Million Book Collection - The Fishers of Men Ministries

20 MISSION OF ST. GREGORY.
royal palace.1 Thus Canterbury, from being Ethel-
bert's capital, became the renowned metropolitan
see of future times. Its great glories are due to an
Italian monk, who brought us the blessed faith of
Koine.
In this first year of his apostolate (597) Augustine
received the plenitude of the priesthood, according
to St. Gregory's parting orders. He was consecrated
by the Archbishop of Aries, and became in virtue
of the apostolic see first Archbishop of Canterbury.
The hierarchy as intended by Gregory was to consist
of a metropolitan see both in the north and in the
south, with twelve suffragans to each. This scheme
was carried out only in the course of centuries.
The fact that London had been the metropolitan *"
see of the south 'under the British hierarchy naturally
suggested it again, but the primacy was speedily
transferred to Canterbury, the true spiritual centre
of the
Saxons.
*
The pallium from Gregory accompanied Augustine's
nomination to be Metropolitan,2 and for nine hundred
years it continued to be the privilege of English
Metropolitans to receive it from the Successor of St.
Peter as an outward token that their Jurisdiction
with its privileges was conferred by him.
After his consecration, Augustine consulted Pope
Gregory on a number of points relating to faith and
discipline. " Whereas faith is one," wrote Augustine,
1 Les Moines dOccident, iii. 365, and following.
2 Ibid., iii. 383.