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[[File:
{{History of Christianity in England}}
[[Christianity]] was present in [[Roman Britain]] from at least the third century until the end of the Roman imperial administration in the early fifth century, and continued in western Britain.
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== Evidence ==
The archaeological evidence for Christianity in Roman Britain is not extensive,{{sfn|Petts|2003|p=7}} but
Literary sources include the ''[[Ecclesiastical History of the English People]]'' by [[Bede]], ''[[The Ruin of Britain]]'' by [[Gildas]], ''[[Historia Brittonum|British History]]'' attributed to [[Nennius]], and [[hagiography]], particularly ''[[Vita Germani|The Life of Saint Germanus of Auxerre]]'' by [[Constantius of Lyon]].{{Sfn|Hylson-Smith|1999|pp=xvi–xix}}
==Context==
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These separate religious traditions developed into a hybrid Romano-Celtic religion through cultural mixing.{{Sfn|Hylson-Smith|1999|p=10}} Indigenous deities and Roman counterparts were sometimes syncretised, like [[Apollo]]-[[Cunomaglus]] and [[Sulis]]-[[Minerva]]. Romano-British temples were sometimes erected at older, pre-Roman cultic sites. A new style of [[Romano-Celtic temple]] developed that was influenced by both [[British Iron Age|Iron Age]] and imperial Roman architectural styles but was also unique. Buildings in this style remained in use until the 4th century.{{sfn|Watts|1991|pp=2–5}}
People
==Chronology==
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Around 200, the Carthaginian theologian [[Tertullian]] included Britain in a list of places reached by Christianity in his work, ''[[Adversus Judaeos#Other Adversus Iudaeos literature|Adversus Judaeos]]''. His contemporary, the Greek theologian [[Origen]] also wrote that Christianity had reached Britain. The accuracy of these statements can be questioned given that both writers had a strong rhetorical aspect to their work, which was designed to glorify what was still an illegal and underground religious movement. It is nevertheless possible that Tertullian and Origen were basing their statements on some reality.{{sfn|Petts|2003|pp=30–31}}
Christianity experienced slow and steady growth in the empire during the 3rd century.{{sfn|Petts|2003|p=3}} However, the number of British Christians was probably small, and it is unlikely there was any extensive church organisation before the 4th century.{{Sfn|Hylson-Smith|1999|p=39}} In the mid-3rd century, there was an intensification of the [[Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire|persecution of Christians]], particularly under the Emperors [[Decius]] ({{reign|249|251}}) and [[Valerian (emperor)|Valerian]] ({{reign|253|260}}). These waves of persecution may have impacted the Christian community in Britain. It is possible that Saints [[Saint Alban|Alban]], [[Julius and Aaron]], three Romano-British martyrs mentioned in early medieval sources, were killed at this time. In 260, the Emperor [[Gallienus]] issued an edict that decriminalised Christianity, allowing the church to own property as a corporate body.{{sfnm|1a1=Petts|1y=2003|1p=31|2a1=Hylson-Smith|2y=1999|2p=70}}
===4th and 5th centuries===
[[File:
[[File:Saint Patrick Catholic Church (Junction City, Ohio) - stained glass, Saint Patrick - detail.jpg|thumb|right|A modern depiction of Saint Patrick, the only Romano-British Christian to leave a surviving written testimony]]▼
The most severe persecution of Christians by the empire began in 303 under [[Diocletian]] ({{reign|284|305}}). Nevertheless, it appears that British Christians suffered less during the [[Diocletianic Persecution]] than Christians elsewhere.{{Sfn|Hylson-Smith|1999|p=50}} In 313, the Western Roman Emperor [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]] and Eastern Roman Emperor [[Licinius]] issued the [[Edict of Milan]], putting an end to the persecution of Christians in the empire.{{sfn|Petts|2003|p=36}}
The names of several Romano-British bishops have also been found in inscriptions on archaeological finds.{{sfn|Petts|2003|p=38}} On the [[Risley Park Lanx]] is a fragmentary inscription stating "Bishop Exuperius gave [this] to..."{{sfn|Petts|2003|p=38}} A lead salt-pan from [[Shavington]], [[Cheshire]] also contains a Latin inscription which likely related "Of Viventius, the bishop...".{{sfn|Petts|2003|p=39}}
The British church was affected by the [[Arian controversy]], but it appears that the British bishops were united against [[Arianism]]. While no British bishops attended the [[First Council of Nicaea]] in 325, considered the first [[ecumenical council]], British churchmen were present at other councils called to settle the controversy.{{Sfn|Hylson-Smith|1999|pp=55 & 58}} According to [[Athanasius]], the [[Patriarch of Alexandria]], British bishops attended the [[Council of Serdica]] in 343. However, the council records do not indicate any British bishops were present; for this reason, historian [[Richard Sharpe (historian)|Richard Sharpe]] argued that Athanasius was inaccurate. The Gallo-Roman chronicler [[Sulpicius Severus]] claimed that at least three bishops from Britain were in attendance at the [[Council of Ariminum]] in 359.{{sfn|Sharpe|2002|pp=77–78}} Emperor [[Constantius II]] offered lodging at public expense, but most bishops refused, except for the British. This suggests that the British church was either poor or numerically small.{{Sfn|Hylson-Smith|1999|p=56}}
By the second half of the fourth century, Christians held several senior administrative posts within the government of the diocese.{{sfn|Petts|2003|pp=42–43}} The Roman poet [[Ausonius]] corresponded with [[Flavius Sanctus]], the Christian governor of one of the British provinces.{{sfn|Petts|2003|pp=42–43}} In 391 CE, the Roman Emperor [[Theodosius]] banned all pagan religions throughout the empire, with Christianity becoming its official religion.{{sfn|Watts|1991|p=1}} Theodosius' decree would probably have impacted Britain and been acted upon by the provincial administration.{{sfn|Watts|1991|p=1}} Henig suggested that by the end of the fourth century, "a large proportion of British society, however materially impoverished," was Christian.{{sfn|Henig|1984|p=224}}▼
By the 4th century, there were probably Romano-British families split by their religious allegiance; some Christian, others following pagan religions. Some individuals may have oscillated between the two.{{sfn|Henig|1984|p=124}} By the second half of the 4th century, Christians held several senior administrative posts within the government of the [[civil diocese]].{{sfn|Petts|2003|pp=42–43}} The Roman poet [[Ausonius]] corresponded with [[Flavius Sanctus]], the Christian governor of one of the British provinces.{{sfn|Petts|2003|pp=42–43}}
Several prominent Christians were Romano-British by birth. [[Pelagius]], the originator of [[Pelagianism]], was likely born in Britain in the second half of the fourth century, although lived most of his life in continental Europe.{{sfn|Petts|2003|pp=45–46}} [[Saint Patrick]] was also born in Britain to a family who had been Christians for at least three generations.{{sfn|Petts|2003|p=45}} His ''[[Confessio of St Patrick]]'' is the only surviving written testimony that was written by a Romano-British Christian, although mostly discusses his time in Ireland rather than Britain.{{sfn|Petts|2003|p=45}} In the 470s, [[Apollinaris Sidonius]], the [[Bishop of Clermont]], wrote to Faustus, [[Bishop of Riez]], referring to the latter as having been British by birth.{{sfn|Sharpe|2002|p=81}}▼
▲[[File:Saint Patrick Catholic Church (Junction City, Ohio) - stained glass, Saint Patrick - detail.jpg|thumb|right|A modern depiction of Saint Patrick, the only Romano-British Christian to leave a surviving written testimony]]
There are various other surviving textual references attesting to the presence of Christianity in late fourth and fifth century Britain.{{sfn|Petts|2003|p=46}} In the 390s, [[Victricius]], the [[Bishop of Rouen]], travelled to Britain and in his ''De Laude Sanctorum'' referred to a priesthood existing there.{{sfnm|1a1=Sharpe|1y=2002|1pp=78–79|2a1=Petts|2y=2003|2p=46}} Another Gaulish bishop, [[Germanus of Auxerre]], was sent to Britain by Pope [[Pope Celestine I|Celestine I]] in 429, there to deal with a bishop named Agricola who was promoting Pelagianism.{{sfnm|1a1=Sharpe|1y=2002|1p=79|2a1=Petts|2y=2003|2p=46}} The ''Life of Saint Germanus'' refers to the bishop visiting Britain for a second time, this time with a Bishop Severus, in the last year of his life, although the precise year is not known.{{sfn|Sharpe|2002|p=80}}▼
▲
▲Several prominent Christians were Romano-British by birth. [[Pelagius]], the originator of [[Pelagianism]], was likely born in Britain in the second half of the
▲There are various other surviving textual references attesting to the presence of Christianity in late
===5th and 6th century survivals===
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In the late sixth century, the Pope ordered that [[Augustine of Canterbury]] lead the [[Gregorian Mission]] to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity.{{sfn|Sharpe|2002|p=91}} According to the writings of the later monk [[Bede]], these Augustinian missionaries utilised an old Romano-British church that had been dedicated to [[Martin of Tours|St Martin]] and gained permission from the Kentish king to restore several pre-existing churches.{{sfn|Sharpe|2002|p=91}} The survival of Romano-British churches in this period is also attested in other sources, like the ''[[Life of St Wilfrid]]''.{{sfn|Sharpe|2002|p=91}}
==
=== Church buildings ===
In Roman Britain, the church primarily served as the place where the [[Eucharist]] was celebrated.{{sfn|Petts|2003|p=52}} It also had overlapping functions, for instance as a meeting place, a place of group worship, and a place for solitary prayer.{{sfn|Petts|2003|p=52}}
Unlike later medieval Britain, Roman Britain lacked a dense network of parish churches.{{sfn|Petts|2003|p=51}} Instead, a range of different types of church structure were present across the region.{{sfn|Petts|2003|p=51}} One term for a church that was likely used in Roman Britain was ''altare'', a term which appears in an inscription from the Christian [[Water Newton hoard]] and which was not commonly used for pagan cult sites.{{sfn|Petts|2003|p=51}}
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Most Romano-British Christians were probably illiterate and most of their knowledge of Christianity would have come through ceremony.{{sfn|Petts|2003|p=25}}
=== Martyrs and saints ===
[[File:Shrine-of-st-alban.jpg|thumb|Shrine of Saint Alban in [[St Albans Cathedral]]]]
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The date of Alban's death is disputed,{{sfn|Henig|1984|p=125}} but he died at [[Verulamium]] (later renamed [[St Albans]]) where [[St Albans Cathedral|St Albans Abbey]] was later built.{{Sfn|Hylson-Smith|1999|p=51}} Alban is the only Romano-British martyr whose cult definitely survived the termination of the Roman imperial administration among an enclave of British Christians.{{sfn|Sharpe|2002|p=75}} Germanus described visiting Alban's shrine and exchanging relics there in 429.{{sfn|Sharpe|2002|p=83}} Bede writes that his cult was still venerated in the 8th century and that his tomb was the site of miracles.{{Sfn|Hylson-Smith|1999|p=51}} There may have been other Romano-British saints' cults which survived into the 6th and 7th centuries, when they were suppressed amid the Anglo-Saxon migration.{{sfn|Sharpe|2002|p=76}}
==
===Medieval and early modern periods===
After the fall of Roman imperial rule, Britain entered what historians call the early medieval period. During this period, there was an awareness that Christianity had existed in Roman Britain.{{sfn|Petts|2003|p=10}} [[Gildas]], a British Christian monk living somewhere in Western Britain during the sixth century CE, discussed the issue in his ''[[De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae]]'' ("The Ruin and Conquest of Britain").{{sfn|Petts|2003|p=10}} Many of the claims which Gildas made about the establishment of Christianity in Roman Britain are at odds with the information provided in other sources; he for instance claimed that the
In the high and later Middle Ages, historical accounts continued to be produced which discussed the establishment of Christianity in Roman Britain.{{sfn|Petts|2003|p=12}} These were, according to Petts, increasingly "garbled and fanciful" in their narratives.{{sfn|Petts|2003|p=12}} Writing in his twelfth century ''[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]'', [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] for instance added new details to the conversion tale, for instance by naming [[Fagan (saint)|Faganus]] and [[Deruvian|Duvianus]] as two of the missionaries who brought Christianity to Britain.{{sfn|Petts|2003|p=12}} He also claimed that the Empress [[Helena (empress)|Helena]], mother of Constantine, had been the daughter of a (mythical) ruler of Colchester, [[Coel Hen#Colchester legend|King Coel]].{{sfn|Petts|2003|p=12}} Another twelfth-century writer, [[William of Malmesbury]], added the claim that [[Joseph of Aramathea]] had arrived in [[Glastonbury]] in his ''[[Gesta Regum Anglorum]]''.{{sfn|Petts|2003|p=12}} Such stories entered and influenced popular folklore, where they were further altered.{{sfn|Petts|2003|p=12}}
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===Sources===
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book | last = Deanesly | first = Margaret | author-link = Margaret Deanesly | title = The Pre-Conquest Church in England | publisher = Adam & Charles Black | edition = 2nd | year = 1963 | place = London | url = https://archive.org/details/preconquestchurc0000dean | url-access=registration}}
*
*
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* {{cite book | last =
*{{cite book |last=Watts |first=Dorothy |title=Christians and Pagans in Roman Britain |year=1991 |location=London and New York |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-415-05071-5 }}
{{Refend}}
===Further reading===
{{
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*{{cite journal |last=Sharpe |first=Richard |year=2001 |title=Were there British Bishops at the Council of Serdica, AD 343? |journal=Peritia |volume=15 |pages=188–194 |doi=10.1484/J.Peri.3.435 }}
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{{
==External links==
*{{Commonscatinline|Christianity in Roman Britain}}
[[Category:Christianity in Roman Britain| ]]
[[Category:History of Christianity in England|Roman Britain]]
[[Category:History of Christianity in Wales|Roman Britain]]
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