BIO: Ethelbert of Kent, king (25 Feb 560)
James Kiefer's E-Mail Relay
The Christian Gospel was preached in Britain before 200, and by
300 the Celtic peoples of the island were largely Christian; but in
the 400's southeastern Britain (what we now call England) was
invaded by tribes of pagan Anglo-Saxons (Angles, Saxons, and Jutes)
who subdued the Christian Celts or drove them north and west into
Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. The reconversion of England was then
accomplished by Celtic missionaries entering England from the north
and west, and Roman missionaries entering from the south and east.
The Jute kingdom of Kent was in the southeast corner of
England, and in 597 a delegation of monks arrived from Rome, headed
by Augustine of Canterbury (26 May 605) (not to be confused with his
more famous namesake, Augustine of Hippo (28 August 430)).
Ethelbert, king of Kent, was a pagan, but his wife Bertha, a
Frankish princess, was a Christian, and he welcomed the strangers,
listened politely to their invitation to convert, told them that he
was resolved to continue in the religion of his fathers, and gave
them a plot of ground and permission to build a church and to preach
to anyone who cared to listen. Four years later, after at least
10,000 of his subjects had converted, Ethelbert himself was
baptized. He did not pressure his remaining pagan subjects to follow
him, but gave the missionaries help and encouragement in their
preaching, built the cathedral of Saint Andrew in Rochester and the
monastery of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (later the cathedral of
Saint Augustine) at Canterbury; and influenced the conversion of
King Sabert of the East Saxons, in whose territory he built the
church of Saint Paul, London. He died on 24 February 616; but
because that is the Feast of Matthias the Apostle, he is
commemorated on 25 February.
NOTE on Buildings at Canterbury:
Not knowing the territory, I am happy to print letters of
clarification from those who do.
Simon Kershaw (of Cambridge) writes:
> Both were Benedictine monasteries, and both were dissolved at
> the Reformation. The cathedral was reconstituted with a Dean
> and Prebendaries, but St Augustine's was not. I've not been to
> the site of St Augustine's, and I can't remember what (if
> anything) survives of it, though I suspect very little is now
> visible.
Michael Bishop, of Sutton-on-Trent, Carlton-on-Trent,
Normanton-on-Trent, and Marnhami, in the diocese of Southwell,
writes:
> St. Augustine's Monastery is outside the city wall east of
> Canterbury (Christchurch) Cathedral--I believe that initially
> the monks were not permitted to live inside the city walls. It
> today consists of the excavated ruins of the old Abbey where
> the first ?5 Archbishops were buried. Two old gatehouses still
> stand, plus the (restored) Abbot's guests' dining hall which is
> said to be the oldest dining room in England still in use (or
> was said when I was a student of St. Augustine's College in
> 1970-1. The College occupies a fair part of the site, having
> been built as the first Missionary College of the Church of
> England. It has a double decker chapel--on the site of a
> previous chapel. The Upper Chapel is the main one, with the
> lower chapel a memorial to the missionaries who went out from
> the college--many of them to their deaths, either as victims to
> tropical diseases or as martyrs, often within a short time of
> reaching their missions. The site also has a large theological
> library and accomodation block. For a time it was the Central
> College of the Anglican Communion and subsequently the home of
> final year ordination training for students from King's
> College, London. After it ceased to be used for that, I believe
> that it became boarding accomodation for the King's School in
> Canterbury. When I was there during the King's College days,
> visitors were always shown round on two or three afternoons
> each week. I am not sure whether that is still the case. The
> main Abbey site is maintained as an ancient monument and is
> normally open to visitors. The site also includes the ruins of
> a Roman Church which was apparently standing and in use when
> St. Augustine arrived in Canterbury--Ethelbert's Queen being
> already a Christian.
PRAYER (traditional language):
O God, who didst call thy servant Ethelbert of Kent to an
earthly throne that he might advance thy heavenly kingdom, and
didst give him zeal for thy Church and love for thy people:
Mercifully grant that we who commemorate him this day may be
fruitful in good works, and attain to the glorious crown of thy
saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth
with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
PRAYER (contemporary language):
O God, who called your servant Ethelbert of Kent to an earthly
throne that he might advance your heavenly kingdom, and gave
him zeal for your Church and love for your people: Mercifully
grant that we who commemorate him this day may be fruitful in
good works, and attain to the glorious crown of your saints;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
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