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ST AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY
 In 1997 we
celebrated the 1400th anniversary of the arrival on our
Kentish coast of St Augustine and his monks from Rome. As
a parish dedicated to St Augustine, this was an important
occasion for us.
Although there were many Christians in parts of
Britain when Augustine arrived, no-one can doubt the
importance for the Christian mission in England,
especially in Kent, of Pope Gregory’s sending of
Augustine and his monks to our shores. By A.D. 500 those
areas invaded by the Angles, Saxons and Jutes were
predominantly pagan, and a new preaching of the Gospel
was desperately needed.
Pope
Gregory the Great
Pope Gregory had a deep desire to bring the Good News
of Jesus to the people of England. It is said that one
day, before he became the Bishop, Gregory was among a
crowd in the market-place in Rome. Among the goods for
sale were some slave-boys from England. Gregory was told
they were pagan Angles. One source has him saying,
‘Not Angles but angels.’ Gregory begged the
Pope to send missionaries to the English, and was eager
to go himself, but was not given permission. As soon as
he became Pope in A.D. 592, Gregory put in hand his
cherished project.
Augustine
Gregory chose for this mission about forty monks from
the Roman monastery of St Andrew which he had founded.
They were not ‘Benedictines’, although their
monastic life was probably influenced by the Rule of St
Benedict. Led by their prior, Augustine, these missionary
pilgrims started their journey in 596, but were soon
disheartened and afraid, and nearly gave up altogether.
They wanted to return home, appalled at the idea of going
to what they had been told was a fierce and pagan nation,
and not knowing a word of its language. Tales of the
dangerous Channel crossing and rumours of bloodthirsty
deaths meted out to enemies did not help! The monks sent
Augustine back to the Pope to ask him to recall them, but
Gregory wrote a letter of encouragement, urging them to
keep going. Augustine (now given increased status as
‘abbot’) and the other monks resumed their
journey, and eventually crossed the Channel. They landed
at Ebbsfleet, near Ramsgate, sometime in the spring of
597.
Ethelbert, the
King of Kent
The most powerful king was Ethelbert, who ruled Kent
and a large area north to the Humber. Augustine sent
interpreters, saying that they came from Rome bearing
very glad news, which assured all who received it of
eternal joy in heaven. The king told them to stay on the
island, and gave orders that they should be provided with
all necessities. Apparently this included beer brewed
from the royal barley, as beer was considered one of the
necessities of life. The king had already heard of the
Christian faith; his wife and queen was Bertha, daughter
of the Christian king of Paris, and she continued to
practise her faith after marrying Ethelbert.
Six days later after their arrival, King Ethelbert
came to the island, and summoned Augustine and his
companions. They approached the king carrying a silver
cross and the likeness of our Lord painted on a board
(like an icon). First they sang a litany of salvation,
and then they preached the Gospel to the king and his
court. Ethelbert seems to have been impressed; although
he was not converted there and then, he offered
hospitality to the missionaries and gave them permission
to preach among his people. He also gave them a dwelling
in his chief city, Canterbury. There they lived a life of
prayer and preaching, living simply and caring for the
poor. A number of the people were converted and baptised.
The church of St Martin in Canterbury had been built in
Roman times, and was still used by Queen Bertha for
prayer. The monks gathered there for prayer, Mass,
preaching and baptisms.
Eventually King Ethelbert himself came to believe and
was baptised. From then on, large numbers were converted
to Christ. The king insisted that no one should be forced
to accept Christianity; he knew that true service of
Christ must be accepted freely, in faith. Augustine went
to Arles in France to be ordained bishop, and sent two of
his monks to Pope Gregory with news of their success and
a request for more help. The new missionaries included
Mellitus and Justus (ordained by Augustine as bishops of
London and Rochester respectively) and Paulinus (who
became the first bishop of York after Augustine’s
death). Augustine was made archbishop by Gregory, with
all the bishops of Britain committed to his pastoral
authority.
The
Other Christian Britons
Britain was not a totally pagan land when Augustine
arrived, although a new preaching of the Gospel was
certainly needed in much of England. Many Britons had
remained Christian from Roman times, but had been pushed
westwards by the invading pagans. Patrick, for example,
was a British Christian who had gone to bring the Gospel
to Ireland, and later Irish missionaries like Columba
came back to Britain with the same Gospel. This
‘Celtic Church’ was largely monastic and
developed in its own distinctive way, with its own
bishops. It regarded Augustine with suspicion, and
understandably so. The Britons had been fighting the
pagan Anglo-Saxons for 150 years, and many had fought for
their Christian faith. A bishop coming under Anglo-Saxon
protection seemed a threat. There was no hostility to
Rome in the Celtic Church: their Christian roots were in
Romano-British Christianity, and Rome was seen as very
distant and very holy. But Anglo-Saxons were the enemy!
Augustine tried - unsuccessfully - to persuade the Celtic
Church to accept his authority, to establish unity and to
join efforts together in converting the English.
Augustine was less than diplomatic with these
‘bishops of the unconquered Britons’.
Augustine’s
Legacy
Augustine died in 604, the same year as Pope Gregory.
In just seven years he had laid the foundations for the
reviving English Church, although his policy was one of
consolidation in a small area (mainly Kent) rather than
reaching out to wider areas. On his tomb were the words:
‘Here rests the Lord Augustine, first Archbishop of
Canterbury, who, having been sent here by blessed
Gregory, Pontiff of the City of Rome, and supported by
God with miracles, guided King Ethelbert and his people
from the worship of idols to the Faith of Christ. He
ended the days of his duty in peace, and died on the 26th
day of May in the above King’s reign.’ It is
our task to continue Augustine’s work.
‘What
Augustine did in his day, we must do again in ours.’
How can each of us bring the Gospel of Jesus to our town
and area, to the people around us? That is the challenge
to our parish community.
Operation
Augustine
Inspired by the missionary example of St Augustine of
Canterbury, we are seeking as a parish family to reach
out more positively and fruitfully to all Catholics and
to those other people in our town who have yet to respond
to the Good News of Jesus Christ, or who are in special
need (the poor, the lonely, the sick, the bereaved, etc).
Since September 1997, we have been trying gradually to
establish a simple skeleton structure of small
neighbourhood groupings or ‘clusters’ across
the whole parish which will be open to development
according to the needs and wishes of each local area. All
that is happening at this stage is the following:
- All known Catholic homes have been allocated to
local neighbourhood ‘clusters’, ideally
between 10 - 15 homes in each. This is an
informal and flexible structure, a living
expression of communion and pastoral care which
is in no way intended to be intrusive or
threatening.
- In most cluster areas, we have invited one or two
suitable people to be Parish Link People. Their
role is to get to know the Catholic households in
their clusters over a period of time, providing
personal points of contact between the parish
centre and each household in an appropriately
sensitive way, respecting the wishes of each
person or family.
- When new people move into the parish, their name
and address is given to the Link People in their
area, who will visit them, inform them of other
Mass-going Catholics in that area and of aspects
of parish life, and encourage other local
Catholics to make themselves known to the new
person or family. This ministry of welcome is a
key role for the Link Person.
- In many ways they help the pastoral team and
others to be aware of local people in need, as
well as giving support to the bereaved, sick,
housebound, etc. In some areas, their ministry
leads to social activities, house groups,
celebration of House Masses, etc. This is the
natural fruit of a gradual weaving together of
people’s lives rather than a structure
imposed or encouraged from outside.
Parish
Visits
Visiting all Catholic homes in our parish is one of
the priorities of the parish team at St Augustine’s,
and you can expect a knock on the door from time to time
from the priests and deacons (not all at the same time!).
It is above all by visiting you that we can get to know
each other, and be more truly the parish family that we
are meant to be. In a busy and active parish of our size,
with well over 1,700 Catholic homes, we are not all able
to do as much visiting as we would like, but we do all
regard it as a vitally important part of our ministry. If
you need to talk about something in particular, never
hesitate to call us. We are happy to come and see you at
home, or for you to come to the priests’ house
underneath St Augustine’s Church. It is usually best
to phone first to make sure someone is in (as we may be
out visiting).
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