Augustine
Augustine - 1st Archbishop of Canterbury
"Your words are fair, but of doubtful meaning; I cannot
forsake what I have so long believed. But as you have come from far we will not
molest you; you may preach, and gain as many as you can to your religion"
Greeting of King Ethelbert, Isle of Thanet, to Augustine in the Summer of 597
Details of Augustine's life are scarce. Believed to have been a pupil of
Felix, bishop of Messana, he became a monk and later Prior of St Andrew's in
Rome. He was sent by Pope Gregory to lead a party of around 30 monks to bring
England (such as it was) under the influence of the Roman world. The journey was
halted at one point, the monks losing their nerve and returning to Rome, before
successfully landing at Ebbsfleet in 597. Received cautiously by the King of
Kent, Ethelbert, Augustine managed to estbalish a community of monks based first
at St Martin's church, later transferring to the site of the present Cathedral.
Augustine struggled to establish his authority within the British Isles and
did not bring to completion Gregory's plan to form an English church based on
two provinces and twelve bishops.
He died on May 26th, now remembered as his feast day, but the year of his
death is uncertain, between 604 and 609. He was buried at what is now called St
Augustine's Abbey.
Research by Jenny Childs and Steve Empson
Detailed biography:
Augustine (? - c604)
St Augustine or Austin, of
Canterbury (Evangelizer of England - as distinct from Roman Britain; feast
day 26 May in England, 27 May in the RC Church since 1969 & outside England
now). 'Bishop [or Archbishop] of the English' (as
consecrated); 'Apostle of the English' (originally a description of
Pope Gregory).
Italian by birth.
d. May c604; some reports put it as late as 609. Buried at the Monastery of
St Peter and St Paul (afterwards known as St Augustine's) Canterbury.
Ministry
Prior St Andrew's Monastery Rome ? - ?; Leader 1st Mission to England
596-597; chosen by Pope Gregory I to lead between thirty and forty monks to Kent
596, departed 596, landed Summer 597 at Ebbsfleet and received in Thanet by
Kentish K Ethelbert.
Archbishop of Canterbury 597- c604; Consecrated before his 1st arrival in
England, possibly with the title 'Bishop of the English', possibly at Arles,
but also possibly after becoming established in England. The pallium - the
symbol of office - was sent from Rome by Pope Gregory I in 601.
His time as Archbishop coincided with with » Kings and Queens: Kent
» Ethelbert 560? -616 » East Saxons » Sabert ? -616 » West Saxons » (Ceolric
592-97) » Ceolwulf 597-611 » South Saxons » ? » Mercia » Crida or Creoda or
Cearl 593-626 » Northumbria » Ethelfrid 593-617 » East Angles » ? (Redwald ?
-627) » Popes » Gregory I 590-604 » (Sabinianus 604-06) »
Known writings:
helped Ethelbert to draft the earliest Anglo-Saxon written laws to survive.
Firsts:
1st Abp of Canterbury.
Augustine
- 1st Archbishop of Canterbury