Today the Church remembers St. Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury.
Lesser Feasts and Fasts tells us that Christianity existed in Britain before the invasion of the Angles and Saxons in the 5th century. In 596, Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, decided to send a mission to the Anglo-Saxons, and he selected a group of monks led by Augustine to go. They arrived in Kent, England in 597, carrying a silver cross and an image of Christ painted on a board. King Ethelbert tolerated them and allowed them to use an old church east of Canterbury dating back to the Roman occupation of Britain. Bede, who we remember yesterday, wrote that “they assembled to sing the Psalms, to pray, to say the Mass, to preach and to baptize.” That church, St. Martin, is still in use today.
Around 601, King Ethelbert became Christian, becoming the first Christian king in England. At that time, Augustine was ordained bishop and named Archbishop of the English nation, and Canterbury became the seat of the archdiocese.
We have correspondence between Gregory and Augustine, one of which tells Augustine: “If you have found customs, whether in the Roman, Gallican, or any other Churches that me be more acceptable to God, I wish you to make a careful selection of them, and teach the Church of the English (Ecclesia Anglicana), which is still young in the faith, whatever you can profitably learn from the various Churches. For things should not be loved for the sake of places, but places for the sake of good things.”
Augustine died on this day in 605.
Collect for the day:
O Lord our God, who by your Son Jesus Christ called your apostles and sent them forth to preach the Gospel to the nations: We bless your holy name for your servant Augustine, first Archbishop of Canterbury, whose labors in propagating your Church among the English people we commemorate today; and we pray that all whom you call and send may do your will, and bide your time, and see your glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO PRAY FOR EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, and this week especially for those who were baptized, for Betty Head and her family, Cotele Singleton who is in the hospital, for Tammie Taylor, and for all of those who are travelling, especially Bill Taylor.
CALENDAR REMINDERS:
12 June: Gospel by the Sea.
11:00 a.m. every Sunday in the nave, Adult Christian Formation: Heaven and Hell: Angels With Harps, Demons With Pitchforks? Or Maybe Something Else?
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Lesser Feasts and Fasts tells us that Christianity existed in Britain before the invasion of the Angles and Saxons in the 5th century. In 596, Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, decided to send a mission to the Anglo-Saxons, and he selected a group of monks led by Augustine to go. They arrived in Kent, England in 597, carrying a silver cross and an image of Christ painted on a board. King Ethelbert tolerated them and allowed them to use an old church east of Canterbury dating back to the Roman occupation of Britain. Bede, who we remember yesterday, wrote that “they assembled to sing the Psalms, to pray, to say the Mass, to preach and to baptize.” That church, St. Martin, is still in use today.
Around 601, King Ethelbert became Christian, becoming the first Christian king in England. At that time, Augustine was ordained bishop and named Archbishop of the English nation, and Canterbury became the seat of the archdiocese.
We have correspondence between Gregory and Augustine, one of which tells Augustine: “If you have found customs, whether in the Roman, Gallican, or any other Churches that me be more acceptable to God, I wish you to make a careful selection of them, and teach the Church of the English (Ecclesia Anglicana), which is still young in the faith, whatever you can profitably learn from the various Churches. For things should not be loved for the sake of places, but places for the sake of good things.”
Augustine died on this day in 605.
Collect for the day:
O Lord our God, who by your Son Jesus Christ called your apostles and sent them forth to preach the Gospel to the nations: We bless your holy name for your servant Augustine, first Archbishop of Canterbury, whose labors in propagating your Church among the English people we commemorate today; and we pray that all whom you call and send may do your will, and bide your time, and see your glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO PRAY FOR EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, and this week especially for those who were baptized, for Betty Head and her family, Cotele Singleton who is in the hospital, for Tammie Taylor, and for all of those who are travelling, especially Bill Taylor.
CALENDAR REMINDERS:
12 June: Gospel by the Sea.
11:00 a.m. every Sunday in the nave, Adult Christian Formation: Heaven and Hell: Angels With Harps, Demons With Pitchforks? Or Maybe Something Else?
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
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