Walkerdine Partnership  ~ Christian Games, Travel, Business, Retail Therapy, and Ministry

Tel: 08708 034670 Fax: 01920 468191

 michael@walkerdine.net            NEW for 2007 ~ Christian Games Website

A History of the Church in Britain

Do you know that Christianity in Britain was established over four hundred years before the arrival of the Roman church here?

Read on and find out about the fascinating history of the early church in this country.

The first mention of Christians in Britain was in 208 AD when Tertullian mentioned the presence of Christians in parts inaccessible to the Romans.

Origin, in about 238 AD wrote that Christians were found in Britain.

By 314 AD there were several bishops in the country, Eborius of York, Restitutus of London and Adelphius, possibly of Caerlon. They attended the Council of Aerles.

The first recorded Christian by name was Alban. He was a layman of Verulium as recorded by Bede. He gave shelter to a Christian priest, was converted and gave his life for the priest in 304 AD during the persecution of the Roman emperor Diocletian.

The Emperor Constantine legalised Christianity by the edict of Milan in 312 AD and then summoned the churches to attend the Council of Nicea in 325 AD. The British bishops did not attend but accepted the decisions of the Council. However, they attended the Council of Rimini in 359 AD.

There were Christians among the Roman occupiers, and Christian symbols have been found in mosaic pavements in villas of that period.

There are also surviving churches from that period; a Christian chapel at Lullingstone in Kent, built before 345 AD, and a chapel at Silchester.

Ninian came to Britain in 397 AD and worked in Cumberland and South Scotland. He also went to Ireland. He founded a monastery at Whitehorne called the White House or Candida Casa.

Problems developed in the church when Pelagius, who was a heretic, preached that man can reach perfection without the intervention of supernatural grace and that there was no original sin. He left Britain in 380 AD, but his doctrines spread, so British bishops, in 429 AD, invited two bishops to come and counteract these doctrines. They were Germanus bishop of Auxere and Lupus bishop of Troyes.

Kentigern, who was based at Whitehorn, worked in Scotland, N. England and Wales in the early 6^th. Century.

 PATRICK (389 - 461) He was a missionary to the Irish, born in Roman Britain. He was the son of a local administrator (decurion) or magistrate called Calpurnius, who was also a deacon in the church. At the age of 15/16, while staying on his father's farm, Patrick was taken captive by raiders and taken to Ireland , to be sold as a slave. He was put to work as a swineherd. After 6 years he escaped and eventually reached home again. During his captivity his Christian faith had been greatly strengthened. He went to Gaul to study , and whilst he was there he had a vision which convinced him that he must return and evangelise Ireland. In 432 AD, he was consecrated as a bishop and returned to Ireland where he spent 30 years as a missionary, starting churches and baptising converts by immersion. He had great influence on several chieftains and special ties to the areas of Tara, Croagh Patrick and Armagh. He had contact with strict monasteries in Gaul and began to emphasise the ascetic life of monasticism. The basic unit of the church became the monastery led by an abbot rather than a bishop's diocese. He actively encouraged missionary work, which became a priority in the Celtic Church and produced great numbers of monks who evangelised W. Europe during the 6^th. and 7^th. Centuries. He was later canonised by the Roman Catholic Church as a political move to control the Irish churches. He was thereafter known as St. Patrick.

The diocesan system failed in Britain because of the lack of cities, but monasteries flourished in the Celtic church in Britain as in Ireland. The abbot ruled supreme, while the bishop had no administrative function, although he had powers of ordination, confirmation and consecration. In the rest of Europe the bishop was more powerful and had general oversight of the monasteries in his diocese.

 THE ANGLO SAXON INVASION

The Romans abandoned England in the early 5^th. Century. The country was overrun by Jutes, Angles and Saxons. The British were either absorbed or fled westward and settled in the Welsh mountains or among the Cornish tors.

The Christian church was destroyed in the conquered areas but it continued in the west.

David (520 -580 AD) was a Celtic abbot-bishop, evangelist and founder of monasteries. Also important at this time were Illtyd, who was his teacher, Deniel and others.

In Wales the church was isolated and did not try to convert the Saxons.

 COLUMBA (389 - 461)  He was a famous abbot and missionary, born in Donegal, Ireland, the land of the "Scots". He was the son of Phelim of the royal house of Niall. He was educated at the schools of Finbar at Moville and Finnian at Clonard. After being ordained he preached widely and helped to establish churches and monasteries . Noteworthy are those at Derry and Durrow.

He was involved in a dispute over the possession of a manuscript he had copied out and this conflict lead to a civil war between his clan and the High King Diarmid. 

In 563 AD he, and twelve of his followers sailed to Scotland where he established a monastery as a centre of missionary activity at Iona, among his fellow Scots, and among the Picts. He worked here for thirty years, and established many more monasteries, on the usual Celtic plan, in the Hebrides and on the Scottish Mainland. He confronted the Druids, defeated them, and won many converts. He converted Brude, King of the Picts, at Inverness. He had a profound effect on much of the religious, political and social  life of Scotland. His ministry contrasted sharply with that of Augustine who came later to Britain, (AD 597). Augustine represented the Roman Church while Columba was a product of the Celtic church of Britain. He had gifts of great leadership, a concern for piety and scholarship, having marked literary tastes, and a love of nature. He spent much time in writing and in the copying of manuscripts. He was a typical representative of the Celtic church. He died on Sunday morning 9^th. June 597 AD aged 76 years. He was found dead at the altar of the church. So profound was the impact of Columba and his mission establishment on the British Isles that for many generations all the kings of Scotland were brought to Iona for burial beside their great apostle. His achievements were instrumental to the Celtic church being able to bring about the revival of Christianity in Western Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire.

 AUGUSTINE. In 596 Pope Gregory sent Augustine, who was prior of his own monastery, to England. But as he traveled through Gaul he heard tales of the savagery of the English, became afraid , and turned back. However he was sent back and landed in Kent early in 597 AD. He was met by Ethelbert, King of Kent who had a Christian wife, Bertha, daughter of a Frankish king. Ethelbert was sympathetic to the Christian faith, adopted the new religion and was baptised by Augustine on 1^st. June 597 AD. Under the influence of the king there were many converts from Teutonic heathenism.

In the Autumn of 597 AD Augustine went to Gaul to be consecrated as bishop.

In 598 AD Augustine wrote to the Pope about the allocation of church money. Income was to be divided into 4 parts, one for the bishop, one for the priest, one for the relief of the poor and one for the upkeep of the church. On liturgical questions Augustine was advised to make his own rite, choosing that which was most "pious, religious and correct" in the customs of other churches and adapting them. Pope Gregory set planned to divide England into two provinces each with an archbishop and twelve suffragans. When he unwisely gave Augustine authority over the British bishops, who had kept the flame burning during the years when the rest of England reverted to heathenism, they refused to co-operate with him. In addition there were differences in the date of Easter, baptismal customs, administration and so on. The chance of a united church was lost for the time being.

A new see was founded at Rochester in 604 AD. A number of churches were built at Canterbury and other parts of Kent. The old church of St. Martins dating back to Roman times and used by Queen Bertha before Augustine came was restored. He founded a monastery of St. Peter and St. Paul. He tried to establish a bishopric in London in 604 AD, (East Saxons), but failed. His ministry was only about one decade and he made no attempt to venture beyond Kent. The church was not very deeply rooted and it was almost destroyed in 616 AD, when a heathen succeeded to the throne.

 ROMAN MISSION TO NORTHUMBRIA. Paulinus an Italian monk joined Augustine after about four years. He worked in southern England. In 625 he was consecrated bishop. When Ethelberger, a Kentish princess, was to marry Edwin, King of Northumbria, Paulinus accompanied her. The king was a heathen but was interested in the Christian faith. Paulinus converted the king and the nobles, and the king was baptised at Easter 627 AD  at York. Coifi, the high priest of the old religion and the Witan were also converted. He continued to work in Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire baptising the converts..

Unfortunately Edwin was killed by Cadwallon at the battle of Heathfield in 633 AD. Paulinus fled south and the Christian church in the north collapsed except for the work of James the deacon, who lived on in Caterick.

In 634 AD Paulinus  was made archbishop.

EAST ANGLIA AND WESSEX. In 630 AD Sigbert, the King of East Anglia, who had lived in Gaul and had accepted the Christian faith there, invited bishop Felix from Burgundy to come. He set up a see at Dunwich, established a church and founded a school.

Fursa, a wandering monk, settled down as a hermit at Brough in Suffolk, but was not able to do much. Likewise Birinus, who was a Roman and reached England in 614 AD. He preached to the west Saxons. He settled at Dorchester where he worked until about 650 AD. He was a bishop without a see.

THE SCOOTISH MISSION TO THE NORTH. For a year after the death of Edwin,  killed in 633 AD by Cadwallon who was a heathen, there was chaos, called "the disastrous year" by Bede. It appeared that all the good work done by Paulinus would be destroyed. 

Prior to the death of Edwin, Oswald who was apparently an heir to the throne, was sent to Iona in 617 AD to be brought up and educated by the monks when his own father died. After the death of Edwin he succeeded to the joint kingdoms of Diera and Bernicia. He raised an army and fought the heathen usurpers at Rowley Burn, South of Hexham in 633 AD. He called his soldiers to prayer before the battle. Cadwallon was defeated and Oswald became the undisputed King of Nothumbria. He sent to Iona for a bishop to evangelise his people, and so Aidan came to carry out the work. He was a typical Celt, being more a monk than a bishop. He founded a monastery at Lindisfarne, near Oswald's castle at Bamburgh. He was the bishop of the whole of Northumbria. He travelled extensively, often with the king.

Oswald was killed at Maserfelth near Owestry in 642 AD. His brother Oswy succeeded him. Aidan lived until 651 AD.

Aidan was the greatest figure in the early history of the Northumbrian church.   Missions from his monastery at Lindisfarne went out all over England reaching as far as the Thames estuary. Missionaries built many wooden churches, and many monasteries were set up, the most famous being at Whitby where Hilda ruled as abbess over both monks and nuns from 657 to her death in 680. It can be clearly seen that after the collapse of the Roman mission to Northumbria in 633 AD the church was soon re-established in the Celtic tradition which varied from that of Rome in a number of ways.

       1.The date of Easter was different 2. The cut of the tonsure was different. Celtic monks shaved the front of the head while Romans wore a circlet of hair. 3. There were differences in ceremonial eg. wearing of crowns by bishops, feet washing at baptism, (pedilavium). 4. Strict penitential system. 5. Joint consecration of the Eucharist by two priests. This was carried out at Iona. 6. Administrative differences in the authority of Abbotts and Bishops.

 THE POINT AT ISSUE  between the two churches was whether the Northumbrian Church should take orders from Rome or Iona. Until this issue was settled there could be no amicable religious relationship.

 THE CONVERSION OF THE MIDLANDS The kingdom of Mercia.was ruled by  Penda, a powerful heathen king. In 653 AD he allowed four Christian priests to enter his territory. Most of these priests were Irish and looked to Lindisfarne, not Canterbury as their spiritual home. Cedd who was brought up as a monk at Linisfarne, transferred to Essex among the East Anglians where he became a bishop. He founded at least two monasteries and built a number of churches. One at Bradwell-on-Sea remains to this day. He went to Northumbria and founded there a religious house at Lastingham in the Yorkshire moors. In 664 pestilence killed all the inmates of this house except for one boy. Cedd was succeeded as abbot of Lastingham by his brother Chad, who shortly afterwards became bishop of York and later of Litchfield, the see of the kingdom of Mercia.

THE SYNOD OF WHITBY. In 663 Oswy, King of Northumbria, called an assembly at Whitby to reconcile the differences between the Celtic and the Roman church. His wife was observing Easter at a later date than himself, following the calendar of the Roman church.  The great abbess Hilda supervised the assembly. On the Celtic side were Cedd and Colman, Bishop of Lindisfarne, and on the Roman side, James the deacon and Wilfred. The king presided. Discussion was mainly on the date of Easter. It was decided to follow Roman tradition.

Consequently Colman retired together with many of the British monks , to Iona, and then to Ireland. The work of the Scottish ministry came to an end, but it had done its work well. Ministries from Lindisfarne had a profound effect on the course of church history having penetrated far a field. Their influence was felt in the south as well as in the north. The holiness, simplicity and devotion of the northern saints and missionaries left their mark on the church, which they continued to influence for many years.

Cuthbert was born about 634 AD. He was admitted as a novice to the monastery of Old Melrose where he received the Celtic tonsure, but he changed to the Roman pattern when he came under the influence of Wilfred at Ripon. He became prior of Old Melrose and later became Abbot of Lindisfarne in 664 AD. He was bishop of Lindisfarne from 684 - 686 AD. He died on the 20^th. March 687 AD. He had all the marks of sanctity of the Celtic church, however he was a supporter of the new movement towards Rome.

  SOURCE BOOKS

The following sources are acknowledged:-

A History of the Church of England by J.R.H. Moorman.

The History of Christianity. A Lion Handbook.

The Christian Hall of Fame

[ Home ] [ Up ]

For Christian Games, Bible Games and Activities for all ages visit Christian Choice Online on www.christianchoiceonline.com

Send mail to Michael@walkerdine.net with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2006 The Walkerdine Partnership
Last modified: 09/30/07