Devonshire magazine November December 2018
Devon's countryside, wildlife, history and events! Including a massive Christmas section with events and gift ideas from across the county and our Shop Local scheme.
Devon's countryside, wildlife, history and events!
Including a massive Christmas section with events and gift ideas from across the county and our Shop Local scheme.
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This scepter'd isle<br />
ENGLAND<br />
St Martin's Church, Canterbury<br />
Probably Britain's most important Christian site<br />
Up and down the land there are literally<br />
thousands of churches, in fact over 37,500.<br />
St Martin's church at Canterbury holds<br />
an extremely important place in Britain's<br />
Christian history and it's easy to forget just<br />
how significant the church remains in the<br />
Christian world.<br />
Firstly, it's the oldest extant* church in Britain,<br />
it's also the first church founded in England<br />
and the oldest church in the entire English<br />
speaking world, so to say it's significant<br />
would be something of an understatement.<br />
Although the Celts in Britain had widely<br />
converted to Christianity by the 3rd and<br />
4th centuries, the post-Roman invasion by<br />
Angles, Saxons and Jutes meant that pagan<br />
religions were returning to dominance,<br />
certainly as Kent was one of the counties<br />
bearing the brunt of these invasions,<br />
Christianity was being to relegated to<br />
the native Celts. To stem this ongoing<br />
pagan invasion Pope Gregory the Great<br />
despatched a mission to England with<br />
the purpose of converting the invaders<br />
to Christianity. He sent Augustine who<br />
departed from Rome in May 595, but<br />
he became so daunted by the task that<br />
he returned to Rome in July, begging<br />
permission to abandon the mission. After<br />
being made an abbot, he was instructed to<br />
complete the task originally given to him.<br />
In early 597 Augustine landed on the<br />
Isle of Thanet. He made his way to Canterbury,<br />
meeting up with the Saxon (and<br />
pagan) King Aethelberht and his wife<br />
Bertha. Bertha was already a Christian,<br />
being the daughter of the King of Paris,<br />
and it's known that she used St Martin's<br />
Church as her private chapel for worship<br />
before Augustine's arrival in England.<br />
King Aethelberht was later baptised in<br />
this church.<br />
It's interesting to note that the Venerable<br />
Bede said of St. Martin's church that it had<br />
been in use since the late Roman period,<br />
although it had subsequently fallen into<br />
70<br />
Countryside, History, Walks, the Arts, Events & all things Devon at: DEVONSHIRE <strong>magazine</strong>.co.uk
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