Why Augustine Of Canterbury Had A Very Busy Christmas Day In 597

Almost two centuries after the Romans left Britain, the rainy island on the edge of civilization had once again become a wild backwater in Europe, a volatile land divided into many warring states. Britain lost many things when the Romans left in 410, including paved roads, aqueducts, and the Christian religion. Bands of Germanic raiders — the Anglo-Saxons — had settled in Britain in the 5th century, turning it into a predominantly pagan place once more (via English Heritage). It would take one gutsy Roman Catholic monk and missionary, St. Augustine, to restore England to the Christian religion.

Approaching a highly suspicious Anglo-Saxon king in the tiny kingdom of Kent, Augustine made moves to sway the monarch toward his own Christian faith. With extraordinary ease, the monk moved the masses, bringing them to mass once more. His conversion efforts culminated in one of the most important events in English history on Christmas Day 597.

Landing on the small island of Thanet just off the coast of Britain, St. Augustine's party immediately ran into the local strongman, King Aethelbert of Kent (per "The Anglo-Saxons").

While Aethelbert treated the group kindly, he also forbid the monks from leaving, hoping to keep a watchful eye on the strange visitors. The superstitious king was wary that the churchmen might cast a magic spell on him. According to Bede's "Ecclesiastical History," he asked the Christians to meet him outside to prevent sorcery. At the meeting, the monks put on a show for the locals, carrying a silver cross and chanting the liturgy. Initially, Aethelbert responded that he would not abandon the religion of his forefathers, but he did allow the strangers to reside in his kingdom to preach their faith. The group was permitted to settle in Canterbury, where they began to proselytize to the pagan locals.

The missionaries were by no means the only Christians on the largely pagan island, and traces of the old faith remained. The Indigenous Celtic Britons in Kent were still worshipping at the grave of a Roman Christian martyr when the Italians arrived — although the worshippers had lost all knowledge of who he actually was (via "The Rise of Western Christendom"). In general, the illiterate inhabitants of Britain had lost all understanding of their past, and many people even believed that the impressive Roman ruins around them were the work of ancient giants (per "The Anglo-Saxons").

With the king's backing, St. Augustine's success was assured. His tiny base in the city of Canterbury grew and grew, and he was made the city's archbishop, the first head of the Church in England (via Historic UK). At least according to Augustine himself, his team's conversion efforts gathered some staggering momentum in the months that followed. Why he was so successful we do not know, but we do know that the missionaries were cautious and intelligent about not offending the locals. Rather than destroying pagan temples and shrines, the pope ordered the group to simply reuse them for Christian purposes once they had been suitably cleansed with holy water (via "The Ecclesiastical History").

Bede also recounts that the monks' remarkably humble and holy lifestyle gained them considerable respect and admiration (via "The Ecclesiastical History"). Nobody was forced to join the faith by the now-Christian Aethelbert, who believed it was wrong to forcefully change his people's religion. On Christmas Day 597, less than a year after he had arrived, Augustine is said to have baptized 10,000 people at once, impressive numbers that made the pope extremely happy (via History Extra).

Ironically, Augustine had less luck with the Christian celts already living in Britain in places like Wales. The Celts had developed their own version of Christianity in the Roman Empire's absence, and they didn't much like Augustine's Catholic ideas.