There
were probably Christians in the British Isles already in the first century.
However, Alban is the first recorded Christian martyr. The traditional date of
his death is 304, during the persecution under the Emperor Diocletian; but many
scholars now date it as around 209, during the persecution under the Emperor
Septimius Severus. Alban was a pagan, and a soldier in the Roman Army. He gave
shelter to a Christian priest who was fleeing from arrest, and in the next few
days the two talked at length, and Alban became a Christian. When officers came
in search of the priest, Alban met them, dressed in the priest's cloak, and
they mistook him for the priest and arrested him. He refused to renounce his
new faith, and was beheaded. He thus became the first Christian martyr in
Britain. The second was the executioner who was to kill him, but who heard his
testimony and was so impressed that he became a Christian on the spot, and
refused to kill Alban. The third was the priest, who when he learned that Alban
had been arrested in his place, hurried to the court in the hope of saving
Alban by turning himself in. The place of their deaths is near the site of St.
Alban's Cathedral today.
Let us pray: Almighty God, by
whose grace and power your holy martyr Alban triumphed over suffering and was
faithful even unto death: Grant to us, who now remember him with thanksgiving,
to be so faithful in our witness to you in this world, that we may receive with
him the crown of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
SAFEGUARDING GOD’S CHILDREN: Tomorrow, Saturday at 10:00
a.m. at Sutton Hall.
SUMMER ART PROGRAM: Please
pickup a flier and registration sheet in the narthex of the Church.
PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON
OUR PRAYER LIST, especially Donna Greene (Carol Hogan’s cousin) who is fighting cancer.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal
Church
Galveston, Texas77550
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