How Did Christianity Come to England?

[Piney]

https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/features/christianity-come-england.htm

[Truthseeker007]

14 minutes ago, Piney said:

https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/features/christianity-come-england.htm

That is quite interesting.

[RAyMO]

I find the dates strange - being mid to late 6th century. I would have thought that England was well aware of Christianity long before that. Certainly its widely accepted that Christianity came to Ireland in the 5th Century - supposedly through St Patrick who was Roman British and was the son of a deacon. It is also documented that Palladius was sent to Ireland by the pope in 431. I find it hard to believe that the pope did not send emissaries to England at the very latest at the same time.

Edited January 18, 2018 by RAyMO

[Piney]

2 minutes ago, RAyMO said:

I find the dates strange - being mid to late 6th century. I would have thought that England was well aware of Christianity long before that. Certainly its widely accepted that Christianity came to Ireland in the 5th Century - supposedly through St Patrick who was Roman British and was the son of a deacon. It is also documented that Palladius was sent by the pope in 431. I find it hard to believe that the pope did not send emissaries to England at the very latest at the same time.

But the article is about the Anglo-Saxons and not the native Britons. I remember reading somewhere they persecuted Christians when they first took the Island.

[RAyMO]

1 minute ago, Piney said:

But the article is about the Anglo-Saxons and not the native Britons

But the headline is How did Christianity come to England - but maybe I am reading the article wrong - wouldn't be the first time.

[Piney]

2 minutes ago, RAyMO said:

But the headline is How did Christianity come to England - but maybe I am reading the article wrong - wouldn't be the first time.

It should of read "How it Came Again".

 

 

[RAyMO]

10 minutes ago, Piney said:

It should of read "How it Came Again".

Makes sense now - I was out for a quick walk with the dog - and something came to mind about England having a period when Christianity essentially disappeared. In my defence I am not great on English religion - nor Irish religion for that matter when I come to think about it.

[+Hammerclaw]

From Wikipedia: History of Christianity in Britain

The early history of Christianity in Britain is highly obscure. Medieval legends concerning the conversion of the island under King Lucius^[2] or from a mission by St Philip^[4] or Joseph of Arimathea^[6] have been discredited; they seem to have been pious forgeries introduced in attempts to establish independence^[7] or seniority^[5] in the ecclesiastical hierarchy formalized following the Norman conquest of England and Wales. The first archaeological evidence and credible records showing a community large enough to maintain churches and bishops dates to the 3rd and 4th centuries, but it started from a small base: the British delegation to the 353 Council of Rimini had to beg for financial assistance from its fellows in order to return home.^[8] The Romano-British population seem to have been mostly Christian by the Sub-Roman period, although the Great Conspiracy in the 360s and increased raiding around the time of the Roman withdrawal from Britain saw many enslaved. The Saxon invasions of Britain destroyed most of the formal church as they progressed, replacing it with a form of Germanic polytheism. There seems to have been a lull traditionally attributed to the Battle of Badon but, following the arrival of Justinian's Plague around 547, the expansion resumed. By the time Cornwall was subjugated by Wessex at Hingston Down in 838, however, it was largely left to its native people and practices.

[HollyDolly]

Very interesting. By the way, the british sent missionaries to the germanic tribes, like St.Boniface and St.Fridolin. St. Boniface worked to convert the tribes to Christianity. He did in fact cut down their Sacred Oak and this is mentioned in historical records.He also gave the germans the Christmas tree, substituting the fir i believe for the oak tree. A number of german catholic churches here in the US, like in Milwaukee are named for him. I forget which  germans St.Fridolin worked amongst. My greatgrandfather was named for him, and had the middle name Melchoir, for one of the three wisemen.George is a popular family name and I guess he's a family patron saint  since for many generations my dad's family has been in the military.

I'm sure christianity came very early to England, but many records are probably lost due to wars, fires,etc.

[+Hammerclaw]

The established fact that Britain had a delegation at The Council of Rimini in 353 A.D. pretty much settles the matter, in my mind.

[Essan]

How Christianity originally arrived in Britain is an interesting question.  It may have been established here before in Rome ....

http://www.christiandoctrine.com/christian-doctrine/history/959-christians-in-britain-before-rome

And had British Christianity come to dominate over the Roman version is even more interesting (the world since might have been a very different place)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelagius

 

[Piney]

1 hour ago, Essan said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelagius
 

The running joke among Friends is Pelagius was Britain's first Quaker.  He was very admirable.

[Black Monk]

The story story goes that, in the 590s, Pope Gregory the Great saw some fair-haired and fair-skinned slaves in a slave market in Italy, and was told that they were Angles. 'Not Angles but angels,' he replied, and promptly sent people to the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms to convert their people.