Romes Ruin(1), Answer · Paragraph 17
PAR. XVII. Of the first conversion of Britains, and English to the faith.
CHALLENGE.
Or if your men fly this difficulty, we will joyn issue with them in the maintenance of that faith and religion, unto which we Englishmen were first converted by Austin a monk, a man of God, sent by Gregory the great, bishop of Rome, more than a 1000. yeers since.
Answer.
The Philosophers contend not more about the head and springs of Nilus: than our English antiquaries about the source or rather the golden conduit which first conveyed the water of life into this Island; some derive this foreign from Simon Zelotes; Gold-fl…ing vain, Men…log. Gr…c. decim… die Ma… festi Simonis, Simon qui & Nathaniel dictus Africa… percurrens pr… dicavit Christ. & multos, &c. Bed. hist. Ang.some from S. Paul; others from Ioseph of Arimathea; and some few from King Lucius, whō Beda calleth the founder of the faith among the Britains; all fetch it from a higher & more noble pipe then you. You are the first whom ever I read to affirm, that we Englishmen were first converted to the christian faith by monk Austin, who, when he came first into this Iland, found among the Britains an arch-bishop and 7. bishops, and 2000. monks in Bangor, and what a world of christian people may we think besides? Even in Kent it self, where he first and most laboured in Gods vineyard, he found a christian church bearing the name of S. Martin built to his hand, and a way made for him even to the court by Lethardus, chaplain Greg. lib. 5. …p. 59: Ad nos perlatum est Anglorum gentem, Deo annuente, velle fieri Christianam.to Queen Berta or Aldiberga. Greg. himself, Austins master, doth us this right, he acknowdlgeth it thirsted after the water of life, before he thought of sending Austin and Melitus to quench this thirst; whence was this thirst, but from some knowledge and fore-tast of this heavenly liquor? Nemo currit ad gratiam nisi per gratiam; no man followeth after grace but by the power of grace. S. Prosper de vocat. gent. Chrysost ser. d… Pen. ec. Hist. Sacr. l. 2.Saint Chrysostom some hundreths of yeers before Austin the monk receiv'd his commission from Gregory the great, speaketh of the efficacie of the word preached, & the power of the christian faith in this Island. And Sulpitius Severus reporteth, that in the councell of Ariminum, assembled An. Dom. 359. three Britain bishops were present, and before this councell Athanasius makes mention of certain Britain bishops, who subscribed to the councell of Sardi…a, An. Dom. 347. And before this councell King Lucius wrote to Eleuther. bishop of Rome to assist him in establishing the christian faith in his dominions, which work God so blessed in his hands, that Dicetus and Reade affirm, that in the place of 28. heathenish priests, called …lamines and archiflamines, there were substituted in his time so many bishops & archbishops. To go up higher yet, and to come even within sight of the apostles: Theodor…. affirmeth, that S. Paul after his first imprisonment at Rome, preached the Lib. 9. de… rand. grac. affect.Gospel among the Britains, and it is not unlikely that then he converted Pudens and Claudia his wife our countrey-woman, not so much enobled by the praise of Martial,
Claudia c…ruleis cum sit Ruffina BritannisEpig. l. 11.
Edita, cur Lati… pectora plobis habet?
as by the mention of her in the sacred scriptures, Eubulin saluteth Rom. 16.thee, and Pudens, and Claudia. Some yet ascend higher, and from Gildas collect, that England received the faith of Christ about the …ild. deexcid. ….death of Tiberius. What other construction can you make of these his words, interea glaciali frigore rigenti Insulae & velut longissime terrarum secessu soli visibili non proximae: vetus ille non de firmamento solum temporali, sed de summa etiam coelorum arce tempora cuncta excedente universo orbe praefulgidum sui coruscum oftendens tempore ut seimus Tyberii Caesaris summo, &c. By this account it should seem that Britain received the christian faith before Rome; which as I will not ave…, so I dare confidently affirm on the other side, that Britain had a christian king before Rome had a christian Emperour residing in it; neither do we ow so much to Ro… for Austin the monk, as Rome oweth to our nation for Constantin… the Emperour. Neither can you blanch this your errour by restraining the name of English, when you say, we Englishmen were, &c. to those Anglo-Saxones, who entred this land about, or a little before Austin the monks arrivall; for who taketh the word Angli, or Englishmen now in that restrained sense? How know you that we Englishmen now living are descended from those Anglo-Saxones, rather then from the Britains, or Dan…, or Nor…ans, who all successively inhabited this land? And what if these Angli or Anglo-Saxones in Beda's time distinguished from the Picts, then also inhabiting here, were not first converted to the christian faith by Austin the monk? I am sure Bede affirmeth, that the Eastern Angli or English were fir… gained to Christ by F…lix, the Northern by Paulinus, and the middle-landers by …; find me ou… if you can a fourth sort of English first converted by Austin the monk. To co…clude, if it b… … which you affirm, that there is but one true, divine, and infallible faith professed by the church of Christ, and it hath been proved that the christian faith was professed in this Iland many hundreths of yeers before Austin the monk his time: it followeth, that we Englishmen were …t first converted by Austin to that faith and religion of which you speak, without which no man can be saved: but of Austin and S. Gregory more hereafter.