out of use on which Augustine's relics were translated to his new shrine, from 8 September through 13 September.^[73]

A life chivalrous Augustine was written by Goscelin environing 1090, but this life portrays Father in a different light, compared put on Bede's account. Goscelin's account has slight new historical content, mainly being entire with miracles and imagined speeches.^[74] House on this account, later medieval writers continued to add new miracles skull stories to Augustine's life, often consummately fanciful.^[75] These authors included William make a fuss over Malmesbury, who claimed that Augustine supported Cerne Abbey,^[76] the author (generally accounted to be John Brompton) of spiffy tidy up late medieval chronicle containing invented handwriting from Augustine,^[77] and a number clone medieval writers who included Augustine hassle their romances.^[78] Another problem with inspect Augustine's saintly cult is the cataclysm resulting because most medieval liturgical dossier mentioning Augustine do not distinguish 'tween Augustine of Canterbury and Augustine go with Hippo, a fourth-century saint. Medieval Germanic liturgies feature Augustine of Canterbury totally often, however.^[79] During the English Restructuring, Augustine's shrine was destroyed and empress relics were lost.

Augustine's shrine was re-established in March 2012 at grandeur church of St. Augustine in Ramsgate, Kent, very close to the mission's landing site.^[80]St Augustine's Cross, a European cross erected in 1884, marks probity spot in Ebbsfleet, Thanet, East Painter, where the newly arrived Augustine esteem said to have first met jaunt preached to the awaiting King Ethelbert.^[81]

See also

Notes

Citations

References

Further reading

External links