Anglican Commemoration
First Archbishop of Canterbury & Apostle to the English
May 26 · d. 605
also known as Augustine of Canterbury, Austin
Augustine was a Roman Benedictine monk sent by Pope Gregory the Great in 596 to evangelize the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Landing in Kent in 597, he was received by King Æthelberht, whose Frankish wife Bertha was already a Christian, and established his see at Canterbury — which has remained the mother church of English Christianity ever since. He baptized the king and thousands of his subjects, consecrated bishops for London and Rochester, and died around 604/605.
Traditionally, Augustine's mission was confirmed by miraculous signs. According to Bede, drawing on earlier Canterbury sources, Augustine performed healings that convinced the pagan English of the power of the Christian God. Gregory, writing to Augustine in a letter preserved by Bede (HE I.31), counseled him not to take pride in miracles but to rejoice that his converts' names were written in heaven — a caution that itself confirms miracle claims were circulating during Augustine's lifetime.
Bede also records a story — which he presents cautiously — that when British bishops refused to cooperate with Augustine, the archbishop warned them that they would suffer at the hands of the Saxons, a prophecy connected to the later massacre of the monks of Bangor-Is-Coed by King Æthelfrith of Northumbria (HE II.2). The story serves Bede's narrative purpose of vindicating the Canterbury mission against Celtic resistance, and the prophetic framework should be read with that in mind.
Almost nothing is known of Augustine's life before his mission. He was prior of the monastery of St. Andrew on the Coelian Hill in Rome when Pope Gregory the Great selected him to lead a missionary expedition to Britain in 596. Gregory had long desired to evangelize the Anglo-Saxons — Bede records the tradition that Gregory, seeing fair-haired English slaves in the Roman market, declared them 'not Angles but angels' (non Angli sed Angeli).
The mission nearly collapsed before it began. The monks, intimidated by reports of the ferocity of the Anglo-Saxons and the dangers of the journey, persuaded Augustine to return to Rome and beg release. Gregory refused, sent Augustine back with letters of encouragement and formal authority, and the party finally crossed the Channel in 597, landing on the Isle of Thanet in Kent.
King Æthelberht, though still pagan, received them cautiously — insisting on meeting outdoors, where he believed magic would have less power. Impressed by their sincerity, he granted them a residence in Canterbury and permission to preach. Within a year Æthelberht himself was baptized, and mass conversions followed.
Augustine established his cathedral at Canterbury and was consecrated archbishop by Gallic bishops, receiving the pallium from Gregory. He founded the monastery of Saints Peter and Paul (later St. Augustine's) and consecrated Mellitus as Bishop of London and Justus as Bishop of Rochester.
His efforts to bring the existing British Christian communities into unity with Canterbury were less successful. A conference with British bishops at a location Bede calls 'Augustine's Oak' broke down over disputes about Easter dating and other customs. Augustine died around May 26, 604 or 605.
Almighty and everlasting God, you called your servant Augustine of Canterbury to preach the Gospel to the English people: Raise up in this and every land evangelists and heralds of your kingdom, that your Church may proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
British (Received Pronunciation): Augustine /ɔːˈɡʌstɪn/; Northumbria /nɔːrˈθʌmbriə/
Readings for a Missionary or Evangelist
Isaiah 49:1–7Psalm 98Romans 10:11–18Luke 5:1–11