Archbishops of Canterbury Archbishops of Canterbury By Ben Johnson | Comments In the Christian church, an archbishop is a bishop of superior rank who has authority over other bishops in an ecclesiastic province or area. The Church of England is presided over by two archbishops: the archbishop of Canterbury, who is 'primate of All England', and the archbishop of York, who is 'primate of England'. In the time of St. Augustine, around the 5th century it was intended that England would be divided into two provinces with two archbishops, one at London and one at York . Canterbury gained supremacy just prior to the Reformation in the 16th century, when it exercised the powers of papal legate throughout England. It is the Archbishop of Canterbury who has the privilege of crowning the kings and queens of England and ranks immediately after the princes of royal blood. The Archbishop's official residence is at Lambeth Palace, London, and second residence at the Old Palace, Canterbury. The first Archbishop of Canterbury was Augustine. Originally prior to the Benedictine monastery of St. Andrew in Rome, he was sent to England by Pope Gregory I with the mission to convert the natives to Roman Christianity.

Landing in Ebbesfleet, Kent in 597 Augustine quickly converted his first native when he baptized Ethelbert, King of Kent along with many of his subjects. He was consecrated Bishop of the English at Arles that same year and appointed archbishop in 601, establishing his seat at Canterbury. In 603 he attempted unsuccessfully to unite the Roman and native Celtic churches at a conference on the Severn. The following list traces the Archbishops from the time of Augustine through the Reformation, up to the present day. Their influence on the history of England and the English people is apparent for all to see. Archbishops of Canterbury 604 Laurentius. Nominated by St. Augustine as his successor. Had a rocky ride when King Ethelbert of Kent was succeeded by his pagan son Eadbald. Remaining calm Laurentius eventually converted Eadbald to Christianity, thus preserving the Roman mission in England. 627 Honorius. The last of the group of Roman missionaries who had accompanied St. Augustine to England. 668 Theodore (of Tarsus).

The Greek theologian was already in his sixties when he was sent to England by Pope Vitalian to assume the role of archbishop. Despite his age he went on to reorganise the English Church creating the diocesan structure, uniting for the first time the people of England. 693 Berhtwald. The first archbishop of English birth. Worked with King Wihtred of Kent to develop the laws of the land. Cuthbert. Established England as an important base from which Anglo-Saxon missionaries were despatched abroad. 765 Jaenberht. Backed the wrong horse in the King of Kent against King Offa of Mercia. He saw the importance of Canterbury reduce as power shifted to Offa's cathedral in Lichfield. 793 Ethelheard, St. Originally chosen by King Offa of Mercia, to make Lichfield into the premier archbishopric in England. Ethelheard appears to have messed things up a little in the politics of the day, and unwittingly succeeded in reinstating Canterbury's traditional superiority. 805 Wulfred.

As with his predecessors Wulfred's rule was frequently disrupted by disputes with the kings of Mercia and was at one stage exiled by King Cenwulf. 833 Ceolnoth. Maintained Canterbury's superiority within the Church of England by forming close relationships with the rising power of the Kings of Wessex, and abandoning the pro-Mercian policies of Feologeld. 890 Plegmund. Appointed Archbishop by Alfred the Great. Plegmund played an influential role in the reigns of both Alfred and Edward the Elder. He was involved in early efforts to convert the Danelaw to Christianity. 942 Oda. Oda's career serves to demonstrate the integration of Scandinavians into English society. The son of a pagan who came to England with the Viking 'Great Army', Oda organised the reintroduction of a bishopric into the Scandinavian settlements of East Anglia. 960 Dunstan. He was originally Abbot of Glastonbury from 945, and made it a centre of learning. He was King Edred's chief advisor and virtually became the kingdom's ruler.

Following the death of Edred in 955, his nephew King Edwy drove Dunstan into exile for refusing to authorize his proposed marriage with Ælfgifu. After Edwy's death in 959, Dunstan became Archbishop of Canterbury from 960. He is said to have pulled the devil's nose with a pair of tongs. His feast day is 19th May. 990 Sigeric. In the reign of Ethelred II the Unready, Sigeric was promoted from humble monk to the top job of archbishop. He is associated with the policy of paying Danegeld in an attempt to buy off Scandanavian attacks. 1005 Alphege. In 1012, he was captured by the Danes who had invaded Kent, and was held at Greenwich. He refused to pay his own ransom, and, during a drunken feast at which the Danes threw left-over bones and skulls at Alphege, he was murdered by a Dane whom he had converted to Christianity earlier in the day., The Danish leader, Thorkill, was disgusted by the murder and changed sides, bringing 45 ships to Æthelred 's service.

In 1033, Canute moved Alphege's bones from St Paul's Cathedral to Canterbury Cathedral. 1020 Ethelnoth. One of the most distinguished of the Anglo-Saxon archbishops. The first monk of the Canterbury monastery to be elected archbishop. 1051 Robert of Jumieges. One of a small number of Normans who came to England with Edward the Confessor in 1041. His scheming and elevation to archbishop fuelled a civil war between Edward and Earl Godwine of Wessex. Robert was also the ambassador who promised the succession to Duke William (The Conqueror) of Normandy. 1052 Stigand. Became archbishop after the expulsion of Robert of Jumieges, as such he was never recognised by the church in Rome. A worldly and very wealthy man he was at first accepted by William I The Conqueror, but in 1070 was deposed by Papal Legate. 1070 Lanfranc. A native of Italy, he left home around 1030 to pursue his studies in France.

He was responsible for presenting the case to the Pope for William of Normandy's claim to the English crown. It was William I The Conqueror who appointed him archbishop in 1070. Lanfranc was responsible for reforming and reorganising the English Church and rebuilt the Cathedral on the model of St Stephen's in Caen where he had previously been Abbot. 1093 Anselm. Another Italian who had left home in search of better things and had found Lefranc as Prior at the Norman Abbey of Bec. He followed in Lefranc's footsteps first as Prior and then as Archbishop. His strongly held views on the Church-State relationship would greatly influence Thomas a Becket and continue to rumble on for centuries ensuring a greater control of the Church from Rome. 1139 Theobald. Yet another monk from the Norman Abbey of Bec. He was created Archbishop by Stephen. The relationship between the King and Archbishop strained over the years culminating in Theobald refusing to crown Stephen's son Eustace. He drew Thomas a Becket into his service Thomas a Becket .

Worked as a banker's clerk before entering the service of Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury in 1145. He was a close friend of Henry II and was Chancellor from 1152 until 1162, when he was elected archbishop. He then changed his allegiance to the church, alienating Henry. In 1164, he opposed Henry's attempt to control the relations between church and state – preferring the clergy to be judged by the church and not by the state – and fled to France. There was a reconciliation between Henry and Becket and he returned in 1170, but the reconciliation soon broke down. After an outburst from the king, four knights – probably misunderstanding Henry's instructions – murdered Becket in front of the altar of Canterbury Cathedral on 29th December 1170. He was canonised – as St Thomas Becket – in 1172, and his shrine became the most popular destination of pilgrimage in England until the Reformation. His feast day is 29th December. 1184 Baldwin.

Despite being described as gentle and guileless, he did take action when needed, galloping up and saving Gilbert of Plumpton from the gallows, forbidding such hangman's work on a Sunday. Also saw action in the Crusades, he died five weeks after his 200 knights had fought at Acre. 1193 Hubert Walter. Rector of Halifax in 1185. He travelled to the Holy Land with Richard the Lion-Heart on the Third Crusade 1190 and, when Richard was taken prisoner by emperor Henry VI, Walter brought the army back to England and raised a ransom of 100,000 marks for the king's release. He was Dean of York from 1186 to 1189, then Bishop of Salisbury, and he became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1193. On Richard's death in 1199, he was appointed Chancellor 1207 Stephen Langton. He was consecrated archbishop by Pope Innocent III, which annoyed King John so much that he refused to admit him into England. The quarrel between King and Pope lasted until John submitted in 1213.

Once in England he proved to be an important mediator playing a key role in negotiating Magna Carta . 1375 Simon Sudbury. He was blamed for government mismanagement and unjust taxation which led to the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, led by Wat Tyler . The 'revolting' rebels dragged him from the Tower of London and beheaded him. His mummified head is displayed in the vestry of St. Gregory's church in Sudbury, Suffolk. 1381 William Courtenay. He led the opposition within the English Church to John Wyclif, dubbed by some to be 'the morning star of the Reformation', and the Lollards, and was influential in driving them out of Oxford. 1396 Thomas Arundel. The combination of his high aristocratic birth and driving ambition made him one of the most powerful men in England. His political connections led first to his banishment by Richard II in 1397, and then to his restoration by Henry IV two years later. 1414 Henry Chichele. He helped to finance the war against France, organised the fight against Lollardy and founded All Souls College in Oxford.

1443 John Stafford. It was said of him if he had done little good he had done no harm. 1452 John Kempe. Initially Henry V's Keeper of the Privy Seal and Chancellor in Normandy, he also served two terms as Chancellor of England. Before becoming Archbishop of Canterbury he was Bishop of; Rochester (1419-21), Chichester (1421), London (1421-5) and York (1425-52). 1454 Thomas Bourchier. Also served as Chancellor of England from 1455 to 1456, during an illness of Henry VI and while Richard of York was Protector. 1486 John Morton. Originally an Oxford-trained lawyer he fled to Flanders, to the court of Henry Tudor, after Richard III attempted to imprison him in 1483. Henry VII summoned him home after his victory at Bosworth in 1485 and made him archbishop.

After this he applied much of his energy to financial matters of state giving his name to the 'Morton's fork' principle of tax assessment: ostentation is proof of wealth - stricken appearance is proof of hidden savings. 1503 William Warham. He expressed doubts as to the wisdom of Henry VIII marrying Catherine of Aragon, the widow of Prince Arthur, but presided at their coronation. He did nothing to help Catherine against Henry's efforts to have their marriage declared null, but was less than happy with the increasingly anti-papal royal policy adopted after 1530. The martyrdom of Thomas Cranmer, from an old edition of Foxe's Book of Martyrs Archbishops of Canterbury since the Reformation 1533 Thomas Cranmer. Compiled the first English Book of Common Prayer. First Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1551, his 42 Articles laid down the basis of Anglican Protestantism. Burned at the stake for heresy and treason in opposing Bloody Mary. His feast day is 16th October. 1556 Reginald Pole. Returned from a self imposed exile in Italy following the accession of his Catholic cousin Queen Mary I.

He died within a few hours of her in November 1558. 1559 Mathew Parker. He was apparently surprised when Elizabeth I decided that her mother's (Anne Boleyn) old chaplain would make an ideal Archbishop of Canterbury. Presided over the very difficult opening years of the new religious settlement. 1576 Edmund Grindal. He had been exiled under Queen Mary I because of his Protestant beliefs and was therefore the obvious choice for the top job in the Church of Elizabeth I. His defiance of her wishes in 1577 however, led to his suspension under house arrest. He failed to recovered favour by the time of his death. 1583 John Whitgift. A former Cambridge don, he first attracted the attention of Elizabeth I by his strict disciplining of the non-conforming Puritans. Yet another archbishop who annoyed the lady, with the thought that a clergyman should attempt to decide theology for her Church. 1604 Richard Bancroft. Was born and intially educated in Farnworth, near modern day Widnes, he graduated from Cambridge and was ordained around 1570.

Whilst still Bishop of London, he drafted the rules for the translation of what would eventually become the 'most popular book in the world' ... The King James Bible . 1611 George Abbot. He found favour under James I, his reputation as a churchman however was dented when he accidentally killed a gamekeeper whilst out hunting with a crossbow. 1633 William Laud. His High Church policy, support for Charles I, censorship of the press, and persecution of the Puritans aroused bitter opposition. He was responsible for moving the altar from a its central position to the east end of churches. His attempt to impose the Prayer Book in Scotland precipitated the Civil War. He was impeached by the Long Parliament in 1640, imprisoned in the Tower of London, condemned to death, and beheaded. 1660 William Juxon. A friend of William Laud, he had attended Charles I at his execution in 1649 and spent the years until the restoration of Charles II in retirement. His appointment as archbishop in 1660 being a reward for loyal royal service. 1663 Gilbert Sheldon.

Another former advisor to Charles I, he attempted to unite the thinking of the Anglican and Presbyterian branches of the Church. 1678 William Sancroft. Following an unsuccessful attempt to convert King James II to Anglicanism, he and the king fell out. He openly and publicly defied royal orders to accept the King's Declaration of Indulgence for Dissenters and Catholics. A man of integrity it appears, as he played no part in Glorious Revolution and argued that the oath he had taken to James precluded him taking another to William III and Mary II. 1691 John Tillotson. He succeeded Sancroft as archbishop, having carried out the duties of the office since 1689 when Sancroft had refused to take the oaths that recognised William and Mary as rightful monarchs. William of Orange 1695 Thomas Tenison. A 'friend' of those who invited William of Orange to England in 1688. He warned about the threat to Anglicanism from a Stuart restoration. 1716 William Wake. He attempted to persuade the French Gallican Church to break with Rome and ally itself with the Church of England.

In later life he gained a reputation for corruption, appointing members of his family to financially lucrative positions within the Church. Frederick Temple. Followed the well worn path from Oxford to Rugby to Canterbury. 1903 Randall Thomas Davidson. Born in Edinburgh into a Presbyterian family, he studied at Oxford, and became chaplain to Archbishop Tait (his father-in-law) and also to Queen Victoria . 1928 Cosmo Gordon Lang. Born in Fyvie, Aberdeenshire, he was Principal of Aberdeen University and entered the Church of England in 1890. He was both counsellor and friend to the royal family. 1942 William Temple. The son of Frederick Temple he deviated the well worn path from Oxford to Canterbury via Repton. He was an outspoken supporter of social reform in crusades against money lenders, slums and dishonesty. 1945 Geoffrey Francis Fisher. He also followed the now deeply rutted path from Oxford to Repton to Canterbury. As archbishop he crowned Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey in 1953. 1961 Arthur Michael Ramsey.

Educated at Repton, where his headmaster was the man he would succeed as archbishop - Geoffrey Fisher, he worked for Church unity with an historic visit to the Vatican in 1966. He also attempted to forge a reconciliation with the Methodist Church. ST. AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY :: Catholic News Agency (CNA) ST. AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY SATURDAY, MAY 27, 2017 An Italian Benedictine monk who became the “Apostle of the English,” Saint Augustine of Canterbury is honored by the Catholic Church on May 27. Under the direction of Pope Saint Gregory the Great, Augustine founded the famous See of Canterbury and preached the Catholic faith to the country's Anglo-Saxon pagans during the late sixth and early seventh centuries. He is not be confused with the earlier St. Augustine of Hippo, the famous author of the “Confessions” and “City of God.” Augustine's date of birth cannot be established, nor are any details of his early life known. Most likely born in Rome, to a noble family, he entered monastic life as a young man.

The community he joined had been recently founded by a Benedictine monk named Gregory, who would go on to become Pope and eventually be known as St. Gregory the Great. The friendship between Gregory and Augustine had great historical consequences, as it was the Pope who would eventually send his fellow monk to evangelize England. Around 595, five years into his 14-year pontificate, Pope Gregory set to work on a plan for the conversion of the English people. The Catholic faith had already been preached and accepted among England's original Celtic inhabitants, in earlier times; but from the mid-fifth century onward, the country was dominated by Anglo-Saxon invaders who did not accept Christianity, and were not converted by the small number of isolated Celtic Christian holdouts. Thus, England largely had to be evangelized anew. For this task the Pope chose a group of around forty monks – including Augustine, who was to represent the delegation and communicate on its behalf. Though he was not explicitly chosen as its leader at that time, that was the role he ended up taking on with Gregory’s support. The group left for England in June 596, but some of the missionaries lost their nerve after hearing fearsome reports about the Anglo-Saxons.

Augustine ended up returning to Rome, where he got further advice and support from the Pope. Persuaded to continue on their way, the missionary-monks reached their port of departure and set sail for England in spring of 597. After arriving they gained an audience with King Ethelbert of Kent, a pagan ruler whose Frankish wife Queen Bertha was a Christian. Speaking with the king through an interpreter, Augustine gave a powerful and straightforward presentation of the Gospel message, speaking of Christ’s redemption of the world and his offer of eternal life. Ethelbert would later convert, and eventually even be canonized as a saint. But his initial response to Augustine’s preaching was only mildly positive: he would receive the missionaries with hospitality, and permit them to evangelize without any restriction. Despite his early ambivalence, however, the king became a generous patron of the monks. They made their home in Canterbury, after dramatically entering the city in procession with the Cross and an image of Christ. The Canterbury community lived according to the Rule of St. Benedict, as they had in Italy, but they also preached in the surrounding area in accordance with their mission.

Augustine and his companions succeeded in converting King Ethelbert himself, while Queen Bertha also became more zealous in her practice of the faith after her husband’s baptism. Augustine traveled to Gaul, where he was consecrated as a bishop for the English Church. By Christmas of 597, over ten thousand people were actively seeking baptism from the missionaries. Through his written correspondence, Pope Gregory continued to guide the work of Augustine – the first Archbishop of Canterbury – and the other Catholic missionaries. The great Pope, and the “Apostle of England,” would both die during the same year, 604. Though Augustine had not managed to sort out some disagreements with the native Celtic bishops, he had given the faith a firm foothold among the Anglo-Saxons. Canterbury would continue on for centuries as the ranking see of English Catholicism, until its fall into schism during the 16th century. Benedictine Monks | Benedictine life from the perspective of a Monk. Benedictine life from the perspective of a Monk. Conversion, A Decided Struggle St. Benedict inspired the name of the Black Monks Rugby Team at Benedictine College The decision to struggle is part of conversion.

It is a conscious decision to push yourself toward a greater good. For rugby players and all athletes, the good is a victory. The struggle is against the opposing team. For Catholics, the good is radical discipleship in Christ. The struggle is against sin, especially when the flesh burns. Like an athlete, a disciple understands there is a cost associated with victory. Like an athlete, a disciple’s decision to struggle demonstrates his belief that there will be a victory. Eternal life is worth it. Saint Benedict made the decision to struggle against sin. He wanted a deeper conversion. As a young man, Saint Benedict “was seized with an usually violent temptation. The evil spirit recalled to his mind a woman he had once seen, and before he realized it his emotions were carrying him away.” (Dialogues, p. 7) Has this ever happened to you? Temptations against chastity, sobriety and excellence are common. It is consoling to read St. Gregory the Great’s encouraging words, “that temptations of the flesh are violent during youth, whereas after the age of fifty concupiscence dies down.” (Dialogues, p. 9) Good news, it gets better. Bad news, what to do before fifty?

Before you realize it, your thoughts and emotions, mind and flesh are racing. Sin is promising you comfort and freedom from the struggle in your own mind and body. It is confusing. It is tempting to not struggle. At the same time we know when we chose not to struggle we become a spiritual couch potato, not a spiritual athlete. Don’t be a potato. We often forget, when you take hold of sin, it will soon take hold of you. Struggle to reject sin. Saint Benedict was even tempted to quite discipleship. Temptation makes discipleship look like the problem. How often are we tempted to cave to a craving of the flesh? Vacation from sexual purity or sobriety? Or, quite a Bible study? Or, step away from serving those who follow us? Saint Benedict conquered sin by deciding to struggle. As his flesh was burning with passion, “he noticed a thick patch of nettles and briers next to him. Throwing his garment aside…he rolled and tossed until his whole body was in pain and covered with blood. Yet once he had conquered pleasure through suffering, his torn and bleeding skin served to drain off the poison of temptation from his body.” (Dialogues, p.

8) This sounds extreme until you remember the last rugby match, football game, wrestling tournament or cross country competition you competed in. Athletes and people in every profession constantly decide to struggle. A disciple decides to struggle against sin in order to align his priorities with God’s priorities. The decision to struggle is worth every bruise and bloody nose. Are you holding you back? What can strengthen you when you decide to struggle? What can you do when your flesh burns? When tempted against chastity or sobriety? -Find people and hang out. Someone once said if you find yourself alone, surfing the internet, with a beer in your hand…go find the people who love you and spend time with them. -Go for a walk, run or work-out. -Walk to a public space. Pray in chapel. Study in a lounge. -Get enough sleep. -Join a men’s or women’s group and consistently go. When tempted against excellence? -Remember Christ was all in. Ask yourself if you are growing in your love of God? Am I all in? -Is there an aspect of my…job, relationships, finances, free-time…where the Lord does not have first place?

-Evaluate if you are motivated by love of God or the need for another’s approval? Saint Benedict realized the decision to struggle was worth it. With the help of God’s grace ask yourself if it is your time to decide to struggle in another area of your life. This is conversion. Saint Benedict Prayer for the Struggle Blessed Benedict… Help me! I beg you to be my protector. Dig me out from the mass of sin that buries me, free me from the ropes of sin that bind me, loose me from the wickedness that entangles me. Lift up him who is cast down, strengthen the wavering, prepare the helpless with spiritual weapons of virtue, lead and protect him who is fighting in the battle. Bring me to the victory and lead me to the crown. -Prayer by Saint Anselm, Benedictine Monk Saint Benedict at Subiaco Workshop of Fra Angelico 1400 ; 1455 A first step in conversion is deciding to follow Christ. The Lord says, “follow me” because he wants to give you a new beginning. He made you. He wants you to be happy. Your decision to follow Christ marks a new beginning for you. This is called conversion.

Saint Benedict can help us deepen our own personal conversion. The saints decided to follow Christ in a deeper personal conversion before they were saints. Saint Benedict did this. Like college students today, Saint Benedict is studying in Rome. He realizes he is standing between the world of pleasure and the promises of Christ. In Rome, he had an all access pass to the best of everything. He could walk to the Circus Maximus (Nascar), the Colosseum (Super Bowl), or the Forum (Mall of America). Yet, Benedict’s biography says, “he found many of the students there abandoning themselves to vice…In his desire to please God alone, he…gave up home and inheritance and resolved to embrace the religious life.” (Dialogues, p. 1-2) Like so many heroic college students today, Saint Benedict made the decision to follow Christ. Benedict decides to follow Christ Saying yes to Christ, means saying goodbye to worldliness no matter what vocation you are called to. This is part of conversion. You may question your decision. Friend groups, someone you are dating and even family may question your decision.

You might hear them say, “you’ve changed.” Or, “I like the old you.” Saint Benedict can help you remember the decision to follow Christ is worth it. He faced similar judgments. What did he do? His biographer, St. Gregory the Great, writes: “Benedict, however, preferred to suffer ill-treatment from the world rather than enjoy its praises. He wanted to spend himself laboring for God, not to be honored by the applause of men.” (Dialogues, p. 4) If you choose God over the applause of the world, Jesus promises you a new beginning. Here are some ways you can strengthen your decision to follow Christ and deepen your personal conversion: -Begin meditating 10-15 minutes each day, push for consistency -Get to confession at least once a month, live free -Sunday Mass of course, but daily Mass will take you places -Find friends who support your decision to follow Christ -Pray for your own conversion in Christ. Ask St. Benedict for help. Maybe his conversion experience can help you. Try this prayer: Saint Benedict Prayer for Conversion Jesus, good Lord, consider my affliction and my trouble and forgive me all my sins.

Hear, O Lord, do not cast me off or forsake me, but lead me and help me to do your will, so that my life may attest what my heart and mouth confess so freely. Hear the voice of my prayer, my King and my God, by the merits and intercession of Saint Benedict. -Prayer by Saint Anselm, Benedictine Monk St. Boniface and the Virtue of Magnanimity St. Boniface Proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ While reading the letters of the Benedictine monk, St. Boniface, you sense the virtue of magnanimity. The Latin meaning of magnanimity translates as “greatly generous.” The Benedictine monks of St. Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, exist in the 21st century because of the great generosity of St. Boniface and his monks in the 8th century. How did great generosity create a lasting impact? Around 720AD, St. Boniface founded his first Benedictine monasteries in Germany. In 739AD, St. Boniface founded the Diocese of Regensburg and in 766AD, St.

Michael’s Abbey, our grandmother house, was founded in Metten in the Diocese of Regensburg. The founding of these centers of evangelization demonstrate the great generosity of St. Boniface. Even more we find St. Boniface writing the Abbot of Monte Cassino in 750AD: “May the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ and that way of life which we are bound to show to the heathen, walking therein ourselves, not be dimmed or hidden within us. We earnestly pray that there may be between us an intimate tie of brotherly love with common prayer for the living and, for those who have passed from this life, prayers and celebrations of Masses, the names of the dead being mutually exchanged” (Source: The Letters of Saint Boniface, Columbia University Press, p.158). The magnanimity of St. Boniface shows in his letter. A Benedictine monk, the Apostle of Germany guides each Benedictine monk and every disciples of Jesus toward greater generosity: He shares his hope to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to unbelievers. He prays for brotherhood with the Benedictine monks of Monte Cassino. He is devoted to the power of the Mass.

He promises to pray for the needs of the living and the dead. If we do the same, Christ will also make us greatly generous. Abbot Martin Veth, c. 1940 Advent reminder….God will take care of you! Jesus comes to take care of you. Benedictine monk, Abbot Martin Veth, writes, “‘Throw thy care upon the Lord, and He will have care of you’ (Psalm 54:23). He came to take care of you and all your infirmities and sins, if you will only let Him, believe in Him, and hope in Him. He will do for you. We do him wrong when we mistrust Him, the power of His passion and death, of His Mass and Sacraments. How kind of him to say to us: … don’t worry about anything — count on me and I will look after you. Behold our joy! Faith and hope in him!” From, Custody of the Heart: Selected Spiritual Writings of Abbot Martin Veth, O.S.B., Edited by William P. Hyland, PhD., page 14 Third Sunday of Advent Meditation Abbot Martin Veth, c.

1940 This Advent visualize your soul as a crib for the baby Jesus. Abbot Martin Veth writes, “The Lord is nigh in Holy Communion. Here our soul becomes another crib of Bethlehem. ‘He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath life everlasting,’ said our divine Lord, and ‘I will raise him up on the last day.’ Do we believe this? Then why be solicitous? Let us have more faith and hope in our prayers, in Mass and the Sacraments.” From, Custody of the Heart: Selected Spiritual Writings of Abbot Martin Veth, O.S.B., Edited by William P. Hyland, PhD., page 15 Second Week of Advent Meditation Abbot Martin Veth, c. 1940 Advent during WWII must have been interesting. Imagine the patience exercised by so many Catholic families as America united, suffered and sacrificed for freedom. The Benedictine monks of St. Benedict’s Abbey served as military chaplains and suffered in the cause of freedom. Christ fought for freedom too. Abbot Martin Veth said Advent is a penitential time, “To will what God wills and because He wills it, this is the essence of patience.

Patience does no relieve us of our natural feelings of aversion, irritation, and indignation, but it controls and rises above these feelings. Merely to grin and bear suffering in sullen silence with stoic and passive indifference is not Christian patience; we must willingly accept the cross and offer it, as Christ did on Calvary. We must offer our sufferings, at the foot of the altar. Our Lord felt the natural impulse to avoid suffering, but He set aside and refused to listen to this feeling: “Father not my will but Thine be done.…Where does this patience show itself? It shows itself in the way you put up with the many things of your daily life, sickness, death, war, persecution, mishaps and misfortunes of every kind.” From, Custody of the Heart: Selected Spiritual Writings of Abbot Martin Veth, O.S.B., Edited by William P. Hyland, PhD., page 9-10 First Week of Advent Meditation Abbot Martin Veth, c. 1940 Abbot Martin Veth invites us to meditate on the first week of Advent in a reflection he delivered in 1942.

The abbot wrote: “It takes power, the power of an Almighty God, to save us from our sins and infirmities and to bring about a change in us and in all those from whom we pray. It is hard work to “Cast off the works of darkness” (Epistle), to put to death our vanity, pride, sensuality, sloth and disobedience, and to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” –meekness, humility, obedience, charity, religious perfection, the conversion of our morals. “Holiness”, says St. Catherine of Genoa, “Consists primarily not in the absence of faults but in the presence of spiritual energy, grace, virtue, faith, charity.”” From, Custody of the Heart: Selected Spiritual Writings of Abbot Martin Veth, O.S.B., Edited by William P. Hyland, PhD., page 7-8 List of Benedictine Saints Why is finding a list of Benedictine saints so hard? Benedictine monks are devoted to the saints. St. Benedict said prayer is to be elevated on the anniversaries of saints.

“On the feasts of saints, and indeed on all solemn festivals, the Sunday order of celebration is followed” (RB 14:1-2). A Benedictine monk makes his vows before the assembly and, “God and his Saints” (RB 58:18). So, why the challenge? One Benedictine monk explained it this way in an issue of The Tablet (August 29, 1936). Benedictine saints, blesseds and venerables are from centuries, countries, abbeys and convents so they create a vast list. What a great problem to have. Too many Benedictine saints! To this day, the Ramsgate Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine’s Abbey, England, publish a very handy reference guide on the saints, especially the Benedictines, called The Book of Saints. For your reference here is the link to the 1936 letter (English spellings) with some minor edits for its presentation below: The Tablet —may-i-also-ask-the-hospit Sir, -May I also ask the hospitality of your columns to show the continuity of saints in the Benedictine Order?

Separate Benedictine lists of this kind could indeed be compiled for almost every Western European nation. The following list is a cosmopolitan selection, in which Englishmen will recognise many of their own countrymen. I suspect that there are a good many people who think that the Benedictines ceased to produce saints sometime during the thirteenth or fourteenth centuries. It is true that, owing to their lack of centralisation, they have been rather slow in uniting to promote the canonisation of their saints; in fact, of those Benedictines who, in recent years have been raised to the altar, several were almost forced upon their confreres. Nevertheless, the fact remains that, even so, the catalogue of Benedictine monks who have died in the odour of sanctity, is not only a very full one, but moreover continues unbroken from the time of St. Benedict to our own day. In the following list, a single date without further comment refers to the Saint’s death. It will be obvious from these that the lives of Benedictine Saints have never ceased to overlap. c.550, St. Benedict c.570, St.

Simplicius, third abbot of Montecassino 604, St. Gregory the Great 619, St. Lawrence, monk of St. Andrew’s, Rome, second Archbishop of Canterbury 644, St. Paulinus of York and of Rochester c.665, St. Walbert, third abbot of Luxeuil, under whose abbacy St. Benedict’s Rule was adopted at the abbey 690, St. Benet Biscop 735, St. Bede the Venerable 754, St. Boniface, Apostle of Germany 786, St. Willibald, Bishop of Eichstatt 803, St. Anselm, abbot-founder of Nonantula 826, St. Adhelard, abbot of Corbie 851, St. Paschasius Radbertus 865, St. Ansgar, Apostle of Denmark 884, St. Bertharius, abbot of Montecassino 912, St. Notker Balbulus 942, St.

Odo, second abbot of Cluny (from 910 to 1109 all the abbots of this monastery were saints) 988, St. Dunstan 1012, St. Elphege 1050, St. Alpherius, abbot founder of La Cava in Italy. All the abbots of this place from 1011 to 1295-almost three centuries-have been officially declared either Sancti or Beau) 1073, St. Dominic of Silos 1095, St. Wulstan 1109, St. Anselm of Canterbury 1140, St. Malchus, monk of Winchester, Bishop of Lismore 1178, St. Frowin, abbot of Engelberg 1219, St. Donatus, abbot of Montevergine 1243, Bl. Lawrence of Fanello 1248, Bl. Jordan Forzater, monk of Padua 1262, Bl. Beatrix II, nun of St.

Lazarus, Ferrara 1267, St. Silvester Guzzolini, abbot of Montefano 1295, St. Thomas of Dover 1302, St. Gertrude the Great 1348, Bl. Bernard Tolomei, abbot-founder of Monteoliveto 1370, Bl. Urban V, Pope c.1400, St. Sergius of Amalfi, monk of Montecassino 1436, Bl. John Bessand, Celestine 1440, St. Frances of Rome 1469, Bl. Eustochium of Padua, nun of St. Prosdocimo c.1500, Bl. Raphael of Dalmatia, monk at Barula in Apulia 1510, V. Garcias de Cisneros 1529, Bl. Catherine Bognora 1548, V. Gregory Cortese, Cardinal 1566, V. Louis de BloisBlosius 1582, Bl.

Ann Toschel, abbess at Riga 1599, V. (others call him Blessed) Sebastian de Villoslada, abbot of Valvanera 1601, Bl. Mark Barkworth 1632, V. Rupert of Weingarten 1636, V. Placid Christopher Aresti, Archbishop of Buenos Aires 1641, Bl. Ambrose Barlow 1670; Bo. Jane Mary Bonomo 1679, Bl. Thomas Pickering 1698, V. Mechtilde of the Bl. Sacrament 1713, -V. Mary Crocifissa Tommasi, nun at Palma, Sicily, sister of Bl. Joseph M. Tommasi, Cardinal, who introduced her Cause 1723, V. Joseph of St. Benedict, a Belgian laybrother of Montserrat 1749, V. Dom Hyppolitus Pugnetti, priest of Subiaco 1792, Bl.

Augustin Ambrose Chevreux, last Superior General of the Maurists (the causes of over two hundred other Benedictines, martyred during the French Revolution, have been, or are shortly to be, introduced) 1830, V. Dom Constans Rousseau, professed before 1790 1854, V. John Baptist Muard, abbot-founder of La-Pierrequivire (his cause is proceeding) 1894, Joseph Benedict Dusmet, Cardinal, Archbishop of Catania (his cause has been introduced) 1915, Dom Placid Riccardi, monk of St. Paul outside the Walls (his cause has also been officially introduced) 1922, Sister Fortunata Viti, an Italian lay-sister, who died aged ninety-five years, after seventy-three years of religious life (her cause is being actively proceeded with in the Roman Curia) Yours faithfully, ROMANUS Rios, O.S.B., Ramsgate Monk Vs Wild Man Vs Wild is a survival television series hosted by Bear Grylls. He navigates remote locations and teaches strategies on how to survive in the wild.

The show taps into every man’s primal passion for the wilderness. St. Benedict would be a fan of Man Vs Wild but he might call it Monk Vs Wild. Why? Men originated in the wild. Benedictine monks originated in the wild. St. Benedict first lived in a cave. Like Adam who was made “of dust from the ground” (Genesis 2:7) in the wilderness. Jesus, the new Adam, battles Satan in the wilderness for 40 days. St. Benedict lived in the wilderness, a cave and a mountain, when he began the Order of St. Benedict. Adam was created in the wilderness to shamar the garden. Genesis 2:15, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till and keep it.” St. Benedict establishes the Order in the wilderness to shamar, to till and keep, the faith revealed by Jesus Christ and his bride, the Church. Benedictine monks live in the wilderness. Benedictine abbeys are often built in mountain and desert places. Like Moses, Benedictine monks meet God in the wilderness.

Acts 7:31-32, “When forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him [Moses] in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it he wondered at the sight; and as he drew near to look, the voice of the Lord came, ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’” Like John the Baptist, Benedictine monks proclaim Jesus Christ from the wilderness. Mark 1:3, “John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” Like Christ, Benedictine monks battle the devil in the wilderness. Matthew 4:1, “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And he fasted forty days and forty nights…” Imitating Christ, Benedictine monks pray in the wilderness. Luke 5:16, “He withdrew to the wilderness and prayed.” Dying with Christ, a Benedictine monk offers up his life in the wilderness. John 3:14, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up.” St.

Benedict makes his monks watchmen in the wilderness. “Let him keep watch over his own soul, ever mindful of that saying of the Apostle: He who serves well secures a good standing for himself (1 Tim 3:13). He must show every care and concern for the sick, children, guest and the poor, knowing for certain that he will be held accountable for all of them on the day of judgment.” –RB31:8-9 A man’s mind is like a wilderness. You can battle the devil by guarding your thoughts. St. Benedict says, “Day by day remind yourself you are going to die. Hour by hour keep careful watch over all you do, aware that God’s gaze is upon you, wherever you may be. As soon as wrongful thoughts come into your heart, dash them against Christ and disclose them to your spiritual father.” –RB 4:47-50 St. Benedict would be a fan of Man Vs Wild. On the other hand, Bear Grylls, would probably be a fan of Monk Vs Wild. Watch him make the Sign of the Cross in this episode of Man Vs Wild .

Clear A Pathway for the Faith In Mark 9:14-29 Jesus creates a clear pathway for the faith. The father of the possessed boy says, “But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus replies, “‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.” He exorcises the evil spirit and cures the boy. Jesus creates a clear pathway for the faith. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, St. Benedict also created clear pathways for the faith. St. Benedict said, “But as we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of God’s commandments.” (Prologue:49) That’s what Benedictine monks do. Benedictine monks create clear pathways for the faith. St. Benedict, cleared a forest of olive trees that pagans were worshiping when he built Monte Cassino. The people converted to the Catholic faith. St. Benedict created a clear pathway for the faith. St. Boniface, chopped down an oak tree that the German people were worshiping. They martyred him, and his example created a clear pathway for them to accept Christ.

Archabbot Boniface Wimmer, carried the Gospel from Bavaria, Germany, to Pennsylvania, the New World. In the American Cassinese tradition, he built a monastery, started schools, served in parishes and sent his monks west to start places like St. Benedict’s Abbey in the geographic heart of the United States. Archabbot Boniface created a clear pathway for the faith. Our founding Abbot, Innocent Wolf, brought the Gospel of Jesus Christ to this spot, St. Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, Kansas, before it was a state….in the middle of a civil war….Abbot Innocent Wolf created a clear pathway for the faith. We are black monks, meaning our habit is black. Our tradition of the black habit traces back to our founder, St. Benedict. As black monks and members of the American Cassinese Congregation, we serve Christ by creating clear pathways for the Gospel. That is one of our jobs. We are Benedictine monks who, today, are creating clear pathways for the Gospel in the New Evangelization. St. Benedict, pray for us. St. Augustine of Canterbury, pray for us. St. Boniface, pray for us.

Holy Apostles, pray for us. The Central Flyway of the United States is a clear pathway traveled by Snow Geese annually. It extends from Mexico to Kansas to Canada. This was the view from St. Benedict’s Abbey this week. Like these Snow Geese, we each need clear pathways to travel. Augustine of Canterbury - 必应 St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church in Canterbury, CT. Learn More. ... 4:00 pm – St. Augustine 5:30 pm – Sacred Heart 8:30 am – All Hallows 10:00 am- St. John staugustinecanterbury.org St. Augustine of Canterbury. Help support New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church ... St Augustine's Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Canterbury, Kent, England. The abbey was founded in 598 and functioned as a monastery until its dissolution in ... … Canterbury – History… the interesting bits! A few days away in Kent this Easter holidays gave us the chance to visit to the wonderfully peaceful and historic St Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury.

A Brief History St Augustine’s Abbey Situated just outside the city walls, the Abbey was founded around AD 598 by St Augustine of Canterbury. St Augustine had been sent to England by Pope Gregory I the Great, on a mission to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. Stone marking the original site of St Augustine’s grave A Benedictine monk, St Augustine would become the first ever Archbishop of Canterbury. The king of Kent of the time, Aethelbert, was a pagan but his wife, Bertha, was Christian and, with her encouragement, Aethelbert was converted and gave St Augustine land outside the city walls, in order to build his monastery. Aethelbert allowed St Augustine’s missionaries to preach freely among his people, thus establishing the ‘rebirth’ of Christianity in southern England. The site of the Abbey’s Cathedral Church Dedicated to St Peter and St Paul the Abbey thrived, and for two centuries, following its foundation, it was the only important religious house in Kent. When St Dunstan became Archbishop of Canterbury, he enlarged the Abbey’s church and added the name of St Augustine to those of St Peter and St Paul. From then on it has been known as St Augustine’s Abbey.

The arches of the Norman cathedral With the Norman invasion the Abbey church was rebuilt and enlarged to become a magnificent Romanesque cathedral, of which little remains today but the arches along one side the cathedral wall, and bases of the stone columns which supported the roof. A 2nd church was later added to the site. The Church of St Pancras, was built in red brick, close to the cemetery reserved for the lay brothers. The cloisters included a Scriptorium, where the monks produced their manuscripts, sheltered from the elements, but bathed in sunshine. Church of St Pancras Within its grounds you can see the tombs of the first four Archbishops of Canterbury, though that of St Augustine is now merely a memorial stone marking his initial resting place. The Abbey was also a burial-place for the Kings of Kent. You can see the modern memorial chests, in a chapel to the side of the nave, of four kings who died between 640 and 725, and were originally buried in the Anglo-Saxon church of St Mary.

Tombs of the 3 Kentish Kings (Eadbald, Hlothhere & Wihtred) and Mulus, who invaded Kent * The End of an Era At the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the shrine of St Augustine was destroyed and his relics lost. After over 940 years of monasticism at the site, the Abbot and monks left the Abbey, peacefully. Parts of the Abbey were dismantled and sold off, whilst other parts were turned into a royal residence, for a short while at least. View towards the cloisters It was landscaped in the early Stuart era and laid out with formal gardens; King Charles I and Henrietta Maria stayed in the Abbey gatehouse (Fyndon’s Gate) following their wedding in Canterbury Cathedral in 1625. Soon after the Abbey passed to the Hales family, who allowed it to fall into decay and ruin, who using the stones from the Abbey to build a new house at Hales Place. It was eventually bought by Alexander James Beresford Hope, in 1844, who established a missionary college and excavated the Abbey’s remains; the college buildings were destroyed during the Blitz, in 1942.

The site of the Abbey Refectory, now looking towards King’s School * Visiting Today A haven of peace and tranquility, and yet so close to the city. The Abbey has a wonderful little museum within the Visitor’s Centre, telling you its history and displaying artefacts found on the site. View from the Abbey, of Canterbury Cathedral The audio guide is impressive – it was so good it kept my 9-year-old enthralled. . The Archbishop of Canterbury himself tells St Augustine’s story and explains the significance of the Abbey (it’s a World Heritage Site) to the history of Christianity in Britain. The guide takes you through the life of the Abbey, from its very beginnings to the present day, as you wander around the serene Abbey precincts. * Be the first to read new articles by clicking the ‘Follow’ button, liking our Facebook page or joining me on Twitter . * All pictures are ©Sharon Bennett Connolly, 2015. * For further visitor information see; Share this: Augustine of Canterbury - OrthodoxWiki Augustine of Canterbury Jump to: navigation , search St. Augustine of Canterbury Our father among the saints Augustine of Canterbury (d.

May 26 , 605) was a Benedictine monk and the first Archbishop of Canterbury . His feast day is May 26 . Life The wife of King Ethelbert of Kent, called Bertha, daughter of Charibert, one of the Merovingian kings of the Franks, had brought a chaplain with her (Liudhard) and either built a church or restored a church in Canterbury from Roman times and dedicated it to St. Martin of Tours , a major patronal saint for the Merovingian royal family. Ethelbert himself was a pagan, but allowed his wife to worship God her own way. Probably under influence of his wife, Ethelbert asked Pope Gregory I to send missionaries. In 596, Augustine had been prior of the monastery of Saint Andrew, founded by Pope Gregory I , and was sent by Gregory at the head of forty monks to preach to the Anglo-Saxons. They lost heart on the way and Augustine went back to Rome from Provence and asked that the mission be given up. The pope, however, commanded and encouraged them to proceed.

Thus, Augustine was sent to King Ethelbert, Bretwalda of England, by Pope Gregory the Great in 597. He was accompanied by Laurence of Canterbury , the second archbishop, and other Benedictine monks, and they landed on the Island of Thanet in the spring of 597. Ethelbert permitted the missionaries to settle and preach in his town of Canterbury and before the end of the year he was converted and Augustine was consecrated bishop at Arles. At Christmas 10,000 of the king's subjects were baptized . Augustine sent a report of his success to Gregory with certain questions concerning his work. In 601, Mellitus, Justus and others brought the pope's replies, with the pallium for Augustine and a present of sacred vessels, vestments , relics , books, and the like. Gregory directed the new archbishop to ordain as soon as possible twelve suffragan bishops and to send a bishop to York, who should also have twelve suffragans—a plan which was not carried out, nor was the primatial see established at London as Gregory intended. Augustine consecrated Mellitus Bishop of London and Justus Bishop of Rochester.

More practicable were the pope's mandates concerning heathen temples and usages: the former were to be consecrated to Christian service and the latter, so far as possible, to be transformed into dedication ceremonies or feasts of martyrs , since "he who would climb to a lofty height must go up by steps, not leaps" (Letter of Gregory to Mellitus, in Bede , i, 30). Augustine reconsecrated and rebuilt an old church at Canterbury as his cathedral and founded a monastery in connection with it. He also restored a church and founded the monastery of St. Peter and St. Paul outside the walls. Succession box: BBC Religion & Ethics - Canterbury: The Church of England's capital Canterbury: The Church of England's capital By Dr Ralph Norman Canterbury Christ Church University Canterbury Cathedral was established in AD597 Welby confirmed as new archbishop The history of Canterbury's religious significance began with the Romans; in fact it owes some of its great religious notability to simple geography. Once Roman soldiers had passed through the fortified entrance to Britain at Dover, Canterbury was their next significant stop.

Continue reading the main story Canterbury Cathedral It was established in 597AD by St Augustine, who had been sent to Canterbury as a missionary by Pope Gregory the Great It has attracted flocks of pilgrims since Thomas Becket was murdered in the Cathedral in 1170 The Cathedral's library was destroyed by enemy action during WWII A number of famous historical figures are buried in Canterbury Cathedral, including Thomas Becket and Henry IV The cathedral, as well as St Augustine's Abbey and St Martin's Church, is a Unesco World Heritage Site and attracts over one million visitors per year. Discover more about the Church of England Located just a little further up the old Roman road - now the A2 - it was the nearest settlement from which to set up a regional government. The Romans developed Canterbury from an existing ancient town on the River Stour; they built temples, baths, an amphitheatre, a protective wall and outlying forts. The city's Roman museum contains many artefacts from this development. There is evidence of a group of Romano-British Christians worshipping in the ancient city.

In fact, Canterbury's church of St Martin's might even date from this time, making it the site of Christian worship in England to have been in longest continuous use. Once the Romans left, Northern Europe went through a period of upheaval and reconstruction. Amid all of this, Kent, ruled from Canterbury, was just one of several small kingdoms in the British Isles awaiting a new system of government. It had passed under the control of the Anglo-Saxons, and as the memory of the Romans waned, became increasingly autonomous. Then, late in the sixth century, Pope Gregory the Great appointed the Benedictine monk Augustine to lead a mission from Rome to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. Augustine was to become the first Archbishop of Canterbury. A Christian kingdom He arrived in 597AD, and began the work of persuading the Kentish King Ethelbert of the merits of the Roman religion. The cobbled streets of Canterbury today Ethelbert was receptive; he had married the Christian Frankish Princess Bertha, who worshipped in the church of St Martin's, just outside the city walls. So Augustine was allowed to establish a Benedictine abbey close to the church.

Once Ethelbert himself had converted, he granted Augustine permission to build Canterbury Cathedral - the first monument of English church establishment. Kent became the first officially Christian kingdom in the British Isles: Augustine was the first Primate of an English Church, and Ethelbert the first king of Christian England. As Christianity spread westwards from the secure foothold in Canterbury, cathedrals were soon established in Rochester and London. Augustine obtained sanction from the Pope to maintain existing British church practices; an important precedent for the idea of the independence of the English Church. England quickly became a relatively safe centre for Christianity, itself sending the missions, which successfully converted Germany. The monks brought with them a powerful technology: writing. For a time, Canterbury became perhaps the greatest centre for the production of manuscripts in Northern Europe. Discover more about Geoffrey Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales' at the British Library's online gallery One Victorian scholar and churchman, Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, wrote: "St.

Augustine's Abbey was… the mother school, the mother university of England, the seat of letters and study, at a time when Cambridge was a desolate fen, and Oxford a tangled forest in a wide waste of waters." The abbey also served as the burial ground for the Kings of Kent, and the first Archbishops of Canterbury. An important establishment in its own right, it drew monks from places as far distant as Syria. Following the Norman Conquest, William I himself had the cathedral rebuilt. There is even some evidence to suggest that the Bayeux Tapestry, which tells the story of William's defeat of the Saxon armies in 1066, was sewn by seamstresses in Canterbury. The Normans brought with them their own monks to serve as archbishops: amongst them was St Anselm, an important medieval theologian whose theory of the sacrificial death of Christ still influences Christian thought. Murder and pilgrimage Then came a brutal turning point in Canterbury's history; Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in the cathedral in 1170. Becket was not the holy martyr of legend; he had done much to provoke the Plantagenet King Henry II; but Henry did penance for his death.

The Church instructed Henry II to pay for 200 knights to defend Jerusalem. And after Becket's death, reports spread of miraculous wonders associated with invoking his name. The cult of Becket was established and Canterbury became one of the great pilgrim destinations in Europe, and the pilgrims brought their wealth with them. Archbishops of Canterbury Archbishops of Canterbury Roman Catholic Church Top Surnames From History Magazine - History UK - History of England- Archbishops of Canterbury : in the Christian church, an archbishop is a bishop of superior rank who has authority over other bishops in an ecclesiastic province or area. The Church of England is presided over by two archbishops: the archbishop of Canterbury, who is 'primate of All England', and the archbishop of York, who is 'primate of England'. In the time of St. Augustine, around the 5th century it was intended that England would be divided into two provinces with two archbishops, one at London and one at York. Canterbury gained supremacy just prior to the Reformation in the 16th century, when it exercised the powers of papal legate throughout England.

It is the Archbishop of Canterbury who has the privilege of crowning the kings and queens of England and ranks immediately after the princes of royal blood. The Archbishop's official residence is at Lambeth Palace, London, and second residence at the Old Palace, Canterbury. The first Archbishop of Canterbury was Augustine. Originally prior to the Benedictine monastery of St. Andrew in Rome, he was sent to England by Pope Gregory I with the mission to convert the natives to Roman Christianity. Landing in Ebbesfleet, Kent in 597 Augustine quickly converted his first native when he baptized Ethelbert, King of Kent along with many of his subjects. He was consecrated Bishop of the English at Arles that same year and appointed archbishop in 601, establishing his seat at Canterbury. In 603 he attempted unsuccessfully to unite the Roman and native Celtic churches at a conference on the Severn. The following list traces the Archbishops from the time of Augustine through the Reformation, up to the present day. Their influence on the history of England and the English people is apparent for all to see. List of the Archbishops of Canterbury from Archbishops of Canterbury page by Peter J.

Large The year 1997 marks the 1400th anniversary of the landing of Augustine on the shores of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Kent. Augustine was an Italian Benedictine monk, sent by Saint Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, to convert the English to Christianity. To mark this anniversary, there appears below a list of Augustine's successors in the See of Canterbury up to and including Rowan Williams, the present Archbishop, Primate of All England and Metropolitan. You can find a similar list on the Archbishop of Canterbury's Home Page , but it does not give the number of succession.

1 Augustine 597-605 36 Ralph de Turbine 1114-1122 37 William de Corbeuil 1123-1136 38 Theobald 1139-1161 46 Edmund Rich (de Abbendon) 1233-1240 47 Boniface of Savoy 1240-1270 48 Robert Kilwardby 1273-1278 52 Simon de Meopham 1327-1333 53 John Stratford 133-1348 54 John de Ufford 1348-1349 55 Thomas Bradwardin 1349 91 John Bird Sumner 1848-1862 92 Charles Thomas Longley 1862-1868 93 Archibald Campbell Tait 1868-1882 94 Edward White Benson 1882-1896 95 Frederick Temple 18

96-1902 97 Cosmo Gordon Lang 1928-1942 98 William Temple 1942-1944 99 Geoffrey Francis Fisher 1945-1961 100 Arthur Michael Ramsey 1961-1974 101 Frederick Donald Coggan 1974-1980 102 Robert Alexander Kennedy Runcie 1980-1991 103 George Leonard Carey 1991-2002 104 Rowan Douglas Williams 2002-2012 105 Justin Welby 2013- Canterbury - Statues on the West Front of Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Description The west façade and around the south west porch of Canterbury Cathedral are filled with 55 statues, most of them dating from the 1860s.

At the restoration of 1863 and further years on initiative of Dean Henry Alford the formerly vacant niches of the cathedral would be filled with statues of historical personages connected with the province of Canterbury or with the history of the Church itself. The first statues were placed in 1864, in 1869 there were 36 statues placed, the last ones Victoria and Prince Albert were placed. On 26 March 2015 two statues of Queen Elisabeth II and Prince Philip by sculptress Nina Bilbey were unveiled. Including those two 2015 statues there are at present 55 statues. The letters below refer to the scheme from the website of the Canterbury Historical and Archaeological Society (CHAS) on Theodore Phyffers (1821-1876) (scheme opens by clicking on "Location of figures"). The names in small capitals are inscribed under each stagtue, the name in italics is that given in the Kentish Gazette, 15 August 1865 (red = never placed or no long present); the order here is that from the Kentish Gazette.

Front face of Southwest Porch (S) (erected in 1864): 1 erasmvs roterodam - Placed c. 1870 Desiderius Erasmus (1466/69 - 1536), Dutch humanist and Catholic theologian, ( Wikipedia ). henricvs alford decanvs - Unveiled 16 October 1871 Henry Alford (1810 - 1871), Dean of Canterbury 1857-1871 ( Wikipedia ). carolvs t. longley archiep. - Placed in July 1877 Charles Thomas Longley (1794 - 1868), Archbishop of Canterbury, 1862-1868 ( Wikipedia ). Description from the Kentish Gazette of 15 August 1865: THE CATHEDRAL STATUES How came the figures in the niches of the new South Porch? Whom do they represent? and where is the matter going to end These arc questions which do not seem to have excited much attention in Canterbury.

But they have frequently been asked by visitors; and for that reason, and that if possible more interest may be awakened on this matter in Canterbury itself, we shall try to give answer to them. In the summer of 1863, when the carved work of the South Porch was about to be renovated, it struck the Dean that the effect of the whole of this part of the Cathedral would be very much improved, if the vacant niches could be filled with figures of historical personages connected with the province of Canterbury or with the history of the Church itself. Before trying to raise a subscription for the purpose, he endeavoured to ascertain the cost per figure. At first it seemed as if the scheme must be abandoned, from the high price demanded; but at hist Mr. Pfyffers, of Grosvenor Row, Pimlico, was applied to, and he undertook them at £24 a piece, which seemed a sum within the reach many who, it was thought, might be disposed to erect a figure at their individual expense. The first portion subscribed for was the south face of the porch, containing six niches, two below, and four above.

This being deemed the post of principal honour it was thought well to devote it to our Founder and Foundress, King Ethelbert and Queen Bertha, and our four great Archbishops, Augustine, who planted Christianity in Kent and founded the Archiepiscopal see, Lanfranc, who built a large portion of the former church, Anselm, the greatest divine of the early days of the English Church, and Cranmer, the chief of the Reforming Fathers, and the founder of our King's School. (...). Of these six figures, which were erected during the summer and autumn of 1864, King Ethelbert is represented holding the church in his hand: St. Augustine, as treading under foot the symbol of Paganism, and pointing to banner impressed with the countenance of our Blessed Lord; St. Anselm, as holding his celebrated treatise "Cur Deus Homo" (Why God became Man) in which he expounded the doctrine of the Atonement; Cranmer, as holding the English Bible, in the translation and promulgation whicli he took so prominent a part.

The Eastern side of the porch is next filled, and here first, - The treatment of the south font (the place of honour) being exceptional, - The strict chronological order begins first to be observed. The eight historical personages here represented belong to the Saxon period. First in the upper row we have Gregory the Great, with whom originated the mission of Augustine to England. Mr. Pfyffers has adopted the conventional representation of his subject, and has placed the dove on his right shoulder, symbolizing the suggestion of his discourses by the Holy Spirit. On scroll are inscribed the celebrated words "non Angli sed Angeli" (not Angles but Angels) which he uttered on seeing the English boys exposed for sale in the slave market at Rome. The next figure is Archbishop Theodore of Tarsus, the first introducer of the study of Greek into England, the founder of the school attached to the Monastery, the predecessor of the King's School. The next is the famous Archbishop Dunstan, commonly known as St.

Dunstan, a portion of whose shrine yet remains in our Cathedral: Mr Pfyffers has taken the liberty of omitting in this case the tongs usually represented in Dunstan's hand, as commemorating a legend more grotesque than edifying. The next figure, and the last in the upper row, is that of St. Elphege, or Alphege, who was murdered by the Danes at Gravesend, whither they had taken him after the sack of Canterbury in 1012; he holds in his hand an axe, the symbol of beheading, which, according to the account followed by the sculptor, was the manner of his death, others relate that the was stoned. In the lower row we have represented four Kings of the Saxon period, beginning at the S.E. corner. The first is Alfred the Great, holding a book inscribed "Leges Angliæ" (The Laws of England). Next is Edmund, known as St. Edmund, King of East Anglia, from whom Bury St.

Edmunds is named; he is described having been a youth of great beauty and sanctity, who, being unwilling, from horror at the carnage on the battlefield, to follow up an advantage gained over the Danes, was taken by them and shot to death with arrows: of this the arrow held in his hand is a symbol. The next figure is our Danish King Canute, who, in addition to his other claims on our remembrance, bequeathed his iron crown to the church at Canterbury; he is represented at the moment when he rebuked the flattery of his courtiers by letting the waves come up and wet his feet. He points to the crest of a wave which is breaking at the left hand corner of the pedestal, and on his shield is inscribed from Psalm xxix., 3., in the vulgate translation, "Vox Domini super aquas " (The voice of the Lord is over the waters.) Next, and last in this row, is the figure of King Edward the Confessor, taken from his Great Seal yet extant. (...) Mr.

Pfyffers has given much study to the history and character of each personage, and in the physical details has followed any hints which may happen to be furnished in ancient chronicle or legend. In the greater part of the figures at present erected, the portrait is of course ideal: as we advance to latter times, ideal portraiture will be superseded by real, and our niches will form a valuable portrait gallery of Kings, Archbishops, and other noted men. The material in which the sculptor his worked is Caenstone. It is intended to obviate the somewhat perishable nature of this stone in our Kentish climate, by the modern invention of silicating, or imparting hardened surface by chemical solution of flint. Sculptors

Question: What was the name of the Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury ?
Answer: ST AUGUSTINE