WHAT FAMOUS FOR St. Augustine of Canterbury is famous for being a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury and played a crucial role in the Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England.
BIRTH St. Augustine was born around the year 540 AD in Rome, Italy. (sorry I can't be any more specific than that).
FAMILY BACKGROUND Little is known about Augustine's family background, but he likely came from a Roman family of modest means.
CHILDHOOD Details about Augustine's childhood are scarce, but it is presumed he grew up in Rome during a period of political and cultural upheaval in the Western Roman Empire.
He once spent six weeks just sleeping and drinking; the first six weeks of his life.
EDUCATION Augustine received a thorough education in Latin and Christian theology, likely within the Christian community of Rome. He later joined the Benedictine monastic order, where he would have received further theological training.
EDUCATION Augustine received a thorough education in Latin and Christian theology, likely within the Christian community of Rome. He later joined the Benedictine monastic order, where he would have received further theological training.
When Augustine got to England he found, due to the Britons’ ignorance of Latin, he had to build schools so that people could understand what was going on in the churches. After all Latin was the HOLY language.
Augustine founded Kings School Canterbury. It is the oldest still existing school in Britain and maybe the world
The Benedictine Abbey he established at Canterbury became the centre of learning and scholarship for all Europe.
CAREER RECORD Augustine was a respected Abbot of St Andrew Monastery in Rome, when in 595 AD, Pope Gregory the Great appointed him to lead a mission to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity.
597 Augustine arrived in Kent in 597 AD and was welcomed by King Æthelberht.
597-604 Consecrated Bishop of the English at Arles Cathedral, France. For the next seven years Augustine was the patriarch of the English Christians- indeed the first Archbishop of Canterbury.
APPEARANCE Augustine was Mediterranean looking, tall, distinguished. His lofty stature and patrician presence attracted every eye for he was "taller than any of the people from his shoulders and upwards."
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Portrait labelled "AUGUSTINUS" from the mid-8th
century Saint Petersburg Bede |
FASHION As a monk, Augustine would have worn simple robes in accordance with the Benedictine tradition. After being consecrated Bishop of the English, Pope Gregory the Great sent Augustine a cape of lamb's wool to denote he had been given jurisdiction over the whole nation.
CHARACTER Augustine was known for his piety and dedication to his mission of spreading Christianity. He was also noted for his diplomatic skills in dealing with both secular authorities and rival Christian faction
Augustine was an efficient organiser with dictatorial tendencies.
At times not exactly Captain Humble, on one occasion after boasting to Pope Gregory of the 10,000 English pagans he'd converted, Augustine was warned by the pope against being led into sin through boastfulness.
SENSE OF HUMOUR Little is known about Augustine's sense of humor, but as a devout monk engaged in serious religious work, he likely had a sober demeanor.
RELATIONSHIPS Augustine had a close relationship with Pope Gregory the Great, who appointed him as the leader of the mission to England. He also developed a strong bond with King Ethelbert of Kent, whose conversion to Christianity paved the way for the spread of the faith in England.
MONEY AND FAME Augustine's fame came from his role as the leader of the mission to England and his subsequent establishment of Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England. He lived a simple, monastic life and likely did not seek personal wealth or fame.
FOOD AND DRINK As a monk, Augustine would have followed the dietary restrictions of his order, which likely included abstaining from meat on certain days and limiting consumption of rich foods and alcohol.
Augustine encouraged the Britons to slaughter animals for their own food rather than sacrificing them to the devil.
MUSIC AND ARTS Augustine's primary focus was on preaching and teaching Christianity, rather than on music and the arts.
LITERATURE Augustine is known for his writings on Christian theology and ecclesiastical matters, although he did not leave behind a large body of literary work. The only surviving writings of Augustine are questions he asked Pope Gregory on behalf of the Anglo Saxons such as "Can expectant mothers be baptised?" He referred to the English in those writings as "uncouth"
The arrival of Catholic Christianity in Briton had a great impact on the English language. Words of Latin and Greek origins became used to express concepts and ideas that were new to Anglo Saxons. Examples of such terms are altar, angel, apostles, candle, disciples, martyr, mass, monk, pope, priest, psalm, shrine and toaster (only joking about the last one-just checking you're paying attention). Non religious terms of Latin and Greek origin that entered the English language at the time included cook, fever and school. (1)
The Bible sent by Pope Gregory the Gregory to Augustine for his English trip can be found in Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
NATURE Augustine likely had an appreciation for the natural world as a reflection of God's creation, but little is known about his specific views on nature.
HOBBIES AND SPORTS Augustine boasted of having put on a number of gladiatorial shows involving in total 10,000 men and 3,500 animals.
SCIENCE AND MATHS Augustine's education would have included a basic understanding of arithmetic and geometry, as well as the natural sciences as they related to theology.
PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY Don't believe the stories that prior to Saint Augustine, the Britons were absolute beginners on Christianity. St Martins Church, Canterbury, was in working order before the tall Roman abbot arrived, in fact its font is reputed to be the one in which Augustine baptised King Ethelbert in.
Christianity had reached Great Briton in Roman times but the invading Angles, Jutes and Saxons in the 5th century had wiped it out in the eastern half of England. The Celtic Church in Wales and the West of England remained strong. What Augustine did was to introduce the Catholic Church to England.
Here is the story of Saint Augustine's mission. In 595 Pope Gregory I spotted some Angles (British) boys who have been bought to Rome and on being told they are pagan “angli” the pope exclaimed “They are not Angles but Angels”. Inspired he instructed Augustine, who was then a respected abbot, to lead a mission to convert Britain. “Certainly do not destroy the temples of the idols that the English have”, he wisely recommended, “sprinkle them with holy water and let altars be constructed.”
Augustine and his company of 40 monks from the See of St Peter and Paul got as far as Aix-en-Provence in France. So terrifying were the reports they heard of the savage Britons that the Catholic missionary returned to Rome for permission to give up the attempt.
Pope Gregory would have none of this yellow streak and ordered him to carry on. They recruited an interpreter in France and finally in 597 Augustine landed in Kent at Ebbsfleet on the east coast of Kent with his 40 monks. There he met King Ethelbert, King of Kent, whose Frankish wife, Bertha was a Christian.
Ethelbert was originally very suspicious of Augustine as he was brought up to believe priests practised magic. Rumour had it that Augustine could make tails grow on the backs of those who displeased him. Ethelbert met the tall Roman abbot in the open air rather than under cover to protect himself against the abbot's magic.
The king listened patiently to the abbot’s sermon and promised the monks shelter and protection at Canterbury. He considered the claims of the Catholic missionary for a time before converting and on June 2, 597 he was baptized.
Ethelbert permitted Augustine and his team of monks to settle and preach in his capital of Canterbury where they used the church of St Martin's for services.
Augustine sent a report of this encouraging progress to the Pope and Gregory responded by dispatching more missionaries to help with the work.
By the end of the year there were around 10,000 converts and Augustine travelled to Arles in France, where he was consecrated. He established his HQ at St Martins Church Canterbury which became Canterbury Cathedral. Before Augustine's arrival, Bertha had used the church to pray daily.
In 603 a conference was planned between seven Celtic bishops who were accompanied by their learned men and Augustine to discuss whether the Celtic church should continue to follow their own traditions or those that Augustine has introduced to South East England.
A holy and prudent hermit told the bishops that they should only listen to Augustine if he is truly a man of God. If this were the case he would rise from his seat to greet them showing himself to be meek and lowly of heart rather than proud. The bishops regarded this to be good advice but when they arrived, Augustine remained in his seat. The Celts becamee angry perceiving him to be a proud man and the discussions got nowhere. (2)
The following year Augustine died. He has been unable to take his message outside the south or east of England as the Celtic Christians in the west half of Britain wanted to remain independent of this new Catholic Church. However King Ethelbert, King of Kent, was instrumental in converting the neighbouring King Sabert of the East Saxons in whose territory he built the cathedral of St Paul in London.
England was finally won over by 680, the Isle of Wight being the last area to succumb to the Catholic faith . It wasn't until 786 that the Pope sent anyone else to the British Isles.
SCANDAL There are no recorded scandals associated with Augustine of Canterbury.
HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS Little is known about Augustine's health, but as a monk, he likely lived a disciplined and healthy lifestyle.
HOMES Back home in Rome, Augustine lived at St Andrew monastery. On arriving in Kent, a residence was assigned to Augustine and his 40 monks by King Ethelbert at Canterbury where they devoted themselves to monastic exercises and preaching. (Canterbury was actually then known as "Cant-wara-byru").
TRAVEL On their way to England every step of the way, Augustine and his party of 40 read the terrifying stories of the cruelty and barbarity of their future hosts. Augustine was "struck with a cowardly fear." By the time they reached Aix-en-Provence in France, the stories had become so frightening that for a time they turned back before they persuaded them to proceed on.
DEATH St. Augustine of Canterbury died on May 26, 604 AD, in Canterbury, England. The shrine containing Augustine's body disappeared from Chilham Church in 1541.
APPEARANCES IN MEDIA St. Augustine of Canterbury has been depicted in various historical and religious texts, as well as in works of art depicting the spread of Christianity in England.
ACHIEVEMENTS Augustine's most significant achievement was his successful establishment of Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England, laying the foundation for the Christianization of the country and the growth of the Church in the region.
1. Augustine was the first Archbishop of Canterbury and made Canterbury the seat of authority for the church in England. He provided the basis from which the parish system has grown.
2. Saint Augustine's feast day is May 26th in England (Anglican, Orthodox), May 27th (Catholic Church), or May 28th (Catholic Church outside England).
3. Augustine founded the first monasteries in Britain at St Peters and St Paul and St Augustines in Canterbury.
4. Augustine bought the Benedictine order to England. A number of Oxford and Cambridge colleges have a Benedictine origin.
5. The tall Roman abbot succeeded into making many Angles into right angles.
2. Saint Augustine's feast day is May 26th in England (Anglican, Orthodox), May 27th (Catholic Church), or May 28th (Catholic Church outside England).
3. Augustine founded the first monasteries in Britain at St Peters and St Paul and St Augustines in Canterbury.
4. Augustine bought the Benedictine order to England. A number of Oxford and Cambridge colleges have a Benedictine origin.
5. The tall Roman abbot succeeded into making many Angles into right angles.
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