Seventy-five years after St Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury, England possessed a Church in name only. It took two extraordinary individuals to bring unity and organisation to the country’s ecclesial life

SARAH MULLALLY is often described as the successor to an office which goes back to the arrival of St Augustine of Canterbury on the shores of Kent in 597. This is true enough; and no one would wish to deny the importance of Augustine – or of Pope Gregory the Great, who first conceived the idea of an English mission, reportedly inspired by seeing pagan Angles for sale as slaves in Rome – in re-establishing the Christian faith in England. But equally important are the developments that happened in the years following 597. The English Church, much like Rome, was not built in a day.

Get Instant Access

Continue Reading

Register for free to read this article in full

REGISTER

Subscribe for unlimited access

SUBSCRIBE NOW

From just £37.50 quarterly

  Print copy of The Tablet delivered directly to your door.
  Complete access to all Tablet website content including all premium content.
  Access to the weekly digital copy of The Tablet.
  Full access to The Tablet’s archive – over 180 years of back issues.

Already a subscriber? Login