A Source Book for Ancient Church History - Mirrors

§ 100. The Foundation of the Anglo-Saxon Church 661organized by Theodore of Canterbury (668-690), and developeda remarkable intellectual life, becoming, in fact, for the first partat least of the eighth century, the centre of Western theologicaland literary culture.Additional source material: Bede, Ecclesiastical History ofthe English People, for editions, v. supra, § 96. This is the bestaccount extant of the conversion of a nation to Christianity.H. Gee and W. J. Hardy, Documents Illustrative of EnglishChurch History, London, 1896; A. W. Haddan and W. Stubbs,Councils and Ecclesiastical Documents, 1869 ff.(a) Bede, Hist. Ec., I, 29. (MSL, 95:69.)The scheme of Gregory the Great for the organization of theEnglish Church A. D. 601.Gregory, in planning his mission, seems not to have beenaware of the profound changes in the kingdom resulting fromthe Anglo-Saxon invasion. He selected York as the seatof an archbishop, because it was the ancient capital of theRoman province in the North, and London, because it was thegreat city of the South. The rivalry of the two archbishopscaused difficulties for centuries, and was a hinderance to theefficiency of the ecclesiastical system. By this letter, theBritish bishops were to be under the authority of Augustine,a position which was distasteful to the British, who wereextremely hostile to the Anglo-Saxons, and incomprehensibleto them, as they saw no reason or justification in any sucharrangement without their consent. They withdrew from allintercourse with the new Anglo-Saxon Church and retiredinto Wales.To the most reverend and holy brother and fellow bishop, Augustine,Gregory, servant of the servants of God.[604]