Augustine of Canterbury

Augustine of Canterbury († May 26 604 traditional or 605 to Thorn ) was the first Archbishop of Canterbury. He was instituted by Pope Gregory I. 597 to Aethelberht, sent to the King of Kent in southern England, where he was accompanied by Laurence of Canterbury, who later became the second archbishop. He is regarded as the apostle of the Anglo-Saxons. He is not to be confused with the better known church father Augustine of Hippo.

Life

Æthelberhts wife Bertha, daughter of the Merovingian king Charibert I., was a Christian. She had brought her chaplain ( Liudhard of Canterbury ) to the island, to build a church in Canterbury or leave a restore from the Roman period, which she dedicated to St. Martin of Tours, one of the main patrons of the Frankish royal family. Aethelberht itself was a pagan, but allowed his wife to practice their Christian religion. Well under their influence Aethelberht asked Pope Gregory the sending of missionaries to his kingdom.

Gregory chose the Benedictine Augustine, praepositus ( Prior) of Andrew's monastery in Rome was 596, Pope Gregory had founded. He sent him at the head of 40 monks to evangelize among the Anglo-Saxons, and a second time when Augustine returned to a half-hearted start to Rome and the Pope asked to abandon the mission. Augustine was consecrated on the road in the Frankish Empire bishop. In the spring of 597 Augustine and his companions landed on the Isle of Thanet.

Aethelberht allowed the missionaries to settle in Canterbury and preach there. Tradition says that Augustine baptized him only a few days after his arrival in Kent, although a letter of Gregory to Bertha suggests that this may not have happened before 601.

Aethelberht sent a report of his success to Gregory with questions about his work. 601 brought Mellitus, Justus and other papal response with the pallium for Augustine (ie, named Archbishop ), sacred vessels, clothing, relics, books. Gregory ordered the new archbishop, as soon as possible to ordain twelve suffragan bishops to send a bishop to York, which should also have twelve suffragan bishops - a plan that has not been run to take as little as the archbishop's office in London, as Gregor intended. Augustine made ​​Bishop of London Mellitus and Justus as Bishop of Rochester.

On the other hand implemented were the orders of the Pope regarding the pagan temples and customs: The former should be Christian churches, the latter, as far as possible, rededicated martyr festivals, there " must be the one who wants to climb to lofty heights, gradually increase, not jump " ( letter from Gregory to mellitus, in Bede, i, 30).

Augustine was an old church at Canterbury as his cathedral rebuilt, new consecrate and to found a monastery. A second monastery was St. Peter and St. Paul outside the walls. This Benedictine abbey was later, in 978, dedicated to the now canonized Augustine.

His attempts to take over the Celtic Church in Wales failed.

Augustine was canonized, his feast day is in the Roman Catholic Church of the 27 May in the Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox Church May 26

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